Email as a core to a multi-channel marketing strategy

There are many channels in which Realtors® market themselves today: online advertising, print advertising, web sites, seminars, print mailings, and email.

We all know that marketing is a game of leading people to what you have to offer. Each of the above strategies can gain you important points with your target market. The savvy marketer quickly learns to develop a multi-channel approach to generate the greatest return on their investment. Let's face it, there is no magic bullet. There is no one right answer. The miracle of effective marketing comes from those who learn the value of blending all their efforts toward one strategic goal: Top Of Mind awareness (TOMA).

If you have not been thinking about how to achieve TOMA in your marketing efforts, there's no better time than right now. You want your market to think of you the minute someone mentions the word Realtor. To do this you need to get out there and make your presence known. And that presence should feel consistent across the board. In this industry, you are your own brand.

A Quote From Someone Who Knows

Scott McKinney, a successful Realtor in Northern Wisconsin commented about this very topic when discussing our publication, "I use the House & Home email publication as a valuable tool in pushing my new listing to those I know are looking for homes. But it also keeps people engaged with me while they're out of the market. And most importantly, it drives them to my website. I watch my web site stats, and I always see a traffic spike immediatley after each issue is sent. I love the fact that I can personally market my listing and my presence in a subtle way to those in and out of the market. When people see McKinney in their inbox each month and they see McKinney in other forms of advertisement it all clicks together and ultimately get's my phone ringing. I really like the way this email solution works."

Deliver Value to Get Value

Understanding the relationship between email and other media will really help you optimize your strategy of attracting people to your website and ultimately turning them toward your services. When email is used to deliver relevant information to people at all stages of their transactional needs, you'll see fewer defections and more conversions. Keep people engaged with you as a professional. Keep people aware of your services and don't just use one medium to accomplish that goal.

The Upshot

So remember, don't judge the effectiveness of an email campaign solely on clicks, opens and conversions. If you do, you may be underestimating the true impact that your email campaign is having on driving productivity. By keeping people connected to your brand identity, it is likely that your email program is influencing their behavior that may sometimes be attributed to other marketing channels. They all work together to win the game.

'Til Next Time

If you have questions or article ideas for this newsletter, please send them to me: . Expect another issue of our Best Practices in another month or so. As always, I thank you for your kind attention.