Isn’t it incredible the way email has changed how Agents can communicate with key contacts such as past clients and hot prospects? The flexibility and convenience is astounding. I can hardly remember what life was like before!
The power of email does more than help you keep in touch with your college friends. It’s a game-changer when it comes to your real estate marketing strategy, empowering you to grow your business with less effort than ever before.
If you’re already a savvy Agent who understands the importance of keeping in touch with your contacts on a regular basis, are you following best practices for real estate email marketing? Read on to learn how to form positive habits and take your strategy from good to great, leading to better relationships and more hot leads.
1. Stay top-of-mind by keeping in touch frequently
Regular emails are one of the easiest and most effective ways to remain relevant to your contacts, including your past clients. Consider this, when a contact is looking for an Agent to work with, who will be the first person that comes to their mind? Likely the agent who regularly engages with them through timely and thoughtful online communications!
How often are you engaging with your contacts by email? Recent research indicates that 1-2 emails per month is the best approach. Less frequently and it’s too easy to be forgotten. More frequently and you risk annoying people.
The frequency of your email marketing to a specific contact depends on your relationship with that contact, and to what degree you are using other keep in touch methods such as phone calls, meetings, and/or direct mail. For instance, you might have a hot prospect on a weekly drip-email nurture campaign, while an “A List” past client only needs a monthly email as you also speak with them frequently on the phone or you might be sending them direct mail.
Insider tip: The most efficient way to meet this goal is by using a Real Estate CRM that enables you to automate your communications and segment your list so that you can customize the frequency of mass emails to each of your lists.
2. Give your subject line the attention it deserves
Your email subject line is how your recipient will choose whether or not to open the message, so take the time to tailor it to your audience. Failing to give your subject line the attention it deserves is risking a one-way ticket to the delete folder. The best subject lines are short, descriptive and entice your reader to open the message.
Marketing automation company MailChimp recently shared best practices for email subject lines that are helpful for any industry. They warned against using the words “free,” “help,” and “reminder” in email subject lines to avoid the risk of your message being marked as spam.
Insider Tip: Get to know what entices your audience to click by A/B testing. A/B testing is when you change the email slightly and measure the results to see which one appeals more to your audience, and you can try it by using two different subject lines. Regularly testing this way offers you more insight into how to appeal to your contacts effectively.
3. Greet your reader properly
Each time I receive a message that begins with “Dear friend/ colleague,” I cringe. It feels so impersonal and can even appear to be junk mail. If you have the power to customize your email salutation (as IXACT Contact customers do) take advantage and do it! A little personal touch goes a long way, and it will help your communication stand out to your reader.
When you think of your ongoing emails as a way of nurturing relationships and building rapport with your real estate contacts, it seems obvious that you would personalize the recipient’s name.
Insider Tip: Ensure your contact’s names are entered properly in your real estate CRM so when the automated salutation pulls the information into your email, it reflects the correct name.
4. Automate your real estate communications and save time
The life of an Agent is a busy one, so while you may have the best of intentions and plan on emailing your contacts monthly, it’s easy to fall behind and miss this goal. Automating your email communication is a foolproof way to ensure your contacts are being nurtured, and reminded that you’re available to assist them with a move.
Your best option for automation is to use a Real Estate CRM that allows you to “set it and forget it.” Spend a short time setting up the look and feel of your emails, choose the dates and contacts you want to send your messages to, and let your CRM do the rest. Better yet, take advantage of IXACT Contact’s professionally designed and fully automated monthly e-Newsletter to really turbo-charge your keep in touch marketing.
Insider Tip: Choose a contact management system that has the functionality to send automated drip emails and newsletters to your contacts, along with allowing you to create custom mass messages when you choose.
IXACT Contact real estate contact management software has a fully-featured email marketing system built-in, complete with pre-designed drip marketing campaigns and a monthly e-Newsletter. When you’re sending out your mass emails using IXACT Contact, make sure to keep these points in mind. The monthly e-Newsletter, as well as the marketing campaigns and email templates that we’ve created for you in IXACT Contact will help you take your real estate email marketing to a whole new level.
Try it for yourself. Start your FREE TRIAL of IXACT Contact today.
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