3 Frequently Overlooked Ways to Boost Revenue

3 Frequently Overlooked Ways to Boost RevenueBy Loren McDonald Print Article
RISMEDIA, December 8, 2010—(eM+C)—During the busy holiday season, real estate professionals are looking for new ways to stand out in crowded inboxes. With prospective buyers envisioning themselves in a new home in 2011, now is an ideal time to engage prospective clients and start building loyalty. By focusing on a few, but often overlooked key areas, real estate professionals can yield incremental revenue opportunities and gain an edge on the competition. Here are five ways to give your e-mail program a boost:

1. Make it easy for consumers to opt in and provide information. Take advantage of the seasonal increase in online traffic by ensuring every page on your website has a benefit-driven e-mail opt-in form. Collecting the e-mail addresses of interested buyers, even if they don’t make a purchase right away, will grow your database and allow you to continue to market to these consumers throughout the year.

Take this one step further by creating a preference center that allows consumers to help you make the e-mail relationship as relevant as possible. Remember to ask for important information during the opt-in process, such as subscribers’ preferences related to format and frequency. Invite subscribers back to your preference center throughout the relationship to update their choices or address a more detailed, but still relevant, list of questions.

2. Use a welcome program to engage new subscribers. It’s always important to welcome new subscribers with open arms, so don’t let the holiday hustle and bustle cause you to overlook this important step. Effective welcome programs can drive subscribers back to your website and motivate them to keep you in mind when they are ready to purchase a home.

Begin by sending new subscribers an initial message, distributed immediately after they opt in. Use this message to confirm subscription details and restate your e-mail program’s value proposition. Ask to be added to their address book, invite them back to fill out a profile and/or request additional contact information. Follow up your welcome message with a timed series of e-mails that show subscribers even more of what you’re about.

3. Provide an experience that encourages social sharing. ‘Tis the season for social sharing. When a loyal fan shares your messages to their social networks, you extend your reach by 24.3% on average, according to a recent Silverpop study. Make this possible by first researching which networks your subscribers are most likely to share on. Facebook and Twitter are the obvious choices, but depending on your niche, other social networks may also yield impressive social-sharing rates.

What is your database management and social media strategy?