Producing a real estate newsletter is an effective way to strengthen client relationships and build a name for your real estate or investment business. Newsletters are a great way to provide information about homes for sale and offer solutions to problems buyers and sellers often face.
There are many ways to produce a real estate newsletter. Most people find it easier to sign up with companies that offer newsletter templates and email delivery services. Others produce simple newsletters sent directly from your email account.
Real estate professionals should spend time comparing newsletter providers. Those just starting out or on a tight budget can take advantage of free newsletter publishing services like Mailchimp and Bravenet.
The good thing about these providers is that they offer the option to upgrade to the paid service at a later time. This is very useful because there is no need to transfer subscriber lists to a different service provider.
The downside of using free services is that there aren’t many options for customizing templates or content. Additionally, free services generally do not include additional benefits such as autoresponder services, email marketing follow-up, or email marketing APIs.
Newsletter publishers who want to add more dynamism and have better control over their publication should consider using paid newsletter services. Some of the more affordable, but very popular ones include My Newsletter Builder, Constant Contact, and Aweber.
Each of the above have provided email marketing tools for several years and have built a good reputation within the industry. They often add new tools and services that help real estate professionals promote their business on a broader scale.
It is important to develop a newsletter marketing plan to determine the type of information you will provide and the type of tools you will need to achieve your goals.
It is imperative to consider what kind of information subscribers want. Conducting market research will help publishers understand the needs and wants of their target audience so they can deliver content-rich newsletters subscribers want to read and share with others.
Finally, publishers will want to establish a publication schedule. One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is sending newsletters randomly. People like consistency and prefer to know the exact date by which they can expect to receive information in their inbox.
Producing content on a regular basis is a hurdle that virtually all real estate professionals struggle with. One solution is to hire freelance writers to produce original real estate articles. Another is to get content from article directories.
Businesses that provide ezine newsletters must comply with the regulations of the CAN-SPAM Act and the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has specific guidelines related to advertising disclosures, while CAN-SPAM has seven conditions that involve how services and products can be promoted.
Advertising disclosures are needed to let subscribers know about paid connections with advertisers. For example, if an investor is an affiliate of a real estate investing course and receives a commission for the sales they generate, the information must be provided in the newsletter, as well as anywhere else the product is offered for sale.
Developing a plan and taking the time to learn about the various providers of real estate newsletter services can help publishers get a higher return on investment. Using a trusted service will ensure subscribers receive the publication and help publishers retain and expand their subscriber base.