The Difference Between Target Real Estate Marketing and Spamming

The basic difference between target real estate marketing and spamming is the relationship of the spammer to the recipient. In other words, generally there is no difference. Because typically the individual orchestrating the marketing efforts does not know her recipients. In real estate, it means usually the targeted individual holds a real estate license; therefore, in the spammer’s mind, a licensed agent is free game to spam. It’s enough already with the junk email, but over the past couple of years, the spamming has extended to text messages.

Now, it’s one thing if I send an email blast to a pre-selected database of my own contacts of say, agents in the Bay Area who work with buyers. Especially when I can offer a tangible benefit, such as assurance we will work with them, as some agents in Sacramento refuse to help Bay Area agents. But I know these agents. So if one of them objected to my email, I could delete them from my database, but they never do.

It’s quite another thing if an individual seeking to increase her business buys a mailing list sold by our MetroList or Sacramento Board of Realtors. Not sure who sells these databases, probably MetroList, but you can buy their membership list. And, then these people start blasting text messages. It’s annoying. It’s like listing agents who send out a cellphone spam blast about a new listing. Do they think we don’t have eyes in our heads and we are incapable of looking at MLS to find this information?

Testing the difference between target real estate marketing and spamming, yesterday a home stager (I’ll call Janey) texted. Complete stranger to me. Asked if I would be interested in having her stage a listing and offered to send me a proposal. This is not a service that listing agents pay for, btw.  I responded like I always do to those who spam: PLEASE STOP. Short. Sweet. Gets the point across; yet polite, because I added that word: please.

This home stager felt the need to text again: I am a human.

Well, Janey, then you should know better than to send unsolicited text messages to strangers. Because we don’t like it. I mean, I am not sitting here wondering, oh my goodness, whom could I get to stage my listings? I don’t know anybody . . . waah.

Janey did not like this. She texted a quote. You can tell it’s a quote because she encased her words between quote marks. Something unrelated to the discussion (like a Trump Tweet). Janey claimed that rejecting her meant I am not a feminist. The crime committed was not her spamming. No, no, it was the victim’s fault for not allowing the spammer to realize her growth potential. She will pray for me, too.

For real. Not making this up.

I hate to tell Janey the hopeful Sacramento home stager that spammers are men, too. Not gender specific behavior. This Sacramento Realtor does not support any of you. None of us like spam. We detest it. Some of us abhor it more than others.

Whether you agree, Janey, your text message is spam. In this situation, there is no difference between target real estate marketing and spamming. It is unwanted and will do far more damage than you may realize; the opposite of what you hope to achieve.

Pray on that.