Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO

REAL ESTATE

EMAIL MARKETING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.

Introduction

2.

Real Estate Email Marketing Terminology...............02,03

3.

Challenges Faced By Real Estate Industry .............04,05

4.

Eectiveness of Email Marketing in Real Estate .........06

5.

Types of Real Estate Emails ........................................07 -

6.

Welcome Email ....................................................07 Lead Nurturing Email ...........................................07 Promotional Email ...............................................07 Email to Former Clients ........................................07

Elements of Engaging Emails .......................................08 -

7.

..............................................................01

Subject Lines .......................................................08 .......................................................09 Pre-Header Email Length .......................................................09 Text: Image Ratio .................................................10 Frequency .............................................................11 Mobile Email Templates .......................................11 Call To Action (CTA) ............................................12 Landing Pages ..................................................12,13

Conclusion ...................................................................13

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|01

INTRODUCTION Email is one of the most effective and reliable marketing tools as it places your messages directly in front of the audience. Majority of leads prefer email as their primary mode of communication with businesses. According to DMA research report, email marketing generates an average return of $32 for every $1 spent. Furthermore, several studies show how email works better than social media or direct mail campaigns.

The order value of an email is higher than that of social media by at least three times.

[Source: McKinsey]

59%

of B2B marketers agree that email is their most effective channel to generate revenue.

[Source: BtoB Magazine]

Email marketing ROI was compared to

28.5%

7% of direct mail.

[Source: Chief Marketer]

5x

Messages are times more likely to be seen through email than Facebook.

[Source: Campaign Monitor]

Email’s click-through rates are generally in range, while click-through rates the range. on Tweets are in the

3%

0.5%

[Source: Campaign Monitor]

The above results reveal that an email inbox is precious for any marketing segment. But the real estate industry lacks behind in making the most of this highly cost-effective and operational marketing tool. Most of the real estate agents believe that buyers prefer to meet them in person rather than communicating with them via email when it comes to investing in a property. They fail to realize that for any business, it is essential to stay in touch with leads and email marketing helps a great deal in this regard.

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|02

You can often remind the subscribers about why investing on a home of their choice is important and when they need to buy it from you for maximum savings. Ultimately, email marketing helps to keep your company top-of-mind with the right audience. Not to forget, your potential customers view it as their personal space, set aside for only relevant and useful messages. Hence, it’s your task to create content worth reading, so that leads will open, read, as well as click on the links.

To help you in this area, we have outlined some of the most practical real estate email marketing ideas in this whitepaper. It shows you how to construct and write effective emails that will engage and also nurture the leads quickly.

REAL ESTATE EMAIL MARKETING TERMINOLOGY This white paper breaks down exactly how to use real estate email marketing techniques, newsletters, and more to boost the conversion rate and profits. But before proceeding, let us learn some of the must-know terminology associated with Real Estate Email Marketing.

Conversion Rate:

The percentage of recipients respond to your CTA in an email marketing campaign. Businesses often use conversion rate to measure the performance of an email campaign.

Open Rate:

The percentage of emails opened in your email marketing campaign.

Opt-In:

Opt-in or subscribe to an email list is an option for the users to choose to receive an email by providing the email address to a company. The subscribers must be given a chance to specify their interest.

Click-Through-Rate (CTR):

The percentage of recipients who click on a given URL in your email.

Double Opt-in:

Subscribers must be given an option to confirm their permission to receive the emails by clicking on a given link in a confirmation email or answering the confirmation email in some other mode.

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|03

Opt-Out:

It is also known as the unsubscribe option. Companies must provide an option for the subscribers to come out of the list if they do not wish to receive email communications from you anymore.

Blacklist:

It is a list which denotes IP addresses as spammer IPs, obstructing email deliverability.

Whitelist:

A whitelist includes IP addresses that are approved to deliver email to a recipient.

Bulk Mail:

Sending large scale email messages with the same content to a large group of people.

HTML Email:

HTML emails makes it possible for the sender to get creative emails with graphics.

Plain Text Email:

An email sent without HTML is a plain text email.

The sender must always give an option for the recipients to read emails in either plain text or HTML for better readability.

CAN-SPAM:

Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003' outlines the rules and requirements for commercial messages.

Follow this guidelines vigilinatly to avoid penalities.

Bounce Rate:

It is the percentage of emails that are not delivered.

An acceptable bounce rate must always be less than 5%.

Hard Bounce:

It is the failed email delivery due to some of the permanent reason such as invalid id, non-existent, or blocked email addresses.

Soft Bounce:

It is the failed email delivery due to any of the temporary issue such as an unavailable server or no space in the mailbox.

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|04

CHALLENGES FACED BY REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY No Space for Innovation The new generation of real estate professionals have started utilizing the power of email marketing in their business activities. But lack of creativity and technology in this area may not help them in achieving the desired goals. Most of the marketers focus solely on establishing the connection with the prospect customers without realizing the importance of innovation in this area. As societies develop, both the needs and preferences of the audience change. Hence to keep up with the current trends in the market, one has to embrace certain technologies or strategies in their business operation.

For instance, buyers have different expectations from bungalows, office areas, neighborhoods, apartments, townships, theaters, malls, etc. Although the extent of change is often related to a demographic or an economic factor, the innovation in the marketing tactics and also the degree of implementation of newer technologies matters. One can design specific strategies for senior citizens, or to address certain issues in this segment, and so on. By learning the products prudently, and identifying the interest of the leads, real estate industries can move their business operations in the direction of innovation.

Most Generic Contents As explained above, a few real estate agents are currently using email marketing tools to grab the attention of the interested audience. But to stand apart from the competitors, one needs to adopt new technology to create out-of-the-box email messages and graphics. At present, personalized contents have got no room in this industry. Marketers usually follow drip campaigns where the same promotional message is sent out by every agent in an office.

Furthermore, if a subscriber is on the list of multiple agents, they will more likely receive the same email from all. This general content does no good for the success of the company. Hence, the real estate industry must change its email marketing perspective from ‘generic’ to ‘most personalized’ message.

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

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Project Management and Control Real estate industries are frequently treated as a low skilled segment. The experts in this area face challenges in controlling as well as managing the projects. Adequate management tools and methods are most often not in place in several real estate firms.

Besides, some professionals even agree that their projects are not always punctual and to the costs. Moreover, the operations require to undergo multiple rounds to optimize the present offerings during the course of your project.

Workforce, time, cost, procurement, quality, safety, and lack of training acts as significant constraints negatively influencing the performance of the property developers. At present, real estate agencies face a shortage of labor due to the political crisis or unskilled candidates. It is becoming seriously tricky for organizations to complete on-going projects on time due to the non-availability of resources. With appropriate training and automation tools, one can probably revamp the current methodology of project and operations management.

Generational Variation and Demographics Demographics data, such as age, gender, income, race, crime risk, migration patterns, population growth, and school quality, combine to form the unique features of a neighborhood. As a result, major demographic shifts will have a massive impact on real estate trends. Understanding your location’s demographics will offer crucial insights into your prospective rental pool, maintenance issues, and many more.

Earlier, the baby boomers born between 1945 and 1964 were the ones with the full potential to influence this market significantly. But the recent report by the National Association of REALTORS reveals that buyers who are 36 years old or younger (Millennials/Gen Y) take the largest share of home buyers today. Based on the benefits the particular demographic can bring to your table, the real estate agencies must draft the plans. But remember, this challenge can also turn out to be a good indicator of a viable market if appropriately executed.

At 35% Millennials (buyers aged 18-35) are the largest share of home buyers (NAR 2016 Home Buying Trends: Millennials)

68% The young generation accounts for 68% of all first time home buyers (NAR 2016 Home Buying Trends: Millennials)

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|06

EFFECTIVENESS OF EMAIL MARKETING IN REAL ESTATE Most leads in the real estate business enter the sales pipeline without any intention to purchase from you. Hence it’s your responsibility as a real estate expert to convince them. Real estate email marketing is the best tool one can utilize in this scenario. Not only engaging or nurturing the leads, but also you can convert them into clients and transactions in a short span. Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study shows how Real Estate Industry enjoys reasonable unique open and click-through rates.

Industry

Real Estate

Open Rate

Click Rate

Soft Bounce

Hard Bounce

Abuse Rate

Unsubscribe Rate

19.67%

1.80%

0.57%

0.40%

0.015%

0.29%

Real estate professionals can reach out to the largest audience through email marketing. Starting the conversation with the subscribers and building a relationship with relevant content such as home improvements, new house listings, and tips will have a more significant effect on your objective. A real estate email campaign can also be personalized using the contact information, location, preferences, budget, and other interests of the prospects. With the help of customized emails, you can display the right properties to home buyers who are looking for a home with certain elements.

Recipients will view your every email if your content resembles their dream.

Also, the good thing about email marketing is that you can measure the success of any email campaign through open rates, click-through rates, and other metrics. You will quickly know who opens your email and who does not. So, you can resend the campaign by tweaking the subject line or content to see if it gets their attention now. As a real estate professional, you may often be too busy to implement these strategies. In such scenarios, email automation tools come handy. With these systems, you can stay in touch with your patrons and also concentrate on other crucial tasks.

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|07

TYPES OF REAL ESTATE EMAILS Welcome Email A welcome email is a first and foremost email you send to a new subscriber. The real estate business must send this email as soon as someone subscribes to your page or newsletter. Also, the content of this email should be highly appealing and simple-to-understand.

In this stage, you can tell the recipients what they can expect from your company and also from future emails. You can come up with the offers such as free consultation as an appreciation for subscribing to your emails.

Lead Nurturing Email After welcoming your subscribers to your real estate family, it’s time to nurture them by demonstrating about your brand, products, services, industry policy, updates, and more. But always make sure you send only the highly relevant, exciting, and shareable contents. Whitepapers, market reports, eBooks, mortgage advice, and interesting blogs are good to share.

You can include the details of recent sales, testimonial, home improvement tips, birthday greetings, or about local events to keep them engaged.

Promotional Email Promotional emails form the basis of your interaction with the clients and potential customers. It helps you to keep your subscribers excited with the relevant listings and invitations to properties. The primary focus of every promotional email must be educating the audience. Hence, do not sound pushy or go overboard with this email. Users may unsubscribe from your list without a second thought.

Email to Former Clients Selling a property to a customer will not end your role as a real estate professional. You must ask for their feedback as it is essential to know the accuracy of your path. Also, they are most likely to refer you to their friends and family if they are happy with your service. Therefore, it is vital to keep in touch with your clients even after helping them find their dream home. Businesses can send an email to receive such feedbacks immediately after the purchase of a home or other property.

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|08

ELEMENTS OF ENGAGING EMAILS Blue Mail Media created this list of must-include elements of emails after studying real estate industry in detail. Make sure you follow every single tip to reap maximum beneďŹ t from email marketing strategy.

Subject Lines Subject lines are the most crucial part of an email. Around 47% of recipients open your email solely based on the subject line whereas 69% report it as spam if they suspect the subject line. Therefore, it is essential to spend some extra time crafting a subject line that is catchy and crisp, which can grab the reader’s attention and make them open it. Strong subjects lines can fall under the following categories: Favorable: Use this subject line if your content focuses primarily on tips that make home decisions stress-free.

Important: This can be used for high-value properties or the most crucial stats your recipients must know before making any purchase decisions.

Emotional: Use this subject line to highlight the clients you worked with whose decisions have changed their lives.

Timely: You can make use of this subject line to inform the clients about events, exclusive listings, open houses, and events.

Exciting: This can be used to notify your recipients about recent community and market updates.

300 E Royal Ln #127, Irving, Texas 75039 1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|09

A good understanding of your target market helps you in crafting a personalized subject line that is capable of engaging the audience more effectively. According to Experian Marketing Services, a personalized subject line will lift the unique open rates by 29.3% for all the industries. But before trying out any of this, draft a dozen or two subject lines. You can then perform A/B testing to identify which one is apt for your next real estate email marketing campaign.

Pre-Header The pre-header text is the text which is visible underneath the sender name and subject line in your inbox. This text works similar to the subject line and encourages subscribers to open their email. You can also display the same text at the top of the email copy based on your choice. Otherwise, one can hide it from the recipients. If you wish to display it, then make sure this text goes well with the email body. Also, note that different devices and ESPs allocate different space for this pre-header text. iOS Mail app will display around 90 characters of preview, whereas Windows Phone permits about 40 characters. Therefore, you should test your pre-header for devices of different type before committing to sending.

Email Length The optimal length of an email is still under debate. But the latest report by Boomerang states that emails consisting of words between 50 and 125 had the best response rates which are just above 50%. Constant Contact's data support Boomerang's research report. In a study of 2.1 million clients, they found emails having 20 lines of text (or 200 words) had the highest click-through rates. This number is slightly higher than the Boomerang's data. Hence, when in doubt, keep your emails below 200 words. Shorter is generally better. But, avoid making it too short because the same report claimed that emails with 10 words or lesser got a response 36% of the time.

Make sure your email spikes interest as well as give enough data with necessary links to your other online assets which aid in nurturing the prospects all the way through the sales funnel. One needs to put in some amount of time to research the prospect and come up with the useful content. Without knowing what your clients expect from you, crafting a valuable email with the perfect length does not help you in any way.

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Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|10

Text-To-Image Ratio The text-to-image ratio is an important element in an email which a spam filter keeps a tab of. If your email body contains too many images with very little or no text, the spam filters are most likely to send it to the junk folder. Your address may also get blocked for repetitive action. According to Mailchimp’s general guidelines, 80:20 ratio (80% text and 20% images) is most commonly recommended. In a few cases, you can balance the ratio by adding your address, unsubscribe link, etc. in the footer section.

Text-Image Ratio in Emails

20%

80%

Text

Image

Other reasons for maintaining the balance between text and image in any email are:

a)

Viewers may turn off the images:

Generally, some users and email clients keep the pictures turned off at their end. If they do so, your email appears incomplete or completely blank in their screen. Recipients usually ignore such emails or mark it as spam without a second thought.

b)

Images take a long time to load:

Depending on the browser or the internet speed, images usually take a long time to load compared to plain text. Since it does not convey the entire message to the client, it will have fewer click-through rates.

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Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|11

Frequency Determining the right frequency to send an email plays a major role in real estate email marketing. Although there isn’t any single answer, we recommend you to send emails as frequently as you can to stay in touch with the audience. But also make sure not to send it on a daily basis and later get stored in the junk folder. For some agencies, multiple times in a month may be the best fit, whereas, for others, quarterly or monthly newsletters may work better.

Consistency is essential if you are planning to send emails regularly. Clients usually anticipate emails from you if it offers real value. So, based on your email marketing budget and content quality, send valuable newsletters to the prospects at the same time.

Mobile Email Templates We are living in an era of mobile marketing where typical real estate business sees around half of their traffic from mobile devices. That is, 48% of the home buyers use a mobile phone to search for new properties. Hence, to gain the attention of large crowd or empower the recipients to take action, usage of mobile-friendly email templates is exceptionally critical in today's business world. According to a report by Litmus, up to 69% of recipients delete your email if it isn't optimized for their mobile device. Also, they are more likely to unsubscribe from your list if it doesn't look good on their small screen.

48% 48% of emails are opened on mobile devices

11% Only 11% of email templates are optimsies for mobile

69% 69% of mobile users delete emails that aren’t optimised

64% 64% of decision makers read their emails on mobiles

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Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|12

Call To Action (CTA) CTA is the best way to get your reader to do what you want. CTAs and sales funnels always go hand in hand. They serve as transitions between the various stages of the real estate buyer’s journey. Call-to-action buttons guide the user what to do next, prompting them to take action to reap the benefit. Whether you want your user to download some contents, or visit your blog, you must incite this action with a well-placed CTA in your email body. Besides, it also impacts your email clicks and conversion rate if it is placed appropriately. Here are some of the must-know rules while designing and implementing calls-to-action.

Use a clear and simple statement with an action verb such as “Call your agent” or “Register for an open house.”

Use colorful buttons, noticeable links, or images to attract clicks.

Keep call-to-action big enough (at least 44 pixels square) for your thumbs to easily tap.

Place the button in the correct position. The bottom right position is usually recommended.

Landing Pages Most agents have not caught a glimpse of benefits on using real estate landing pages, which means they are missing an excellent opportunity to stand out from the crowd in this segment. Be it a listing agent, firm owner, buyer’s agent, or real estate marketer; you must soon learn the importance of landing pages in this internet driven world. The latest report by Word Stream explains you the prominence of this element to capture more leads. It states that the average conversion rate in Google AdWords is 3.75% across all industries. However, real estate businesses saw an average of 2.47%.

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GOOGLE DISPLAY NETWORK (GDN)

SEARCH

Beginners Guide to Real Estate Email Marketing -P|13

Here are some of the useful tips to create real estate landing pages that convert: Simplicity is vital when it comes to real estate landing pages. When people are planning to buy or sell property, they don’t expect irrelevant features in the page.

Do not dump old images or boring texts on the page. Instead, use the pictures of beautiful farmhouses surrounded by greeneries or with a view of the ocean. This might not be a real vision that fits within your buyer’s budget, but still, it is essential to include such images to evoke the dream lifestyle your searchers are longing.

Real estate business is tricky as it is entirely reliant on prospect’s trust. So, ensure your leads trust you by being direct and transparent in your content.

CONCLUSION Email marketing has excellent potential in the real estate business. The challenges they face, such as limited use of creativity, attracting new clients, or standing out amongst competitors can be handled through this outstanding marketing tool. But unfortunately, the professionals in this segment have not yet utilized the most out of this strategy.

Hence, to help such industries, we have created this comprehensive white paper on real estate email marketing with facts and fantastic solution to their issues. We hope to see you embracing email marketing approaches in your real estate business soon.

1- 888 - 494 - 0588 | sales@bluemailmedia.com | www.bluemailmedia.com

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