Use these holiday marketing ideas for real estate agents to stay first of mind with your sphere, from handwritten cards to charity drives. Free checklist.
Most agents take the holidays off. They stop calling, stop posting, and wonder in January why nobody is talking to them. That is your opening.
These holiday marketing ideas for real estate agents give you 20 ways to stay in front of your sphere of influence while everyone else is checked out. I built the list for agents who want a plan, not a pep talk. Every idea is something you can start this week, and most cost less than a tank of gas.
I put all 20 on a one-page checklist you can grab at the bottom of this post. If you want my short list of favorites first, here is my earlier post on holiday real estate marketing ideas.
VIDEO: The Top 20 Holiday Marketing Ideas for Real Estate Agents
Why most agents check out, and why you shouldn’t
The holidays are the one stretch of the year when people actually expect to hear from you. They get cards from their dentist and their pest control company. They save them. In my house, the cards go up on the counter and stay there, even the ones from companies I have never met. If a pest control company can earn a spot on the counter, you can too.
Your sphere is friends, family, past clients, your spouse’s co-workers, people you went to high school with, and the people who follow you on Facebook locally. They know your name. They might refer you or hire you someday. The holidays give you a reason to reach out that has nothing to do with selling.
Holiday marketing ideas for real estate agents start with value
Here is the rule I teach: your marketing has to add value or come from contribution. If every touch says “I’m Brian, call me next time you buy or sell,” that is advertising. That is taking, not giving. People tune it out, mute you, or unfriend you.
Ask yourself two questions before you send anything. What can I give? What would I want to receive?
I recommend 40 contacts a year to every person in your sphere. There are 52 weeks in a year, so that is almost one touch a week. You cannot do that with a phone call alone. Rotate Facebook, Instagram, mailers, email, direct messages, texts, and the occasional call, so nobody feels chased. The 100-touch math shows what that rotation is worth, and the full sphere of influence contact plan shows how to run it.
The top 20 holiday marketing ideas for real estate agents
1. Holiday cards
Handwritten notes never get old. They are not creative, and that is why they work. Add one personal line to every card. Even if you only sign it, mail it.
2. Social media contests
Run a kids’ coloring contest, a recipe contest, or a holiday lights and decorations contest. Ask people to post and tag you with a hashtag, so their friends see it too. That is how you turn their friend list into yours. Say “holiday” rather than “Christmas” so everyone feels invited.
3. Holiday open house at your listing
If you have a listing this time of year, turn it into an event. Your seller gets traffic, and your sphere gets a party. See my open house ideas for more.
4. Photos with Santa
Do it at a local coffee shop or any venue that wants foot traffic. Nobody goes to the mall anymore. A phone photo texted to the family works fine, and you do not need a photographer.
5. Holiday party
Host a client appreciation open house at your home. Eggnog, hot chocolate, appetizers, and a branded party favor.
6. Gingerbread decorating party
Parents bring their kids, and the kids drag the parents back next year. Buy the kits, set out the candy, and do it at a featured listing if you have one.
7. Promote a charity
This is the big one. Find a charity that is already running a coat drive, canned food drive, or toy drive, and ask if you can market it to your database. They will say yes. It looks like your event, and you do not spend a nickel. Post their materials, email them, and go live from the drop-off site.
If you farm a neighborhood, run your own drive. Drop a bag with instructions on every door, and put your name on the bag. Send reminders by email, social, and a flyer five days out. Pick up the donations, take photos, and tag the neighborhood. People feel good about giving, and you did the work for them. Read my geographic farming scripts and the listing alert system that top teams use alongside it.
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SOI: Building a Referral-Based Sphere of Influence (Icenhower Institute)
ICT Online CourseSOI: Building a Referral-Based Sphere of Influence
Build a thriving real estate business fueled by relationships, referrals, and repeat clients.
Learn how to systematically grow, organize, and communicate with your Sphere of Influence (SOI)
Discover contact plans that keep you top of mind with friends, family, and past clients
Master scripts, dialogues, and social media strategies to generate consistent referrals
Gain tools to track relationships, measure engagement, and increase repeat business
Implement simple follow-up systems that turn contacts into loyal clients
Includes downloadable SOI trackers, communication templates, and marketing materials
Generate Endless Referrals
Turn your personal and professional relationships into a steady stream of business.
Stay Top of Mind
Follow structured contact plans that strengthen relationships and build trust.
Build Long-Term Success
Create a business model that thrives on repeat clients and word-of-mouth marketing.
Designed for all learning types
Video Training
In-depth video training walking you through each module of the course, explaining the strategies, tips, and best practices for using Canva for real estate agents.
Written Workbook
Detailed and downloadable written workbook that provides you with a bullet point outline, summarized text, action steps, key takeaways, as well as space for taking notes.
Instructor Materials
Teach this course at your organization with the help of our downloadable presentation notes, presentation files, and Instructor's Manual.
Course curriculum
Enrollment includes access to the following course materials for 6 month
Module 1: How to Create a Real Estate Sphere of Influence List- VIDEO: How to Create a Real Estate Sphere of Influence List – PART 1
- VIDEO: How to Create a Real Estate Sphere of Influence List – PART 2
- AUDIO: How to Create a Sphere of Influence List – PART 1
- AUDIO: How to Create a Sphere of Influence List – PART 2
- WORKBOOK: How to Create a Real Estate Sphere of Influence List
- VIDEO: How to Set Up Your CRM
- Script: Update Database
- SOI Member Contact Form (fillable)
- Daily SOI Contact Form (fillable)
- Script: Update Database & Direct Message
VIDEO: Who Do You Know
AUDIO: Who Do You Know?
Workbook: Who Do You Know?
Who Do I Know From These Industries? (fillable)
SOI Call & Text Contact Cycle
QUIZ: Module 2 Part 1
QUIZ: Module 2 Part 2
Module 2 Action Steps
VIDEO: How to Contact Your SOI
AUDIO: How to Contact Your SOI
Workbook: How to Contact Your SOI
VIDEO: Create Your SOI Contact Plan
AUDIO: Create Your SOI Contact Plan
Workbook: Create Your SOI Contact Plan
Sample Contact Plans
Sample Plan #1: The Basic
Sample Plan #2: Giving to Get
Sample Plan #3: Social Butterfly
Monthly Mailer Topics
QUIZ: Module 4
Module 4 Action Steps
VIDEO: How to Grow Your SOI
AUDIO: How to Grow Your SOI
Workbook: How to Grow Your SOI
About this course
- $349
- 147 lessons
- 8 hours of video content
Immediate Takeaways and Course Features
This course includes downloadable assets so you can immediately put what you learn into practice. As with all of our ICC Online Courses, helpful features like quizzes and action items at the end of each module are built-in to help keep you on track with your learning.
- SCRIPTS that help you incorporate friends, acquaintances, vendors and others into your SOI. SOI Referral Script Booklet, SOI Update Database Script, FB Direct Message Scripts, Update Database and Ask For Referral Script, Asking For Referrals Script, Vendors and Referrals Script, Presenting an Exclusive Buyers Agency Agreement Script, Handling Objections Scripts, and more.
- FORMS AND LISTS to streamline processes and document your SOI. Daily Contact Form, SOI Member Contact Form, My SOI Contact Plan Form, Who Do I Know From These Industries Spreadsheet, Buyer Questionnaire and Lead Sheet, Seller Questionnaire and Lead Sheet, and more.
- SAMPLE WORKSHEETS and questionnaires. Who Do I Know From These Industries Worksheet, How Does Your SOI Measure Up, and more.
- QUIZ at the end of each module to promote retention of information and test your knowledge.
- ACTION ITEMS at the end of each module to push you forward in your business and apply what you just learned.
- OPTIONS for how you learn best. Each module provides a downloadable PDF chapter as well as a featured video of Brian Icenhower, teaching the topic at hand. At the beginning of the course, you are also provided with a full audiobook to listen to. So however you learn best -- we have an option for you!
Certification & Designation Upon Completion
In this ICT online course, you will receive an official designation of "Certified Referral Network Expert" or CRNE upon completion, as well as a downloadable (and printable) Certificate of Completion. Add your designation seal, as well as your designation letters, to your email certification to bolster your reputation and show off your expertise to clients and colleagues alike.
Reviews
"I use ICT systems, the Icenhower Institute, and the coaching program to coach and train my team of over 30 agents. I use the ICT dashboard systems to keep my entire team accountable for their activities and set proper expectations."
Brian Icenhower.
Like all Icenhower training courses, I created SOI: Building A Referral-Based Sphere of Influence for those real estate agents wanting to move from a mere real estate practice to a systematized real estate business with the control and mastery of your results.
You are not an "average agent", so you need to employ the tried and tested ways of the nation’s Top Producers for always having an abundance of prospective buyers and sellers lined up — people who know who you are by name and "brand", who come to you first to list their property or to show them their next new one.
Regardless of your specialty, location or client base, we’ll show you how to systematize your approach to SOI: Building A Real Estate Agent's Sphere of Influence and employ the tried and tested way of taking back control — or grabbing it perhaps for the first time — of your ability to generate a predictable number of Closed Transactions month after month.
We’ll show you step-by-step how to grow your results year after year, and do it with no gaps in productivity or slumps in transaction activity, as you approach your business’s SOI Referral Database like a master.
Grow your real estate business through relationships that last.
Enroll in SOI: Building a Referral-Based Sphere of Influence (ICT) to learn how top agents cultivate repeat and referral business through consistent communication, systems, and service. Build a reliable, relationship-driven business that stands the test of time.
Start building your sphere today. Add to CartHear what your peers think
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1×1 Solo Agent Weekly Coaching Program
This 1×1 Solo Agent Weekly Real Estate Coaching Program designed to help you increase your production and your commission income with strategies and systems for sustainable business growth.
8. Holiday swag
Calendar magnets, sports schedules, mugs, ornaments, even Cutco knives. People keep useful things. A tree ornament with a neighborhood name on one side and your logo on the other will hang on their tree for years. Ask your accountant what you can write off before year end.
9. Mistletoe
When I was a kid I climbed a walnut tree with a buddy, cut down the mistletoe, tied ribbon on it, and sold it door to door for five bucks. Nearly every house bought it. Nobody ever has mistletoe, so it stands out.
10. Holiday wrapping kit
Two rolls of paper, ribbon, and tape. Everybody runs out.
11. Movie tickets
Families go to the movies in December. A few tickets mean a lot.
12. Jars of hot chocolate
A mason jar of cocoa with marshmallows and a tag with your name. Cheap, easy, and it lands on the doorstep.
13. Poinsettia
Drop one on every porch in your farm. Some agents do it every year, like a pumpkin drop in the fall.
14. Cookie cutters and cookie dough
Give them everything they need for a family baking afternoon, with a handwritten note.
15. Holiday newsletter
You know the family letter that tells you what everyone did this year? You read it every time. Do the same: what you and your family have been up to. It makes you real to people who only know your name.
16. Unique client events
Rent a bowling alley, a movie theater, or a drive-in. One agent I coach organized Christmas caroling in a farm of 2,000 homes, and 30 people showed up and sang door to door. Everyone in that neighborhood remembers who started it.
17. Closing statement
Boring, and it might be the most useful thing on the list. The first week of January, send every past client from this year a copy of their closing statement. Tell them to forward it to their accountant. Every Realtor should do this.
18. Annual reviews
Right after New Year’s, call, text, or DM your sphere and offer a quick Zoom to go over a CMA on their home. Show them what the neighbors sold for. Do one a day and you will finish about 20 a month. It is the most powerful contact you can make because it is real estate and it is service. If they ever sell with someone else after that, I would be shocked.
19. New Year’s card
Far fewer agents send these, so yours gets noticed.
20. Neighborhood guide
List the local holiday parades, Santa photos, charity drives, and events. Put it in a PDF, post it, and shoot a video about it. The first year takes work. After that you update it and reuse it.
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FARM: The Real Estate Agent’s Ultimate Guide to Farming Neighborhoods (Icenhower Institute)
ICT Online CourseFARM: The Real Estate Agent's
Ultimate Guide to Farming Neighborhoods
Build your brand and dominate a neighborhood with real estate farming.
Step-by-step system for selecting and farming the right neighborhood
Proven marketing strategies to stay top-of-mind with local homeowners
How to use mailers, events, and digital tools for maximum exposure
Scripts and dialogues to connect with residents and earn trust
Tracking tools to measure engagement and long-term growth
Downloadable farming calendars, templates, and marketing materials
Choose the Right Farm
Learn how to identify the best neighborhoods for consistent lead generation.
Stay Top of Mind
Apply proven marketing and outreach strategies that build trust over time.
Create Predictable Growth
Turn your farm into a reliable source of listings and referrals year after year.
Designed for all learning types
Video Training
In-depth video training walking you through each module of the course, explaining the strategies, tips, and best practices for using Canva for real estate agents.
Written Workbook
Detailed and downloadable written workbook that provides you with a bullet point outline, summarized text, action steps, key takeaways, as well as space for taking notes.
Instructor Materials
Teach this course at your organization with the help of our downloadable presentation notes, presentation files, and Instructor's Manual.
Course curriculum
Enrollment includes access to the following course materials for 6 months
Module 1: Introduction to Farming- Workbook: Introduction to Farming
- Video: How to Select Your Farm
- Workbook: Flyers, Mailers, Seasonals and Updates
- Video: Flyers, Mailers, Seasonals and Updates
- Script: Just Sold
- Script: Just Listed
- Newsletter Templates by Month
- Just Sold Flyer and Postcard Templates
- Just Listed Flyer and Postcard Templates
- Now Offering Virtual Showings Postcard Template
- Direct Mail Marketing Companies
- Check-In: Module 2
- Workbook: Calling the Neighbors & Door-Knocking
- Video: Calling the Neighbors & Door-Knocking
- Script: Follow-Up for Neighbors
- Script: Door-Knocking
- Script: Just Sold
- Script: Just Listed
- Workbook: FSBOs & Expired Listings
- Video: For Sale By Owners & Expired Listings
- Expired Listing Postcard Template
- Script: FSBO Phone Call
- Script: Benefits of Listing with an Agent
- Script: The Watch Analogy
- Script: Expired Listing #1
- Script: Expired Listing #2
- Script: Expired Listing #3
- Workbook: Open Houses & Neighborhood Events
- Video: Open Houses & Neighborhood Events
- Script: Promoting Your Open House
- Script: Scheduling an Open House
- Script: Open House Security
- Script: Open House Buyer Conversion
- Script: When a Neighbor Walks In
- Client Appreciation Events Packet
- Open House System Checklist – fillable
- Open House System Checklist
- Open House Instagram Posts Template
- Open House Flyer Template
- Open House Facebook Posts Template
- Open House Timeline Graphic
- Luxury Open House Ideas
- Workbook: Email databases, campaigns and community websites
- Video: Creating Email Databases, Campaigns & Community Websites
- Email Campaigns
- Community Websites
- Search Updates
- Script: Email Campaigns
- Workbook: Farming with Social Media
- Video: Social Media Farming Methods
- Real Estate Farming Ideas to Farm an Entire City
- Script: Facebook Farming
- Video: Geographic Farming Scripts and Ideas for Real Estate Agents
- Farming Placement Graphic
About this course
- $299
- 58 lessons
- 3.5 hours of video content
Immediate Takeaways
Here is what you can expect to gain from taking this online course.
- SCRIPTS that help you know how to talk to your farm. Just Sold Script, Just Listing Script, Follow-Up for Neighbors Script, Door-Knocking Script, FSBO Phone Call Script, Benefits of Listing with an Agent Script, The Watch Analogy Script, Expired Listing Scripts, Promoting Your Open House Script, Scheduling Your Open House Script, Open House Security Script, Open House Buyer Conversion Script, When a Neighbor Walks In Script, Email Campaigns Script, Facebook Farming Script, and more.
- TOPICS that will help you learn how to farm successfully. Flyers, Mailers, Seasonals, and Updates, How to Door Knock, How to Work with FSBOs and Expireds, How to Host Open Houses and Neighborhood Events, How to Structure a Successful Email Campaign, How to Use Social Media to Farm, and more.
- OPTIONS for how you learn best. Each module provides a downloadable PDF chapter as well as a featured video of Brian Icenhower, teaching the topic at hand. At the beginning of the course, you are also provided with a full audiobook to listen to. So however you learn best -- we have an option for you!
Certification & Designation Upon Completion
In this ICT online course, you will receive an official designation of "Certified Geographic Farming Expert" or CGFE upon completion, as well as a downloadable (and printable) Certificate of Completion. Add your designation seal, as well as your designation letters, to your email signature to bolster your reputation and show off your expertise to clients and colleagues alike.
Reviews
"I use ICT systems, the Icenhower Institute, and the coaching program to coach and train my team of over 30 agents. I use the ICT dashboard systems to keep my entire team accountable for their activities and set proper expectations."Brian Icenhower.
This course will help you learn the strategies and methods top producing real estate agents use to successfully farm neighborhoods to become the community real estate expert of choice.
Learn the systems that real estate coach Brian Icenhower implements with many of the top producing agents in the world to create steady and predictable sources of commission income from targeted geographic communities.
Get the business generation strategies, techniques, scripts and tools to build your real estate geographic farming business from the ground up.
We know not everyone learns the same way. For that reason, FARM: Ultimate Guide to Geographic Farming has videos, text modules, and a full audiobook. In addition, the text and audiobook are downloadable so you can keep this information for life, and take it with you wherever you go.
We know this course will be valuable for your real estate business.
Become the neighborhood real estate expert of choice.
Learn the systems that real estate coach Brian Icenhower implements with many of the top producing agents in the world to create steady and predictable sources of commission income from targeted geographic communities. Get the business generation strategies, techniques, scripts and tools to build your real estate geographic farming business from the ground up.
Add to CartAgent Financials
More about this real estate training course
Talk to a coach
If you've been considering hiring a coach, now's the time. Book a FREE coaching consultation session with your purchase of this course! Book Your Call
See all courses
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Quick View
1×1 Solo Agent Weekly Coaching Program
This 1×1 Solo Agent Weekly Real Estate Coaching Program designed to help you increase your production and your commission income with strategies and systems for sustainable business growth.
How to pick five and run them
You do not need all 20. Pick five.
- One card or gift for everyone in your sphere (idea 1, 8, 12, or 14).
- One social idea that gets their friends involved (idea 2).
- One community idea (idea 7 or 20).
- One event if you have a listing or a farm (idea 3, 4, or 16).
- One January follow-up (idea 17 or 18).
Then put the dates on your calendar and rotate channels. Use the email templates for your sphere if you need the words, and set up your database without a CRM if it is a mess.
Your holiday marketing checklist
- Pick your five ideas this week.
- Put every send date on the calendar.
- Rotate at least three channels.
- Take photos and video of every event or drive, then tag people.
- Send closing statements the first week of January.
- Book annual reviews for January.
Holiday marketing ideas for real estate agents work because they let you give first. People remember who showed up. For deeper training, see our SOI course and the geographic farming guide. And if December is when your own agents go quiet, read how to keep agents productive during the holidays and how to turn the after the holidays objection into an appointment.
Free download: the top 20 checklist
Download the one-page Top 20 Holiday Marketing Ideas checklist and tape it above your desk. Enter your info below and it lands in your inbox.
Want help building your own holiday plan? Book a free call with one of our coaches, or watch the full video again.
