Real Estate eCards: Think Seasonally, Act Locally
Do you have an industry-relevant promotion ready to send to your clients? Here's one approach.
The next major U.S. holiday, Valentine’s Day, is almost upon us. Do you have an industry-relevant promotion ready to send to your clients?
Chances are, you don’t. And neither do I.
That’s why I was so intrigued by Real Estate eCards. This nifty online service allows real estate agents to buy an annual subscription of 10 holiday e-cards and specialty e-cards for only $199.
Click on the Valentine’s Day or St. Patrick’s Day cards and you’ll see these high-quality multimedia e-cards really catch your attention and deliver an upscale image.
According to August Gilges, the company’s founder and creative director, the St. Patrick’s Day cards are among the most popular with real estate agents — probably because the holiday falls in the spring when most people start their house hunting. And these St. Patrick’s e-cards are green in every way — combining an Irish theme with 10 environmental tips.
One real estate agent, Clarissa Schuh of Windermere Realty Partners in Portland, OR, is a big fan of the e-card holiday collection. She says, “The e-cards are so easy to use and so low cost. My clients tell me that they actually look forward to getting the next holiday e-card in their inbox. It’s great because in their minds, I’m associated with something fun.”
Real Estate eCards also allows agents to showcase specific houses by building their own listing e-cards where they can upload photos, music, and special effects, such as snowflakes or a fireplace burning, for only $39. For a higher price, Real Estate eCards can create a customized e-card with a unique concept.
The immediacy of these e-cards may help a house sell quickly — and the cards can easily be forwarded. And because the e-cards are cutting edge, they give agents a technology-forward reputation, which can help them stand apart from their competition.
Like so many tech start-ups, Real Estate eCards began in a basement studio in 2004. The concept caught fire with enterprising real estate agents who swiftly grasped the value of contacting their prospects so easily. Today, the company has grown beyond the Portland real estate market it began in, now serving agents in Washington and California.
It seems to me this would be an easy concept to transfer to other businesses, such as car dealerships and other service-based industries. But for now, Gilges says he’s concentrating on the real estate industry, where the company has carved out its own successful niche.
What e-mail promotions do you have planned for the year ahead? Send them to Karen.
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