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It always surprises me as many agents complain about the price of direct mail campaigns that more do not utilize the ease of a real estate email newsletter sent in a real estate email marketing campaign.
Take some time today and look at all of the email addresses you’ve accrued over the years. They may belong to friends, relatives, past clients, or other business associates. These email addresses are priceless to you if you know how to take advantage of sending real estate newsletters and create an email marketing campaign.
Many real estate agents avoid sending email newsletters simply because they lack the technical knowledge to design a real estate email and sending a personalized real estate newsletter by email. The good news is for these agents there are litterally hundreds of newsletter services available to send your own real estate emails out.
One such company I’ve found is iContact. iContact incorporates an array of sophisticated features Into a single, affordable product. For a low monthly rate of $9.95 they offer over 300 templates to choose from, track your success, allow for unlimited emails, include an autoresponder, and much more. Sound good? Get it now!
The cost of paying for an email service such as this one is clearly a lot more affordable than paying the cost of postage for direct mail (unless you’re lucky enough to have it paid by your broker!) and it may even get read if you target your email list to people who are interested in learning what you’re up to and what the latest market conditions you specialize in.
Here are a few things you might want to consider including in your real estate email newsletter:
Market Conditions: Number available, number sold, DOM, etc. Many times you can get a nice chart directly off your MLS.
Featured Listings: This one will not only gain more exposure as you as a listing agent, but also earn bonus points with sellers knowing their house is being seen by an additional few hundred people.
Community Events: Having a picnic? A fundraiser? Is the pool open? Free concerts? Free seminar? Dig around for a little community news and invite people to join you in the next big community event.
Something Fun: Giving your readers something fun in your real estate email newsletter will make them look forward to future emails from you even if they aren’t currently interested in the real estate market. It can be anything from a good joke (make sure it is appropriate and “clean”), a motivational quote, or a recipe for a drink or snack.
Now that you know what to put in your real estate email newsletter, you may be wondering how in the heck will you find all these email addresses for your email marketing campaign. You can often rent or purchase lists, but this can sometimes be futile as these email addresses are not always valid, used, or may have been sold/rented to someone else.
Instead, start creating your own email database. If you meet someone, make it a habit to find out their email address. Do this with professionals, people you meet at an open house, your friends, your past clients, and of course anyone who sends you email. If you have a neighborhood directory, you can use that or offer to sponsor a new one with email addresses.
Whether you choose to use a service like iContact or not, using real estate newletters and email marketing campaigns for real estate can set you apart the rest of the agents in the crowd.
3 Comments
Very nice points on real estate marketing covered here. Realtors should conseder using services like iContact.
I definately read your next post. Well done.
I think iContact is very good..Constant Contact is also very good and the one I use most. I like your take on taking advantage of this. So many agents are throwing in the towel without considering this.