Often the hottest email prospects up front are also the first to cool off and disappear. You know the animal: Tire kickers. They pump you for lots of information, but nothing comes of it.

Real buyers and sellers are considering a serious financial transaction, and are often a bit cautious. They don’t know you from Adam, or Eve - other than what’s on your web site. They might ask a simple question, or sign up for your newsletter - but that could be all you hear from them.

If you haven’t experienced this, either your web site isn’t generating leads, or you are fortunate indeed (but, it won’t last). But from all the successful, web-savvy agents I have spoken to, from all the industry speakers and writers I have heard and read, and from all the Realtor e-mail discussion lists I see, it’s pretty much understood that people who e-mail you can often be furtive and not forthcoming.

That’s the two-edged sword of the web: easy to e-mail, but easy to hide. That makes for some frustration. But remember, it cuts both ways: They e-mailed you, now you can e-mail them.

Don’t give up on them! This is the secret, as so many agents have told me. Keep on sending e-mails to your web leads until they say, “Enough! Take me off your list!” or until they get serious, and start coming out into the open - often by using their real name. They are really serious if they include their phone number. All of a sudden you find yourself with a genuine homeowner ready to conduct a serious transaction.

It might take months, but e-mail farming is cheap. Coax them out! Whether your e-mail list has a hundred or a thousand names, it should take just a few clicks to send everyone your newsletter, your latest listings, or some juicy tidbit about the local real estate market.

And by the way, don't call your newsletter what it is. Instead, intrigue your prospects with the promise of insider information - "Find out why the market's changing - click here. Or, Should you lock in your interest rate? Find out here."

One Realtor told me, ""Web-savvy, money-making Realtors search online and the local newspapers for housing articles that pertain to their area. These articles are e-mailed to every lead they get and all the database at least twice a month. It's like having a third-party endorsement that really gets the clients to move."

People on these lists will respond to information if it is topical, current, relevant, and also if it has a local orientation. It helps them to feel that the Realtor is leading edge and on top of his or her game.

The tricky thing with e-mail is sending information that draws the prospect in and makes him or her respect you.

So unless they ask, why would you ever remove someone from your list? One day, each person on your list will need to buy or sell a home or other property. Your job is to keep coming up with new listings and new information, giving you a reason to e-mail them over and over and over, until that day.

Published: March 5, 2002

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Lawrence Schoeffler is Vice President of Dominion Homes Web Services and founder of NUMBER1EXPERT. Dominion Homes Web Services includes Advanced Access, Agent Advantage by Homes.com, and Best Image Marketing, and is a division of Dominion Enterprises. Advanced Access is the industry leader in agent websites. More agents invest in an Advanced Access website than any other. Agent Advantage is the official agent website service of Homes.com, one of the most popular real estate portals in America. NUMBER1EXPERT by Best Image offers America's Top Performing Web Sites, with traffic and leads unequalled in the industry, sold exclusively to Top Selling Agents. Email Lawrence at .