Email Marketing for HOAs

Communicating to homeowners is the main job of the board and property management company. It’s imperative that the board keeps homeowners informed on upcoming projects, events, board meetings and community notices.

In the past, communities would mail newsletters, notices and invoices to homeowners. In an effort to save money on printing and postage, many communities have moved to email.

When it comes to notifying homeowners about community events or improvements, email marketing helps to keep the connection between homeowners and the board. It also fosters transparency to the community in between board meetings.

Some communities use personal emails or a community email, while other communities use email marketing platforms that provide reporting.

Here’s some of the email platforms you could utilize to email homeowners:

1. Personal Email

The quickest solution in small neighborhoods is to create an email out to homeowners through Outlook or Gmail using the associated personal email.

Process

A board member collects all homeowner’s email addresses and inputs them into contacts
The board creates a list of topics and content for the email
The board narrows down the list, writes the copy, reviews it and approves it for distribution
The board member sends the approved copy to all of the homeowners, with the homeowners as BCC so they cannot start email chains with responses
Email addresses will need to be updated as new homeowners move in and former members move out

Pros

It’s quick to send a message
Most homeowners have access to email

Cons

If you use CC rather than BCC, there may be multiple strings of conversations and questions in a reply all fashion rather than just a singular reply to the sender of the email
This is using a personal email rather than a community email. If the board member doesn’t stay on the board in the future, the communication chains may be lost
There are no metrics, so you won’t be able to see if someone opened or read the message which could be an issue with urgent or time-sensitive communications

2. Community Gmail

A simple solution in neighborhoods is to create a shared email address for the board in Gmail. Emails would be sent through Gmail using the associated community email.

Setup Process

A board member creates a single community email in Gmail and distributes the login to other board members
A board member collects all homeowner’s email addresses and inputs them into contacts
The board creates a list of topics and content for the email
The board narrows down the list, writes the copy, reviews it and approves it for distribution
The board member sends the approved copy to all of the homeowners, with the homeowners as BCC so they cannot start email chains with responses
Email addresses will need to be updated as new homeowners move in and former members move out

Pros

It’s quick to send a message
Most homeowners have access to email
It’s free to use Gmail

Cons

The email account is shared, so board members may not know who is responsible for responding or checking the inbox regularly
If you use CC rather than BCC, there may be multiple strings of conversations and questions in a reply all fashion rather than just a singular reply to the sender of the email
There are no metrics, so you won’t be able to see if someone opened or read the message which could be an issue with urgent or time-sensitive communications

3. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a professional solution for communities where reporting is necessary. Emails would be designed and sent through Mailchimp using an associated community email.

Setup Process

A designated board member creates an account in Mailchimp
A board member collects all homeowner’s email addresses and inputs them into contacts
The board creates a list of topics and content for the email
The board narrows down the list, writes the copy, reviews it and approves it for design
The designated board member designs the email and sends a final proof to the board
The board reviews and approves the email for deployment
The designated board member schedules the email to be sent
Email addresses will need to be updated as new homeowners move in and former members move out

Pros

A professional looking email
Most homeowners have access to email
It’s free to use Mailchimp to start (up to 2,000 contacts and 1 audience)
Metrics are available on opens and clicks, so you will know who opened the email and when
Templates are available to help get the design process started
Emails can be duplicated so you won’t have to recreate the design from scratch if you don’t use a template

Cons

There may eventually be a cost associated with Mailchimp if you grow past the free version
It takes some time to design the email
It may be time consuming to input the email addresses, if you don’t have a spreadsheet of them