What content grabs the attention of homeowners? To find out, you need a lot of data. Drip marketing solution HomeActions has just that--information on the articles that over 1 million consumers are reading. They share those insights here every month so you can use it as a guideline in your own marketing efforts.

The more than 1 million homeowners who got the HomeActions e-newsletter in April were most interested in avoiding scam calls, learning to be wise appliance shoppers, and losing a little weight without eating less.

Fear Motivates

The most-opened HomeActions article in April was, If Your Cellphone Rings Just Once, Don't Call Back. This engaged viewers because it warned something bad could happen if you do something many of us do without thinking -- return a one-ring call.

The article revealed that scammers were calling U.S. consumers phone and hanging up after one ring to lure people into calling pay-per-minute phone lines in the Caribbean.

When you share information about scams, like the article in last month's HomeActions e-newsletter, you position yourself as a trusted adviser looking out for your customer's financial well-being.

Three keys to scam stories being engaging:

1. It's got to be a new scam. Writing about a widely known scam makes you seem behind the curve.
2. It's got to be a clever scam. The one-ring scam is interesting because it's so innocuous to call back someone who calls your phone.
3. The report has to come from a reputable source. This one was from the Federal Trade Commission.

Calls to Action

The second most-opened HomeActions article, 5 Things You Need To Know Before You Upgrade Your Home Appliances, talked about making the right choice for your lifestyle when you replace kitchen and laundry appliances.

Writing about home appliances, remodeling and upgrades can generate referrals because it gives you an opportunity to add a call to action – that's when you call upon the viewer to take an action.

The Call to Action in this story suggested viewers to get in touch with the Realtor® to find out what level of appliances were common in the neighborhood (so the viewer would know how much to spend to stay in line with neighborhood tastes and budgets).

Avoid Spam-Related Words

HomeActions had to be really careful with the title of the third most popular HomeActions article in April, Can Changing Your Kitchen Paint Color Help You Eat Better?

If spam filters didn't exist, we would have gone with a more direct title: Can Changing Your Kitchen Paint Color Help You Lose Weight?

But spam filters do exist and when you use "diet" or "weight" in a subject line the spam filters will dump a goodly proportion of your emails in the recipient's spam bucket (it's also possible your email won't be delivered by the service provider).