Below is a blog which was my most widely read in 2017.
When it went online it had more hits than The Beatles, Elvis, Beyoncé and Sir Cliff Richard combined (it’s getting near Christmas I can mention Sir Cliff surely?).
It had the highest open rate of any of my emails sent to my estate agent database.
And it got shared on social media more than any other of my articles – Not exactly viral but more like a dose of flu which hits half the office.
I’m not just banging my chest here and saying, ‘look at me’ – I think there five things agents can learn from the success of this article which will help their marketing efforts.
- The headline is eye-catching (albeit it a bit risqué).
- It’s not that long. 400 words – or around two minutes reading time.
- It contains some easy to implement tips i.e. work your database, maintain regular contact via helpful sharing of info etc.
- It contains a personal story to make a point. Uncle Tighe gets a mention.
- It’s focussed on a particular audience – estate agents. But you could aim yours at landlords, vendors, local news, etc. Go after one audience at a time rather than trying to be all things to all people.
Here’s the article again and I hope it helps in some way.
Why Some Estate Agents Make Lousy Lovers and Some Don’t
Picture the scene. And picture you’re single – if you’re not already.
The man / woman you’ve fancied for ages is standing alone by the coffee machine looking gorgeous.
Now you’ve said hello a few times, but you don’t know them very well as they work on the floor above.
Then you bowl up to them, out of the blue and give them a massive bouquet of flowers.
Do you expect them to fall in love with you in an instant?
Well if you do I’d applaud your optimistic attitude but question your grasp of reality.
My point here is this.
In 99.9 per cent of romances it took time, small details and focus to capture the heart of the person you desired.
My Uncle Tighe always used to say that “it’s the little things you do for your wife that have the biggest impact. A daily cup of tea, letting them have a lie in while you take the kids out and simply doing nice little things regularly.”
He was married for 45 years and that only ended when he was called to the big pub in the sky.
Too many agents think short term, that every piece of marketing must work right now and are basically trying to hurry love – which Phil Collins can tell you is something you simply can’t do.
Now here’s what estate agents can learn from this lots of little approach to getting people to love your agency.
If you have a database of people available (if you haven’t why???) email them with helpful information once a week.
It’s not hassling them if the email’s content is helpful.
Of course don’t expect them to call you in for a valuation immediately – that’s like the bouquet out of the blue approach. Wham, bam no thank you man!
But if you regularly share your knowledge, your wisdom and expert advice, you’ll start leaving a positive mark in the hearts and minds of those readers.
They’ll come to see your agency as the helpful one, the professional one, the one who cares enough about them to send them interesting articles every week.
Then when they are looking for a date (sorry I mean a valuation) their eyes will be firmly fixed on you because you’ve been consistently and correctly courting them…without them even knowing it.
That’s where the original article ends.
Thanks for reading and here’s to your next instruction.
Jerry
PS: My special offer on articles for Letting Agents are proving very popular. It’s 31 articles aimed at winning landlords’ instructions and doing a lot of what I talk about above.
I’ve now sold to more than 60 per cent of England’s postcodes – is your area still available. Ping me an email with your postcode to find out more.
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