3 Big Ways to Give Your Real Estate Newsletter a Refresh

Email Newsletters

Feb 13

Is it time to give your real estate newsletter a makeover? If it’s been a couple years since you’ve done something new, it might be time to spruce up your email marketing. And if you’re still sending out the same templated, copy/paste newsletters that all of the other agents in your brokerage are sending out, then you might also need to give your entire email strategy a makeover!

If you need ideas for what to include in your newsletter, click here for 11 newsletter content ideas.

But before you dive into all of that, take a moment to review these 3 ways that you can give your real estate newsletter a refresh:

1. Choose a format that you can rinse and repeat.

While I don’t recommend using the same template as everyone else around you, choosing a template that YOU can use in each of your unique newsletters will make the whole process easier for you.

Using a set format for your newsletter serves a few different purposes:

It makes it easier for you to fill in content. If you have a few sections in your newsletter template that each have the same theme in every newsletter, filling in unique content is A LOT less challenging.
Your readers know what to expect. If you always include a section with a personal note, a featured home listing, and links to three of your latest blog posts, then people know what they’re getting each time they receive your newsletter. If they know they can expect high-quality content every time, they’re more likely to stick with you and keep reading.

You might decide to start every newsletter with a more personal intro that’s a few paragraphs long and includes a photo. Maybe you decide this will always be a laid-back spotlight on a local restaurant you’ve visited lately. Then maybe the next section of the newsletter is always a couple of links to your latest blog posts, and then the last section can be a feature on your latest home listing.

This helps you share a variety of content without having to reinvent the wheel each time!

2. Get personal.

In addition to following lots of real estate agents on social media, I also have fun following lifestyle/fashion bloggers and Instagrammers. Lately, I’ve been seeing more and more conversations happening around the ideas of influencers needing to get more personal and behind-the-scenes with their audiences.

We all love pretty pictures, but people are getting bored with that overly produced, polished perfection that’s so common with the most popular of Instagrammers. People are craving realness, connection, the nitty-gritty of the day-to-day, and reassurance that these people are also just like them—real people.

Now, translate this to anything content-related in real estate. Newsletters are especially perfect for this—you can send out a more personal note to people who have subscribed to your newsletter (aka they WANT to be receiving something from you!). You don’t need to splash your life and personal details all over the internet, but people might enjoy hearing about the fun neighborhood garage sale you participated in, or why you loved the new Broadway show that’s in town. (Add in a couple of photos to personalize it even more!) You can choose to write something that’s still related to your personal brand and real estate job while still finding points of personal connection.

3. Upgrade your newsletter design.

If you haven’t updated the design of your newsletter in the past couple of years, it’s probably time for a new look. Just like websites and logos, newsletter design can become out of date too, and I’ve seen a lot of newsletters that could use some TLC.

This doesn’t have to be complicated—when in doubt, go with something simple! Choose one or two colors that match your branding, have a simple header, and don’t get too carried away with fancy borders or graphics. Test your design out on both desktop and mobile, too, keeping in mind that people will be reading your newsletter on both.

Canva and PIcMonkey are my favorite free online resources for designing your own graphics, but there are some beautifully simple and modern newsletter templates that you can customize, too. I recommend checking out these email newsletter templates to help you get inspired!