Granted, this is not advice you’re about to hear every day when you embark on a postcard mailing. But it is, in my experience, some of the most valuable experience around. I adapted this very clever idea from a journalism professor I had in college who had worked for The New York Times. I figured if it was good enough for him (as well as The New York Times); it was definitely good enough for me.

The idea is simple. The premise rests on the fact that most of us know what we want to say. And we can say it, but we don’t always say this in the proper order.

To implement the jigsaw method of copywriting, you start by simply writing your copy. Write why your customers should use your service, what benefits they’ll receive and provide them with an offer they simply can’t refuse. Follow the standard formula of AIDA. Attention. Interest. Desire. Action.

Additionally, be sure to put in some subheads. When you believe you’ve written your copy – and the reasons why your readers should actually become your customers, then print this piece of paper out.

Next, with your scissors, cut the document into distinct paragraphs with the sub-headlines included. Of course, each of these paragraphs should contain coherent sentences.

Quickly read the entire document again. Group and re-arrange the paragraphs of your real estate direct mail to come up with a properly structured copy that has a strong introduction, informative body, and clear call to action.

Afterwards, read the copy once more and try to see something to improve on. Make sure that each paragraph has proper transitions or you can substitute some words that you think would suit best. The purpose is to energize your real estate direct mail to make it more appealing to your customers.

But it doesn’t stop there. You still have to revise the copy until it has a better flow. Repeat the whole process and print another copy in order to see if you can still improve it. You can modify some changes in a sentence or the whole paragraph. Exclamation marks can also be placed properly for a more animated copy.

Go ahead. Make all the revisions you need to. If after that you think your copy would benefit from another printout and another round of jigsaw puzzle working, and then by all means do so. Before you know it, you’ve painlessly and nearly effortlessly, created an effective postcard mailing.

Making your copy has never been more easy and trouble-free. This is how anyone would want to experience making his own effective real estate marketing materials.