The Dos and Don’ts of Email Marketing for Multifamily Brands
To succeed in email marketing, you need a smart strategy. Check out these tips on how to elevate your brand's campaigns.
Email marketing is a powerful tool for apartment brands, providing a direct way to engage with both current residents and potential renters.
In a crowded digital landscape, sending well-crafted and relevant emails can make a significant impact. Email marketing is not only cost-effective but also delivers impressive returns on investment, making it a vital component of your communication strategy. It allows you to keep residents informed, highlight new offers and encourage lease sign-ups. However, success in email marketing requires more than just sending out messages— it’s about ensuring those messages are targeted and impactful.
READ ALSO: The Secrets of Award-Winning Multifamily Marketing Strategies
Navigating the nuances of email marketing can be challenging, and it’s essential to get it right to see real results. To help you optimize your email strategy, it’s important to understand both best practices and common pitfalls. This guide provides a clear outline of the key dos and don’ts of email marketing for multifamily brands, offering practical advice and insights to help you enhance your campaigns and achieve better engagement and results.
Do: Segment your audience
Why it matters: According to a report by Campaign Monitor, segmented email campaigns have a 14.3 percent higher open rate and a 100 percent higher click-through rate than non-segmented campaigns. For multifamily brands, this means tailored messages can significantly increase engagement.
How to do it: Segment your email list based on factors such as current residents vs. prospective residents, lease renewal dates, resident interests and preferences or geographic location. This allows you to send relevant content that resonates with each specific group, whether it’s a new amenity announcement for current residents or a special leasing offer for prospects.
Don’t: Overwhelm your subscribers
Why it matters: Bombarding subscribers with too many emails can lead to high unsubscribe rates. According to HubSpot, 78 percent of consumers have unsubscribed from emails because a brand was sending too many.
How to avoid it: Stick to a regular email cadence that respects your subscribers’ inboxes. Also, make sure that every email provides value, whether it’s through useful information, engaging content, or exclusive offers.
Do: Personalize your emails
Why it matters: Personalization can significantly boost email performance. Emails with personalized subject lines are 26 percent more likely to be opened, according to a study by Experian.
How to do it: Address subscribers by their first names in both the subject line and email body. Also, tailor content based on the recipient’s previous interactions and preferences. For instance, if a prospect showed interest in a particular floor plan, highlight similar units or features in your emails.
Don’t: Ignore mobile optimization
Why it matters: According to Litmus, more than 50 percent of emails are opened on mobile devices. Therefore, ignoring mobile optimization can lead to a poor user experience and lower engagement.
How to avoid it: Ensure your emails are mobile-friendly and display correctly on various devices. Additionally, keep your email content short and to the point, with clear and prominent call-to-action buttons that are easy to tap on smaller screens.
Do: Leverage data analytics
Why it matters: Data analytics provide insights into the performance of your email campaigns, helping you refine and optimize your strategy. According to a report by eMarketer, 80 percent of marketers use data to drive decisions in their email campaigns.
How to do it: The most important thing you can do is to monitor key metrics: track open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates and unsubscribe rates to understand how your emails are performing. Look for patterns in the data to identify what types of content and subject lines are most effective. Adjust your strategies by using the insights gained from your analytics to continually refine your email marketing approach.
Don’t: Use a one-size-fits-all approach
Why it matters: Generic emails can come across as impersonal and irrelevant. Research by Epsilon indicates that personalized emails improve click-through rates by an average of 14 percent and conversions by 10 percent.
How to avoid it: Create customized content for different segments of your audience, addressing their specific needs and interests. Also, use dynamic content blocks in your emails to automatically customize sections of your email for different recipients based on their preferences and behaviors.
Do: Include strong calls-to-action (CTAs)
Why it matters: CTAs are crucial for guiding your recipients towards the desired action, whether it’s scheduling a tour, filling out an application or renewing a lease. A well-crafted CTA can significantly boost your conversion rates.
How to do it: Use direct language that clearly states what action you want the recipient to take. Create urgency. Phrases like “Limited time offer” or “Act now” can encourage immediate action. Also, make it stand out. Use contrasting colors and large, clickable buttons to ensure your CTA is easily noticeable.
Don’t: Forget to proofread
Why it matters: Errors in your emails can damage your brand’s credibility and professionalism. A study by MarketingProfs found that 59 percent of respondents would stop following a brand if it made frequent spelling or grammar mistakes.
How to avoid it: Proofread thoroughly: Review your emails for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors before sending them out. Get a second pair of eyes, if needed. Have a colleague review your emails to catch mistakes you might have missed. Leverage proofreading tools like Grammarly or Hemingway to help identify and correct errors.
Do: Build a strong relationship with your subscribers
Why it matters: Building a relationship with your subscribers fosters trust and loyalty, making them more likely to engage with your emails and become long-term residents. According to a report by Salesforce, 79 percent of consumers are willing to share relevant information about themselves in exchange for contextualized interactions.
How to do it: Keep in touch with your subscribers through regular, meaningful communication. Provide value by offering useful content, such as maintenance tips, community news, or local event updates.
Don’t: Forget to follow up
Why it matters: Following up on initial email engagements can help nurture leads and move them further down the sales funnel. According to a study by Yesware, a follow-up email can increase response rates by up to 25 percent.
How to avoid it: Create a follow-up schedule. Plan and automate follow-up emails based on specific triggers, such as after a tour or an inquiry. Personalize follow-ups. Reference the recipient’s previous interactions to make the follow-up email relevant and engaging. Also, be persistent but respectful; If you don’t get a response after the first follow-up, send a gentle reminder after a few days.
