Monthly Marketing Expenses

General Real Estate Investing
1

Howdy,

how much are ppl averaging on monthly marketing expenses, and where is it going?

Thanks.

2

I currently spend about $500/month on Google AdWords, $500/month on pre-foreclosure mailings, and $500/month on a target list of homes that I am farming.

I may reduce my pre-foreclosure mailings somewhat as I don’t like to be in super-competitive situations. (Every homeonwer tells me that they received at least 100 letters.)

However, these homeowners have also made it clear to me that a lot of these letters are written very poorly, and that the people who come to visit them don’t really seem very professional. Most are interested only in buying a house for 75 cents on the dollar.

The takeaway is that if you write well, look professional, and have other tools in your toolbox, pre-foreclosures can still be a good market.

I am about to consider billboards, too, but they are $1500/month and up (way up).

3

Realnew,

Everyone’s marketing budget differs on:

  1. Where that particular business is financially.
  2. What types of marketing media they are targeting.
  3. What types of sellers they are targeting.

If you are just starting out, set a monthly budget based on what you can afford to spend every month for 3 months without worrying about putting food on the table or taking away from other bills. Then look at what marketing you can do with that money.

Direct mail is one of my favorites because you can target exactly who you want to receive your letter, customize it to that list’s situation (pre-foreclosure, expired listing, divorce, etc), and mail as little or as many as your budget will allow.

Keep in mind that when you’re just starting out, the first month will be the most expensive, so set aside more for that month. You may have to order signs, business cards, envelopes for mailings, door hangers, flyers, etc. These cost money upfront that wouldn’t be factored into your budget for month #2.

Big Cheese

4

MercuryPartners

How many deals are you closing per month? That is a huge marketing expense.
I would be curious to know what other investors spend per month.