How To Get More Referrals Through Email

Don’t believe for one second that email is an outdated tool when it comes to reaching previous clients and getting more referrals.

In fact, according to Fourth Source, a digital marketing news and opinion website, 92% of all internet users have at least one email account. Email isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and neither should your email strategy. 

Here are reasons to keep sending emails to previous clients to keep in touch:

  • Emailing allows readers to respond whenever they feel compelled to do so — on their own time, not yours.
  • An email will let you prove your expertise (if done correctly) to the reader, without the potential of being interrupted, or worse, hung up on.
  • Once you have that, it’s up to you to keep them engaged. 91% of people check their emails daily. Your emails have a better chance of being opened and answered the same day you send them.

What to send?

Here are some content ideas that even your previous clients are sure to be interested in and even share with others:  

  • Household tips, such as seasonal cleaning, decorative ideas, etc.
  • Neighborhood guides or local tips on great restaurants, service providers, etc.
  • Local event guides for sports, concerts, theater, etc.
  • News (But make sure it’s not too political or controversial. Feel-good stories that are locally relevant or unusual are always a safe bet.)

Segment your email list to get the most out of it.

This is one of the most critical parts of building a successful email list. You wouldn’t send market updates for certain areas to a recent client who just bought a home. This is the fastest way to lose your email subscribers.

Past clients should be a totally different category from leads. And even in the past client category, segmenting them into smaller categories, time lapsed since sale and other factors can ensure you send them content they will find useful and share with other potential leads. Remember, your previous clients are a source of future business. The better your emails are, the more valuable they will continue to find you.

Once you have an effective list, use the best subject lines to continually reach them.

This is the other crucial part of your email success. People receive dozens and dozens of emails a day. Your subject lines need to grab their attention but can't be too complicated.

Stay out of spam folders.

Eighteen percent of agents face this problem. There are steps to take to avoid it. You should use your work email, since emails that come from @gmail or @yahoo are much more likely to be marked as spam.

Your mass email service can handle a lot of this for you. They’ll include an unsubscribe button. However, if you have extremely low open rates, you may get marked as spam. Yet another reason to work on having great content! 

Promote your book in your email signature.

In any emails you send, include a linked picture of your book in your signature.

How do you do that?

  1. 1
    Save an image of your book cover to your computer, preferably in an easily accessible location like your desktop.
  2. 2
    Go into the settings of whichever email provider you use and find the section that allows you to customize your email signature.
  3. 3
    After you enter your contact information, press enter and find the icon for inserting a picture. You may be able to drag and drop an image depending on your provider.
  4. 4
    Once the photo is inserted, shrink it to a reasonable size and select it.
  5. 5
    With your photo selected, find the “insert link” icon (it usually looks like a figure 8) and type in or copy and paste the URL for your author site or website.

You can view the full step-by-step training for this right here!

If you have trouble setting up your email signature, you can contact our Support Department for assistance.

You might be asking whether previous clients need to see a reminder about your book. Many of them already read it, or have no need for it at the moment. But if your goal is to get referrals, you still want to remind them that your book is available — for free — to any of their friends, family, colleagues or general acquaintances who might be interested. 

To Summarize:

  • Reaching out to previous clients via email is still a great way to get in touch. 92% of people on the internet use email.
  • Use an email manager to ensure you stay out of the spam folder and have an easy way to segment your email list.
  • Promote your book on your signature and encourage your previous clients to tell their friends and family they can reach out for a free copy

Take Action:

Come up with an email list of your previous clients and share relevant, interesting content on a regular schedule. Include your book in your email signature, and remind them that free copies are available for anyone in their circle.

Other Lead Generation

Let's go in-depth to make sure you are building processes that will continue to bring in listings.

How to Find and Land First-Time Home Buyer Leads

Read More

Generating Referrals With Your Digital Book

Read More
Return to Success Training