Banging out an email has become second nature. You probably don’t give it much thought...you just type out what you need to say and click Send.
But before you send off that next quick email to a lead or client, take a look at these common email mistakes that might be hurting your credibility...and consequently, hurting your real estate business.
1) Getting their name wrong
Calling someone by name is the oldest sales trick in the book. But when you get the name wrong...it kind of has the opposite effect.
Before sending an email, triple check that you have the correct name, and that it’s not misspelled.
2) (no subject)
An email with no subject line might look like spam to someone who doesn’t know you, so they’re less likely to open it. It also lacks the professionalism that I’m sure you want associated with your real estate business. So take a few extra seconds to add a quick subject line.
3) Misleading subject lines
Even if you’re not being intentionally misleading, your contacts will be annoyed if the email they opened doesn’t fulfill what was promised in the subject line. When you write your subject line, it should accurately describe what your email is about.
4) Spelling and grammar mistakes
If for some reason your email service doesn’t have a built-in spellcheck that puts those red squigglies under misspelled words and grammar issues, download Grammarly immediately. Seriously. Don’t let any more typos slip through the cracks.
5) !!! or $$$ or CAPS
Subject lines that contain exclamation points, dollar signs, or text in all caps might never make it past the spam filter. To help your email be delivered to its final destination, keep subject lines free of these attention-grabbing gimmicks.
Also, check out this list of spammy words and phrases to avoid.
6) Weird fonts and text colors
Another thing that might send you straight to the spam folder is the use of colorful text. Play it safe and stick to default black.
And, just as a little favor to me, please please please don’t use Papyrus. Or Comic Sans, for that matter. Keep your emails looking sharp and professional with a nice sans serif default font. If you want to add a little more style, Gmail’s Verdana is pretty nice.
7) Too long
Your clients and leads don’t have time to read an email that rambles on and on and on. So they might just forgo reading it.
Keep your emails short, succinct, and clear. Get right to the point. And avoid confusing run-on sentences—instead, break them up into shorter sentences or a bulleted list.
(Take a cue from minimalism: cut out the excess!)
8) No greeting
You’re not writing a text message—this is an email. And an email should start with a greeting and end with a signature. Keep the greeting professional at first (Dear Mrs. Jones) but once you’ve established a better relationship, you can probably get away with something more casual (Hi Anna).
Your signature should include a pleasant signoff (Best regards), as well as your name, title/company, and contact information. There’s a great article on Forbes that shares 57 ways to sign off on an email.
9) Forgetting to include the attachment
We’ve all done this. It’s super embarrassing because we know it makes us look sloppy. So consider this a friendly reminder to double-check for your attachment before sending.
(If you’re using Gmail, you know there’s a great feature that recognizes when you might have forgotten your attachment. Brilliant!)
Does it really matter?
One could argue that having imperfect emails adds that nice human touch to your business. Maybe when your client receives an “Oops, forgot to attach” email from you, it even boosts your authenticity a little bit.
So yeah, maybe these hastily-written emails are okay sometimes.
But other times, like when you’re working a $500K listing, it’s better to put a little more care into your emails. The way you communicate plays a huge role in people’s perception of your business. Make sure you’re presenting yourself as a real estate professional that your clients can trust.
Learn more: The Ultimate Guide To Email Marketing For Real Estate Agents
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