I’m sending range offers in envelopes with a physical stamp and address that seems handwritten (Rocket Print & Mail). The idea, per suggestion from @retipsterseth , is to maximize the chances of these being opened. I could only find a couple threads asking about the postage and not a whole lot of answers, mostly saying that pre-sorted standard is cheaper.
However, my fear is that trying to be cheaper may significantly hurt the chances of the letter being opened. For example, I automatically discard anything marked pre-sorted standard without opening it - but pre-sorted standard physical stamp is not something I see often. To investors who have experience with these, do you find that first-class vs pre-sorted standard stamp makes a difference in terms of open rate?
@investomation using first class may make a difference in open rates (and it will definitely make a difference in the speed at which they receive the mail), but even if first class postage does give you better response rates, I think most land investors are of the mindset that the cheaper cost of standard pre-sort will probably offset whatever disadvantages you might see with the lower open rates.
And keep in mind, there’s no way for us to see what your open rates even are with direct mail (it’s not like emails or texts, where you can see digital evidence of whether a person saw your message). If a person gets your mail and throws it away without opening it, you’ll never know. All you can measure is your response and deal close rates… so you’d be hard-pressed to find any “proof” of open rates being affected by the kind of stamp you use. All you have to go by is your own opinion, which isn’t indicative of everyone you send mail to.
Also, the stamp is one of many different things that can leave a first impression. If you want some really creative mail pieces that can affect the recipient’s first impression, check out REIPrintMail. They’re a bit more expensive than Rocket Print, but if that first impression and the open rate is something you’re really concerned about, they’ve got some of the best templates I’ve seen.