Stay in front of the homeowner who is planning an addition for next year, without nagging them this year.
Residential construction has the longest buying cycle in home services. A homeowner who requests a site walk may sign a year later, after drawings, financing and a few other bids. Past clients may build again, refer a neighbor or sell to someone who wants a renovation. Your list is the thread that keeps you in their minds through all of that.
Most of a builder's list is people who are not ready yet
A contractor's list fills up with three kinds of people. There are prospects who had a site walk or a bid and are still saving, waiting on drawings or deciding between builders. There are past clients, who rarely build twice in quick succession but who know everyone on their street who is about to. And there are partners: architects, designers, realtors and lenders who send work when you stay on their radar. Each of those groups needs different messages, at a slow and steady pace.
The best contractor emails are useful on their own. A note in late winter on what to have ready before meeting a builder, a short write-up of a finished project with what the homeowner learned, a reminder that permit offices get busy in spring. A planner who opens a few of those over a year is far more likely to call you than one who received a single follow-up after the bid and nothing since.
What email marketing for a GC has to do
Consent, segments and patience matter more than design.
Get permission at the first meeting
The site walk form and the bid both ask whether the homeowner wants occasional project notes by email, record the answer with a date, and leave anyone who declined off every send.
Keep planners, clients and partners apart
Planning prospects, signed clients, past clients and design partners need different notes. An architect does not need your note about choosing tile; a homeowner does.
Follow up on open bids like a person
A short check-in a couple of weeks after a bid, another when their drawings were due back, and a note if your schedule for their season starts filling. Each from the estimator's name, never a blast.
Turn finished jobs into stories
A short write-up of each completed project with photos and the scope, sent to past clients and partners, shows the work without bragging and gives neighbors a reason to forward it.
Mark the anniversaries
The warranty walk at the end of the first year is a natural reason to write, to ask how the house is holding up, then request a review or an introduction while the experience is still clear.
How we build it for a contracting company
Mail goes out from your CRM on your own domain, which keeps the list a company asset.
Segments built from your project data
Lead status, project type, town and partner type already sit in the CRM, so segments update on their own when a prospect signs or a project closes.
A year of planning notes written for your area
Four to six messages covering design season, permit timing, the build season, fall walkthroughs and the holidays, drafted after we talk through your year and sent only once you have read them.
Open bid follow-ups from the estimator
Plain-text follow-ups that go from the estimator's own address and stop the moment the homeowner replies or signs, so nobody gets a canned email after they have already called.
Reporting that counts site walks and contracts
Each campaign shows replies, site walks booked and contracts signed, so you see which messages brought work back.
What you own on day one.
Every account is opened in your company's name with you as the owner. If you ever leave, you change a password, not your business.
- Domain, hosting and the site files
- Phone numbers and call recordings
- The CRM and its database
- Email and text lists, with consent records
- Google Business Profile and every listing
- Analytics and Search Console
Email & SMS Marketing for general contracting, answered.
How often should a builder email past clients?
A few times a year is enough, as long as each one is worth reading. A finished project, a seasonal reminder and an anniversary note cover most of it.
Is it legal to email an architect I have never worked with?
Commercial email rules such as CAN-SPAM apply to business recipients too: identify yourself, give a real mailing address and honor opt-outs. A personal note to a single architect is different from a bulk list. Our contractor email guide covers the basics. Treat all of this as general information; it is not legal advice.
Can I text prospects instead?
Texting for marketing needs written consent and has its own rules. Use texts for scheduling and job updates with the client's agreement, and keep marketing to email unless the person has opted in to texts.
Will you write the emails for me?
Yes. We talk with you about your projects and process, draft every note in your voice, and you read each one before it sends.
Email & SMS Marketing for general contracting. Owned by you.
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