BRER Real Estate Marketing Blog

Just updated the design and home page content on a new client’s real estate website yesterday morning.  I also set up an account with an IDX vendor, and incorporated an MLS search into the site.

The client had been driving traffic to the site in a number of ways, but no one had ever contacted her.

Got a call from the client yesterday afternoon.  She made my day!  She had received two phone calls from visitors to the site already!  Not just e-mails, not just I need information, but don’t call me - actual prospect calls from people who needed help with a real estate transaction.

Does the look of your site and the message on your home page make a difference?  You bet.

Review these real estate website basics, and other website tips on the Build Real Estate Results website.

The March Real Estate Results Newsletter was published today.  This issue challenges you to test yourself on how well you understand the rules regarding the use of the REALTOR® trademark.  There’s also information on helping your listing clients whose home can’t pass the white glove test, and a powerful tool to use when speaking to unrepresented sellers about listing their home.

If you’d like to receive your own Newsletter once a month, visit our real estate marketing Newsletter page to register.  You can also access the Newsletter Archive on that page.

Please note:  If you have subscribed to the newsletter, but you aren’t receiving your copy, the odds are good that you didn’t confirm your subscription.  Here’s what to do:  contact us to let us know that you do want to confirm your subscription.  We use a double opt-in system to make sure the newsletter is always welcomed!

Read the March newsletter for more real estate marketing tips!

Real estate promotion should be an important part of any company’s marketing plan.  This is especially true in real estate marketing because people don’t buy your “product” every week, month, or even every year.

You need to be at the top of your prospects’ mind whenever they need real estate services for themselves or a friend.  And, undoubtedly you’ve tried a variety of real estate promotional items to achieve that recognition.  Unfortunately, many promotional items are not as effective as we’d like them to be.

Paper calendars are only useful until the end of the year.  Pens run out of ink, and refrigerator magnets get lost in the maze of the kids’ artwork.

So, I was very excited to find a real estate promotion tool that keeps your contact information, and a link to your website, on your prospects’ computer desktop every day for years.

You can download this real estate promotion tool as our gift to you!  Please let us know what you think of it, and if it looks like an effective tool for your real estate marketing plan.

Here’s another great way to promote your blog, if you have an RSS feed for your posts.  Visit RealtyFeedSearch.com.   It’s a directory for real estate feed content.

For the most control over your entry, create an account, then just find the right category, and use the Add a Feed link on that page.  Or, you can use the Quick Submit option at the bottom of the pages.  And, if you offer a reciprocal link, you’ll get even better placement.

Many agents use direct contact with potential clients as part of their real estate marketing plans.  However, we’re all aware of the federal Do Not Call list, and how important it is to follow the federal regulations.  Fines for even one wrong phone call are in the thousands of dollars.

I’ve heard about a company called Do Not Call Sentry that provides what seems to be a reasonably-priced, easy to use service for checking telephone numbers against the Do No Call List.  The offer discounts for Century 21, ERA and Coldwell Banker.  And, they say that the program must be administered at a company level.

If anyone has any experience with the service provided by this company, please let us know.  Or, if you have a great way to deal with the Do Not Call regulations, please post a comment.  (Just click on the word Comments in red at the top of this post).

Thanks!

Writing your own real estate marketing materials can be difficult for a number of reasons.  Maybe you don’t like to write, or you just don’t have the time to sit down and get it done.

The most common reason, however, is that many agents aren’t clear on what they’re trying to market.  The most important task you should complete before you write a listing presentation, brochure or content for your website, is this:  determine what business you are in.

Of course, that sounds simple.  You’re in the real estate business.  But, what does that mean?  Are you selling houses?  yourself?  your brokerage? 

In my opinion, I believe that all real estate agents and brokers are running a real estate consulting business.  You are selling a service.  You may be the one providing the service, but you shouldn’t be selling yourself.  Selling yourself usually results in one of two things:  either you are embarassed to blow your own horn, so your message is flat, or you want people to know all the great things about yourself, and your message is too self-absorbed.

You need to sell the benefits your customers receive when they work with you.  So, you need to focus your marketing message on your customers.  And, there’s an easy way to test yourself to see how well you’re doing.  For your website, visit the customer focus calculator for web pages.  For other marketing materials, visit the customer focus calculator for text.

If you rate poorly on customer focus, work on your real estate marketing materials until you’re sure your message is reaching its most important audience - your potential customers.

Just finished helping another client retrieve their domain name from a vendor.  It’s a real pain in the neck.

My advice?  Never register a domain name with a vendor.  I work with several vendors that I like and trust.  But, I would never register a domain name with them.  Your domain name is critical to your Internet presence.  You should have direct access to your domain names - the DNS server information, contact information, the renewals, the whole shot.  And, by direct access, I mean you can login to a registrar account and make those changes yourself.

It’s such a pet peeve of mine, that I host a website where you can acquire and manage domain names through GoDaddy.  The website address is http://GIWIDomains.com.  Yes, it’s a weird name, but it stands for Getting It Write, Inc. Domains.

Using the GIWIDomains registration site, you can:

• check to see if a particular domain name is available, and check the WhoIs information to determine who has control of a domain name.
• acquire new domain names.
• transfer your domains into one central account for easy management.  When you transfer a domain, you save money by receiving a free year of registration.  And, if your contact information changes, you only have one place to go to update it.
• coordinate the expiration dates of your domain names so that you can renew all your domain names at one time!

If you put a lot of effort into promoting a domain name, you need to protect it.  Losing a domain name can be a costly mistake.  Visit our domain registration site and protect your Internet presence today!