Email newsletters for Estate Agents digital marketing. Email newsletters are an important element of a good digital marketing strategy, allowing sales and letting agents to entertain, educate and connect with their audience.
While buying and/or selling a property isn’t a regular activity for most of people, you want to be at the forefront of their minds when they need you – or when they’re talking to friends, family and business contacts who are thinking of moving.
An e-newsletter is an easy way to keep in regular contact, but the sad fact is many mailouts go unread by the majority of recipients. Maybe their inboxes are clogged up with messages and they don’t have enough time to look at them all so, instead, they hit the delete key – or worse, unsubscribe altogether.
By adopting some simple tactics, however, you can increase the open rates of your e-newsletters. There are plenty of easy-to-use software programmes for distribution and monitoring, so you’ll be able to see from your analytics how each one performs.
What do you want to say?
The first thing you need to do is clarify your message. If you’re making a major announcement, it is likely to be the sole focus of your newsletter; a general update might include more variety.
Will you choose a theme for each issue, or will there be regular features such as a round-up of industry news that affects homebuyers or tips on how to sell your home?
It’s a good idea to spend some time planning content ahead of each issue, as well as the general look and feel. If you adopt a scatter-gun approach, this will show in the end-product.
Choose your format
Different styles suit different messages. If you’re letting people know about a special offer, perhaps a flyer-type design would work better. If it’s a round-up, you might want to lay it out more like a newspaper page.
Do you want to provide a ‘view in web browser’ option, and will it appear differently on mobile and desktop versions? These are points to bear in mind during your planning phase.
Use your own preferences
Chances are you receive third-party email updates yourself, so think about the ones you like. What entices you to open a message? If your finger skips straight to ‘delete’, why did that particular newsletter fail to hold your attention? When you’re trying to determine what will work, use your own opinions -and those of your team – as part of the process.
Stick to the point
Too many businesses use their e-newsletters as an opportunity to include as much information as possible and end up losing the main message. Don’t overcrowd – keep it simple and communicate clearly.
Be personal – but consistent
There’s nothing wrong with giving your e-newsletter some personality and speaking to your readers as though you were there with them. At the same time, be mindful it should be instantly identifiable as belonging to your brand. The colours and design should always reflect you, your business and your website – everything should work together to promote your estate agency.
The header
This is one of the key design elements – it will be used on every mailout you send so it’s worth engaging a professional graphic designer to ensure you get it right. A good header will instantly convey your brand and its values, and should make readers feel they’re receiving something special and important rather than a piece of marketing spam.
The footer
In many ways, this is as important as the header – it should give your newsletter a feeling of completeness.
It doesn’t need to be complicated or contain too much information – contact details, social media share buttons and a way to unsubscribe are fine. It should, however, tie in with the header – the two should be perfectly matched.
Don’t forget images
A newsletter containing nothing but text and headings looks dull and suggests information overload. Draw readers in with inspiring or interesting pictures – depending on your message, these could include photographs of events, staff or an interesting property you have on your books.
Images are evocative, so use them to elicit the response you’re looking for. They’re also a great way to communicate information in easy-to-absorb chunks, so if you want to share statistics about the local property market, for example, you might use a bespoke infographic.
Don’t be afraid to borrow
If you see a quote that inspires you or discover a useful app that will help – in the homebuying process or day-to-day life – include it. It’s this kind of personal touch that engages readers and reinforces the value you and your business can offer.
Stay in touch
Once you decide to send out a newsletter, you need to keep to a regular schedule. Whether it’s once a month or three times a year, if people hear from you regularly they will start to expect – and even look forward to – your emails. Bear in mind there’s a fine line between keeping people updated and spamming them.
Don’t forget to promote your newsletter and prompt people to subscribe by having a sign-up option on your website, and share it on your social networks too.
Track your newsletter’s success through analytics and learn what inspired readers to take action. You’ll soon get a feel for what works and what doesn’t and be able to adapt your content accordingly.
