Send something every month and make most of it local and useful: just sold and just listed cards, market updates with real numbers, a yearly value letter, an event invitation and a direct “thinking of selling?” letter. Each piece needs one message, one way to respond, and your name and brokerage shown the way your state requires. The plan below fills 12 months.
Why consistency beats cleverness
Take a 400-home farm with 6% turnover. That is 24 sales a year, or about two a month. Any one mailing lands on roughly two owners who are close to a decision and 398 who are not, and you can’t tell which is which. So the schedule matters more than the design. A plain card every month does more than a beautiful one sent twice a year.
About 12 mailings a year is the practitioner convention. It is not a research finding, but it fits the math: you want to be in the mailbox the month an owner starts thinking about selling.
A 12-month mailing plan
Start in whatever month you are in and keep going.
| Month | Piece | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| January | Market update card | Last year in numbers for the neighborhood: homes sold, median price, days on market. |
| February | Just sold card | A recent sale nearby: the price, how fast it sold and what that says about demand. |
| March | “Thinking of selling?” letter | A direct ask before spring: what you would do to sell their home and how to reach you. |
| April | Market update card | First-quarter numbers and how they compare with a year ago. |
| May | Event invitation | The date, place and sign-up for a shredding day, a community yard sale or a similar event. |
| June | Just listed card | A new listing nearby, with the open house date. |
| July | Market update card | Mid-year numbers: what has sold and what is for sale now. |
| August | Local-interest piece | Something worth keeping: a calendar of local events, trash and recycling dates, useful phone numbers. |
| September | Annual value letter | What homes like theirs sold for this year, and an offer to prepare an estimate for their home. |
| October | Market update card | Third-quarter numbers before the slower season. |
| November | Seasonal piece | A winter home checklist or a short thank-you note with local holiday event dates. |
| December | Year-end just sold card | The year’s sales in the neighborhood in one list, with the ones you handled marked. |
For past clients who live in the farm, swap the value letter for a home anniversary letter in the month they bought. Pull the market numbers from your MLS and use the same ones online.
Try it: Market update post generatorWrites social posts, an email paragraph and a postcard blurb from a ZIP code’s latest numbers.What every piece needs
- One message: one sale, one set of numbers or one invitation. Two messages on one card compete with each other.
- One way to respond: a phone number, a QR code or a page address. Pick one and make it large.
- Your name and brokerage: shown the way your state requires. Texas, for example, wants the broker’s name at least half the size of the largest contact information. Florida requires the licensed brokerage name.
- Your license number where required: California requires the licensee’s name, 8-digit DRE license number and the responsible broker’s identity on first-contact materials.
Postcards or letters
Postcards get read without being opened and cost less. A large card can go by Every Door Direct Mail at $0.26 postage a piece, effective July 12, 2026. Use cards for sales, market updates and invitations.
Letters are addressed by name and have room to explain. Use them for the direct ask and the value letter. A First-Class letter stamp is $0.82, effective July 12, 2026, so you might send letters to part of the farm and cards to all of it. Your broker may want a line in any direct letter saying it is not meant for owners whose home is already listed with another broker. Ask.
Try it: Postcard and EDDM cost calculatorPrices a year of mailings by method (EDDM, presorted, stamped) using current USPS postage.Track the replies
Give each mailing its own way to respond so you know which piece worked:
- A dedicated phone number that forwards to your cell and is used only on farm mail.
- A QR code that is different for each mailing.
- A page address printed on one mailing only.
Ask every caller what prompted the call and write it down. After a year you will know which pieces to repeat.
Rules for what you print
This is general information. State rules and broker policy vary, so have your broker approve each piece before it prints.
- “Sold” claims: under NAR Standard of Practice 12-7, only the agents who took part in a sale can claim to have “sold” the property. If you report a neighbor’s sale you had no part in, present it as market news and follow your MLS’s rules on sold data. New Jersey, for example, allows a “sold” claim only after closing.
- Brokerage name: NAR Standard of Practice 12-5 says the firm name must be shown in a readily apparent way, and state rules add their own detail.
- Photos: copyright normally belongs to the photographer. Don’t reuse another agent’s listing photos.
- Fair housing: describe the home. Never describe who should live there or who the neighbors are.
The guides to real estate advertising rules and fair housing words to avoid go further.
One more point: mail is not covered by the Do Not Call rules, but the calls and texts that follow it are. Before you phone the farm, read the texting and calling rules for real estate agents.
For the cost of each method, see EDDM for real estate agents. If you have not picked an area yet, start with how to choose a farm area.
Common questions
How often should I mail my real estate farm?
About 12 mailings a year, one a month, is the practitioner convention. A steady schedule matters more than any single design.
What should I send to my real estate farm?
Mix just sold and just listed cards, market updates with real local numbers, a yearly value letter, an event invitation, a local-interest piece and a direct “thinking of selling?” letter. Give each piece one message and one way to respond.
Can I send a just sold postcard for a home I didn’t sell?
Under NAR Standard of Practice 12-7, only the agents who took part in a sale can claim to have sold the property. Reporting a nearby sale as market news depends on your MLS and state rules, so check with your broker first.
Updated October 2026. General information for real estate professionals, not legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, platform rules and program terms change, so confirm them at the source.