1. Record a Cheerful New Year’s Video Text Message

Video text messages make an incredible impression. Despite being super easy to record, relatively few agents use them. They’re way more personal than the usual emoji-filled text, and you don’t have to worry about being perfect—authenticity is the name of the game. Simply record a short, warm video wishing your clients a happy New Year and thanking them for their trust in your services.

2. Handwrite “Happy New Year” Notes to Key Clients

You’ve heard it countless times before: nothing beats a handwritten note to garner attention. Spend an hour or so writing personal “Happy New Year” cards to a select group of top clients and referrers. 

Include a personal detail you’ve saved in your contact database so they know it’s a unique and authentic expression of care. Express your gratitude for their trust and support, let them know your target for the coming year, and let them know you look forward to helping them and their families and friends meet their real estate goals. 

3. Share Your 2025 Market Predictions

Send New Year real estate emails with your predictions for the 2025 housing market. Many people are wondering where it may head. Since your job inherently involves staying informed on market trends, analyzing industry news, and closely monitoring local developments, you’re perfectly positioned to provide the answers. With your expertise, there’s no one better to share valuable predictions for real estate in your community than you!

4. Send Your First Quarterly Market Update

In a similar vein, enhance your credibility and image as the local real estate expert by sending a quarterly real estate email or custom postcard that updates your recipients on what is happening in your area’s market. Include data of interest to your audience, such as the number of homes sold, the median selling price, and the average days on the market.

5. Start a “New Year, New Home” Postcard Campaign

People don’t wait until the spring market to make a move. As an agent, you must engage your farm now, planting the seeds you can reap later. A professionally designed custom postcard with a message about fresh starts and finding your dream home will resonate with those who couldn’t play host for the holidays because their home was too small. Consider incentivizing sellers to list early in the year by offering a limited-time bonus, such as a free staging consultation or professional photography.

6. Create a “Selling Your Home in 2025” Social Media Campaign

Share daily posts or reels about how homeowners can sell faster and at top dollar by making improvements or staging their current homes in preparation for sale. Create these tips yourself, relying on your experience about what works, or, even better, collaborate with your referral partners in interior design, landscaping, remodeling, renovations, or staging. Working together, you can cross-promote your posts or reels for greater impact.

7. Post Real Estate New Year Quotes or Memes

Offering words of wisdom and memes on social media is an easy way to garner likes. New Year real estate quotes will lend a bit of inspiration, while memes are always good for a giggle and are highly shareable. Consult Etsy and Pinterest for ideas, then use Canva to create an eye-catching image.

8. Highlight the Top Neighborhoods to Watch in 2025

Using drone footage from Google Earth Studio, create an aerial tour of the most popular areas buyers should keep an eye on and either post the video to social media or create a carousel. Or, if you prefer, write an engaging blog that includes images of local hot spots and views of the town, homes, and scenery. Be sure to include links to your active listings in these locations. 

9. Recommend Useful Guides

The start of a new year is often when people begin making new plans, and there is no shortage of free guides for homeowners and would-be buyers and sellers to help. A simple internet search will provide a slew of downloadable files you can redesign with a little help from Canva. Alternatively, copy and paste any of these prompts into a generative AI program like Gemini or ChatGPT to create your own:

• “Create a seasonal home maintenance checklist to help homeowners keep their property in top condition year-round, broken down by spring, summer, fall, and winter tasks.”
• “Write a new year home improvement checklist for homeowners, focusing on projects that add value, improve efficiency, and enhance comfort. Break down the tasks by priority and suggest small and larger projects, such as upgrading appliances and refreshing paint.”
• “Produce a detailed guide for homebuyers, covering budgeting, mortgage preapproval, house hunting, making offers, and closing. Include tips for first-time buyers, what to look for in a home, and common mistakes to avoid.”
• “Create a guide for first-time homebuyers outlining different financing options, including conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA loans. Explain each option’s requirements, benefits, and drawbacks in simple terms, helping buyers choose the best fit for their situation.”
• “Write a comprehensive guide for homeowners on preparing their home for sale, including tips for staging, minor renovations, and boosting curb appeal to attract buyers.”
• “Produce a guide for potential home sellers to understand home equity, explaining what it is, how to leverage it, and when it can benefit their financial goals.”

10. Run a Happy Holidays Real Estate Giveaway Contest

People love contests, and you can use social media to promote yours while driving entries and engagement and adding folks to your database. Offer a prize like a home organization service, a gift card to a home improvement store or coffee shop, a free home valuation, a gift basket, or a local restaurant voucher—whatever makes sense and your budget allows. Just be sure to check the rules for giveaways, promotions, and contests on your preferred social media platform. 

Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• “Dream Home Giveaway” contest: Ask followers to share a photo or description of their dream home in the comments and offer a prize to a randomly selected winner. Pro tip: Use the intelligence you gather to target specific participants when a house featuring their desired elements comes to market.
• “Market Mastermind Trivia” challenge: Post fun real estate or local market trivia questions with the chance to win a prize for answering correctly. Encourage entrants to tag a friend for bonus entries.
• “Guess the Price” contest: Select a picture of a local listing and challenge followers to guess the list or sold price. The closest guess wins an award. (A free home valuation works well with this idea.)
• “Referrals Win Rewards” giveaway: Invite followers to refer friends or family interested in buying or selling a home. Every referral earns an entry to win.

11. Launch a “New Year, New Agent” Referral Drive

Encourage positive word of mouth by offering a small token of appreciation for every referral or closed transaction in Q1. Promote your efforts through your real estate email list and social channels; you can also boost awareness by including a notice in your email signature line.

12. Highlight Local Favorites to Strengthen Connections

The holidays can be frenzied, but local businesses and trusted vendors help keep us sane and smiling. Think about the lender who always comes through, the coffee shop that fuels your mornings, your go-to spot for closing gifts, or the pizza place that feeds your family after a hectic day of showings. Why not show them some love?

Write a short feature article (around 500 words) highlighting their services and what makes them incredibly amazing. You could even make it an interview—ask the owner about their business and the story behind it. Don’t forget to include photos of them in action, whether pouring the perfect latte or helping clients in their office.

Then, share the feature in your email newsletter to spotlight their work and send them a copy. It’s a win-win: you strengthen relationships, offer value to your audience, and make a meaningful impact on your community.

Take Action

Now that you’re armed with 12 powerful Happy New Year real estate marketing ideas, it’s time to put them into motion. Start by choosing two or three that align with your goals and audience, then commit to executing them. Whether you send handwritten notes, share market insights, or run a giveaway, every action you take will build momentum for the year ahead.

Remember, success in real estate is all about showing up, providing value, and staying top of mind. These ideas are your road map to beginning 2025 with purpose, strengthening your relationships, and driving new opportunities. Take the first step today, and may your new year be prosperous and find you and yours happy and healthy!

The post 12 Happy New Year Real Estate Marketing Ideas to Ring in 2025 appeared first on The Close.

What Is Lead Nurturing? 

When considering how to nurture real estate leads, think of it as relationship building. While you will use a strategy akin to a sales funnel, leading a prospect from capture to close, you are also forming a genuine connection that will hopefully create a long-lasting relationship and yield referral business. 

The goal of lead nurturing is to be the agent who your leads call when they’re ready to make a move. This is where your patience pays off and results from the genuine foundation on which your relationship was built. 

• Awareness: In this initial stage, leads just learn about your services. They seek information, resources, and education but may not know much about you and your business. They will review your real estate website, search online, and check out your social media profiles. 
• Interest: The next step is when a lead shows interest in working with you. They may call you or attend your open house. Your goal at this point is to build a relationship with the lead and address any questions they may have. 
• Consideration: Once leads know their needs, they research possible solutions. If they’re a seller lead, they’ll consider if you’ve sold properties similar to theirs and how many listings you have. During this stage, they actively look for options, compare features and costs, and try to find the best fit for their needs.
• Conversion: You’ve been waiting for this stage—you’ve converted the lead into a client! At this point, you will have your new client sign the necessary representation paperwork.
• Closing: The final stage is when you start actively working directly with your client to help them reach their real estate goals.

The idea of nurturing your leads for months, or even years, may seem tedious. However, tracking the progress of each lead and understanding where they are in the funnel will help you stay efficient and consistent. Starting from the ‘awareness’ stage, right at the top of the funnel, your strategic approach will propel every lead towards the ‘closing’ stage in no time. 

Real Estate Lead Nurturing Strategies & Tools

Now that you’ve set your systems and processes in place, it’s time to take the next step and start building connections with potential clients. With these seven easy steps and helpful scripts, you’ll not only bring in more leads but also improve your conversion skills.

Tip 1: Make Sure Your Database Is in Your CRM

Transferring all your leads and clients to a CRM is a great way to ensure you’re on top of all your outreach and communication efforts. With a full real estate CRM, you’ll have all your info and data at your fingertips whenever needed. Create a personalized system that suits you best. However, automating the transfer of leads from text or email directly into the CRM will save you time and effort and help you create a streamlined nurturing system. Here’s what a CRM will do for you: 

• Lead capture system: Create a pipeline in your CRM to segment and organize your leads so you know where they are in the sales funnel. There are many real estate lead generation platforms from which to choose. 
• Outreach and follow-up process: Once you have the leads in your database, you’ll need a system for reaching out to them as soon as possible. Automate these drip campaigns through your CRM to provide a series of follow-ups that build trust, provide value, and encourage your database to reach out to you for your services. 
• Prioritize leads likely to convert: Based on user activity and responses, CRMs will help you prioritize the leads with the most opportunity. Some CRMs come with predictive analytics that shows the likelihood of sellers who may be ready to list their homes. 

Want a system that does all the above tasks? Check out Top Producer! It is an efficient CRM with high-level functionality and many options for lead gen and nurturing. Their social advertising function sends leads directly to your Top Producer CRM, where the automated nurturing system kicks in, increasing your conversion rate.

Grow your database with a steady stream of affordable, exclusive real estate leads from social media ads. Social Connect from Top Producer is designed to get you a high volume of leads and move them through your pipeline until they’re ready to buy and sell real estate. Connect with an average of 30 consumers interested in real estate in your local market for just $300 per month!

How Social Connect works:

Tip 2: Utilize Your Phone to Make Calls Or Send Texts

While methods of communication have changed over the years, there is still value in a good old-fashioned phone call. When you receive a lead, call the lead as soon as you can. If you need help starting a conversation, practice with phone scripts before you start taking leads so you will be prepared with questions. 

If you can’t get through, send a text message as a follow-up to the phone call, as some people may initially prefer to communicate that way. Phone call check-ins should also be a regular part of your follow-up process, as this helps build the relationship.

Pro Tip: Remember to stay up-to-date on the do-not-call list. If a lead is not on the list, always respect their wishes if they request that you stop contacting them.

Tip 3: Set Up Drip Campaigns

When you’re sending emails, it’s great to keep things interesting for your recipients. Mix it up with four to 10 different targeted emails in your campaigns, strategically spaced out over several days or weeks. It’s all about finding that sweet spot where you stay top of mind without overwhelming anyone. 

• Email 1 (Day 1): Introduction email to you and your services/newsletter
• Email 2 (Day 3): Listings in the area that have sold in the last three months, stats about how quickly and how much these were sold for
• Email 3 (Day 6): Informational packet for sellers
• Email 4 (Day 8): Send link to receive a free home valuation report
• Email 5 (Day 11): Show examples of homes sold and marketing tactics that contributed

The key to a solid drip campaign is to remember your goal: to create a lasting relationship that nurtures your leads over time. Your emails should lead to a call to action (CTA), such as an in-person meeting.

Tip 4: Create Monthly Newsletters 

Another great way to engage with your leads, showcase your expertise, and build trust is by sending out a monthly newsletter. While drip campaigns are geared towards driving sales, newsletters focus on offering valuable insights and allowing recipients to get to know you and your business more deeply.

Use a site like Coffee & Contracts to schedule newsletters in advance and save time. Coordinate your content with seasons and holidays, and don’t forget to include community news for the areas you serve. It’s a great way to keep everyone in the loop and build stronger connections.

Tip 5: Engage on Social Media

Staying in touch through social media is super important these days. Engage with your prospects on social platforms instead of just using emails, calls, and texts. Comment on prospects’ posts, send a relevant article, or even tag them in posts about great new spots in town. Keep the conversation going, and I bet you’ll start to see those friends on social media turn into clients and referrals.

Tip 6: Send Direct Mail 

Before the days of phone calls, there were—you guessed it—letters in the mail. Although times have changed, direct mail shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s still a tried and true method of connecting and nurturing leads. Send out postcards, flyers, and even a quarterly recipe. Take it further and send handwritten notes to warm leads further down the funnel.

Signing up to work with a direct mail company allows you to set up a seamless mailing campaign. With a company like ProspectsPLUS!, you can select from various direct mailers, including postcards, flyers, brochures, and door hangers. You also have the option to schedule your campaigns for the entire year, ensuring that you remain top of mind and provide valuable information.

Tip 7: Host Events

A key element to an effective lead nurturing strategy is to connect face-to-face. When leads have the chance to meet you in person, they are much more likely to feel comfortable and confident in choosing your services. Organize an event to provide them with this opportunity. Host a class on the home buying process, throw a client appreciation event, or hold an annual holiday party. I’ve also invited leads to one of my open houses as a way to meet in person and showcase my expertise.

Best Practices for Lead Nurturing 

By incorporating these lead nurturing best practices into your approach, you’ll have the opportunity to show off your unique style as an agent and how you get things done. Creating your own systems for your personal business is a great way to distinguish yourself from other agents.

• Follow-up with leads promptly
• Stay organized by categorizing your leads
• Personalize your communication
• Use multi-channel outreach
• Create targeted campaigns
• Always provide valuable content
• Practice patience
• Use active listening to connect with leads
• Tap into your customer service skills
• Practice time management
• Use past testimonials to build trust
• Have confidence in your skills
• Automate some of your outreach
• Set pace and timeframe for outreach

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do real estate agents get leads?

How important is lead generation in real estate?

What is the ROI of lead nurturing?

Bringing It All Together

Lead nurturing in real estate is much like everything else—best when practiced authentically. When you put together a thoughtful nurturing campaign, with the help of your CRM, and begin a warm, lasting relationship, there is more of a chance of turning that lead into a happy client. Have any tips or strategies on how to nurture real estate leads and convert them? Leave us a comment below!

The post Real Estate Lead Nurturing: 7 Strategies for Conversion appeared first on The Close.

I’m talking logos, social media graphics, free stock photos, templates—the whole nine yards. I’m even diving into when to call in the pros and hire a designer. Oh, and did I mention the free Real Estate Branding Guide I’m throwing in? Yep, I’m giving you everything you need to create a brand that’s so good clients won’t be able to resist. So, let’s do this!

Why Graphic Design Matters for Real Estate

Your brand is way more than just a logo or website. It’s the whole package—everything that shapes how people perceive you and your business. The great news is that you have the power to guide their perception by creating a unique combination of messaging and visuals that’s all your own.

Whether we like it or not, potential clients form opinions about a property and the agent representing it based on the visual appeal of their real estate marketing materials. As a real estate agent in a transitioning market, standing out from the competition is critical. But, with the right branding strategy, you can showcase your personality, expertise, and what sets you apart. You can connect with your target audience and build trust before they meet you.

Branding is a powerful tool for your success, so take the time to develop a brand that truly represents you and your business. Watch as it helps you attract your ideal clients and close more deals. Trust me, it’s worth it!

Benefits of Graphic Design for Real Estate Agents

Whether you’re using DIY tools or paying a pro, your real estate business will benefit from high-quality graphic design. Don’t underestimate the power of branding. Spend time defining your style, colors, and the statement you want to make in the world. Great graphic design will create the following:

• Increased brand recognition and memorability
• Enhanced credibility and professionalism
• Improved communication of key information
• Higher engagement rates on marketing materials
• Competitive advantage in the market

As your brand becomes more visible, both online and offline, your business will attract more clients, and you’ll close more deals. So, don’t skimp on the design details of your brand right up front. Invest in high-quality real estate graphic design to gain the most benefit from your marketing strategy. 

First, Establish Your Brand Identity

Without delving into branding, you can’t get too far into real estate graphic design. Now that you clearly understand why graphic design matters and its benefits, it’s time to start building your personal real estate brand identity. 

Establishing the look and feel of your brand is a critical step in creating effective real estate marketing materials. Spend some time on each of these elements to develop a brand identity that aligns with your personality and professional goals.

• MVV: Your mission, vision, and values (MVV) are the core identity behind your brand and all marketing materials you produce. They will help guide you through most graphic design choices you make. 

• Branding: Consistent branding is crucial for real estate agents. This includes using a specific color palette, font family, and logo across all marketing materials to create a recognizable and professional brand identity.
• Color psychology: Colors can evoke up to 90% of an initial impression. You should understand the basics of color psychology and use colors that create the desired mood and attract your target audience.

• Logo: Your real estate logo is the face of your brand and should be memorable, unique, and reflective of your brand’s values.
• Typography: Choosing the right fonts can significantly impact the readability and overall appeal of your designs. Choose legible and professional fonts that align with your brand’s personality.

Once you have established your brand’s color palette, typography, and logo usage, maintain consistency across all marketing materials, including business cards, property flyers, social media posts, and other marketing collateral. This will create a cohesive and recognizable brand identity.

Need a little more in-depth guidance on setting up your unique brand identity? Worry not! We’ve got you covered. You can download our Real Estate Branding Guide and go deeper into all the details of developing a brand that represents you and resonates with your audience. Check it out!

DOWNLOAD YOUR REAL ESTATE BRANDING GUIDE

DIY Design Tips for Real Estate Agents

You may not be a pro real estate graphic designer. Still, you can certainly learn a few design tips to help create stunning images for consistent social media posts, email marketing, real estate infographics, postcards and flyers, and more to keep your brand identity consistent no matter what you need to create.

Tip 1: Use White Space Effectively

White space, or negative space, is the empty space between all your design elements. It’s like the secret sauce to making your designs look clean, organized, and easy on the eyes. Don’t be afraid to give your elements some breathing room.

Tip 2: Create Visual Hierarchies

This is just a fancy way of saying you should arrange your design elements in order of importance. Use size, color, and placement to first guide your viewer’s eye to the most critical information. Make those headlines and key details pop by using larger or bolder fonts to draw attention to them. Use subheadings, bullet points, or numbered lists to break up text and make it more scannable.

Tip 3: Use Contrasting Colors

Using contrasting colors can make important elements stand out, like a neon sign. Use a color wheel to find complementary colors for maximum impact, choosing colors from the opposite side of the wheel. Just make sure your text is still legible—you don’t want people squinting while trying to read your graphics. But caution: use contrast sparingly. The last thing you want is to overwhelm the design and your reader. Focus on highlighting the most important elements.

Tip 4: Align Elements Consistently

Alignment is key to creating a polished, professional look. Use a grid system to keep everything in line. Make sure related elements, like text and images, are aligned to create a cohesive look. Consistent alignment makes your designs look polished and easier to read.

Tip 5: Embrace Simplicity

When in doubt, keep it simple. Stick to a limited color palette and font family for a put-together vibe. Avoid going overboard with decorative elements or busy backgrounds that can distract from your main message. Focus on delivering key information with clarity. Never sacrifice your message for a pretty design.

Tip 6: Use High-quality Images

There’s no excuse for not using high-quality images in your real estate graphic designs. Use professional, well-lit photos that show off a property’s best features. Make sure your images are sized and optimized for their intended use, whether digital or print. If you’re using stock photos, choose ones that look authentic and relate to your message.

Tip 7: Be Unique

It’s great to get inspo from other successful agents and see what design elements really catch your eye. But here’s the thing—don’t just copy and paste. Get inspired, but then create something that’s uniquely you. Put your own spin on it and let your personality shine through. That’s what will really make you stand out from the competition.

DIY Design Tools for Real Estate Agents

Ready to get started designing your stunning real estate graphics? I’ve pulled together a list of some of the coolest DIY marketing design tools to get you started.

Real Estate Graphic Design Templates 

Since you’re most likely not a professional designer, one of the easiest and fastest ways to create your gorg graphic designs is to use templates. Most of the platforms created for DIY design come with a plethora of templates, including some easy-to-customize social media templates you can peruse and customize to fit your brand. Check out some amazing templates I’ve seen in the wild below.

Templates from Coffee & Contracts

Modern market update template (Source: Coffee & Contracts)

Testimonial template (Source: Coffee & Contracts)

Templates library for social media, postcard, and marketing (Source: Coffee & Contracts)

Templates from Canva

Reel template (Source: Canva)

Just listed template (Source: Canva)

Educational post template (Source: Canva)

Stylish, customizable real estate templates for all your needs (Source: Canva)

Templates from Agent Crate

Template dashboard with several posts (Source: Agent Crate)

Engagement post template (Source: Agent Crate)

Educational post template (Source: Agent Crate)

Just sold template (Source: Agent Crate)

Agent Crate produces new monthly content and templates to customize your brand. (Source: Agent Crate)

Inspo: Examples of Real Estate Graphic Design That Slays

Here are some gorg examples of well-designed real estate marketing materials to inspire and guide you in creating your own designs.

Example 1: SERHANT.

If you’re looking for inspo for your branding, look no further than the man who has created one of the most recognizable brands in real estate—Ryan Serhant. This logo is one of my personal favorites for a myriad of reasons. It’s clean. Simple. And confidently stated. It’s simply his name in all caps and blocky letters, but the period at the end makes all the difference. Serhant. Period. See what I mean?

Example 2: The Agency

I know a lot of people on the internet talk about The Agency, including some of us here at The Close. But I can’t help but love how clever this real estate logo is—a bent paperclip in the shape of an “A” and the simple title underneath. It’s so simple, it’s brilliant. The white sans serif font on a bright red field stands out and screams sophistication. It’s a great example of less is more.

Example 3: Compass

Compass has done an amazing job with its branding, standing out as a leader in sophistication and class. Its branding conveys luxury without being bougie and techy without being boring. The simple black-and-white colors are fresh, modern, and stylish, with sans-serif all-caps lettering spaced out just enough to be open and inviting. With Compass, you’re going places. 

Example 4: Aaron Kirman Partners

I love the overt masculinity of this logo—it says power, sophistication, and boldness—definitely traits shared by its namesake. The simple, black-and-white design fits hand-in-hand with the use of negative space on the website. It also fits nicely with the tagline “The Evolution of Luxury.” This logo means business, just like its namesake and the brokerage itself. If you’re looking for powerful real estate graphic design inspiration, this one ranks up there.

How & Where to Hire a Real Estate Graphic Designer

Traditionally, when a business needs graphic design work done, they hire an advertising or creative agency. Sure, that’s one way to get premium real estate graphic design for your business, but you can also hire a freelance designer, which can be more economical. A freelance designer generally works on a per-project or hourly basis. 

Start small with freelancers once you’ve had a chance to check out their portfolio. Hire them to complete a few small projects to make sure they’re a good fit. Have them complete a few different types of projects—for example, a social media graphic, a listing brochure, a real estate flyer, and a postcard. Doing so will help you get a feel for how well the designer takes direction, how often they meet deadlines, and how easy they are to work with. One project isn’t enough to assess someone’s talents. Plus, you will also want to determine if they understand you and your unique brand.

Here are a few places to look for freelance graphic design for realtors, broken down by average cost and design quality. Keep in mind that prices vary based on the freelancer and task. Instead of hunting for one freelance designer, you can also run a contest on sites like 99designs, where you can pitch your project, and multiple designers will create designs. You can then choose the best option for your needs.

Freelancer Website	Pricing	Design Quality
Upwork	$–$$$$	Entry-level to mid-tier
Toptal	$$–$$$$	Mid-tier to expert
Dribble	$$–$$$$	Mid-tier to expert
Behance	$$–$$$$	Mid-tier to expert
Working Not Working	$$$–$$$$	Expert
99Designs	$–$$$$	Beginner to expert
Fiverr	$–$$$$	Beginner to expert

Bringing It All Together

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this ultimate guide to real estate graphic design. From understanding the importance of visual branding to mastering design basics, you’re now equipped with the knowledge and tools to create marketing materials that will make you stand out from the competition. But remember, this is just the beginning of your design journey. Keep exploring, experimenting, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

Now, I want to hear from you! What’s your favorite design tip from this guide? Have you created any killer marketing materials using these techniques? Share your thoughts, experiences, and even your designs in the comments below. Let’s keep this conversation going!

The post Real Estate Graphic Design: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on The Close.

What Is Real Estate Data Analytics?

Real estate data analytics is an umbrella term that describes using different types of data to make better business decisions. It includes collecting data, analyzing it, and applying it. Data can be gathered, analyzed, and even applied manually or using a real estate tech tool.

What Can Agents Use Real Estate Data Analytics for? 

Real estate professionals often use data and analytics even more than they think in their day-to-day work. The term “data analytics” might sound like complex, highly advanced technology—and sometimes it is. Other times, it actually describes tasks and processes that agents have used for decades.

A few examples of data analytics in real estate include the following: 

• Analyzing the housing market: Using data from national real estate companies makes it easy for agents and brokers to evaluate market trends, anticipate inventory challenges, and help clients set realistic expectations to get the best value from their sale or home purchase.
• Conducting property valuations: Listing agents can accurately price a home for sale by having data like current and past property values and sale prices of similar homes. 
• Leveraging predictive analytics: Predictive analytics companies use historical data combined with user behavior to predict things like future listings and market fluctuations.
• Creating a comparative market analysis (CMA): A CMA gathers details about recent sales and estimates a property’s worth based on the sales of similar properties in the area.
• Keeping track of social media conversations: Social media listening is a new strategy used by real estate data analysts to gather information about how a topic is discussed. For example, Sprout Social uses an artificial intelligence (AI) listening tool to determine how many people are talking about a specific topic, how they’re discussing it, and the audience demographics.
• Evaluating marketing performance: Analytics are important for every area of online marketing, including social media, digital ads, and websites. These real estate analytics help you determine which areas of your marketing strategy are successful and which areas need more attention.

Benefits of Real Estate Data Analytics + Case Studies

The biggest benefit of gathering data in real estate isn’t just the data—it’s the ability to leverage the information to make intelligent, educated decisions for your business. Website visits, social interactions, email activity, and real estate portals generate great data, but you must know how to translate that data into strategic business decisions. A few of the main benefits of using data in real estate include the following:

• More insight: Having real-time data helps develop a deeper understanding of the real estate market or the behaviors of your target audience.
• Better decisions: Data helps you make decisions based on facts and data instead of guessing or following other trends.
• More effective marketing: By knowing how your audience is behaving, you can craft marketing funnels that appeal to them more directly and personally.
• Continuous improvement: Real estate data analytics shows you exactly what is working and what is not working so that you can make the most strategic and effective adjustments.

Case Study One

Many people publish a real estate website and then barely look at the site’s performance. However, learning to understand the analytics will help you see things like:

• How people are finding your website
• How many, or few, pages they are visiting
• Which website pages are getting the most visits

With this valuable information, you can change your website to guide viewers to the right places and ultimately generate more leads. These updates could include refreshing search engine-optimized keywords to target the right audience, adding alternative text to images to make your site more accessible, and ensuring your site is optimized for mobile. 

Case Study Two

By incorporating additional tools, you can even further leverage the power of real estate data analysis to generate and nurture new leads. An example of this is Homebot, a predictive analytics tool that allows website visitors to see the estimated value of their home automatically. It also provides additional tools for different types of leads or website visitors, like home buyers and homeowners looking to maximize the value of their homes.

The platform gathers data from the user’s behavior and generates customized landing pages for each type of visitor. Learn more about Homebot in our review.

Case Study Three

It’s no secret that social media can be a massively powerful strategy to grow a real estate business. While Instagram, Facebook, and other real estate social networks will provide basic analytics for users with business accounts, you can make a huge impact by leveraging data from social media.

For example, one real estate brokerage started focusing on its social media data and saw a 100% increase in monthly website visitors and a 10% increase in clicks from its campaigns. Instead of guessing what your audience wants to see and manually posting content, use social media marketing tools to gain more insight and automatically improve your techniques.

Social media analytics can help you determine:

• The best times to post for your specific audience
• Which content gets the highest engagement rates
• The most relevant hashtags and topics to reach your audience
• How your competitors are using social media and how to improve on it

Top Tools for Real Estate Data Analytics

There are many different areas of real estate analytics, from marketing to economics and demographics. As you learn how to successfully use data in real estate, consider investing in some of the best tools for gathering, organizing, interpreting, and applying valuable insights.

A few of the best real estate data analytics tools include the following:

• Zillow: Zillow’s website has a section dedicated to providing users with current housing market data, such as current home values and predicted home values in any given region. For Zillow Premier Agents, it also tracks the performance of every lead.
• Offrs: This predictive analytics platform identifies properties and homeowners most likely to sell in the coming year.
• Homebot: This predictive analytics tool helps nurture leads with customized information and marketing.
• RealPage: This property management software provides data and tools for leasing, marketing, and managing tenants, as well as finances.

Zillow publishes valuable data for the real estate industry and provides many tools to help agents build their businesses. Realtors who become Zillow Premier Agents get to connect with buyer leads directly from the platform, and since Zillow is the most popular real estate website, this is an ideal way to generate leads. Learn more about Zillow Premier Agent in our review.

FAQs

How is data science used in real estate?

What is the best source for real estate data?

What should I look for in a real estate data tool?

Bringing It All Together

Data is a huge part of real estate; the most successful agents learn how to leverage it to build a strong business. Real estate data analysis can help you serve your clients better, reach new leads, understand the real estate market, customize and automate your marketing strategy, and close more sales—there are almost no limits! How will you use data to move your business forward?

The post The Ultimate Guide to Real Estate Data Analytics appeared first on The Close.

All real estate professionals think they’re natural-born salespeople, but the cold, hard truth is that most real estate pros struggle with copywriting. That’s why I am giving you 12 real estate copywriting rules that professional writers swear by today. As a professional writer, I can tell you from experience that these rules are a game-changer for writing persuasive copy.

As a bonus, I include a free PDF of descriptive words for selling homes.

1. Transform Features Into Benefits

The easiest way to get someone to act is to appeal to their emotional needs or desires. Studies show that most people use emotional arguments to persuade others without realizing it. 

The only problem is that your listings don’t come with ready-made emotional arguments to persuade a buyer to attend your open house. Instead, you get a list of features. Your job as a real estate copywriter is to turn those features into benefits that will appeal to your readers on an emotional level. Here’s how to do it:

Determine each feature’s benefits that appeal to emotional needs or desires. For example, let’s say one feature of your newest listing is that it’s close to major highways. Here are a few benefits that appeal to emotion:

• Spend less time commuting
• Never be late to work or school again
• Enjoy more time with family and friends
• Easy access to amenities like supermarkets, gyms, and restaurants

Now, go through your list of benefits and pick the one you think will have the biggest emotional impact on your reader. Do this for all the best features of your listing, and you’ll have a good rough outline for your listing description. You can follow this same template to help readers see the benefits of your brand, sign up for your email newsletter, or any other call to action you might feature in your real estate copywriting.

2. Start With a Pain Point, Then Offer Your Solution

If you’ve ever tried to convince a friend or loved one of something, you know that just stating your side of the story isn’t enough. If you want to persuade them, they must know that you understand their side of the story too. 

This is why most good copywriters start by acknowledging a pain point for their readers before presenting their solution. Good copy should get your readers to nod along as they read. Once you’ve built that bond, you come in with your pitch. 

For example, let’s say you’re writing copy for a landing page to get people to sign up for your email newsletter about off-market listings. Here’s how your real estate copy might sound if you focus on your solution without acknowledging your readers’ pain point first:

Subscribe to my off-market listing newsletter today to get a free list of the best listings in Springfield before they hit Zillow. If you sign up now, you’ll get…

Here’s how your copy sounds when you first acknowledge their pain point.

These days, the Springfield market is moving so fast that some homes have multiple offers before they even hit Zillow. If you want to get a jump-start on the best homes for sale, you need to act quickly. My off-market listings newsletter offers buyers access to the best Springfield listings before they hit Zillow. If you sign up now, you’ll get…

Notice the difference?

3. Use Conversational Language

The secret to getting your reader to take action is to build trust with your message. The fastest way to do that is to write in a conversational style. That means writing in first person, using “I” and “you” in your copy. 

Conversational style is like having a chat over a cup of coffee. After all, you wouldn’t use a lot of big, flowery words if you were talking to a friend about a product you love. You would simply say—in common everyday words—how much you love it, what it does for you, and that your friend should get it. 

When you use common language in a conversational style, your readers will feel more like you’re talking directly to them. And that makes them feel like they know you. People buy from and do business with those they know, like, and trust.

4. Tell a Good Story

I spent a lot of time in bookstores picking up books with eye-catching titles and covers, reading the first paragraph, and putting them back on the table. If I got through the first paragraph and were interested, I would continue reading the next paragraph. If the book’s first page kept me reading, that was a sign to buy the book. The same is true for your copy. 

See what I did there? I just told you a short story to keep you reading and engaged. When you start your copy with a story that draws in the reader, you’re more likely to keep their attention throughout the rest of your message. It doesn’t have to be a novel—just a few sentences are enough to share a quick story that gives your message additional impact.

5. Write Without Fear, Edit Without Mercy

How you start is way less important than where you finish. This is why all good copywriters write without fear and edit without mercy. Here’s how to do it: 

Take your list of benefits from my first tip, and just start writing. No judgment, no editing. Just write. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling—you can fix that later. Just focus on your goal. Once you have something down on paper, start editing. Does your copy appeal to your reader’s emotions? Does it address a pain point and offer a solution? If it doesn’t, edit until it does. 

If you lack emotional punch, grab a thesaurus and find more evocative words to get your point across. Is that garden “nice” or a “lush oasis”? If you want a cheat sheet of descriptive real estate words that appeal to emotion, check out my guide to descriptive real estate words here:

6. Write at Least 3 Versions of Your Headline or Subject Line

If you’re writing with a title, you should always write at least three versions and pick the best of the bunch. Here’s why: If your title doesn’t draw them in, they will never read the rest of your copy. 

If you have a hard time coming up with three different versions of your headline, try some of these common headline formulas:

FOMO Headlines (Fear of Missing Out)

• {#} Homes Just Sold for ${#} Over Ask in {your farm area}!
• Here Are {#} Market Indicators That Show Prices Will Explode in {your farm area}
• Owner Says to Sell Yesterday!

Ask a Scary Question Headlines

• Are We Heading for a Recession? 
• Are You Ready to Sell Before Interest Rates Rise? 
• When Will the Housing Bubble Pop in {your farm area}?

Expert Advice Headlines

• When {#} Economists Think Interest Rates are Going WAY Up
• {#} Home Stagers Reveal the Best Affordable Couches 
• A Lawyer Answers Your Most Common Real Estate Questions

Curiosity-building Headlines

• Experts Say Painting Your Home This Color Will Help It Sell Faster & for More $$$
• Zillow Research Says This Month Is the Best Time to Sell
• The {#} Home Renovations With the Best ROI

7. ‘Stick’ With One Simple Idea

This one can be tricky for a lot of agents. You must focus on one simple idea to create a message that sticks with your readers. The way to do this is to figure out who your audience is and what they are most interested in knowing. Craft a special message for them and provide one solution for their big problem. Your audience won’t remember if you try to share five ideas in one message. But focusing on one thing will stick with your readers long after they’ve finished reading your copy.

Let’s say your target audience is first-time homebuyers. When looking at the features and benefits for your listing mentioned in tip one above, which would make the biggest impact for your target audience? Would they be more likely to have young children and be interested in nearby schools? Would they like nightlife and access to gyms, restaurants, and bars? Figure out which will most likely apply to most of your readers and focus on that message. 

Zeroing in on one message instead of trying to be everything to everyone will make your promise “sticky,” which means your people will remember you over the noisy competition.

8. Turn Complex Ideas Into Analogies

We often assume our readers know more than they do. As real estate agents, we’re in the thick of a lot of complexity and use jargon when chatting with other agents in our sphere. But our prospects and clients most likely don’t hear the language of our industry very often. 

The best professionals can take a complex situation and break it down into a one-sentence metaphor. For example: Shopping for houses before you get pre-approval from your lender is like getting married before your first date. 

When you can simplify terms in a way your clients can visualize and understand, it will put you in a position to reach your audience in a way others can’t.

9. Write in Simple Language With No Fluff

If you want people to read what you have to say, your copy needs to go down like ice cream. That means simple words, short sentences, and getting to the point as quickly as possible. Anyone can make a great fact-based argument in 20 pages, but great copywriters can do it in 20 words. The best writers can do it in six.

10. Read Your Copy Out Loud

After you edit your copy, the next step is to edit for style. This is where even great writers stumble. Editing for style is hard. Like, really hard. You can spend hours editing your copy and end up with something worse than what you started. 

Luckily, there is a trick that professional copywriters use to make editing for style easier: Read your copy out loud. Is it easy to read, or did you stumble with some words or sentences? If it’s hard for you to read out loud, chances are it’s even harder for your reader to hear in their head as they read. So read your copy aloud and tweak it until it goes down like ice cream.

11. Use Testimonials as Social Proof 

Think about the last time you bought something on Amazon. Did you check the customer reviews before clicking the “Buy Now” button? We all like the reassurance that we’re making a smart decision, whether buying a new pair of shoes, selecting a good restaurant for dinner, or choosing the right real estate agent to work with. Social proof is how it’s done.

If you’ve spent time collecting testimonials and reviews from your past clients, use them in your real estate copywriting to help your future clients get over the hump. The more social proof they have, the easier it will be to decide to choose you as their agent. 

If you’re creating an email to potential sellers, include firsthand accounts of how great a job you did from your past listings. If you’re writing up a social media campaign to attract homebuyers, share some emotional testimonials from the buyers you walked through to the closing table for the first time. These personal stories from your past clients will make you look like a miracle worker, and you won’t even have to humble brag about yourself.

12. A/B Test Whenever You Can

One of the coolest things about writing copy in 2024 is that you have access to tools that would have cost tens of thousands of dollars 15 years ago. One of the most useful is testing different versions of your copy on a real live audience to see how they respond. 

In the digital marketing world, this is called A/B testing, and it’s the closest you can get to a scientific study of how good your copy is. Remember the three headlines or subject lines I had you write in tip four? Now’s your chance to see which one actually makes your reader take action. 

If you want to A/B test your emails or email subject lines, use a customer relationship manager (CRM) or email marketing platform that offers this feature, like Mailchimp or Wise Agent. If you want to A/B test copy for your landing pages, use a platform like Real Geeks or Unbounce.

Over to You

Copywriting for real estate is a skill that anyone can learn, but it takes practice. Take these tips and implement them in your marketing as a starting point. And continue to educate yourself on these techniques in copywriting for real estate. 

Have you used these tips and noticed a change in your marketing return on investment (ROI)? Did I miss any real estate copywriting strategies in this list? Let me know in the comments below.

The post 12 Real Estate Copywriting Rules Professional Writers Swear by appeared first on The Close.

Homebot isn’t just a win for homeowners, though. It’s a way for agents to nurture their sphere as well as educate them—two birds with one stone. In the age of disinformation, people want to hear from a trusted source. Why can’t that be you? So let’s dive into the top features of Homebot, its pricing, and my full breakdown.

Pros

• Set-and-forget it with automated monthly emails
• Cost-effective
• No contract requirement
• Lender referral opportunities
• Hyperlocal data from Altos Research

Cons

• Email-centric (may not be for all clients)
• Setup fee
• Advanced features only available with lender plans
• Not a replacement for expert advice
• Market competition via Zillow, Remine, etc.

The Close Score

4.7

Pricing:

4.8

Features:

4.5

User Interface:

4.5

Support:

4.8

out
of

5

My Verdict 

As both a real estate agent and coach, I’ve seen my fair share of software and even some cool AI tools designed to help agents stay connected with clients. Homebot stands out for me. It’s not just another tool—it’s a way to offer valuable insights that your clients will actually appreciate. People want to know what the value of their home is—Homebot keeps them off Zillow and engaged with you on a monthly basis. And at $25 a month, it feels like a no-brainer. 

I recommend Homebot to every one of my coaching clients because of the low cost and the added value you’ll bring to your sphere. While I still coach agents to use the FORD method—asking their sphere about their family, occupation, recreation, and dreams—I do think Homebot can help agents who worry about just making small talk a few times per year. While it’s still important to stay up to date with your clients’ lives, Homebot provides you (and your clients) with actionable advice. If you’re looking to up your client engagement game without emptying your wallet, I’d recommend checking out Homebot.

What Is Homebot? 

Homebot is a lead nurturing tool that helps real estate agents educate clients on what their home is worth via a monthly automated email. What’s great about Homebot is that it offers personalized insights, not just a number. This automated valuation model (AVM) is based on market data from more than 20,000 neighborhoods, updated weekly. 

You can also partner with a lender to unlock other cool features like a Chrome extension plugin and browsing on Zillow with a Homebot insights sidebar. You might not be able to keep leads off Zillow, but you can still provide better insights while they browse it. 

Homebot Pricing 

For Real Estate Agents

Homebot offers a straightforward and budget-friendly pricing model for agents. There’s even a way to get a freemium version through your lender partner. The Pro Plan for agents starts at $25 per month with a one-time setup fee of $50. Here’s what you get:

• Personalized home value insights delivered to 500 clients every month
• Customized insights for homeowners 
• Basic integrations  

Note: If you want to add more clients, you can do so in blocks of 500 for an additional $10 per month. 

For Lenders

In most transactions, the lender is essential—and most agents have a few preferred mortgage professionals in their pocket. When your lender partners with you on Homebot, that’s where the magic happens. You’ll unlock these premium features: 

• Homebot Home Search Chrome browser extension
• Video manager and video email 
• Personalized URLs for your listings
• Additional insights for clients when they browse Zillow 

With these extra bells and whistles, pricing is a bit more involved for lenders. There’s a $200 one-time setup fee and a base subscription of $150 per month. The reason for the big jump in pricing when compared to the agent offerings is that the lender pricing unlocks other features specific to mortgage professionals, such as the ability to offer a freemium version to agent partners. 

Key Features 

Automated Home Value Insights

One of the core features of Homebot is its ability to provide automated and personalized home value insights. They use one of the largest real estate databases, Altos Research, to give homeowners an accurate picture of what their home is worth. 

If your clients don’t agree, they have the option to change it (after which you’ll receive a notification). Don’t worry—your clients are only given a realistic adjustment range based on Homebot’s data models and market trends. This number will be saved for your client, but won’t impact Homebot’s data reporting. 

The insights also extend into the “Homebot Home Search Experience.” This is a really cool feature where Homebot integrates directly with Zillow in the user’s browser, so your clients will get added Homebot insights while they browse Zillow. Let’s dive into that feature further. 

Homebot Home Search Experience

The question on your mind at this point is most likely, “Are Homebot’s values more accurate than Zestimates?” The answer is unequivocally yes. I’ve dug into the Zestimate data and Zillow’s nationwide margin of error is 7.7% for homes that are off market. Altos Research, which provides data to Homebot, has roughly 20,000 hyperlocal markets and pulls data on “over 100 million properties every week.” 

Zillow’s model is limited to the data that Zillow has access to—which relies on partnerships with MLSs nationwide. But agents know how fickle those partnerships can be. On the other hand, Altos Research positions itself as “the only company to analyze the entire active market in real time, tracking every property listed for sale or rent in the U.S.”

Looking at the snip above, this is what homeowners will see when they use the Homebot home search function. It’s a much cleaner interface that keeps your clients engaged with you, not the featured Zillow Premier Agent. 

Refinancing Scenarios

With rates at recent highs, a lot of homeowners don’t have any idea of what they could afford if they chose to refinance or buy. Homebot gives your prospects several possible refinancing scenarios based on current mortgage rates. You can help your clients better understand the value of their largest financial asset, especially in uncertain times. 

Personalized Landing Pages (PURLs)

Personalized URLs, or PURLs, are a way Homebot can help you grow your client base. These landing pages capture new leads and put them directly into your Homebot database. When a new visitor lands on your PURL, they’re prompted to enter their home address to receive an instant home valuation (powered by Homebot). 

You can use this in a lot of different ways, like with social media advertising or with an open house on a new listing. We’ve seen the power of landing pages for real estate agents, and the fact that Homebot designs this for you is a boon for your productivity.

These pages have a great user interface and an actual reason for visitors to input their info—they’ll get the value of their home without waiting for a real estate agent to pester them. I also like the fact that you have an easy intro for your follow-up. Just ask your new client about what they thought of their home’s predicted value.

Client Nurturing With Video Manager

Another great feature I love is Homebot’s video manager*. With this, you can upload videos around common client pain points and send them to your sphere every month as an engagement tool. You can import these from YouTube, BombBomb, or other popular video platforms as well. This makes it super easy to email your videos to keep your clients engaged beyond the automated home value email. 

Make a few videos that explain refinancing, provide personalized video market updates, or just simply check in with your sphere to give them that personal touch. When you get a new client in your Homebot database, your “Homeowner Intro” can be sent at the touch of a button. 

*Video Manager is only available to agents cosponsored by a lender or lenders on the Pro plan. Otherwise, you can choose from a few premade videos to engage your clients. 

Integrations

Within the Homebot platform, you can view your open rate, click-through rate and see which of your prospects have engaged with their Homebot email. It’s pretty straightforward so I don’t want you to worry about the fact that Homebot doesn’t have a ton of integrations. 

Homebot does partner with Total Expert CRM, BombBomb, and Mortgage Coach. But more importantly, the company has an open API. So if you’re a tech-savvy agent, you can get in touch with their team to put together a custom integration. This also means you can use a tool like Zapier to connect Homebot to a CRM you’re using with minimal headaches. 

When you partner with a lender, those plans offer a Chrome extension and a Zillow plugin. After all, we know it’s almost impossible to keep your clients off of Zillow. This feature could be the extra nudge you need to nurture a great conversation with your client about a home they saw on Zillow. Based on the buyer’s profile, Homebot provides a “buy score” for a home, letting them know if this is a smart, fair, or a weak purchase price, as well as estimated monthly costs and savings compared to renting.

Homebot Alternatives 

Here’s the thing—in the world of real estate tools, Homebot stands alone. With artificial intelligence (AI) valuations, it’s more important than ever to keep that client relationship alive. Homebot is an innovative tool that has more accurate valuations than a Zestimate and provides real value for your clients. I haven’t been able to find a tool that does what Homebot does, especially for the price. However, if some of these features sound appealing, here are a few other companies you might like to consider.

Wise Agent

Agent Legend

Kiavi

The Bottom Line: Is Homebot Worth the Money?  

Homebot is an amazing addition to any agent’s existing toolkit, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. This isn’t just “touching base” to see how things are going—you’ll be offering personalized financial insights to your clients, which go much further than calling them to ask them the FORD questions for the third time this year. 

Homebot’s focus is on client nurturing—something I preach a lot in my coaching. What I like about the company’s approach to this vital part of the client relationship is that Homebot is designed to complement your current system. If you’re aiming to give your client nurturing strategy a tech-forward edge without overwhelming yourself, Homebot is your go-to.

Methodology

In evaluating Homebot, I used my firsthand experience of the platform as both a real estate agent and a coach. I’ve been a fan of Homebot for years and I’ve recommended it to many of my coaching clients with great success.

Here at The Close, our goal is to offer actionable advice to help our readers succeed. Just to be clear: Homebot has not paid for this review, and my enthusiasm for Homebot has not influenced my evaluation. Our product review methodology emphasizes thoroughness and an unbiased take.

What’s Your Take? 

What do you feel about predictive analytics software and letting AI predict home value in real estate? Do you feel like this product could work for your business? 

We love to hear from our readers. Please share your experience with Homebot or other thoughts in the comment section below.

The post Homebot Review: Pricing, Pros & Cons for Real Estate Agents appeared first on The Close.

After coaching agents for the past 11 years, I’ve noticed two common beliefs that agents have that cause ineffective marketing: The first is they want to provide value to their entire database, and second is they don’t want to come across too “salesy.”

Their emails are too general and the customers don’t know what they are supposed to do next. The solution is to craft your message to match the audience you wish to respond. In this case, people who want to buy, sell, or invest in real estate.

In this article, I will give you tips on how to write emails that will generate consistent referrals and repeat business. Plus, I will share my six easy email examples that have worked flawlessly for myself and the top producers I coach.

Download The Email Templates

Focus on Who Your Marketing Is Actually Targeting

The secret to generating more repeat and referral business from your database is to get specific with your messaging. The biggest mistake agents make is focusing on the entire database of customers instead of focusing on the small few that would like to or need to buy, sell, or invest in real estate. Here is how you can train your mind to focus on the right audience.

Begin by thinking about the two to three customers in your database who need professional real estate advice today. Maybe they are relocating, interested in investing, or they may know of someone looking to buy a home.

Next, think about what messages that people who need to buy, sell, or invest would likely respond to. One thing that all customers want is answers to their questions. So if you want to receive referrals from your emails, you must write your email messages to answer the questions they may have.

52 Common Real Estate Questions

Here is a list of 52 real estate questions that a customer who is actually interested in buying, selling, or investing in real estate may have. One for each week of the year.

1	What is the difference between an appraisal and inspection?
2	How much down payment do I need to buy a home?
3	What fees do I have to pay to sell my home?
4	What is the difference between an FHA and conventional loan?
5	How long does it take to sell a home?
6	Do I have to use a real estate agent to sell a home?
7	What is rent to own?
8	How do I get approved for a loan?
9	Why is my assessed value different from the appraised value?
10	How long does it take to buy a home?
11	What is a back-up offer?
12	How do I buy a foreclosed home?
13	How do I negotiate the best price?
14	What is mortgage insurance?
15	How do I pick an agent to sell my home?
16	How much do I pay a real estate agent to buy a home?
17	What is the home sale process?
18	What do I do if I miss a house payment?
19	How does a VA loan work?
20	Do I have to sell my home before buying another one?
21	How do you buy a brand-new home?
22	Is staging really effective?
23	Do I need a home warranty?
24	What are the best ways to market my home?
25	How accurate is the Zillow estimate?
26	What is the difference between a Realtor and a real estate agent?
27	Do national real estate companies have better exposure?
28	Do I have to move twice to sell my home and buy another?
29	What is title insurance?
30	How do I get an appraisal?
31	What are the best sites to search for homes?
32	Are all mortgage company interest rates the same?
33	Should I do a 15- or 30-year mortgage?
34	Do new windows increase the value of my home?
35	What home expenses can I write off on my taxes?
36	What are five low-cost things you can do to get more money for your house?
37	How does an agent come up with the sales price?
38	What does owner/seller carry mean?
39	How much are closing costs?
40	How do I get/find the lowest interest rate?
41	Are the prices negotiable?
42	What is a seller's market?
43	How long does it take to renovate a home?
44	What kind of credit score do I need to buy a home?
45	What is earnest money?
46	Do I need a final walk-through?
47	Can a seller reject an offer?
48	How long does it take to stage a home?
49	When is the best time to sell a home?
50	What do I have to disclose to buyers?
51	Why are commissions so high?
52	How long should a listing agreement last?

Add a Call to Action

The other component to a successful email that generates referrals and repeat business is a clear call to action (CTA). This gives the reader clear direction as to what you want them to do next. It is important to remember that your goal isn’t to have all the readers read the email or respond. The goal is to have the customers who are interested in buying, selling, or investing today respond to your email. The way to do that is to have a clear CTA.

Consider what your objective is before creating your CTA. Ask yourself, “What do you want the reader to do next?” Do you wish them to email you to schedule an appointment on your website? Be sure your CTA is clear to the reader and only include one CTA per email. This will increase your response rate because the reader knows exactly what they are supposed to do next.

Here are examples of a few solid CTAs that will increase your email responses:

• “Click here for a home pre-list checklist.”
• “Contact me for your free home evaluation.”
• “Click here to read more on my website/blog.”
• “Text 555-555-5555 to schedule an appointment.”
• “Get the word out by sharing on Facebook.”

Be Consistent

Consistency is important if you wish to remain top of mind. Consistency also communicates to your database that you are a reliable person. If your utility bill showed up at random times each month, you would probably start to worry about how long they will stay in business.

Here are a few tips to help make your email campaign consistent. First, use an automated customer relationship management (CRM) software and create your emails weeks or months in advance. Second, send one email on the same day, each and every week. Third, keep the content general in nature and don’t worry about holidays, events, and current matters. You can always send one-off timely emails.

Consistency in your marketing will ensure that repeat and referral leads will continue to come in all year long. If you’re looking for an affordable CRM to help you stay consistent, check out LionDesk. LionDesk allows you to send automated emails and texts for just $25 per month. Try them out with a 30-day free trial.

Visit LionDesk

6 Emails That Are Guaranteed to Drive Referrals

Now that you understand the components of emails that will drive referrals and repeat business, I’d like to give you a head start on your successful email campaign. The following six easy emails have proven to drive consistent repeat and referral business for my coaching clients. They can be duplicated easily. No need to reinvent the wheel here—just reuse these six examples by adding new content and your call to action.

The six easy emails each have a specific purpose. Some to reflect your knowledge about real estate, others to show you are consistently getting results. They are designed to be read quickly and easily by your customers who have real estate on their mind.

Want to reference these templates again later? Download my six proven email templates here.

Download The Templates

1. Answering Common Questions About Buying or Selling

2. Testimonials

3. New Listing Announcements

4. Upcoming Event

5. Anniversary of Home Purchase

6. Investment Opportunity

Bottom Line

Your database is a goldmine of opportunities if you take the time to craft the right message to the customers who are already thinking about buying, selling, or investing in real estate. I hope these emails provide you as much value as they have for me.

The post 6 Emails to Send to Clients to Drive Repeat & Referral Business appeared first on The Close.