Why Real Estate Agents Need to Utilize Email Marketing Tools
The key to building a successful real estate business is connection, so what better way to connect with clients than through real estate email marketing?
We know, you’re busy between the countless appointments, open-houses, viewings, dinner reservations, and meet ups. It’s hard to get your name out there and then to keep track and stack in touch with all of the potential clients you meet along the way. That’s why it’s imperative to utilize email marketing tools.
Most email marketing tools are automating, making it a breeze to get the right message to the right people with the touch of a button. You can schedule emails too, allowing you to digitally connect with clients while you’re giving other clients a tour of their dream home.
But, where do you start? Consider this your guide to real estate email marketing in 2021.
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What exactly is email marketing?
To put it simply, email marketing is like direct mail gone digital. Email marketing is promoting your business’ products and services through emails. You can also send out newsletters, deals for subscribers, and general messages from your business regarding current events or company happenings.
When email marketing is done correctly, it’s an incredible tool for staying connected with your client base, keeping customers informed, and targeting messages to specific subgroups within your general audience. However, there is a fine line between staying connected and spamming your customers with too many emails.
Let’s explore email marketing best practices to avoid the latter.
Real Estate Email Marketing Best Practices
What are email marketing best practices, and more specifically, real estate marketing best practices?
#1 Create your own email lists
Next time you’re at an event, set out a piece of paper or an iPad and start a real estate
email list. You can also add the ability to subscribe to emails through your website, but
always make it clear that your clients are signing up to receive emails.
And as a general rule of thumb, don’t buy email lists or send emails to anyone outside of
the list you’ve collected yourself. Unsolicited emails could annoy and turn away potential buyers. You also run the risk of getting flagged for spam. Too many reports and you can hurt your sender reputation or get banned, in which case your emails won’t be sent to inboxes but automatically flagged for spam.
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#2 Brand yourself
One excellent opportunity to brand yourself is through a welcome email. When clients
sign up to receive your emails, you can send a general email welcoming them to your
email list and introducing yourself and your business. Include your contact information and call-to-action urging clients to set up a phone call or meeting with you. This is also an excellent way to build rapport with clients.
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#3 Respect your clients and follow email marketing laws. Quality over quantity.
Yes, there are laws regarding email marketing. For a review, check out the CAN-SPAM
Act. In order to fall in line with regulations under the CAN-SPAM act, all of your emails
must contain a non-deceptive subject line, your name and address, and a clear, obvious
way to unsubscribe from your email list.
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#4 Send entertaining emails – switch it up.
This is important. You don’t want to bore your clients or bombard them with sales or
deals regarding your products or services. A great way to switch up your emails and build
rapport is to balance sales-related emails with education emails. Provide tips and tricks for first-time home buyers, how-to guides, information regarding mortgage rates. Continue to include information about you and your agency. This will help earn your clients’ trust as a knowledgeable and reliable source of information.
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#5 Schedule your emails.
It’s another great rule of thumb to create an email schedule, especially if you intend to
send out newsletters, be it weekly or monthly. Your clients will know what and when to
expect your emails, further building trust and rapport.
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#6 Create targeted email campaigns.
Try to segment your email lists into smaller groups depending on demographics,
interests, etc. Once you’ve created distinct groups, you can start sending targeted emails
to these segments. Some examples of targeted email campaigns you can implement
include recently sold properties, sneak peaks at new listings, and updates.
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#7 Add a call-to-action in each email.
As we mentioned previously, include your contact information and call-to-action in every
email you send out. Make it very clear to the receiver what you are telling them to do like
schedule a call or meet-up, for example. You’ll want to create a CTA button that is large
enough to distinguish in the email and that is easy to see on a mobile device as well.
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Real Estate Email Marketing Benefits
Now that we know email marketing best practices, what are the benefits to real estate agents turning to email marketing? We’re sure you’ve heard the term “digital marketing age.” Every successful business has gone digital in the 21st century.
Effect real estate agents are email clients, hosting virtual tours and open-houses (especially in the days of COVID-19), and managing online blogs to gain online traction.
In 2018, the National Association of REALTORS Profile and Home Buyers and Sellers reported that 50% of all home-buying participants found their home on the internet. That’s half of home buyers.
Email Marketing Providers
Now, let’s talk about email marketing providers. There are a lot of them out there. How do you know which provider will be best for your business?
See the table below to review four of the top email marketing providers, their prices, and some notable features that each software provides.
| Constant Contact | Sendinblue | MailerLite | HubSpot | |
| Free Trial | ✅ 60-Day Free Trial | ✅ 300 free emails per day | ✅ 12,000 free emails per month (limited to 1,000 subscribers) | ✅ 2,000 email sends per month |
| Price | $20 – $125 per month depending on number of subscribers | $0 – $65 per month depending on number of daily emails (custom pricing for enterprise tier) | $0 – $140 per month depending on number of subscribers (30% discount for annual billing) | $0 – $800 per month for a range of marketing tools including email marketing (10% discount for annual billing) |
| Popular Features | – Beginner-friendly – Drag-and-drop email builder – Simple email automation tools and features – 100+ email templates (mobile friendly) | – Very customizable for unique, branded emails – Unlimited email contacts – Drag-and-drop editor -Landing pages and sign-up forms | – Simple to use Affordable premium plans starting at $10 – Basic email features included – A/B testing tools – Pop-ups and surveys | – Excellent email automation tools – State of the art email templates – Detailed, organized traffic and conversion analytics |
Is email marketing really best for your real estate business?
Short answer, yes.
According to MailerLite’s 2021 email marketing benchmarks, real estate emails are opened at a 25.31% rate with a click rate of 2.93%. This information, paired with the fact that 50% of home buyers find their homes online, points to the value of investing in email marketing.
As we saw with the aforementioned email marketing providers, you can always dip your feet in the email marketing world by signing up for a free trial and taking a crack at a few emails. If their successful, you can easily upgrade to a more robust email marketing plan.
While building your email marketing presence, remember to never buy lists and to always create your own. Create branded, targeted, and varied emails to maintain subscribers. Switch things up and mix in educational and informational emails along with the promotional ones. Always include your contact information and a clear call to action.
Email marketing is a great tool for building rapport and maintaining relationships with clients you may not otherwise have the opportunity to communicate frequently with. Can you think of an easier, more effective way to boost communication with your clients?
Explore email marketing options and watch your real estate business grow.
Real Estate Email Marketing FAQs
Q: How do I grow my email marketing list?
A: Remember, NEVER buy a list, always create your own. On your website, you can ask for email addresses from clients in exchange for information like a brochure, access to a listing, etc. You can also create a pop-up window asking clients to share their email. Always ask clients for their permission to receive emails.
Q: How often should I send emails to my clients?
A: The reason people most often unsubscribe from emails is due to email frequency. You want to stay connected with your clients, but you also don’t want to bombard their inboxes. A general rule of thumb is four emails per month, with weekly newsletters. However, segmenting and sending targeted emails, as well as varied educational emails, should keep clients interested and less likely to unsubscribe.
Q: How should I write my subject lines?
A: You want to increase your open rate, which means you’ll want to write subject lines that grab readers’ attention. Write subject lines that matter to your audience. You can also create a sense of urgency by mentioning deadlines or popular homes.