Improving Your Open And Click Rates

by | Best Practices, Email Marketing

Improving Your Open And Click RatesWhat Are Open And Click Rates?

The open rate is a percentage that tells you how many successfully delivered newsletters were opened by subscribers. The click rate is a percentage that tells you how many successfully delivered newsletters registered at least one click.

Why Open And Clicks Are Important

Open and click rates can give you a good idea of how your newsletters are performing with a particular list. If an open rate is strong, it usually means your subject lines resonate with your audience. If your click rates are good, the message content is relevant to subscribers who open the newsletter. So, how do you know if your rates are good?

According to a leading email delivery source, the average open rate for the Real Estate industry is 22%. The average HomeActions subscriber far surpass this rate with an average open rate of 30%. (based on 3 million e-newsletters sent per month). HomeActions knows Content is King.

How To Improve Open Rates

A low open rate generally indicates:

  • Your subject line is not relevant or interesting enough.
  • Your member list is outdated or contains a wide variety of subscribers unrelated to your target.
  • You may be sending too many or too few campaigns​.

Test Your Subject Line

The best way to know what resonates with your subscribers is to try different things. An effective subject line clearly describes what’s inside your campaign, but you’ll want to test a few variations to find out what works best for your list.

Draft two subject lines that differ slightly, for example, “News you can Use for {date}” and “Homeowner Tips for {date}”. We recommend only testing one variable at a time, in this case the subject line, so that your report data is clearly linked to just one change. Then send out your newsletter one time using that subject line, then the next launch, choose the other. Then compare what subject line delivered better open rates. Keep testing/modifying to your get the results expected.

How To Improve Click Rates

Your click rate essentially tells you how many of your subscribers find your newsletter content useful. To improve your click rate, you’ll need to create content that’s useful to more subscribers. Try these suggestions:

  • Embed more links – your newsletter offers 6 personal + 3 social media links, use them all.
  • Insert a Banner from our Library then embed the URL link to take your reader to an interesting site (example-“What’s Your Home Worth?)
  • Include articles on your Open Houses and New Listings – then set a Real-Time Alert to get warms leads right to your Inbox.

Do You Need to Worry About the Zillow Trulia Merger?

by | Email Marketing, Real Estate Marketing

If Zillow does manage to close its acquisition of Trulia, the combined entity will be spending millions to compete with you for consumer mind-share.

The two real estate websites share a common goal – using your listing and real estate articles to gather consumer leads and then selling those leads back to you.

If you don’t want to buy back your own leads, you have to beat Zillia at its own game.

Agents and brokers already have the tools to win the game. You likely have a sizable sphere of influence because you worked hard to build a customer network. You have clients’ contact information. And you know more about the local real estate market than Zillia’s entire editorial staff.

I know this is true because HomeActions thousands of clients have enrolled 1.4 million of their homeowners and prospects into our database. Every two weeks, we’re sending a relationship-building newsletter that builds a defensible pipeline full of past clients and prospects.

By sending out regular, relevant content, HomeActions clients are nurturing, growing and insulating their most valuable asset: Their database!

The acquisition should be a wake-up call for agents and brokers who aren’t leveraging the contact information they collect — other than storing it on their smart phones and in their email, social media and MLS accounts.

You have to defend your customers by moving that contact information into one spot and then nurturing those relationships. We know a lot of folks have trouble with this task. Many of our clients have us do this for them instead of doing it themselves (although a cynic would argue that they let us do it because we don’t charge for that service).

While we help with this process, you never relinquish control over your contacts and we promise never to contact them or sell to them. If you have a company help you manage your contacts and marketing communications, be sure you’re not turning over control of your contacts in the process.

Real estate is a relationship business. It always has been and we don’t think that axiom is going anywhere. The brokers and agents we work with agree that 95 percent of everyone they know will not be on their websites this year. Why? So few are engaged in a real estate transaction.

Homeownership, yes. Buying or selling a home, not so much or so often.

Zillia’s potential as an aggregator of consumer allegiance can chip away at your “relationship” capital only if you fail to stay in touch.

Delivering a steady stream of homeownership-related information portrays you as a trusted adviser, (and a live one at that) and regardless of where they see listings, your clients will think of you first when they’re ready to buy or sell a home.

9 Ways to Work Better With Negative Customers

by | Email Marketing, Real Estate Marketing

9 Ways to Work Better With Negative CustomersIn real estate, you can’t avoid unhappy or dissatisfied customers. Buyers with wish lists twice the size of their budget and sellers who demand you find a buyer willing to pay more than fair market value create stress for even the best agents.

Here are nine ways to stay upbeat in the face of negativity:

1. Always visualize a large $ stamped on your unhappy customer’s forehead.

Your customers pay your bills and feed your family. An unhappy customer may cost you this job and lose you a future referral. A happy customer creates a happy pay day for you.

2. Skip the news before work and listen to music or motivational talks on your way to work.

How you spend the first part of your day influences how the rest of your day unfolds. Don’t watch negative newscasts before work. Listening to music that pumps you up or motivational talks prepares you to tackle problem people or situations.

3. Find something to like about every customer.

Maybe your client has great eyebrows or good taste in ties. During unpleasant encounters, keep your focus on the 5% you like about them and your focus off the 95% you dislike.

4. Use Daily Affirmations to support yourself such as:

“I’m doing the best I can!”
“I am a winner!”
“I trust myself!”
“I can handle any problem!”
“I deserve this job!”

Affirmations keep your mind focused on a future positive outcome rather than the negative situation at hand.

5. Always reward yourself for a job well done.

When you successfully make it through a difficult day, show yourself some appreciation: Spend more time with family, get a massage or go out for a nice dinner.

6. Keep a Glory File of thank you letters and compliments. Review it often to remind yourself how fabulous you are.

When you have to deal with a tough customer, balance your self-esteem with a trip through your Glory File. Reminding yourself of your past successes and how much customers love you can motivate you to keep going.

7. Avoid gossiping about negative customers.

Retelling the tale of your terrible encounter intensifies your anger and negativity. Instead, do your best let go of the negativity as soon as the customer leaves your space. Until you can let go, the customer owns and controls your thoughts.

8. Avoid complainers, criticizers and whiners in your office.

I hope there’s still someone left in your office to talk to when you avoid all the complainers, criticizers and whiners. Their negativity can cause your productivity to falter.

9. Make a list of reasons you must appreciate your customers and thank them.

“I appreciate you giving me the privilege of serving you.”
“I feel lucky, honored and blessed to have a job I love.”
“Thank you for choosing me to do your business with.”

Most of all, never for one minute believe that your broker pays you. Your broker only supplies the check. Your customers fill in the blanks. Be grateful to them.

Why You Need Email Exclusivity

by | Email Marketing, Real Estate Marketing

Why You Need Email ExclusivityThe original Mona Lisa is priceless, but you can buy a $10 version from any poster shop because mass produced items are always cheaper than their one-of-a-kind inspirations. The same value proposition holds true for your email marketing.

Do the emails you send to stay in touch with clients have unique value or are your competitors sending the same email or robo-blog post to your clients?

In today’s real estate market, much of the “stay in touch” emails used to build relationships with clients and prospects follow a me-too formula.

It’s usually a campaign of drip content set up via the broker’s intranet and shipped out once a month by every agent in the office. If you share a prospect with the agent across the sales floor or across town, your clients may get the same email on the same day from another agent.

The client instantly realizes the content isn’t special and isn’t really from you.