August 9th, 2018

Email marketing right now is thriving across all industries. Especially in the mortgage industry. Every great lender should have an arsenal of great-looking, interactive, and user-friendly campaigns in their toolbox. As 2018, technology, and innovation progress, the use of email marketing is making leaps as well. While some of these email marketing trends have been utilized for years, they’re continuously being optimized to be better than ever. They’ve helped mortgage professionals bring on interest of prospective homebuyers and convert leads. Ultimately improving their own ROI.

Interactive Email

According to Litmus Email Analytics, you have about 11 seconds to capture the viewer’s attention before they click delete. This makes interactive content a valuable asset to utilize in your email marketing campaigns. If you can keep the user engaged with interactive content then maybe they’ll stay on your email for hopefully more than 11 seconds. Best case scenario, you get a click. A few easy techniques to start implementing are adding animated GIFs or short videos to the body of your emails. Who doesn’t love a short animated snippet? Some more in-depth, but excellent, techniques that marketers are using include interactive games, news feeds, or date pickers. These might not be for everyone right now, but imagine the possibilities for converting leads when your prospect opens an email and has content to click on right away.

Marketing Automation

According to Email Monday, fifty-one percent of marketers are using automation. Marketing Automation can take repetitive tasks out of creating engaging campaigns. In the past, marketing efforts consisted of manually sending emails to prospects. Automation platforms allow you to schedule campaigns for any extended period of time. You can set up a campaign and have it ready to go for an entire year. Automation also allows for the capability to nurture leads further. You’re easily able to focus on their needs to deliver exactly what they want. The goal is they’re nurtured long enough to gain your trust. So, when they’re ready to apply for loans, they choose you. This is a more successful process than sending out emails blindly hoping they stick. Infusionsoft, Hubspot, and Campaign Monitor all offer great tools. Marketers using any of these platforms for automation can ensure efficiency throughout the course of their campaigns.

Personalization

Studies show that your emails are more likely to be opened up by potential homebuyers and clients if feels personalized for them. Successful mortgage companies are applying a human feel to their marketing campaigns. This approach is probably timeless, but today, it’s becoming more and more appealing to homebuyers. For example, according to Campaign Monitor, emails that included the recipient’s name in the subject line were found to have a twenty-six percent higher open rate than emails that did not. In fact, they also showed that segmenting email campaigns to deliver more personalized content increased revenue by 760%.  Personalized emails are rising in an upward trend this year as prospects are looking for a bit of a human touch.

Mobile Optimization

You probably check your email on your phone more than anywhere else. Smart phones make it possible to access anything from 1003 forms to email to sushi. Inboxes are available anywhere at any time. Thus, it’s necessary to optimize your emails so that they’re mobile-responsive. When potential homebuyers are viewing what you send, odds are they’re reading it on a phone. This is why mobile optimization is key. Every successful email marketing campaign is doing this in 2018. If this is something that your mortgage company has not implemented, then it needs to become a priority. While ensuring your email is easy to read on any device, make sure graphics and text display properly. Never use large images. These extend the period of time it takes to download the email. You only have 11 seconds, so there’s no time to waste!

Overall, 2018 has so far been a year for change in the marketing and mortgage industries combined. Some email marketing techniques haven’t changed entirely, but they’re constantly evolving as digital technology evolves. Marketers and mortgage professionals alike would benefit from familiarizing themselves with the changing tech trends day-to-day. These industries as we’ve known them are changing as the world embraces new digital technology.