A contractor called Texas Boathouse sent out this postcard to around 10,000 people in their zip code, and it returned 22x ROI:

• Postcards mailed: 9,802
• Cost: $12,200
• Sales: $271,000
• ROI on money: 22x

• Responses: 39
• Conversions into real construction jobs: 11

What's crazy about postcards is how accurate you can target demographics and physical areas.

Literally the United States Postal Service offers this as a service called EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail).

With online ads getting crowded more people have moved to direct mail:

Direct Mail Marketing means you are sending a physical piece of mail

The DOWNSIDES to direct mail:

The downsides of sending physical pieces of mail are:

It's complex: Transporting, printing, and sending physical mail involves a lot of moving parts.
It's expensive: It costs money to send each and every piece of mail.
It's not editable: If you want to change one thing in your direct mail campaign it's very hard.
It's hard to track: You don't get analytics or instant feedback like on the internet.

Despite these major drawbacks, there's many upsides to direct mail:

The UPSIDES to direct mail:

Now just because something is more labor-intensive and more expensive doesn't mean you shouldn't do it:

It can be insanely profitable: It's still pretty much the highest-converting form of marketing in history.
You can send actual "stuff": Because it's physical mail you can send actual "stuff" and not just information.
Less people "spying" on your tactics: It's easier to fly below the radar with direct mail.
You can get creative on your delivery: You can make "lumpy mail."
You get to "enter" the customers home: It's a direct line between you and the customers inside their house.

While the internet is an efficient way of marketing, direct marketing is an effective way of marketing (when done correctly).

Direct Mail is one of the LEAST crowded inboxes:

If it was 1982 and I check the mailbox in the morning, it would be FILLED to the brim with massive amounts of junk mail!

But now that level of junk mail has gone down because many marketers are flocking to email marketing or the internet instead. This means people's email inboxes are very crowded now, but people's physical mailboxes are less crowded (::sniff sniff:: I smell an opportunity here) 😉

So if we can make a very effective direct mailer, we can potentially bring in a lot of $$.

This Texas Boathouse postcard is a perfect little lead machine. It stacks a hard-money discount with a low-friction free design offer, then wraps everything in big, juicy visuals of finished waterfront projects. Let’s break down how the combo of “10% OFF” plus “FREE Estimate & Design” quietly nudges cold homeowners into raising their hand.

How to Steal This for Your Business

Lead with a clear transformation headline like “Elevate Your Waterfront Property,” then box out a two-part offer: one tangible discount, one high-perceived-value free service. Surround it with before/after style visuals of your work, plus a dead-simple way to respond (QR, phone, URL). The goal isn’t to close the whole job on the postcard—it’s to bribe people into that first, low-risk design conversation.

Why the Discount + Free Design Combo Works

The blue coupon box splits into two promises: 10% OFF first boat lift service (immediate savings) and FREE estimate & design (risk removal).
The free design feels higher value than the 10% off, so the discount becomes a bonus instead of the main bribe.
Project photos of piers, boathouses, bulkheads, and docks show what “designed for free” actually looks like, making the offer concrete.
Multiple calls to action—QR code, phone, and website—give every type of buyer an easy next step to claim the offer.

Real-World Uses of This Tactic

Texas Boathouse Construction uses a 10% off first boat lift service coupon right beside a free estimate and design offer to yank waterfront owners off the fence.