Author: Stacey Feeney

A Moving Campaign for Prospect Leases and Resident Renewals

Written by Stacey Feeney on March 10, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

Moving is SUCH. A. HASSLE. Many of us are guilty of bouncing from place to place when we’re young and carefree. Roommates come and go, jobs change, or you level up to your first adult apartment or into a 55+ active adult community. There are a million life changes that can make it feel like it’s time to move. At the end of the day, moving is expensive and takes a ton of time out of your schedule. Minimizing this pain point for both prospects and residents through a moving campaign can boost your leasing and occupancy trends. This two-pronged marketing campaign will show you easy strategies to overcome that moving objective and keep your residents happily renewing.

Prospects: Overcome Moving Objectives

Prospects who are out looking for apartments can quickly become overwhelmed by the realities and cost of moving. It’s no picnic! If your prospects are on the fence about moving in, there are ways you can tip the scales in your favor to close the sale.

The Cost of Moving Objective

Structure your leasing incentives to waive upfront fees like admin or security deposits. By reducing the financial friction at moving time, the move becomes an easier sell. To really up your moving campaign, partner with a local moving company to create an exclusive package deal for your apartment community or offer to cover the moving service cost!

The Hassle of Moving Objective

If your community wants to cover that fee, that’s even better for the prospects. It’s likely you already have a few preferred moving companies that you always work with. To really make it a white-glove service, you could handle the logistics, payment and elevator scheduling for the prospects to make the move completely seamless for them. Moving complete!

Marketing Your Moving Campaign

Now that you’ve got your moving incentives lined up, how to get the word out? Customized email marketing works well for your existing prospect pipeline.

Use bullet points to focus your copy on all the ways you’re saving your prospects – time, money, stress. Everyone is into less stress in 2021!
Tally up a dollar figure that you are saving them and add that to the headline.
With COVID-19 considerations on everyone’s mind, let them know that your moving company understands the situation and will take care of their move in a professional and appropriate manner.

As you mine through your prospect pipeline, focus in on prospects who toured your community 9 months ago and didn’t rent. They are likely coming up for a lease renewal at their existing community and could be tempted to give your property another look!

To cast a wider net, expand your prospect reach with geotargeted social ads. The advertising creative should convey a carefree move and people enjoying their new apartment. Be sure to use your prospect data to determine where people typically move from to your community. A geofencing campaign can target exact competitor properties or a simple five-to-ten mile radius around your community. The more targeted the prospect, the more customized the ads can be. zipcode creative can help you craft that ideal prospect and the digital ads to connect with them online.

Residents: Using the Hassle of Moving to Secure Renewals

Staying at home for the last year during COVID may have pushed some residents to an understandable level of cabin fever. To make sure they resist that siren call of moving, design a simple renewal campaign focused on facts about moving and a dose of resident appreciation.

Armed with your moving costs data, repurpose that to use with your residents when they are hesitant about renewing. You can present the information on a flyer with the key cost savings achieved when they decide to renew. Pretty up the data in an infographic. Data points are much easier to digest as an infographic and zipcode creative is a pro at these! When it’s time for those renewal letters to go out, attach the flyer or graphic and personalize it with a note saying that you would love for them to stay at your community.

To focus on boosting that resident retention number, add a small renewal incentive to your campaign. Craft a catchy title like “Renew & Refresh”. Create a list of upgrades you could offer in their apartment as their renewal incentive. The easy upgrades like carpet, paint, ceiling fan installs or enhanced countertops still apply. Also, get creative and add some online features like a fun subscription box service to receive each month or pet-sitting gift card they could use over the next year. Doordash delivery for their favorite restaurant or instacart grocery delivery work wonders as resident perks. Residents can choose the offer they like and enjoy their space even more. The idea is to have people be more invested in their apartment so they are more likely to stay.

A Moving Campaign that Swings Both Ways

It can be easy for your property teams to get distracted and focused only on the next wave of move-ins. But, a truly balanced approach to prospect and resident lifecycles allows you to make marketing campaigns that resonate with both audiences at the right time. Moving is the common denominator facing your entire prospect and resident base. By facing this daunting task head-on with a few manageable data points, timely communications and applicable incentives, you can minimize this hurdle and keep both prospects and residents where they need to be – at your property!

Images in this post are ©Fairfield Residential | Work executed by Stacey Feeney, owner of zipcode creative, while under creative direction and employment at Fairfield Residential.

Accent Wall Program 2-Step Marketing Campaign Strategy

Written by Stacey Feeney on February 27, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

The apartment accent wall program model is growing in popularity—and for good reason. These programs give residents the opportunity to personalize their space to suit their individual style, helping them to create a welcoming environment to come home to everyday. A cozy apartment home with custom colors proves much more desirable than a sterile and impersonal all-white space. Especially when we’ve all learned what it was like to be in our homes 24/7 during a pandemic – renters are now putting apartment unit features and amenities top of their list from here forward!

Accent wall programs can give your community a leg up over the competition with the added amenity of home customization. It might just be the perfect incentive to get renters who are on the fence to commit and sign that lease that they’ve been thinking about.

Keep reading to learn exactly how to create an accent wall program and develop corresponding marketing support for your apartment community. Maybe you’ve started an accent wall program but are having a hard time generating leads, it might be time to take your marketing to the next level. Let us show you how to turn the program into a campaign that gets prospects and residents excited!

Step 1: Designing an Accent Wall Program

To get your accent wall program off the ground, partner with a paint store or specific brand, such as Sherwin Williams, to curate the perfect color palette. Pick between five and seven different shades that coordinate with your existing interior design and complement your community branding. That way, everything will still feel cohesive and aesthetically pleasing while also giving residents the variety of choices they want.

You’ll also need to identify which walls can be painted through the program. Pick at least two different walls for each floor plan. Consider more efficient options like non-windowed walls and be sure to include options in both the master bedroom and the main living space. That way, residents have even more ability to customize their home to suit how they plan to use the space.

Step 2: Accent Wall Program Campaign Marketing

Once you’ve hammered out the program details, it’s important to advertise the offering to entice prospective residents. A well-rounded campaign should spread the offer or message through a variety of platforms – both print and digital. Read on to see the strategies we recommend for building and promoting an effective accent wall program marketing campaign.

Accent Wall Program 2-Step Marketing Campaign Strategy

Flyers

Flyers are the perfect way to advertise your accent wall program with prospects, providing you with an easy and informational handout. Create a well-designed flyer that showcases all of the program details and visually shows off the benefits. Include information about the color options available, which walls can be painted, and in which units. That way, prospective residents have a comprehensive understanding of the program when they’re viewing different units and can better visualize what their living space might look like.

Email Marketing

Leverage your lead database to create an email marketing program to showcase your accent wall leasing incentive. Email is a perfect forum to share more about the program thanks to the digital format. You’ll have plenty of space to describe the program, show off existing examples, and give prospects an idea of the different colors they can choose from. That way, they have all the details they need and can see what their space would look like once it comes to life.

Consider creating an email marketing automated series instead of a one email announcement. That way, you can utilize a series of three or five emails to generate more interest among leads. They’ll get used to seeing your community’s name in their inbox which increases brand awareness and, over time, will help you lease-up faster. In the email series, feature the accent wall program, other amenities, property photos, and the most popular floor plans you have on offer to showcase information that will pique their interest and convince them to book a tour.

Signage

Well-designed and positioned property signage will draw attention to your accent wall program before a visiting prospect even speaks with a leasing agent. Signage can also reiterate the benefits of your incentive program during a tour while helping prospects to visualize making the space their own.

Strategic signs like banner stands and tabletop banners scattered about the property are effective ways to advertise this ongoing promotion. Use the signage to highlight the details of the program—including the color options—to give prospective residents a sense of what their space could look like if they decide to sign a lease. You can even use table tents in the model unit to draw attention to the specific walls that can be painted to emphasize the available color palette and make the program come to life.

Direct Mailers

Though direct mail is can be thought of as an antiquated marketing method, there’s a reason it’s been around for so long: it works. If your accent wall program is an incentive that sets your community apart from the nearby competition, include direct mailers into your campaign.

From showing off amazing property photos to highlighting the paint colors available through the program, mailers will help you position the program to a broader audience. A custom branded direct mailer design can allow you to showcase the best your apartments have to offer while helping drive traffic through the incentivized accent wall program.

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Working with a professional branding agency, like zipcode creative, will help you strike the perfect balance between text, imagery, and white space to create the most effective marketing possible throughout your accent wall program marketing campaign and so much more. Get in touch today!

Life in Color Featured Image is ©Fairfield Residential | Work executed by Stacey Feeney, owner of zipcode creative, while under creative direction and employment at Fairfield Residential.

Signage Marketing that Generates Leads who Lease Signage Marketing that Generates Leads who Lease

Marketing Signage that Generates Leads who Lease

Written by Stacey Feeney on February 21, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Graphic Design.

Signage is a pivotal—and often underrated—way to market your multifamily community. While digital forms of marketing like emails and social media have become the go-to approach for brands and businesses across industries, sometimes there’s no replacement for good, old-fashioned signage marketing. Use well-designed signs to attract attention and lease-up faster, all while building a more engaged community.

When you’re developing a signage marketing strategy for your property, be sure to think holistically about where you can leverage different signage styles both inside and outside to drive viewings and showcase your building’s best assets and information in a compelling way.

Exterior Marketing Signage

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Building Banners

Building banners provide an opportunity to showcase your community and share contact information before anyone steps foot in the building. Whether draped over the front entrance or strategically positioned on the highest-trafficked side of the building, banners are an effective way to get your message to a large number of people, all at once. Be sure to include, at a minimum, your logo, phone number, and website on the banner so prospective residents can easily jot down your info, even on the go.

Bootlegs/Bandits

Whether you’re having a community open house or want to showcase your latest leasing special, bootleg signs—also called bandits or yard signs—are a great way to add a pop of your branding to your landscaping. Perfect for catching the attention of pedestrians walking by or local neighborhood drivers, bootleg signs can be made in different sizes and custom shapes to give you an endless variety to choose from. Keep it simple these signs are often viewed by passers-by on the go so they need to have short phrases that are large and easily readable.

Flags & Boulevard Banners

Create buzz about your community before people even step foot on the property. Boulevard banners and flags are an eye-catching way to promote your available units along major streets or thoroughfares in the neighborhood. That way, people will begin to recognize your branding and you can pique their interest, all thanks to foot traffic alone.

Add your best property photos, showcase your top amenities, and highlight your logo to create compelling content for your banners that will get your community noticed.

Directional Signage

If you’re looking for a fast and easy way to direct prospects to the leasing office or give guests a better way to navigate to the parking garage, directional signage is your new best friend. Typically designed with a combination of arrows and text, this versatile sign style can be made in your specific brand colors to ensure it blends effortlessly in with the rest of your marketing signage—all while still acting as a functional tool for your residents, their guests, and prospects who visit the community. Use any size and sign format to accomplish your directional needs.

Window Clings

Take advantage of the large window real estate you have and fill them with custom window clings for a large and impressive approach to marketing signage. The beauty of this type of signage is that the material used – it shows the design from the exterior view but allows visibility to the outside from the interior, similar to a two-way mirror! This signage strategy works especially well for urban apartment communities.

Interior Marketing Signage

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Banner Stands

Banner stands are the perfect set-up-anywhere signage solution for your entire community. From the lobby to the gym to your model unit, you can easily add a banner stand to almost any space. Use them to welcome prospective residents who have arrived for their tour, display your community’s best features and amenities for visitors to see, or use them to promote a program or initiative you offer, like being a pet-friendly place to live.

AFrames/Windsigns

Commonly called “sandwich board signs” these self-standing one or two sided signs can be great for placing right outside or inside the leasing center entrance doorway for quick reference information such as office hours, contact information when the office is closed, directional purposes to find the leasing office or an announcement of open house or other event.

Table Tents

Table tents are a must-have to show off elements of your model unit to prospective residents. As an affordable solution for self-guided showings, you can call out different finishes in the kitchen, apartment amenities like a washer and dryer, and community amenities like a gym or rooftop deck with table tents. Even without a leasing agent, prospects will feel like they get a holistic understanding of your community. Plus, as an added bonus, they are an effective way to showcase brand consistency throughout the community.

Table Top Banners

Table top banners are a versatile way to promote your property. From a coffee bar in the lobby to a towel station in the gym, you can pepper them in several different spaces to advertise any upcoming events and increase resident engagement. That way, everyone is always in the know and you can help foster an engaged community without a lot of extra added effort. Make sure you are utilizing a variety of sign types and placements for a well-rounded and effective signage marketing campaign.

If you’re ready to take your signage to the next level, a branding agency like zipcode creative is the perfect resource. As an expert in multifamily design, we can guide you on how to leverage your branding and how to create a cohesive marketing signage strategy throughout your property to help you accomplish your goals and make a positive impact to your bottom line.

Images in this article of ORA, Talia, Rize, Seta and Inwood Station are ©Fairfield Residential | Work executed by Stacey Feeney, owner of zipcode creative, while under creative direction and employment at Fairfield Residential.

effective email marketing effective email marketing effective email marketing

Effective Email Marketing for Apartment Communities

Written by Stacey Feeney on February 5, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Marketing. 3 Comments on Effective Email Marketing for Apartment Communities

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As more and more people are moving towards digital over analog, all businesses have had to adapt how they approach their marketing—and real estate is no different. While printed ads, direct mailers, and signage are all still valuable and effective ways to market your property, it’s also important to approach leasing with an online-first mentality. Email marketing can be a low-cost, high-return option for communities looking to get prospective residents in the door. Read on for our detailed and effective email marketing strategies.

Platforms for Effective Email Marketing

If you’re looking to expand your marketing efforts through email, there are a few different approaches. Working with a design agency like zipcode creative allows you to build and custom-code a totally unique email. This means you can personalize things like the layout, the font styles, the size and location of images, and the call-to-action buttons. When custom designing an email, the sky’s the limit to your creativity, which means you can perfectly showcase both your brand and your community.

Another option is to use an email marketing platform’s user-friendly templates. These plug-and-play options make it easy to send emails out quickly and affordably, but do have some limitations when compared to custom-designed emails. While there are many email service providers out there, there are a few major players to consider:

Mailchimp

One of the most popular email service providers, Mailchimp has hundreds of available templates that can be tweaked to suit your needs. From there, you just upload your images, add your text and subject line, and upload your recipient list for a fast and stress-free way to get started.

Constant Contact

This drag-and-drop platform makes it simple to create and edit emails that are optimized for both desktop and mobile. It also allows for triggered emails, content segmentation, and integrates with your social platforms to make it easier to manage everything in one place.

ConvertKit

Designed to make email marketing fast, ConvertKit offers email and custom landing pages to create a more robust online marketing experience. You can personalize your content with their online templates and schedule outgoing emails to reach your network regularly.

Don’t worry, zipcode creative won’t leave you to figure it all out on your own. Effective email marketing is our number one goal and we will make your emails look beautiful and consistent everytime you send a campaign. We are happy to design custom graphics that you can plug into email marketing templates anytime, just shoot us a message.

Crafting the Perfect Email

No matter which email creation method you choose, there are a few key elements you should always include to make the biggest impact in an effective email marketing campaign:

Subject line

When writing your subject line, be sure to immediately grab the reader’s attention. Since 47% of people open emails based on the subject line alone, it’s important to put a lot of thought into this one element. Keep it around 6-10 words for maximum effectiveness and try leading with a promotion or other offer to pique interest.

Header image

Use the header image as an opportunity to showcase the best your community has to offer. That way, it’s the first thing a reader sees when they click the email. Consider also adding your logo or other branding elements to the header image, so people instantly recognize your property.

Headline

The headline is the first piece of text that people see when reading your email, so make it count! Use it as an opportunity to communicate your most important message, whether that’s an ongoing promotion, leasing special, or holiday message.

Call to Action

Calls to action are arguably the most important element in any marketing email because they let the reader know exactly what you want them to do next. Use action-oriented phrases, like “Reserve your home” or “Get the deal” to entice your reader to click. You should also use a button instead of a text link, which is proven to increase click-through rates by 28%. Be sure to include calls to action throughout your email—and especially at the top—to give people multiple opportunities to click.

Property Photos

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that couldn’t be truer for email marketing. 65% of users prefer their emails to be mostly images over text, so use it as an opportunity to complement the header image with additional property photos of the amenities, model unit, or building exterior.

PRO TIP: Photos of the model unit kitchen consistently perform the best, place the photo front and center for the most effective email marketing design.

Email Campaign Ideas

Now that you’re ready to send your first email, we’re making it easy to get started! Pick one of these three topics to send out to your prospects today to get them in the door in no time.

Feature an Available Floor Plan

Use your email to show off the available units in your building. Include images, floorplans, and elaborate on the best elements of the space including finishes, access to community amenities, and storage space.

Showcase Amenities

Give prospects a sense of what it’s like to live in your community by sharing more about the amenities. From dog runs and grills to roof decks and gyms, amenities often make or break leasing decisions for renters—so be sure they have all the info they need to know your community is one of the best!

Announce a Promotion

If you’re offering a free month’s rent or lowering the deposit, be sure people know about the exciting and enticing deal. Add more details about the promotion and include info about how to book a tour so they can do it all right from their inbox.

Measuring the Effectiveness

So you created your email, mastered the content, and now you’ve sent it out to your database- but how do you know if what you sent is resonating with people? And, not only that, how do you know if people are actually opening your email and reading what took you so long to write- this is where looking at data will help you to measure the effectiveness of your campaign.

Open Rate

First thing is first, you have to look at your open rate. The open rate is measured by how many people are actually opening up your emails. Your emails will fall on deaf ears if they’re not being opened- so it’s important to know that your subscribers are actually opening the emails instead of just deleting them.

Click Through Rate

Secondly, you’ll want to measure your click through rate. This in my opinion is the most important metric. While opening your email is important, you want your subscribers to actually click through to read more of your content. This is why your call to action button is vital- the more clicks you receive, the better you’ll be able to judge just how relatable your content is and how invested your subscribers are.

Unsubscribe/Bounce/ and Complaint Rates

All feedback from your subscribers is vital- whether it’s positive or negative. Should your subscribers unsubscribe, give an undeliverable email address (bounce), or mark your emails as spam (complaint rate), they are trying to tell you something. Use this as motivation to maybe switch up your content, or maybe take a closer look at your content vs. the audience- are you talking to the right people and are your subscribers interested enough in what you have to say. Sometimes the answer is no and they might lose interest in your words, and that’s OKAY- perhaps throw a survey in one of your emails and ask your subscribers questions and see what type of content they might want you to write about.

Conversion Rate

Speaking of surveys or any other “goal completion” you also want to measure your conversion rates. This is the percentage of people who completed the assigned desired action. Examples of this could be completing a survey, filling out a lead form, liking your social page, etc.

How often you’re tracking all of this will depend on how often you’re sending emails. Assuming you are sending emails once a week, you’ll want to track that specific email a few days after it’s sent. If you try to track it too early, you run the risk of an ineffective result due to people not checking their emails often enough. While a weekly reporting basis works fine, you’ll also want to pull a report monthly or once every three months to identify any trends.

If you’re ready to get started on your custom email marketing campaign designs, get in touch today!

Images in this post are ©Fairfield Residential | Executed under creative direction of Fairfield Residential.

resident appreciation resident appreciation

Resident Appreciation: We Love Our Residents

Written by Stacey Feeney on January 24, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Marketing.

Residents have been home more than ever this year, and we are grateful when ‘home’ is at our communities. In a world where less people are moving, resident retention is paramount. Your amazing residents should be celebrated, and now’s the perfect time to shower them some well-deserved appreciation! Hosting a Resident Appreciation Week (or Day) gives you time to have a variety of events to connect with all types of residents. Our guide will show you how to host some stress-free, COVID-safe and budget-friendly events that will show your residents how much they are valued at your community.

How to Host a Resident Appreciation Campaign

1. Pick a Week or Day on the Calendar

That gives you enough time to plan and prep. Valentine’s Day is a nice way to tie-in with a holiday focused on all those warm and fuzzy feelings. You’ll find plenty of festive décor at Target or the party supply stores.

2. Consider Your Community

When choosing what will work in your space while staying COVID-safe. A garden community might benefit from door delivery. A high-rise might find a spot in the lobby where residents can take some goodies on their way out the door. With some careful planning, you can have virtual or grab-and-go moments with your residents that are just as meaningful.

3. Decide on a Mix of Events, Gifts and Giveaways

Keep reading for some great ideas to get you started!

4. Create a Budget

For your events, and it doesn’t have to be pricey. Vendors will often work with you to sponsor an event. They can provide some marketing materials for your residents and provide funds to cover your costs.

5. Invite Your Residents

Email, texts, social posts and signage around the property. You’ll want residents to save the date so send these out early! Remember, zipcode creative is your partner in designing custom branded graphics for all of these things!

Show Resident Appreciation with Gifts

Find a theme that fits your community and select your signature gift and then pair your resident gift with a custom designed and hand-written card to show your appreciation. Postcards or greeting cards slip right into gift bags and give you the opportunity to send your message of gratitude. If you’re doing a door delivery, maybe personalize a cute door hanger that you can hang with your gift. Here are a few clever gift ideas for you to tweak or steal:

Valentine’s Day Themed Gift Ideas

Everyone loves a sweet treat, chocolate or candy and this is an obvious choice if you plan to celebrate Resident Appreciation in conjunction with Valentine’s Day. Pair your sweet treat gift with a “We think you’re sweet” card as the cherry on top!
Wrap some Burt’s Bees up with a card saying “Bee our Valentine”
Celebrate some self-love with bath bombs for everyone with a note saying “You’re the bomb Valentine”.

Year Round Gift Ideas

Give a house plant or cactus to each unit with a “Never Desert Us!” message – clever, catchy and plants brighten any home.
Gift a bottle of wine with a custom label saying “love, like wine, gets better with time & we <3 you!”
Local coffee shop gift card inside of a mug saying “home is morning coffee in my favorite mug.” Complement it with a note that says “we’re glad you’re home at ___ apartments!”

Spoil Them with Events and Giveaways

You’ll need plenty of ways to show your appreciation if you decide to spoil your residents with a week long celebration. In addition to a thoughtful gift or two, host an event, giveaway or other special moment throughout the week. Here are just a few ideas to get you started that you can tailor to fit your property and residents’ interests:

Raffle off really good prizes throughout the week.
Personalize your appreciation by hand delivering your gifts to each door.
Grab-and-go goodie bags in the lobby or clubhouse filled with swag and knick-knacks.
Invite them to come by for a cookie break one afternoon in the social lounge – partner with a local bakery to provide a tasty variety.
Provide muffins and mini ojs in the lobby for breakfast on the go.
Deck your lobby out with vases and flowers. Residents can take a bloom back to their home for some fresh greenery.
Host a Facebook Live yoga class focused on love and gratitude
We #LoveOurPets day. Connect with a pet vendor or local dog walker to raffle a prize and ask residents to bring their pooches by the dog park or office for treats!
Give out mini champagne bottles in the lobby to level up their weekend brunch-at-home.
Keep it simple and give residents what everyone loves most – money! Send a gift card with a thank you to each apartment.

Resident Referrals – Double the Love

Show your residents you really love them by doubling your resident referral fee for the month in honor of Resident Appreciation. Another option is to offer a special incentive you wouldn’t normally give – like a month’s free rent when you refer a friend who leases and moves in! They’ll be excited about the extra incentive, and you’ll get to connect with some prospects who might be in the market.

Resident Reviews

If it’s been a while since you’ve asked your residents for reviews, this is a great time to remind them. Send a “Show the Love” email to your residents encouraging them to share their favorite parts about living at your community. Incentivize them to post a review by entering them into a giveaway for doing so and then turn their reviews into cute graphics to repost on social! We can help with this too – social media or email graphics, we’ve got your back!

Resident Appreciation Strategy for Renewals

Whether you celebrate Resident Appreciation week or day, whether you pair it with Valentine’s Day or dedicate a date of your choosing – having a Resident Appreciation campaign at your community is one of the best strategies to secure lease renewals. Keep it simple or go all out with emails, flyers, signage, gifts and events galore. Your residents will remember your kind gestures, big or small. Keep us in mind for custom designs for campaigns just like this one!

Direct Mail Marketing Direct Mail Marketing Direct Mail Marketing

Direct Mail Marketing for Apartments That Will Drive Leases

Written by Stacey Feeney on January 13, 2021. Posted in All Articles, Graphic Design, Marketing.

In our digital age, direct mail marketing pieces are often-overlooked in favor of flashier online alternatives. But taking it back to basics with a marketing mailer can be one of the best ways to generate interest among prospective residents.

From showing off property photos to advertising special promotions to highlighting your amenities, direct mail marketing is a simple and effective outlet to talk about what makes your community unique. If you’re considering marketing mailers to help fill current vacancies, try advertising a few key events to pique prospects’ interest.

Direct Mail Marketing Stats

• On average, Americans receive 605 emails and 16.8 pieces of mail every week.

• For roughly every 36 emails you receive on average, you get 1 piece of mail in your mailbox.

• The average lifespan of an email is 17 seconds, compared to direct mail’s average lifespan of 17 days.

• 73% of American consumers say they prefer being contacted by brands via direct mail because they can read it whenever they want.

• 58% of the mail American households receive is marketing mail.

• 59% of US respondents say they enjoy getting mail from brands about new products.

• 60% of catalog recipients visit the website of the company that mailed them the catalog.

• Up to 90% of direct mail gets opened, compared to only 20-30% of emails.

• Prospects are 15% more likely to respond to an oversized mail piece if they have never done business with you.

• Per USPS, 98% of people check their mail daily and Americans spend upwards of 30 minutes with their mail on a single occasion.

• 68% of marketing respondents said combining digital and direct mail increased website visits.

• 60% of marketing respondents said combining digital and direct mail increased ROI.

New Construction Grand Opening

If you’re new to the neighborhood, putting your list of leads to good use with an eye-catching mailer will help you drive brand awareness and generate more interest for your new community. By reaching out to prospects to showcase your available units and announce your presence can lead to a full schedule of tours, and ultimately, help you lease-up faster. Use mailers to get prospects in the door before opening for pre-leasing visits or even hard-hat tours to generate more demand.

Promote Events

If you’re hosting events for your residents regularly, why not invite prospective residents, too? Send out a mailer to invite them to happy hours, meet & greets, or holiday get-togethers. Attending these events will give prospects a sense of what it will be like to live in your community and help show that your building is more than just a place to live—it’s about a community. Just be sure to send the direct mail marketing with enough notice that they can pencil you in ahead of time!

Leasing Promotions

Leasing promotions are one of the best times to send mailers to prospective residents. By letting them know they can get a free month, waived application fees, or even a lower deposit, you’re very likely to grab their interest and get them in the door for a tour. Be sure to showcase the promotion prominently on the front of the direct mail marketing piece so they won’t miss it and ask them to “bring in this mailer” to get the deal.

Mailer Design Formula

When you’re pulling together the information to include on your mailer, there are a few tried and true items that should always be included. Your logo, bedroom count, property photos, and contact information are vital to show off your community and let people know how to get in touch if they’re interested. Including key features and amenities of your community, the tagline and a short ‘about’ paragraph is a great way to provide more detail and really sell prospects on all your property has to offer. Be mindful that it’s best to keep text to a minimum so your mailer doesn’t become crowded with information. Working with professional branding agencies like zipcode creative to design your direct mail marketing makes it easy to be sure all of the essential information is included in an elegant and eye-catching way.

PRO TIP: Add a QR code on the mailer that leads to a landing page for your campaign or promotion. Doing so will enable you to better measure the interest your mailer created among potential leads! (Pro tip couretsy of Christine O’Toole)

Once your design is finalized, your local printer can print, address, stamp, and mail the mailers so you don’t have to worry about doing all of the legwork or adding another administrative task to your to-do list. Try sending out a modest batch of mailers to the warm leads in your CRM or target prospects by surrounding zip codes for the most effective approach.

If you’re interested in diving into direct mail marketing for your community, get in touch today!

Stats sourced from Compu-Mail.