Once of the most profitable assets you can build for yourself as a real estate agent is a database of prospects and clients.
With a database of interested folks you can easily and effortlessly stay in communication and maintain top-of-mind awareness with these lovely folks. That’s one of the beauties of marketing real estate online… it’s easy to build this list of targeted subscribers and even easier to communicate with them through email marketing.
Have a new listing you want them to know about?
New legislation that affects your home owning clients?
Want to teach folks the benefits of 1031 through a short email course… and invite them to see your presentation live?
All of this, and more, can easily be done online through email.
Now, there’s good news and bad news in regards to email marketing.
If you’re at all like me I prefer to get the bad news out of the way first (makes me feel more proactive). So, here’s the short and not-so-sweet: when there’s a mountain of unread email staring at them from their inbox, chances are at least one of those emails is from mom or a friend, your subscriber is not the least bit interested in opening your email. In fact, if they don’t open your email when they first see it the likelihood that it will ever get opened greatly diminishes.
Fret not; this article isn’t about the futility of email marketing. Quite the contrary, it’s about how to increase the value of every single name in your database by getting them to open your emails and take action. That’s the good news 
First thing, it’s important to understand the two options that dictate the success of your email marketing…
Opened or not opened.
If your email is not opened by your subscriber then you have absolutely zero chance of them taking action on whatever you have to say inside. (Oh, the horror.)
If your email is opened then you’re part way there. It’s now up to the message inside to spur them to action. (Hint: this is the winning option)
Sometimes we forget that much of our marketing comes down to two simple options… Buy or not buy? Opt-in or not opt-on? Click or not click? Stay or go?
Obviously, your success in email marketing is firstly dependent on getting your subscriber to open your message. The more people who open your emails, the more people who respond to your emails.
Of course, getting folks to open your emails has gotten increasingly difficult. Let’s face it, a person’s inbox is extremely valuable real estate and there are plenty of other senders competing for your subscribers’ attention.
But, I’m here to tell you…
You can increase the number of people who open your email… and with it, increase the revenue you generate with every single mailing.
I’ve been marketing with email for years and will be sharing with you what I’ve found to work, what’s brought some great successes and why and – more importantly – how you can put these techniques to work for yourself.
Now, before we get into the mechanics of how to craft subject lines that grab your subscribers by the eyeballs and compel them to open your emails we need to do something a bit more subtle. In fact, it’s so subtle that most email marketers completely miss this but it has a huge impact on increasing the pulling power of every email you send by creating brand-space with your subscribers.
I share this technique with all my clients who regularly use email to communicate with their subscribers, now I’m going to share it with you. I want you to encourage your subscribers to brand their email client (the program or service they use to read your expertly crafted emails) with your name. Once they take this simple step they willingly bring you into their world, will see your name daily, and will give your emails priority. (Hint: that’s a big deal!)
Here’s how to do it:
“So that you don’t miss out on any of the valuable information you’ll be receiving, I encourage you to create a new email folder titled:
“!Mark Eckenrode!
“No matter which email program you use (outlook, gmail, hotmail, aol, yahoo, etc.), it makes sense to create this new email folder so that you can conveniently file these emails and refer back to them.”
Do this and you’ll find your subscribers relating to you better and actually looking for your emails. This is the start to a good relationship.
While the above technique is a great start in building and maintaining recognition, let’s talk about some tips for getting your email opened.
Tip 1: Don’t be all business. Look, boring and business communication are pretty much synonymous and nobody pays attention to boring marketing. This extends to the internal copy of your emails, too, but in regards to subject lines and getting your emails opened you need to be interesting.
If you’re using a subject line like “Cool house at 123 Happy Street” then there’s a reason no one’s reading it. While there are ways to brand yourself in the subject line, always keep in mind that the purpose of the subject line is to be interesting enough to get the email opened. Period.
Tip 2: Create a brand. Using this technique makes your emails instantly recognizable in your subscriber’s inbox. It involves using a one or two word tagline in your subject. If you provide valuable content in your emails then your subscribers will learn to look for your emails by looking for your branding tag.
Here’s a few examples:
- In today’s Gazette…
In today’s Gazette, a Kentucky farmer’s secret to retiring with a real estate empire - [Home & Health]
[Home & Health] How expired chemicals can create a toxic home - By Request
By Request, 13 Hidden Homes Other Investors Will Kill For
Tip 3: Who it’s from matters. The truth is, an email with the subject line “hey” will probably get opened before yours if it came from your subscriber’s mom. So, the sender of the email is oftentimes more powerful than an enticing subject line. The key here is being recognized as a provider of value.
Since you’re reading this it’s safe to assume providing quality value-filled information is a priority for you so let’s make your “sender” field stand out. First thing, do not use your business name. If you must, use it in conjunction with your own name (“Allison Peters, ReMax All Stars”).
A person’s inbox is an intimate place (that’s why we all hate being invaded by spam) and building a relationship is an intimate process. It’s hard to build a relationship with a company, even a team. Who would you rather get to know, The Mendoza Team or Carl Coolidge? Use your name in the “from” field.
Next thing is to brand this field, similar to what you did with your subject line tag. Use a special character around your name so that it stands out and is consistently recognizable.
- - Bruce Wayne -
- ~ Carol Danvers ~
- ==> Peter Parker
Tip 4: Use personalization. Here’s some news: people respond to their name. Using a person’s name is a sure way to speed up the relationship building process, so we might as well apply that to your emails.
Along with the body of the email, most ESPs (Email Service Providers) allow you to personalize your email’s subject lines. If yours doesn’t then it’s definitely behind in the technology curve. I recommend you check out Aweber.
Here are a few examples of how to effectively use subject line personalization:
The “possessive” subject:
- Clark’s secret to flipping homes fast and easy
- Christine’s hot new home… eat your heart out!
- Wolfgang’s profitable property report
The “news headline” subject:
- Lisa finally enjoys a night in her own home
- What Ryan doesn’t know about the housing crisis
- Nate stops debt-collectors cold
The “intimate” subject:
- Lucy, just a quick heads up
- Manny, will you be around this evening?
- Nora… got an idea for you
So, there’s three ways to effectively use personalization. Much better than “Bill, here’s a new property for sale” don’t you think? Experiment with the above, you’ll find there’s a number of other ways to use personalization to create a conversation in your subject lines.
Tip 5: Ask a question. I’m a big fan of using curiosity. After all… enquiring minds want to know, right? Ask a question that can only be answered by opening up your email.
Here are a few examples:
- Do you make these mistakes with your taxes?
- Are thieves stealing your personal info? Check this…
- Is your home fit for summer? Take this test…
- Sell smarter: Do you do these 11 things?
Questions are powerful because they appeal to basic human nature. We don’t like a mystery or open loops (raise your hand if, after reading the above questions, you want to know the answers). That’s why using questions in headlines has long been a marketing mainstay. Try them in your emails and you’ll see increased email open rates.
Here’s the important point: make sure your subject line is directly relevant to the content of your email. Your subject line makes a promise your subscribers expect you to deliver upon. Miss this and you’ll lose subscribers faster than AOL blocks incoming email. Get it right, and you build a relationship of value and trust.
By now you should understand that every time you send an email, your subscriber has a choice, “open or not open.” Use these techniques and more of your subscribers will choose “open.” Now, you’re one step closer to converting your list of subscribers into a list of buyers.
This is just the beginning of effective email marketing, though. In upcoming lessons I’ll show you how to craft subject lines that sing in 6 seconds or less and what you actually need to say inside your email to get the click.
HomeStomper asks: taking inspiration from the examples above, what will your next email subject line be?
You can read a follow-up to this article at
Email Subject Line Templates That Work Like Crazy
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