A drip email campaign does not have to be spam. A revolutionary idea isn't it.

I'm a member of a local land trust that sends out regular emails. Some emails are newsletters, some are recruiting for volunteers, some are reminders about upcoming events. It's not spam though – I asked to be on the list and I find the info helpful.

I don't have a very sophisticated email marketing campaign, but have been working on creating one. I think the keys are having very useful and helpful content and having highly segmented lists.

Sending out one newsletter to everyone isn't going to cut it. I need an email list for condo buyers, one for my “deals of the week” list, another for foreclosure buyers, one for first time buyers and one for investors.

The majority of buyers probably just want to be sent listings that meet their needs. Info about interest rate changes or zoning rules might be helpful too.

I think it's easy to find BAD examples of real estate marketing. Anyone have a great example of someone using email marketing that works?

I agree that most drip campaigns are like spam, but they are far more effective than doing no followup.

It all comes down to the execution – I have seen some pretty innovative custom solutions that put a lot more personality and salesmanship than the average run-of-the-mill mls drip.

I have to agree. But one important thing that makes us keep these campaigns going are the analytics reports that show a pretty substantial recapture rate from people getting the emails and then clicking on a link from the email.

I think it's ok to drip on people, with permission. I have to admit, I'm guilty sometimes of blasting forward without asking.

What I should be doing is exactly what you're sharing. I should be creating lots of consistent in-person and on-purpose personal contact and conversation. That's where I/we should be spending most of our time and energy.

Emails and other forms of ping are important, sorta like salt on the rim of your frozen Margarita glass. Contact and conversation is the cocktail. Cheers, thanks for the reminder.

Ken hit the nail on the head – “with permission”.

The problem is that most of these people didn't give us permission to send them anything beyond the listings they requested. Until we have built some sort of relationship to allow them to see that we are striving to offer something of value (not the me, me, me stuff), then anything else we send can and may be construed as spam.

I tested a drip campaign on myself and hated it. If I couldn't stand getting my own emails (and certainly the content was 90% of the problem), then what would a consumer think?

[…] is an interesting conversation from one of the most respected guys in the real estate genre Are Drip Email Campaigns a Good Idea? Are drip campaigns ok, or are they really just spam that we justify to ourselves as ok? I recently […]

I started experimenting with list building in earnest this year. I put two forms on my site. The first is a Foreclosure list, the second is my Deal of the Week. I was certainly surprised at how many folks gave me permission to send them info on a regular basis.

At some point I tweaked both forms and added a box “Send me articles by email”. Those folks are now getting emails from Feedburner whenever I post a new article to my blog.

Today, I added another tweak. I sent out my first email using Newsberry. The price was right (free) and it was simple to use. It allowed me to sync contacts from my Highrise account (very slick) and I could choose just those contacts tagged “deals list”.

I took a peek at MailChimp, but found Newsberry to be more “realtor-proof”. I also love the syncing with Highrise.

I'm looking forward to the reports that I get from running this campaign. Seeing who clicks on what will tell me quite a bit about the quality of the content.

This is a great article! Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
I think that what you’re doing is great. All that matters is that you are comfortable with the situation, happy with what you’re doing, and comfortable with the risks involved. Like many others said, the networking opportunities presented with these jobs is probably worth the time & money you’ve invested.

Drip email campaigns are such a good idea. Top Producer has a really good program that does it all for you

Drip email campaigns are such a good idea. Top Producer has a really good program that does it all for you