Real Estate Marketing Ideas

Curb Appeal for Selling a Home - Free Article

2008-08-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

I just finished publishing another article to the Free Articles Center. This one addresses a topic that's near and dear to many real estate agents. It's about curb appeal. More specifically, it will help you educate your clients on the importance of curb appeal when selling a home.

If you're not familiar with our publishing guidelines, please start by reviewing those.

Here's an excerpt of the new article:

When potential buyers pull up in front of your home, they will try to imagine themselves in it. They will also imagine pulling up to the house after work each day, inviting friends over, etc. Will the house give them a sense of satisfaction and joy when they pull up to it? Or do they have a negative impression right from the start?

More Article Details:

Length - About 1,100 words (it's pretty thorough)
Audience - Homeowners who plan to sell in the near future
Date created - August 13, 2008
Read or publish the article
Review our publishing guidelines if you are new to this process

If you need help putting this article onto your website, check out our free tech support service! If you have suggestions for a topic that's not already covered in the Free Articles Center, just let me know. We add new content every week, so I'm open to suggestions.

New Article on FHA Home Loans - For Your Publishing Pleasure

2008-08-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

I've just uploaded a brand new article to the Free Articles Center. This one covers a timely topic that is actually unfolding right now. It explains the recently passed Housing and Economic Recovery Act that -- among other things -- will help struggling homeowners who are facing possible foreclosure.

This new article is my small part to help our ailing economy, by educating homeowners on a new refinancing program that could save them from further interest rate hikes. If you'd like to help me spread the word (and add some quality content to your website in the process), feel free to publish the new article.

If you are not familiar with our guidelines for publishers, please start by reading those. It's a quick read and pretty straightforward.

Here's an excerpt of the new article:

The recently passed Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 will help "at least 400,000 families" who are struggling with their mortgage payments and facing foreclosure. It will do this by providing FHA-insured refinance loans to switch the homeowners from high-rate ARM loans to lower fixed-rate mortgages.

Additional Article Stats:

Length - About 475 words
Audience - Homeowners with ARM loans mostly (also home buyers)
Date created - August 6, 2008
Get the full article
Review our publishing guidelines if you are new to this process

I hope you find this article useful in your web publishing, and that it helps you educate your audience on this important topic. If you need help putting this article onto your website, check out our free tech support service!

A Good Deal on Real Estate Postcards

2008-08-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

Do you use real estate postcards as part of your overall marketing campaign? If so, you might be interested in this promotion from PsPrint:

Real Estate Postcards - 50 for $14.95!

I've used them in the past and was happy with the product and the service. This is part of the new breed of web-based postcard marketing companies. I used to work for one of the pioneers in this field (Quantum Mail), and I screened a dozen other companies when doing research for my real estate postcard book. So I feel qualified and confident in saying that PsPrint is one of the top companies as far as web-based convenience and usability.

Let's face it. All of the postcard companies get the job done in the end. They will all print your real estate postcards and deliver them to your target audience. So the two biggest factors that differentiate them are (1) ease of use and (2) pricing. Being a web-based postcard company with a fairly simple ordering process, these guys have you covered in the "ease of use" department.

And as for the pricing department, I've already mentioned their current promotion:
Real Estate Postcards - 50 for $14.95!

While we are talking postcards, let me offer a bit of advice on the subject. Before you send out a postcard mailing, you need to differentiate yourself in some way. This is an area where many real estate agents miss the mark. And then later, predictably, they are frustrated by a lack of response.

Don't just send your postcards out and say, "Hi, I'm a real estate agent in your area." That's not going to get anyone's attention. Especially in the age of information overload. You need a good reason to send your real estate postcards ... a big idea, as I call it in my book. If you need some help coming up with a big idea, you'll find several ideas in the postcard marketing book.

Internet Marketing Newsletter - Sign Up Today

2008-07-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Advice for Agents website has been reborn with a new purpose. The website is now built around an email newsletter of the same name. You can subscribe for free. Twice a month you'll receive expert advice on real estate Internet marketing. Topics include blogging, search engine marketing, website lead generation and more.

The current issue (for August) just went online, so you can preview the type of information you'll receive every other week. As with any legitimate newsletter, we have a strict anti-spam policy. When you sign up for the newsletter, your email address will only be used for that purpose. Likewise, we never release your personal information to any third parties.

If you'd like to get more business from the Internet, but you're not sure how, this free newsletter is for you! See for yourself

Real Estate SEO Services - 2 Monthly Plans

2008-07-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

Though we've been providing real estate SEO services for several years now (and with great results), we recently introduced some monthly service plans to simplify the process for you.

If you're serious about your long-term search engine visibility and website traffic, this service is for you. Our monthly SEO plans include everything needed for long-term SEO success ... website content, link building, consultations and more.

Basically, these SEO services plans represent what I've been doing for my own websites, for over six years now. The monthly plans are just a new way "package" the work in a way that makes them affordable yet effective. Best of all, we do most of the "heavy lifting" for you.

Learn more here: Monthly SEO Service Plans

5 Ways to Use Your Real Estate Blog

2008-07-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

Blogs are an excellent tool for publishing information online. Blog software programs are versatile, flexible, easy to install and easy to use. As a result, professionals in many industries have started blogging in creative and effective ways to support their business.

Real estate agents have also found many creative uses for the blog. So I would like to fuel this by offering a few ideas of my own. Here are just a few of the ways you could use a real estate blog to support your business:

1. Blog = Timely Market Updates

By their very nature, blogs are perfectly suited to publish new information on a regular basis. You simply type your information like you would type an email, add whatever images or links you want, and click the "Publish" button. The blog does everything else, and within seconds your information is live on the web.

This is why a lot of smart real estate agents use blogging programs in the first place. They know that home buyers and sellers want fresh information about the local housing market. So these web-savvy agents will use their real estate blogs to share information about new homes for sale in the area, new neighborhoods being developed, etc.

2. Blog = Client Information Portal

You could create separate sections of your real estate blog for each of your clients, and password-protect them for privacy. This would allow you to keep a running tally of email communications, notes and updates about the status of their purchase or sale.

If the client wanted to get an update on their transaction, or review previous correspondence, he or she could simply click a link everyday and see your notes and instructions. Or you could be proactive and send the client a link by email each day. In this scenario, the blog becomes an easy-to-manage online reference tool.

3. Blog = Relocation Advice and Support

You could create a real estate blog specifically for people relocating to your area from out of town or state, and keep them informed on local real estate news / conditions. In fact, because a real estate blog is so quick and easy to set up, you could create a separate blog entirely for this purpose.

This would be especially useful if you live in an area with a high rate of buyer influx. For example, here in the Austin area, there are quite a few people moving in from California. If I were an Austin agent I would have a blog that catered to California relos!

4. Blog = Intranet or Collaboration Tool

You could use a real estate blog internally as a collaboration or note-sharing tool between yourself and other agents (or mortgage professionals, etc.). Like any other type of website publishing system, a blog can be put behind a firewall for privacy, thus allowing it to function as an intranet within your company. In this scenario, the blog becomes an easy-to-manage collaboration and project management tool.

5. Blog = Real Estate News Source

You could launch a blog on an entirely separate web domain (from your agent website) and manage it like a real estate news website. You could give it a name like the "Raleigh Realty Weekly," or whatever is relevant to your city and specialty. You could invite guest writers to publish information onto the news blog -- home inspectors, mortgage brokers, staging experts, etc.

This approach would actually benefit you in several ways. For one thing, you would give people another way to find you online, by having two websites instead of one. A real estate news blog could also serve as a networking tool between yourself and others in related industries. Lastly, the news blog would be a big credential for you! Few agents in your area would be able to say, "Jane is also the publisher of the Dallas Real Estate Review..."

I hope this article has opened your eyes to the possibilities inherent within blogs. Not all of these ideas will be right for you, but one of them may be. More importantly, these five points will fuel your imagination about the endless possibilities of blogging. Good luck.

For more great tips on this subject, check out the Real Estate Blog Alphabet -- an online tutorial that you can also download for free in e-book format!

Free Real Estate Articles - Free Tech Support - Free Web Maintenance

2008-07-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

The support the growth of our new Free Articles Center, we are now offering free tech support / web maintenance by email. If you wish to republish any of our real estate education materials onto your own website, but you need help ... you have a new option. Free tech support!

Obviously, support is limited to the publishing / syndication of our free articles. And in some cases, support may not be available due to the web hosting scenario. For example, if you use one of those website companies that wrongfully limits your access, there's nothing we can do to help.

But in most web hosting scenarios, we would be able to access your website in order to publish the free article(s) of your choosing.

Learn more below...

Free Real Estate Articles | Tech Support | Publisher Guidelines | FAQ

Z57 Writer Plagiarizes My Website - Outsourcing to India?

2008-07-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Did the Z57 real estate website company outsource a writing project to India? And did that "writer" plagiarize large amounts of content from my own website? You be the judge. Here are the facts.

As most of you know, I write a lot of "how to" articles and tutorials related to real estate marketing, and I publish them through various channels online. From time to time, I'll do a Google search for a unique sentence contained within one of my articles. This is a good way to see where the articles are being republished (which is the point behind the strategy).

Today I was disgusted to find word-for-word "extractions" of my own articles in an article written by somebody else. As it turns out, the entire article is a mish-mash of my own work. Some parts are lightly reworded, but much of it remains word-for-word as I wrote it.

At the bottom of the article, there is a link to the Z57 website, so somebody obviously wrote it on their behalf.

Here is the plagiarist's article I'm referring to:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Online-Marketing-for-Real-Estate&id=994240

Here are a few examples of the word-for-word plagiarism:

You can minimize the number of people who "drop off" at each step of the way... (stolen word-for-word from this article at ArmingYourFarming.com)
When you add quality articles, resources or tools to your website, you're improving your Real Estate Internet Marketing program... (stolen word-for-word from this article on my website)
When it comes to marketing, weaknesses must be identified, addressed and eliminated as soon as possible... (stolen word-for-word from this article on my website)
There are many more occurrences of word-for-word plagiarism, and the rest of the article is just a lightly reworded collection of my other work.

Who Is the Mystery "Writer"

This is the best part. I did a Google search for "Megha Monda," which is the author's name associated with the plagiarized article, and I traced it back to a so-called writer in India. Here's a message for Z57 -- When you outsource your "marketing" to a bargain provider in India, you get what you pay for!

Response from Z57 Staff?

I sent an email to Z57 with much of the information presented above. I'm trying to confirm if the writer was working on their behalf ... which I already know is the case. I will let them tell their side of the story, and I will post their response here. If they care to respond, that is.

Related blog post:
India SEO Company - World Capital of Content Thieves

Article About Online Mortgage Quotes - Free to Use

2008-06-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

I just finished publishing a new article to the Free Articles Center that discusses the finer points of getting mortgage quotes online -- the safe and smart way.

This is a topic of great concern for many home buyers. They see the commercials on TV for companies like LendingTree and Eloan, but they're just not sure about how the process works. On top of that, you have the general fears and concerns about revealing personal information online.

This article seeks to educate consumers on the right way to apply for mortgage quotes online. It also explains some of the benefits of using the Internet to compare mortgage offers and lenders. As always, you are free republish this article onto your own real estate website or blog, provided you adhere to our publisher's guidelines.

Here's an excerpt of the new article:

These days, you can use the Internet to save time and energy when shopping for home financing. But there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. So in this article, I'll explain the general process of getting lender quotes via the Web, and how to do it safely and smartly.

Additional Article Stats:

Length: about 740 words
Audience: home buyers using the Internet to research mortgages
Date created: June 25, 2008
Get the full article
Review our publishing guidelines

I hope you find this article informative and useful in your web publishing. If you need help putting this article onto your website, just send an email to brandon@armingyourfarming.com.

A New Article on Home Buying - Free to Use

2008-06-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

I've posted a new article to the Free Articles Center that offers a fresh and modern look at the home buying process in this country. It takes into account certain changes that affect home buyers, such as the so-called mortgage crises, the advancement of online real estate tools, etc.

I think it would make a nice addition to any real estate agent's website, including yours! As always, you are free to republish this new article as long as you abide by our publishing guidelines.

Here's an excerpt of the new article:

Credit scores have always been important for home buyers, but they are more in the wake of the mortgage meltdown of 2007 - 2008. According to industry experts, home buyers in 2006 needed a credit score of at least 620 to qualify for the best interest rates on a loan. Two years later, borrowers needed a score of 760 or higher to get the best rates. That's a much stricter requirement! So your first step should be to review your financial situation.

Additional Article Details

Length: about 1,100 words (very thorough!)
Audience: home buyers new to the process
Date created: June 24, 2008
Get the full article
Review our publisher guidelines

Hope you find this real estate article informative and useful. If you need help publishing it onto your website, just send an email to brandon@armingyourfarming.com.

Home Buying Buttons for Your Real Estate Blog

2008-06-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

If you like to add helpful buttons to your real estate blog, then you'll be glad to know we have created some "Home Buying 101" buttons for your use. Get your buttons here.

These buttons will add value to your blog by allowing visitors to get home buying advice at the click of a button. The links are set up to open the Home Buying Institute website in a new browser window -- that way, your visitors will stay on your site while also gaining access to the home buying information.

If you click the button image above, you'll find some simple instructions for adding them to your real estate blog. But if you have questions, just send an email to brandon@armingyourfarming.com.

I hope you find the buttons useful.

Property Listings as Lead Generation Tool?

2008-06-21T08:35:00.001-07:00

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip 65 of 100 - Grant Exclusive Access to Generate Leads

Do you grant access to property listings as form of website lead generation, by asking people to sign in to view property listings in the area? I know a lot of real estate agents use this as a lead generation techniques, so I would like to offer some pointers on the subject.

By the way, if you're really curious about the subject of generating leads online, I invite you to download my new book real estate web leads.

The concept here is a simple one. You require people to sign in to a certain area of your real estate website in order to access property listings. Thus, you would acquire contact information as part of the exchange. This is a practice used by many real estate agent websites as well as the big realty search engine sites.

But this strategy can be a double-edged sword, so there are many things to consider. For one thing, you have to realize that people are becoming increasingly aware of all the real estate search tools online today, and they also know that many of them are free. So if you put up an obstacle between your website visitors and the listing data, they might jump ship and visit another website to search for listings.

Of course, depending on the listings tool you have on your website, you may be able to sell the advantages of signing in. For example, maybe you could offer free access to the property listings / search tool, but give people the option to create an account. This would allow them to save their searches and access the data more quickly in the future -- a real benefit to somebody looking for a home. This way, you would avoid turning people away, but you would still retain some of the lead generation potential.

Like everything else with real estate marketing and lead generation, you will need to experiment to see what works on your website and with your audience.

Now let's put on our thinking caps to see if we can come up with a twist on this concept. What is you had a password-protected area of your website that offered exclusive content? For example, maybe you offer basic listings on the public part of the website, but you offer enhanced listing data and virtual tours in the "Members Only" section of the site.

But why stop there? You could even combine this with the booklet strategy from the previous chapter. In fact, you could create a whole "store" full of goodies inside the members only / password-protected area. Access to exclusive listings, access to recent sales stats, information about future developments and construction plans, whatever booklet you have created, virtual tours and additional listing photos. You get the idea.

Of course, it would be free for people to obtain a password, but they would provide their email address as part of the sign-up process. And you've just captured a lead from a qualified prospective client.

A New Blog Directory for Real Estate Bloggers

2008-06-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

I know that many readers of this blog have real estate blogs of their own, so I wanted to let you know about a new blog directory we have created. The directory is for business bloggers in particular, and there is a category for real estate blogs as well.

If you're like me, then you are always on the "hunt" for quality directories and linking opportunities to improve your search engine rankings. So I'm happy to share this new directory with you. The main website where the blog directory resides is a popular business blogging website with many inbound links of its own, so a listing in the blog directory will contribute toward your blog's visibility as well (as the new section gets crawled by search engines).

A listing in the blog directory is very affordable too, at only $29 per year.

Check it out here:
http://www.ceoblogwatch.com/directory/

A New Article on Custom Home Building - Free to Use

2008-06-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've posted a new and helpful article to the free articles center that went online last month. The new piece is intended for home buyers who are considering a custom home.

Grab the article here

As you probably know, there's a lot more to the process of having a custom home built than there is with buying a more traditional home. This article gives the reader an overview of the process, what to look for along the way, questions to ask when screening custom home builders and a variety of other best practices.

Here's an excerpt of the new article:

The good news is that most custom builders are very good at what they do, and so they take great pride in their work. In addition, it's fairly easy to avoid the "shady" characters within the home building industry. With a little homework, you can find out which builders in town have the best reputations, and which ones have the worst. The Internet makes this kind of research even easier.

Additional Article Stats

Length: about 950 words
Audience: home buyers considering custom home purchase
Date created: June 4, 2008
Get the full article
Review our publisher guidelines

Hope you find it informative and useful.

-Brandon

New Content Added to the Real Estate Articles Center

2008-06-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

I've just posted a new and informative article to the free articles center that was launched last month. This real estate article is aimed at home buyers who have questions about home insurance policies.

Specifically, it helps them understand the costs associated with a homeowners insurance policy, and what they can do to control and lower those costs (without sacrificing coverage).

Here's an excerpt of the new article:

One way to lower your premium is by raising your deductible amount. Many financial experts recommend doing this as a way of lowering premium costs. The logic is that you know for certain that you'll pay the premium on your policy, but there's only a small statistical chance of suffering a loss and having to file an actual claim.

Get the full article | Review our publisher guidelines

Using Online Chat to Generate Real Estate Leads

2008-05-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip 64 of 100 - Experimenting With Chat Programs

When it comes to generating leads and inquiries online, real estate agents need to use as many different techniques as possible.

After all, you never know where people will go when they reach your website. You don't know their personality, their desires or their motivations. So if you present them with options, there's a much better chance they will move forward.

Chat programs are an often overlooked method of generating leads online. But these programs can be very effective when used properly, so I've dedicated this entire article to the subject.

The Value and Simplicity of Chat

In order to use this technique, the real estate agent or broker must have an office manager or customer service person -- someone who is near a computer for most of the day. So if you are a true sole proprietorship with no from of customer support, you might want to put this technique on the side burner for now.

For those al estate agents who are lucky enough to have an office manager or customer support person, let's move on to this useful technique for lead generation.

You've probably visited a website in the past that had a button encouraging you to "Get live help" or "Click to chat." These tools are a great way to get a spur-of-the-moment response from website visitors, the kind of response that could lead to a business relationship as well. Instead of sending an email and waiting for a response, people can click the chat button and have a dialogue with a live person.

How the Process Works

Here are the nuts and bolts of installing and using a chat program on your website. It's actually pretty simple, thanks to some handy software programs that are available these days. Here's an overview of the steps involved:

Choose a program to use.
Complete the setup process.
Put a chat button on your website.
Train the person handling the inquiries.

Step 1 - Choose an Online Chat Program

For starters, you will obviously need to choose a program to use. These are third-party programs that will either be (A) installed onto your web server or (B) hosted remotely by the chat software company. I've done a little research in this area to get you started.

The best approach when comparing these programs (or any software product for that matter) is to do a free trial of the software. To the best of my knowledge, all of the companies / products listed below offer a free trial. This allows you to judge the product firsthand, before buying any software.

Step 2 - Complete the Setup Process

Once you have chosen a program that meets your needs, you will then have to complete the setup process. Depending on the company / product you've chosen, this might be a very short step. If you are hosting the program on your own server, you'll need to upload all of the files to run the program -- a downside to this approach.

On the other hand, if you're using a remotely hosted program, you can forego this step. "Remotely hosted" means the program will run from the chat company's servers. This approach has the advantage of being easier and requiring less technical involvement on your end.

Step 3 - Put a Chat Button on Your Website

This is an important step, because it directly relates to the number of people who use the tool. If online chat is going to be an important part of your lead generation program (and it could be), you'll want to give the chat button its own piece of web space.

Where you place your button will depend on the layout of your website. If you have a left-hand navigation menu, you might want to add it at the top of that menu. The main thing is to give it some space so that the eye is drawn to it, a fundamental practice of Web Design 101.

Step 4 - Train the Person Handling Chat Inquiries

When I say you must "train" the person, I'm not referring to the technical details, which are fairly straightforward. Instead, I am referring to how you want to handle the online communication process with strangers. For example, how will you move these strangers toward contacting you by phone or email? After all, when they pop up on the chat screen, you'll only have their first name -- but no phone number or email address.

So the person handling the inquiries must be trained to balance two things at once. He or she must answer the person's immediate question (which is the whole point of a customer service chat program), while also moving the person toward a more formal conversation via phone or email. For this purpose, it will help to have some copy-and-paste scripts the customer service person can use, after handling the person's initial inquiry.

Free Real Estate Articles - New and Improved Article Center

2008-05-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last few days revamping the real estate article center, and I'm pleased to say that it's now open for "business." If you need free real estate articles for your website or blog, check out the new and improved article center. Go there now

Improvements to the Article Center

Basically, I've made the entire website easier to use. I'll also be adding more articles over the weekend ... I have 25 new articles slated to go online by Monday! There are also better instructions for republishing the free articles onto your website, easier navigation to help you get around the site, and some good old-fashioned simplicity.

Here are the pertinent pages:

Article Library | Publisher Guidelines | Publishing Instructions

Hope you find it useful.

-Brandon

The New Real Estate Directory - Example of an Enhanced Listing

2008-05-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

In a previous post we mentioned the launch of our new real estate directory of agents in the U.S. In this post, I'd like to show you what an enhanced listing looks like.

When you submit your website to the agent directory you will have to listing options -- standard listing or enhanced. The latter option gives you (A) more room for a company description, (B) additional links to your website sub-pages, and (C) a headshot photo included with the listing. Enhanced listings will also appear above standard listings within a certain city page of the directory.

The headshot is a rarity among real estate directories these days. As you may know from submitting your website to agent directories over the yeas, most of them only allow a short description and a link to your home page. Very few real estate directories will allow headshot photos like we do. As a result, there is no way to "break out" or distinguish yourself among all of those other links.

Look at the listing for Sam Carroll on the Austin agents page of our directory. Sure, he's the first listing for that city because our real estate directory is brand new. But even when the page fills in you can see how much nicer it is to have a photo (instead of just a link).

If you have any questions about the new real estate agent directory just let me know. I will try to answer most questions here on the blog for the benefit of all.

-Brandon

What Is a Realtor - General Public Doesn't Know

2008-05-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

I have long suspected that the vast majority of consumers do not know the difference between a REALTOR® and a real estate agent. I won't postulate on whether there truly is a difference -- aside from the obvious membership dues. Instead, I'll share a recent "scientific" experiment with you.

Over the weekend, I was at a social gathering of about 30 folks. The topic turned to jobs and I mentioned that I performed various marketing services for real estate agents. Somebody said, "You mean Realtors, right?" And then somebody else said, "What's the difference?"

So before the conversation could go any further, I asked the group to humor me for a brief survey. I asked somebody to tell me what the difference was between a REALTOR® and a real estate agent.

[By the way, I have to write the word in all caps with the registered symbol on it every time. If I don't, the NAR's trademark police will send me a cease-and-desist email. It has happened before, so I'm aware that they have people who scour the Web all day in search of improper renderings of the word. Your membership dues help pay for this. But back to the story.]

So anyway, I asked the group: "Just what is a REALTOR ® anyway? Is there any difference between a REALTOR ® and a real estate agent?"

Of the 30 or so people present, the vast majority thought the two terms were synonymous -- that they meant the same thing, just like the terms optometrist and eye doctor. One person suggested there was a difference. She said that "Realtors were a little pin on their lapel while real estate agents do not." I asked what the pin stood for and she said "basically nothing."

Now, I did not have this experiment sanctioned by the Academy of Science or anything. But I would vouch that the 30 or so people present were a pretty fair sampling of the American public. Some were democrats; others were republicans. Some were white-collar professionals; others were blue-collar workers. There were whites, Hispanics, blacks and (to the best of my recollection) at least two people of Asian background.

So as far as I'm concerned, they were the "general public." And as far as they showed me, the general public does not know the difference between a REALTOR ® and a real estate agent ... nor did they seem to care (I was booed at one point for taking up so much time).

What's my point? Well, this is just me talking here. But it seems to me, that a REALTOR ® cannot expect the title to give him or her any kind of advantage in today's economy. At least not according to my experiment. It seems to be the equivalent of an eye doctor puffing his chest out and saying, "I'm not just an eye doctor ... I'm an optometrist."

Before You Send Angry Emails:

I am sure that some people will send me nasty emails defending the prestige of their title (and the logic of the membership dues they pay). But those people would be missing the point, wouldn't they? I am not responsible for public perception or opinion -- I'm only drawing attention to it. In other words, don't shoot the messenger!

Real Estate Directory for Agents - New Development

2008-05-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I just wanted to create a quick post to let you know about the real estate directory we put online over the weekend. At the city level, the directory is still something of a "shell," but we will be filling it in with original content on all pages.

Basically, there will be keyword rich content on every city page to help draw traffic (which is good for the agents listed in the directory). This is just one way I plan to make this directory better than most real estate directories online today. Our directory is actually created for consumers, and not just for search engines. It is designed to be user-friendly and to help people actually find a real estate agent in their town.

Also, because it's part of the Home Buying Institute, our real estate directory will enjoy excellent search engine visibility in time. Those of you familiar with real estate directories will see the double value in this. Our agent directory has the potential to send direct traffic to your website, in addition to helping you boost your search engine rankings with a quality link.

I will create an information page with more details in the next day or two, and I'll post to the blog again when that page is up. But some people have been asking about the directory already, so I thought a brief mention was needed.

If you have any questions about the new real estate directory for agents just let me know.

-Brandon

Real Estate Leads - Top Concern Among Agents

2008-04-24T15:38:00.001-07:00

Generating leads from a real estate website is one of the top concerns among real estate agents and brokers these days -- at least for the agents I speak to in my line of work. So I thought I'd publish a short series of blog posts on the subject of real estate lead generation online.

But first, let's start with some basic terminology so we are all on the same page. When I refer to website lead generation in this context, I'm referring to the act of generating inquiries through your real estate website. In other words, getting names and contact information from people who are interested in your services or the properties you have listed.

When it comes to Internet marketing, real estate leads are the first step to gaining clients via the web. And they come in many forms. A person might leave a comment on your blog (with their name and email address), they might fill out an-information-request form on your website, or they might email you directly. These are all forms of web-based leads ... and they are extremely valuable to your business.

You might have heard the term "conversion" used in marketing circles. In some respects, this term is synonymous with lead generation. An onsite conversion takes place when a website visitor goes from being just a visitor to something else as well. For example, if somebody visits your real estate website and subscribes to your email newsletter, an onsite conversion has taken place. The person has "converted" from a casual visitor to a newsletter subscriber.

With that definition out of the way, let's talk about the first (and most important) step to real estate lead generation online. Let's talk about the way you define your conversion goals.

Define Your Lead Generation Goals

Now this might seem a little obvious, but you'd be surprised by how many real estate agent are stumped when I ask something like: "What are your top three conversion goals on your website?"

Some will explain that their goal is to get more clients. But this is not a specific goal for website lead generation / conversion. Of course you want new clients. Every real estate agent does. But that's just the end-goal of your Internet marketing efforts. It's not a well-defined conversion goal.

Once in a while, I'll encounter a real estate marketer who has this concept figured out. He or she will respond to my question by saying something like: "I want my website visitors to do one of three things ... download a neighborhood report from the home page, click on the big green 'chat' button to contact customer service, or contact us by phone or email."

Now we are getting somewhere! This hypothetical real estate company has really thought about their goals for lead generation, and they have some things in place to help them achieve those goals. But before they could create those enticing neighborhood reports or integrate the online chat tool within their site, they had to define their conversion / lead generation goals.

As we progress through this tutorial on real estate lead generation via the Web, we will talk about some other techniques and tools you can use. But you can't
You cannot move on to the other conversion techniques mentioned below until you have clearly defined your website conversion goals, and how they will ultimately lead to new business.

Commercial Real Estate Marketing - Steps to Success

2008-04-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

Marketing commercial real estate is not much different than marketing a home to residential buyers. Sure, the property is different. And sometimes the price tag is larger. But the general principles of real estate marketing success apply to commercial properties and residential properties alike.

With that in mind, I'd like to offer a few tips that are specific to commercial real estate marketing and sales.

1. Use Existing Networks

In ever city and major metropolitan area, there is already an existing "attention" network for commercial real estate properties. In 0ther words, there is probably a magazine, newspaper, or website that lists commercial properties. Potential buyers already know these channels exist, so that's where you want to be ... where the attention lies.

Your commercial real estate marketing will be more successful is you leverage existing networks, instead of trying to divert people's attention elsewhere.

2. Increase Your Internet Visibility

You should start your commercial real estate marketing program with known channels, as mentioned above. But it certainly doesn't hurt to create your own marketing channel, and to slowly attract attention to that channel. You can do this by creating a strong web presence focused on commercial real estate in your area.

Combine web marketing, blogging, and search engine marketing tactics to make a highly visible web presence. It will help you market your own properties, and who knows ... you may even grow the site into the premiere commercial real estate marketing site in your area. There's a lot of potential advertising revenue in that, on top of everything else.

3. Match the Marketing to the Property

Industrial properties may not need the ultimate "high gloss" treatment, as far as your real estate marketing materials are concerned. You might get by with bare-bones information pieces to promote this type of property. But a high-end office building requires a bit more polish. As with residential real estate marketing techniques, you should match the promotional materials with the property. Keep the audience in mind, and give them what they're used to seeing.

4. Promote the Intangibles

With every commercial real estate property, there are tangible selling points and intangible selling points. Square footage, recent renovations, new A/C units ... these are the tangibles.

But many brokers forget to mention all of the intangible selling points when marketing commercial real estate property. This might include easy access to parking from the street, proximity to popular lunch spots, a view of a nearby lake, etc.

I hope these tips have given you some new ideas, and I wish you well in your commercial real estate marketing program.

Real Estate Business Cards - Lessons Learned

2008-04-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

Article summary: Real estate agent business cards are easy to obtain and even easier to use. And even as "low-tech" as they are, biz cards are an essential part of your real estate marketing toolkit. Here's everything you need to know about getting some real estate business cards for yourself.

In a former life, I worked for a commercial printing company in Austin, Texas. I've also designed and purchased my fair share of business cards over the years. So this combined experience puts me in a position to offer you some tips for creating, ordering and using your real estate business cards.

Do Agent Business Cards Still Matter?

In a word, yes. Despite the rising popularity of all things "e-business" related, real estate business cards are still very much a necessity. After all, not all of your clients are going to find you via the Web. You will meet many of your potential clients in person. And having a nice-looking business card handy can make the difference between gaining them as a client or losing them forever.

The Convenience of Online Printing Shops

The Internet has not made the real estate agent business card obsolete. It has simply made them much easier to come by. These days, there are hundreds of web-based printing companies that can produce your business cards in no time at all. In the pre-Internet days, you had to visit the print shop in person with your design on a disk.

But these days, you can design a business card online using the web-based design tools of printing company. You can also design the card yourself (or have a graphic designer do it) and then upload it to the printing company's website. From there, they handle the rest of the process for you. They'll print the cards, package them, and ship them to your doorstep.

Brandon's Pick

I've used a handful of online print shops. But there are only two or three I'd recommend. Here's one of them:

Printing Real Estate Business Cards Online

Here's the step-by-step process that takes place when creating your cards. Once you understand this process, you'll have a much easier time navigating your way through it.

For starters, you will either need a business card designed already, or you'll have to design one online as mentioned previously. Many web-based print shops offer design tools, such as fill-in-the-blank templates, stock images, and the like.
After the design process, you must proof your real estate business card before the company will print it. Once again, this is where the Internet makes things incredibly simply. In most cases, you can simply view the design online as a JPEG image or a PDF file.
Once you have given the design proof a "green light" your business cards will move into the printing phase. Obviously, you won't see this process take place, nor will it involve you in any way. The printing company will either use a digital printer (which allows for shorter runs but typically has lower quality) or an offset press (which offers the best print quality). Offset printing is commonly used for real estate business cards because it's cheaper with larger quantities. This means you'll get a price break for bigger orders.
Once the business cards have printed, they may be inspected by someone within the printing shop. Actually, this will depend on the quality of the company you use. A reputable printing shop will inspect all orders prior to shipping them out. A "low grade" print shop will ship just about anything, regardless of design / printing errors.

Here are some other things to keep in mind when obtaining real estate agent business cards:

If you are paying more than 20 cents per card, you are paying too much. The last time I ordered business cards I paid $45 for a quantity of 500 (one-sided design).
If you design your own real estate business card, be sure to read the printer's requirements regarding color mode (RGB vs. CMYK), resolution, size, etc. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you should have a graphic designer help you (or use a print company that offers online design tools).
Choose a medium thickness card stock. The super-thin kind is cheaper, but it feels cheap when you hold it too. The thickest stock is overly thick and therefore a waste of money.
Limit your design to the essentials -- a catchy image, your name, specialty, contact info and website address. There's no need to have any more than that. A real estate agent business card with too much info crammed onto it is likely to get tossed. Don't make people squint!

Business Card Marketing Ideas

Lastly, let's talk about some of the ways you can use your business card for marketing purposes. Sure, it's a simple, low-tech approach to real estate marketing. But it can also be effective in generating phone calls.

Remember, the more ways you market yourself the better. It's like financial investing ... you want to diversify your portfolio. Search engine marketing, direct mail, seminars, handing out business cards -- these are all good ways to generate business.

Why not have cards printed with property listings on them (in addition to your regular business cards)?

Why not conduct a free home-buying or selling seminar and give all the attendees an informational guide with your business card attached?

Why not give a handful of your cards to business associates in a position to refer business, such as home inspectors, mortgage brokers, etc.

These are just a few examples of how to use your real estate business card for promotional purposes. Use your imagination and you'll come up with a dozen more of your own.

Conclusion

I hope you've enjoyed this guide to real estate agent business cards (and the printing companies who create them). Like I said, the Internet makes it really easy to obtain cards these days, and the fierce competition among print shops keeps pricing down. There is no reason you cannot get 500 or more high-quality cards for somewhere around $50 these days. Good luck!

Related Resources:
Business Card Printing 101

What the Best Real Estate Websites Have in Common

2008-04-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

What do today's top-performing real estate websites have in common? Shiny and sparkly? Great headshot photos? Nice use of font colors?

Hardly.

In fact, the superficial aspects of a real estate website hardly matter anymore. Ten years ago, you could put up a pretty website with basic information and wait for the phone to start to ringing. Today, that kind of thing is a fairytale.

These days, consumers expect a lot more from agent websites. They prefer useful content and data to shiny graphics and headshot photos. They want to get to the "heart of the matter" and view listings. The owners of the best real estate websites know this, and they build their websites around this knowledge.

In a new article just posted to the website, I've listed what I feel are the most important ingredients of a modern real estate site -- enhanced listing data, regular updates, consumer education resources, lead generation strategies, and organization / usability.

You can read the full article below:
Best Real Estate Websites - 5 Key Components