Michele,

There are bunches of these types around here. I learned today from a local vendor of lists that you have the ability to target either the address of the physical property, or the address where the tax bill is sent.

In the case of the Florida snow birds, as the seasonal travelers from the north are called, this is their season to be in the south. So I think I will mail to the local address.

Nice going Mary,

That's a two percent response. I've heard that three percent is a very good response.

Great news Mary. That is certainly encouraging for you to continue sending them to the names on the list that you have acquired.

No responses here yet. Arizona has the same problem as Florida - full of snowbirds. Many of them build million plus dollar houses and only live in them for a week or two during the year. Unimaginable.

After thinking about it, the list that I had a sampling of was so large (about 8000 residents with million$ plus property values), I should have narrowed the field down substantially by choosing 750k + home values and also added a lifestyle filter of expressed intrest in art/antique collection. That category exists on usadata.com, but I didn't apply it. Just because someone has money, we can't assume they have any interest at all in art.

I'm a little late for this thread, but I thought my MBA in marketing and 30 years experience might be of help. It is correct that direct mail will elicit a 2 to 3% response rate. However, the real key is the frequency or number of times the image comes before the customer. It usually takes 12 or more mailings before direct mail makes an impression in the mind of the recipient and 25 or more mailings before a purchase decision is made. So don't give up. Keep the mailings going. It is a very smart and effective way to market. Also, don't change the campaign image once you start. Use the same mailing image unless it is an obvious bust.

Thanks, Richard, for your insights. Not sure I can afford to do a dozen mailings any time soon but I do plan to mail to the same group two or three times a year. Might be four years at that rate before I get a commission!

Michele, If the number of mailings is limited, then schedule your mail drops about 4 weeks apart. The object is to reinforce short term memory recall. Even 3 such mailings should have some impact. Also, it is better to have a smaller, highly targeted mail list than a larger, less focused one. Money spent on specific demographic features is money saved for extra mailings.

Direct mail houses can take your list and fully automate your mailing at bulk mail postal rates. This is a big time saver. If you seed your list with your name and address and maybe that of a friend, you can check whether or not the list was sent out properly. Wish you success.

Thanks, Richard, great suggestions!

Can any of you refer me to someone to design a postcard for me. Thank you.
Lisa

Lisa, Jennifer Geary did mine. She is a member of this forum. I think she is quite good with graphic design.

Lisa has decided to hire me to do the graphic design work for her postcard. Her paintings are great and I'm sure she'll do well.

I have 7 years of experience as a professional graphic designer prior to becoming a portrait artist. If anyone else is interested in having me design promotional print materials for them, just send me an email.

I previously wrote:

I have since contacted a local list company. I gave the same parameters to this company and they came back with 8000 on the list. I think you could make differenct conclusion from this. One is that local knowledge is best. They also spoke of their ability to pin point neighborhoods and not zip codes, which in this town would be very inefficient. Again, they talked with local knowledge.