Why You Need an Email Database for Real Estate Marketing

An email database is a strategic online marketing tool for any business in the digital age. It enables entrepreneurs to build strong relationships with consumers and peers, giving them access to an interested, focused audience. 

Nurturing potential home buyers and sellers is an essential strategy for any realtor, and the email database plays a crucial role in achieving this goal. List the main reasons to have an email database for real estate marketing, and refer to them when you plan your email outreach:

• reach an interested, focused audience;
• nurture potential buyers or sellers;
• engage with former clients to promote WOM (word-of-mouth) marketing;
• incentivize referrals after sales;
• gain new customers and leads;
• maintain strong relationships with your local community;
• boost your business and brand relevance on the market; 
• expand your market reach and grow your sales.

To accomplish these objectives, you can use email to:

• disseminate community news and information;
• share home-improvement and maintenance DIY tips and advice;
• distribute promotional newsletters featuring listings and rentals;
• inform the subscribers about real estate market trends and fluctuations;
• offer timely information about your business;
• and much more.

Some of your subscribers may not (yet) be buyers or ready to buy, but they may as well serve as your liaisons with potentially interested parties.  

Technology allows you to segment email campaigns based on buyer personas. You can go a step further and personalize your email messages based on demographics, location, browsing behaviors, purchase history, email subscription preferences, and the list goes on. Customizing your email messages - newsletters, offers, or otherwise - like this enables you to establish a more “personal” relationship with your subscribers. 

Having an email database also gives you the advantage that you can track anything your subscribers do when they receive your messages. Through email analytics, you can see how many users read your emails, what links they clicked on, whether they forwarded your messages or not, how many unsubscribed, how many people ignored your email, and so on. The data will help you build better marketing campaigns to entice users beyond your email database. 

Email subscribers may also generate an additional stream of targeted traffic to your website, listings, blog, social media profiles, YouTube channel, and other online resources. 

The most important reason you need an email database is that when people give away any personal data, they are ready to engage. You have one foot in the door, and it will be up to you to make the sale, retain those customers, and successfully convert them into your brand ambassadors. 

How to Grow Your Email Database

Email databases tend to deprecate when users unsubscribe, become inactive, or change their email addresses. It is up to you to maintain your database up to date, and here are some strategies you could employ:

1. Onside lead-capturing forms

A standard strategy for any business, the email signup form collects qualified leads and is the easiest way to grow your email database. Simply embed the code and forget about it. Site visitors interested in your business and your offers are the most likely to “opt-in” for email updates without needing persuasive efforts on your part. But shorten the length of your lead-capturing form to two or three fields to make 

2. Email opt-in popups

Expand your email database by enticing website visitors with different CTAs displayed in popups, sticky bars, or slide-ins. Use special software to trigger popups based on parameters like location, language, time on page, exit intent, and so on. Program the popups to set off based on user behavior: click on an image, link, button, and other page elements. You can display popups full page or in custom sizes based on your website design and business needs. 

3. “Subscribe” email signatures

Add a hyperlink to your subscription form to your email signature and encourage your employees and collaborators to do the same. Upon clicking, email readers will see your opt-in subscription form in a browser window. Many companies use this practice successfully.

4. Facebook action button

Business pages on Facebook allow you to implement custom call-to-action buttons. “Sign up” is one of these - allowing people to sign up for your newsletter. Depending on your Facebook page’s success, this strategy will help you collect even more email addresses and leads. 

5. Lead-gen social media campaigns

Use Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks to entice users with special offers, giveaways, and other promotions that require an email address and basic personal information to participate and redeem. 

6. Promote gated content on social media

Entice social media followers to access gated content - anything that requires email signup to view: blog posts, listings, house plans, eBooks or white papers, video tours, and so on. 

7. Email forwarding

Encourage subscribers to follow newsletters to their family and peers. 

8. Reengage inactive subscribers

Have a protocol in place to entice inactive newsletter subscribers to re-opt in or permanently unsubscribe to keep your email database up to date. 

9. Collect email addresses in-person

Don’t forget to ask people for their email data when attending niche events: open house, trade shows, seminars, informal meetings, and more. 

There are many other strategies to collect email addresses that will grow your email database, but these basic ones suffice to satisfy your busy schedule. You could also task an intern to collect emails and manage your database. 

Email databases are crucial when Google and other search engines change their algorithms, putting your visibility at risk. A well-managed email database is the most potent weapon in your marketing arsenal, and you should groom it as such.