Marketing for every budget

How to make marketing work

Marketing isn’t a one-off action item. It’s not something you do when you're desperate for deals. If you want a consistent deal machine, you need a consistent plan.

Our most successful clients treat marketing like a system. A real system comes with a monthly budget. Without a budget, you’re marketing on the fly, and results are usually zero.

Set a budget you can afford every month. The lower your budget, the longer it takes to generate a deal. The higher your budget, the more discipline and consistency you’ll need because it’s easy to get lazy and overspend.

Most investors don’t know what a budget can actually accomplish. So here’s a plan for every budget range.

A plan for every budget

$0–$500 a month budget

1. Keep door hangers in your trunk wherever you go.
2. Use 1–3 free or low-cost marketing strategies each week (cold calling, door knocking, networking, etc.).
3. Pull a very targeted niche list each month.
4. Purchase 500 postcards or letters monthly and send to a new niche list:
   1. You can use any of our postcards or letters here: Ballpoint Marketing Products
5. Work your leads every week: call them, book appointments, send offers, and follow up.
6. Any “Return to Sender” mail — find numbers and call them.
7. Mental note: Be patient. We see roughly 1 deal per 3,000 postcards. If you send 500 a month, expect results around months 4–6 depending on your follow-up and other marketing.

$500–$1,500 a month budget

1. Choose a list:
   1. Absentee owners with equity who own 3 or fewer properties
   2. Owner-occupants with liens
2. Want us to pull lists for you? Book a call
3. In month one, send around $1,500 worth of handwritten letters or postcards.
4. In month two, remove LLCs and Corporations.
5. For the next 5–6 months, continue sending postcards or letters to the same list.
6. Use 1–2 free/low-cost strategies weekly (cold calling, networking, door knocking).
7. Work leads every week: call, book appointments, send offers, follow up.
8. For “Return to Sender” pieces, find phone numbers and call them.
9. Mental note: Be patient. On average, 1 deal per 2,500 letters or 3,000 postcards. If sending 1,000–1,500 pieces a month, traction often begins in months 2–4.

$1,500–$2,500 a month budget

1. Same strategy as the $500–$1,500 plan — just increase mail volume.

$2,500–$4,000 a month budget

1. Split your mailing into two categories:
   1. Niche lists
   2. Equity lists (absentee owners or owner-occupants with liens)
2. Need help pulling lists? Book a call
3. Pull fresh data monthly for niche lists and send letters or postcards consistently:
   1. View products here
4. For equity lists, follow the same monthly plan in the $500–$1,500 range.
5. Add 1–2 other marketing channels if you have time (cold calling, networking, etc.).
6. Advanced tip: Split your mailers into 4 weekly drops instead of sending one large blast. It spreads out your inbound calls and makes lead management easier.

$4,000+ a month budget

1. Consider getting a custom mail piece. It costs more upfront but saves long-term and has historically pulled the highest response rates. Browse options: Ballpoint Marketing Products
2. Follow the same structure as the $2,500–$4,000 plan.
3. Consider hiring someone to help work leads — or partner with someone who can.