Did you know that, according to SmallBizGenius, there are over 2 million real estate agents in the US? In LA, this number is over 30,000, while in cities like Phoenix, Houston, and Chicago, there are more than 20,000 real estate agents working in them.
With so much competition out there, you need to make yourself stand out as a real estate agent. It’s stressful, especially when there are so many digital marketing strategies that can feel overwhelming to juggle.
Fortunately, with real estate email marketing, you can land more clients and get more word-of-mouth referrals. But it can be challenging to know how to get started with this digital marketing strategy, too.
That’s why we’ve put together this guide. In it, you’ll learn everything you need to about real estate email marketing.
Finally, you can get more clients, close more home sales, and make more money. Read on to learn more.
Email Marketing Tools
To get started with email marketing for real estate brokers, you need to know which tools to use. One of the most popular email marketing tools is Mailchimp, which is free to use if you’re storing less than 2,000 email contacts.
It’s easy to use, which is why so many different businesses use it.
When it comes to the best email marketing service for real estate, this is one of them. However, other options are specifically made for real estate agents.
These are CRMs that include BoomTown, Follow Up Boss, and Propertybase. They all have features that make it easy for you to do your real estate email marketing.
Because there are many options, you might not be sure which one is best for you. Generally speaking, you want an email marketing tool that allows you to:
- Use drag and drop design to create great newsletters
- Sort and organize your subscribers’ contact information
- Segment your email list so you can focus on your newsletters
- Automate when you send emails for drip campaigns
- View the analytics for conversions, clicks, and open rates
Additionally, the email marketing tool should integrate with other lead tools you’re using, like your CRM or website. Finally, it needs to have a feature that manages unsubscribe requests from leads so you can be spam law compliant.
The Importance of Connecting Your CRM
Even though you can use an email marketing tool on its own to send out your real estate email newsletter and other types of emails, there are many reasons to use a CRM and combine it with the email marketing tool of your choice.
First of all, you can use a CRM to integrate the sign-ups for your email list with a drip marketing tool. Through the CRM, you’ll have access to subscriber profiles and records of the emails each subscriber has received.
By combining your CRM and email marketing tools, you’ll get important data information. For example, you’ll know how effective your emails are at converting leads to clients and making sales.
Additionally, you’ll learn how much nurturing your leads usually need before they convert.
Finally, by connecting your CRM, you’ll be able to trigger drip campaigns or emails about specific listings automatically, based on the interactions of prospective clients with listings on your website.
Real Estate Drip Campaigns
To be as effective as possible with real estate email marketing, you need to know how to create a drip campaign. But you might be wondering, “What is a drip campaign?” Basically, this is a series of emails you send at set times in set intervals.
For example, when someone signs up for your real estate newsletter, they might receive a welcoming email immediately, another email a few days later, another email a week later, and so on.
A real estate newsletter is an incredibly effective type of campaign because it keeps you on your leads’ minds. Benefits of a drip campaign include increased customer retention, a growth in sales, and relationship-building with your leads.
It’s easy to create this type of campaign with the tools we’ve covered already. But how do you go about it?
Know Your Goal and How to Measure It
Like you would with other types of real estate email marketing ideas, you need an end goal when you’re setting up your drip campaign. For example, maybe you want to expand the number of sales you make in a specific neighborhood.
Or maybe you want to expand your client base in a specific area, reach homebuyers of a particular age, or want to close sales at higher prices.
Whatever your goal, set your intention for it and make sure that you have a way of measuring it. Email metrics aren’t always connected directly to your goals, so be careful about which metrics you choose to measure your success.
Use UTM parameters, at least, so you can get any data about in-email behavior to reach your Google Analytics account.
Create Great Emails
For your drip campaign to be effective, you need to create great emails. If they’re low-quality, your subscribers will quickly stop subscribing because it will read more like spam to them. Remember that many people, when they open an email, skim it first.
For this reason, you need to use bold fonts, subheadings, a simple design, and a short copy.
The information also has to be valuable to your subscribers. Put yourself in their shoes when you’re working on the copy, so you know what they want to learn from you.
Real estate email marketing templates can give you an idea of how to design your emails well.
Provide the Information Needed So They Act
The emails you send out during your drip campaign also need to prompt action. This is where having your goal from the start is helpful. For example, let’s say you want to reach more homebuyers in a specific neighborhood.
When you provide them with information, you can include descriptions and real estate images of houses you want to close sales on in their neighborhood.
Provide them with the information they need to decide between seeing the home with you. For example, the selling price, the area, details about the house, and any special features.
Choose the Timing and Frequency
Once you’ve decided what your emails will look like, you need to decide what timing and frequency you’ll use so they’re automatically sent to potential leads when they subscribe to your email campaign.
Generally, frequency should be more significant in the beginning. For example, you can send emails daily, then once every few days, then weekly, then monthly.
As for the timing, do your research and use your data from newsletter statistics to send your emails when they’re most likely to be opened.
Segment Your Audience
By segmenting your audience, you’ll send specific drip emails to particular sets of people. For example, you might have a set of emails you set to homebuyers looking to live in specific neighborhoods.
This tactic makes your content more personalized and more likely, as a result, to be successful.
Measure Your Data
Finally, once you’ve started sending out your drip campaign emails, you should use the data you get to improve them. Look at how many email open rates and clicks you get, clicks you get on your landing pages and the ultimate impact of the campaign on your bottom line.
How to Execute a Monthly Newsletter With Homebuying/Selling Content
In addition to creating a drip campaign, you should execute a monthly newsletter with homebuying/selling content. This way, you can keep your leads interested over time, especially those that need some additional time to make a final buying or selling decision.
Your strategies will be similar to those of a drip campaign, as you’ll be setting goals and measuring them, using effective design and copy strategies, and providing information to readers to prompt actions.
You’ll also be segmenting your audience and measuring your data.
However, the approach will be slightly different. Because it’s a monthly newsletter, you’ll provide monthly updates regarding:
- Real estate trends in the area
- Tips on buying and selling homes
- Information about homes for sale in the area
You should also make the content of your monthly newsletters relevant to other events going on at the time. For example, you should send more buying and selling emails during times in the year when this is common.
At other times of the year, you can provide your email subscribers with information on different elements of selling or buying homes, such as improving their credit, getting loans, and making renovations that will enhance their home value.
Need Help With Your Real Estate Email Marketing?
Now that you know about how real estate email marketing works, you might find that you want help mastering this form of digital marketing. Maybe you need help crafting the right copy for your emails, or you want to know more about landing pages.
Whatever you need help with, we can help. At Virtuance, we’re experts when it comes to real estate email marketing.
We also offer real estate photography services that will help you close deals faster than ever. To learn more about these services, schedule your shoot now.
