Successful business is built on our ability to connect and communicate. One way to grow your business is to create a channel for prospective clients to get to know, like and trust you.
Demonstrate Your Real Estate Expertise and Knowledge
In a 2017 Trulia commercial, the statement “the home is only half of it” was made. We agree. As you know, clients in today’s society have access to information nearly instantaneously. When they come to you, they want to know about the schools, safety and security of the community for which they desire to live. They may also ask about employment opportunities, events and extracurricular activities. One way to share and showcase your knowledge and expertise is through the creation of an email newsletter.
Sharing your knowledge and expertise with clients is a useful way to develop long-term relationships. This allows you to add value even when you’re not currently helping a client buy or sell a home. You are already “in the know” on what is happening in the communities you serve, so why not aggregate the information into a branded monthly newsletter?
Send an Email Newsletter Given Expert Advice
The nature of marketing and building relationships is the same online as it is offline. You must establish a platform of authenticity, believeability and credibility to have any influence with your clients. Everyone loves a good laugh, positive news, and a smile. Add some humor or lighthearted content to stand out. Or better yet, whatever makes you, uniquely you, add that personality to your newsletter.
Here are some recommendations when it comes to sending e-mail newsletters.
- Use an email service provider (ESP) to gain insights about your audience, manage your subscriber list, and ensure your emails look great on mobile phones. We recommend Mail Chimp or Campaign Monitor
- Set the reply-to address to your email so when your client replies the email comes directly to you. Use a custom domain to increase your professional appeal (do not use your @gmail, @aol, @att , etc. e-mail account)
- Take time to write a great subject line for each e-mail
- Set a schedule and send your newsletter on a regular basis whether that be once a month or once a quarter. Try not to overdo it as you and your readers will become exhausted
- Repurpose blog post content to share in your newsletter and link back to your website
- Lean more toward content and less on showcasing all of your listings
- Use photos and icon graphics to make your e-mail newsletter less wordy and more likely to be read
- Avoid using “Click Here” on your hyperlinks to your blog posts – this can make your communication appear amateur
- Personalize emails with your clients first name. When possible, also personalize the subject line
- Always build your e-mail marketing list through subscribe forms and asking for permission to add contacts from networking events / business cards
- Segment your e-mail marketing list by geography and needs (buyer or seller)
- Write about topics you love and that demonstrate your personality
- Make it easy to share your content by including links to share your newsletter on social media or forward to a friend.
When you combine authentic, insightful, useful, relatable and relevant information alongside links to your listings, you will have an engaged audience whose trust you will earn and build over time. The more your audience trusts you, the more likely they are willing to share your content and property listings within their network.
Drive Traffic to Your Website from Your Newsletter
Take action to attract the right leads into your network through one of the best marketing methods – word of mouth or sharing. Creation of a newsletter that generates excitement and engagement is essential to retention of your audience and the likelihood that it will be shared with others. When it is shared, you can be assured that you have created a newsletter where your audience knows, likes and trusts you and your brand.
The process to build a successful e-mail newsletter takes time and should be considered a “long game” marketing strategy. The keys to e-mail newsletter success are to constantly grow your subscriber list, commit to send interesting content on a regular basis, and patience. Not sure where to start? At Agent SITE we can create beautiful newsletters for you and train you on how to send them yourself. To go one step further, the Agent SITE team can teach you about open rates and track clicks from your newsletter to your website so you can see how much traffic your e-mail newsletter drives to your website.
