Newsletters
Remember your Audience
What kind of content you include in your newsletter should rely very heavily on your audience and your target market. Will this newsletter be read primarily by people who personally know you, people living in the community, or by people who are from outside the area? Are you targeting buyers or sellers? First time homebuyers/renters, investors, FSBO, forclosure? Single family homes, condos, vacant land, commercial? Are they primarily young couples, families, retired? Successful writers write for a specific audeince.How Long Should it Be?
A good newsletter should consist of at least three to four sections, and shouldn't exceed more than about six. None of these sections should be longer than a few short paragraphs (the whole thing together should be about equivolent to between one and one-and-a-half printed pages). Remember: quality is more important than quantity. Keep it concise! If you have a particular topic that is very long, try doing a Part 1 and Part 2, and save the second half for next month's issue.What to Write???
This brings me to one of the most important aspects of a newsletter: it MUST be updated on a regular basis, preferably once a month. Consistancy is the key. People are much less inclined to value something they cannot regularly count on. Set a monthly deadline and publish on the same day of each month (ie the 1st of every month, or the first Monday of every month) Here are the four sections that I would recommend creating.-
Real Estate Section.
Even if you are making a community newsletter, real estate is still your business and you need to tie it in. This could be a brief article about breaking real estate news, market updates (Why this is the best time to buy/sell, etc), or something designed to educate one of your target markets (ie. for FSBOs maybe 10 steps for good home staging, or for First Time Buyers how to get prequalified). Another option is to feature a family who recently bought or sold a home from you. Get a group picture in front of the house and a positive interview that is a subtle testimonial. This is a good way to try to pump up some referrals-- you can be sure if a family is featured on a website they are going to want everyone they know to see it!
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Community Section.
This is especially important if you are farming your community or your sphere. Is there any breaking news in the community? (New recreation center is opening, major construction is starting, big upcoming events, elections, etc) Again-- remember your audience here and cater to their interests. If there was an event the past month, maybe put up a couple pictures and write up a quick review on it (make sure to tell people as you take the pictures that they will be on your website so they will go look and get others to look as well). List any upcoming events with what, where, when, how much, and where to get more info (concerts, theater, contests, races, fundraisers, grand openings, etc).
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A Monthly Feature
Pick out a different restaurant or some other venue in your community to feature. Write up a review of your experience, highlight the positives, and offer some advice (ie. Beat the crowds by going out on a Wednesday night). Here is a fantastic networking opportunity. In exchange for the exposure and raving review on your website, see if you can also be featured on their website and/or inside the venue (flyers, business cards, even if it is just hanging up a copy of the newsletter with your domain name prominantly displayed).
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A Monthly Promotion
Every month you should have something that gives people a great reason to contact/interact with you. That way the newsletter isn't just something that people read, it is something they DO. What could be better for this than to give something away for free?? Be creative and change this up every month. (I know what you're thinking-- $5 off coupons to a carwash are OK, but honestly it would do more for the carwash than for you.) Offer something that people would really be interested in! For example, dinner for two at the featured restaurant of the month! Hey- maybe you can even work it out for the restaurant to sponsor the dinner in exchange for the exposure.
Don't just give it away-- make them work for it. Have some kind of contest amd have them email submissions, or put up a puzzle/riddle that they need to solve and submit the solution. It is more fun for everyone if they get really involved with it beyond just putting in their name/email. Choose a topic and choose a medium, and let people be creative! (For example, the medium could be photography and the topic could be "A Day in the Life". Or if you wanted to be more sentimental the medium could be a written submission with the topic "My Hero".) Best entry wins!
Don't forget to feature last months winner in the next issue!
Implementing into your Website
If you have trouble formatting your newsletter, try using this template.
- Login to your Marketing Control Center and open up a custom page (Edit->Personalize Content->Page Manager->Custom Page, any number)
- Click Here and select Open for the text file
- Highlight everything in the file, and Copy it
- In your Custom Page, click on the "HTML" icon in the formatting tools.
- Paste everything you copied.
- Click Update. You should see a newsletter template with spaces for 5 articles and some additional tips.
- Replace the templated content with your own.
Maximizing your Response
Newsletters get the best response when you use the website in conjunction with your email. You will want to post the newsletter on a page in your site (in part or in full) as well as send it out in an email to your contacts.If your goal is to Generate More Leads...
Instead of putting up the full articles for each section, put the section title, any pictures, and a teaser on the website. Then include a sign up form for visitor's to sign up to receive the full version newsletters by email.If your goal is to Engage your Existing Leads...
Send out a teaser version of the newsletter in an email, and have them click a link to your website to read the full articles. Definitely run a monthly promotion!If you want both...
Do a compromise of the above. Publish the full newsletter on your site and include a form so they can sign up for notifications when the new issue is released. Send out teaser emails with a link back to the website. What are you waiting for? Grab your digital camera and a notepad, get out there, and start writing!
