Real Estate Email Marketing Tips 2022

There are a few easy ways real estate agents can improve their email marketing campaign results. If you want to send emails that actually convert, implement these real estate email marketing tips.

Real Estate Agents’ need to do better with email marketing, considering that only 19.7% of the emails realtors send get opened. Fundamentally, the problem is that many agents still follow outdated advice and send emails that are too long, too frequent, and to too many people.

1. Write & Automate Follow-up Email Drips for Unresponsive Leads

Smart agents write and automate their follow-up emails instead of writing individual follow-up emails to each lead. For example, if you receive a lead with a bad phone number, you should use your customer relationship manager (CRM) to automatically send these leads emails until you get a response.

Here are some examples of real estate email templates that you could use to automatically send to leads with bad phone numbers:

Send Immediately

Subject: Oops–I think we got something wrong!

Hello [First Name],

I am just checking in one more time. Is [CELLPHONE] your correct number?

We still wanted to make sure of your property search and the area you are looking in. Do you have plans to purchase a property?

[Agent First Name] [Agent Last Name]

[Website]

Day 1

Subject: Where is your favorite location?

Hello [First Name],

I am just checking in one more time. Is [CELLPHONE] your correct number?

We still wanted to make sure of your property search and the area you are looking in. Do you have plans to purchase a property?

[Agent First Name] [Agent Last Name]

[Website]

2. Include a Brief Testimonial in Your Referral Emails

When you write emails asking for referrals, always include a brief testimonial from a referral client you’ve already worked with. This will give your former clients a subtle behavioral nudge to refer you to their friends and family. Yes, they probably already like and trust you, but including a testimonial from another referral will give them actual social proof that you will take their referral business seriously.

Here’s an example of how to include a brief real estate testimonial in a referral email

Subject: Thank You, Sincerely!

I just wanted to drop a quick note to say thank you!

Did you know that my business relies on referrals from clients like you? In fact, last year over 20% of my business came from referrals.

Here is another testimonial from a referral I received.

“John helped me buy my first home for less than $2,000 down. This is less than if I paid a deposit and first month’s rent!”

— Jamie Smith

If you know someone who is interested in buying a home for as little as $2,000 down, like Jamie, please call me today at 555-555-5555.

Cheers,

John

3. Email Cadence Is Almost as Important as Quality

One thing many new agents don’t understand about real estate email marketing is that the timing of your emails is almost as important as the quality of your emails. In marketing, this is called “cadence.” If you want your emails to be successful, you should take the time to plan out your email cadence to different leads and former clients.

Here’s a quick cheat sheet for emails cadences for different types of leads:

4. Turn Links Into CTA Buttons for Mobile Users

Don’t use underlined links in your real estate email templates, they are much less likely to get clicked than an actual CTA.

This is where buttons come in. Buttons are much easier for people to click, which will mean more people will click them, and more people will visit your website. While you’re at it, try to label your buttons with calls to action (CTAs) rather than boring copy like “click here.”

Here’s a great example of a CTA button from Smith & Berg Partners. Note how much more inviting “view photos” is than a generic “click here.”

5. Focus Newsletter Content on What You Know

What is your value add? Curate your content and theme based on your unique expertise, skill set, or interests. If you’re a Golfist, then write about golf!

For example, if you have a special talent for staging, take a time-lapse video of redecorating a listing and getting it ready for sale. Write about how important staging is in the current market, and cite past case studies that prove it gets the home sold faster.

Suppose you’re more of a number-cruncher with an audience in the finance world. In that case, your newsletter could be formatted as a market report with research on your city’s performance each quarter and your opinion for the forecast of where the market might be heading.

If you’re new to real estate and still finding your footing, you could start with a theme that explores a list of “the best of” a popular neighborhood in your city and cover a different area each time. We all love listicles! You could also focus on interests like food, music, pets, or fitness and find ways to tie those things back to real estate.

Interviews/Q&As with industry professionals is another interesting angle. Think of any architects, interior designers, artists, gallery owners, or fashion designers you know who may be shaking up the real estate industry in a unique way.

6. Write at Least 3 Versions of Every Subject Line

I have over 100,000 subscribers in my email list. In my experience, writing at least three different versions of every subject line because subject lines are the first thing your subscribers will read. Getting good at writing them takes practice. A/B/C testing will help you in figuring out what formatting/syntax works for best for your real estate email marketing audience.

The job of a subject line is to be clickable so that your email gets opened. Pattern interrupters like emojis can work well to draw the eye toward your email in a crowded inbox. But ultimately, the copy you write is what will drive opens.

Think like a storyteller and leave people wanting to know more. Strong adjectives can go a long way to make your subject lines more enticing and speak to the emotions. As for length, 35 characters has traditionally been recommended. But like most things in marketing, as more people follow best practices, they become less likely to make you stand out. Play around with shorter and longer subject lines to gain attention in people’s crowded inboxes.

7. Keep Your Emails Short, Sweet & Relevant

Offer relevant, interesting information in digestible amounts. Your newsletter shouldn’t take longer than five minutes to read. When it comes to nurturing emails, you need to focus on brevity even more. Get right to the point!

Here’s an excellent example of a short, sweet, and relevant email:

Subject: Did you get the text?

Hello {lead_first_name},

Did you receive the text we sent about your home search? Just making sure in case it didn’t come through, it was sent to {lead_phone}. Is that the best number?

We want to be your go-to resource to assist with your real estate questions. What homes are of most interest to you and how can we help?

{agent_signature}

8. Don’t Base All Your Content Decisions on Analytics

While the analytics (performance data you get from your email marketing software) is crucial for success, you should be very careful about making content decisions based on this data. While making decisions based on data may seem like a great strategy, it can backfire quickly. Here’s why:

The problem is the sample size. For example, let’s say you send out a newsletter linking to a blog post about a new restaurant and 20% of the people who opened the email clicked the link to your post. Since average click-through rates for the real estate industry are only 1.77%, you might decide you have a winner on your hands and start sending out more emails about restaurants.

But what if only 50 people total opened the email in the first place? That means only 10 people clicked over to your post. Making big content decisions on numbers this small rarely gets good results.

9. Be Visual

Incorporate visually appealing images that are relevant to your topic. Free stock photo sites like Unsplash.com are a great free resource for high-quality photography. Services like Mailchimp and Constant Contact offer free newsletter templates with your paid membership; take advantage of those or hire a freelance designer to help create something more custom.

Over to You

Have a real estate email marketing tip you want to share with your fellow agents? Let me know in the comments.