Involving The Consumer In Email Marketing
Posted by Michael Herman
Having a degree in psychology is not necessary when it comes to creating a successful email marketing campaign but it would certainly help! One of the most important things in any marketing drive is writing copy that has the ability to get inside someone’s mind. How often have you read web copy or a marketing email that really gets your attention? Generally, consumers are subjected to the same gimmicks and fluff and quickly grow tired of it. Email marketing’s sole purpose is to make sales and in order to do this; you have to gain a person’s attention.
RAS
Creating a subject line with an incomplete thought is a terrific way to begin. Did you know that our brains are designed to go crazy at the thought of incomplete information? The brain’s reticular activating system (RAS) ensures that we aren’t satisfied until we complete a puzzle. How often have you half-remembered some trivial information and went mad for hours trying to remember it all? If you can craft a subject line such as: ‘Did you know that small businesses increased their revenue by 80% when they…...’ you could gain a person’s attention and cause them to open the email?
There are a number of other ways to trigger the consumer’s RAS within the email. Involvement devices work well in copywriting and also in email marketing. Ask the reader to write something down because this sends a signal to their cerebral cortex which tells them to pay attention. So instead of having a prospect read the email while half-asleep, you automatically gain their interest.
Ask A Question
Another terrific involvement device is to create a very quick survey in the email, perhaps even one question, and get the recipient to answer it. Make sure that the question you get them to answer directly relates to whatever it is you’re trying to sell. Perhaps you could also get your email recipients to take part in a poll, the result of which is of real interest to your members. Such an action gives your mailing list a chance to interact with you and have their say on something that may be of importance to them. This certainly makes a change from the litany of begging emails they receive on a daily basis.
Activating the RAS of prospects is only one small psychological device you can use to increase your conversion rate through email marketing. You need to make customers feel like they’re being heard. This can make all the difference when it comes to making sales.
Avoiding The Spam Filter
Posted by Michael Herman
Avoiding Spam Filters
When email marketing, you have to be careful not to get your message tossed into the junk folder. The amount of computer viruses and scams that take place online means that people who receive emails are wary. The CAN-SPAM Act became law in 2003 and had a number of revisions added in 2008. The Act is designed to fight against spam, viruses, pornography and other internet problems. Also, email servers have become more vigilant and have added virus and spam filters which block out unwanted emails. Some of these filters are so powerful that even legitimate emails can be blocked. Clearly, this would be a disaster to your email marketing campaign, so what can you do?
Filtering
Once upon a time, getting your email opened was the single most important thing in email marketing. In the modern era, getting your email delivered is even more vital. No longer can you assume that everyone on your mailing list will receive the message you send. The filters in email programs enable people to add emails which contain certain words to their junk mail list. It’s also possible to create a blacklist which blocks emails from certain senders. You need to be aware of this if you’re planning an aggressive email marketing campaign. Too aggressive and you will be blocked forever.
They’re Only Words?
When you’re creating emails, you have to avoid the use of certain words. Obvious words and phrases such as ‘Free’, ‘Winner’, ‘Investment’, ‘Sale’ and ‘Cash Bonus’ should not be used. Most email programs will filter out messages with these words. In actual fact, there are hundreds of words and phrases that should be avoided to guarantee that your email passes spam filters. Terms like ‘big bucks’, ‘get paid’ and ‘call now’ may see your message blocked by filters. You should also avoid the use of $ signs, exclamation points and words that are all capital letters. Failure to do this will see your messages go to the email equivalent of purgatory and never get opened. You can use symbols between words to beat the filters. For example, say ‘ca^sh’ instead of ‘cash’.
If you’re worried about the email you’re sending, there are dozens of content checkers online which will tell you if the email will potentially be blocked by spam filters. It should be noted that there is no program online that is 100% accurate. Most of them only check emails against the filtering rules of certain spam filters. This is why you should leave out a word or phrase if you aren’t sure of its validity.
Real Estate Pro? Check these Facebook tips!
Posted by admin
Very good information from Mashable!
According to recent research by Postling, nearly 80% of real estate agents are using Facebook to market their practice and properties.
“Social media has definitely become the wave of the future for real estate advertising,” says Melissa Savenko, aRE/MAX Commonwealth realtor in Richmond, VA’s affluent Fan District. “I use Facebook to promote my listings, to market open houses and to notify other agents and the public about price drops and additional incentives. In this economy, I think many agents have embraced the social media world to promote their brand and their listings because it is free, easy and efficient.”
In addition to offering cost-effective methods of promoting properties, Facebook also offers a range of new opportunities to grow and cultivate a robust community of prospective buyers and sellers.
Here are five best practices for using Facebook in real estate marketing.
1. Use Facebook To Connect with Potential Clients
Social media makes it much easier to make a fast, personal connection with people you meet.
“I used to hand out cards or had to ask for a phone number or email address — now I try to remember people’s names so I can find them on Facebook or LinkedIn and connect that way,” says Katy Dinner, a top San Francisco-based agent and founder of Katy Dinner Real Estate. “It’s a softer way to connect — instead of sending them an email from my business address, I can connect on a personal level on Facebook and then invite them to my business page.”
On that note, you may want to consider developing a separate business page on Facebook that allows you to target your content and your audience more effectively. To get started building your fan base, Dinner recommends uploading your email database to Facebook once a quarter and inviting everyone to become a fan, and then inviting new friends and contacts as you meet them.
That being said, many agents still opt to use their personal Facebook account for posts rather than setting up a business page.
Savenko originally set up a business page on Facebook, but then decided to just focus on building her personal network. “I realized that I just didn’t have time to manage posting in two places, and using my personal network was working just fine,” says Savenko. According to Savenko, about 75% of her personal network postings are business-related and include relevant articles, links to her blogs posts as well as photos and ads for her listings.
2. Maintain a Consistent Flow of Communication
It used to be that a monthly newsletter was enough to keep your network updated on your business, but with the advent of social media, you now have the opportunity to stay top-of-mind on an ongoing basis.
Dinner posts two times a week to her personal connections — once with a listing, and once with a relevant article or piece of data — and uses an RSS feed to automatically share four to five of her blog posts a week with fans of her business. She also keeps the picture banner on her business page updated with recent properties she’s sold, changing these out every few months to keep it fresh.
“You always know that I’m doing business,” says Dinner.
Even if you’re just getting started using Facebook, make sure you’re at least mixing in some real estate-related posts with your personal feed — because your extended network is often your best source of new business. Justin Bedecarré, a commercial real estate adviser at Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., says that “while you don’t want to bombard your friends on Facebook with your work, the worst thing would be if a friend didn’tknow what you do and used someone else, only because they didn’t know you were in real estate.”
Dinner agrees. “It used to be that real estate agents wore a badge everywhere they went, so people knew they were agents. I teach my agents that they need to wear their real estate badge online,” says Dinner.
3. Integrate Facebook Into Your Existing Marketing
In addition to giving people the ability to follow you on Facebook from your website, think about other ways that you can integrate Facebook into your marketing. For example, if you’re blogging, set it up to automatically post each new article on Facebook.
You can also integrate Facebook with your email marketing. For example, Dinner uses Constant Contact’s Facebook app to make her monthly newsletter available to friends and fans on Facebook.
“Newsletters can easily get stuck in spam filters, and with all the email people get, not everyone opens the newsletter each month,” says Dinner. “This way, I know that my entire Facebook network is also getting my newsletter content.”
When marketing a particular property across multiple channels, Dinner suggests using different lead pictures for each. For example, the MLS listing might show the front of the house, your email might show the kitchen, the Facebook post might show the view and the Facebook Ad might show the garden.
“If the person wasn’t attracted to one element of the home, they might be attracted to something else,” says Dinner.
4. Consider Using Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads have also become a popular way for agents to market both themselves as well as new properties. To get the most value, there are a few key things to keep in mind.
When designing your ad, Facebook recommends that you write clear, targeted ads with concise text that speaks directly to the audience you will reach.
Secondly, be smart about the image you use in the ad. “People want to see properties, not your smiling face,” says Dinner. “They’ll also click on graphs if the information is focused, relevant and not available elsewhere.” Dinner recently conducted a study of the impact of parking spaces and garages on home prices in San Francisco and used a graph of the data in a successful Facebook Ad campaign.
Finally, consider how you target. Dinner recommends setting up the ads to target your fans’ friends — because the people within your sphere of influence are more likely to become clients and be in your target demographic.
But not everyone is a fan of Facebook Ads. According to Savenko, “There are so many free online resources right now, the economy is weak and agents are really suffering … so people are being very cautious and targeted with their marketing dollars. I know I am.”
5. Create and Maintain a Professional Image
Be careful what you post to Facebook — pictures of you drinking a cocktail or posts about a wicked hangover aren’t likely to inspire trust.
“Everybody on Facebook is a potential client,” adds Dinner. “It’s critical that you pay close attention to the image you’re creating with your posts and pictures.” In addition to being thoughtful about your posts, Dinner also suggests using Facebook’s privacy settings to specify what content different sets of friends are able to see.
Finally, she also recommends keep posts positive and informative. “The last thing clients want to see is how tough the real estate market is,” says Dinner. “Use your presence to educate and inspire instead.”
Marketing for the Holidays!
Posted by admin
Well, it's officially here. It's November 1st and that means the Holidays are just around the corner. This is the time of year that most business ramp up their marketing efforts and consumers are inundated with specials, coupons, and promos from every which way. So how can you move above the noise and make sure that your customers eyes are seeing your efforts?
Two ways, the first of which is by using Social Media. Your brands Facebook and Twitter pages work as a direct line to your audience. Use that community that you've grown over time and tap into them. Run promotions that require the audience to get involved, and this will spread among their friends and followers, garnering you more eyes on your campaign. Your consumer base is more likely to enter contests around this time of year because it's been hardwired into our society to think of giving and gifts, so design your contest to look the part.
Check back next week for part 2, where we will discuss email marketing!
Social Media to Ease the Commuter Blues
Posted by admin
Ahh the morning commute. Always the best way to start your work day isn't it? If you live in one of the top 10 traffic cities chances are you need quite the head start just to make it to work on time. Well, there is a new social network built with you in mind. It's called Waze and it currently has a network of 7 million drivers across the globe.
You need a smartphone to get started, but once you download the app you are all set to go. The social navigation app gets smarter with each new driver who passively or actively reports data from the road in real time. Waze has evolved to become an essential everyday utility for millions of drivers, CEO Naom Bardin says. But can Waze replace the traffic report as we know it? Bardin says yes — eventually. “It will take a while to replace … but what we’re providing is much more granular.”
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