Why People Give Realtors the Wrong Email Address & How to Fix It

Growing your email list is a key element of any realtor’s business. And the stats about email back it up:

• For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $38.
• According to 80 percent of professionals, email marketing drives customer acquisition and retention.
• Email works best for conversions.

But none of this works if people won’t give you their right email address. Instead, they give you wrong addresses, ones that are outdated or addresses to accounts they never check. And so, while it appears like you’re growing your email list, the true number of valid ones is small.

Why does this happen?

First, gated content is a great way to MAKE people give you an email address. However, when has making somebody do something ended well? For instance, if you give a boyfriend or girlfriend an ultimatum, there is a chance they’ll take the option you don’t way, or they’ll say yes, but not respond in exactly the way you wanted. In this case, they give you the wrong address, so they can continue but that’s not what you were looking for.

Second, they don’t trust you. Maybe this is the first time they’ve come across your name. They don’t know you and they don’t trust you not to spam them or overload their inbox.

Third, they’re simply not ready to take that next step. They haven’t made up their mind about whether they’re ready to sell and/or buy a new home. Their uncertainty about what they’d like to do results in them not being ready to give you their correct email address.

What should you do instead?

Be patient. They’re not saying no to your services or developing a business relationship with you, but they’re not there yet.

Developing a strategy to nurture these leads will lead to more successful campaigns. There are ways of following up with content marketing on social channels that won’t even feel like they’re being marketed to. And, providing educational content for where they’re at in the buying process will help them better understand their options and help move them along the buyer’s journey. When they’re ready, they’ll “raise their hand” through the actions they take and you’ll know they’re ready to proceed – provided you have the right tools in place to monitor this change.

Timing is everything. By staying in contact with people until they’re ready, you can start a conversation and a relationship. This builds trust, which then results in them giving you the right email address when they’re ready to take the next step.

If you want to learn more about content marketing, read: Realtor Marketing the Right Way.