Blog Real Estate Marketing Over 20 Ideas for Email Marketing Content

Over 20 Ideas for Email Marketing Content

A successful career in real estate comes down to a couple of simple concepts: building great relationships, and marketing. There’s no shortage of marketing options available to a savvy agent, but one of the most effective is something we all have access to – email. 

Email marketing is instrumental not only in promotion but also in nurturing leads and building relationships. In this post, we are diving deep into real estate email marketing ideas so that you can build an effective email program and connect with new clients. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Email marketing content ideas are essential to your marketing mix. Email is a proven marketing channel that results in a strong ROI. 
• There are established best practices for creating compelling emails. This article contains several tips for visually appealing emails that generate clicks. 
• Email platforms can help to bring your email marketing content ideas to fruition. We’ve included some suggestions for tools that we like and how to assess options for choosing a resource. 

The Importance of Real Estate Email Marketing

Many people will tell you that email isn’t as relevant as it used to be, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Email marketing is an essential tool for several industries, and real estate is no exception. Email offers the ability to reach potential buyers, engage with them, and nurture leads through campaigns that are highly effective in the competitive real estate market. 

Benefits of Real Estate Email Marketing

Email is a unique channel with plenty of upside and ROI opportunities. Here are some of the reasons that real estate email marketing ideas are so popular:

• Increased reach and engagement – Email marketing allows real estate professionals to connect with a wide audience and interact with potential buyers and sellers directly. By building an email list of interested prospects, agents can stay in touch, providing updates on new listings, market trends, and other relevant information.
• Cost-effective – Compared to traditional marketing methods like print advertisements and direct mail, email marketing is a cost-effective solution for real estate professionals. With minimal expenses, agents can create and send personalized emails to a highly targeted audience, saving time and money.
• Enhanced lead nurturing – Obtaining leads is not enough; you must nurture them to build relationships. By sending targeted and personalized emails, agents can showcase their expertise, share valuable content, and stay top of mind with prospects, increasing the chances of eventual conversion.

How Email Marketing Helps Hook Potential Buyers

Email marketing can impact both the buying and selling end, but there are some specific ways that it attracts potential buyers. 

• Showcasing listings – Email marketing is a great way to highlight the listings you have available to potential buyers. Agents can send visually appealing and informational emails to their lead list, with high-quality images and detailed descriptions to entice them. 
• Providing market updates – Email allows agents to share important updates on the real estate sector or what’s happening in a certain geographic area. This can be extremely helpful to potential buyers, who will view you as a trusted source of information. 
• Offering exclusive deals – If you need to provide incentives to potential buyers, email is a great way to spread the word. Send personalized emails with special offers, discounts, event information, or other material that creates a sense of urgency. 

Visual Composition of Effective Email Campaigns

Elements of a Well-Designed Real Estate Email

1. Compelling subject line – Your email subject line should be concise, attention-grabbing, and relevant to the reader. 
2. Clean and professional design – The layout of a real estate email should be clean, professional, and visually appealing. Agents should use a consistent color scheme, fonts, and layouts to maintain brand consistency and create a cohesive experience for recipients.
3. Eye-catching header – Headings should be interesting and brief while highlighting your logo or other recognizable elements. 
4. Engaging images – Incorporate high-quality and relevant images that showcase properties, highlight certain features, or evoke some emotion related to the buying or selling process. 
5. Clear call-to-action – Every email should have a clear and prominent call-to-action (CTA). Whether it’s to schedule a property viewing, sign up for a newsletter, or explore available listings, the CTA should be visually distinct and easily clickable.

Bonus points for personalization (more on that below). Not all email marketing content ideas lend toward customization, but when you are able to personalize emails it can be the difference in opening vs. deleting. 

Best Practices for Email Layout and Design

• Mobile-Friendly Design – With the increasing use of mobile devices, it’s essential that any email marketing content ideas you have can be executed on mobile. The layout should adapt to different screen sizes, and the content should be easily readable on smartphones and tablets.
• Personalization and Segmentation – Personalizing emails based on recipients’ preferences, previous interactions, and demographics can significantly improve engagement and conversion rates. Segmenting the email list into different categories allows agents to send targeted emails that resonate with specific groups of recipients.

Writing a Compelling Welcome Email

Importance of Welcome Emails in Real Estate Marketing

We all know that there are no second chances at making a first impression. The welcome email is the first opportunity to make a positive impression on potential buyers or sellers. It sets the tone for future communication and establishes trust and professionalism. 

Tips for Creating a Welcome Email That Engages and Converts

• Begin with a personalized greeting.
• Express gratitude for the reader’s interest in your services. 
• Introduce your brand, whether personal or company. 
• Set expectations about what they can expect by being a subscriber. 
• Tell them how to obtain valuable content, such as free resources or an ebook. 
• Include a call to action that makes it clear what their next step should be. 
• Highlight your unique value propositions. 
• Keep it concise and scannable. 
• Make sure to optimize for mobile. 

Using Personalized Emails and Targeted Campaigns

Benefits of Personalization in Real Estate Email Marketing

Personalization is a powerful strategy in real estate email marketing. It allows agents to tailor their messages to individual recipients, greatly increasing the chances of open rates, engagement, and conversion. By personalizing emails, agents can create a more personalized, meaningful, and memorable experience for potential buyers and sellers.

How to Segment and Target Your Email List for Better Results

Segmenting the email list based on various criteria enables agents to send targeted emails to specific groups of recipients. 

Some common segmentation criteria include:

• Location
• Property preferences
• Buying or selling stage
• Previous interactions with your agency
• Event or open house attendance.  

For example, agents can create separate email campaigns for buyers and sellers, providing information and resources that are relevant to each unique group. Many agents also segment their lists based on geographic location, allowing them to send targeted emails about properties in specific neighborhoods.

Controlling the Flow of Information with Email Marketing Software

Importance of Using Email Marketing Software for Real Estate Marketing

It can be difficult to achieve the reach and personalization that make email effective without some help from an email program. Email marketing software provides real estate professionals with the tools and features to bring their email marketing content ideas to life. 

With this software, agents can create, manage, and track their email campaigns effectively. More specifically, these tools offer a centralized platform where agents can design emails, manage their contact lists, schedule email sends, and review or share the analytics of their campaigns.

Features to Look for in Real Estate Email Marketing Software

All email marketing software is not created equal, and you want to choose an ideal option for the real estate industry. Here are some things to look for when choosing email marketing software for real estate marketing:

• Email templates – Many platforms offer a variety of pre-designed email templates specifically tailored for real estate that can save a lot of time and effort. 
• Contact management – The software should have robust contact management capabilities, allowing agents to organize and segment their email lists easily as well as import or export lists.
• Automation and workflows – These features can streamline drip campaigns, autoresponders, and other automated workflows that help with lead nurturing. 

Best Real Estate Email Marketing Tools and Software

Overview of Top Real Estate Email Marketing Tools and Platforms

There are several email marketing tools and platforms available that cater specifically to the needs of real estate professionals. Some popular options include:

• Mailchimp – A widely used email marketing platform that offers a range of features and integrations. It provides customizable templates, contact management, automation, and reporting capabilities.
• Constant Contact – Known for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive email marketing features, this tool offers intuitive templates, contact management, automation options, and robust reporting.
• ActiveCampaign – A powerful marketing automation platform that goes beyond basic email marketing, the features include  advanced segmentation, personalization, automation, and CRM integration capabilities.

Comparison of Features and Pricing

When choosing an email marketing tool, it’s important to consider the specific features and pricing plans that best fit your needs and budget. Compare the available options based on factors such as ease of use, template selection, automation capabilities, contact management, reporting, and pricing structure. Take into account the size of your email list and the frequency of your email campaigns to ensure that the tool you choose can accommodate your requirements.

As a quick reference to the options we listed above, here are some price points: 

• MailChimp – Free plan for up to 500 contacts; cost of paid plans depends on the number of contacts. Begins at $39.50/mo for 2500 users. 
• Constant Contact – 60-day free trial but no free plans; the cost of paid plans depends on the number of contacts. Begins at $12/mo for 500 users. 
• ActiveCampaign – The pricing is a straightforward $29 per month if billed annually for 1,000 to 2,500 marketing contacts. Other tiered plans are available. 

Types of Emails to Send in Real Estate Email Marketing

Welcome Emails and Onboarding Campaigns

As mentioned, the introduction email is the first communication sent to new subscribers or leads. They set the tone for future interactions and provide an opportunity to introduce the agent or agency and highlight key value propositions. Onboarding campaigns can further engage new subscribers and guide them through the various services and resources available. You can also plan out some follow-up email campaigns. 

Property Listings Showcases and Updates

Sending emails showcasing new property listings, price updates, and open house announcements helps keep potential buyers informed and engaged. Including high-quality images, virtual tours, and detailed property descriptions can make these emails more impactful in generating interest and inquiries.

Newsletters and Market Updates

An info-packed newsletter is a great way to provide valuable content and insights to subscribers. Agents can use these to share everything from market trends to real estate news, tips, and advice related to buying, selling, or investing in properties. For inspiration, you can check out these helpful market predictions in this Forbes article or this CBS piece. 

Tips and Statistics for Real Estate Email Marketing Success

Best Practices for Higher Open and Click-Through Rates

1. Use a high-quality, clean email list (don’t buy leads)
2. Create compelling subject lines that are relevant to the reader, and offer a benefit to opening. 
3. Optimize the header of all emails with preheader text (the text that appears alongside or below the subject line in most email programs). 
4. Segment email lists as we described above. 
5. Personalize your emails to include recipient data like name, past interaction, or property interests. 
6. Research and learn how to send email blasts effectively. 
7. Focus on mobile-friendly email designs that adapt to different screen sizes. 
8. Include a clear and concise call to action so readers know just what to do next. 
9. Test and optimize emails; test elements like subject lines or images and then use the winner. 

Key Stats and Insights for Real Estate Email Marketing

Here are a few relevant KPIs for real estate email marketing:

• Email is one of the most cost-effective options for business communication, with a return on investment (ROI) of $36 for every $1 spent. 
• Realtor sales statistics show that the first step that 47% of homebuyers take is to look at properties for sale online.
• According to a study by the Annuitas Group, companies that used marketing automation tools increased lead engagement and improved sales by 451%.
• The average open rate for marketing emails is 21.5%, but the average rate for real estate marketing emails is a bit higher at 21.7%.

Finally, note that there can be too much of a good thing. You want to be careful to send relevant, timely, and helpful emails – not to cross into spam territory. Pick the times and topics that align with you, your business, your brand, and your voice. Your clients will appreciate your thinking of them and that goes a long way in this business. If you need some advice on supporting a growing real estate business, our experts can help.