Real estate email marketing: Top 5 effective ideas to implement

Recent significant changes in the world have impacted Europe and its real estate market, creating new challenges for real estate agents. In this highly competitive context, it has become crucial for them to differentiate from the competition in order to ensure business continuity. The main ‘ingredients’ of a successful real estate digital marketing strategy are well-known: developing a relevant online presence with an SEO-friendly website (that follows an overall SEO strategy), publishing valuable content, and leveraging appropriate social media marketing channels are some of them. This article details one of these critical elements: email marketing.

Why real estate agents need to integrate email marketing into their strategy

So, why is email marketing so relevant for you as a real estate agent? The answer is simple: it is one of the most effective marketing channels to stay top of mind, convert real estate leads into clients, (re)engage existing customers, get more listings and win more sales mandates. In digital marketing, the biggest mistake you can make is letting potential customers forget about you. Whether you own a small business or are part of one of Europe’s largest networks, the rule of thumb is to keep in touch in some way or another. Let’s delve into why email marketing is one of the best ways to do so.

Here are the main benefits of email marketing:

According to the Content Marketing Institute, nearly 9 out of 10 online marketing professionals use email marketing to distribute their content. We’re not surprised about that, as most of the best real estate agents do the same! The benefits are clear and are all applicable to the real estate industry:

• Emails are popular across all demographics – people of all ages and backgrounds check their inboxes on a regular basis.

• Email marketing is affordable compared to other marketing channels – businesses can easily get started with email marketing without spending large amounts of money.

• It is easy to measure – most email marketing tools provide you with all the essential metrics you need to track: deliverability, email open rate, click-through rate (CTR), unsubscribe rate, etc.

• It is highly personalisable as you can easily segment your audience – we’ll get to that further in this article.

• Thanks to automation possibilities, you can save some precious time, allowing you to focus on other activities. We’ll get back to that one as well.

5 ideas to ensure the success of your real estate email campaigns

1. Build and grow your email list

If you’re getting started with email marketing, your first step will be to build and grow your list of subscribed contacts. You have different ways to do so:

• Start with asking all of your potential clients and existing customers if they’re interested in getting regular updates from you – send them an email giving them the possibility to opt in easily.

• Add a newsletter checkbox in the contact form on your website and landing pages – that way, anyone looking to get in touch with you will also be offered to sign up for your email list simultaneously.

• Leverage lead magnets – those are relevant and free items or services (e.g. ebook, webinar recording, industry report, free property valuation or consultation, etc.) your website visitors can get access to in exchange for signing up for your newsletter. Place several of them on your website in visible areas (pop-up windows, homepage, etc.) and communicate about them on social media to collect subscriptions. Track the conversion rate on these lead magnets and optimise them accordingly.

When building and growing your email list, a crucial aspect is to follow privacy rules (e.g. GDPR): Always collect opt-ins and never email anyone who has not given active consent. Similarly, you must offer subscribers the possibility to opt out of your emails.

2. Keep a personal and human touch

One of the main strengths of email marketing is that it’s a highly personal way to communicate with your contacts. Here are the types of emails you can send to keep the communication personal:

• Welcome emails: According to multiple sources, welcome emails have a significantly higher open rate than average. Let your new leads know you are happy about them subscribing to your email list, and give them some basic information on what type of content they can expect, the frequency, etc. You can also include a call-to-action for contacting you.

• Emails on special occasions: Writing to your contacts to wish them a happy new year, a merry Christmas or even a happy birthday can help create a more personal bond. Think of a way to create added value, e.g. by offering them a voucher, a unique piece of content, or a free valuation.

• Asking for feedback or a testimonial in your emails: Asking for feedback shows your contacts that this is not a one-way communication and that you care about their opinion.

• Simple “checking in” or follow-up emails, e.g. a few months after a sale, to ask your contacts how their real estate project is going and if there’s anything you can do to help

3. Use email marketing to share relevant content

Sending a weekly or monthly email newsletter with regular updates is a good start, but there are many other options. Here are a few examples of content you could share in your email campaigns:

• A selection of new listings

• A local market report that includes data and insights into specific locations

• Advice, ‘how-to’ guides related to your contacts’ typical challenges and pain points

• Real estate trends and news

• Announcements and milestones: let your contacts know how your business is growing

• Testimonials and positive reviews from past clients help you build authority and trust
  
  

Don’t forget to make the content clear, actionable and mobile-friendly, as many people read their emails on their mobile phones. Include CTAs, and write subject lines that are as engaging as possible!

4. Segment your target audience

Segmenting your audience helps you customise your content and ensure that your contacts will receive content that is as relevant as possible and tailored to their interests and needs. As a realtor or real estate business, you could choose to segment your audience by:

• Location
• Age group
• ‘Status’ and real estate interests: are they homeowners, potential buyers looking for a new home, or investors?
• Lead generation source – have they requested a free valuation? Have they downloaded an ebook?

Once you’ve defined these segments on your digital tool for email marketing, adapt the content you are sending and the wording and messaging based on these different segments. Make sure to test different approaches, track results, adjust and repeat! Real estate marketing is all about trying out, measuring and optimising!

5. Leverage the power of email marketing automation

Another aspect you should absolutely focus on is automating your email marketing campaigns. Most email marketing software companies offer automation possibilities – this will help you save a significant amount of time. If you don’t know what type of email to automate first, here are some ideas:

• Welcome emails are an easy start: scheduling automated email sequences to go out each time you get a new subscriber is one of the best ways to establish the first contact
  
  
• Birthdays and anniversaries are easy to automate as well – just set some conditions for your email automation tool to send out a message automatically on the most suitable date
  
  
• Drip campaigns are email campaigns usually triggered by a specific action or behaviour. You can easily create your ideal journey and workflow by defining some triggers, rules and timings. For example:
  • Did someone request a free valuation on your website? Send them an email offering a free consultation with you five days later.
  • Did someone download your ebook on home staging? Send them a checklist for sellers the next day.
  • Did someone shortlist some of your listings? Send them tips for homebuyers and a follow-up email the following week to let them know how you can help.
    

Next steps: choose your email marketing software and start your first campaign!

Some of the most popular email marketing tools are Mailchimp, Hubspot, Sendinblue and ActiveCampaign. It makes sense to check which email marketing software can integrate with your CRM, as this could help you save a lot of time and effort.

Once you’ve chosen your tool, remember that implementing an effective email marketing strategy takes time and testing. You can start with easy campaigns such as welcome emails and a monthly real estate newsletter and see how your audience responds to them.

Email marketing is key to building a successful marketing strategy, but it’s not the only element! Take a look at our latest ebook “Get more sales mandates by transforming your customer journey”, to understand how you can efficiently attract, convert and retain real estate leads and customers.