Email marketing is a great way to generate new leads, stay in touch with past clients, and convert existing leads. You may use email as a means to share upcoming events, your CMA reports or your brokerage’s newsletter. However, one difficulty many agents run into is the dreaded spam folder. Luckily, as the real estate industry’s leading email platform, we know quite a bit about spam! Follow our 8 tips below to assure your emails get sent to the inbox.
Avoid these 8 Common Email Mistakes Realtor®’s Make:
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Too Many Images/Too Large of Images
Spam filters account for emails that are too difficult to load because of large images. Check out this article from GoDaddy on best image size for large email sends. -
All Caps Headlines
Avoid using all caps anywhere in your subject line and email (source). All caps may imply an aggressive or desperate tone, which is typical of spammers! In fact, according to a study by the Radicati group, over 85% of consumers prefer lower case subject lines to all caps (source). -
Trigger Words
Email providers like Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo scan for email with words like “free,” “guarantee,” and “obligation.” Instead of using promotional markety words, try crafting words that will resonate with leads, such as “homes for sale in (insert target market)” or “changing home values in (insert target market).” For a full list of trigger words to avoid in your email campaigns, check out Hubspot’s article here.
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Red & Invisible Font
Email servers view emails with red font as spam. Red, which is associated with a sense of urgency or limited time promotions and sales (and is also associated with marketing emails). Invisible font is white text with a colored background, which is also dinged by email servers. To be safe, stick with black text. -
Spelling Mistakes
Another surprising fact is that spelling mistakes are another spam filter trigger! Always, always, always use spellcheck and peer review for your emails. -
Purchased Email Lists
Have you thought about purchasing leads? Well, don’t, because it’s actually illegal according to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
Zurple doesn’t send purchased lead lists, rather we generate our own in your target markets. We utilize hyperlocal social media and search engine marketing services to find qualified leads in your area. We purchase limited ad space in your target markets, so your name appears in the top results for searches such as “homes for sale in (your target market)” or “home values in (your target market).” Visit the link below to learn more about Zurple’s buyer and seller leads programs. -
Inconsistencies
Try to stick to a topic base for your email campaign. For instance, if you frequently send out real estate market updates in your newsletter, don’t send another email announcing an unrelated upcoming event in your neighborhood. Having consistency will indicate to servers you’re a credible business.
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Unfamiliar Metadata:
Metadata is defined as a set of data that describes and gives information about other data (source). An example of Metadata is the short description you read for websites on search engine results page. Spam filters use email metadata to see if the sender is acquainted with the receiver. To get past this filter, personalize the To: field of the email to the user’s name or send the email through a verified domain.
When you use Zurple, your email is sent through our servers so that you bypass the spam folder. Each email Zurple sends is personalized to the receiver. Leads will receive emails addressed to their first and/or last name. In addition, we track each lead’s online search history, allowing us to personalize each email according to their online home search. Leads can’t sense automation. To learn more about Zurple request a live demo in the link below:
