Mortgage marketing via email is one of the best ways to deliver valuable mortgage content and stay in the minds of real estate clients. 

It’s budget-friendly and still keeps your clients and leads engaged with your content. Email drips are fairly easy to set up but some strategy is needed. 

In this article, we’ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions about email marketing and give you tips on how to create and execute a drip campaign effectively. 

How to Write a Good Email Marketing Campaign 

You may think writing a successful email is easy. But there’s some thought that goes into each element of each message. And again, when you put all the emails together in a campaign. 

Aside from ensuring you have leads coming in at every chance and then entering them into your email list, using automated programs such as Mail Chimp, there’s also creating compelling content. Let’s break it down. 

First Impressions

It’s important to remember that people frequently look through their inboxes to delete emails, not to read them. 

So, you’ve got to make a first impression that’s positive when reaching out to your contacts. After that, you have to maintain that positive association throughout the campaign. 

The Subject Line

In our opinion, it’s a mistake to make your subject line a sales pitch. Sales pitches and calls to action are everywhere and clients are overwhelmed by them. The last thing people want is another ad. 

Instead, try using a title rather than another sales pitch. You’ll increase the possibility that clients will open your email if there is something of value in the body of the email. For example: “An increase of housing prices in your area – what it means for you.” 

The Email Body 

A draft of the main content of your email should be short, tight sentences. Make it conversational yet professional. Get to the point of how your business can benefit the client. 

Make it easy to skim, digest quickly. Add some personality, give it a bit of “you.” This helps make a connection with a real human being and not another sales robot. 

Use bulleted lists and white space. Long paragraphs that may explain how you’re better than all the rest may make you feel good about yourself but might alienate the reader. Instead, break the best parts down into the smallest statement and present them in point form. 

It’s also a good idea to include mortgage rates in every email, preferably in a consistent graphic form or table that’s easy to find and read. 

The Call To Action – A Loan Officer’s Friend

Despite the need to appear like it’s not an ad at first, never forget that mortgage email marketing is still a promotion tool. Your readers will likely not be shocked or offended if you include the ubiquitous Call To Action (CTA) near the end of your email. 

Everyone includes a call to action for a reason. Readers who want to take the initiative on what you’re offering will need an easy way to take the next step on the sales journey. Give them that with a tailored, well-crafted CTA. 

How to Set Up a Successful Email Drip

Drip marketing campaigns are strategic tools used by many loan officers to create a consistent flow of marketing material to customers over a set period. Drip marketing creates inviting, long-term exposure to recipients and provides value to customers. To do this, you need valuable content in each email. 

The First Email

The first email is the best opportunity to establish a proper relationship with the potential client. When a loan officer or mortgage specialist gains the trust of the person’s contact information, the client expects to connect with them. 

Introduce yourself, your company, and briefly touch on how your services can benefit the client. 

Make sure the first email is short and concise; a single, short paragraph with bullet points and a CTA. Don’t abuse that trust. 

The Second Email

If there’s no response from the first foray, that doesn’t mean your potential clients weren’t interested. Instead, it could mean they didn’t get to responding yet or were distracted. 

The second email should refer to your initial content more softly with some additional valuable information such as relevant mortgage data or news. 

Remember that every email in your drip should easily list your contact information. Make it as easy for clients to find you as you can. 

Any Additional Emails

Continue providing valuable, relevant information that potential clients will find useful and keep you, your brand, and your key messages on their minds. 

Don’t be afraid to get creative — embed a short video or infographic — but don’t go crazy. You want to get their attention and show your value as a mortgage lender. 

The great thing about drip campaigns and email marketing campaigns is that they allow you to exert minimal effort towards contacts while keeping the door open for opportunities months or years down the road. 

Scheduling Your Mortgage Email Marketing Campaign

These days nearly everything can be automated. So don’t worry about dedicating a ton of time to your email campaign once you get the drip set up. You can set them to deploy at specific times and don’t have to worry about actually hitting send yourself. 

When Do You Send?

Schedules of potential borrowers can vary quite a bit. For example, some may read emails during breakfast while others are on tablets in bed at night.

Using your customer relationship management software (CRM), Google Analytics, and A/B testing mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, and others who use email campaigns can test the receptiveness of your emails. 

Perhaps weekends are when you get the best results? Maybe the first thing in the morning emails puts potential clients off? Check out your results and adjust accordingly. 

Frequency 

When planning a drip campaign or mortgage email campaign, relevance of content is the key. When you run a simple pre scheduled release of emails, it’s a good idea to start aggressively then taper off to monthly releases. 

For example: 

• Email #2 is sent one week after Email #1
• Email #3 is sent a week after #2
• Email #4 is sent two weeks after #3
• All subsequent emails are monthly

Conversely, if your content is based on market fluctuations, the frequency of emails may depend on rate changes. 

Regardless of what the focus may be of your content, always provide a balance of valuable information with the sales content throughout your campaign. 

Stand Out with Effective Email Marketing

Now that you understand the basics, let’s look at even more ways that your mortgage marketing can stand out. 

Keep It Professional, Keep It Clean

Attention to detail and a professional voice will go far with potential borrowers and clients. 

Make sure there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes. Links should lead to where they promise and names and dates should be precise. It’s a good practice to have another set of eyes proof the email before you finalize. 

A conversational tone and friendly attitude is almost always welcome. But the ethics and sensibilities of your audience is impossible to fully predict. You can’t please everyone.

Any form of contact can be viewed as unwelcome by some, but you increase your chances of making a good connection with a professional tone and respectful attitude. 

Keep It Relevant

Even when it’s a business you know and love, like the real estate or mortgage industry, content isn’t always easy to create. 

Whether you are trying to make a personal connection with your clients or just want to be the best resource for their needs, make sure the content you send them has value to their lives. 

If they’re an existing client, or even a new one, send them information about refinance rates at the moment. You can also prompt clients you’ve worked with to refer you to their friends and family. Maintaining current connections is just as important as gaining new ones. 

Valuable content will make the difference between being viewed as an authoritative resource and just another loan officer. 

Keep It Real

Remembering birthdays and significant anniversaries can go far to maintain your human connections with potential clients. 

If you’re using CRM software, some brands will give you an alert when significant dates arrive. Use them. 

Conclusion to Mortgage Email Marketing

Markets change, tastes and trends are always dynamic, always fluctuating. 

To navigate these currents, you’ll need expert advice and the tried and true techniques of professionals such as at Kaleidico. 

If you need help creating or managing an email marketing or drip campaign, schedule a discovery session today.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels