Sending a real estate email newsletter or drip sequence requires a fair amount of work. You have to write the emails, proofread them, have awesome calls-to-action and think of subject lines that people will open.
Sounds hard, right?
However, don’t give up, because:
For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $44.25.
A recent study concluded that email is almost 40 times better at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter. (Source: McKinsey & Company)
That is A LOT of return on investment if you are a Realtor. So, today I’m going to show you exactly how to send a real estate newsletter or drip sequence.
The Best Real Estate Newsletter Companies:
The first thing you need to send real estate newsletters is a bulk email service provider. Here’s the good news: they are very cheap!
Mailchimp let’s you send emails to 2,000 subscribers for free! They have tracking, analytics, and great real estate newsletter templates.
In fact, Mailchimp has support articles just for Realtors who use their service. I cannot recommend them enough! They integrate with all sorts of ‘lead capture’ technology and make it easy to send newsletters.
Here’s how to send a real estate newsletter with Mailchimp:
Getresponse is another option for sending emails. I think they are better at sending drip sequences or autoresponders. That is why I use them. They also don’t require your leads to double optin.
Here’s the thing:
Mailchimp requires your leads to click the confirmation email after submitting their email address. That’s called ‘double optin.’ The double optin typically reduces conversion by 20-40%. That means you are losing a ton of leads. I find Getresponse very beneficial because it allows you not to have a double optin process.
Here’s an example real estate newsletter drip sequence being sent in Getresponse:
Top Producer is one of the most tried and true CRM’s in real estate. It has almost all the features a realtor could want even if it is interface is outdated. The neat thing about their CRM is that it also allows you to send real estate newsletters, and they have built-in templates/examples.
The important thing here is that all your contact information will be in one place. If you use Mailchimp or Getresponse to send mass emails, that data will not be associated with the data inside your CRM. That’s not the case with Top Producer. Everything you’ve ever sent the client will be in one database.
Here’s how to setup those newsletters:
Click Here To Get A Special Discount
When Signing Up With Top Producer
Figure Out The Goal
Ok, now that you know how you are going to send your real estate newsletter…let’s look at why you’d want to send one.
Newsletters give Realtors a huge ROI. But how? They do this through keeping people close to you. Unlike social networks, everyone has an email account. And 90% of people check it daily. Also, email typically outperforms social networks on calls to actions by 4X.
But you have to decide what goal email will help you achieve. Here are your options:
- Drive Traffic To Your Website: Email is an awesome way to drive traffic to your website. If you have 1000 email subscribers and 1000 people on Facebook, you will see a greater number of people visiting your website from email than from Facebook posts. Plus, you own the email list. Facebook could kick you off their network tomorrow if they wanted to. You’ll want to choose this option if you have a website that converts traffic into leads at a very high percentage. (For example, Easy Agent Pro’s Leadsites do this.)
- Sell New Listings You Acquire: Do you have a lot of listings? You can use your email list to keep buyers aware of your (and others) listings in the area. This will help you generate motivated buyers.
- Get Optins On Buyer And Seller Free Consultation Pages: Does your website have buyer and seller guides on it? Great! Put a call to action on the footer of your email that links to these guides. Then, create real estate newsletters with your blog posts. People will consistently see the free buyer/seller guides and convert on them when the time is right.
Key Point:
Your goal matters! Pick one and only one. Focus is key when running your real estate newsletter.
Free Design Examples and Templates
Now, it’s time for some free examples of real estate newsletter templates.
I’m going to share with you a HUGE secret. The template below is the only way to get people on your email list to take action.
You can use it whether you’re driving traffic to listings, blogs or free consult pages.
The idea is to have an engaging personal story. Then, the call to action. Next, an image followed by bullet points. Concluding with another call to action.
Honestly, my business grew overnight when I started following this formula.
No matter what free template you use, I highly recommend writing your email using this formula.
Here are some awesome templates for you:
Free Real Estate Template By Mailchimp
Free Modern Template On Getresponse
Really, there are tons of templates and designs to choose from regardless of the email service provider you choose. I recommend a simple one with minimal graphics. Let your text do the work!
Choosing Your Subject Line And 10 Examples
The best real estate newsletters have tested subject lines.
Think about it:
What do you do with your inbox?
I bet it’s something like this:
You DON’T want people deleting your email without reading it. And to make sure that happens, you need to test subject lines.
Subject lines are why people read emails. We are all so busy and have to make split-second decisions about which emails to read and which to delete.
Here are some tips for writing headlines:
- Always capture their attention
- Bring Value To Their Life
- Be Helpful
To make this easy, here are 10 killer subject line formulas:
- Who Else Wants [blank]?
- The Secret of [blank]
- Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank]
- Little Known Ways to [blank]
- Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All
- Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]
- Now You Can Have [something desirable] [great circumstance]
- [Do something] like [world-class example]
- Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of
- What Everybody Ought to Know About [blank]
Legal Stuff…
Emails are a great marketing tool, but there are laws that guide what you can (and can’t) do. I’m not a lawyer so here are some resources to help you out:
Sending And Analytics
Finally, email is one of the best marketing tools out there because it allows you to track what you’re doing.
Here’s the thing:
You still have to do the tracking! Experiment with when you send the real estate newsletters. Try different headline formulas…Experiment with different calls-to-actions…
But test everything! And make changes based on what has worked in the past.
I’ll leave you with this.
Here are some cool facts about marketing via email, enjoy them and get motivated to grow your business through real estate newsletters:
What do you think?
If you have any questions or email marketing tips, be sure to leave them in the comment section below! Talk with you there… – Tyler
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