Knock Knock, Who Dis?

Getting Your Emails Opened!

How do I get my emails opened? That’s the question you should be asking yourself and your customers before you send out another email blast. You might think sending emails to your customers gives you a chance to stay in front of them, but how much do they actually care about what you have to say? If they really cared, then why aren’t they returning your phone calls or at least hitting reply to your email or texts? Could it be that we are conditioning them to NOT care about what we have to say?

We all know that sending email blasts is not the most effective method of marketing. I’m sure you get enough emails in your personal inbox each day and don’t need more, right? So why do we continue to send them out for business purposes? Is it something we’re doing subconsciously and are we more focused on what WE want to say? Or are we focusing on what the recipient would like to hear?

I find that many of my Real Estate and Mortgage clients send out email blasts quite frequently. Many of these emails don’t focus on the client. Instead, they focus on what the sender has to say. And it’s obvious which clients do this because their messages aren’t really that effective.

We’ve conditioned our recipients not to care about what we have to say and how can we blame them? If we bombard them with emails that don’t offer anything of value or provide any answers to questions they might have.

I propose incorporating those monthly “things to do around San Diego” event calendars with a monthly giveaway that creates a customer experience. Instead of just sending out an email that says here’s what’s happening in San Diego this month, develop a screen-recorded video that shows all the details of an event and offer a giveaway to the first person responding to your email. Maybe it’s something like a gondola ride for “Galentine’s day in Coronado” in February or “Tequila is my Valentine 2022” which is a tequila tasting and factory tour.

Each giveaway event can be tied back to real estate, ie if you fall in love with Coronado and would like to live there, I can help with that. If Tequila tasting sounds like something you would like to do from your new backyard that’s an entertainer’s delight, let’s start your search today! Ask the clients who attend your sponsored giveaways to post lots of photos on their social platforms, tagging you in the photo with your branded hashtag, ie. #cjismyrealtor.

Segment your database! Send information that would appeal to each group. One email is not a one-size-fits-all kinda thing. According to the National Association of Realtors, in 2021:

• First time homebuyers made up 34 percent of all homebuyers, an increase from last year’s 31 percent.
• 60% of recent buyers were married couples
• 19 % were single females,
• 9 % were single males
• 9% percent were unmarried couples
• 14% percent of recent home buyers were veterans and 3% were active-duty service members.

One giveaway email a month, appealing to the different segments in your database should start the reconditioning process of your sphere of influence wanting to open your emails! It is not all about what you just listed or sold.
(Psst, March Madness in San Diego, First Two Rounds at Viejas Arena)

Then there is the idea of doing an unsolicited CMA a day for 90 days. Jimmy Burgess of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services did just that and generated $11M in listings. Talk about return on investment.

What is an unsolicited CMA? It is a Property Detail Report or Comparable Market Analysis of a client’s home without them asking for it. This is most effective when done using a screen recorder like BombBomb or Chrome plugins like Loom, Drift, or Vidyard. The client sees the information regarding the value of their property with a recording of you walking them through the details.

I have found that using a screen recorder to answer questions like, “how to read your property tax bill” or “pay close attention to this section in a purchase contract” reaches right into the client’s home as if you were there.
Birthday greetings can be combined with a screen recording of “This day in history” showcasing other milestone events that happened on the Client’s birthday or anniversary of their home purchase. Again, make the message about the client.

With screen recording, you can capture a screen and record a screencast that can be emailed to your database as a link. In many instances, these recordings can also be texted or posted to social media, and private messages.

What I especially like about screen recording is that it allows you to show the screen as you are talking with your audience. With screen sharing capabilities, screencast videos can also be shared between team members for quick feedback sessions. There are subscription services and free options as well.

In closing, stop marketing to clients in ways that YOU don’t like to be marketed to. Be informational, educational, and entertaining. Become the digital mayor of your town or farm area and start conditioning your clients to open your emails because they know you always send Good Stuff!