You've probably gotten one of these emails: "Dear Valued Borrower, Thank you for your interest in homeownership. As interest rates continue to fluctuate in today's dynamic market..." You didn't read it. Nobody did. It went straight to the trash, right next to the 47 other identical emails from loan officers who all bought the same drip campaign template.
Drip campaigns are one of the most powerful tools in mortgage marketing — and one of the most abused. The problem isn't the concept. It's the execution. Most LOs either write drips that sound like legal disclaimers or buy pre-written sequences that could come from literally anyone.
Why Most Mortgage Drip Campaigns Fail
Three reasons, every time:
- They're generic. The content could apply to any borrower in any state with any loan officer. There's nothing that makes it yours.
- They're too salesy. Every email pushes for an appointment. People can smell desperation through their inbox.
- They're too long. Nobody wants a 600-word email about the difference between FHA and conventional. Save that for the phone call.
The fix isn't complicated. Write like a human, provide actual value, and respect people's time.
The Anatomy of a Drip That Works
Keep It Short
Your drip emails should be 100-200 words max. That's it. People are reading on their phones between meetings. If they have to scroll more than once, they're out. The best-performing drip emails I've seen from top-producing LOs read like text messages that accidentally ended up in email format.
Write Like You Talk
Read your drip emails out loud. If you wouldn't say it that way in a conversation with a friend who asked about mortgages, rewrite it. Contractions are good. Sentence fragments are fine. Starting a sentence with "And" or "But" — totally acceptable.
"Quick question — are you still thinking about buying, or has the timeline shifted? Either way, no pressure. Just wanted to check in since we chatted a few weeks ago."
That's a real drip email that gets replies. Not award-winning prose. Just human.
Vary the Value
Not every touchpoint should be about mortgages. Mix in content that's actually useful to someone who's thinking about buying a home:
- A short tip about improving credit scores
- A local market stat that's actually interesting
- A heads-up about a rate movement and what it means in real dollars
- A link to a neighborhood guide or school ratings
- A personal story about a client (anonymized) who almost gave up but closed
The 80/20 Rule of Drip Content
80% value, education, and relationship-building. 20% soft calls-to-action. If you flip this ratio, your unsubscribe rate will tell you immediately.
A 12-Touch Drip Framework That Works
Here's the framework I recommend for a new lead who isn't ready to apply yet. This runs over 90 days:
- Day 0: Welcome + one helpful tip (not a sales pitch)
- Day 3: "Quick question" — casual check-in
- Day 7: Educational content — credit score tips or first-time buyer myth-busting
- Day 14: Local market insight — something specific to their area
- Day 21: Social proof — a short client success story
- Day 30: Rate update + what it means for their payment
- Day 37: "Still looking?" — casual re-engagement
- Day 45: Educational — down payment myths or closing cost breakdown
- Day 55: Personal note — why you do this, quick story
- Day 65: Value add — link to useful tool or resource
- Day 80: Market update + soft CTA
- Day 90: "Last check-in" — creates urgency without pressure
After 90 days, move them into a monthly nurture with ongoing email marketing that keeps you top-of-mind without overwhelming their inbox.
SMS + Email: The One-Two Punch
The best drip campaigns aren't email-only. They alternate between email and SMS. A text on Day 3 gets a 45% open rate. The same message via email gets 22% if you're lucky. Use both channels, but don't send the same message on both — that's annoying, not thorough.
Personalization That Actually Matters
Personalization isn't just [First Name]. It's segmenting your drips by situation:
- First-time buyers get educational content about the process
- Refinance leads get rate-focused content and savings calculators
- Pre-approved but still shopping get market updates and urgency
- Past clients get reactivation campaigns focused on equity, rates, and referrals
One drip sequence for everyone is lazy. Four sequences for four situations is smart. Your CRM should make this segmentation automatic based on tags and pipeline stages.
Measuring What Matters
Forget open rates — they've been unreliable since Apple's Mail Privacy Protection. Focus on:
- Reply rate: Are people actually responding to your drips?
- Appointment rate: How many drip recipients book calls?
- Unsubscribe rate: If it's above 1% per email, your content needs work
- Time-to-close: Are nurtured leads closing faster than un-nurtured ones?
The goal of a drip campaign isn't to sell a mortgage through email. It's to stay top-of-mind so that when the borrower is ready, you're the first person they think of. That's it. Keep it simple, keep it human, and let your automation handle the timing.