5 Must-Set-Up Automated Workflows For Your Real Estate Emails

Anyone who’s plying their trade in the real estate market is well aware of how immensely competitive it is. So, of course, we are not going to elaborate any further on that. Instead, we are here to tell you how you can navigate through it. And not just navigate but thrive. Well, the short of it can be conveyed in just two words- email automation. The long of it is what we are going to flesh out through the course of this article. 

Email marketing’s reputation precedes itself. From giving you complete autonomy over your entire list to allowing you to implement personalization at scale, there’s a lot you can do with this channel. Today, however, let us focus on the exciting scope of automation in real estate email marketing. Setting up automated workflows allows you to send your subscribers the right message at the right time. Now, isn’t that something? What this basically does is let you stay on your customers’ radars at all times. And for someone in the real estate business, that’s downright priceless! Alright, now that we know why real estate marketing automation is essential, let’s look at the five automated workflows they MUST implement to stay ahead of the curve. 

1. Welcome Emails

If you want to land an indelible first impression on your customers, you must take welcome emails very, very seriously. As the first piece of communication that a business sends out to its customers, welcome emails play a pivotal role in influencing brand perception. Should the tone of your welcome email manage to hit all the right notes, not only will you be laying the foundation for strong customer relationships but also encouraging them to look forward to your future messages. 

Compared to other kinds of marketing emails, welcome emails register higher clicks. Why is that? Because in that little phase where someone has newly discovered your brand, visited your website, and signed up for your newsletter, their interest regarding your brand is at its peak. So, the moment they receive your welcome email, they immediately open it to see what you have in store for them and, more importantly, what they can expect from you in the days to come. Now, imagine the kind of returns you can drive if you are able to successfully match this enthusiasm with your welcome email. This is why welcome emails are a chief component of your real estate automation toolkit. Such are the nuances involved in writing an impactful welcome email that it is no less than an artform itself. But don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. 

Listed below are a handful of welcome email best practices you’ll find everyone in the email community swearing by. 

• Set the tone with your subject line: If the trailer of a soon-to-be-released movie is intriguing and compelling, doesn’t that incentivize you to grab its ticket at the earliest? Well, in the email world, that’s precisely what a subject line does for an email. The catchier your subject line, the greater the chances of your email getting opened. Along with being effective, your subject line must also adhere to responsive email design best practices. This means you will have about 6-8 words to work your magic. Yes, that’s how tricky it is to ace subject lines. You have to be brief, persuasive, and witty- all in the span of a few characters. We know it sounds overwhelming, but with some practice, you’ll be able to roll out delightful subject lines without skipping a beat.
• Keep things simple. In a bid to cast the perfect impression, brands tend to try out too many things in their welcome email. All that does is make them seem clumsy and unprofessional. Hence, the best course of action while writing a welcome email is to stay away from fluff. Confirm the user’s action, thank them for signing up, briefly inform them about the kind of content their future emails might entail- that’s all. As an additional note, you can maybe request them to follow you on social media. 
• In the real estate world, building brand credibility is extremely crucial for your success. One way of ensuring it is by making the tone of your welcome email copy consistent with that of your website, app, and social media accounts- basically across all those channels where you practice content marketing for your real estate business.
• Give the readers something to do. Remember we said that subscribers’ interest levels are at their peak during the welcome email phase? Capitalize on the same by offering them a relevant action. Invite them to read your blog, put forth a request to whitelist you, or just ask them to check out your social media accounts- anything that invites some kind of interaction. 
• Include an opt-out or unsubscribe link. This is something that many businesses overlook, ultimately harming their brand reputation in the process. No matter how proud you are of your welcome email, always brace yourself for the fact that there will always be a few folks that won’t take well to it. That’s perfectly alright. What’s important is that these people are given the choice of opting out at the outset. Trust us, continuing to message disgruntled people isn’t going to do you any favors.

The following examples perfectly embody the pointers that we listed above. They are sure to get your creative gears into motion.

2. Transactional Emails

One of your customers is browsing your website. They come across a really attractive listing. Next, they schedule a visit or seek the contact number of the agent responsible for the property concerned. Now, what do you do? Send them an email with the requisite details, right? This email is what we call a transactional email– emails sent to subscribers to confirm their actions fall under this category. 

So, why is it essential to set up a transactional email automation? In the hypothetical scenario presented above, there was only one visitor involved. Hence, you can argue that one can revert manually to their action. But that’s not always going to be the case. What if a hundred visitors proceed to take an action at the same time? This situation can only be involved by setting up an automation trigger. That way, every time a visitor clicks the “Schedule Visit” or “Contact Agent” button, an email will instantly arrive in their inboxes, furnishing them with all the relevant information. Imagine the kind of time and energy you can save through these automated real estate emails.

For instance, take a look at this transactional email from Zillow. 

3. Product Launch Emails

Alerting subscribers to new listings as per their interests and preferences- that’s what a real estate product launch email entails. These emails are an excellent way of gaining an edge over your competitors. How, you ask? You see, in the real estate space, it’s not necessary that a particular property be listed exclusively under you. The owner is entitled to work with multiple agents simultaneously. In such a scenario, whichever business breaks the news of the listing first to its customers has a better chance of securing the deal. If you want to build excitement for your product launch email, you could consider sending a “teaser” email about the big announcement a few days or weeks prior.

This email from Willow Real Estate is an ideal illustration of what we are talking about.

4. Brand Newsletter

Want to establish yourself as a thought leader within your domain? Then you simply can’t look past sending a brand newsletter. A newsletter presents you with the opportunity to win your customers’ trust and admiration by providing them with original insights, gripping case studies, and the latest industry developments. Not to mention the brilliant platform they offer you to market your own products and services.

Here’s Houzz’s newsletter, for instance.

As you’d have noticed from this example, sound design plays a pivotal role in enhancing a newsletter’s appeal. You can compile as many juicy insights in your newsletter as you wish, but, at the end of the day, if they aren’t presented attractively, they’ll never be able to attract your audience’s eyeballs. 

5. Feedback Emails

There’s no better way of getting on top of your customer’s pulse than by sending them a feedback email. It gives your customers a stage to voice out their experiences, allowing you to identify the shortcomings in your services in the process. Consequently, it becomes easier for you to resolve them and improve your user experience. You can also send feedback emails to gather testimonials. Believe us when we say that nothing sells your brand harder to a prospective client than a glowing testimonial from another fellow client. 

Take a look at this feedback email from Trulia.

Wrapping It Up

Real estate can be a tough market to master, but by adding automation to your real estate email marketing, you can make your journey to the top relatively smooth. It can help you generate new leads, strengthen customer relationships, and significantly improve your ROI. Remember, your competitors, too, will have access to automation. The party that manages to leverage it better will ultimately emerge on top. Break down every single aspect of the best real estate email marketing templates out there; that will go a long way towards improving your craft. Need help with creating awesome email templates for your real estate business or with anything email marketing? We can help.