Bulk Email is one of the most used tools in Brokerkit, and for good reason - there’s no faster way to reach hundreds, if not thousands, of agents with a few clicks. Unfortunately, all too often, the approach used is ineffective. Long, over-produced emails with no thought given to the subject or audience don’t do much to help you. Instead, try employing a few of these best practices to increase your open and response rate.
Narrow Your Audience
More than anything, keep your audience narrowed and your messages targeted. Few things affect your open rate more than if your message resonates with its intended audience, and “real estate agent” is not common enough ground to ensure your email gets attention.
Spamming your local agent population with irrelevant content is a surefire way to generate unsubscribes and get your email blocked. If enough people block you, Gmail and other services will start automatically redirecting your emails to spam.
Subject Lines Matter
I’ve met two types of people in sales - those who start their day by deleting every email they don’t need to care about and those who let them all pile up and just cherry-pick the ones they need.
The common denominator is the subject line - it’s the only thing they read to determine what’s worth their attention and the most important factor in getting your message read.
Take a moment and look at your inbox. Consider the messages that attract your attention and those you delete outright. A direct appeal, call to action, or enticement works great, but don’t slip into gimmicks. Good examples include:
- “Just wanted to say thanks…” targeting all cooperating agents from the last three months.
- “How much did you pay your broker this year?” targeting high split offices.
- “Are you getting the support you need?” targeting 100% brokerages.
- “Reserve your spot for the Mega Agent Roundtable” targeting mid-tier agents.
- “Networking Happy Hour - FREE DRINKS! The Crows Nest, 3/15 @ 6”
Short and Simple
Newspaper journalists are trained to pack all the most vital information into the first sentence, the supporting information in the second, and the details in the third. They do this because they know most people will only read the headline and, at best, the first paragraph.
Once we have someone’s attention, you’ve got maybe a paragraph to capitalize on it. Let them know who you are, why you’re contacting them, and what you want right away.
Or better yet, say it with an image - drop in a flier to the event or program you’re promoting, with simple text like “Hey FirstName - we’re having a listing mastery seminar on the 5th. Think you can make it?”
Understand Your Medium
Recruiting and real estate emails have an industry-wide 20% open rate. We can improve that with good targeting and well-written subject lines, but only so much.
This means bulk email is not a great way to set appointments or start conversations. That’s not to say you shouldn’t ask - just understand that it’s better for generating awareness and interest, sending event invitations, or providing value to future recruits.
Take Advantage of Variables
While not always needed on fliers, listing announcements, and general mass marketing, using the variable to dynamically insert someone’s name or company is a powerful tool to make your email look personalized. Just keep your content in mind - you’ll never make a market-wide open house announcement look personal simply by adding a name.
Provide Value
Think about your friends and family for a moment. I’m willing to bet there’s someone who rarely calls, and when they do, you know it’s important enough to answer. I’m also willing to bet there’s someone who calls constantly, and you know you can dodge it without consequence.
Nothing burns through goodwill like constantly hammering a prospect with “just checking in” and “touching base.” If you’re going to send agents something, send something worth their time. Event invitations, training materials, and market updates. Even if you’re just sending a link to an interesting article - it doesn’t need to be a particularly good excuse to reach out as long as it’s something with more merit than “just wanted to reach out.”
It’s Not All About Recruiting
Most agents are happy enough where they’re at - for now. As a recruiter, your job is to keep their opinion of your brokerage high until that changes and be the one in contact when they’re ready for a change.
If your only message is “join us,” that’s going to wear thin with content agents fast. Instead, increase your standing and brand awareness by mixing in announcements about charitable initiatives, community events, training and networking opportunities, or fliers celebrating agent accomplishments. You don’t need to work nearly as hard to prove how great your brokerage is if they’ve seen proof of it for months.
Schedule your emails
A very good way to gain control over communication is to schedule emails, so you can be sure your emails still sending when taking time off.
You can select date, time and time zone that is most convenient to you; if you change your mind, you can cancel the scheduled email and it won't be sent.
Use scheduled emails as it is convenient for you, it will always help you to control your communication.