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Can you say your Newsletter is one of your most effective Marketing Tools?

target market

Sure anyone can have a newsletter but to be truly effective you need to consider if you have the time to plan out its content, produce it and maintain it AND provide one that has relevant content that will have your readers saying "I can't wait for the next newsletter."

Here are six areas for you to consider and focusto ensure you can make this long term commitment and your newsletter will be a truly effective marketing tool and not just a representation of time you've spent behind your desk and not out in your market.

Who are you writing for? Consider your target market - that is who you are writing for. If you have a niche market be sure your content relates to that audience and market. If you have more than one target market that also needs to be addressed. The point is: write for your audience.

What's the point of your Newsletter? What do you hope to accomplish from your newsletter? Are you sharing real estate related information and market conditions? Is it intended to be educational? Do you hope to generate new clients? Be sure to identify the purpose.

What do your clients want to read? Take some time to think about and even ask your clients about what they want to read. Have a poll on your website (google docs is a great tool for this) to engage your visitors to select topics that they want to know about. You want to have content in there that makes them want to read the newsletter and continue subscribing and they will only do that if you're providing them with what they need.

Note: you won't please and speak to every single person all of them time with your selected topics but the more you can focus on what the majority of your readers are looking for the more effective you will be.

Side note: If you perform these polls and clients are selecting topics that are unique to them or not something you are going to include in your newsletter, this is a perfect opportunity to send them their own email, or article that addresses their needs.

Make your newsletter visually pleasing There are many options you can use to create a newsletter either on your own or through someone who can professionally design one for you. Whichever route you go be sure your newsletter has a consistent look and feel as your other marketing pieces and that it has all the ways to contact you (your website, blog, phone, email, and social networking sites.)

Content is King

Content is King If you have truly decided to making this commitment to share information with your clients, be sure you are investing the time to provide relevant and quality content. It takes research and creativity to pull it all together so be sure to employ the right tools to make it all come together.

Some examples for creating content: Scrib is a great virtual library with many free documents to help you in your research for topics, perhaps you've read a blog that speaks to a topic your clients want to know more about - write your take on it, maybe a comment was left on your recent blog that you can speak to, maybe you read an article in your local newspaper about something that is affecting your community - as you can see the possibilities are endless. Another way to go about this is to invite someone, say a trusted colleague that you admire from another market, to write an article that speaks to a particular topic in which they have more knowledge and expertise.

Distribution Plan At a minimum your newsletter should be available and sent to your clients six times a year and monthly is even better. This will avoid you looking like you just scraped some things together without much thought and it shares with your client one very important message - you're consistent.

A newsletter is a great marketing tool, that with an investment of your time, some homework and research on your part, will provide your clients what they need and result in you becoming a real estate professional that they will think of when they or their SOI have real estate needs.

Do you currently use a newsletter as one of your marketing tools? Are you getting the results you want?

Related Posts: - Google Docs "Tutorial on how to create and use" from Brad Andersohn - http://activerain.com/action/channels/training/topics/google_docs_tutorial

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Upcoming Events: Branding Sanity - , brought to you from a partnership between Anne Marie Malfi and Rebecca Levinson of Real Skillz. Visit http://brandingsanity.blinkweb.com/ for more details and to register. Brokers: contact us for special pricing and/or custom designed training for your agents.

If it's not evident to you by now, consumers are very knowledgeable and computer savvy and are using the Internet to not only search for homes but for real estate agents and real estate professionals who they feel are like minded and can lead them to the results they are looking for.

As we all know, there are only 24 hours in a day to get it all done...are you focusing on the right stuff to grow your business and meet your client's needs? Contact us today to get started!

Posted by Anne Marie Malfi, Real Estate Marketing Consultant/Virtual Asst, Bucks County,PA on 02/24/2009 11:04 PM

Comments (43)

Marketing Tips in the ActiveRain Channel

newletters, soi, content is king, branding, marketing tips, what your clients want, google docs, target audience, malfi marketing

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43 Comments on Can you say your Newsletter is one of your most effective Marketing Tools?

FEB

I dont but have really considered implementing this into my marketing plan. The consistancy and quality are very important.

Very nice post. Now here is my question. While print newsletters look great are you also using a electronic version? It seems that so many things are moving away from print

Tony

Great stuff Anne.

Superb post. We should all read this. Thank you for this very clear "script"...am off to take a hard look at my newsletter.

As usual we are soul sisters . . . I'm working on my newsletter today! I'm so excited about it because I have an article from a local inspector, from a local decor store about trends, and then of course it wouldn't be complete without my before/after shots. The first newsletter was torture (much like blogging) but it has gotten easier! Wonderful post my friend!

I send an automatic newsletter monthly by email to past buyers & sellers with tips so I can be top of mind to them,

I also send a written newsletter to my sphere of 300, I used to send it monthly now I send it out the 4 seasons it targets sellers & well not many people are selling when the market turns around I will most likely increase the number as it is one of my best marketings tools.

thanks for the tips

Such great advice Anne Marie! It is so important to be in touch with what your audience actually wants to read, that way they really will be saying "I can't wait for the next newsletter." Also, if you have something (prominently placed) on your blog or website that says "subscribe to my newsletter", then you know the recipients really will want to hear what you have to say.

Great post :)

Anne - It is really important to find out what the consumer really wants, not what we think they should have. A newsletter takes some planning but if done correctlytwill be rewarding.

I cannot say I have ever said "I can't wait for the next newsletter to arrive" about any of the newsletters I receive or have received in the past so it would be really cool to have someone say that about my newsletters. Your mkting tips are very helpful!

Thanks so much Anne. This is bring up some good points in an easy reference form. Some points you would think you should know but when it comes down to laying it out that you might then over look. ~ Kim

Hi Anne Marie; Nice post about what to put in a newsletter and how to decide what to put in it. Thinking about who is your market is definitely key.

Anne Marie Malfi, "Marketing" Virtual Assistant/Owner, Bucks County, PA-I think a newsletter should also ask people what do they want to read in the next issue? I might need your help in creating a newsletter. Congratulations on the featured post.

I know I like newsletters that I receive from various sources that have information that is useful to me so it makes sense others would prefer that as well.

Regular, consistent and informative contact... one of three vital requirements to marketing yourself and you business!

FEB

Great insight, we have used a prewritten newsletter in the past, and haven't taken on the project of doing all the writing of our own. Thanks for the information, it is food for thought!

Hi Anne,

You're preaching to the choir on this one!

My non-r.e. newsletter is one of the most effective marketing peices I've used over the years. It's not every other month. Hopefully it's packed full of creative and interesting things. It's snail mailed to most, yet I do have a short email list. I give them the option for method of delivery.

Dear Anne,

Thank you for that wonderful post! How serendipitous, as I am currently shopping around for a newsletter. I understand better now the importance of one, but with always uploading new content to my website (keeping it content-rich) and blogging, I'm all tapped out when it comes time to write articles to send to my SOI. I'm looking into pre-written newsletter that can be edited and personalized with my photo, contact info, pcs of homes, etc. Any ideas and advice would be greatly appreciated. Congratulations on the feature post! (I had my first feature today!) Cheers!

Anne Marie, Great post!

The longer I'm in this business the more you realize you need to put yourself in your clients shoes. My main goal is identifying my client's needs and fulfilling them.

I was just starting my 1st newletter. Thanks for sending me in the right direction.

Anne Marie, great post as always. Diversity and niche marketing come to mind. Know your customers before you send out your newsletters. By knowing what they would be interested n, you give yourself a great chance at conversion. Keep up the good work, you know we're your #1 fans! :)

Sincerely, Active Castellum

Anne Marie- I enjoyed your informative post. I think the key to all the points you touched on is consistency. Thanks for putting this together.

I'm very excited about the RE/MAX newsletter templates and beginning a newsletter again after a break. I agree with your comments. I learned a long time ago that people are busy, and if you want them to read your newsletter, it better be worth their while. Plus, it takes a good while for people to become aware of a new publication and to begin following it. Don't be discouraged if it takes months to see results - that's how this works as you build readership. If you consistently offer valuable information and interesting content, you will develop readers who turn into clients and friends. Very helpful tips!

great info - I use an e-newsletter each month and get great response from my client base

Some ideas I've used in my newsletter are: Put 10 trivia questions in the newsletter with the answers only available on your website.

Puzzles and Word Searches are great for the kids. There are several sites that can create them for you at a drop of the hat.

Coloring contests are good too - parents love to engage their children in these. Offer a small gift card from a local toy store/book store as a prize. Be sure and award the prize in person! A coloring book website is a good place to find coloring book pages.

Also, I invite the recipients of my newsletter to provide articles of interest to them, to advertise their small/home business/services (free of charge), to advertise personal items they may want to sell.

Of course, if you directly farm individual subdivisions, they all want to know what their neighbors home sold for and what the current active listings are listed for.

I like newsletters and feel they are worth the time. I use an e-letter and have for years.

I like my monthly email news letters. Past clients respond well and its a great way to keep in touch. But it also increases by blog reading.

I've been using a newsletter for many years and have found it to be one of my most effective ways of keeping in touch. It has very little content concerning real estate and mortgages. In fact the most popular feature has been my daughters column that has follower her through high school and college. Mine is not fancy. It is printed on the copier at the office.

Ms. Anne Marie,

Excellent points. I used to write a newsletter when I was a corporate blogger and my open rate was extremely high but only because I concentrated on all this points you mentioned in your post.

Now as a solopreuner I am gearing up to produce another newsletter:-)

I've been thinking of doing an email newsletter. Thanks for the tips.

We do a newsletter every month and our clients love it, it has many different articles that hopefully appeal to different readers, and we also ad a suduko puzzle, next month we are going to incorporate a new idea that gives readers the ability to win something. One month we a portion of our article was left off and you wouldn't believe all the calls we got about that. We know it works!

Josh - You said it - consistency and quality are key and I wish you much success with putting your masterpiece together.

Tony - thank you and I have used and created both for my clients. Ideally you would want to have a sign up form on your website and have those contacts become a part of your CRM system making it easier to stay in touch with them. I think if you have a quality looking piece and a small database to start - print version would work well but you may find yourself and your clients wanting the electronic version very soon.

Li - hello and thank you. I hope my post inspired you to make your newsletter the best it can be.

Hi Margaret aka soul sister - LOL - awesome - you my friend are a true example of making your newsleter an effective marketing tool and educational piece for your clients - I love that you're involving others to make it the best it can be. I think I still owe you an article don't I? Thought about you this past weekend as I attended the local home show - told my husband - Margaret could do this for our bedroom - thought I could convince him to fly you out to PA for my bday - no such luck - hopefully some day cause my bedroom needs a makeover!

Karen - Excellent, I love that you're staying in touch and providing such great information. You are so right - they will think of you first because you have given them something of value.

Candis - thank you my friend and excellent point - make it easy for people to subscribe and speak to your audience.

Jennifer - I couldn't agree more - sometimes we get stuck in what we think they want and need and sometimes it just isn't the case.

Terrie - LOL but wouldn't it be nice? So happy you find my tips helpful and know I always appreciate your visits and comments.

Kimberly - So happy the post was helpful to you and yes, sometimes we overlook the simple things don't we?

Eileen - Exactly - speak to your market and have them wanting more.

Lanre - Great point! Have them wanting more. I would be honored to help you in any way - get in touch when you're ready.

Christine - I agree - I subscribe to a few myself and when it speaks to me with relevant and quality content there's no stopping me from reading the entire newsletter!

Perrin - Exactly!

Tony and Darcy - Excellent - it's doing what works for you and your clients and so happy you found the post helpful.

Lynda - LOL, that is excellent that you've experienced such great success with your newsletter - you're obviously providing what your clients and readers need!

Amy - Thank you and that's wonderful that you're looking into all options to ensure it's something you can commit to and that makes sense for you and your clients. I certainly understand it's hard keeping up with it all and yes, there are lots of options out there - it takes some investigative work and some trial and error to find the best one for you. Good luck in your search and in creating your masterpiece.

Ryan - So happy my post could help you as you take on your 1st newsletter. I love your comment - putting yourself in your client's shoes - that is the way to do it!

Hi Castellum - thank you - I love having you as my #1 fan - feeling is mutual! It really does come down to knowing your client - tapping into their needs because when that's your focus you build a relationship and trust with a client that can only provide great things and opportunity.

JB - thank you and yes, consistency in all regards when creating marketing pieces and communications is essential.

Dawn - Excellent points! It does take time to establish an audience and you must be patient and at the same time tapping into what your clients are saying they need - we need to listen and act on it. Thank you for the great comment and wishing you great success with getting back to your newsletters!

Randall - Awesome - so happy you are not only using this tool but that you are getting such great response to it - you must be doing something right!

Deb - You sound like me - I often have put together newsletters with some fun stuff too and received great response to it - a little bit of everything!

Mark - So happy you have found the value in using newsletters and I'm sure your clients appreciate the service you are providing!

Laura - Excellent point Laura - its another point of contact and it helps you further promote your services by informing new and past clients of where you are and what you're involved it.

Alan - That is wonderful that you have found such a creative way of staying in touch and sharing who you are - that comes across to clients and it helps build a relationship and trust - way to go!

Ms. Rebecca (lol) thank you and I'm certain that your newsletters were packed with useful information - can't wait to subscribe to your new one!!

Wendy - you're so welcome - best of luck in your creation.

Malisa - LOL - that is so funny - I did the same for a client and boy did we get calls - it does work and if you're providing things that appeal to many the connection you create with clients is priceless!

Thank you for the link to Scribd. We do a monthly e-newsletter and are often able to get content from our Blog posts for that month. We get a lot of positive feedback from our newsletter and view it as one of our most important marketing tools. And, it's far less expensive than doing a mailing.

I am working on my first newsletter and love the info in this post. I am glad I haven't sent mine out yet. Thanks for the info - I have it bookmarked!

Anne Marie, I'm using my blogging for my newsletters. We just got a call today from an article in it. The content is targeted to our community and is relevant information that I think they would be interested in. In fact, I'm thinking about incorporating it into a monthly post that wll be on our web site and my outside blog - hey, you just gave me a great idea!

FEB

Kevin and Monica - You're so welcome and so happy you have a newsletter as a regular part of your marketing and that you are having great response to it. I agree - far less expensive and easily accessible.

Sheila - Thank you for bookmarking and hope it guides you in the process of creating your first newsletter.

Frank & Sharon - Awesome - love your ideas and the direction you're taking this great marketing tool - so happy when I can help inspire creative thought.

When I was a newbie, I sent out a newsletter on a regular basis. But as time moved along, I stopped sending it. Thanks for the article, it has insprired me to consider my newsletter again. The newsletter combined with my calls to my sphere would be a great thing to do in 2009.

MAR

This was actually on my mind this morning, so I am glad I came across this info. Thanks for sharing.

MAR

I agree that targeting your audience and consistent delivery of quality content are the keys. A newsletter isn't exactly easy to produce and requires a commitment of time and effort. Consistency is important as it keeps you in front of your customers - sometimes it is out of sight out of mind.

Rolanda - So happy that I could inspire to use this marketing tool again. You're right - it's a great thing to focus on in 2009 because it allows you to reach your clients in an effective way.

Heather - I'm so glad you did too and hope it will inspire you as you take on the task of your newsletter.

Ryan - You're right - it's not an easy task and requires lots of consistency, time and effort but in the long run it does provide a great way to be in contact with our clients.

MAR

Great post Anne Marie. We have been successfully doing a news letter for 15 years! Our clients really enjoy it and look forward to it but content and consistency is important.

APR

I just sent an e-mail for you to possibly assist in this so we can concentrate on other areas, as I love your blogs and feel they are in synch with me.

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