Print PDF

By Mark Brodsky

All the effort and thought you put into your email newsletter can be wasted if people aren’t opening, reading or even receiving it. With the barrage of email we receive on a daily basis, getting people to open a newsletter is a balancing act. Here are five things you can do to get your emails opened.

Have a compelling subject line – Nothing will get a client to delete your email faster than a dull subject line like “April Newsletter” or “Market News from George”. Hint at the subject matter and keep it to 10 words or less. Are you featuring new listings? Event information? A contest? Try something like “Two new listings + discount tickets to the home show”.

You can also experiment with subject lines to see which ones work. Divide your database in half randomly and try a couple of different ones. Take a look at which email has a higher open rate. 

Content is king Interesting content is crucial if you want people to open your emails month after month. You’ll find that your listings will generate the highest click-through rate, but with a little effort you can find out what kind of information your clients are interested in.

In recent months, I’ve had clients get a high number of clicks to a video on how to properly carve a turkey, a step-by-step guide to parallel parking and a city document that inadvertently detailed ways to get out of parking tickets.

A little personality in the newsletter can go a long way, whether it’s through a cause you’re supporting, a personal interest in a sport or art or a business you want to feature. 

Don’t get caught by a spam filter Sending an email from Outlook or another personal email program is straight-forward, but if your Internet Service Provider thinks you’re sending out too many emails, your address can get flagged. On the receiving end, if someone else’s ISP detects that an email is going to a large number of people, they may mark you as spam and your email won’t even get to the intended recipient – even if they want it.

Use a bulk email provider. They are designed for sending hundreds or thousands of emails at once and most have a built-in spam check you can use that will alert you to common words that may be flagged.

Perfect timing – Because so many of us check our email outside of office hours, it’s not an exact science. As long as it’s not Monday morning, Friday afternoon or around a long weekend, if you’re sending it consistently, you should find a loyal readership. This is where it will help to check your open rates to see if people are opening it right away, or if they’re checking in a couple of days later.

Whos it from? – Make sure that when you’re sending the email, it’s clear who it’s coming from. If you don’t have your own site, your name should be part of the email address, even if it’s a Gmail address. Some email programs show the name of the sender while others just show the email address. If you’re part of a team, you can use that address, as long as people immediately know who it’s from when it arrives in their inbox.

; Email  

Similar Posts:

• Analyze this: Using email analytics
• Chicago’s Loop penthouses for sale
• The human touch in real estate
• How to request showings of Chicago homes for sale
• Consider radio for a marketing edge