If you want to compete in a market filled with modern home buyers and sellers, understanding the importance of email marketing for real estate is crucial.
Real estate marketing used to be about finding the best billboard location, mailing professionally designed postcards, and making as many cold calls as possible. But today’s consumers expect a more personal experience from the real estate industry.
Email marketing is one-way real estate professionals can connect with and nurture their leads. If you’re drowning in a pool of real estate competitors, learn why email marketing could be a lifesaver.
What is the importance of email marketing for real estate?
Search engine optimization (SEO)…
Social media marketing…
Content marketing…
The list of digital marketing options available to real estate professionals today is far from short. So why should their focus be on email?
In 2018, over 281 billion emails were sent every day and this number is only expected to grow. More importantly, research has shown that email marketing yields an unbelievably high return on investment — almost 40 times more than Twitter and Facebook combined.
The average age of a real estate buyer in the United States is above 50 — a demographic that’s a minority on modern social media channels. On the other hand, every 9 out of 10 people in the age bracket of 45-64 use email.
One of the key aspects of the real estate business is that home buying is not an impulse purchase. Buyers spend months making the decision to put in an offer, sometimes even years, and take a multitude of factors into consideration — the most important being who to trust their experience to.
Email marketing allows real estate agents to forge lasting relationships with those in the early stages of the home buying process. That way, when the time to buy does come, a trusting connection with a realtor already exists.
But I already send a newsletter…
Newsletters and emails are fundamentally different.
Newsletters are vague in nature, yet still valuable. You’re sending out information that can be used by most readers, though some may find it irrelevant. The arrival of your newsletter is typically the same every month or quarter, depending on how often you send it, and the layout of each issue is similar as well. Newsletters are designed to be friendly reminders that you’re still available if your readers are interested in real estate services.
Email marketing is also designed to serve as a reminder that you’re still available as an agent but is done with more precision and personalization. For example, you may have an email campaign for new leads, an email campaign for sellers, an email campaign for those considering downsizing, and an email campaign for first-time buyers. An email campaign includes several touch points that readers move through and each journey is unique.
Newsletters are more of a one-size-fits-all approach to sharing content while emails are a more tailored fit for each type of reader.
Newsletters and email marketing can overlap, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that a monthly newsletter will provide you with all the benefits an email campaign will.
5 Real Estate Email Marketing Tips
Consider the following tips when designing and implementing a real estate email marketing campaign.
1. Send insightful and diversified content
Your email content will make or break your marketing plan. In a world where every audience has a limited attention span, you should cover a variety of topics, including:
- Housing market updates and information surrounding mortgage rates
- Real estate listings in reader-specific locations
- Testimonials of property buyers that have purchased from you
- Blogs containing “glanceable” information like infographics and charts
Bonus tip: Make sure your campaign includes a variety of mediums such as eBooks and videos.
2. Personalize your emails
Personalization is crucial in an email campaign. Over 80% of marketers report an increase in open rates with personalized emails compared to generic subject lines and content.
Address every recipient by name, share information that’s relevant specifically to them, and be sure to include your own name alongside the name of your business. These small changes will help develop trust and credibility with your email list.
Not sure how to do this on a macro level? Reach out to us about Marketing Automation!
3. Track your email marketing through automation
Include trackable links inside your emails to help you identify readers who are engaging with certain types of content. This will allow you to create a separate list of recipients who are considerably more interested in what you have to offer and develop a more targeted email campaign to push them further down your sales funnel.
To make this as simple as possible, consider working with an email marketing automation and analyzing tool such as SharpSpring.
On the other hand, if you’re not getting a good click-through response, you’d also know why your email marketing isn’t working as it’s supposed to be and you need to make necessary enhancements.
4. Make emails mobile friendly
Almost half of all emails are opened on mobile devices. That’s why it’s crucial that you optimize every email for smartphones and tablets to improve the reader experience. Do you know if your emails are mobile-friendly??
5. Give video email a try
Emails have a 7% higher open rate if they include the word “video” in their subject line. The power of video in any type of marketing, including email, can’t be ignored. The real estate industry offers multiple video opportunities. Include video tours of homes marketed through emails or include videos of simple home improvements sellers can tackle when prepping their home for the market to engage more of your email list.
Grow real estate success with email marketing
Email marketing has morphed into a powerful advertising tool that allows real estate professionals to tap into their target audience on a more personalized level. Once you know the importance of email marketing for real estate agents, the task at hand becomes clear.
Start developing an email campaign today if you want to create a personalized experience with your email list. You won’t regret the increase in engagement or revenue that comes along with a more personalized real estate experience.
