If you own properties and you want to strengthen your relationship with tenants, nothing will achieve this better than open communication. You’re probably active on social media already, you send out regular emails and talk with tenants face to face; but there’s always more you can do.
The best strategy, if you aren’t doing it? Create a tenant newsletter.
A newsletter is an easy and attractive way to keep tenants informed about their apartment complex as a whole and what’s going on around them. It can promote that sense of community that increases tenant loyalty and satisfaction and showcases your professionalism and organization.
If you’re not convinced you should start a tenant newsletter, here are a few more benefits to think about.
Getting basic information to tenants can be difficult. Redundancy is key. Sometimes you’ll need to send emails, make phone calls, post on the Facebook page for the complex, and circulate the info on your newsletter if you want everyone to be aware and participate.
Whether you have vital maintenance alerts that every tenant should know or an event you’d like to share across the complex, a newsletter is the perfect outlet. Special events, notices for pest control, reminders about snowplowing, apartment living tips, and parking information are all items you can include to enhance your tenants’ overall living experience.
Is there a policy that needs to be reinforced? Have you added a new one that everyone must know about? After emailing the information to your tenants, use the newsletter to reinforce the information.
This is a non-threatening way to remind tenants about their lease agreements. Reminders about the rent due date, maps that designate pet-friendly areas in the complex and the neighborhood, proper ways to fill out maintenance requests, and reminders to renew contracts are all suitable fodder for a newsletter.
One extremely worthwhile goal of being the landlord is making tenants feel like they’re a part of a community. The complex is their neighborhood, and it should be friendly, safe, and inviting.
Use your newsletter to spread the word about holiday parties, yard sales, and other events in the complex. The newsletter can bring tenants together, help them to make friends, and encourage them to try new activities with their neighbors.
Newsletters are also an excellent way to reduce vacancies. Announce that you have so many spaces to fill before the next lease begins, and you’d like to give your tenants first dibs in either shifting to a different apartment or inviting friends to move in.
Word of mouth can be an extremely powerful marketing tool. You never know where your newsletter will end up or who will see it. If you include URLS to your apartment’s website and social media links with contact information, your vacancies could fill up much quicker.
You’ve probably given your tenants a magnet or flyer with your contact information on it, but some renters probably lost or trashed it. If you print and circulate contact information every month or quarter, it’s easy for tenants to contact you regarding questions or concerns, and that could help to avoid bigger problems down the road.
If you believe your apartment complex could use a newsletter, then draft a plan to create one. Ideally, you should devote plenty of thought to the task before you begin. A cheap, poorly constructed newsletter will only diminish the appeal of your apartments and dispel the aforementioned benefits. Here are five suggestions.
The design is one of the most powerful facets of a great tenant newsletter. If you don’t have a background in graphic design, hand it over to the professionals.
But if you decide to make the newsletter yourself, use a template. There are thousands of options available online for download, whether you’re inclined to pay for them or not. It might be worth it to pay for a good template and give your newsletter a more polished look.
You could also hire a graphic designer. Not only will he or she create a high-quality design to your specifications, but this will take another responsibility off your plate.
When it comes to the content, you should provide more value than simply posting contact information and events around the complex. You want your tenants to look forward to reading these communiqués every month, so including brand-new, interesting information is a great way to make that happen.
Keep it interesting by including relevant home improvement tips, options for recycling, simple home décor ideas that fall in line with the lease agreement, and recipes, for instance.
Newsletters can definitely help to build a sense of community, but for the best results, try dedicating a section to tenant contributions. Accept submissions of poems, articles, drawings, recipes, and other home-made contributions from your tenants.
There might also be a section to publish tenant accomplishments and news, such as the arrival of a baby, welcome to a new neighbor, or a work promotion. But as a word of caution, never publish anything without the tenant’s consent. Doing so could put you at risk for a lawsuit.
Make it easier for your tenants to remember important dates with a full-size calendar on the back. You can include community events, scheduled maintenance, rent due date reminders, office closures, and other dates to help tenants stay organized.
This is also a great way to keep your tenants from throwing the newsletter away immediately. Including a calendar encourages them to put the newsletter on the fridge and use it as their own personal calendar throughout the month.
Boost the strong community feel and help out the local economy at the same time by offering portraits of local businesses. Feature a different outfit every month, such as a local bookstore, coffee shop, dry cleaner, or car mechanic.
Talk to the business owners about offering special discounts to your residents. Most firms are more than happy to take advantage of the free advertising and hand over a coupon to attach with your newsletter.
Aside from circulating a newsletter, one of the best ways to increase communication, boost a feeling of community, and improve the tenant experience is to use Green Residential as your Katy property managers. We can handle everything from tenant screenings to rent collection and repairs in order to increase the loyalty of your tenants and build a strong rental community.
For more information about the services and benefits we provide, contact us today!
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