Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Can real estate drip letters turn prospective home buyers into clients? Maybe. Can real estate drip letters also be annoying to potential buyers? Absolutely.
Drip drop, drip drop. Image by Carlton Chong
Personal e-mail addresses we use for online shopping, various social media accounts, and to search for real estate via the web already get enough junk mail and web offers from retail companies as it is. Consumers and home buyers just starting their quest to find the perfect home certainly don’t need extra drip letters flooding their inbox filled with glorified spam, talking about lower mortgage rates or how you’re the “expert” in your market.
There are exceptions to drip marketing campaigns, however, and subtle, constant contact through e-mail can of course work to your advantage if you know what to send. Instead of having a set of 5-10 pre-written letters with generic real estate information enclosed, how about sending buyers an e-mail that will actually benefit them?
To really get a home buyer's attention, send them information that specifically relates to their needs. Chances are that if you already have their e-mail address, you likely know exactly what they’re looking for in terms of a new home or condo. If I’m a home buyer and I receive several e-mails that list the top 10 homes on the market in my price range or perhaps some information regarding a price change or two of homes in my price range, I’m without a doubt going to appreciate that information more, as opposed to multiple paragraphs of real estate text that I may or may not care about.
Remember, home buyers contact Realtors because they want to be able VIEW HOMES ON THE MARKET. Your job as a real estate agent is to find them that fabulous new home that combines all their needs and wants with the budget they have, so give buyers what they want to see. If you’re going to have a drip marketing campaign, make sure to send relevant information customized for each buyer or client. Yes, it’s going to take more time and effort, but giving that extra effort is what will ultimately get you better results in the end.
Joe Heath is a graduate of Indiana University and possesses a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from Drexel University. After working in the market research sector and authoring published Market Snapshots for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, Joe now works as a Web Marketing Specialist and co-owns Real Estate Web Creation with his partner, Ted Guarnero, a 25+ year real estate veteran.
