Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to stay connected with your leads and previous clients. Some studies have shown that email marketing offers an ROI of up to $36 for every dollar spent. When it comes to real estate email marketing tools, newsletters are among the best ways to nurture relationships by providing contacts with the information they’ll find valuable.
Whether you already have an email newsletter or are looking to launch one, here are some tips to keep in mind and some common mistakes to avoid.
Tips for creating engaging newsletters
In a recent Estate of Mind podcast episode, Keys to Building a Referral Driven Business, award-winning real estate professional Alexander Brandau IV offers some strategies for creating engaging newsletters. The key, he explains, is to curate content that is genuinely relevant and useful to your audience.
When brainstorming content ideas for your email newsletter, ask yourself whether this is something you’d be interested in reading. If not, it probably won’t have any value to your readers. The more useful and engaging your newsletter content is to your audience, the more you’ll set yourself apart and the more you’ll build your reputation as a trusted authority within the luxury real estate market.
You may have success finding ways to turn local or national events into unique newsletter content. For example, for his monthly newsletter, Nashville Notes, Alex Brandau IV’s marketing team featured a story about the 2022 Oscars nominees and the homes they recently bought or owned. Their responses and open rates skyrocketed because the topic was current and exciting.
Common newsletter mistakes to avoid
Most newsletters fail to gain traction because they’re either too long or boring. How often have you skimmed a newsletter on your phone and never thought about it again? Probably too many times. Here are some common real estate email marketing mistakes to avoid.
Mistake #1: Not using an email service provider (ESP)
If you’re using a personal email address (such as your Gmail address) to send out your newsletters and other email marketing correspondence, you’re missing out on valuable data and results from your email campaigns — not to mention most email servers will flag it as spam. Investing in an email service provider (ESP) will increase your deliverability rates and allow you to track the results of your campaigns. This will help you get a better feel for how your newsletters (and other emails) perform. Meanwhile, your emails will look authentic and professional, which is vital when marketing to an affluent audience.
Mistake #2: Poor email design and content
Most people read emails on their phones, and according to the Nielsen Norman Group’s latest eye-tracking study, roughly 74% of readers skim through email newsletters they receive. That means you only have about a minute to grab your audience’s attention and entice them to keep reading. Don’t overlook the importance of text placement, graphic design, and skimmable copy for your newsletters. Break up your text with subheadings and bulleted lists for quick takeaways.
Mistake #3: Bad timing and frequency
Timing is crucial to getting your newsletters open and read — the morning hours between 7 and 9 AM appear to have a noticeable advantage. From a frequency standpoint, sending out newsletters too often may be annoying to your recipients and increase unsubscribe rates (especially if the content is lacking). Alex Brandau IV has reported success with an email newsletter twice a month.
Meanwhile, the day of the week that you send your newsletter out can greatly impact open rates and conversion rates. Determining the best day of the week to send your newsletter will differ from industry to industry. While there is no conclusive universal “best day” to send emails, conducting an A/B test through an ESP will pay off, as you’ll be able to track these metrics until you figure out the “sweet spot” for sending out newsletters to your audience.
Optimize your email newsletter today!
When you focus on quality content that your audience will find truly useful, your real estate newsletter will have a better chance of taking off. Meanwhile, avoiding common mistakes like sending newsletters from a personal email address and overlooking the importance of design will increase your chances of success.
Over time, building up a strong newsletter will build your reputation as a trusted real estate authority while spreading the word about your business. Who knows? You might even get a few real estate referrals from a carefully curated newsletter.
For more tips on standing out in the competitive luxury real estate field, keep an eye on our blog. Also, be sure to reach out to get started on the path to obtaining your Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS™) designation.
Diane Hartley is the president of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a premier independent authority in training and designation for real estate agents working in the upper-tier residential market. Hartley brings her passion for luxury marketing and more than 20 years of experience growing and leading businesses to her role as president of the Institute.
