Many agents believe that buyers and sellers check their email hourly, looking for generic and sometimes redundant tips about how to buy a home. This is simply not how email works for most buyers.

What is email, really?

Email is a medium that demands a lot from the user. Email often forces people to:

• Unsubscribe to keep their inbox manageable.
• Delete all non-essential messages.
• Leave email where it is and simply ignore 99% of emails.  

All new email/newsletter/drip campaigns to arrive often struggle unsuccessfully to catch the reader's attention.

How do you cut through the clutter?

Timely, relevant listing information is the key to differentiating via email. IDX software should send your contact a list of newly added properties. This should happen within the first 24 hours of when that listing appears in the MLS.

This information is both timely and critical to the buyer.

How are targeted, timely listing emails different from “DRIP” campaigns?

Traditional DRIP campaigns are generic, and relatively easy to replicate. Targeted content is less generic, and much more difficult to replicate. 

Rather than focus on sending DRIP content that may dilute the impact of a new listing email, why not simply attract buyers to your website? Use your website to share market, neighborhood, or other targeted information that you would normally save for a generic DRIP campaign.

Below are some advantages to automated MLS listing updates:

• The email will have a higher open rate. You are not wasting valuable time and resources on generic content that may have an open rate of 7% or less.
• You are using software to automatically send targeted, unique content to your client.
• You are not diluting your new listing email with generic content.
• Customize the look and feel of your email updates in order to build personal and professional brand awareness.  
• Use your IDX software to test email updates internally before you customize. This allows you to correct any typos, layout, or other inconsistencies.

Where to focus?

Focus on your buyer’s #1 priority: Finding a home.

Customize automated IDX/MLS listing update emails to make an impression. Then you can focus on software designed specifically to build and launch newsletters, manage CRM, etc. Build website content in order to attract a broad audience, and then pinpoint buyers with targeted and professionally branded IDX/MLS listings.