A Modern Approach To Filling A Classroom

Education is a critical part of a real estate agent’s success and often it’s the most neglected part of what they do.  It’s not because REALTORS® do not see the value of education in general.  The opposite is true actually. Real estate agents are constantly scouring social media, YouTube, chat groups, and other options to find the best way to improve their business. Agents are actually drowning in educational opportunities.  There is a never-ending stream of emails sent to agents every day from their brokers, the National and State Associations, and every vendor in the country who is begging for the agent’s attention.

In today’s market getting agents to signup for a learning experience is based on three primary parts.  The first factor is having a relevant topic, the second is having a valued speaker and after those two it’s entirely up to the efficacy of the marketing campaign.  Marketing demonstrates the relevancy of the topic and spotlights the value of the speaker, so really it’s all about marketing.

Innovative marketing is the singular reason why one-course host will have a full house for a program, while another host has to cancel for lack of registration in the same course.

For nearly 20 years I’ve been teaching real estate classes and in that time I’ve worked alongside Realtor Associations, franchises, brokerages, and others hosting educational programs and trying to get those classes filled.  After all, it doesn’t matter how great your speaker or their content is if no one is there to listen to it.  The following post is a collection of techniques and resources that I’ve seen have a pretty heavy impact on filling those classrooms and making your training event a success!

A REALTOR® Persona

As with all marketing efforts, we should ignore what “we’re always done” and assess if it really does work in today’s changing world.  After all, if you’ve always done something, then the recipients of your messaging have already seen it. There is a very real issue of brand-blindness in all consumers, including your targeted learners.  They see the same email over and over they will rarely notice the email is a solicitation for a different educational program.

We need to stand out as marketers.  We do that by first identifying who our target audience is.  Far too often those hosting an educational opportunity falsely assume that a topic appeals to one generation of REALTOR® or another.  That narrow way of thinking is a great way to miss an opportunity.  Agents may have a specific learning style that is influenced by their generation, but they serve various types of people and various generations of clients, which means that they need well-rounded training in all aspects of real estate. The topic itself doesn’t dictate your target audience.  However, your marketing tools should be on point and you must know who that target is.  The National Association of Realtors has given us a gift in this area.  Each year NAR publishes a Membership Profile.

If you’re an Association, you may think you know your membership because you work with them each day.  Don’t be fooled.  The volunteers that you work with or the Brokers you work with are rarely indicative of your core “boots-on-the-ground” general membership.  If you’re a Broker, you can also fall into the trap of thinking that h vocal minority is indicative of your entire company. All of your agents have different needs and academic desires.

Start off by reviewing the Membership Profile and then begin working on a communications plan.

Here’s a summary of the 2024 Report:

• Average REALTOR® has 10 years of experience
• 69% are on Facebook actively daily, then Instagram and LinkedIn thereafter
• The average producing agent has 12 transactions a year (1 per month)
• The median income is $42,000
• Typical REALTOR® is a 53-year-old female
• 51% with a college degree
• 74% are full-time

Once you’ve created a persona of your target audience, which will differ from topic to topic, the next step is to decide how to innovatively reach each group.  I’ve found that a very useful first step is to survey your members or agents each year.  A great tool for this is SurveyMonkey.  Sending out a survey allows you to not only know what the agents are looking for, but you can call on the results in your marketing and say things like “The most requested topic this year!” or “You asked for it and we’ve delivered!”

You Need A Plan

Now you have a training class worth attending, a speaker worth hearing, and a message worth listening to. Figure out what problem(s) the learner has that your training program can resolve.

Far too many education providers tend to have no real communications plan when it comes to promoting education.  Often a flier is made and an email sent and a prayer is lifted up.  Then when they remember that there is a class coming up and registration is low, the poor Education Director then sends out another email.  The second email rarely does more than the first.  We need a plan.  Thankfully most of the effective tools for getting an agent into a classroom are free or inexpensive!

I have added a model plan at the bottom of this post.

Design A Compelling Message

We need to pierce through the noise of the learner’s day and disrupt what they’re doing so that we can get their attention. Far too often education messaging is boring, “old school” and lacks any life at all.  We need to ensure that our messaging has energy, shows the learner what problem they have (they often may not know) and how their time and money attending your learning experience is going to benefit them.

Start With The Title

Let’s say that you’re hosting a time management class.  Most training sessions would merely say “Time Management”.  That unimaginative title forces the reader to go through a mental process to figure out if it’s a new class or the same old one they took in the past. They are left wondering if they really need to manage their time better.  Whereas “When Do You Sleep? Re-Thinking Time Management” reminds them that they haven’t slept well lately (very few agents get sufficient rest) and then the sub-title stirs up that there may be something new in store for them because we’re ‘re-thinking’  what was perhaps an old idea.  TedTalks does a great job of naming programs and should be a standard for most programs.

No one really wants to take another ‘Contracts Class”, but an agent will take interest in a “Contract Masterclass: How To Be Your Client’s Hero”.

AI Prompt:

• I’m creating a course for real estate agents about [topic or transformation]. Please suggest 5 compelling course titles that follow these principles:
  1. Lead with the Outcome — Focus on what the student will be able to do or achieve after taking the course.
  2. Use Power Words — Include action-oriented or emotionally charged words that grab attention.
  3. Call Out the Audience — Mention or imply who the course is for to help the right people self-identify.
  4. Create a Signature Style — Use a consistent format or naming convention that feels branded or repeatable.
  5. Add a Hook — Include a bold promise, timeframe, number, or element of curiosity to increase appeal.

Now Describe It

Now that we’ve given it a title worthy of my attention, I, the learner, want to get a little more about what’s going on in this training session.  Again, don’t be a robot when you write the description.  Write a short, but effective single paragraph to describe what this training session will do to resolve the agent’s problem.  Write it in such a way as to compel an agent to feel that they have to attend. Make it relatable and give them just enough to know that they have to show up to hear what is in this class.  Be careful… If you oversell or over-explain the class and give them too much they may believe that they already know the topic and not bother signing up.

Here are some simple examples:  “The practice of real estate in today’s world requires the practitioner to be in more than one place at a time, think about 20 things simultaneously, and never grants them the gift of sleep. Agents can get trapped in this vortex of demand. The “When Do You Sleep” session is designed to help agents re-think time management and grab a few tips from the pros.  This powerful session will explore new hacks, practices, and tools that will give you more control over your professional and personal life!”

AI Prompt:

• I’m creating a course for [insert target audience] on [insert topic]. Please write a one-paragraph course description using these five proven elements for maximum impact 

1. Start With the Pain or the Promise – Hook the reader with either a relatable struggle or an irresistible result.
2. Be Clear on the Transformation – Explain what the learner will gain, understand, or be able to do after the course.
3. Speak Like a Human – Use a conversational tone that’s clear, engaging, and free of jargon.
4. Name Drop Outcomes or Deliverables – Mention any specific tools, templates, strategies, or skills the learner will walk away with.
5. End With a CTA or FOMO Hook – Wrap it with a line that encourages action, urgency, or excitement about the class. I’m creating a course for real estate agents on [insert topic]. Please write a one-paragraph course description using these five proven elements for maximum impact. The tone should be confident, professional, and slightly conversational (not academic). Keep it under 150 words.

Keep It Clean

When you read “keep it clean”, did your mind go into the gutter?  I don’t mean that you can’t curse in your descriptions, because you can and it is often effective.  Using a phrase like “The Best Damn Marketing Class Ever” certainly gets people’s attention.  But, what I really mean is that you need to keep the design of your marketing pieces clean. Use white space well, don’t use clutter, and by all means use simple and professional fonts.  Stay away from clip art and NEVER use anything that looks like a cartoon.  Only give the information that is needed.  When you look at it, do you feel like it’s clean room devoid of clutter?  The communication piece should be designed to get their attention and get them to the online registration page. There is NO reason to put all of the information on a flyer or marketing email.

A mistake by many novice marketers is to try and to fit all of the information on a communications piece. Title, description, time, date, speaker information, and (maybe) the price of the course is all that is needed.  The call to action should direct them to the online page to register.

Tools To Communicate With

Now that we’ve covered the content, let’s chat about the vehicles available to us to deliver our message.  In real estate, you’re going to have various types of learning styles and generations to appeal to when trying to solicit agents into your classrooms.  Therefore, your marketing efforts should be multifaceted.  A combination of tools should be used, but all of your marketing in today’s cluttered world should be based on an ongoing and meaningful engagement with your agents and members.

The Fancy Flier (Or “Flyer” if you prefer)

The good ‘ol flyer is still a staple of your marketing efforts. The flier is what you can email to agents and their brokers for posting and printing.  Fliers can also be left out at your offices for potential learners to pick up as they pass through. And lastly, they can and should be given to the learner in all classes leading up to the subject class.  I’ve found that those in a class are already thinking about education and are apt to sign up for the next session when in that mindset.

Currently, my favorite tool for creating fliers happens to be Canva, which is free.  Yup.  Free.  Canva has tons of templates that will let you create a stylish flier in literally just a few minutes.  The system allows you to download a PDF, JPG or PNG file which can be used for other purposes as well.

By the way, some of the national designation programs already have ready-made fliers.  These are great as templates, just make sure that your design and presentation are consistent with your messaging.

In recent years I find that the use of a QR code is very well received.  Using free services like QRCodeMonkey can allow you to quickly create a QR code to add to your flyer or poster.  This allows agents to quickly scan and register on their phones.  Most agents are rarely without their smartphones in their hard.  Reducing the friction of registration increases the probability of registering and not forgetting about the flyer they picked up and mislaid.

Here’s an example of a Canva flyer with template is at the bottom of this page.

The Power of Email

Email seems to be the primary way that education hosts let their members and agents know about upcoming classes.  However, the average Realtor is inundated with countless emails from everyone, every day.  What will make your email stand out?  Your education classes should be a part of each email that you send out.  There should be a call to action and link that a learner can easily click to get more information and to register.

Yes, you can list all of your upcoming classes in a general weekly or monthly update, but there should be email campaigns just for each course to ensure that they stand out.  The email subject line should be engaging and unique. CoSchedule’s Headline Optimer (it’s free) is a great tool for finding and testing the perfect email subject line to get attention.

The subject line must be compelling and give me some reason to open the email.  Once I open it, it needs to be well designed and simple with a clear link to get more information.

I love MailChimp.com .  MailChimp is also free for the first 2000 or so emails a month and has great analytics to see what’s working and what isn’t.  It allows you to add the graphic that you created in Canva and also a video if you’d like, which we’ll talk about later. Mailchimp has a ton of tricks up its sleeve, but it’s also super easy to use and manage.  (An added bonus of MailChimp is that it can help you create targeted Facebook ads – see video below).

Targeting on Social Media

Meaningful social media engagement is essential for creating and connecting with your members and agents.  Be careful to not solely use your social media presence as a marketing tool, but rather as a way to start an engagement.  Use the conversations that are already happening to find out what the agents are facing or interested in and then offer the solution by way of education.  You should also use premium options to promote your graphics.

As sad as it may be, Association members rarely follow their Association’s social media account and if you’re a broker hosting a class, you may want to advertise to agents outside of your firm. Targeted social media ads are very inexpensive and will reach a broader audience.

The two most impactful options right now are Facebook Ads and Instagram Boosted  Posts.  The agents you are targeting are on those platforms all day long.  Generally, Brokerages and Associations have a database of their agents that they can download and then use to target with ads on Facebook.

Video tutorials for targeted ads are below.

Video Marketing

It’s true… We’re a society of watchers and not readers.  There is so much literature put in front of us on a daily basis that we would prefer to watch a video clip as opposed to reading a class description (don’t you wish this post was a video?).  Additionally, I’m usually very intentional and careful with my time.  If I’m going to consider a training program, especially one where I have to pay, I want to know the instructor as much as what the topic is about.

A successful marketing program that I have seen schools use is to send out a video from the instructor introducing themselves and then later a video of the instructor speaking about what the program is and how its importance.  If your registration page will support it, embedding these videos can be beneficial as well. Certainly sending these videos out by email using MailChimp, Loom or BombBomb will get the agent’s attention.

You can also create animated videos in Canva or use something more advanced like Lumen5 to create eye-catching animated ads for email and social media will create a powerful engagement tool.

If your chosen speaker has free and recorded video content on YouTube (like this) you can also send that with part of your promotion in order to get potential learners excited about the speaker.

Today creating a video is super simple. You’re carrying an entire video collection and an editing suite on your phone.  Videos don’t need to be over-edited or polished.  The more casual and “real” they are the more views you’ll get.  Editing them is simple. My favorite free tool for creating videos is Spark from Adobe.

Student Testimonials

We’re now in a culture where we have become dependant on reviews.  From Yelp to Amazon everyone has their own way of interpreting reviews left by their peers, but they depend on them at some level or another.  Hearing from a past student about the power of a training program or instructor is important too. The hosts of educational programs should be asking for feedback at the end of each training program.  Written feedback is good, but a video of a learner who has taken the class before may be much better

National Exposure

Of course, having a registration page set up on your site with good keywords and distribution will help you pick up some national or regional recognition and promotion, but if you’re hosting a NAR designation then there is no better exposure than on training4re.com. The folks at CRD and REBI have a great site set up to get your classes out there.

Instructor Lead Promotion

And the last tool in this toolkit is to get the instructors involved in the process.  Instructors often have their own audience and tribe that they’ve collected while lecturing and sharing. Instructors can promote upcoming classes on their own websites and social media resources as well. However, most instructors (including myself) are reluctant to inundate their tribes with constant promotion of upcoming classes. Unless it’s a virtual learning experience I will rarely promote a class on my own eNewsletters or social media as to not annoy followers with courses that aren’t in their marketplace.

Instructors should also be compelled and equipped to promote other training.  Create slides that can be added to the instructor’s PowerPoint or Keynote presentation about other upcoming classes so that they can cross-promote the topic. For example, if I’m teaching a class on marketing and it touches on a question about regulations, it’s not useful to break away from the marketing program to talk about regulations.  But if you have a class on risk reduction coming up, slip a slide in the marketing class to promote the upcoming risk reduction program.  Just be careful with this.  If every other slide is a promotion for another training program, it breaks the cadence of the class and merely comes across as shilling for more classes. Only one or two cross-marketing pitches should be made in any given class.

It also goes a long way if a good instructor has the learner’s attention and can suggest another course or instructor.  This gives the other instructor a little credibility from someone the current learner likes.

Sample Education Marketing and Processing Plan

Checklist for NAR Designation and Certification Courses

(With Recommendations for a Smooth Event)

Download in PDF or Download in Excel

Best Practice Recommendations

• Build a shared folder structure: Use a naming convention (e.g., 2025-06_SRS_Fredericksburg) to keep everything organized.

• Use a checklist template in Trello, Asana, or Excel: Include due dates, responsible party, and status columns.

• Automate where possible: Use email scheduling and templates for reminders and marketing.

• Instructor briefing call: 15-minute call 1 week out can prevent 2 hours of day-of chaos.

• Debrief meeting post-event: Capture wins, issues, and lessons learned for smoother execution next time.

Have Fun With It!

Marketing is fun and it gives you an avenue to exercise your creativity and see a successful end result. Marketing should be enjoyable because if it’s not then your audience will be able to tell.  Try different things, track what works and what doesn’t, and don’t overspend on promotion.  Every training topic has an audience, it’s up to you to package it in such a way as to appeal to the agent.

I hope you are able to use some of the information here.  If you’ve got ideas, please feel free to leave them in the comments below.

If you’d like more information with a group of collaborative instructors, feel free to join the Professional Real Estate Educators on Facebook.

Course Flyer with QR Code

Canva Template for this Flyer (click here)

Sample: Instructor Course Introduction

Sample Instructor Tips Video Used To Build Interest In The Speaker