Using Property pictures in Mass Mailing

[wglawncare]

Has anyone ever tried to take an actual photo of the specific property you are sending the mailing to. So each letter would either have a watermark of their exact home or a picture in the corner of their house. Has anyone ever tried this, I think it would make the letter so much more personalized and help get some response. Do you think this would be a good idea, although very time consuming?

[bigjeeping]

Has anyone ever tried to take an actual photo of the specific property you are sending the mailing to. So each letter would either have a watermark of their exact home or a picture in the corner of their house. Has anyone ever tried this, I think it would make the letter so much more personalized and help get some response. Do you think this would be a good idea, although very time consuming?


If you were to do a 9000 piece mass mailing you'd have to take 9000 pictures and print 9000 different pieces. Wow I can't imagine how much time that would take. And the return would still probably < 1%

[wglawncare]

Ya that would be eway too many! I am looking at around 200.

[PGA]

If you go through a company to order postcards, brochures or doorhangers the company who does it usually has jpeg's they print on the paper for you.


I would think that if you did your own you would have to get the homeowners permission and mark out their address.

[procut]

I would think that if you did your own you would have to get the homeowners permission and mark out their address.
That was my first thought, seems kind of stalker-like.

[PGA]

That was my first thought, seems kind of stalker-like.






LOL


Agreed, the last thing they need is a bunch of people coming by their house to look at it.

[wglawncare]

I just thought it would make the letter seem personal. All of the home I will be sending them to are summer/weekend homes. So they come up on the weekends in the summer time. If I owned a second home and saw a picture of my home on there I would think that the person that put the letter together to a great deal of time into it, and I should look into their services. I dont see how that would be being any sort of stalker!

[wglawncare]

But each letter would have a different picture.
101 Park- picture of their house
103 Park- picture of that house on that one particular letter
107 Park- a picture of their lawn and their home
ECTC.

[PGA]

I just thought it would make the letter seem personal. All of the home I will be sending them to are summer/weekend homes. So they come up on the weekends in the summer time. If I owned a second home and saw a picture of my home on there I would think that the person that put the letter together to a great deal of time into it, and I should look into their services. I dont see how that would be being any sort of stalker!






Lake Geneva?


I think its a good idea to put a nice pic on there. All I was saying was make sure you have their permission. :)

[OutdoorExtras]

Why would you need the homeowners permission? As long as you are on public property you can take all the photos you want. I think it's a worthwhile idea, but the cost and time involved is going to be very high. I guarantee you'll get a better response than you would with regular direct mail, but will it be enough of a difference to pay off?;)

[PGA]

Why would you need the homeowners permission? As long as you are on public property you can take all the photos you want. I think it's a worthwhile idea, but the cost and time involved is going to be very high. I guarantee you'll get a better response than you would with regular direct mail, but will it be enough of a difference to pay off?;)







So if you sent out a pic of a highend house, it was robbed and the guy said he got the idea of the house on an ad he saw you dont think he would be responsible?

I know its a long shot but its a chance Im not willing to take.

I also think its invasion of privacy.

Maybe Im wrong.

[wglawncare]

Powers Lakes, just 5 minutes away.

[PGA]

Powers Lakes, just 5 minutes away.






Nice area. If you want to do that again I suggest talking to one of your customers and getting permission from them. Also try to incorporate the fact that they are mainly summer homes and people dont want to go on vacation and take care of their lawn.

Ever thought about offering dock maintenance also?

[Dallas Turf]

For a mass mailing I would send before and after of properties you take care of on a good postcard. Something I try to do is take a picture of every yard we start and then take pictures again when they are looking their best. You can then send the customer before and after shots so they see how far their yard has come or, send them one 6 months after they cancel for someone cheaper to remind them how good it once looked.

[OutdoorExtras]

So if you sent out a pic of a highend house, it was robbed and the guy said he got the idea of the house on an ad he saw you dont think he would be responsible?

I know its a long shot but its a chance Im not willing to take.

I also think its invasion of privacy.

Maybe Im wrong.


I don't quite think you understood the original question. The post was referring to taking a picture of an individual house and then mailing an advertisement directly to that exact home with the photo included. So the only person receiving the picture would be the person living in the home.

Either way there is no expectation of privacy in someones front yard so there is no crime in taking the photo, especially considering there is not a person in the photo.

[wglawncare]

Thank you for clarifying that. I couldnt have put better any other way. Thanks!

[Luvs2Play]

I had people stopped outside our house taking pictures, I went out and asked what they were doing. I got no answer from them. I got their license plate number, called the cops. The cops tracked them down. It turned out that they were taking pictures of houses for comparabilities for an appraiser. IMO, I would not go for it myself.

[wglawncare]

I guess I kind of see whay you would be suspicios when they did not answer you, but to call the cops, isnt that a little extreme. I mean what were they hurting. On the other hand if I were them I would have answered your questions and not have just driven away.

[Luvs2Play]

During the day, most people are working. We just happened to stop by the house to pick up something. We had problems with breakins around the time that happened. Just being careful I guess. Funny thing about me, I work hard for my equipment, I have the right to keep it. Had they told me what was going on, it would have gone differently, I'm sure. The car they were driving was hardly a car I would have expected for a legitimate business. That sounds bad, but we lost a trailer right out of our driveway. It was found, they had the wrong size ball, lost it on the highway.

[wglawncare]

OK, you did absolutley nothing wrong. I would have acted the same way you did, if I were you. It was their fault for not just talking to you. Hope you dont have any other similar instances, good luck.

[Luvs2Play]

You say these are summer and weekend homes. Do you personally know any of these people? It might work better if you knew any of them at all so that you could have a reference in the area. Are you going to have them professionally printed or do them from a computer? Maybe try some on Photo Paper first and see what response you get. If you get a good response right away, you may have something. Good luck!

[wglawncare]

Thanks man, didnt think about using photo paper. I was going to use my own personal printer tho. Just cause it would be a hassle to have them professionally done, with each one different.