Newsletter Marketing for Property Management Companies

Today, there are more choices for Real Estate/Property Management companies when it comes to providing newsletters for their clients. The key is to investigate the different types and decide what is right for your business.[hr_invisible]Why even send newsletters to your clientele?

There are many reasons to use newsletters but here are a few to examine.

• Promote your services and ask for more business.
• Send newsletters to your current clients to show your professionalism and why they need you
• Educate owners on important housing issues and how you conduct property management
• Solicit more business from current clients, tenants, sales agents, business contacts, and prospects. The possibilities are endless.
• Share useful information with residents, and ask them to contact you if they want to buy a home.
• Send out important announcements, reminders, and company information.

What types of newsletters are available now?

There is, of course, the traditional newsletter format. Microsoft Word® and Microsoft Publisher® are probably the most popular newsletter software used because they are easy to use, although there are many programs available to create them. The advantage here is the newsletter can be printed and mailed, or converted to a PDF document to send by email. You need a full PDF program, such as Adobe Acrobat to create the PDF.

Now there are many programs for email newsletters. Previously, when Property Management companies sent paper statements and checks, it was cost effective to include paper newsletters. However, postage becomes more expensive every year and many managers are sending statements by email or through Internet access and checks are transferred by ACH – all this reducing the expense of paper and postage. The electronic nature of email newsletters is that they save the expense of postage and paper, becoming a paperless or “green” alternative for newsletters. The down side to email newsletters is that they are not normally suitable for mailing. However, the increasing amount of people who now have email addresses is changing the need for paper newsletters.

What prohibits many businesses from using newsletters?

Many people actually start newsletters but fail to continue them because they simply do not have the time to write the articles or put them together. Often, there is no one on staff with the time or knowledge to put them together. Therefore, you have to make some important decisions if you want to have a newsletter for your clientele.

Start with why you want to do a newsletter. This could be maintaining new accounts, procuring new business, capturing real estate sales or referrals, educating your owners and/or tenants, making announcements. It is important to analyze your reasons.

After figuring out why, then you know whom to target. This could be your current owners, prospective owners, tenants, real estate agents, business contacts, etc. Then you will need to analyze how you would send them.

Will your newsletter be more successful with paper newsletters or emails? The world has gone digital but there are people who have not done so and still prefer reading that piece of paper. It may be that the majority of your owners still do not have email addresses – this certainly narrows down how you will send them. It may be that your landlords are very savvy when it comes to email and Internet – they may be the ones to appreciate receiving an email newsletter rather than paper.

How important is it to your business to convert to paperless? With more people becoming intent on the paperless world, it aids in the pursuit of reducing paper and postage, while providing more communication and services to clients at a reduced cost. How important is it to show prospective owners that your company is cutting edge? This is becoming a very high priority with many of today’s Real Estate/Property Management business in an effort to gain more market share in their area and attract referrals.

If you have determined why, who, and how you want to sent your newsletters, you can start investigating how and put together a budget for your newsletters. If you are still sending paper statements, then including a paper newsletter may be still be the right way to go. Then it becomes a matter of how to produce and print it. If you have a majority of clientele you wish to target with email addresses, then you may want to email a PDF or use an email newsletter program. The big key is still going to be “who will produce the newsletters” and who will “write the article content.” You cannot send out any newsletter without figuring out these questions.

If you do decide to print newsletters, you need to review your printer capabilities and the costs involved. It is very important to look at speed and duplex capability. Many businesses today have their own color printer/copiers that do it all. You can purchase or lease them.

There are many avenues to pursue for creating newsletters and easier than you think. You may want your company to produce the newsletter or you may want to have it done for you. Seek out sources in or out of your office. Many talented people have knowledge of using Microsoft Word® or Microsoft Publisher®. That same person may be able to set up one of the many email programs available, such as Constant Contact.

LandlordSource has landlord articles and tenant articles for producing newsletters for your property management business. This can save you hours of time and money.

There are many reasons to use newsletters and many ways to produce them, but what is important is utilize them to promote your company and increase your bottom line!

Jean Storms, MPM® is the founder/author of LandlordSource and has been a NARPM® member since January 1993.

Disclaimer: LandlordSource does not represent the article content in this website as legal advice. It is shared information only and up to the reader to use this information responsibly, seeking legal advice as necessary to their business.