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The new rules of real estate newsletters

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08 September 2015

The new rules of real estate newsletters

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Newsletters are experiencing a surge in popularity at the moment. Maybe it’s about drumming up spring listings; maybe it’s that so many agencies have strong results to promote. Either way, it feels like a topic worth revisiting.

Newsletters are sensational branding tools, but our real estate clients often underestimate the time and effort involved not only in putting them together, but in getting them out to the database on a regular basis. It is possible to get them done in an extremely speedy manner, however – we recently had a client sign off on their spring newsletter in less than 48 hours by implementing these steps:

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Devise a template

Resist the urge to do something new and different each time. Instead, invest in the services of a great designer to create an appealing, professional layout that can be reused again and again. While the initial design process can be time-consuming, it does streamline things in the long run. The basic building blocks of any real estate newsletter are a local market update, testimonials, and successful sales. You can also add suburb statistics, staff Q&As, expert advice on preparing a property for sale, and more. These elements can then be quickly updated for each mailout.

Plan the content

One trap we see clients fall into all too often is a lack of preparation. They’re psyched to get going on their next newsletter and want to get it out as soon as possible … except they haven’t actually thought about what will go in it in yet. A stylish template isn’t enough – insightful, engaging content is needed to fill it out.

Sit down and spend an hour planning what will be included. Choose topics for the articles (there’s no need to write these yourself – we’ll get into that below), choose the sold properties you want to showcase and select a few impressive testimonials. Gather all of the information and photos together. When absolutely everything is ready, pass it all to your designer to add to the template. Having just one or two elements missing can throw out the whole process – it’s difficult for a designer to know what they’re laying out when they don’t have the complete picture. Giving all the content to the designer at once speeds up the process and keeps design costs down.

Enlist professional assistance

Use professional designers and copywriters to assemble the newsletter. No matter how much you streamline the process, you still need people to sit down and put the product together – and that’s something agents often don’t have the time or skillset to do. Outsource it to the pros.

Do an office version

The more newsletters we do, the more we’re encouraging our clients to steer clear of individual agent newsletters. These can take forever (well, that’s an exaggeration. But they do take a really long time), going back and forth to cater to customise the content for each individual. Content and design time can easily double, and multiple versions and quantities often cost more to print. A single office newsletter makes the process easier to control. Agents keen to lend a personal touch can add a letter when they do their mailout.

Set up reminders

Give yourself enough time to finalise your artwork and print your newsletter by setting a calendar reminder three to four weeks before the date of your mailout. This gives you plenty of time to finalise your content and perfect the layout without having to rush. It also means that the most relevant content is included. For example, if you forget to start on your newsletter until mid-September, the opportunity to provide timely advice on spring selling – something many vendors are keen to read – is missed.

High quality paper

Print your newsletters on a thick, premium paper – it will make a huge difference to the feel of the finished product. Even if you only have time to produce a basic A4 newsletter, the high quality stock makes it seem like you spent a lot more time on it than you actually did.

What tips and tricks do you use when creating newsletters?

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