Email marketing is still one of the preferred methods of driving new business by many online marketing gurus. Now more than ever, sales and marketing professionals have an endless sea of tools that they can add to their toolbox, and with variety comes choice.

Most real estate professionals you talk to have a theory on what works, what doesn't work, and what you could be doing differently. Some swear by more traditional forms of communication like face-to-face or phone. Some swear that social media is the path to greater profits. And some see great success with email marketing. All of these tools have a purpose and show value in different ways.

Email marketing is valuable because it's a quick way to share an undiluted message with your clients, when it is convenient for them. This allows you to build relationships with them in an intimate way in less time than face-to-face communication and with less distractions than social media.

While all of this sounds great, the most important part of email marketing is your contact list. Here are 5 quick tips to help you grow your email marketing list:

1. Make it easy to subscribe from every page of your website

These people want you to contact them on a regular basis. Make it easy for them to give you their email before they lose interest.

2. Give people a reason to sign up.

It's kind of like the old saying "give and you shall receive." They gave you their email, now send them something that is of value to them. Maybe that's information about upcoming local events, insight on local legislation and how it affects them, or information about new developments in the region. How will they benefit from you contacting them?

3. Use social media to build your contact list

Email is a great way maintain communication with your current contact list, and social media is a great way to find new contacts for your list.

4. Write articles for a company blog or publication

This will help you showcase your business and your services to a wide audience. It also helps you create a web of links that drive traffic back to your website and increase your rank in search engine results.

5. Keep it simple

For every additional field you add to your web form, you lose potential contacts who are discouraged by the amount of personal information you are demanding from them. Start with just an email and then build a profile of your contact as time progresses.

I hope you find value in these quick tips to help grow your real estate email marketing list. Have any strategies or comments you'd like to add? Share them with us below!

To view the original article, visit the Lone Wolf blog.