Untitled

Produced by XL Technologies, LLC, a leading software development rm

that serves the real estate industry.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1

EMAIL FLYERS ARE A COST-EFFECTIVE MARKETING TOOL ..............................................1

IN THIS GUIDE, WE’LL TACKLE BOTH OF THOSE ISSUES AND ANSWER QUESTIONS

LIKE: .......................................................................................................................................2

BUT FIRST, WHAT IS ECAMPAIGNPRO™ AND WHY DID WE START THIS BUSINESS? .....2

THE BENEFITS OF USING AN EMAIL DELIVERY SYSTEM ...................3

“WHY CAN’T I JUST SEND OUT MY E-MAIL MARKETING MYSELF?” ..................................3

USING AN EMAIL MARKETING COMPANY VERSUS DOING-IT-YOURSELF ......................3

OUTBOUND ISPS ..................................................................................................................4

EDGE NETWORKS, RECEIVING ISPS, AND FIREWALLS ......................................................4

THE ACCIDENTAL BLACKLIST ..............................................................................................5

BEST PRACTICES FOR WRITING MARKETING EMAILS ....................... 7

WORDS REALLY DO MATTER! ............................................................................................ 7

THE ART OF THE EMAIL FLYER ............................................................................................7

HERE’S THE BEST WAY TO WRITE A SUBJECT LINE FOR A REAL ESTATE MARKETING

EMAIL: ....................................................................................................................................8

HERE’S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW NOT TO WRITE A SUBJECT LINE: ............................9

HERE’S HOW IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN: .............................................................10

PRICE REDUCED ON COLONIAL FULL OF UPGRADES (SEE FIGURE 4) .......................... 10

THE BODY OF THE EMAIL ..................................................................................................10

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CREATING AN EMAIL FLYER .................................................................. 11

THE FIRST TYPE OF FLYER IS AN HTML FLYER ..............................................................11

JUST WHAT EXACTLY IS HTML CODE ANYWAY AND WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH

CREATING A FLYER? ...........................................................................................................11

DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR CREATING EMAIL FLYERS ...................................................... 11

THE SECOND KIND OF FLYER OPTION IS TEMPLATE-BASED. ......................................12

THE THIRD OPTION FOR SENDING OUT FLYERS IS A CUSTOM FLYER .......................... 13

BEST PRACTICES FOR SENDING AND DELIVERY .............................. 15

HERE ARE SOME VERY SIMPLE RULES AND BEST PRACTICES REGARDING EMAIL

MARKETING, SPECIFICALLY FOR THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY: .................................15

BEFORE YOU HIT SEND, THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR MAXIMUM SUCCESS .................. 15

REINFORCE YOUR MESSAGE ............................................................................................17

DELIVERABILITY, BOUNCES AND TRACKING ..................................... 18

DELIVERABILITY, BOUNCES AND TRACKING ..................................................................18

FINAL THOUGHTS ................................................................................... 21

HERE’S AN EASY EXAMPLE OF A COMMERCIAL EMAIL MESSAGE VERSUS SPAM ........21

IT’S TIME .............................................................................................23

TO GET STARTED ................................................................................23

APPENDIX: ..........................................................................................25

SPAM TRIGGER WORDS AND PHRASES .......................................................................... 25

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THE INSIDER GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING

INTRODUCTION

As a real estate professional, you’re always looking

for the most eective and cost ecient marketing

tools available. Maybe you’ve thought about

using email yers. Maybe you’ve received them

in the past and they’ve sparked your interest.

You’ve done some preliminary research and have

decided they’re exactly what you are looking for.

EMAIL FLYERS ARE A COST-

EFFECTIVE MARKETING TOOL

But how do you get started? Should you use web-

based software to create and send your emails,

or purchase software to download on your

computer? Does it matter, and which is best?

Over the course of the last 17 years, we at

eCampaignPro™ have had tens-of-thousands of

customers and we’ve learned quite a lot from

them. We’ve kept track of their questions, how

they go about creating their marketing campaigns

and the most common pitfalls they’ve faced.

We’ve incorporated this knowledge into our

We created this

guide because

we want anyone

and everyone

who uses email

as a marketing

tool to maximize

their success by

understanding its

intricacies.

There are two

fundamental issues

to consider when

marketing via email

yers:

1. What’s the best

way to create the

yers?

2. And, what’s the

most eective

way to email

them?

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software, providing our customers with an easy-to-use, eective marketing vehicle

that can be utilized for multiple purposes by anyone associated with the real estate

industry.

IN THIS GUIDE, WE’LL TACKLE BOTH OF THOSE ISSUES AND

ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE:

h Can you create your own yer using MS Publisher™ or some other

software, and simply email it out?

h Do you need to sign up with an email service?

h Why doesn’t every email get delivered?

h Can you track which emails get delivered?

h Is there a best day of the week and time of day to send them?

And of course, we’ll go over the best practices you can use to make sure, once

delivered, your emails get read.

BUT FIRST, WHAT IS ECAMPAIGNPRO™ AND WHY DID WE

START THIS BUSINESS?

About eight years ago, we noticed that Realtors™ were communicating more and

more with each other about their listings through email. They were sending the

listing information and attaching pictures and details into their emails. But it was

a haphazard eort at best and, as companies started combating spam fewer and

fewer of these emailed communications were actually getting through to their

intended recipients. Creating the yer was hard enough and after all you’re real

estate professionals, not graphic designers. Making sure it got delivered was almost

impossible.

So we created eCampaignPro™ with the dual goal of making it easy to create

yers to send through email and, more importantly, making sure these emails get

delivered to their intended recipients! We make the latter possible by keeping

strong relationships with the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who allow your emails

to go back and forth. And our proprietary database – available to you – has grown

to 1.1 million real estate agents who, have opted-in to receive real estate-related

email marketing.

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Section 1

THE BENEFITS

OF USING AN

EMAIL DELIVERY

SYSTEM

“WHY CAN’T I JUST SEND OUT MY

E-MAIL MARKETING MYSELF?”

Why do you even need to sign up with a company

to send out your email marketing? After all, you’ve

collected plenty of email addresses yourself or have

found a company that will sell you a list. And you’ve

already paid for software that helps you create yers.

So you’re all set, right?

The reality is that sending out mass emails, from

either your personal email address or your business

address, can be very damaging to you and your

company’s web presence. Without getting too

technical, here’s what happens:

Since spam is a concern for Internet Service Providers

(ISPs), they have to nd ways to combat it. Believe

it or not, your email passes through quite a few

gatekeepers as it goes from your computer, through

the virtual world, and lands in someone else’s inbox.

And each step along the way, it can be blocked (see

gure 1).

USING AN EMAIL

MARKETING

COMPANY

VERSUS DOING-

IT-YOURSELF

When deciding

whether or not you

should subscribe to

an email delivery

service to create

and/or send your

emails, there are

a few things you

must know. In this

section, we’ll cover

the following:

• If you have the

email addresses

already, can you

send the emails

yourself?

• How Outbound

ISPs Work

• How Inbound ISPs

Work

• Edge Networks,

Receiving ISPs,

Firewalls

• Blacklists

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Let’s review how the dierent ISPs work and how they can block your emails,

sometimes without you even knowing.

OUTBOUND ISPS

One way to stop individuals from sending spam is to gure out how many emails

the “average person” would send in a day. If you send out much more than that,

your outbound ISP may assume that your computer has been taken over by a

hacker and turned into a spam machine, and they’ll cut-o your ability to send

emails through! They’ll simply block anything you send out. Better safe than sorry,

they gure. And you’ll never even know your emails didn’t get through.

EDGE NETWORKS, RECEIVING ISPS, AND FIREWALLS

Edge networks sit on the outside of receiving ISPs and lter incoming trac for

spam and viruses, among other things. They could block your email from getting

through, especially if they come in at high rates or have badly written code (yes,

there is such a thing as well written code and badly written code, and most of us

never know the dierence).

Even if the outbound ISP sends out your email, and it gets through the edge

network, the receiving ISP can stop your email from getting to its intended recipient

if you don’t follow best practices.

Nowadays, most companies have rewall systems in place that may not let your

email in (think of a rewall as a spam lter on top of a spam lter). And if you’re

sending to an individual’s email, they may have their own personal lter software

too.

Figure 1: In this gure after the email is sent, it is approved for delivery each step

as it passes through the outbound server, the edge network, the receiving server

and the rewall, before it is delivered to the recipient’s inbox

How a Spam Filtering Works

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So, if the ISP said it’s okay to go through, what else could be stopping your emails

from being delivered?

THE ACCIDENTAL BLACKLIST

Getting blacklisted is no laughing matter and can happen innocently enough. If

someone else using the same server as you sent lots of spam, the whole server

can get blacklisted. That means that no emails going through that server will get

delivered. So you’re left scratching your head, wondering why some of your emails

just aren’t getting through.

If there are enough spam complaints about emails from you, or someone with

your company’s domain name, your URL or email address can be blacklisted (see

gure 2). Once this happens, emails from you or anyone from your company will be

blocked.

How a Black List Works

Figure 2: As Joe sends out emails from his personal email address, they pass

through the outbound server, and the edge network. But as a result of complaints

from AOL subscribers, Joe’s emails will no longer get through to anyone with an

AOL email address. They may get through ne to Yahoo or other email addresses,

but in this example AOL has blacklisted Joe’s server and will no longer deliver his

emails to their customers

The harsh reality is once you get blacklisted like this - whether or not it was you

who caused the problem - it’s very, very dicult to get whitelisted again. And

you’ll quickly nd that not only are your marketing emails going nowhere, but

since any email sent from your email address is getting blocked, your everyday

communications with your clients and prospects will no longer get through. Just

imagine trying to run your business without any emails getting through to clients. It

could be devastating.

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In severe instances, your entire URL can get shut down. So, [email protected]

can get the whole site www.mymailserver.com shut down by accident.

Another reason emails get blocked could be because a lter scanning the text in

your email found too many words that were too salesy. We’ll get more into how to

avoid this problem next.

So as you can see, when using email as a marketing tool, it’s very

important that you use a company that has strong, continuing

relationships with as many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as possible,

and sends your emails through servers that are not blacklisted.

For example, eCampaignPro™ stays up to date with new laws, keeps in constant

contact with ISPs, and has a feedback loop with them to make sure all of its servers

remain whitelisted.

• Now you have a basic understanding of how rewalls and lters work.

• And you know why using a reputable company to send out your emails is

just good business practice.

But what can you do to get your email through those pesky lters that scan your

text and also increase your chances of getting people to actually read your email?

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Section 2

BEST

PRACTICES

FOR WRITING

MARKETING

EMAILS

WORDS REALLY DO MATTER!

The way you write your email can impact

if your email is eectively delivered and

whether or not it is read once it does

arrive.

Statistically, the subject line is the

most important line in the whole

email. The subject line of your email

should tell the recipient what’s in your

email, not try to sell your email.

So, what are the most common

mistakes made when writing the

subject line?

1. Too! Much! Punctuation! Avoid

exclamation points, dollar signs,

percent signs, questions marks,

slashes, dashes, commas.

THE ART OF THE EMAIL

FLYER

Not surprisingly there are best

practices that increase your

odds of success, both in terms

of getting your email through

to the intended recipient as

well as getting that person to

read your email.

In this section, we’ll go over

the most common mistakes

made in writing copy, the best

way to write everything from

the subject line to the body of

the email, and explain that:

• The subject line is more

important than you thought

◊ Mistakes to avoid

◊ Items to include and not

include

• You should choose your

words carefully in the body

of the email

◊ Personalize where

possible

◊ Include a call to action

◊ Include all important

details

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2. Ever see an email with LOTS OF CAPITAL LETTERS in the subject line? It

feels like the sender is screaming at you. And what’s worse, you get the

feeling they’re not being completely honest about whatever it is they’re

yelling!

3. Misleading information. If it’s not true, don’t say it. It’s against the law. The

CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 specically prohibits misleading information in the

subject line.

4. A subject line that’s too long greatly decreases the odds that the recipient

will even take the time to read it because, after all, who is going to spend

that much time reading a subject line in an email from a person they may

not even know? That was a mouthful. Surely there was a more succinct way

to say that.

• You should try and limit your subject line to 50 characters or less. More

than that and it may get truncated upon delivery.

5. Spam Trigger words should be avoided

• In the real estate world, there are certain words that are technological

and psychological spam triggers. Even if your email gets through the

lter (the technology part), the person who gets it is likely just going to

delete it (the psychological part).

These words include: Sale, Free, Money, Income, Mortgage, Opportunity, and the

newest one… Pre-Foreclosure.

• There’s a more complete list of spam trigger words in the appendix of

this document.

• Just to be clear, you generally need more than one of these words to

trigger a spam lter. Filters use a point system to add up all “oenses”

(it’s actually a fairly complex algorithm). If they pass a certain level, the

email won’t make it through. You need to be conscious of this so you

know what to avoid.

HERE’S THE BEST WAY TO WRITE A SUBJECT LINE FOR A REAL

ESTATE MARKETING EMAIL:

1. A friendly, short sentence explaining why they may be interested in the

listing.

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• Include information about a high split rate, or some unique or desired

feature of the house.

• Remember, you don’t have to say everything in the subject line.

2. Include your company name. It helps.

• If you don’t put your company name in the subject line, then make

certain it is in the “from” or “display” eld.

HERE’S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW NOT TO WRITE A SUBJECT

LINE:

 FORSALE–only$249,000,FreeUpgrades!!!!(Seegure3)

Figure3: In this example, we’ve

got too many capital letters, a

dash, the word “free,” and too

much punctuation

HERE’S HOW IT SHOULD

HAVE BEEN WRITTEN:

Price reduced on colonial full of

upgrades(Seegure4)

Figure 4: This subject line is grammatically

correct and written without hyperbole

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That’s it. Studies show that hype in a subject line greatly decreases the open rate.

So, tempting as it may be, you should avoid it.

THE BODY OF THE EMAIL

Some of the same rules that apply to the subject line apply to the body of the email.

Excessive punctuation, words in all CAPS and of course, spam trigger words are

things to avoid. All of those things trigger spam lters and, if the email does get

through, will likely just annoy the reader. Those tactics don’t work.

So what does work? What are some tried and true methods of writing real estate

marketing emails that are eective?

1. Personalize it. If you’re using eCampaignPro™, use the function that will

insert the recipient’s name into the email. If you’re using another service,

nd out if they oer that option.

2. Think about what action you want the recipients to take once they get your

email:

h Do you want them to call you?

h Email you?

h Forward the note along to any interested third-party?

Whatever your call to action, let them know! Don’t assume they know what

to do next and make sure you give them all the information they need to

actually do it (for example, include your phone number if you want them to

call you or allow them to email you directly from your yer).

3. Finally – and this may sound like a no brainer - but make sure you include

all pertinent details regarding the listing. And that includes the price.

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Section 3

CREATING AN

EMAIL FLYER

THE FIRST TYPE OF FLYER IS AN HTML

FLYER

If you plan on creating your own HTML yer, you need

to know something about HTML code. The advantage

to doing this of course is that you control everything!

You handle the design from start to nish.

JUST WHAT EXACTLY IS HTML CODE

ANYWAY AND WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO

DO WITH CREATING A FLYER?

HTML is a kind of programming code and the main

reason people use HTML is because it lets them

embed images in their emails. Without that, they’d just

be sending a text email out and it wouldn’t be very

pretty (See gure 5).

DIFFERENT

OPTIONS FOR

CREATING

EMAIL FLYERS

There’s more than

one way to create

a professional

looking yer.

In this section,

we’ll explain the

advantages and

disadvantages of

each, so you can

choose the best

option for you.

• HTML Flyers

• Template

Flyers

• Custom Flyers

Figure 5: The

HTML code is

what actually

creates the

text and

images on the

yer

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The easiest way to explain is that, even though you can see graphics in your emails,

they’re not really there. The images live on a server somewhere, and you put a

snippet of code into your email that pulls the picture into the email when people

open it.

Why does this matter?

If you’re going to create your own HTML yers, you have to have a server with

enough bandwidth to host all of your images. Keep in mind that can take up a lot

of server space.

You also need to make sure you’ve set up your server to deliver it in “Multipart-

Alternative MIME format.” Simply put, that means your mail agent bundles your

HTML code -- plus a plain text version of your message -- into one email. That way,

if your recipient can’t see the beautiful yer you created with all of your graphics

and pictures, at least they can still read a plain text version of your note.

This is where a lot of people go wrong. They don’t realize that they need to

either program their emails this way or need to use a professional company, like

eCampaignPro™, that handles these details for them.

THE SECOND KIND OF FLYER OPTION IS TEMPLATE-BASED.

The second option is using a pre-made template from a company like

eCampaignPro™. This option is probably the simplest, in terms of

necessary technological know-how.

A template takes care of all the annoying details involved with creating the yer.

You don’t need to know any code since it’s already in the template and, generally

speaking, they’re pretty easy to use (See gure 6).

Also, you get to put lots of tracking information in a template. You can have

multiple links in the email, giving you several opportunities to track how well

received the message was.

Another advantage to using a template is that web-based software companies like

eCampaignPro™, can keep your yers and images securely on their server for you

to use as often as you like. So you don’t have the large initial cost associated with

purchasing your own server or software needed to create and host the yers.

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The disadvantage here is that you’re constrained by the available templates. If you

don’t nd a design you like, there’s generally not much you can do. However, some

software companies, such as eCampaignPro™, oer enough variety in template

styles that you’ll likely nd several designs you like. And in the rare instance when

you don’t, they can custom create a template for you from scratch.

And, of course, if you get the templates from a company that can also email them

for you (like, yes, eCampaignPro™) then you don’t need to worry about sending

them from your personal email address or signing up with a separate email delivery

company.

THE THIRD OPTION FOR SENDING OUT FLYERS IS A CUSTOM

FLYER

In some instances, you may already have some print yers that you really love. And

you’d like to gure out a way to send those through email. Some companies can

take these print materials and create image-based yers for you to email.

eCampaignPro™ has service representatives that have done this for many of our

clients. The advantage is that you get to send out a yer you’ve already created (See

gure 7).

Figure 6: Because

the code is in the

template, you get

to write as you

would in a Word™

document. And the

template takes care

of the coding

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The disadvantage is that you can only include one tracking link in the whole

message. With HTML or template yers, you can have multiple links that can be

tracked. If you want more information about this, contact customer service at

eCampaignPro™ and we’ll take you through the specics.

You’ve written great copy for your yer, worked on the perfect subject line so

recipients will open the email and read it. And you’ve created the graphic layout! All

you need to do now is email it.

Figure 7: You supply your existing materials and we turn it into an email yer for you

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Section 4

BEST PRACTICES

FOR SENDING

AND DELIVERY

HERE ARE SOME VERY SIMPLE RULES

AND BEST PRACTICES REGARDING

EMAIL MARKETING, SPECIFICALLY

FOR THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY:

DAYS OF THE WEEK:

Statistically, the best days of the week to

deliver emails are:

• Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday are

optimum.

• Mondays aren’t terrible, but avoid them if

you can.

• Fridays are the worst weekday, especially in

the real estate industry.

The worst days to send email marketing:

• Weekends and holidays. Only half the

number of people who would normally read

your email will do so.

BEFORE YOU HIT

SEND, THINGS

TO CONSIDER

FOR MAXIMUM

SUCCESS

Does it matter

when you send it?

Will that aect how

many people read

it? How exactly can

you track how many

people receive and

open the email?

If you want the

greatest Return

On Investment,

you need to pay

attention to the

following:

• Days of the

week

• Time Of Day

• Send all of them

at once? Or split

into separate

groups?

• Sending the

same message

more than once

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TIME OF DAY:

Best time for your emails to arrive is:

• You want all of your emails to arrive in people’s inboxes during normal

business hours locally, wherever they are.

• Emails should arrive AFTER 10am, and BEFORE 5pm, in their time zone.

The worst time for your emails to arrive:

• The absolute worst time to send emails is overnight.

When you think about your own habits, you’ll probably understand why. People

come in to work in the morning, and have dozens of emails sitting in their inbox.

That’s when they generally just go through and delete anything that doesn’t require

their immediate attention. If an email comes in later while they are at their desk

working, they’ll be much more prone to giving it a few seconds to see what it’s

about.

Withthesedeliveryguidelinesinmind,youcangureouthowfastyoushould

be sending out your emails. With an email delivery service like eCampaignPro™,

you can send out up to 500 emails every 15 minutes.

If you’re only sending out 1,000 emails, then it’s no problem for all of them to be

delivered between 10am and 5pm, right? So you can send them out at, say, a rate

of 250 every hour. But if you’re sending 15,000 emails, you should make sure to

send out the max per hour. Or, split it into separate days so that all are delivered in

that 10am to 5pm window.

We realize that the next obvious question here would be, “Why shouldn’t

I always just choose the maximum rate of delivery? Why would I ever

choose the slower option?”

The answer to that question is really super-technical but the gist of it is that, if

you’re using a professional delivery company, choosing a slower delivery rate can

mildly improve deliverability. And even though it may only be mildly more eective,

why not take the option that gives you the greatest potential to get more emails

through – right?

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So as a rule of thumb, choose the slowest option that will get all of your emails

delivered between 10am and 5pm.

Finally, if you’re sending out the emails yourself, you need to have software

that can send them out in batches. If you just try and send it straight from your

mailbox, your ISP will notice that your email address is hitting servers over and over

again with emails. And of course, as we now know, they’ll think you’ve become a

spammer and they’ll block your emails. But if you send out your emails in batches,

then the servers will only get hit once with each batch and they won’t cut you o.

REINFORCE YOUR MESSAGE

Keep in mind that you can’t expect to send an email yer about a property once

and have it sold the next day! Just like with all forms of advertising, you need to

reinforce your message. So, plan on sending a yer two to three times for optimal

results. You don’t want to send the same email more than once a week but 2 or 3

times in one month is perfectly acceptable.

And, of course, if you use an email service like eCampaignPro™, you can remarket

to people who’ve shown interest. Because you can track your emails, and get

statistics on who opened, forwarded or clicked on a link in your email, you

can then set-up a campaign to remarket that property to the more targeted

list.

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Section 5

DELIVERABILITY,

BOUNCES AND

TRACKING

FIRST, DELIVERABILITY IS EXACTLY AS

IT SOUNDS. IT’S JUST A LONG WORD

FOR ANYTHING THAT AFFECTS THE

ABILITY OF YOUR EMAIL TO GET

TO ITS INTENDED RECIPIENT (SEE

FIGURE 8)

Incidentally, tracking an email isn’t an exact

science. If anything, your open rate is probably

higher than what is reported. So let’s go over hard

versus soft bounces, and tracking an email and

how that works.

We’ve discussed spam triggers and lters that

may block emails from getting to where they’re

going, but there are other reasons an email may

get bounced. So, in order to fully understand

deliverability, you need to know why emails

sometimes bounce and why all bounces aren’t

created equal.

DELIVERABILITY,

BOUNCES AND

TRACKING

What are they and how

do they work? In this

section, we’ll cover:

• The denition of

“deliverability”

• The dierence

between hard and

soft bounces

• How it is possible

to track your

emails once they’ve

been sent

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THE INSIDER GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING

A bounce e-mail is electronic mail that is returned to the sender because

it cannot be delivered for some reason. There are two kinds of bounces:

a hard bounce and a soft bounce.

• Hard bounce email is permanently bounced back to the sender because

the address is invalid (see gure 9).

• Soft bounce e-mail is recognized by the recipient’s mail server but is

returned to the sender for any number of reasons. It could be because the

recipient’s mailbox is full, the mail server is temporarily unavailable, or the

recipient no longer has an e-mail account at that address.

When you send out email marketing, you want to make certain that your mail

server can dierentiate between the two types of bounces. Email addresses that

return a hard bounce should be removed from the mailing list because they are

invalid.

Figure 8: 1000 emails are sent, and all pass through the outbound server, but at the

edge network 50 emails hard bounce back to the sender. Then another 50 bounce

when they reach the inbound server. Finally, the personal or corporate rewalls of

another 50 individuals bounce 50 emails. Some of these may be soft bounces due

to inboxes that are full, and may get delivered later. The deliverability of this email

campaign was 85%. This could go up slightly if some soft bounces are eventually

delivered)

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THE INSIDER GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING

But emails that return a soft bounce shouldn’t necessarily be removed. It could

simply be that the server was busy at the moment your email was going through. A

good email company will make an additional attempt (or two or three) at delivering

a soft bounce before removing, or scrubbing, the email address from your list.

So,nowwe’vecoveredthethingsthatcanaectthedeliverabilityofyour

emails. Once they arrive in the recipient’s inbox, how can you tell which ones

were opened?

Remember, we discussed HTML code that pulls down images when the recipient

opens the email (refer to page 11). If you use a mail delivery service, like

eCampaignPro™, they’ll keep track of how many times the images were pulled

down, and how many people opened your email!

Just remember that some people have images blocked in their personal computer

settings. So those people get a text version of your email and may very well read

it. But they aren’t counted in the number of opens because the image wasn’t

pulled down. The point is, if anything, the total number of opened emails is under

reported, not over reported.

Figure 9: This is what is returned for a hard bounce. You can see it’s a permanent

error, meaning it’s invalid

21www.ecampaignpro.com

Section 6

FINAL

THOUGHTS

One nal thought about spam. It’s

not illegal to send marketing emails.

Businesses send millions every day

to people who have “opted in” or

specically agreed to receive emails

for the specic information you are

providing. What is illegal is sending out

commercial or marketing emails for a

specic business to people who have

not agreed to get your message for that

specic reason.

HERE’S AN EASY EXAMPLE

OF A COMMERCIAL EMAIL

MESSAGE VERSUS SPAM

Then you put all of the email addresses

from the cards in your email contacts.

You then use these addresses to send

out real estate yers. You cannot use

their email addresses to market real

estate! They didn’t agree to that when

they gave you their information! Those

people can only receive emails from

you about lunch at that restaurant.

A WORD ABOUT SPAM

Finally, as a result of the

CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, there

are a few things you have to

make sure of before you send

your email, and stay on top

of immediately after it goes

out. The CAN-SPAM Act is a

federal law, with some pretty

serious nancial penalties. So

you need to make sure your

emails are compliant:

• You must always provide

an unsubscribe link in the

email (eCampaignPro™

makes sure there is one

on every email that goes

out).

• That unsubscribe link

must work for at least 30

days after you send your

email.

• If someone clicks on the

unsubscribe link, you

must remove that person

from your list within 10

business days.

• You have to include the

address for your place of

business somewhere on

the email.

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THE INSIDER GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING

That’s why it’s so important, if you’re going to buy a list of email addresses, that you

make sure they are email addresses of people who have opted-in to receive real

estate marketing emails (like the list at eCampaignPro™).

To learn more about the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, go to: https://www.ftc.gov/tips-

advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business

23www.ecampaignpro.com

IT’S TIME

TO GET STARTED

Now you’re ready to get started with condence.

Hopefully, you feel pretty secure about your knowledge of using email as a valuable

marketing tool. Just think about all you’ve learned:

h Whether you have email addresses in your les or have purchased them,

you need to make sure those individuals are OK with receiving real estate-

related commercial (business) emails.

h It’s so important to use a professional email delivery service, rather than

go out on your own, so your emails aren’t blocked and you or your server

aren’t blacklisted.

h Best practices for writing email yers really do exist!

◊ Following them can greatly increase both your deliverability and

response.

h There are dierent kinds of email yers to choose from, and each has its

advantages and disadvantages.

h Best practices for sending email yers exist too.

◊ Following them increases the open rates of your emails

h It’s possible to track the deliverability and open rates of your email yer

campaigns

h The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 put laws in place regarding using emails for

commercial means.

To get started with your rst email marketing campaign, simply go to

www.ecampaignpro.com, and sign up. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll be

able to set up and send out your rst email marketing campaign!

Skyrocket your real estate sales with email markeng

1.1 million agent database. Customizable yer templates.

Real-me analycs & reporng.

Are you considering eCampaignPro to help you handle real estate email markeng?

To sweeten the deal, we’re oering you 20% o our Premium Plan (from $49/month to $39/month).

This includes 5,000 emails delivered to your contacts - and unlimited support and training.

Remember - you can cancel this plan at any me (zero contracts). And if you’re unhappy for any reason,

you’ll get a full refund - no quesons asked (14-day moneyback guarantee).

YES, I WANT THIS EXCLUSIVE DEAL

25www.ecampaignpro.com

APPENDIX:

SPAM TRIGGER WORDS AND PHRASES

Here is a list of 250 words and phrases from two spam lter lists. It is not complete

since we left out “adult” trigger words. Most spam lters work on a point system,

so that the occurrence of just one “spam phrase” probably won’t trigger rejection

-- except some that the lter considers notorious. SpamAssassin 2.43, for example,

assigns default points for these top oenders, as follows:

Reverses aging 3.37

‘Hidden’ assets 3.28

stop snoring 3.26

Free investment 3.19

Dig up dirt on friends 3.12

Stock disclaimer statement 3.04

Multi level marketing 3.01

Compare rates 2.83

Cable converter 2.75

Claims you can be removed from the list 2.70

Removes wrinkles 2.69

Compete for your business 2.57

free installation 2.51

Free grant money 2.50

Auto email removal 2.36

Collect child support 2.33

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THE INSIDER GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING

Free leads 2.29

Amazing stu 2.26

Tells you it’s an ad 2.21

Cash bonus 2.20

Promise you ...! 2.15

Claims to be in accordance with some spam law 2.11

Search engine listings 2.09

free preview 2.07

Credit bureaus 2.03

No investment 2.01

Serious cash 2.00

Spam Phrases

But even if you don’t use these notorious phrases, other spam words can add up.

Here are some to be aware of in your email newsletters -- and ads contained in

your newsletters.

4U Click to remove mailto Free hosting

Accept credit cards Compare rates Free installation

Act now! Don’t hesitate!

Compete for your

business

Free investment

Additional income

Condentially on all

orders

Free leads

Addresses on CD Congratulations Free membership

All natural

Consolidate debt and

credit

Free money

Amazing Stop snoring Free oer

Apply Online get it now Free preview

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THE INSIDER GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING

As seen on Special promotion Free priority mail

Billing Address Copy accurately Free quote

Auto email removal Copy DVDs Free sample

Avoid bankruptcy Credit bureaus Free trial

Be amazed Credit card oers Free website

Be your own boss Cures baldness Full refund

Being a member Dear email Get paid

Big bucks Dear friend Get started now

Bill 1618 Dear somebody Gift certicate

Billion dollars Dierent reply to Great oer

Brand new pager Dig up dirt on friends Guarantee

Bulk email Direct email

Have you been turned

down?

Buy direct Direct marketing Hidden assets

Buying judgments

Discusses search

engine listings

Home employment

Cable converter Do it today Human growth hormone

Call free Don’t delete If only it were that easy

Call now Drastically reduced In accordance with laws

Calling creditors Earn per week Increase sales

Cannot be combined with

any other oer

Easy terms Increase trac

Cancel at any time Eliminate bad credit Insurance

Can’t live without Email harvest Investment decision

Cash bonus Email marketing It’s eective

Cashcashcash Expect to earn Join millions of Americans

Casino Fantastic deal Laser printer

Cell phone cancer scam Fast Viagra delivery Limited time only

Cents on the dollar Financial freedom Long distance phone oer

Check or money order Find out anything Luxury car

Claims not to be selling

anything

For free Mail in order form

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THE INSIDER GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING

Claims to be in accordance

with some spam law

For instant access Marketing solutions

Claims to be legal For just $ (some amt) Mass email

Claims you are a winner Free access Meet singles

Claims you registered with

some kind of partner

Free cell phone Member stu

Click below Free consultation

Message contains

disclaimer

Click here link Free DVD Money back

Click to remove Free grant money Money making

Month trial oer

One hundred percent

guaranteed

Risk free

More Internet trac One time mailing Round the world

Mortgage rates Online biz opportunity S 1618

Multi-level marketing Online pharmacy Safeguard notice

MLM Only $ Satisfaction guaranteed

Name brand Opportunity Save $

New customers only Opt in Save big money

New domain extensions Order now Save up to

Nigerian Order status Score with babes

No age restrictions

Orders shipped by

priority mail

Section 301

No catch Outstanding values See for yourself

No claim forms Pennies a day Sent in compliance

No cost

People just leave

money laying around

Serious cash

No credit check Please read Serious only

No disappointment Potential earnings Shopping spree

No experience Print form signature Sign up free today

No fees Print out and fax Social security number

No gimmick Produced and sent out Stainless steel

No inventory Prots Stock alert

No investment Promise you ...! Stock disclaimer statement

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THE INSIDER GUIDE TO EMAIL MARKETING

No medical exams Pure prot Stock pick

No middleman

One hundred percent

guaranteed

Strong buy

No obligation One time mailing Stu on sale

No purchase necessary Online biz opportunity Subject to credit

No questions asked Online pharmacy Supplies are limited

No selling Real thing Take action now

No strings attached Renance home Talks about hidden charges

Not intended Removal instructions Talks about prizes

O shore Remove in quotes Tells you it’s an ad

Oer expires Remove subject Terms and conditions

Oers coupon Removes wrinkles The best rates

Month trial oer Reply remove subject The following form

More Internet trac

Requires initial

investment

They keep your money -- no

refund!

Mortgage rates Reserves the right They’re just giving it away

Multi-level marketing Reverses aging This isn’t junk

MLM Risk free This isn’t spam

Name brand Round the world University diplomas

New customers only Real thing Unlimited

New domain extensions Renance home Unsecured credit/debt

Nigerian Removal instructions Urgent

Oers extra cash Remove in quotes US dollars

Oers free (often stolen)

passwords

Requires initial

investment

Vacation oers

Once in lifetime Reserves the right Viagra and other drugs

One hundred percent free Reverses aging Wants credit card

We hate spam While you sleep Winning

We honor all Who really wins? Work at home

Weekend getaway Why pay more? You have been selected

What are you waiting for?

Will not believe your

eyes

Your income

FIND MORE INFORMATION HERE