Hi {{first_name | there}},

Realtors have been doing this for years. The good ones send a short email every week or two, market updates, what they're seeing, a tip or two, and they stay in front of past clients and warm prospects without a sales pitch in sight. When someone is ready to move, they call the person who never disappeared.

Builders can run the same play. Most don't.

A newsletter doesn't replace your referral network. It strengthens it. A past client who hears from you every two weeks is far more likely to mention your name at a backyard barbecue than one who got a thank-you card three years ago and nothing since. That's not marketing. That's just staying in touch at scale.

There's a credibility angle too. When a prospect gets six or eight issues of your newsletter before they ever pick up the phone, they already trust you. You've answered questions they didn't know they had. You've shown them how you think and what you care about. By the time they call, the sale is mostly done.

Keep it simple. What you're seeing in the local market. A project detail or problem you solved recently. One thing homeowners consistently get wrong. You know things your clients and prospects don't, and that gap is exactly what a newsletter is for.

Length matters. Three hundred to four hundred words, one strong idea, readable in under three minutes on a phone. If they finish every issue, they'll open the next one. That's the whole game.

You already have a list. Past clients, current prospects, trade partners, local realtors you work with. That's your launch audience. Pick a platform, Beehiiv, Kit, or Substack all work, and send a personal note explaining what you're starting. Don't overthink the first issue. One observation, one project update, a simple sign-off.

Post the same ideas on LinkedIn and point people to a subscribe page, not a back issue. Readers who read one issue and don't subscribe are usually gone. Make subscribing the only ask.

Twelve months from now, a builder who published consistently has something no ad budget can replicate: a documented track record of showing up and being useful. The leads are what happen when the right person reads the right issue at the right time.

It's one of the highest-return habits in the business. Most builders just haven't started yet.

Ready to build yours? Get in touch and we'll walk you through it.

Timothy Dahl
[email protected]
Founder, Builder Playbook
Connect with me on LinkedIn