Realtors up your marketing not your spending.

Posted on April 24, 2009
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips | 2 Comments

Market savvy Realtors are not going on vacation until the market improves - they are aggressively marketing their listings and services. The trend of course is to put more marketing dollars into online venues and less towards the old fashioned print ad. This makes sense of course because you can get more value online plus according to NAR Home Buyer and Seller Survey

Eighty-seven percent of home buyers who used the Internet to search for a home purchased through a real estate agent, in contrast with 72 percent of non-Internet users who were more likely to purchase directly from a builder or from an owner they already knew in a private transaction.

While there is no confusion as to where and why Realtors should be focusing their marking efforts on the web, there seems to be much confusion about how to do this.

More than a few of my clients see the initiative as simply duplicating their print materials in PDF format and posting it on their web sites. This, despite the long conversations we share on the benefit of RSS feeds, widgets, SEO and so forth. I realize that while I create much enthusiasm and excitement during these consulting calls, the plan usually falls short of execution. The simple reasons: too much work, too much new stuff to remember, I shut you off when I heard you say “blog…..feed…rss…etc…and the enthusiasm was all your own”.

This is true, I have unbounded enthusiasm for opportunities on the web; The great equalizer that gives Realtors the opportunity to level the playing field. (or any small business playing against the big guys)

OK - so it’s happening again, let’s get back to the reason for this post: A simple way to cover your bases on new technologies:

Listing Syndication, RSS Feeds, Widgets, Mobile access & SMS, Email distribution, Single property websites, Craigslist and Ebay!

vFlyer is the closest thing to a one-stop real estate marketing service that I have seen. It is very easy to create virtual tours, single property sites, printable flyers, and professional content for Craigslist postings. On top of that, vFlyer automatically submits your listings to leading marketplaces such as Zillow, Trulia, Cyberhomes/AOL, Google and more. vFlyer subscriptions are affordable. I understand that most real estate agents sign up for the vFlyer Starter subscription at $12.95/month. That subscription supports up to 10 active listings. vFlyer supplements good online help with email and phone support.

Check out vFlyer

What is RSS and how can Realtors use it.

What Realtors ought to know about their websites

Posted on April 12, 2009
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips, Web Design Business | 1 Comment

What was popular for your real estate website a couple of years ago is no longer working. If you have a site that hasn’t been updated recently you can relate to this. You’ve noticed less activity, visits, leads etc. and likely a drop in your search position on Google. This isn’t about your meta tags and keywords, it’s about your content.

The good news is that you really don’t have to throw money at traditional advertising to improve your online search strategy and conversion. And while improving your content takes work, this work can take the place of other less profitable marketing strategies while saving you time and effort in addition to money.

Take a few minutes to view this video. It will help you get in the frame of mind to accept how quickly things are changing. And why you need to change your online marketing strategy to keep up.

Some people think this video is creepy or scary. Change is always a little scary and seeing how quickly technology is evolving can be intimidating but also exciting.

People surf the web to research or to be entertained. If your website is simply an advertisement about how great you are then you are missing an opportunity to connect with your visitor. You won’t be able to hold their attention because you are not meeting their needs.

Your affiliations, years in business, awards and sales volume is not content aimed at meeting the needs of your visitors. Don’t say “I’m a luxury homes specialist” prove it. Provide interesting  information about the luxury home market. Define your audience. Who purchases/sells luxury homes? What topics would be of specific interest to that demographic? Educate and engage your visitors.

Check out the following resources for writing engaging customer focused content:
“First of all, you’d better be blogging. You’ve got to join the conversation and have something valuable to say before anyone will bother acknowledging you. In the excellent business blogging book Naked Conversations, authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel envision a day when a business that doesn’t blog will be viewed with suspicion by the public. Blog marketing has been dismissed as fad and reviled as fanciful, but the denial stage is over, and everyone is getting in on the action.”
Quoted from: Viral Copy: Trading Words for Traffic
download the full 30 page report and visit copyblogger.com for more information and articles about viral marketing and creating great content for your real estate web site.

The Customer Focus Calculator (We-We Calculator):
A great tool to illustrate whether your site is focusing on the customers’ needs…or just loves the sound of its own voice.

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How real estate agents can use Google Alerts for SEO

Posted on March 17, 2009
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips, SEO Search Optimization | 2 Comments

Google alerts are just like the “daily email updates” your IDX system sends out to people searching for homes. Except instead of emailing new real estate listings, Google will email you the latest relevant Google search results that match your search criteria. This includes web, news, blog posts etc.

Pretty cool right? You get the latest relevant Google results on any topic, keyword phrase, a persons name, whatever your interest, automatically emailed to you, once a day, as it happens or once a week. Your choice.

Some of the Google Alerts you may want to consider setting up:

The last item on the list is the one I most want to discuss. Most realtors I speak with want to be found this way in a Google search: city state real estate

example: westport ct real estate

Google Alert for Westport CT Real Estate

Google Alert for Westport CT Real Estate

Using Google Alerts will make the concept crystal clear about two things I explain to clients on an almost daily basis:

  1. The old fashioned marketing strategy of static content is no longer performing for real estate web sites.
  2. If you don’t have relevant content including your keyword phrases you can not expect to be found for that particular search.

Another important thing to remember, and creating Google Alerts will remind you, is this: People don’t necessarily come to your web site to read your content. Specific headlines and including your market area (city and state) and topic in your copy is essential for search engines and for understanding what your content is about outside the context of your web site.

Create a Google Alert and improve your web marketing strategy now! www.google.com/alerts

The price of economic pessimism

Posted on March 14, 2009
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips | 1 Comment

Optimists see the world as a benevolent place.
Image via Wikipedia

We have a responsibility to be optimistic about the economy. The truth is ‘thoughts become things” and if we focus on the bad economy, worry constantly about not having enough money, losing jobs, clients, etc. then that is what we manifest in our lives.

Below is a short optimistic story you may already be familiar with and below that are links to post that may help you feel more inclined to optimism. I hope!

The story goes that two shoe salesman are sent to a new teritory to set up shop and discover that people there don’t wear shoes at all. One salesman calls the home office to say, “Don’t ship any shoes! I’m returning to headquarters immediately. This trip is a waste, nobody here wears shoes.”

The other salesman calls headquarters to say, “Send as many shoes as you can! This place is a goldmine - nobody here has any shoes!”

How Are We Doing
The American economy is in a rough patch. But the long-term trends are good—and there is a price to economic pessimism.

Here’s the Good News
Forget headlines - the world economy has never been better.

The Good news of Economic Collapse
The best and the brightest minds of the world will use their skills to replace the oil based economy that presently exists because of the tremendous monopoly profits that come from a 19th century technology.

Why I’m optimistic even now
As a Chapel Hill attorney, a member of the community of real estate professionals, a small business owner, a longtime local citizen and a parent, I have experienced firsthand the struggles and challenges we have all been faced with of late. And yet I find myself, like so many others, filled with gratitude for what we have, and sincerely optimistic about what we will achieve going forward.

When your Thoughts Become Things
Yogi Gupta: When your thoughts become creative psychically they will bring results in your life which at first will appear to you just unbelievable, startling, miraculous and supernatural. But really there is nothing miraculous and supernatural in the results which come purely by the use of the higher forces of Nature, known as psychic powers. Every move of the process which transforms your thoughts into things is made in accordance with natural law and order of Nature.

Your Positive Thoughts Can Make a Difference
Life Coach Barbara Scala reminds us how we are all connected, gives practical advice and shares her “game” on how to develop and maintain a positive attitude.

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Lie to Me. Your brochure says you are lying!

Posted on February 19, 2009
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips, Web Design Business | Leave a Comment

I’ve recently been sucked in to a new TV drama called “Lie to Me”. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a guy who is supposed to be the world’s leading deception expert. He can read you like a book using your facial expressions and body language. They cut in real footage of well known liars in the act of lying and show you how the facial expression or gesture is exactly the same. Fascinating!

While most people don’t have PHD’s in this field they are intuitive and can detect lies or sense that someone is saying one thing but telling another with their non-verbal language. We call it intuition but an expert will tell you it is not intuition, it’s a scientific fact - the difference is that you and I can’t name what it is or why we know it. We aren’t trained - we just know.

This same concept is true with your marketing materials. Website, brochures, fliers, postcards, newsletters, etc. The personal computer has given everyone the tools to make cool stuff. The problem is that not everyone has the design training or the intuition to use design to effectively support their message. Your brochure copy may be saying you are a waterfront luxury homes specialist while the actual brochure is telling people you are a used car salesman. Or maybe your marketing materials are saying you are lazy, unorganized, downmarket - whatever. The point is your brochure is NOT supporting your message.

An example of this would be a brochure about Home Stageing & Decluttering. This brochure tells us that decluttering will make our home more attractive to buyers. We should agree it’s absolutely a good investment to hire an expert to declutter and showcase our home BUT this brochure is putting doubt in our minds and we are not fully sold. Why? Because the clutter and mess on this brochure is even worse than our most neglected spare room! We don’t have the design degree or training to name it - we’re just not sold.

Consider that having your admininistrative assistant design your marketing pieces may not be in your best interest. Their time could be better spent performing tasks they are proficient with. Designing brochures and ads will likely take them longer than a professional and with sub par results. A more cost effective solution would be to hire a professional to provide you with templates that you can re-use for new brochures, newsletters and so forth. This will cut down costs and give you the added benefit of all marketing materials being professional and consistent.

If you are a die hard DIY person then I would suggest purchasing a professionally designed template or use one that comes with your publishing program which you can modify. There are resources available that will help you improve your layouts by helping you learn to identify what needs improvement and to call out many of the usual amateur pitfalls:

Non-Designer’s Design Book, The (3rd Edition) (Non Designer’s Design Book)
The Non-Designer’s Design and Type Books, Deluxe Edition

Realtors choose to be inspired and successful

Posted on February 16, 2009
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips | Leave a Comment

I recently came across two quotes from Abraham Lincoln that remind me of how I approach my own work:

“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.”

My creativity and enjoyment for my work sometimes requires a jump start. No matter how busy I am with work, I incorporate time for what I call “building my toolbox”.

This involves researching new technologies, checking out what’s new in my field (web development, marketing & seo) and in yours (real estate technology and marketing). I do this not only to keep on top of the latest trends but because it inspires me. I love learning new things and I love sharpening my skills and challenging myself.

Enough about me. My intention is to share some ideas that may help inspire you. Listening to news about the economy and the mortgage crisis could leave even the most enthusiastic Realtor somewhat discouraged. If you are feeling discouraged or disheartened about real estate, your profession, your marketing efforts etc. This would be a great time to do some axe sharpening. Times are changing, the way we market our services and do business are changing. This can be frightening for some but others who are willing to embrace change will surely benefit.

Spend some time on the internet looking outward, not just at other Realtors but also other industries to see how they are embracing social media, blogs and other technologies. Think about ways to connect with clients and industry peers in terms of your ability to fulfill their needs and answer their questions. Realize that in the tough times your services are even more precious to home buyers and sellers. Anyone can sell a house in a seller’s market.

Do you need to sharpen your skills by learning more about short sales? Are you attracting and can you be of service to first time home buyers? Their number will be increasing due to low interest rates, higher inventory, tax credits and FHA loan programs. Does your website have any information for foreign buyers? I have read that international investors are interested in US real estate.
See how successful real estate blogs are evolving, shifting their focus as the real estate market changes:

What is a blog?

Star Position Search & Navigation Solutions

Posted on February 13, 2009
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips, Spam & Phising | Leave a Comment

Everyone who has a website receives these types of messages sooner or later. If you receive an email offering a service from a company or person that you do not know, it’s called spam. Delete it. Read more

Google top ten? Re-think your website goals!

Posted on February 12, 2009
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips, SEO Search Optimization | 1 Comment

If your main website goal is to be found in the top 10 search results on Google then you will want to consider re-defining your goals.

I have many clients who enjoy an enviable top 10, #1, top 3 etc. search engine position. This was their goal and a key reason for hiring me. These same clients now want to increase their results to include additional search terms and generate even more traffic. They are convinced that even though they are prominent for the search terms of their market area it just isn’t good enough and they need more. Well sure, who doesn’t want more traffic?

There is a flaw in this strategy, ask yourself this; What is this great flow of traffic going to do when they get to your website? Call you? Hire you? Send you money, buy your stuff or just surf on to another search result? Check your web stats, if your visitor’s are moving on then you need to consider why.

Admittedly, just a few years ago, having a web presence and being found in a search was novel enough to generate leads. This is no longer the case. The web isn’t new, it has evolved and so have the people who use it.

People using a search engine or “googling” are researching, looking for an answer, looking to purchase something specific or maybe want to be entertained. The website that answers the question, fulfills the need, engages the visitor, earns trust, makes a connection, builds a relationship etc. will generate the lead. And this of course, should be the goal of your website.

You need to take responsibility for your web success by building relationships and trust with your visitors. Define your your audience and give them what they want. Re-focus the time, energy and money you spend on search engine positioning and direct it towards content for your audience.

Incidentally, acheiving this goal will also greatly improve your SEO.

What is RSS and How can Realtors use it?

Posted on December 3, 2008
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips | Leave a Comment

RSS in Plain English

RSS (really simple syndication) is a feed that allows your subscribers to receive your “feed” automatically through a feed reader or email. RSS feeds can also be displayed as dynamic content in web pages. A feed will generally consist of a short summary which when clicked will bring you to the full article or detail page.

You can use an RSS feed for any area of your web site that you would update frequently: new real estate listings, price changes, open house schedule, mortgage rates, community news, real estate market statistics and so forth. The feed will allow people to subscribe to your latest updates and can also keep your latest updates posted on your web site and perhaps even posted on other web sites and blogs.

vFlyer Automatic Generation of RSS Feed of all active listings

I’m sick of hearing about real estate blogging!

Posted on September 15, 2008
Filed Under Realtor Tools & Tips, SEO Search Optimization | 1 Comment

The main concern I’ve been hearing from realtors lately is getting to the top of Google. They were there and they are losing position or they are positioned well but not getting any “hits”. “Hits” being a term my clients use loosely. What it really means is that they are no longer enjoying a steady stream of inquiries generated from their web site. “Conversion” would be a better word.

Web site owners are looking to me for the magic SEO pill. The good news is that there is a solution, the bad news is that it takes some effort on the part of the website owner. I understand their frustration; I use the diet analogy. If i could pay someone to lose weight for me I would hand over my checkbook. Unfortunately diet and exercise is the simple solution to my problem.

Quote from Wall Street Journal article No Sale: A Bad Agent, or a Lousy Market?…criticizes agents who spend a lot of money to drive traffic to their Web sites, but fail to provide enough “content rich” material when they arrive.

The simple solution to a successful real estate web site is “content”. The simple way to add fresh content to your web site is by blogging. I know, “you’re sick of hearing the word blog”!

The blog platform not only helps your search engine ranking but equally important it can help your conversion rate. It is no longer enough to just have a website and expect people to be impressed enough by that fact alone to fill out a form and contact you. Being in the Google top 10 and driving traffic to your site isn’t going to get visitors to pick up the phone and make an appointment.

Agents expend significant sums on driving traffic to their websites – search engine optimization, keyword purchase, pay-per-click, etc, - but when the consumer arrives at the site there isn’t any pertinent or targeted information waiting for them. You need to target a specific or niche market such as first time buyers. Your website needs to be very content-rich with material answering their specific questions. It is critical to fulfill the promise being made in your marketing efforts. National Realty News

Your real estate blog is the place where you can demonstrate your expertise in the real estate market. This is the way to begin to have a relationship with your site visitor. Trust can be established, questions answered, your personality is shared through honest expression.

Think of it this way. If you get an appointment for a listing presentation you usually get the listing. Why? Because you have a conversation with the seller, you show them that you are a professional, you show them how you are going to market their home and they like your personality, your professionalism, your track record, whatever. Give the same attention to your website content. It is the important first impression and it will be the deciding factor for converting a visitor into a lead.

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