Farming mail is a long game. A postcard to the same few hundred addresses, month after month, builds a name in a neighborhood. It is also the form of marketing agents are most likely to treat as outside the rules, because it is not a listing, not a website and not a post.
The Illinois rule is explicit that it is inside them. This article covers why, what that requires of the card itself, and how to design a farming postcard so the identification is built in.
This is not legal advice. Rules change, and your brokerage may have stricter policies of its own. Confirm anything that matters with your managing broker before you rely on it.
Prospecting is advertising
Section 1450.715 of the Illinois Administrative Code, Title 68, Part 1450 is titled Advertising. Subsection (d) says: "For the purposes of this Section and Section 1450.720, unsolicited marketing of licensed activities and prospecting for clients by licensees shall be considered advertising."
A farming postcard is both. It is unsolicited, since the recipient did not ask for it, and it is prospecting for clients. So the advertising rules apply to it the same as to a listing flyer.
That rule is the answer to the question agents ask most often about farming mail, which is whether the card needs the brokerage name. It does. Section 1450.715(b) begins: "All advertising must include the sponsoring broker's name and conform to the following requirements." The word is all.
What the postcard must carry
The core requirements are in subsection (b).
The sponsoring broker's name, spelled out
A brokerage logo does not count by itself. Subsection (b)(1) says a logo, emblem, label, trademarked image or similar identification used by the sponsoring broker "is not considered a part of the sponsoring broker's name unless it contains the sponsoring broker's name." Check that the artwork you place carries the name.
Its size relative to yours
Subsection (b)(2) says advertising is considered in compliance if it meets one of three tests: the brokerage name's letters are as large or larger than those of the team or individual name; the area containing the brokerage name is as large or larger; or a name-bearing logo is as large or larger. Our article on brokerage name size works through each. Farming cards are where this goes wrong often, because the design goal is to make the agent's face and name memorable.
Team names
If a team name is on the card, it has to avoid the misleading terms in subsection (a)(2) unless followed by the word "team." See team names in Illinois.
Designated managing brokers
Subsection (f) says licensees registered as designated managing brokers "shall indicate that status in any marketing or advertising that includes their name," except on for sale signs placed on real property.
Not misleading
Subsection (a)(6)(C) lists "Misleading consumers" among examples of deceptive and misleading advertising. A postcard that implies you have sold more than you have, or that a house in the neighborhood is for sale when it is not, is the sort of thing to avoid.
What about the digital parts?
Many postcards now point to a QR code, a web page or a phone number. The card itself is print, and Section 1450.720 concerns digital or electronic advertising. But the page the card sends the reader to is a digital platform used for advertising your services, so subsection (e) applies there. It calls for your licensed name or team name, the sponsoring broker's name, and the office city and state or a direct link. Subsection (j) calls for a direct link to required disclosures. Make sure the landing page carries them. A regular email is covered in a monthly email letter.
Follow-up emails to people who respond fall under subsection (g): the licensee's name, the brokerage name and the office city and state or a link in the initial communication. Our note on email signatures covers that.
Featuring listings on a farming card
A "just listed" or "open house" card advertises a property and carries the same requirements as other listing advertising. If the property is held by another brokerage, subsection (a)(1) requires permission and identification of that brokerage. See posting another agent's listing.
A "just sold" card is also advertising of your services. See just sold posts for the claims that need care.
Fair housing considerations apply to cards as well. The federal regulation on discriminatory advertisements, 24 CFR 100.75, names "flyers, brochures, deeds, signs, banners, posters, billboards or any documents used with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling" among the written notices it covers. If your card describes a property for sale, the copy should describe the property and not the buyer. Our guide to Fair Housing-safe listing copy covers the habits.
Laying out a compliant postcard
A farming card has two sides, and each has a job.
The front
The front earns the glance. One strong image, a short line, little else. If the agent's name is on the front, the brokerage name should be present too, in a size that meets one of the tests. The rule says all advertising must carry the sponsoring broker's name, so we put a compact identification line on both sides. The front is what survives in a pile. Type choices are covered in choosing typefaces beside a brokerage brand.
The back
The back carries the message and the identification:
- A short paragraph, written about the neighborhood in terms of facts you know, such as housing types and streets, and not about residents.
- Your licensed name or team name.
- The sponsoring broker's name, spelled out, in a size that meets one of the tests.
- The brokerage's office city and state.
- Your designated managing broker status, if it applies.
- A single way to respond: a number, a web address or a code.
- Any equal housing mark your brokerage requires. See the Equal Housing Opportunity logo.
The identification band
As with flyers, we build the identification as a fixed band: brokerage name largest, agent or team name beside it in a size no larger, office city and state beneath. The same band repeats on every mailing, so the series is consistent and every piece is compliant by construction.
Mailing requirements
The mailing panel and postage indicia are set by the mailing service and the postal rules, which we did not review for this article. Leave the panel to your mail house, and keep the compliance elements clear of it.
A farming series
The strength of a postcard is the series. A year of cards can follow a pattern:
- a neighborhood fact card, such as a street, a building type or a landmark
- a market note, if you can source it
- a seasonal card, such as an open house invitation or a maintenance reminder
- a just sold card, where your brokerage allows
Each card shares the band, the grid and the typography. The series gets recognized, and the identification is identical on all of them. The wider identity is covered in what a personal brand system includes.
Neighborhood facts
Write what you can verify. Street names, building types, the location of a station. Do not describe the residents, rank schools, or make claims about safety. Those are outside what the advertising rules endorse and they are a poor fit for the message.
A short checklist
- Does the card carry the sponsoring broker's name, spelled out?
- Does the brokerage name meet at least one of the three size tests, ideally two?
- If there is a team name, does it avoid the misleading terms or end with "team"?
- If you are a designated managing broker, is it stated?
- Does the landing page carry your name, the brokerage name, the office city and state or a link, and the required disclosures?
- Does any copy about a property describe the property and not the buyer?
- Has the brokerage approved the card, if it requires approval?
A farming series works best when the template is settled before the first mailing. If you would like a farming postcard system designed with the identification band in place, alongside matching email graphics, that is how we approach it.
Sources: Illinois Administrative Code, Title 68, Part 1450, Sections 1450.715 and 1450.720, as published on the Illinois General Assembly website (ilga.gov); 24 CFR 100.75, as published on the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (ecfr.gov). All read on October 30, 2026.