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Kudos to Skimmer for doing so much for the industry, not just in the product, but the webinars and other resources available. 

One marketing option that doesn’t seem to get much detail on is direct mail. My highest return has been in quality postcards sent to a very highly targeted, self generated list. 

Using software like Propstream (built for real estate investors), you can target exactly where and who you want to be talking to and create a list specific to your business. In my case, I’m looking for homes worth $850k+, with pools, in specific zip codes. You can be more precise and even draw out your target area if desired. 

I download that info, do some spreadsheet magic to dumb it down for Vistaprint then design a postcard and send out about 2500 pieces per mailing using Vistaprint’s inhouse mailing system. Not the cheapest way to go, but it is easy and relatively fast. Typical cost is $100 per month for Propstream (if you want to generate new lists often, otherwise buy a month then cancel) and about $2k to mail 2500 pieces the way I do it. Costs more per piece to send fewer but you can almost always keeps cost below $1 per card depending on card size and other variables.

What I’ve found historically is each mailing nets a few repairs from DIY pool owners that will cover the cost of the mailing and start a good relationship, 2-3 oddball calls looking for free tech support and 4-6 new weekly pool service accounts shortly after mailing. Cost of new customer acquisition is typically less than $100 using this technique. I’ve also fielded calls from people that saved a card for months before calling. It’s definitely worth a shot. Happy to walk anyone through what has worked for me.

I’d be cautious of using lists from list vendors. I tried that originally and the success rates were bad and they had very little data in my area. Creating your own list designed for your ideal prospect is easy enough these days that sharing  list with your competition doesn’t make much sense.

As any good marketing book will tell you, the trick is to be present when the prospect has a need so mailing regularly is smart.

Happy prospecting,

Reuben w/ Atlas Pools

This is a fantastic resource for targeting specific properties and may be an easier way than our approach we started a few weeks ago… 

In our county, we have access to an open permit database that lets us search for homes with active pool permits. We're focusing on pools that are either finished or have permits that have been open for less than three months.

OpenData found in county GIS database

We took the open data from the county GIS database, exported the relevant records into an Excel spreadsheet, removed the addresses we already service, and then brought them into a custom Google Map. This makes it super easy to combine geographic data with aerial images and our local knowledge. Sometimes, areas might look close on a map, but in reality, they can be too far to drive efficiently!

Pool permit data loaded into a custom Google Map

If you're in a place where each town or city has its own permit office (which is our current issue based on the gaps in the mapped data), it might require a bit more manual effort, but don’t worry—this approach is a great starting point to visualize your potential customers.

My wife used GoogleMaps and just searched in the area I wanted to service for houses with pools in the backyard. We then used Vistaprint as well to send out the mailers, around 1,500 on the list. This did not generate any measurable amount that I was looking for.

What do you put on your mailers? Do you put pricing?

It was also our very first mailer and I am a new company in the area so maybe not the best first shot. I get much more from refferals and google (don’t know how im getting the google leads).

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