Don’t just email it – enail it!

We’ve talked a lot about how agents should never underestimate the power of the email newsletter in turning the mildly interested into signed-up vendors or landlords – and nurture campaigns are a big part of that.

We plan these campaigns for a minimum of two years ahead.

Nurture campaigns are highly-targeted email campaigns that turn cold leads into a seller or landlord enquiry, or even an instruction. They do this by, well, nurturing that lead – in the same way you would a tender young plant. In other words, by putting in the time to understand the needs and problems of the prospect and responding to these with information that is supremely useful, enabling them to take that vital step of submitting an contact form or even giving you their business.

From our experience of helping agents plan and deliver their email marketing strategies, we have identified five types of nurture campaign that really work:

1 The instant valuation nurture

This type of campaign capitalises on the instant valuation tool that we’d recommend all agents integrate into their website. Every homeowner is interested in their property’s rising value. Make it easy for them to get an idea of their home’s current worth and you have an easy route to a contact list of cold prospects.

While many of these people are just being curious, among them will be a significant number who are looking to move now or in the near future. Once you know who they are, you can create a campaign to keep in touch with them over a long period – until they make the decision to sell.

When we build these campaigns, we plan for a minimum of two years ahead. We automate them, scheduling in a sequence of high value nurturing emails that mean you are front of mind as soon as the prospect is ready to list their home.

2 The landlord nurture

The thing with landlords is that they only change letting agents at particular points in their business journey. A landlord nurture campaign works because it allows to you build a long-term relationship with your prospects. By keeping in regular contact and supplying them with vital industry content – great blogs, relevant market trend reports, Q&As on changes in legislation, for example – you become their key source of up-to-date information. When they come to move agents, which most will, as they change tenants or at some other point in the future, they will consider you, having valued the contact over time.

3 The vendor nurture

This type of email nurture campaign is like the landlord nurture – but for sellers. To build your vendor list, offer a great lead magnet. This is a valuable piece of free content that you give in return for email sign up. It could be a white paper on the current housing market after its many fluctuations, a webinar on selling an inherited property or even a pdf getting-ready-to-sell checklist. As with the landlord nurture, follow it up with a long-term relationship-building campaign offering consistently high-quality content.

4 The buyer who has a property to sell nurture

When a buyer registers to view a home for sale via your website or the portals, take the opportunity to ask if they have a property to sell. If the answer is a yes, add them to this nurture campaign, which progresses towards a valuation request. This type of campaign is different because these sellers are a hotter prospect than those who might be thinking of a move in future. For this reason, it is usually a shorter campaign. And while educational and informative, the content will have more of a sales tone, as your aim is securing that valuation.

5 The bait nurture

Similar to the vendor nurture, these short campaigns target a prospect who downloads a valuable item in exchange for their email address. For example, say you have a report or podcast on ‘how to sell your house fast’. Nurture your interested prospects with follow-up emails over a one to four-week period, expanding on the same topic further, one email at a time. Even if they don’t take the bait by submitting an enquiry form during the campaign, they still have some interest in selling, so add them to your vendor nurture sequence.

The key things to remember are that these five types of nurture campaign only work if you are consistent in maintaining the relationship over time and really channel your content to the precise needs of your leads. If you don’t have the skills or time in house to go the distance with these campaigns, this is definitely one to outsource to professionals.

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