Whenever I talk to real estate agents about postcard marketing, a frequent question is: "Where can I find the cheapest real estate postcards?"

Now there's nothing wrong with being price-conscious. But this question is often followed with one of the following:

* What's the fastest way to send postcards?

* What's the easiest way to send postcards?

Here's where I interject a word of caution. In real estate postcard marketing, the cheapest, fastest and easiest route is usually the least effective route. Why?

The quick and easy path is used by most people because it's well, quick and easy. But effective marketing is rarely quick and easy. Effective marketing requires a certain investment of time, effort and expense.

* If you follow the quick and easy path to real estate farming postcards, your postcards will look like a lot of other postcards.

* If you follow the absolute cheapest route to printing, your postcards will suffer in the quality department. This makes the wrong kind of impression.

I'm not telling you to use the most expensive postcard vendor you can find. I'm recommending that you be conscious of the price vs. quality ratio. Because in most cases, you get what you pay for.

Successful postcard marketers will invest as much time, money and effort is needed to achieve their goals -- never any more, and never any less. Successful postcard marketers start with the end goal in mind, and then do whatever is necessary to achieve it.

Focus too heavily on the quick, cheap and easy path, and your postcards will look quick, cheap and easy. Few results will come from that.

* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article if you leave the hyperlinks active, and also retain the author's note and byline.