Your #1 Marketing Secret Weapon

Email marketing is not just powerful, it’s definitely the most cost effective! People think they can’t write …but they can. And now we have AI to help us! 

eMail marketing isn’t dead… it’s just dead boring! Here’s how to build a huge list of loyal clients with awesome email marketing Plus 12 Critically Essential eMail Marketing Rules

What if I told you the info I’m about to share will not only position you as a trusted advisor, it will help position you as a real estate authority and attraction agent in your neck of the woods.

If you’re looking to get maximum return on your marketing investment, this might just be the most important article you’ve ever read, because I’m on a crusade to reinvent email marketing for agents and I want you to come and fight in my army.

I learned recently that quite a number of real estate marketing people subscribe to my emails so they can copy and use my ideas. (I wasn’t miffed about it.. actually, I was flattered).

So if these so-called real estate marketing gurus are copying my ideas and using my headlines and ammunition, shouldn’t you? 

More than anything else, I want you to experience the power a great direct response email can deliver and how it can help you build an ever-increasing ‘rusted on’ list of pipeline clients.

If you give me a few minutes, I’ll take you through the rules I try to stick to that let me maintain a nice high open rate on most of my messages.

I’ll give you a range of topic ideas and my very best tips for subject line and general content copy.

And I’ll share the rules I follow that will increase the chances of your recipients opening, reading and acting on your message.

Your clients are waiting to hear from you. 

I can promise you something right here and now:  If you’ve been harvesting the names and emails of potential clients at opens or wherever and you told them that you’ll keep in touch, they’re waiting to hear from you.

In fact, let me go one step further and scare you a wee bit.

If you are not keeping in regular contact, you’ve become the thing consumers complain about the most when it comes to our industry. (The agent only contacts me when they want something)

Now, I’m not saying you rely on eMail alone to do all the heavy lifting, but it’s a great way to increase your contact which also paves the way for other contact points like text and phone.

So why don’t agents use eMail? 

There’s a bunch of reasons and maybe one or more apply to you. If so, I’m here to help you overcome your eMail marketing fears and concerns and recruit you into my eMail Army of battle-hardened legends.

Here are the 3 main reasons agents don’t eMail their clients

1. They’re afraid their contacts will unsubscribe
   Yep… 100% that’s going to happen.  Even if you sent out an eMail offering FREE MONEY, you’ll get folks unsubscribing.  This used to worry the heck out of me but these days I love it. If people are not unsubbing from your messages, you’re not doing it right. Don’t worry about unsubs, just focus on building your list and delivering informative valuable content. There is plenty of fish in the real estate sea who would LOVE to be engaged by a real estate pro who sends out engaging emails.

2. They’re not sure what to say
   You’re right…  there are only so many real estate-related eMails you can send out so why make it all about real estate? Here’s the thing: Real estate agents are some of the most interesting and adventurous people I know. I just took a look through my Facebook posts and I have agent friends doing a trek to Mt Everest Base camp, a Pizza tour of Italy (damn, that sounds amazing!) Staying at a cottage on a lake in the Okanagan in Canada’s British Columbia and walking the Sydney Harbour Bridge. So talk about your adventures and the everyday. Go beyond real estate to show you’re beyond a real estate agent. Be human and real and vulnerable and worried and happy and interested and confident.  Less than 5% of people are buying or selling real estate at any one time so the chances of engaging your list with 100% real estate content are low to futile. Share a story, or an experience, or review a wine or vacation spot or a new tent or your car.
   Bring folks into your world. Don’t worry if they don’t buy into your thoughts because many will and these people will start to think about you in a whole new way. A good way. Keep in mind, People do business with people they know, like and trust.

3. They don’t feel they are qualified to offer advice or make suggestions.
   Are you kidding me? If you’re in real estate, I believe you have a moral and ethical duty to share what you know. You do this for a living so why on earth would you keep it to yourself? Also, if your contacts see you as a competent, capable, tech-savvy real estate professional, they’ll be more likely to hire you. Ask yourself, would you hire a dinosaur if you were looking to sell?

My 12 Critically Essential eMail Marketing Rules 

1. Engage with a powerful interesting subject line.
   Why say JUNE PROPERTY REPORT FOR BONDI when you could say ‘You won’t believe what this Bondi apartment just sold for!’
   Email isn’t dead, it’s just dead boring. Change the game and think differently.

2. Use first names as much as possible
   If you’ve been getting my emails for a while, you’ll know how big I am on this one. People LOVE to see their own name. It’s just human nature but good email marketers know that.

3. Solve a problem
   I believe every seller wants three things. An above market price, in a reasonable time and a great real estate selling experience. So look for ways to show how you deliver all three. Use ‘success evidence’ in the form of testimonials and photos of happy clients. Tell a bit of a story around it. people love stories.

4. Start BIG and get into the ‘meat’  ….maybe something like; Subject line:  Ouch…  I feel sorry for this seller (first name)
   Hi (first name)I just heard that a property which has been on the market for more than 6 months sold this week. With the average days-on-market in (suburb) at around X, I feel sorry for this seller as I’m concerned their selling price was compromised because they were on the market for so long. My rule of thumb is that the longer a property is on the market past average days-on-market, the less it will sell for.If you need a quick value update or more info, call or text me on (number).

5. Keep your message about your target
   Want to engage me? Then don’t tell me all about you, you’ll lose me in a heartbeat. Tell me what’s in it for me. And don’t tell me what it is, tell me what it does.  Then tell me what to do next. I’ve been working with some amazing agents in my Private client group who are getting stunning engagement with community videos and a Facebook Group.  I have to tell you it’s incredible what happens when you turn the camera away from you and onto someone else!

6. Send regular messages
   If you haven’t been sending for a while, start back with regular weekly emails and go from there. Maybe you could send it out on a Thursday and include a regular link to your open homes for the coming weekend.

7. Don’t over real estate it
   Be careful how many JUST LISTED emails you send out. Remember, if your email list contact isn’t selling or buying right now, they might not be that interested in so many real estate emails. Mix these real estate emails up with non-real estate content to keep your contacts engaged.

8. Keep it short and sweet
   If I open and see lots of copy, I can subliminally tell it’s long and I’m less inclined to make the commitment to read it. Keep messages powerful and short. Cut through the white noise and get noticed with simple and clear communication. Avoid long paragraphs just like I’m doing here. A short sentence as a paragraph is measured to be way more effective.

9. Use images
   Wherever possible, break your emails up with interesting images. These used to be expensive but these days you can find thousands if professional royalty-free images online.  Try upsplash.com

10. Just be yourself and have fun
    Let’s face it… if it’s a boring chore, you’re never going to stick at it. I’ll be doing my best to send you regular email content and subject line ideas but if you’re going to a real soldier in this email army, you’ll be expected to buckle up and get creative and engage your contacts by yourself. Yes, I’m here to guide you with any ideas or questions but the easiest way to start is just to start. Are you going to make mistakes and break a few grammar rules every now and then? Probably but who never made a mistake? And speaking of grammar, there’s a great free app called  grammarly.com that will help you write better copy and make life easier.

11. Fonts and sizes
    The main mission is to get your emails read, so make it as easy as possible for your contact to actually read your awesome stuff. I try to send all my emails out in a minimum 16 point but prefer 17 and use plain old garden variety Arial and Arial bold. Use CAPS sparingly…  too many looks like you’re shouting.

12. Your email signature
    Whatever you do, make sure you have a freakin’ awesome email signature. It’s pretty easy to set up something that looks and stays cool in LockedOn but your regular business email needs to be smoking hot each time. The web addresses and emails need to actually link to the web address and email. A crap email signature tells me you’re a crap marketer, sorry.  There is no second chance at a first impression.  Impress me or lose me. Check out WiseStamp.com

Get started now and look for ways to stir up engaging eMail topics like:

Share your resources
Every agent should have a current list of reliable and competitively priced tradespeople and professionals. Who do you give money to every month? Your accountant, your gas station your hairdresser? People love good recommendations from a reliable source. You are that source.

Seriously… if you have 40 tradespeople, contractors and professionals on your Resources List, there are 40 separate emails. …and guess what, the people on your list will want to be on your Resources list too!

Support a cause
I bet there are a bunch of not-for-profit groups in your area looking for a voice and support.  Be careful about asking for money but there are plenty of other ways to promote their cause.

Review stuff
Have you recently found a great deal on your favourite wine or just fallen in love with a new Netflix series, tell your people about it and have some fun.

Start a community Facebook Page
As mentioned, I’ve been doing this with my Private client group with great results.  In 3 months, one community page with 6 videos has had 20,000 views, 100 shares and almost 1000 followers!  Boom!!