Real Estate Newsletters: Tips for Agents

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by Brandon Cornett

“Don't bother with a real estate newsletter ... people just don't sign up for them anymore.” That's from a post I read on a popular real estate web forum. The person posting the comment was responding to another member's question about newsletter content and logistics.

To be more accurate, though, the respondent should have said: “People don't sign up for my real estate newsletter anymore.”

Being a fan of actual evidence, I pointed him toward a number of recent surveys (including one by DoubleClick.com) that showed electronic newsletters as being highly valued by today's consumers.

Real estate newsletters have not died any more than websites have died. What is happening, however, is a shift in consumer perceptions and expectations.

From an information standpoint, consumers have evolved — far more than most marketers realize. Modern consumers can differentiate good content from bad content, good websites from bad websites — and yes, good newsletters from bad newsletters.

Quris, Inc. (www.Quris.com) surveyed more than 1,600 consumers about their email practices. Among the findings: Nearly 50% reported they have stopped doing business with companies that have poor email practices.

Real estate newsletters that publish quality content and respect their readers' privacy will continue to thrive. Newsletters that violate subscribers' privacy and churn out mediocre content will fall by the wayside. The chaff is falling away from the wheat.

The bottom line: Your newsletter has to deliver value, consistently, in order to succeed. Challenging, yes, but not impossible.

An Effective Real Estate Newsletter:

Value
Value is the prime differentiator between good newsletters and bad. If a newsletter fails to deliver something of value for the reader, all the design bells and whistles haven't a chance of saving it.

The first thing a reader will look for when deciding whether or not to sign up for a newsletter is, "What's in it for me?" If you answer this question up front (and deliver on it issue after issue), your newsletter will thrive.

Relevance
Relevance goes hand in hand with value. The more you can segment your real estate newsletter for individual readers, the better. The best newsletters let subscribers select the topics they're most interested in. Sure, it requires extra effort, but the results speak for themselves -- higher subscription rates; more active readers; more profit in the long run.

Consistency
Be careful not to overestimate your ability to publish content on a regular basis. Shoot for too frequent a publication schedule (or too large a newsletter) and quality will suffer. There's a graveyard of obscurity filled with ambitious newsletters the publishers couldn't maintain. Fortunately, modern email marketing software programs are easy to use, making it even easier to publish on a consistent basis.

Professionalism
Your real estate newsletter is a direct reflection of you. If it's sloppy and haphazard, then so are you. That's the perception of your readers. So make sure every aspect of your newsletter sparkles with professionalism. Polish the layout. Double-check the spelling. Fill it with valuable, original content. Publish your privacy policy; and never, ever violate it.

Positioning
The best real estate newsletter in the world will go unnoticed if it's not positioned properly. Positioned well on the website, yes, but also positioned well in the reader's mind:

What makes this newsletter different from others? What makes it valuable to the reader? What do they get out of it? How will it make them more successful, happier, wealthier, wiser, etc.?

To Learn More:
Evolution requires constant learning. So to ensure the viability of your newsletter now and into the future, you have to keep up with current techniques and best practices. Here are some resources that will help:

www.clickz.com
www.emarketer.com
www.emailuniverse.com
www.doubleclick.com
www.marketingprofs.com
www.spamlaws.com

Conclusion
If somebody ever tells you that "people don't sign up for real estate newsletters anymore," it's a safe bet that they've published some bad newsletters in their day. You can't generalize an entire medium as bad or good. It's like saying all TV is bad, or all websites or bad.

Maybe it's a case of misery loving company -- publishers of bad newsletters just can't fathom that there are people out there doing it right!

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