Tips for a DIY real estate newsletter

Working on a DIY real estate newsletter? Here's everything you need to know before you start sending it out to the masses!

I developed a love of real estate newsletters when I was an agent back during the Jurassic period.

I’ve put myself on a number of agents’ email lists and although I fully intend on reading each one as they arrive, they mostly tend to fall to the bottom of my incoming email box, unread, and I end up forgetting about them.

In my defense, I’m not the only one that’s too busy to read-on-arrival. Folks are busy and, considering the average person receives nearly 129 business emails daily, only the most compelling get read

And, even with the intention to read the others later, we all know that newer emails end up swamping them, pushing them down lower in the in-box and eventually, they’re forgotten.

You know where this is headed, right?

Direct mail is the key to a successful DIY real estate newsletter

It’s easy to assume that in a pandemic world, online marketing would kick hiney on more traditional methods. For the most part, that’s true. The exception is direct mail.

Even today, as states are loosening restrictions and Americans are getting out and about again, direct mail “… generates more response than digital efforts like email, social, and paid search (nearly 10 times),” according to Rebecca Brooks at MediaPost.com.

Ron Kurtz, with American Affluence Research Center, agrees. Using direct mail makes sense, “especially for marketers who want to reach affluent prospects for high end products and services.”

“Direct mail is the best way to target very precisely defined segments of the consumer market effectively and cost efficiently,” he concludes.

It’s also trackable and measurable, which is an important consideration with any marketing plan.

Take your newsletter to the next level with these 6 deadly real estate newsletter tactics you can use to boost your bottom line.

What comes first?

Before you rush out and shop for a newsletter template, consider the content you’ll be using. We’ve known many agents who bought their template first only to find out later that the template doesn’t work with their content.

So, to answer our own question, content comes first.

But before you consider content, you’ll need to decide the recipient of each campaign. These groups may include:

Past clients
Buyer leads
Seller leads
Condo owners/buyers
People in your sphere
Veterans
Seniors
Upsizing Gen Xers and Millennials
Absentee owners
Renters

Each DIY real estate newsletter should have a specific audience if you hope for it to offer value to the recipient.

While audience specific content is a must, there are some generic “extras” you can add to each DIY real estate newsletter:

Feature the answer to one frequently asked real estate question in each newsletter
Spotlight a different neighborhood in each newsletter
Home maintenance or décor or gardening how-to articles
Local entertainment calendar

If you don’t fancy yourself a writer or don’t have the time to devote to writing your own content, you have several options:

Repurpose blog posts into articles. You get two free consumer-facing blog posts each week with your Easy Agent Pro website. These can easily be reused in your DIY real estate newsletter.
Outsource the content creation for your DIY real estate newsletter. With this option you’ll need to be careful with the real estate-related content. Find a real estate writer, if possible, otherwise, carefully proofread each piece.
Find writers on Upwork.com or Google “real estate writer.”

DIY real estate newsletter templates

You’ll find a large assortment of free real estate newsletter templates at Canva.com. If you’ve never used Canva, you’ll love it when you do. The newsletters are so easy to customize with your branding, colors and logo.

At StockLayouts.com you can choose to buy one template or take out a 3-month or 1-year subscription.

Also check out the real estate newsletter options offered by Prospects Plus! You’ll find a do-it-all solution including a targeted mailing list, postage options and, of course, some attractive newsletter layouts.

Once you’re done, all you need to do is come up with a targeted mailing list, put the newsletters on a consistent schedule and wait for the leads to roll in!