Have you mastered the art of cold emailing as an Agent yet?
A cold email is any communication you send before actually making that connection in person.
Unlike unsolicited spam, your contact has to opt-in for your emails first, like by signing up for your newsletter, downloading a free content offer from your website, or by connecting via an aggregate site like Zillow, Realtor.com, or Trulia.
Cold emailing as a real estate agent requires a balance between delivering value to your subscriber and encouraging them to reach out to discuss home buying or selling in person.
Once you have a lead, you don’t want to waste it. So let’s talk about how to set up your email templates for success.
Six Key Components of Every Successful Cold Email
Email templates make your life easier by removing the guesswork of following up at the right time.
In order for a cold email to appeal to your new leads, it must contain these six essentials:
1. A Clickworthy Subject Line
According to one study, 64% of people admit they open an email solely due to the subject line.
So grab the attention of your leads and they’ll be more likely to open your email, click through the links, and read what you have to say.
Bonus: Emails that include the first name of the recipient in their subject line have higher clickthrough rates than emails that skipped this.
2. Personalization to Create Warm, Fuzzy Vibes
Personalized messages have a 75% higher open rate than those that aren’t customized for their recipients. Personalization also improves click-through rates and conversions by over 5%.
When we share our favorite cold email templates for agents later, we’ll assume you’re going to begin each one with Hi, Hello, or Hey followed by an auto-populated name.
It’s so easy for your email client to do this automatically and it works so well.
3. Valuable Content to Keep Leads Interested
To get your leads to continue reading your emails (and eventually follow your call to action), you have to sweeten the pot with something for them.
Since half of all email users check their inbox when they’re bored, providing content they’ll find useful, valuable, and pertinent will do a lot to entertain them.
To provide valuable content to your leads that improves your open and click-through rates, you’ll need to segment your audience to determine where your lead is in the buying or selling process.
For example, depending on your type of lead, you may want to link to blog posts about what they should expect during the home-selling process, a free first-time homebuyer’s guide, daily listings in their area, etc.
4. One Single Call to Action to Direct Your Recipient
Don’t ask your intended receiver to browse hand-picked listings, follow you on Instagram, and check out your recent blog posts all in the same email. They won’t do any of them.
Give them one direct call to action (CTA) and that will be the only one they take. Conveniently, that’s exactly what you’re aiming for.
5. All Your Contact Details
This means adding your name, title, cell/work numbers, email address, agency website, links to your content, social media profiles, etc. You want potential leads to contact you however they feel most comfortable.
6. Optimization for Mobile
Stats tell us that 54% of emails are opened on a smartphone and 75% of Gmail users access their accounts from mobile devices.
Yet less than a quarter of emails are actually optimized for mobile screens.
Don’t lose out on this huge chunk of readers just because your emails aren’t formatted right. You’ll gain the competitive advantage and notice higher open and click through rates as a result.
When you include these six must-haves in your cold emails, you’ll increase the chances of hearing back from your leads.
These points also create a general skeleton to follow when creating templates to use instead of constantly writing generic, repetitive emails.
8 Email Templates Every Agent Needs in their Pocket
You know exactly what you want to say at each touch point with your leads, but now you don’t have to waste the brain power or effort to do so.
Write out your version of each of these 8 templates in advance so that you can automate the process with your email marketing provider of choice.
1. The Welcome Email
When someone signs up for your newsletter or registers for notifications about listings on your site, take the opportunity to introduce yourself and make friends.
Don’t bombard your new lead with a ton of info. Keep it short and sweet.
Introduce yourself, quickly explain why you provide something of value, and clearly state your CTA.
Example
You’re smart for signing up for notifications about new listings in the City Heights area.
That market is so hot right now and you’ll be the first to hear about properties that fit your wishlist.
Over the past X years, I’ve worked with first-time homebuyers and seasoned vets in the City Heights area to find their dream home.
To help you during this exciting time, check out this blog post about the 10 Biggest Things to Look for During an Open House (link to content).
You can reach me anytime to discuss the market and your options.
This Works because people are more likely to work with and buy from people they know and trust. Consider your welcome email your chance to show subscribers why you’re in it for them.
2. The Here’s What to Expect Email
Send your welcome email immediately after you score a new subscriber; send an email to lay out what your new contact should expect the next day.
This email should give your lead an idea of how often they’ll receive emails from you and what those emails will contain. Show your client the value of your emails and they’ll start to look forward to them.
Example
How’s everything going with your home search in the South Bank neighborhood?
Right now you’re receiving emails whenever homes matching your preferences hit the market. And then I’ll be the first to help you find out if that listing is your dream home.
Expect a weekly email about the current real estate market in your area, including links to vital content and information to aid your search.
My doors are always open and my cell phone’s practically glued to my hand. Don’t hesitate to reach out!
This Works because you’re specifically showing your leads the service you’re going to provide to them (for free), which keeps them on the lookout for your upcoming emails.
3. Your Content Emails
In case you haven’t noticed the pattern, delivering value to your subscribers is the number one way to gain their trust and loyalty — and every Agent knows these are both necessary for establishing a relationship and making a sale happen down the road.
If you’re not already active with blogging or social media, consider creating (or outsourcing) high-quality content for your subscribers.
Vary your content between information only you can create (like local guides) and curated content you think your mailing list would be interested in.
Example
Happy Friday!
Did you get a chance to read our most popular blogs of the week? If not, here’s your chance to catch up:
- Insert blog titles and links
And in case you missed this week’s new listings in the North Ridge area, here are the 5 most viewed homes of the week:
- Listing 1 (link)
- Listing 2 (link), etc.
This Works because you’re establishing authority and credibility with your target audience. That means showing your subscribers that you’re the Go-To person when it comes to information about the local housing market, schools in the area, home values, etc.
Plus, including a few of the most recent listings provides your subscriber with value from opening your email even if they don’t click to read your content.
4. The Testimonial Email
So much of your business is referral-based because people value the experiences and recommendations of others they know.
What better way to prove you’re the right agent for the job than by showing your leads how happy you’ve made other people and families?
Example
I hope you’ve had a chance to browse some of the listings I sent over in my last email — houses in this area go fast!
If you haven’t already done so, here’s the link to my blog post about the best ways to position yourself as the right buyer in a hot, competitive market (link to blog).
Locals just like you were surprised to learn how quickly they needed to act to secure the home of their dreams in their ideal neighborhood. Check out a few of their stories about working together:
(Include two or three short testimonials)
You can head over to my website to read more testimonials here. (include link)
I’m not only here to help, I’m excited to get started on the most important search of your life. Let’s find your property nirvana together.
This Works because when you frame a recent home-buying story around a testimonial tied to the specific market your lead is interested in, they’ll want (and expect) you to do the same for them.
5. The Learning More About You Email
When you notice a drop in your open or click through rates, or your new subscribers are opening your emails, but not contacting you, it’s time to gather more information about what they’re truly looking for.
Example
I hope you’re finding the content I’m sending along helpful and informative for all your home buying decisions.
To make sure I totally understand what you’re looking for, I’d love to meet with you at my office, or at the new coffee shop on Elm Street, to discuss your wishlist in detail.
You can reach me by replying to this email or contacting me by phone. My number is:…
In the meantime, have you read my clients’ favorite blog posts about buying a home for the first time?:
- The 10 Biggest Things to Look for in a New House
- How to Become a Well-Qualified Homebuyer (and skip ahead of the pack!)
Please don’t hesitate to reach out; I look forward to hearing from you!
This Works because you’ll be gaining valuable insight about your target audience so you can create content that better connects with them. That will increase your chances of working together.
6. The Wellness Check / Haven’t-Heard-From-You-Yet Email
You won’t hear back from all your leads, and that’s okay.
Whether they were just casual browsers or decided not to take their house-hunting to the next level, they’re still interested in receiving your emails if they haven’t unsubscribed from your emails or marked them as spam yet.
Give them a poke to let them know you’re still ready to help.
Example
Have you seen any homes you want to tour lately?
There’s an open house at 123 Magnolia Street this Saturday at 1 pm I’d love to meet you at! (insert invite)
If your search preferences have changed, you can update them here so you receive properties that better fit your new search. (include link)
Reply to this email and I can change your home criteria search preferences for you or remove you from the email list and notification system if you’d prefer to meet in person and have me search for your dream home instead.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m looking forward to learning more about how I can help you find your perfect home.
This Works because you’re encouraging contact without being pushy and still providing value. Whether they take you up on this offer or not, they know you want to help.
7. The No Longer Available Lead
When a new lead comes through as the result of a listing another site hasn’t taken down yet, don’t let the lead off the hook just yet.
Example
I loved that house in the South Shores area, too, but unfortunately it’s no longer available.
If you’re still interested in the other amazing properties in the South Shores, check out these South Shores listings that are still available:
Property 1 (insert link)
Property 2 (insert link)
Property 3 (insert link)
I’d love to help you find your perfect home in the South Shores ASAP.
(insert signature)
PS: If you need a cheatsheet of the South Shores area, I’ve attached one to this email. Hope it helps!
This Works because you’re grabbing a lead that may have otherwise walked away if you didn’t present
from theokbrowne digest https://www.easyagentpro.com/blog/cold-email-templates/
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