Real Estate Agents: How to Make 4x as Much Commission
Here’s another of my little charts. This one applies to real estate agents and mortgage brokers in particular – but the general idea applies to any business. It makes a compelling economic case for keeping in touch with clients over the long term. The chart shows the difference in commission earned by a real estate…
The Best Way to Send Out Email Newsletters
A common question I receive from people interested in my real estate, mortgage and insurance customer newsletters is whether they can send them using their own email software rather than the hosted service I offer. (With a hosted service, you upload your email list to a website, which looks after the design, list management and…
Why 2009 is the Year of the Customer Relationship
I was tweeting with a friend (yes, I’m on Twitter now – follow me!) who had some exciting news to share. It was a wonderful way for her to start the new year. We agreed that 2009 is going to be a very good year for people with enough get-up-and-go to take the bold action…
Forget the Pulitzer. Does Your Newsletter Pass the Bathroom Jury?
This post contains a concept some readers might find distasteful. Reader discretion is advised. Frankly, I don’t care how many awards your newsletter might win for its design or its writing. This is the thing: there’s one criterion that is far more important: is it bathroomable? Do you customers take your newsletter into the bathroom?…
Printed Newsletters and the Internet: Friends or Foes?
The other day I heard someone say, “Printed newsletters? That’s so 90s.” Let’s face it, when you compare them to email and blogs, printed newsletters do have – shall we say – a vintage feel. Dead trees and ink are hardly sexy in green-tinged, e-everything 2008. But this is the thing (actually, several things): 1) …
Shock: Some Good News about US Real Estate
If you watch enough CNN, you’ll be convinced that the American housing market – and the entire economy – is doomed. No hope. Just give up and wait. I’m not saying that things aren’t bad – that a lot of people are suffering, losing their homes and their jobs. The economy has changed and got…
The Best Kind of Newsletter
I lost a newsletter client today. Nothing new about that. The one-month free trial for my real estate newsletter encourages people to sign up and kick the tires, and some decide not to continue. Others take what they can for free and never have any intention of paying. Quite normal when you make an offer…
4 Ways to Tell if Your Real Estate Newsletter is Boring
I’m going to ask a blunt question: is your real estate newsletter boring? Because if your newsletter is boring, you’ll be losing thousands of dollars in business because…to put it bluntly… no one will be reading! And if no one is reading, you’re not going to be able to build that essential relationship with your…
2 Easy Ways to Write Newsletter Articles (Even if You Hate Writing)
Many people are put off sending out a customer newsletter because of the amount of writing they think is involved. After all, a blank page can be pretty daunting. So here are 2 ways to make article writing easier. These aren’t new ideas – I’ve heard them mentioned several times before by several people –…
7 Ways to Use Your Real Estate Newsletter to Grow Your Farm
Attention Realtors: Are you making the most of your newsletter? There are lots of ways to use your real estate newsletter — here are just a few: Keeping in touch with past clients If you’d like to be a client’s “Realtor for life” (something that should be one of your main business goals), then your…
Another excellent newsletter example
Earlier this month, I showed you an example of someone who took one of my ready-to-go newsletters and customized it themselves to make it even better. Today I’ve got an example of a real estate newsletter. This one is by Linda Frankl, a Realtor in Connecticut. Here’s what I think she has done well: Prominent…
The newsletter spectrum
There’s so such thing as a typical newsletter, of course. It’s a spectrum, from down-and-dirty, straight from the kitchen table written by your spouse…to glossy, designed by Madison Avenue and crafted by a team of high-paid wordsmiths Both ends of the spectrum have their place, because you want a newsletter that matches the clients you…