Email Marketing Tips for Home Inspectors

It's no secret: everyone kind of hates getting mass emails. 

But that doesn't mean sending them out isn't important. Even in the home inspection industry, mass email marketing is a skill you should have in your toolkit. And, if you send out good and valuable information, chances are people will actually read it and it will become valuable in winning you more business. 

If you feel intimidated getting into email marketing, we're here to help. Read on to hear our tips for email marketing for home inspectors and why you should be doing it.

Read more: 23 Marketing Ideas for 2023  

Why You Should Do Email Marketing

As a home inspector, you've probably tried many digital marketing strategies. And while all are important, many have their pain points.

Social media may reach a high number of agents, but your social media alone might not yield a high ROI. Pay-per-click advertising will expose you to incredibly high-volume traffic, but it's also incredibly expensive.  SEO is free, but maybe you haven't been successful in getting in the top three results on Google. 

That's where email marketing comes in. Here are a few reasons why email marketing can be a game-changer when it comes to digital marketing. 

1. You hand-pick your audience: unlike SEO or social media, you have control over who sees your emails.  With email marketing, your content will reach a direct, targeted audience. 
2. They're shareable: if you're sending out newsletters, it's always a good idea to make them shareable. If you're putting out great content, agents or clients can share those emails with other agents or clients. And just like that, a new agent or client knows about your business. 
3. Everyone checks their email: while not everyone will read the emails you send out, you can at least be sure that your content is reaching a relevant audience. Even just your company name in an agent's inbox will keep you on their mind. 
4. Increase brand awareness: there's no better way to increase your brand awareness than to share content, company updates, and industry knowledge 

What can you use email marketing for?

Mass email marketing is a great way to get (and stay) on agents' and homebuyers' radars. It's also the perfect way to make announcements about company-wide changes or to share content.  

Here are a few ideas to get you started. 

Promote Agent Events

Do you host lunch and learns for agents? Or other presentations for realtors? Promote them with email marketing. 

Lunch and learns and presentations won't do you much good if you don't have anyone showing up. An email to agents in your network is a great way to promote any events you offer.   

Newsletters and Blog Posts

Content is king...but what happens if no one reads it? Even if your blog posts aren't ranking well on Google, you can still get valuable traffic and views by using email marketing. 

Sending out a content roundup of your best blog posts every month—or even sending out each individual blog post to your email list—is a great way to make sure your content is reaching people in your local industry.   

Announcements of New Services or Team Members

When times are good, you might be hiring. And when times are rough (have you heard we're in a recessionary environment?), it's good to start thinking about diversifying your business. Either way, you should announce major changes to your business. 

A mass email will let clients and agents know about important announcements. It's an efficient and wide-reaching way to promote new team members or new services.  

Industry Wisdom and Tips

It's time to show your expertise. 

You know the ins and outs of home inspection better than anyone. And one of the best ways to build trust with realtors and clients alike is by showing them your knowledge. 

Sending out tips helps homeowners and realtors understand your work and their homes. It will also position you as a wise, industry expert. And who better to go to for home inspections than the person who knows it all?

Holiday Greetings

This one might sound cheesy, but a simple digital holiday card is a great way to stay on agents' minds during the holiday season when home sales are slow. 

Everyone likes to be acknowledged. A small and caring gesture, like wishing agents in your network happy holidays, can go a long way. A holiday greeting is a great way to stay on agents' radars and to let them know you care.

Email Marketing Tips

Here are a few tips for success:

Know Your Metrics

First of all, to figure out if your email marketing is successful, you have to determine what success means. Is it a high open rate? Is it the number of clicks on calls to action? Is it the number of booked inspections? Whatever your goal is, it's important to track what's working and what's not.

Before you start tracking metrics, let's go over some common numbers so you know what to aim for. 

• A good email open rate is somewhere between 17% and 28%, so don't be alarmed by the fact that the majority of recipients aren't opening your email. 
• Anything above 3% is a good CTR (click-through rate). To calculate CTR, take the number of clicks, divide it by the number of delivered emails, and multiply by 100. 
• Anything between 20% and 30% is a good CTOR (click-to-open rate). Click to open rate is similar to CTR, but only takes the people that actually opened your emails into account.    

Keep in mind: the more targeted the email, the higher chance you have of achieving higher metrics. For example, you'll probably see higher open rates and CTRs on a targeted email to your top agents than you will on an email that goes out to all your agents and clients. You can (and should) adjust your goals based on who the email is going to.   

Set Goals

Speaking of goals, it's important to set a goal for every email you send out. Having a goal in mind will help you focus your email, and it will tell you what metrics to pay attention to. 

For example, if the goal is to stay top-of-mind with agents, your open rate is probably the metric you should track. On the other hand, if your goal is to get people to sign up for an event (like a lunch and learn), your CTR or CTOR is more important.  

Create CTAs

We'd be remiss if we didn't touch on CTAs (call to action) in this article. Every email you send out should have at least one CTA to keep recipients engaged. Even if you're just sending an email to stay top-of-mind, a CTA encouraging agents to check out a sample inspection report is worthwhile. 

In an email, a CTA should be a button or a link that the recipient can click. Here are some ideas to get you started. 

CTAs for Events (such as a lunch and learn, presentation, etc.)

• Register now
• Book your seat
• Sign me up
• Save me a spot

CTAs for Content (like blog posts, videos, and other educational content)

• Read more
• Learn all about it
• Watch video
• Hear our story 

CTAs for Services

• Get better inspection reports
• See how [insert your business here] helps realtors
• Book an inspection today

What to Avoid in Email Marketing

Email marketing will only be successful if you do it well.

1. Don't be spammy: the number one way you'll get people to not read your emails is if they believe they're spam. Don't send out an email just for the sake of sending out an email. Make sure all content is intentional, useful, and valuable to both you and your email list.  
2. Don't rent or buy email lists: while it might be tempting to buy an email list full of potential agents and clients, it's never a good idea. First and foremost, it goes against most email providers' Terms of Service. But more importantly, if you have to buy a list, the recipients probably don't want to be getting your emails. The bottom line: don't do it. It won't lead to a high ROI and it's dirty marketing.
3. Don't ramble: a good email is brief and to the point, while still providing value to the recipient. Before you send out an email to your email list, think about what the goal of that email is. Is your goal to share a blog post? Great, then share the blog post with a brief explanation of why the recipient should read it. Are you announcing a new hire or service? Just announce it! No one wants to read a long, rambling email.     
4. Don't forget your unsubscribe link: every mass email should come with an unsubscribe link. This isn't just our advice; it's actually illegal to send mass emails without allowing the recipient to easily unsubscribe in the United States. Don’t worry though, Spectora automatically includes an unsubscribe link in all your email communications.