Should You Publish a Newsletter
By: Marte Cliff
In a word, yes. I started to say "Yes, if you sell real estate," but then I thought about it and realized that it doesn't matter what business you're in.
If you have, or can create, a database of past customers, you need to be sending them a newsletter each month - or at least every other month.
The most important function of the newsletter is to maintain a positive "top of mind awareness" with people who have been pleased with your service. It brings them back to you, and it makes them remember you when someone asks where to get your particular product or service.
You Realtors may think that once someone purchases a home they won't need you again. Wrong. Depending upon what you read, the average person moves every 5 to 7 years. Since some people remain in their first home their entire lives, that means that some people are moving much sooner than 5 years. If you sold them the house, be there when they're ready to sell it and find a new one.
Another misconception says you don't need to stay in touch with past customers and clients who have moved to a different city. Wrong again.
Just because they may have moved away doesn't mean they don't have friends or family still in your vicinity. And it doesn't mean they won't get homesick and come back.
This same concept applies to whatever you sell. For instance: insurance. Needs change, children grow up and need their own policies, friends move to town and want a name to call. Be there.
But what if you sell couches or refrigerators or cars? The same applies. People will always want more, andif you ask they will always send friends to people who have given excellent service.
But back to the newsletter. The reason why it is so effective is that it is informative, entertaining, and non-threatening. You aren't sending an ad asking people to hurry and buy something. Instead, you're giving them a gift.
The content is easy...
Include short articles about happenings in your town, the market as it pertains to your particular service, some good quotes or a puzzle, a fantastic recipe you found, and even some brief news about your own life. Maybe you took a course that will help your career. Maybe you had a new child, or grandchild. Perhaps your child just graduated from West Point. People who like you will be interested as long as you keep it brief and entertaining. (A brief story of adventure is always good - something like how you got lost trying to get out of the airport, or how your grand-son sat in the cake at his birthday party.)
Do be sure to ask for referrals. You don't need to go on and on about it, just add a short paragraph telling people how much you appreciate referrals and promising to give their friends and family the same great service you gave them.
You don't need to be an expert grammarian, but do be a little careful. We used to get a newsletter that was so full of mistakes that the message was lost. Things like "We was happy to welcome?." and "Him and me attended a conference" will destroy your professional status.
So if writing scares you, or you're unsure about your grammar, hire someone to write the newsletter for you. Whichever way you go, it will either be time or money well spent.
Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter and former real estate broker who specializes in writing for real estate and related industries.
Her e-book, The Land Buyer's Survival Guide, is a resource for both land buyers and beginning real estate sales people - offering a guide to the questions that must be answered before it's safe to close on a land purchase. Learn more about the Guide at
http://www.marte-cliff.com/Survival.html
Marte offers a weekly ezine for real estate professionals and others with an interest in marketing themselves or their property. Subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to
realestatehelp@getresponse.com
and you'll immediately receive a copy of her real estate ad writing report.
Visit her at http://www.marte-cliff.com
or contact her at: writer@marte-cliff.com
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