7 Rules in Creating an Effective Email Marketing Campaign

Amidst all the technological advances and emerging marketing trends in real estate, email marketing remains to be a relevant platform that you can use to engage your prospects, increase website traffic, boost your sales, and build brand loyalty. However, the proven success of this platform also means that your leads’ inboxes may be overflowing with emails. How do you ensure then, that the ones you send out are read and acted upon? Here are 7 effective ways to optimize your email marketing campaign:

1. Go Mobile
   Almost every consumer nowadays does everything by mobile; sending and receiving emails is no exemption. In fact, statistics show that 55% of email is now opened on mobile, while 19% on desktops, and 26% via webmail. This is based on over a billion email opens each month. So keep in mind, no matter how great your content is, if your email is not mobile-compatible, it may end up not being opened at all.
2. Your Subject Line Matters
   The subject line is the first thing your prospects would see, so it should be catchy enough to grab their attention.
   Keep your subject line short and sweet. Since most emails are now opened on mobile, make sure that your prospects would be able to read the entire subject line with just a glance. If the subject line is too wordy, your prospects might just end up skipping your email altogether. A study made by Retention Science showed that a subject line with 6–10 words resulted to a more successful open rate.

Personalize your subject line. One of the reasons why email marketing remains to be one of the most effective ways to convert is due to the email’s personal nature. A prospect receiving mail directly to their inbox creates a sense of intimacy, as opposed to the very public, and, somewhat impersonal platform that is social media. Including your prospect’s name in the subject line adds a more personal touch, and may also help build rapport.

Offer something of value. Your subject line should give your prospect an idea about what’s inside the email and what they could gain from reading it. Don’t make false promises. Your email marketing campaign is supposed to strengthen your brand reputation, not ruin it.

1. Stop Selling and Start Providing Massive Value
   As what we have shared in one of our previous blog posts, the key to a successful marketing strategy is not asking for the sale — well, not immediately anyway. The best way to gain your prospect’s business is by first earning their trust. Give them something for free — a homebuyer checklist perhaps, or money-saving tips for renovating a house — something valuable and useful to your target market. This helps build relationship and trust between you and your prospect. Providing valued information positions you as an expert. Which then makes you the go-to girl or guy in real estate.
2. Have a Clear and Concise Call-to-Action
   Michael Aagard of Unbounce said it best: your call-to-action is the “tipping point between bounce and conversion.” Your call-to-action (CTA) should be more than just what you want your prospects to do. Remember, it’s not about you. Make sure your prospects know what’s in it for them. For example, you might be tempted to use “Buy now!” which is, of course, what you want them to do. But you have to keep in mind, your CTA should be about your prospects and what motivates them. You may instead use something along the lines of, “Find your dream home now.” Appeal to their goals, and at the same time, create a sense of urgency. Remember though, you have to keep your CTA short. Anything more than 5 to 6 words might be too long, or appear too gimmicky.
3. Take it Easy on the Images
   While images are a crucial part of selling, they may also be detrimental to your email campaign’s performance. An image-heavy email may not work for mobile devices. Worse, your email may possibly be reported as spam. Strategically place your image at the top part of your email (the preview section) as this helps your prospects decide whether or not they want to continue reading. Avoid using large image files as this may cause deliverability issues. An image or two, if chosen wisely, should be enough to effectively pique your prospect’s interest.
4. Be Consistent with your Branding
   Email marketing is a great way to strengthen your real estate brand and increase brand recall. Your graphics, your brand name, and the brand personality, including the voice you project should remain consistent in all your emails. Consistency is crucial in establishing your brand. Your prospects should not have to wonder who the email is from. Consumers, in general, would rather interact with brands they are familiar with.
5. Test your Email Message
   Before you go on a sending frenzy, be sure to thoroughly test your email campaign across multiple mobile devices and email clients. You wouldn’t want your prospects to receive emails with broken links, images that won’t load, or with copy full of typos. Again, your campaign should help establish your brand integrity.

Bonus tip: When is the best time to send out emails? According to Experian, the hours between 8pm to midnight receive the best open rate, clickthroughs, and sales. Evidently, most email users are active at night.

Email marketing can be tricky. Creating real estate campaigns is not always a breeze, and can be time-consuming. Getting a Virtual Assistant to create email marketing campaigns for you is a smart and efficient way to leverage your time and boost your real estate business.

Visit us online at https://www.myoutdesk.com to learn more about how our highly-skilled and professional Marketing Virtual Assistants can help increase your income and client base.

Original Story: https://www.myoutdesk.com/7-rules-creating-effective-email-marketing-campaign/