Getting Prospects to Say Yes to Your Email Campaigns

Whether your email marketing is in the form of a real estate e-newsletter, an e-card (for birthday wishes, etc.), or a real estate email drip campaign, you need to have some level of permission to send these emails. After all, the last thing you want is a complaint. On the contrary, you want your emails to be welcomed, read with interest, and acted upon.

So how do you get that permission? Let’s take a look at a few scenarios…

Say you’ve had a phone conversation with a prospect. From what you can determine, they may be selling their home in a few months. Or, maybe not. They’re a warm prospect, so you don’t want to invest in monthly direct mail to keep in touch, as you would an hot prospect. So to get them to agree to your real estate e-newsletter, you can say something like the following.

May I send you my e-newsletter? Each issue features a couple of helpful articles, plus other information I’m sure you’ll find interesting. In fact many of my clients say the articles are so helpful they print and post them on the fridge door!

 If the prospect is concerned about “getting too many emails” reassure them that it’s only once a month and that they can unsubscribe anytime. Here’s a sample real estate script:

Try the first issue. If you don’t want to receive any more, just call or email and I’ll take you off the list immediately. Or, you can simply click the unsubscribe link at the bottom.

Here’s another scenario…

Say you’re canvassing an area and have a nice chat with a homeowner who has gone the FSBO route. You sense they might become interested in switching to working with an agent, so you want to stay in touch with a weekly email drip campaign. Here’s is a FSBO script you can use.

May I email you some information you might find helpful? Especially if you’re selling your home on your own.

If the prospect asks about the frequency of emails, be honest. For example:

You’ll receive 5 emails, once a week. I think you’ll find the information very interesting, but you can unsubscribe anytime. My goal is to share helpful information, not to fill your inbox with a lot of promotional emails.

Another scenario is when you want to send an email for birthday wishes, congratulations, etc. Often, these are called real estate e-cards and they can be a terrific way to keep-in-touch and build the relationship. Typically, you don’t need special permission to send this type of greeting to an active prospect who knows you or to a client. After all, who’s going to complain about getting wished “Happy Birthday”?

Of course, always comply with laws and regulations regarding email marketing. In the U.S., the FTC publishes a helpful guide to this. In Canada, you’ll find information on the CASL website.

Something to keep in mind: If you’re working with a hot prospect likely to buy or sell, consider making a bigger impression with real estate direct mail. Email marketing is best for your warm prospects.