How to Build an Email List of Buyers and Sellers the Right Way

Why your email list is one of your most valuable assets

Email gives you a direct line to people who care about property in your area. There is no algorithm to fight and no paid reach to buy. It is your audience and you control it. With a good list you can nurture interest across months, build trust, and turn quiet readers into listing appointments and offers.

• Email feels personal and builds relationships at scale

• You can match messages to each stage of the journey

• You can promote new listings, price changes, and results the moment they happen

• You own the audience even if a platform changes the rules

The golden rule of list building

Always use permission. This means every contact knows what they are joining and agrees to receive your emails. Using permission keeps you inside local privacy and spam rules and it increases engagement because people want what you send.

• Be clear about what they will get such as market updates, new listings, and off market alerts

• Make it easy to unsubscribe in every email

• Never buy lists and never add people without consent

• Keep a note of where and when someone joined

Set your foundation before you grow

A strong setup makes your emails land in inboxes and look professional.

• Use a professional email domain such as yourname@youragency.com.au

• Use a trusted email platform that connects to your CRM

• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC with your domain host. In simple terms these are digital stamps that tell inboxes your emails are safe

• Create a clean, mobile friendly email template with your logo, colours, and contact details

• Add a short privacy notice on every form and an unsubscribe link in every email

Where to collect emails every day

Turn your business touchpoints into gentle sign up moments. Make the value clear and the process fast.

• Website home page. Add a simple form that promises suburb updates and new listing alerts

• Property pages. Invite visitors to get price changes, inspection times, and auction reminders

• Landing pages. Offer a single promise per page such as a suburb report or a seller checklist

• Open homes. Use a tablet sign in with a clear tick box for email updates

• Appraisal requests. Add a field that asks to receive market updates and similar sales

• Social media. Use link in bio buttons and lead forms for buyer alerts and market news

• Google Business Profile. Use the call to action button to link to your sign up page

• Phone enquiries. Ask for permission to email inspection times and contracts

• Community events and seminars. Use QR codes on signs and slides to capture sign ups

• Print marketing. Add a QR code on flyers, signboards, and brochures that opens a short sign up form

What to offer so people say yes

People share emails when the value is obvious and fast. Build a small set of offers that suit local buyers, sellers, investors, and landlords.

• New listing and off market alerts

• Weekly or monthly suburb snapshot with sales, days on market, and buyer demand

• Open home timetable for the weekend with one tap add to calendar

• Auction calendar with results and sale prices

• Buyer pack with finance tips, contract steps, and inspection checklist

• Seller pack with pre sale timeline, styling tips, and marketing plan outline

• Investor update with vacancy rate, median rent, and gross yield

• Relocation guide for people moving into your area

• First home guide with grants and steps to secure a property

Keep each offer short, useful, and branded. Deliver it instantly by email so the person sees value the moment they join.

Smart segmentation from day one

Segmenting means you group people so you can send the right message at the right time. Ask for only a few fields and make them easy to answer.

• Buyer or seller

• Suburb interest

• Price range

• Property type such as house, unit, or townhouse

• Timeline such as now, three months, six to twelve months

• Investor or owner occupier

With these simple fields you can send a new three bedroom listing in the right suburb to the right buyers, and a market update to owners in the same streets.

Essential automations that work while you sleep

Automation sends helpful emails at the perfect time without you pressing send. Set these up once and they will serve your audience all year.

• Welcome series for buyers

  1. Email 1. Thank you and here is your guide or alert confirmation

  2. Email 2. Three best listings that match their preferences

  3. Email 3. How to inspect well and what to ask at contract time

  4. Email 4. Invite to speak with you about off market opportunities

• Welcome series for sellers

  1. Email 1. Thank you and here is your seller checklist

  2. Email 2. Three recent local sales with photos and short stories

  3. Email 3. Your marketing plan overview and typical costs

  4. Email 4. Invite to a free pricing walk through at their home

• Open home follow up

  1. Thank them for visiting and include the brochure and contract link

  2. Ask for feedback and invite a second look

  3. Share similar properties if the fit was not right

• Listing alert flow

  1. New listing matched to their interest

  2. Price change or new photos

  3. Final call before auction or offer deadline

• Long term nurture

  1. Monthly suburb update for owners

  2. Quarterly investor snapshot

  3. Seasonal home care tips tied to local weather and lifestyle

A simple 30 day build plan

• Week 1. Foundation

  1. Choose your email platform and connect your domain

  2. Build one clean template

  3. Write two lead magnets. One for buyers and one for sellers

  4. Create your welcome series for buyers and sellers

• Week 2. Capture

  1. Add forms on your website home page and property pages

  2. Create two landing pages for your two lead magnets

  3. Prepare open home sign in with a tablet and a clear consent tick box

  4. Print QR codes on brochures, signboards, and window cards

• Week 3. Content

  1. Draft your first monthly suburb report and weekend open timetable

  2. Prepare a short auction calendar

  3. Build a simple market update for owners with three insights and one call to action

  4. Load all assets into your email platform and test

• Week 4. Launch and improve

  1. Announce your new alerts on social media and in stories

  2. Invite past clients to rejoin for premium updates

  3. Review open and click rates

  4. Fix anything that confused contacts and simplify forms if needed

Data care and compliance made simple

Healthy lists perform better and keep you inside the rules.

• Use consent based sign ups only

• Store the join source, date, and form name inside your CRM

• Remove hard bounces and repeated non opens

• Run a re engagement email every six months to sleepy contacts

• Respect unsubscribe requests at once

• Keep messages relevant to the segment you are writing to

How often to email and what to send

Consistency builds trust. Start with a realistic rhythm. Quality beats quantity.

• Buyers

  • New and price changed listings as they happen

  • Open home schedule mid week

  • Auction reminders the day before

  • Monthly snapshot of buyer activity and recent sales

• Owners and future sellers

  • Monthly market update with three key stats and two stories

  • Case study with before and after marketing steps

  • Invite to a pricing walk through or street sale alert

• Investors and landlords

  • Quarterly rental report with vacancy, median rent, and time to let

  • Tips to protect rental value such as small upgrades

  • Invite to a rental health check

Keep emails short with one main idea and one clear next step. Use real photos, plain language, and buttons that are easy to tap on a phone.

What to measure and how to improve

Track a small set of numbers each month and adjust based on what they tell you.

• List growth rate. How many new people joined this month

• Source mix. Which forms, events, or QR codes bring the most joins

• Open rate. Aim to improve through better subject lines and timing

• Click rate. Improve by using one clear button and strong offers

• Unsubscribes. If this climbs, improve segmenting and reduce frequency

• Replies and appointments. Count real conversations and listing leads that start from email

Test one change at a time. Try a new subject line, a different send time, or a clearer button. Keep the winners and retire the rest.

Simple scripts and templates you can use today

• Consent tick box text for forms

  • I agree to receive property updates, new listings, and market news. I can unsubscribe at any time.

• Open home sign in prompt

  • Please enter your details to receive inspection times, contract links, and updates on this property.

• Welcome email outline

  1. Thank you for joining

  2. Confirm what they will receive and how often

  3. Deliver the promised guide or alert setup link

  4. Invite them to reply with their must haves or questions

  5. Include your phone number and a friendly sign off

• Re engagement email outline

  1. We have not heard from you in a while

  2. Do you still want market updates for your suburb

  3. Button to stay on the list

  4. Button to update preferences

  5. Note that no action will remove them in seven days

Proven growth loops that compound over time

Turn every activity into a chance to grow your list with permission and value.

• After every appraisal send a short thank you with a link to join your suburb update

• After settlement invite both buyer and seller to receive your monthly market email

• Partner with a broker, stylist, or builder and share a joint checklist behind a sign up page

• Run a short webinar or community talk and collect emails at registration using a simple form

• Promote your best case studies on social media with a link to download the full story by email

• Add a small line to your email signature that links to your alerts sign up page

Make it human and keep it local

People join for useful information and stay for your voice. Write as if you are speaking to one person. Use local streets, cafes, parks, and school names. Share short stories. Explain what a result means for nearby owners. Invite replies and answer them quickly. The more your list feels like a helpful local newsletter, the more it will grow.

Your next steps checklist

• Choose your email platform and connect your domain

• Build one clean template with logo, colours, and footer details

• Create two lead magnets. One for buyers and one for sellers

• Add website forms and two dedicated landing pages

• Prepare open home sign in with a clear consent tick box

• Set up the buyer and seller welcome series

• Publish a monthly suburb update and a weekend open timetable

• Announce sign ups across social media, print, and at events

• Track growth and key metrics each month

• Keep the value high and the tone friendly and local

When you build with permission, value, and simple systems, your email list becomes a steady engine that brings buyers to your opens and turns owners into warm listing appointments. Start small, keep improving, and let the compounding effect work for you.

Author – Ken Hobson