In real estate, technology is constantly evolving, but one thing that has remained consistent over the last 20+ years is email. Every real estate agent has an email address and most real estate agents check their email multiple times throughout the day (and that might be an understatement!).

If you want to reach real estate agents online, you can meet them exactly where they are every day: in their email inbox.

Email is one of the easiest ways to stay memorable and remain on the radar of your real estate agent contacts. When done correctly, email marketing for real estate law firms can greatly increase your business and provide the highest return on investment (ROI) out of any type of marketing campaign.

So, how can you make email marketing work for your real estate law firm? The first thing you need to do is build your email list, and there are a variety of ways to do it.

How to Build Your Email Marketing List

It is relatively easy to implement an email marketing campaign, even with a conservative budget. You probably already have the email addresses of current, former, and prospective clients, and there are plenty of inexpensive ways you can build your email marketing list from there.

Before you ramp up any marketing efforts, select an email marketing provider like Mailchimp or Constant Contact. If you really want to track your leads, consider a landing page creator like Leadpages which will help you assess exactly where your digital leads are coming from.

Once you are set up with an email provider, you’ll want to start building your email marketing list.  Whether you are beginning to build an email marketing campaign or simply seek to breathe new life into your current efforts, there are plenty of ways to build your real estate email marketing list.

Import Your Existing Contact Lists

Chances are you already have a robust list of real estate agents that you’ve met or done business with. Collect as many names and email addresses as you can and compile them into a spreadsheet. If you are using an email client like Outlook or Gmail, you may be able to download a spreadsheet with all of your contact information.

If you’ve amassed your list of contacts over several years, there may be people on your list that you have not been in touch with in quite some time. Before you officially add them to your email list, a best practice is to send an initial email to let your contacts know why they are on your list and that they can expect to hear from you with occasional news and updates.

Be sure that when you send this email, there is an opt-out link or unsubscribe button to ensure legal compliance.

Now that you have an initial batch of subscribers, it’s time to add new agents to your list.

Attend Networking Events…and Collect Business Cards!

Even though we are very much entrenched in the digital age, business cards remain an incredibly useful tool in professional networking. When you are at real estate networking events, be sure to give and collect business cards. Most real estate agents always have cards on them, so be sure to swap them liberally.

Now, once you get those cards from your new contacts, be sure to follow up with email greeting before you just add someone to your list. Not only is a personal email a nice touch, but it is a good best practice to let someone know you will add them to your email list before you do so.

Create a Lead Magnet

If you are planning to use digital marketing or social media to attract new email subscribers, creating a lead magnet can help you collect email addresses and other contract information.

One way to do this is to offer free “premium” content on your website or through your social media channels — such as eBooks and downloadable white papers. Think of this as trading information: you provide education and knowledge about a specific topic, in exchange for which people provide their email address and possibly other contact information.

To set this up, you’ll need to set up automation technology within your email marketing provider. Although every provider has a slightly different setup, you’ll basically create a contact form that people must fill out in order to receive the new content. Filling out the form will trigger an email containing your download. You can stop there — or you can create what is called a “drip campaign” and nurture your leads to contact you for more information or to work together.

Lead magnets are generally successful because in exchange for their email address, you provide the subscriber something of value. Although some professional service providers feel reluctant to share their knowledge online, you are sharing just enough to pique their interest and make you more marketable.

Give Presentations

We have talked before about hosting real estate agent networking events as a means to reach new audiences and networking with real estate agents. Whether you are throwing a happy hour, hosting a lunch and learn, or teaching a CE class, be sure that you have a sign-up sheet requiring individuals to leave their email address.

To be completely transparent, place on the form that by providing an email address, the individual is opting in to receiving your messages and updates.

Although building an email marketing list can take a lot of time and patience, it is almost always a reliable way to grow your contacts list and stay top of mind among your real estate agent network.