Real estate is an industry unlike any other because you’re selling an investment and a future, rather than just a product. In the first quarter of 2019 alone, over 673,000 houses were sold—up 12.4% from last year.
Marketers in the industry have a big audience to work with. Reports show the average price of even the most luxurious homes have fallen by 1.6% this year, and naturally, buyers are buzzing with interest. This is where effective email marketing comes in.
Read on to see our top email marketing templates for real estate, along with key takeaways on what makes them effective.
Email metrics real estate marketers should consider
Good email marketers watch their metrics, and great email marketers use them to improve their strategies. However, the metrics you track largely depend on your industry.
You could be tracking over a dozen metrics, but which ones are most applicable to the real estate industry, and why?
Conversion rate
When you send emails, you’re paying attention to a number of results. For instance, maybe you’re paying close attention to open rates and click-through rates. These metrics are important, but conversions are virtually your most valuable indicator of success.
Once they click the link, what’s next for your subscribers? Do they sign up for a property tour? Do they request financing help? Whatever action you want them to take to move through the sales funnel, the conversion rate is the best way to measure it in your email marketing.
Bounce rate
When people are shopping for real estate, they may work with multiple companies and agents. Because of this, it’s crucial your email is getting through to prospective customers and not being wasted on closed email accounts or cold subscribers.
Bounce rates show you which of your emails never made it, so you can refine your subscriber list accordingly.
List growth rates
As you become more successful and attract more clients, your subscriber list will most likely start to grow. With the right email content, homeowners and property developers will consider you to be a knowledgeable resource.
To see how well your list is growing, subtract the number of unsubscribes from the number of new subscribers. Then divide the difference by the total number of email addresses on your list. Finally, multiply that number by 100, and you’ve got your list growth rate.
These are just a few of the metrics you should be considering when evaluating the email marketing health of your real estate business. Want to know more about industry benchmarks for real estate? Check out our 2019 email benchmarks guide.
Read on to see email templates you can use in your upcoming real estate campaigns.
Email templates for real estate marketers to try
Email marketers are appealing to a wide audience. About 50% of buyers found their homes online in 2018, compared to about 28% who found them through a real estate agent.
Whether you’re new to real estate marketing or you’re just looking for fresh ideas, templates are a great solution. You can get a proven format for your content while saving time and money. By saving yourself the trouble of starting from scratch, your focus can be on the content rather than the overall design.
With templates, you have a format and framework in place, but it’s easy to tweak the design and copy to match your agency or sales style.
Zillow brings the selections to your inbox
Source: Really Good Emails
Zillow cuts to the chase with their presentation here. When you’re trying to sell houses, anticipate what prospective buyers will ask.
What does the house look like, and how much does it cost? In addition to the area, what are the features? Even information about how long the property has been available for sale can be useful to customers, and it can be useful for you to create a sense of urgency.
The clean design is also helpful for house hunters. When a person is about to make this type of investment, weighing options is a given. Seeing multiple, neatly organized offerings in a single email is great for buyers. Not only is this design efficient, but it also provides a great user experience.
But just because this template is great doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. For instance, in your own version, you might add CTAs to each entry so your reader can take action directly.
But what if you’re a real estate agent who doesn’t have enough properties to do this consistently? Email templates for real estate can be easily adapted, especially when they’re made in a style like this.
What we love: Simplicity is key when it comes to complex practices like home buying. This email’s neat organization, relevant information, and share options are a classic way to keep your layouts looking crisp, clean, and inviting.
Trulia gets creative when presenting buyers with options
Source: Really Good Emails
One way to counteract housing overwhelm is by simplifying comparisons for your prospects. Compare multiple properties in email newsletters like the example above, which shows two properties being compared side-by-side. The unifying factor? The price tag.
You can offer comparisons of houses in the same neighborhood, with similar layouts, and more. The best way to keep your readers interested is by basing email examples off previous browsing history and favorited properties.
Here’s another time where tracking bounce rate comes in handy. You want people who are currently browsing your offerings and making comparisons so you can send them fresh combinations of choices. If a person has stopped using your service, you can’t get the data you need to produce good content.
A strong list of active subscribers will provide you with plenty of inspiration. From their browsing habits and engagement, you’ll know which properties to promote, and you’ll be able to give them options at the same time.
What we love: The aesthetic layout of this email breaks the mold of what people expect. Rather than seeing multiple listings in a row, the creative display of two properties side by side automatically grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading.
Zillow gives multiple relevant conversion options
Source: Really Good Emails
Remember how we discussed conversion rates? Well, this email was built for that metric. This content is all about getting the reader to click through.
The fact that a person clicks through to a site doesn’t automatically guarantee a conversion, but it is an important step in the process. By extending multiple offers, it’s possible to increase conversion potential.
This type of email could also work well for your A/B tests, as it would provide results on which CTA got the most click-through activity. More importantly, you can see which emails had the most conversions.
What we love: The real estate funnel is one with multiple steps—this covers all the big ones. A holistic approach to helping readers take the next step ensures no one is left out. By covering three options, they provide choices for the reader without overwhelming them.
Open Agent makes things easy for sellers
Source: Really Good Emails
The real estate industry isn’t just about the buyers. Sellers are also a massive part of the equation. Sometimes your service is helping people sell.
For many people, this is a monumental task. It’s so complex, and the pressure is on because it’s a sale in which people want to get the absolute most out of their investment. This email presents a friendly, simple presentation to help potential sellers reach out.
When you’re looking to help a person sell their property, anticipate how they may be feeling. Unless they’re a seasoned real estate agent, they likely struggle to manage all the factors of this process. This email takes a step back and makes things simple.
The easy-to-follow steps help them get in touch with the right person. There’s also a straightforward CTA, with an added bit at the bottom establishing their authority in the industry.
If you’re looking for ways to tweak it, you could consider offering multiple CTAs. Two would be plenty, but it would help to also have the option for a person to learn more about the agency as a whole. Beyond just finding the right agent, they may need to have more information before they reach out.
What we love: This email takes a complex topic and makes it seem simple thanks to a clean, well-organized layout. The CTA is also conveniently placed, directly after information regarding the service’s popularity, reinforcing that it’s a good idea to click through.
Redfin helps hesitant homebuyers get started
Source: Really Good Emails
Redfin, like any good real estate specialist, knows what makes potential buyers (and sellers) hesitant.
Their email is structured with multiple CTAs, giving users the ability to find a price range, get an estimate about their home’s worth, or even come to a free class. It’s a holistic approach to bringing uncertain parties to the next step of the process.
What we love: One CTA is likely to elicit some follow-through activity. If you want to make sure you cover all the reasons a buyer or seller might be holding out, multiple calls could be the solution. The neat organization makes it easy to find what you need.
Wrap up
These email templates for real estate show how the industry provides some interesting marketing opportunities. These tactics could be the solution to getting key metrics up.
- Consider conversion rates, bounce rates, and list growth as your most important metrics
- Use simple templates that provide a lot of information in an organized way
- Target sellers as well as buyers, along with any other potential sector of the real estate industry
Looking for more template ideas? Check out our extensive template library.