How To Get X-Ray Vision-Like Insights from Email Marketing

Part of the Email Marketing for Real Estate series.

When I was a kid I’d flip to and pour over the ads in the back of comic books with as much excitement as when I actually read the adventures of Batman or the X-Men.

It was these ads and the comic books that they appeared in that actually got me hooked on marketing. Yeah, while most kids were growing up wanting to be an astronaut or policeman, I was wanting to become a copywriter (sans superhero spandex).

In the back of many of these comic books was an ad for x-ray goggles. Man, who wouldn’t want those? The ability to see hidden items or secret treasures… to know things beyond the obvious and superficial.

Now, here’s the million dollar question: how do you get the power of x-ray vision in your marketing?

Imagine getting a peek inside the minds of your prospects – discover their true frustrations, the challenges they need help overcoming, possible objections they may have, and their emotional hot buttons.

Think that level of insight could better help you to not just market to them but also better serve them? For sure.

Now, I use this technique a few different ways but one that I like best is adding an email to an autoresponder drip campaign. This way all subscribers receive the email and I potentially get feedback from all subscribers.

Basically, I use copy similar to this:

Recently I’ve received a number of questions from folks curious about various parts of the home buying process.

What a great incentive for me to compile and answer a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions about buying a home.

Here’s the thing, I want to make sure your questions get answered. Go ahead and hit REPLY right now and let me know:

–> What is your single biggest question about buying a home in a down market?

Do that now before you forget and I’ll do my best to answer your question. Just hit REPLY and type away.

Now, this isn’t something I recommend doing early in your autoresponder sequence. You want to make sure you’ve created some rapport in your previous emails first.

Do this and you’ll be surprised at how many people will shoot you back an email. Last time I did this with a client we got a 13.3% response rate – pretty damned good, and extremely insightful.

You’re probably already getting some ideas of how to use this info:

• uncover new, hot topics for blog posts
• ideas for special reports, whitepapers, workshops, etc.
• points to make in your marketing copy
• unmet needs in the marketplace

Here’s another very cool thing this technique does for you: by replying, your email readers open the door for continued interaction and we all know that once someone takes first action they’re more prone to repeat it. You’re now set for conversation.

As you can see, this type of email in your autoresponder sequence can set you up to win in a number of ways. It’s super simple, interactive, consumer-centric and no x-ray goggles required.

Now, I figure the best way to close this post is to invite continued conversation:

What’s your most burning question about using email in your real estate marketing?