We communicate a lot with real estate agents. In fact, on an average week, just our Tuesday Tactics team probably personally exchanges email with several hundred agents all over North America (and a few in Australia and South Africa, too!).
And now it’s time for some real talk agents: You have to stop autosubscribing everyone to your contact list.
Now we’re not pointing any fingers. And you might be doing it without even realizing it (some people “mail to all contacts” without realizing this means everyone in their mail program’s history). But for those of you who believe a single email exchange is an opportunity to put people on your real estate info distribution list, you should know this: It’s doing more harm to your business than good.
Here are four reasons why you shouldn’t autosubscribe people to your real estate updates:
1. It makes you look desperate.
Okay, you may sell homes just outside of Anchorage, Alaska, and sure, maybe someone in Florida knows someone moving there soon, but does the 0.1% chance they do justify the abuse of trust? Don’t be fooled: The recipient knows when you’ve done it. What’s worse, it makes you look like you A) don’t know your contact database that well, and B) must need to pull every last shoddy trick in the book out to sell a home.
2. It’s unethical.
Automatically subscribing all contacts to your email blasts undermines your ethical obligation. “Oh, I see how they are,” the automatically subscribed person thinks. “I wonder what else they do that’s shady.”
3. You could get sued.
Are you aware of each state’s CAN-SPAM laws? You’d be surprised to find out that in certain states your unsolicited email might land you in court. Not only could defending yourself get expensive, but damages could take the profit right out of your year. For more information on the CAN-SPAM act, check out the FTC’s compliance guide: http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business
4. Not all name recognition is good name recognition.
Let’s say you’re one of three agents in your market that has the habit of automatically subscribing people to your list. Now imagine someone who’s unwillingly on your list is asked by a neighbor about three real estate agents they’re considering. Take it one step further and imagine the person saying when they recognize your name: “Well, don’t hire him. I contacted him once for a quote and he emails me every week without fail with foreclosed properties.” Congratulations… your self promotion just landed you a negative referral.
Given the option: Go pro. Use a mail service like MailChimp or AWeber or any number of list management companies to help you keep your email habits ethical, friendly, and in compliance.
For a look at other bad email habits, also check out: 13 Common Email Mistakes to Avoid
Photo Credit: janetgalore
