Get control of your email list.

I finally got a real "Real Estate" email list

As I'm sure you've heard, One of the keys to real estate success is having a good list. I've heard and tried to do the same thing. Unfortunately, I'd been trying to do it the hard way. Random lists of email address in word, manually updating notes, trying to keep it current, and not get "spammed" off. All that takes a lot of time. I had heard of email list services, I decided that would make my life a lot easier. 

My first impression was "Hey, this isn't cheap!" After looking around a bit, I bit the bullet and spent $120 for a service. Onward to easier communications. I uploaded my list of email addresses culled from business cards, emails sent and received, and various buyers and other real estate related people. and sent them an email. 2000 people. 

That first attempt with the "Unnamed email list service provider" resulted in my account being cancelled the first day. 4 email recipients clicked spam, and account was cancelled. $120 poof. Geesh, give a guy a break. 3 hours on the phone, no mercy. So that project got shelved for the next two years. And we won't even talk about how long it took to get all those email addresses typed in. Ok, I admit it, I started typing them all in, then paid someone else to finish. Otherwise I'd still be typing. There went another $300 or so.

So I went back to working from memory, and my short list. Unfortunately the short list only exists in my head, and consists of people who've bought properties, or I met recently. Not the best way to run a business. Not even a good way. But it worked, and hey, if it's working, why change, right? wrong!

This past year, I decided to ramp up. And the system broke. Well, the lack of a system broke, and it tried to break me.

I felt like the old school stage performer trying to spin plates on a stick, running from one to another to keep each going and keep any of them from falling. So, I added another plate.

Sounds crazy I know. I started forcing myself to take time again to focus on running the business better. And that lead me to identify three items to get implemented.

1. A Property Manager
2. A CRM program to track leads.
3. A good email list service (which may be covered by the CRM later)

We'll cover the property manager in another post, but I will say I have one and I'm gradually turning over all my properties. And I like it.

Next, I started looking at CRM, but found the many choices overwhelming, and very few seemed to fit for a real estate business. I've looked at many, and finally narrowed it down to two. One will be implemented by the end of the year.

In between the times the CRM search frustrated me, I looked at the email list service again. Who knew two years would make so many changes. Multiple reputable providers, cool tools, great tracking. And the best part, getting started cost nothing! (My favorite price.)

I sent out my first email to the list today. Creating it was a piece of cake. Editing took longer, but that's my fault, not theirs. Great tools, made it super simple. And it looks far better than what I had been sending. And this time I'll be inviting everyone to sign up, instead of signing them up and allowing them to "opt out."

Did I mention the basic account costs nothing? Hey, they do get a free advertisement at the bottom. I can work with that. And so can you.

This one thing will save me time every week, and let focus on more important tasks. It's something you should add too. The price is right.