Author Archive
Blogging. You can love it or hate it, but a lot of us do it. I’m always on the lookout for good blogging tips. I found 10 of them on an Active Rain post
Scott Hayes specializes in Austin homes for sale. He came up with a list of 10 things that can really help you to make your real estate blog interesting to write as well as to read.
One of his tips is under the heading: Musicians Do It Part Two. You’ll have to read the post to find out why. Anyway, that tip has to do with recycling blog topics. I’ve seen that suggestion before. I wish I could do that one well.
When I go back over past posts looking for inspiration, it just doesn’t work. If anyone has any tips on how to recycle old posts, please let me know!
I can’t tell you how many real estate websites and blogs I click away from because they are hard to read.
If you want visitors to stay on your site or blog and want to keep them coming back, here are five very simple tips.
Five Tips for Making Your Real Estate Internet Sites Easy to Read
- Don’t use tiny print. Use a font size of at least 11. Many people have difficulty reading small print including the huge number of Baby Boomers who are looking at retirement. Many of these people are looking for places to retire to and will do a lot of searching for real estate online.
- Don’t use a color for your text that is anywhere close to the background color. At times I see small darkish grey text on a lighter grey background and nothing drives me away from a website faster than that.
- Break up long paragraphs. Long, drawn out paragraphs are intimidating. And they make it difficult for readers to quickly scan and find information they are looking for. Just as in advertising, having a lot of white space helps make reading easier. You can also number lists to make them easy to read.
- Break up long sentences into shorter ones. And don’t hesitate to start sentences with and or but. I know this isn’t grammatically correct, but it is how people speak. If what people read is more like listening to a conversation, it helps them understand and retain what they read.
- Use bold text for anything really important so it stands out. This will help draw a visitor’s attention to key areas on a web page. Having said that, don’t overdo it. Too much can just clutter a webpage of blog post.
Now that you have read this, I suggest that you go to your website or blog and see what you can do to make them easier to read.
This post is by guest blogger Sam Chapman.
Sam specializes in Lake Travis waterfront homes.
I didn’t watch the Emmy Awards this week, but I did catch some of Joan Rivers’ Fashion Police show afterward.
The thing that really amazes me is that not all the stars on a show like the Emmys look good. Why do you suppose that is?
These people have more money than any human being should have based on what they do. And, besides that, clothing designers lend dresses to a lot of the stars just to have their designs seen on TV.
So, why is it that they don’t all look marvelous? Surely no one makes them wear ugly clothes. And, they do own mirrors, I would imagine. Besides that, they probably have a host of “handlers” who are paid to watch their every move and keep them out of trouble.
I can’t remember who was wearing the two dresses that I thought were most amazing. One looked like a dress someone like me threw together in the hour before the event. It had a large, blousey, white bib-type front going over one shoulder and a black strap that looked like it had been tacked in at the last minute going over the other shoulder. Did no one notice she looked awful?
The other one was a crazy-looking thing that was very short in the front and long in the back. Did it float from front to back in a swirl of color? No. It was made out of a material I can’t describe, and looked rather like an upside down teacup with a train.
I know there is a term called “fashion forward”. I don’t know what it means. But, I have a word of advice for some of these stars:
Throw it into reverse!
I know you love your Facebook pages, but have you given them a name yet? You can, you know. If you have 25+ friends or fans, you can get a name that will be much more user friendly than the standard Facebook link. A standard link might look something like this: http:// www.facebook. com/profile.php?id=153412378965322.
Don’t bother trying to go there – that’s a made up link.
Like most things Facebook, you’d only know about naming your pages if you were researching the issue. Unlike most things Facebook, actually assigning the names is pretty simple.
The Two Critical Facebook Page Naming Issues
- Once you assign a name to your pages, you can’t change it.
- You need to choose names for your Fan page that will be good for promoting your business. So, it’s best to put some thought into the name you want before you decide to set the names.
Name Your Facebook Pages
To name your pages, just login to Facebook. Then, put this link in your browser’s address bar and press Enter: http://www.facebook.com/username/
Once you reach that page, you will see a place to enter a Username – that one will apply to your personal Facebook Profile page. Facebook will even suggest some names for you. If your preferred name is available, you’re good to go.
Below that naming area, you’ll see a link that says: Set a username for your Pages. You can use that link to set a name for your Fan page.
When you’re finished, you’ll have fairly readable links to your Facebook pages like www.Facebook.com/Kathleen.Allardyce or www.Facebook.com/RealEstateMarketingResults
Give it a shot. Let’s stamp out nameless real estate Facebook pages!
This Guest Post was written by Marc Rasmussen who specializes in Sarasota FL Real Estate
Let’s assume you have done a good job promoting your website and you now rank well in Google. The leads are starting to come in more consistently. So, how do you handle these internet leads?
It is much like leads from other sources except now the quantities are probably much higher. The odds of wasting your time on unqualified buyers goes up dramatically.
If you have a website that is producing a good number of leads, your pre-qualification skills become much more important. You need to do your best at figuring out who will turn into a successful transaction and who will waste your time.
It is not uncommon for a prospect to see a home on your real estate website, call you to ask a very specific question like, “are there walk in closets in the third bedroom?” - and then you find out that they are either working with another REALTOR®, need to sell two homes prior to buying, or plan on purchasing in 18 months. These sorts of calls and emails can disrupt your day and prevent you from working with qualified clients.
Making Initial Contact with an Internet Lead
You have to be delicate with some internet leads. If you beat them right over the head with tough questions they might get turned off and call another real estate agent. Initially, I like to ask about the type of home they want and then start asking questions that I need to know.
I vary the questions up, and the order in which I ask them, just to test out the responses. Here is a sample of some of the questions I ask the internet prospect:
1. Are you looking to buy a home or condo?
I could add land or some other property class to this question but I figure the prospect will tell me. This is just to get them thinking about what they want to buy. I make sure to add “to buy” to the sentence. It seems like some people think REALTORs® are showing services.
2. How many beds and baths do you require?
Again, I like to add the property related questions up front. The prospect won’t put their guard up.
3. When are you looking to purchase?
This tells me how to handle the lead. Obviously, I will handle a buyer that needs to buy in 30 days differently than one who is looking to buy in 12 months. Again, I mention “to purchase” in the question. I want to instill the “buy” mentality in their head and not a “let’s look around” mentality.
4. What is a comfortable price range for you?
5. Are you represented by any other REALTORs®?
You would be surprised at how many people contact me about real estate who are already working with another REALTOR®. Many people do not know how REALTORs® are compensated. It is your job to make sure they know.
6. Have you arranged financing or do you plan on paying cash?
This helps reiterate that you are not showing service and that a successful transaction is your goal.
7. Have you been to Sarasota before or is this your first trip?
I love prospects that have been vacationing in my area for years. They are already sold on the area. I get nervous when someone wants to see real estate but have never been to Sarasota before. I like to know this ahead of time. Most potential buyers need to get sold on the area before being sold on a house.
8. What neighborhoods/areas interest you the most?
This one tests their market knowledge and determines how much education they need. I get much more excited if a prospect answers, “we love Lakewood Ranch and University Parkway” versus, “we really don’t know the area at all and just want you to show us around.”
9. Do you have any other needs or wants that I should know about?
——————————
This is a good representation of the questions I ask an Internet lead. I test different variations of questions as well as how many are asked. Some REALTORs® ask way more questions and that is fine. I don’t know if there is a right or wrong way to do this. It boils down to personal preference.
It is ok if you don’t mind taking on every prospect and showing all of them property. I won’t do it because it will just burn me out. I am probably losing transactions for over-qualifying, but to me that is a small price to pay for sanity.
Note from Kathleen: Marc has had a real estate website since 2004. He has built his website to rank #2 on Google for Sarasota Real Estate and #3 for Sarasota Homes for Sale.
