I got an email a few minutes ago from a commercial realestate agent in Toronto, trying to move a commercial property in a town I don’t live in, near customers I don’t (usually) service, and in a retail space I don’t need. I wasn’t asked if I wanted to be on his email marketing list and I sure didn’t “opt-in” there was no place to request to be removed and no way for me to automatically stop future messages from the same sender (ther than junk filters).
Was I mad? Nah, he’s new at this stuff, and I was too once, so I wrote him a short, polite email letting him know I applauded his efforts, but he was doing it wrong… and provided some guidance, here’s what I wrote.
I’ll be sure to update this post if / when he replies.
Thanks for the email Michael,
I haven’t seen any email marketing materials from you before so I’ll assume you’re new at it, good for you for giving it a shot!
If I can offer a little constructive criticism, you should consider using an email marketing service provider (They are VERY cheap) that allows you to include spam compliance within your messages. Technically by not including an option to “opt out” of your email blast you’re violating spam laws and risking having your address banned (and potentially all @remax.net addresses) or black listed as spammers. That would be very bad I’m sure you can imagine.
At Outhouse IT we use Constant Contact and so do many of our clients and they love it! I’d like to offer you an absolutely free trial for 60 days of Constant Contact Email Marketing and if you use it it’s as cheap as $15 monthly to keep using it, our way of saying thanks for dipping your toe in the water and trying email marketing!
Constant Contact includes live REAL PEOPLE support and help and they are VERY friendly and helpful, there are great templates and newsletters for real estate specific lists and I can tell you from other agents I know, they are 100% compliant with Remax’s professional standards and requirements.
All the best!
Signup here for 60 day free trial of Constant Contact Email Marketing
