Great Ideas For Your Real Esate Newsletter
August 5, 2015
I like to think about content in categories – they might match the categories you set up for your blog if you have one, or they might just be for your own use. Feel free to use these or just let them give you ideas for your own. When I create a list of categories like this I find it helps me when I’m looking for ideas to write about.
Guides
Guides are just that – you guide your reader through something new or difficult for them. Examples include things like:
Guides to choosing a house, a real estate agent, a decorator, a landscaper, staging your home, neighborhood parks, playgrounds, tourist attractions – the list is potentially endless. You bring your view and your voice and, when appropriate, links not only to your website but others.
Interviews
Do some interviews with folks in your neighborhood, local government representatives, leaders of local civic clubs, your own broker, your favorite banker and any and all the folks you work with.
Take a picture, preferably not just a head shot, but of your interviewee doing something. These can be short – 200-300 words, or longer, depending on your inclination and how interesting your subject is.
How-tos
How-tos can range from finding daycare to planning a move. Similar to guides, perhaps, but more hands on – or so it seems to me. Some real estate topics, like how to prepare for a home inspection, etc. also work well in this category.
Explainers
The word, ‘explainer,’ is new enough you may hesitate to use it. But the idea behind it is great. You explain something that needs explaining to your audience.
Ideas for explainers include all sorts of things like how you’re neighborhood came to be named, to what is that newest construction project that’s scrambling traffic. Explaining real estate terms and concepts is also a good idea.
Guest articles
You can often get people to do articles for you for free. They do it because they want a link to their pages in a brief author bio at the end of the article.
Obviously you want articles that will be of interest to your audience.
Guest articles have been abused, so it’s better not to label them as such. Instead, do it the way magazines do, and name the author without labeling them a guest author.
And beware of people you’ve never heard of emailing you with vague offers of guest posts. Ignore those becasue they really are trying to get your implicit endorsement.
Community interest
Providing information your community needs and enjoys is a great way to become well known or continue your excellent reputation.
In addition to doing articles on what’s happening with the people, businesses, etc. in the area you service, you can build a page that has great community links – it will become a treasured resource by many.
A community map, or a link to a good one, is helpful, so are lists of utility companies and the like.
Testimonials
Testimonials from folks you’ve served are great ways to instill confidence in potential clients. Ask for them when deals close. Get a picture to go with it and post them on your website.
It makes sense to have a page dedicated to testimonials and it also works to spread them throughout your site, one or two at a time.
What other ideas do you have for newsletters?
By Anne Wayman
Before Anne Wayman became a writer she sold real estate in Southern California. She worked with her father who learned the business from his father. Not surprisingly she learned a few things along the way. Since then, she has been freelance writing for over 30 years – she is a grandmother, loves cats and writes about a wide variety of topics including real estate.