E-mail marketing
Posted in Real Estate Marketing 2.0 By Jason Holstein, Friday, June 13, 2008.Hello. Since this is my first post here, I'll briefly introduce myself by saying that I am not a Realtor myself, but rather I work in the marketing department of a large residential brokerage in Orange County, California. I am working on developing an e-mail marketing campaign for our agents and I thought this might be a good topic of discussion.
What types of experiences have you had with any of the many vendors out there offering e-mail marketing services and software?
On a related note, how do you build your e-mail lists? Have any of you purchased the so-called "permission based" e-mail lists that are available from certain mail list providers?
I am quite curious to hear your thoughts and experiences!
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Submitted by Stacey Pfeifer on June 13, 2008 - 1:05pm.
Hi Jason,
Although, I'm not looking for a vendor, I'm often researching email marketing so I can help our agent clients with follow up contact that is intelligent and useful for their potential home buying clients [leads].
You're probably already familiar with MediaPost but I read their Email Insider post regularly
http://blogs.mediapost.com/email_insider/
and if you register and go to this page:
http://tinyurl.com/5vs7nm
..Plenty of email marketing resources there. I've also checked out Silver Pop but we have our own lead management tool and don't use an outside vendor.
good luck..and post some things you find that are useful, i'd be interested!
thanks,
Submitted by Joel Burslem on June 13, 2008 - 2:06pm.
Here at Inman we use Constant Contact and Lyris to manage all of our email marketing and lists.
While we have experimented with purchased lists in the past - It is my understanding that they weren't very successful.
These days we're very serious about making sure that all the email addresses we collect are "opt-in" in nature and that we don't abuse our collected lists.
Submitted by Debbie Ferrari on June 13, 2008 - 6:39pm.
EMAILING TO 11,000 BUYERS EVERY COUPLE WEEKS!!!
I guess I am kind of lucky to have been on the Internet since 1966, because over that time I have built up an active email list of 11,000 opted-in buyers that I email to every two weeks.
They are listed in my www.trackmy.com database and trackmy is my private IDX MLS portal that I offer buyers who visit my site at www.DebbieFerrari.com.
Specifically, you can see the entry interface to my trackmy database---where people go to look for homes---at http://tinyurl.com/6cxjjs .
People go to my site and click on one of the SEARCH MLS LINKS, which takes them to http://tinyurl.com/6cxjjs where they leave their contact info, usually, however, with a GENUINE email address and a BOGUS phone number and address.
Over the years, this action has added up to more than 11,000 valid buyer email addresses there.
I can send them only text messages through the trackmy bulk email software, but I use ample dashes and CAPS to set apart the sentences and ideas in my text so it is easy to read.
The Challenge with all-text is to make each email as arresting as possible, just on the strength of the text alone...We must be doing it okay, because I only get one or two FLAMES from ticked off people bemoaning SPAM and only about a dozen out of 11,000who say remove me from the list even though they opted in. (Some say that and then sign back up later, too.)
I suppose the reason they don't complain is that they are so USED to getting the automatically emailed updates that I have become kind of familiar like an old shoe, to them, which would not be the case emailing them if I was a total stranger. "Oh, it's just that Debbie Ferrari Realtor lady emailing us something again."
Each day, the Trackmy program automatically sends out handsome emails consisting of a string of full pages which describe and show pics of homes that match the buyers stated home search parameters. In other words, it send buyers an email whenever one or more homes that agents have placed on the MLS match the buyer's original, stated desires in a home.
Currently, this means that my Trackmy is automatically sending out between 4,500 and 6,000 emails each DAY, comprising some 20,000 or more homes.
Some people get these emailed updates for several years, then finally, when ready to buy, call me and come to my area to see the most recent homes they liked on the emails.
Some do this after getting my updates sent to them for FIVE YEARS, but that is just ducky with me, huh? Some even ask me how I find the time to hunt up all those homes and then email the stuff to them...they cannot get over how comprehensive the info and pictures are. They think I am whipping up each email anew, which is fine.
While this is going on, NEW people are signing up every day into the Trackmy program and when they do, I get an email automatically sent to me with their contact info on it.
I forward most of these on to several of my agents under me who are assigned to follow up on these leads with a nice note thanking the buyers for signing up, and offering personal assistance, or, calling them if the phone number IS a valid one. We are very clear that people like their anonymity on the Web until THEY choose to reveal their identity.
What I like best about this program is that it's a no-brainer for me to administer. The software
does most everything FOR me and sends out very attractive emails that impress people and keep them opted-in for years once they SAVE their home search parameters.
Our other email marketing work consists of sending regular emails to some of the people to whom we've shown property already, but who just have not bought yet. Sometimes these people get a cordial email and then turn up by calling me and then we're back in the saddle again for a newsy lunch with them, and then continuing looking for their dream home.
No doubt there are lots of IDX MLS programs out there that compete with the Trackmy one, and maybe some do pretty much the same. Why I thought this would be interesting to you in this discussion about email MARKETING, was that the WHOPPER SIZE of my opted-in buyer mailing list is so surprising.
But that's why I say that it helps to have been on the Internet since 1996 since we have accumulated those names over a 12 year period.
We are constantly thinking of new and better ways to word our "blasts" that we send to the 11,000, and of course we use www.tinyurl.com to compress long URLS and always include outside links to news that is relevant to their continuing search for homes in Orange County, California.
Lemme know about YOUR success with your private, web-site-based IDX MLS EMAIL MARKETING programs. I am always eager to learn more.
Debbie Ferrari, "The Internet Broker"
****For South Orange County, CA****
Search the Local MLS Right from My Giant Web Site at:
http://www.debbieferrari.com
E-mail: Debbie@DebbieFerrari.com
CALL ME TOLL FREE: 888-547-2942
Reach Me All Day Long---949-463-4111
Submitted by Erin Campbell on June 14, 2008 - 10:54am.
If you already have an e-mail list, you might consider FrogPond Publisher (http://www.frogpondpublisher.com). I've known the creator, Susie Hale, for quite some time but just recently had the opportunity to preview the product. They do a really nice job helping real estate pros develop professional electronic magazines that are customizable and totally interactive. The Houston Association of Realtors uses it for communicating with their members. Just another vendor to consider.