Just to be clear, you don’t need to have a quiz CONTEST to have a real estate newsletter quiz. Quizzes can be fun, even without a contest element. You can simply add the answer in your newsletter. But turning it into a contest—with prizes—is a great way to increase interaction with you, and ultimately that’s the goal of your newsletter.
But if you’ve ever included a quiz contest in your newsletters, you know that too often the same people enter your contest over and over again, and that’s pointless. So, how do you make your quiz contests more of a winner for you, too? Here’s what you’ll find in this short article:
- The purpose of a newsletter quiz contest
- The overlooked opportunity in a real estate quiz contest
- Why you should add a story behind the prize
- How to present the idea to business owners to get free prizes
- What kinds of businesses to seek out
The Purpose of a Real Estate Newsletter Quiz Contest
The point of a quiz contest is to remind people you’re a real person behind your marketing, not merely an automated algorithm or mass-produced marketing piece. At least with a quiz contest, there’s the potential of interaction, even if they’re not interested in buying or selling real estate right now.
Highlight the Winners!
To make sure other people know you’re really interacting, you want to highlight a winner in your newsletters.
Ideally, you’ll add a photo of the winner holding their prize certificate or card, because you hand-delivered it to them and snapped the photo. Or you got them to take a selfie and text it to you. This encourages other people to enter the contest, not just the same people over and over.
The Biggest ‘Missed’ Opportunity of the Quiz Contest
However, adding more personality and interaction to your newsletters is not the only reason to have quiz contests. The quiz is also a brilliant networking opportunity. It’s something not very many agents do, which could be a wasted opportunity.
Use the Prize to Create Referrals
Let me explain. In our Fast Newsletters, we put a default “$5 Gift Card” prize. You can choose what kind of gift card. But you can also change that to any other prize you want, or just the amount, as this image shows.
I HIGHLY recommend using the prize as an opportunity to network with local restaurants and other small businesses. Here’s how:
- Approach the restaurant or business owner and ask for a free meal or service that you can offer to your quiz winners (more about how to ask below).
- Ask for this 2x/year, telling them you promote 6 businesses per year, and you be using their gift twice a year as the prize in your newsletters.
- During your conversation, ask them if they ever hear people talk about real estate, and if they’d be willing to share your name with others. Keep in mind that this is just the opening round of creating a referral relationship. You’ll prove your effectiveness by sending them more customers. In exchange, you can ask for more referrals.
Why would businesses give you free stuff for your contest?
Because you’re also going to tell them your numbers.
“I send 200 email newsletters per month to a select group of people who trust my referrals.” Or “I hand out 1,000 newsletters per month in this neighborhood.”
In other words, you have something to give them…customers.
Also ask if you can put a small newsletter ‘grab box’ in their place of business. If you’re only using email newsletters right now, you might want to use a printed version for your grab boxes. But if you don’t want to do that, or the business doesn’t have a place for it, you can skip the grab box. It’s just a nice addition for you.
A “Prize Story” Adds Power to the Prize
To make the quiz contest feature really stand out in your newsletters, also add a very short story about the business. The story turns what might be an ordinary prize into a special gift. You could add the story right underneath your quiz contest.
Make sure it’s a story, not just a bio. Example:
“Mary opened The Little Bit Cafe in 1997 when she was just 23 years old. Her dad gave her a choice–go to college, or use her college money to open a business. Being an outgoing spirit with mad cooking skills, Mary grabbed the chance to buy an old cafe where she could welcome locals to hang out with her. It’s still one of the liveliest places for breakfast in San Diego.” [72 words]
Use a photo of the owner, or of the business…but the owner is better.
Since you’re promoting the business twice per year, ask them for a second story. If it’s a restaurant, the story can be about a special dish they make, or a famous guest they’ve had. If it’s a service, they can tell you about a time when they went above and beyond to serve a customer, or a strange problem they solved. Tell them what months you plan to use their prizes, so they’re prepared to receive the coupon/certificate/gift card you give.
You’ll want to collect both these stories, and any relevant gift certificates at the same time, during your presentation to the business owner. (See below.)
How to Present Your Real Estate Newsletter Quiz Opportunity to Owners
To make all this happen, you’ll want to prepare a small presentation for the business owner. Mock up one of your newsletters so that you have an example to show them. Show how the quiz appears. It should start with the prize, plus the company name/logo, then the story underneath. It doesn’t have to be fancy! See the image.
Also have your stats ready to show proof of the number of newsletters you deliver each month. It doesn’t matter how many you deliver, so don’t get tied up over the numbers. 50, 100, 3,000. It’s all good.
Approach the owner by asking “Can I feature your business in my newsletter?” (They won’t say no.) Then arrange to meet in person. But if you can only meet by phone, do the best you can by emailing them your example so they can see it while you talk.
If you are nervous about calling business owners or making a presentation to them, then think about this perspective: You’re in a sales business, and this is a very soft selling technique. You’re leading with the giving hand, offering to bring them customers. Make plans for how, when and who you’ll approach. Schedule your calls, and start going through your list of potential businesses, beginning with the easiest first.
What Businesses Should You Seek Out?
You want business owners who have something your clients/readers will want. A free house cleaning, dinner, carpet cleaning, oil change, etc. This is not a 50% off coupon. It has to be free. Even if you have to pay for part of it to the business owner, it should be free to your real estate newsletter readers.
But if you have a sufficiently large mailing list, and do a good job of your presentation, the business owner should offer their prize for free. After all, you’re offering them a direct conduit to their target market…it’s a small price to pay for direct advertising! In exchange, you want to remind them that you’d like their referrals when they hear someone mention a need for real estate.
With that in mind, it pays to look for business owners who will give something free that your readers want. But you also want businesses that could be a great source of referrals for you. Consider businesses you frequent a lot and they already know you as a real estate agent. Also consider businesses who have a lot of interaction with people, and who might be in a position to hear about real estate plans. And of course, go with the businesses you like the best personally, so you can genuinely refer them to your readers.
Your main task when approaching a business owner is to help them see your real estate newsletter quiz as a win for them, knowing it will be a win for you, too.
