Introducing yourself in person is pretty easy. You make eye contact, smile, and shake hands. You tell the other person your name and he tells you his name. Pretty easy, right? But what if you need to introduce yourself and you can’t see the other person? One way to tackle this problem is by writing a marketing letter.
Whether you’re new to real estate or just new to the area, you’ll want to send a few letters and let everyone know that you are in the area and ready to sell. You can also use marketing letters to attract people who had expired ads to repost with you.
You can trick people into opening your letter into not just throwing it directly into the recycle bin using a keyword. “Free”. As a late night ad used to say, “Free is a very good price.” So let everyone know that you have something free inside. It could be a fridge magnet, a set of free tips for saving energy, or a pocket calendar.
Now that you have their attention, you need to introduce them to your reader. Tell him who you are and why you are the home expert he should trust. Give some helpful tips or information in your letter that will be helpful to your reader. Perhaps this could be a fall cleaning checklist or winter weatherization tips. If you are heading to a promising area, you may want to provide a list of local merchants for people to start patronizing.
If you get completely stuck and have the worst case of writer’s block, you can download free templates from the internet. They can be cover letters, prospecting letters, expired listing letters, or letters from new agents, just to name a few. These are useful to help you get started and trigger a thought path. They are also good if writing is not your strong suit, but you are excellent at verbal treatment. (Some of these sites also offer templates to help you with your listings.)
Keep the letter simple. Overly complicated or technical newsletters will simply confuse your readers and cause them to dismiss you. That also means that your name is not the one they will keep in your dream home folder for when it’s time to buy.
It may seem obvious, but be sure to use a good spelling and grammar checker if you’re not good at either. You only damage your reputation if you have bugs that these programs can easily fix.
Lastly, close with a call to action. It could be asking the reader to visit your website for more information or to subscribe to your newsletter or podcast. It can be a link to your Facebook page where you have a coupon for a local merchant. Or you can have some DIY tips on your YouTube channel. Whatever it is, you want it to be a good reason to follow up, something that will pay off for the reader. And time these days is more valuable than ever.