I am a total geek.

A few weeks ago, late at night, I wasn't in the mood to go to bed yet so I turned on the TV. What I tuned into may surprise you. What I am about to reveal will empower you.

You may assume that I flipped to the Late Late Show, but that is not the case. Most deliberately I turned to the insomniac's staple, paid programming. Yes, I intentionally watch infomercials.

I find there is much to be learned from studying the marketing and sales methods used in this media. Most infomercials are produced by very successful marketers. FYI?the Guthy-Renker shows are some of the best as proven by their staying power.

I could record an infomercial and base a whole seminar around studying it. From the "and that's not all" offer to the "call in the next ten minutes" close, there are strategies that can and should be easily adapted to your own marketing. The product may be different, but the consumer psychology is the same.

Now, I am not about to suggest staying up late to watch infomercials (although it wouldn't be time wasted). However, there is something similar that you should be doing. You may be letting a priceless education pass right beneath your nose that you could be enjoying for free.

Here it is....

...junk mail!

I know, junk mail can be a pain. But think about it. Those companies spend a lot of time and money to test and find out what works in direct mail. You might as well profit from their hard work.

Instead of automatically dumping it in the garbage, take a few minutes to look through it. What kind of headlines do they use? Do they use any creative packaging? What is the formatting? Did something catch your attention?

One of the most powerful strategies for being a successful marketer is to borrow and adapt ideas. It doesn't matter what industry it is from. In fact, often ideas from other industries will provide the biggest breakthroughs.

If you have bought any courses from real estate gurus, then you probably get a lot of mail from them. These guys are masters. Pay attention to what they do.

If you have a good rapport with a seller, ask them what other mail they might have gotten from investors. This works especially well with sellers in foreclosure. They often get mounds of mail. If they will gather it for you and hand it over, that could be a treasure trove.

What do you do with all of this? Start what is called a swipe file. Every master marketer has one. Keep the best pieces. Get a bunch of file folders and come up with a system that works well for you to organize it for quick reference.

When you want to create a new marketing piece, a few minutes perusing your swipe file will get the juices flowing and make it much easier.

So... don't pass up the education that passes through your mailbox everyday.

Jason Van Orden was the President of the Salt Lake Real Estate Investors Association in 2004. He also teaches investors marketing systems to find more deals and make more money with a minimum investment of their time and money. For more tips on how to market to get motivated sellers calling and begging to do business with you go to: http://www.find-real-estate-investing-deals.com/index.htm?article2