Real estate newsletter quizzes, and games in general, are a great way to create interaction in your real estate newsletters, right? Maybe.
We produce newsletters with quizzes because many agents swear by them. However, other agents say they don’t use them, because they’re a pain to manage. Let’s look at what would make a quiz a useful part of a real estate newsletter vs. not.
Just to be clear, there’s a difference between a quiz and a quiz contest. You don’t need a contest to have a real estate newsletter quiz. You can simply add the answer in your newsletter.
But turning it into a contest—with prizes—is a great way to increase interaction, if you manage it well.
The Down and Upsides of Making Real Estate Newsletter Quizzes into a Contest
If you’ve ever included a quiz contest in your newsletters, you know it has problems:
- Too often the same people enter your contest over and over again, and that’s pointless.
- You have to gather and then select a winner, which takes time.
- If you promised a prize, you now must fulfill on that promise. Again, that takes time.
And what do you get for all this? According to Beth Redmond of Asio Real Estate, “We reach out to everyone who enters our quiz contest to have a conversation with them about real estate. We’ve gotten a fair number of referrals from it.”
If you like the idea of using quizzes, in particular quiz contests, in your real estate newsletters, here are two ideas for making it more effective:
1. Highlight the Winners–Great for Social Media
The point of a quiz contest is to remind people that you’re a real person, not merely an automated algorithm or mass-produced marketing piece.
Get them to take a selfie with their prize!
Ideally, you’ll deliver their prize, either in person or by phone, not email. If you can, take a photo yourself, or ask them for a selfie holding evidence of their prize. For this reason, you should always print out certificates, instead of emailing a prize code.
2. Quizzes Add Local Content to Your Real Estate Newsletters
Local content is important, whether you’re using a printed or emailed newsletter. Local content reinforces that you’re a local agent, a real person, with a personality.
If you don’t have a lot of time to add personal content to your newsletter, you can do it in small ways, such as by adding a local restaurant coupon as a prize (see below), or by using a quiz question about a local feature.
This is also a good way to add a quiz without a contest element. Ask the question, then answer it, either in a link or further down the newsletter.
Local quiz question examples:
- “Which local grocery chain just opened a new store in Santee?”
- “Which local pier was shut down due to damage during last month’s storm?”
- “Which church bells can you hear ringing every Sunday around Talmadge?”
3. Real Estate Newsletter Quizzes Can Generate Referrals
The quiz can be a brilliant networking opportunity. It’s something not very many agents do, which could be a great opportunity.
Network with local businesses to get prizes
In our Fast Newsletters, we put usually have a default “$5 Gift Card” prize. But you can change the prize to anything, such as a 2-for-1 certificate to a local restaurant, or a half-price oil change at a local garage.
Here’s why that matters:
If you use your real estate newsletters to promote local businesses via your quiz, you can establish a referral relationship with them.
Here’s what you do:
- Approach the business owner and explain what you’d like to promote their business to your contact list of 453 people (you don’t need to give a number, but if you have large list, it’s enticing).
- Tell them you’d like to review them in your newsletters. (No one says no.) Then ask them for their “story,” or history. It’s great for spicing up a review!
- Ask for a free meal or service that you can offer to your quiz winners.
- During your conversation, ask them if they ever hear people talking about real estate. Ask if they’d be willing to share your name with others, as you’re sharing their business with your contacts.
- The right kind of business owners will understand the referral relationship you’re trying to set up. Some will get it, some won’t.
- If they have a counter where you can place newsletters, ask if you can leave a stack there each month. This is a fantastic technique! Make sure your newsletters have plenty of calls to action.
- It’s useful if you have something to show the business owner. Bring a copy of your newsletter with an example of a review and the quiz contest. If it’s your first time, you can mock up an example.
Will real estate newsletter quizzes make a difference in your business? They are a tool, like any other. It depends on how you use them. But if you make them an active part of your newsletter strategy, they can lead to more business.
