Many of you may not know this, but I have my own Brokerage. I have noticed recently that many Agents in our area have been sending their new listings by email. I am probably averaging about 50 per day. Any guesses what happens to those emails? Have you ever went to you Outlook, right clicked on the email that was sent, then clicked on “Junk Email” and then click on “Add Sender to Blocked Sender List”. Yes, that is correct they have become SPAM. I know to those of you who are real estate agents it seems like a good idea at the time to email your listings to other agents, and I am sure this is part of your marketing program, however, it has the potential to kill your business in the future.
Your new email listing advertisements are interfering with my business! I have access to the MLS, if I want to see the new listings of the day, I will pull down the hot sheets, or it will come up when my client has that specific need. Those ads are an email clog. You have become like every other advertising email in the inbox. SPAM-DELETE. Now what happens in the future when you want to conduct a transaction with the agent, and you decide to use email? That’s right automatically you go to SPAM – DELETE. If someone uses a server with SPAM detection, guess what? That’s right SPAM – DELETE. How good is your marketing now? Awful. If you are reading this and you are a potential seller, you need to know the facts. If your agent says to you, we get a great benefit by promoting your home to other agents via email, it’s not true.
The more I speak with agents across the country, the more agents tell me that they have set up rules that automatically delete these emails. When you are a productive agent trying to provide a great service to their clients, other agent advertising emails just clog up the system. Good bye home advertisement, good bye good intentions, good bye other agent.
I can hear someone ask me, why not just delete the email, or “opt out”. Simple, I don’t just delete it, because I will have to delete another one in the future. I don’t “opt out” because SPAMMING wants you to acknowledge that you even exist. I won’t give SPAMMERS the satisfaction that I am out there.
If you are an agent using this medium to market your homes, pay very close attention to what I am about to say. “You are not doing your client, your brokerage, you, and your business any favors”. If anything you maybe on a block list, which may keep you from doing legitimate business in your future.
For example: You send out your listing advertisement via email to an Agent, let’s call her Sally. Sally blocks you on her senders list. Weeks later you have a deal that you want to do with Sally. You decide to get some information from her by sending her an email. Sally doesn’t respond. You think to yourself, “that Sally, she doesn’t think I am important enough to respond to”. So you call Sally on the phone. You are already a bit testy, and you say, “I sent you an email asking some questions”. Sally says, “I never received an email from you”. You go back to your email and say, “I have a copy right here”. Then Sally says, “did you ever send me an email with a listing advertisement”? You say, “yes”. Sally says, “well then that explains it, you have become SPAM and been DELETED”.
So who’s fault is it. Not Sally’s, she doesn’t need hundreds of emails a week from agents sending advertisements. She has more important emails to look at than those. Furthermore, Sally is not the only one. The only thing you have done is shrunk your list of people who may look at it. Your seller has nothing, and you have even less. Not good marketing. Not good business. Not a wise use of the internet and it’s tools.
In summary, don’t use your email for advertising, use your email for business. When you get into the email advertising game you become no different than advertisements for male enhancement products, crazy gimmicks, and porn. Those are groups I just don’t want to be associated with as a professional.
Ciao for now,
Dr. Jay