Here's the thing about your monthly lead follow-up emails—most people don't read them. According to MailChimp, the average open rate for real estate emails is 19.17%, and average click through rate is just 1.77%. So if your opens and click-throughs are similarly low, don't panic. It's just the nature of mass email marketing.
There are, however, some things you can do to get more opens and clicks. Because why be average when you could be amazing?
6 Ways To Put Some More *Oomph* Into Your Email Follow-Up
1) Avoid getting marked as spam.
If you want your leads to open and click your emails, you first have to make sure your emails are actually making it to their inboxes. Follow the rules of the CAN-SPAM Act:
- Use accurate information in the From, To, and Reply-To fields.
- Don't use misleading subject lines. Your subject should accurately reflect what's in the message of the email.
- Include your business's valid physical postal address.
- Include an unsubscribe link.
And here are some things to keep in mind when writing your subject line:
- Avoid common spam-trigger words like "free," "offer," "now," and "for sale."
- Aim for six words or less.
- Don't use brackets [ ].
- Don't begin your subject line with "Re:" to create the appearance of an ongoing conversation.
2) Write a compelling subject line.
Once you've made it past the spam filters, the next most crucial factor in determining whether or not your email will get opened is the subject line. Your subject line must be compelling enough to grab a person's attention and convince them to click.
It also needs to be pretty darn short. Or, at least, you need to get the most attention-grabbing words within the first 40 characters, because that's all that shows up when someone gets an email notification on their phone. Consider the preview text, too, which is either the first few lines of your message or whatever you customize as your preview. Depending on the email client and phone someone uses, only the first 40-160 characters of the preview message will be visible on a phone notification.
Here are some tips for writing an effective subject line, courtesy of real estate marketing consultant Valerie Garcia:
- Make the benefit to the consumer clear.
- Spark curiosity (but don't stray into click-bait territory).
- State what you're offering.
- Include a deadline to create a sense of urgency.
- Use emojis. 😀
3) Segment your email lists.
Segmented email campaigns get 101% more click-throughs, 14% higher open rates, and 10% fewer unsubscribes.
So instead of sending everyone in your database the same generic follow-up emails each month, create segmented lists. You could start by simply splitting your email list in two—current and past clients vs. people you've never worked with. Over time, you can work in more segmentation—lead type (buyer, seller, both), age group (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials), interests (golfers, dog owners, Denver Broncos fans, etc.).
When you create these segmented email lists, you are able to write more relevant emails tailored to those leads' specific challenges or interests. You can write subject lines that will grab their attention.
Which subject line do you think would be more likely to get the attention of a dog-loving Millennial buyer?
- Top 10 Neighborhoods In Denver
- 10 Dog-Friendly Neighborhoods for First-Time Homebuyers in Denver
The more specific and personalized you can make your emails, the better.
4) Provide value.
Why should people bother opening your emails? What's in it for them?
Every email you send should do one or more of the following:
- Educate: Teach them how to do something.
- Inform: Share facts and tell them how it impacts them.
- Entertain: Make them smile. As Mridu Khullar Relph for Buffer points out, content that is funny "is able to quickly transform a ‘company’ into ‘a group of people just like me.’"
5) Use "you" and "your" statements
To make it clear that your email is 100% focused on the consumer, remove any "I" and "me" statements and replace them with "you" and "your" statements. Instead of talking about your accomplishments, explain how you can help them buy or sell a home. Make it all about the benefit to them.
6) Include a video.
Did you know you can boost your open rate by 300% simply by including a video in your email?
The video doesn't need to be anything fancy—just you, talking into the camera with a smile on your face, providing some sort of value. Maybe you record a 60-second weekly market update to share a few key stats and explain what those numbers mean for buyers and sellers. Maybe you share five quick tips for prepping a home for sale. You can take any content you want to share and turn it into a video! Just be sure to include the word "video" in your subject line to grab attention.
Be sure to include a greeting and a few lines of text along with your video. Some email providers will hide the video portion of the message if there is no text before and after the video.
Take your lead follow-up to the next level with Firepoint
Firepoint isn't just a CRM—it's also a powerful automation tool for lead follow-up and long-term lead nurturing.
With Firepoint CRM, there are several ways to automate lead follow-up:
- Create autoresponder emails or texts to reach out immediately to new web leads
- Set rules for different autoresponders to send depending on the time of day a lead comes in
- Automatically assign incoming leads to a drip email campaign (you can use the existing campaigns in Firepoint or create your own)
Learn more at firepoint.net!
