May

29

How to Write a Damn Good Email Subject Line

Filed Under Email Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, blogs | 1 Comment

Stop. I know what you’re thinking.

You think email is lame, backwards and not worth your time. If that’s you, think again. I’m about to turn everything you knew about email newsletters on its head.

In fact, I’ll go so far as to prove to you that not only is email better than the “new” technology like blogging, but email newsletters are more essential than blogging. Let me explain.

Email: The Most Powerful Internet Marketing Tool for Real Estate

Don’t get me wrong: social media is important. James Carey, Columbia University journalism professor, said this about the absolute human need of community:

“Man is a diurnal creature. He’s up during the day. He sleeps at night. And he has to sleep somewhere. And because he’s vulnerable, he sleeps in a shelter. And then other people come and sleep in their shelters nearby. And before you know it, they realize they will be safer if they join together. Next thing you know, they have a police force, and someone picks up the garbage.”

This may explain why social media is so hot. Social media like blogs.

How hot?

In February 2007 the Gallup News Service estimated that 57 million Americans read blogs. Somewhat astounding in a nation of over 300 million.

However, to put that in perspective, read this: The same Gallup poll found that reading blogs is far less popular than email. Approximately 87% of Americans read emails.

That’s roughly 261 million people. And that makes email ubiquitous, relevant and one of the most powerful real estate marketing tools on the Internet.

Four Principles You Must Know Before Writing Truly Great Emails

Crafting an email is pretty easy, right? Slap some copy in a message and hit “Send,” right? Dead wrong.

There’s four basic things you need to know up front about writing compelling and powerful emails.

  • Nearly half of email readers look at just the first few lines they see in the preview pane to decide if they want to continue reading the message. Less than a third will read the whole thing.
  • People are highly inclined to skip the introductory, happy talk in newsletters. Happy talk, you know, “Welcome to my newsletter. Thank you so much for reading.”

The takeaway from these four bullets: your subject line and early sentences have to hit hard, fast and furious, or the entire email newsletter will not survive inbox congestion.

The Unique Relationship Between Email and SEO

Here’s something else to take into consideration: With more email services offering large amounts of gigabytes to store emails, users are archiving more.

However, doing this adds to their information overload. But, it enhances the value of email. That means email newsletters are now part of someone’s personal inventory.

How this can work in your advantage is that these emails will be found when people search their inboxes .

And like Jakob Nielson said, “And although your newsletters don’t need full-fledged search engine optimization, you should consider how users might want to retrieve old issues in the months or years to come.”

That’s why one of the most important components of successful email newsletters is the subject line.

Introducing the Art of Writing Microcontent

Subject lines are part of what online writers call “microcontent.”

In a nutshell, all microcontent needs to be clear, concise and compelling. Usually under 140 characters. Think summary. Think keywords. Think subject line. Think Twitter. These are examples of microcontent.

With the subject line you get about 40 to 50 characters to explain your macrocontent–what your email is about.

So no matter how persuasive and electrifying your email is, unless the subject line makes it absolutely clear what the email is about, people will never open it.

The Essence of Writing Subject Lines That Capture Attention

Subject lines should say something valuable, timely or important. It should say “If you don’t open and read this email, you’ll miss out on something big.”

Subject lines should also work in tandem with the from line. Save the From line for your or your company’s name.

Subject lines must intrigue people the same way a well written headline does. It must stroke the right emotions.

Indeed, subject lines are a major driver of click-through rates, as they “direct” people to pay attention to specific articles, offers and information. Every email you send should have an implied strategy behind it.

Subject lines must recognize this and “speak” to the needs and interests of your people as individual customers, readers or prospects.

As a result, the job of a subject line now must not only entice someone to open an email, it must discourage the recipient from deleting it as an unwanted email. You must plummet something deep into people’s psyche with your subject line. Something that makes people restless until they read your email.

To do that, follow these 13 tips:

1. Personalize
Don’t put something generic like “Loren, Your Personalized May Newsletter.” Make it specific to them, their business or their life. Know thy customer.

2. Segment
Each segment should receive appropriate and different subject lines. This is related to personalizing, but deserves it’s on line. Segmenting and creating subject lines to your readers’ interests should improve open and click-through rates.

3. Use a Consistent Style
After testing and learning what style works best for your audience, stick with that approach: humorous, provocative, incentive-based or tip-oriented.

4. Have Someone Else Write, Edit or Review Subject Lines
Have someone other than you write, edit or at least review the subject line. Use this person like a newspaper story editor who will push your copy to new heights of relevancy and interest.

5. Send Subject Lines to Yourself
One of the best gauges of the strength of a subject line is to send sample emails with different subject lines to yourself. What kind of response do they warrant when they arrive in your inbox: “holy mother of God!”, “Boring.” or “hm, interesting, I’ll read later”?

6. Watch Your Own Inbox for Good Subject Line Ideas
The greatest inspiration for writing subject lines may come from watching your own inbox.

7. Track and Measure What Works Best
Track and analyze the type of subject lines that produce the best open and click-through rates. Open rates are the most obvious measure of the success of subject lines, but click-through rates are also an important measure of how well the subject line drove people to take action and click on a specific link.

8. Tie Subject Lines Into Current Events
A news angle is especially effective when promoting real estate offers affected by current events on a daily basis.

“How to Stay One Step Ahead of the Latest Fed Rate Cut to Get a Deal of a Century” is a good example.

9. Test Short Versus Long
I’ve heard that subject lines of less than 50 characters achieve higher open rates than those of 50 or more characters. That being said, there is much debate about shorter versus longer subject lines.

If you can, test various lengths and words to see what generates the best results with you.

10. Avoid The Generic and Boring
Don’t be afraid to be very specific in subject lines. Broad and generic subject lines: Bad, terrible, lazy and emails with such subject lines deserve banishment. Your subject line should be as narrow and specific as possible to generate interest and action from a majority of people.

11. Write It First
Perhaps the most common mistake marketers make is waiting till the last minute to write their subject lines. Don’t. Jt down multiple potential subject lines for your email early in the game. Never start from scratch at the last minute.

12. Push the Frickin’ Envelope
Don’t be afraid to try subject lines that are more aggressive, creative, tantalizing, specific or controversial. Of course, test everything.

13. Test, Test and Test!
Like every facet of email marketing, the most certain way to know if something is working is to test it. And email subject lines are the easiest thing to test. Split your email subscriber list in two, send one list one subject line, the other list a radically different subject line. Once you’ve discovered the winner, continue to test and tweak that subject line.

Conclusion

Still think email’s a backwater cousin to blogging?

Consider this: outside of traffic, subscribers and click through, the real ROI of blogging has yet to be cemented. Email, on the other hand, can give you cold, hard facts about the effectiveness of your campaigns quickly.

Sure, blogging has important intangibles that you must cultivate. But I wouldn’t depend on it to feed my family.

Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.

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May

21

The Introvert: Networking Tips and Habits for a Little Understood Group

Filed Under Networking | 2 Comments

Confession time.

Are you someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and defective at small talk?

Are you someone who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recover? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with happy talk by people who are just trying to be nice?

Do people regard you as “too serious,” or ask “are you okay?” Do people regard you as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble their efforts to draw you out?

If you answered yes to these questions, chances are you’re a bona fide introvert.

Science has learned a good deal in recent years about the habits and requirements of introverts. It has even learned, by means of brain scans and lemon juice tests, that introverts process information differently from other people (honest, I am not making this up).

Introverts may be more common than you think. But they are also among the most misunderstood and aggrieved groups in America, possibly the world, probably the universe!

I know. My name is Gary, and I am an introvert.

Oh, for years I denied it. After all, I am not morose or misanthropic. I have good social skills. Usually. I am far from shy. I love long conversations that explore intimate thoughts or passionate interests. But at last I have self-identified and come out to my friends and colleagues.

In fact, as a business owner, it was necessary I come out. For better or worse, connecting and networking makes the world go round.

Most of us have experienced the power of networks. There’s the job found through a friend’s sister’s boyfriend. Or the lifelong partner met through a neighbor’s cousin. Or joint venture launched after a 3 martini lunch.

It applies to all of business though.

Networking Is an Investment, Not a Nuisance

Imagine if you could always find what you needed in just 1 or 2 phone calls. If you are well networked, you probably can. By putting in the time to build your network, you save time when you need to get things done. [I've seen Greg Swann do this exceptionally well through his Bloodhound Blog, which makes for another good reason to start blogging.]

Well networked people don’t have to waste time firing off random emails to people they don’t know, buying leads or industry lists, or sifting through hundreds of pages of the phone book.

However, it seems that the vast majority of networking advice is aimed at extroverts. “Go to networking mixers and meet new people,” the authorities say. “Make cold calls.” “Speak in front of groups.” “Call people up and chat with them about what’s new.” “Dance in your pajamas.”

Excuse me while I barf in a bag. Isn’t there a better way? [Okay, I was the one who said "Dance in your pajamas". But it's still good advice.]

At First, You’ll Stumble Like a Toddler

Someone’s estimated that introverts make up 49 percent of the population. People win elections, set laws, declare victory with percentages lower than that. But guess what? You still have to play by someone else’s rules. And who sets the rules? The Majority. The Extroverts.

That means you still have to get out of bed, put on your shoes [or heels--women only!] and go to places where people gather. Frightening, yeah, I know.

Sometimes you have to start by picking events at random. You spend an hour in a very uncomfortable setting, but you learn what to go to and what to skip. Eventually you find a few people or events that you like.

It may help to recognize that being an introvert is not a disorder, nor is it unusual. Introversion is simply a personality type. And it may be that your shy and timid but STILL a good connector.

We all know people like this. We’ve read about them in The Tipping Point. They are the ones who always know someone who does exactly what you need. And they know it before you even know it. They offer referrals without asking, they arrange lunches, and they love doing it. They are the connectors and they, according to the blog by an introvert for introverts, all have four things in common.

They are self-described introverts. Each one would rather be doing something besides talking to strangers. Somehow they manage to get out and meet people, get to know them, and maintain the relationships.

They are great listeners. Although they are skilled conservationists, it’s mainly because they are such good listeners. Because they understand you and your business, they know just what you need and who you should meet.

They have a plan. They know how many people they need to contact, and they know how often they need to do it. They set aside planning time, create a system, and they put it into their calendar. They don’t leave anything to chance.

They are highly successful. Even though they focus on others, they have all done very well in business, they are highly-respected, and they’re happy. Helping others has its rewards.

As you can see, you can still be shy, you can still cling to your view that ideas are more important than people, you can still rely on your one tumbler of Wild Turkey and Tums BEFORE a cocktail party and still be successful in real estate.

But granted, you still have to play the game, and you still have to play by the rules.

Alternative Networking Tips and Habits for Introverts

Now, many of us have both introverted and extroverted qualities. So you can find alternatives to extroverted networking that can be helpful even if you are not a true introvert.

Over the last 15 years, I’ve made a lot of progress. Here’s what I’ve learned about networking as an introvert.

1. Don’t spend too much time on it.
If you wear yourself out, you won’t ever want to do it. Accept your limitations and just do 1 or 2 events a month. It takes a long time to build these relationships.

2. Invite people to lunch.
Or invite them to coffee or for a beer after work. If you meet a fellow introvert, he is unlikely to do the inviting, so you have to do it. Go figure.

3. Go regularly to things you like.
Years ago my business partner Scott Wood started attending a local Chamber of Commerce. He didn’t know a soul. It was very awkward for him. But he was learning a lot. It took about 3 months before anyone even recognized him and said “hi.” You just have to keep showing up, month after month.

4. Analyze your results.
Introverts are intuitive and analytical. Use that skill. What is working? What isn’t? Where do you get the most bang for your buck?

5. Find the key players in the network.
Don’t find a marketing person, find someone who knows lots of marketing people and then invite that person to lunch. Of course, this takes a long time because it is hard to find the right person.

6. Attend events with a friend.
When planning to attend a networking meeting or social event where you hope to mingle with prospective clients, invite a friend or colleague to go with you. And agree that you will help each other to meet new people.

7. Seek out structure.
I abhor mixers but enjoy meeting people in more structured environments like workshops. You may find that it’s easier to talk about yourself when there is a specific time allotted for just that purpose.

8. Avoid the crowds.
Mingling at events is not an environment where I do my best. Instead of trying to meet people in group settings, do your networking one-on-one. Arrange to meet with people for coffee or lunch to get to know them better.

9. Prepare what to say.
Whether you are attending an event or placing a follow-up call, most introverts find it helpful to plan out in advance what they want to talk about. I know I do. This type of preparation gives you time to reflect on what you wish to express and explore the best way to say it.

10. Write instead of call.
It’s true that it’s usually more effective to contact prospective clients by phone than by email or letter. But if calling makes you uncomfortable enough that you tend to simply avoid it, go ahead and write instead. Besides, its easier to call someone when you’ve got your foot in the door via an email or letter. “Hi, I was wondering if you got my email?”

11. Promote by publishing.
The focused, reflective nature of many introverts makes them excellent writers. Writing and publishing articles, a blog, reports and studies, or even a book can attract many prospective clients and boost your credibility.

When clients come to you already acquainted with your work instead of you approaching them as a stranger, marketing conversations become more relaxed and intimate–just what most introverts like.

Conclusion

According to C J Hayden, there’s one area of marketing at which introverts often shine. While extroverts typically enjoy meeting new people and find it relatively effortless to fill their marketing pipeline, they don’t always do well at following up with the people they meet. Introverts, on the other hand, frequently excel at building strong relationships over time.

If you focus your marketing on staying in touch with people and getting to know them better instead of continually trying to seek out new contacts, you may find that your introverted style of marketing works better than what the extroverts are doing after all.

What do you think? Are you an introvert and do you have any tips I haven’t mentioned and would like to share? Go ahead and leave a comment.

And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.

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May

15

Social Media Does Matter: Selling Houses During Hard Times

Filed Under Real Estate Blogs, Real Estate Listing Tips, Social Media | 2 Comments

Everyone knows that in today’s market, it’s not enough just to get the listing—you need to have an aggressive marketing plan.

While printed flyers, signage and the basics will always have their place, we all know that over 80% of home buyers begin their search for a new home online.

In fact, second only to over-priced home, no internet marketing strategy is the biggest reason homes don’t sell.

That’s why you need advanced online marketing strategies–social media strategies–to help you create a compelling online presence.

Yet, marketing real estate has never been a hip business.

The people in it might be cool–but the advertising venues that work best for real estate have long been traditional vehicles like postcards, print newspaper ads and signage. Real estate is nothing if not a local business, after all (note the real estate mantra of “location, location, location”)–you don’t buy a house off of the Internet, right?

Maybe not yet.

Tech-savvy real estate agents and developers quickly turned to online and social media tools like video, blogs, and other new media to sell their properties. However, the adoption is so slow for the early majority [or pragmatists], and, of course, painful for the late majority [or conservatives].

Which brings me to my point.

The first step in successful and aggressive listing promotion is to make sure your property is featured where home buyers are looking.

And because offline marketing tools cost money, and money is hard to come by in tough times, its really no surprise that real estate agents to reduce their newspaper print budgets, if not eliminating them altogether.

My belief is that perhaps financial hard times might drive some normally timid, pragmatic and conservative people to finally get online and get with it, crossing that chasm faster than they normally would.

Otherwise they may have to be happy with failing. After call, necessity is the mother of experimentation.

To get us started, here are some basic suggestions to help you get the most out of your web site’s listings:

  • Promote listings on your home page—make a featured property listing highlighting a particular property, and make sure there’s an easy-to-access slide show at the ready.
  • Keep your hot news hot—announce your newest and most-desirable listings.
  • Update your open house page—drive traffic from the web into your open houses.
  • Use a hotline number with your listings. This allows you to capture contact information when they call to listen to an audio tour of the home or updated price information.
  • Add a summary to your home page—with a dedicated link to your listing page.

Once you’ve secured the listing and published it to your website–the minimum–it’s time to capture other agents and potential buyers. Let’s move on to more advanced online marketing strategies–social media strategies–to help you create a compelling online presence.

Here’s how to get started:

  • Create a single-property blog. Is this the most potent listing tool? Teresa Boardman talked about Keeping Local Real Estate, Well…Local, and how blogging can support and express your local knowledge and expertise within the microcosm of your community; establishing relationships with site-visitors and clients. [With Local, I'm speaking in-terms of relationships--referral business, repeat business, becoming known in your community for the all-inclusive services you provide consumers.]
  • Add YouTube videos along with other content such as business details, photos, and descriptions to their listings. To do so, simply upload your videos to YouTube and ensure that the ‘embed’ option is turned on. Then, associate your video to your business listing through the Local Business Center.
  • Promote Google Map as the new real estate search page. Once you’ve got your videos in Google Maps, then you got to make sure people actually use it.
  • Dominate your local search. Back in November I wrote about local search and why you should care and gave you 7 steps to improve your local rankings. The best part: it’s bootstrapalicious [read: doesn't cost any money except your sweat].
  • Advertise your business and listings using Facebook. Putting your brand on Facebook is actually a pretty easy process. Just click on the Advertisers link in Facebook’s footer and then Create a Page.
  • Brand your listings with Trulia. Quoting from the Trulia blog: “Agents will have access to a self-service tool to highlight up to 10 listings per month for a monthly subscription fee of $50.” So, for less than the price of a typical newspaper classified ad, you can now highlight your listings and connect directly to more than 2 million unique users per month, including a highly affluent group of home buyers, 81% of who are looking to purchase a home in the next 12 months.
  • Talk about foreclosures at Zillow. Share vital information with home owners, buyers and sellers on a hot topic. Throw your hat in the ring. Get involved where people are involved. This is a low-entry point to get your feet wet. And it’s free.

These steps will get you to a place where you can offer your visitors the most information-rich experience, and will help them to remember you, and thus to return to your site again and again.

Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.

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May

7

The 3 Reasons Why You Don’t Convert Online Visitors to Leads

Filed Under Real Estate Prospecting Ideas, SEO | Leave a Comment

Let me start by asking you a question: How many holes are in your bucket?

I use the leaky bucket metaphor for a site that doesn’t successfully convert visitors into leads. Traffic fills the bucket but leaks out of holes.

Deal is, you need to plug as many of these holes as possible.

How many holes are in your bucket?

Great question to ask yourself as you lie awake at night worrying about when the next lead is going to come in.

There are many reasons websites don’t generate the anticipated amount of business. Below are three of the most basic, easiest to address and often overlooked issues.

No One Can Find It

Sorry to be so blunt: If you built a site but did not optimize it before submitting to search engines, don’t expect to be found.

Okay, you may be found for your name. But not for the important keywords that searchers will typically use when looking to buy or sell homes.

And how often does someone go looking for real estate by typing in your name? Unless they know you. But I bet you’ve fatigued that list out already.

You need new leads.

Now, not being found on the search engines may not be important to you if you have a big marketing budget and actively conduct campaigns to promote your site.

But the majority of agents aren’t in this position.

Most are seeking lower cost options for promoting their sites. Most are struggling to stay afloat. If this describes your situation, it’s time to seriously look into search engine optimization, especially local search.

It works, and it can be done with a limited budget AND it can provide a high return on investment.

Does it still pay to optimize for search engines? Both with your time and talent?

Yes. But take a balanced view. Sweat the small stuff and don’t sweat the small stuff. You’ll see what I mean.

Your Call to Action Is Missing or Buried in Your Site

What do you ultimately want your visitors to do? You’ve got to make that crystal clear. Watch a video? Sign up for your mailing list? Search for homes? Take some other actions?

This is especially important: Can visitors take these actions on or within one click of your home page?

Include a call to action on your Home page and at appropriate points throughout your site.

And I’m not talking about an implied sales message, but a clear and direct call to action. Take a hint from The Real Estate Tomato, RSS Pieces, Russell Shaw or Craig Forte.

Visit these websites and see if you can find their call to action quickly.

Many people shy away from using bold, clear call to actions because they don’t want to appear too aggressive.

The reality is your visitors want you to make your call to action clear to them. They want to know from the start what they can accomplish on your site.

I’m not suggesting that you include pushy sales pitches. But I am saying you need to pro-actively invite your visitors to order, request, subscribe, sign-up, click or visit.

Find a tone that is appropriate for your site and add at least one specific call to action to your site today.

Tip: Read this article from hubspot to help you create strong call to actions.

You Stink at Lead Follow-Up

Having a well defined strategy to follow up on any leads generated from your site is key to converting visitors to leads. But we all know this is easier said then done–especially if you have a tight budget.

When you are short on cash, dig deeper into your creativity. I suggest you use your creativity to find cost effective ways to follow up on your leads.

Our browse Bill Rice’s list of Top 100 Tips for Lead Management and Sales Success.

This is also priceless [kind of]: read this case study by MarketingSherpa on How to Use Auto-responders to Convert Skeptical Visitors [paid subscription, but 7 day free trial to read the article. It's worth it. Trust me.].

Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.

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