As a follow-up to my "Awesome Real Estate Website" series, here's a link to an interview I did with Jamie Gosweiler of AgentWebSuccess, where we discuss three of the most important building blocks for a real estate website.

3 Important Building Blocks for a Real Estate Website: Podcast

If you'd like to read the original series, I've included those links below.

An Awesome Real Estate Website: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Jamie is always on the lookout for real estate agents who are finding success online, so if you're interested in setting up an interview, be sure to contact him.

I hope you enjoy the podcast!

Amber
BrownBugProject.com

An awesome real estate website should have tons of property information.

I know, I know.  This is pretty obvious, right?  I thought so, but oddly enough, it's hard to find detailed property information on real estate websites.  Why?  It takes a lot of effort, but if you do it, you're guaranteed to have the leading real estate website in your area!

So, what should you include?  For each and every property you list (no matter the list price), you could have the following information and really impress your site visitors.

It may seem like a lot of work, but the more info you include about a property, the more obstacles you remove between your sellers and a sale.  Plus, it shows your commitment to the highest level of service, which can mean tons of referrals for you down the road, not to mention that you impress all the buyers and sellers who visit your site!

--

Previous Awesome Website Posts

An awesome real estate website should:

• Capture follower information and offer something of value in return,
  
• Engage visitors and followers with interaction and valuable insight, and
  
• Be filled with valuable content.

Free "Awesome Real Estate Website" Seminar

On July 30, I'm holding a tele-seminar on "An Awesome Real Estate Website."  Try to come!  You can find out more here.

By Amber Riviere
BrownBugProject.com

The first part of this series explained the importance of capturing follower information and offering something of value in return.  Part 2 discussed how you should engage visitors and followers with interaction and valuable insight. Now on to Part 3.

An awesome real estate website should be filled with valuable content.

You could archive audio versions of your tele-seminars, podcasts, and video casts discussed in the last post, but here are a few other ideas for adding content-rich sections to your website.

A Blog

I hear you.  "Duuuuh."  Believe it or not, a lot of business owners still don't use blogs, and even if they have them on their sites, that doesn't mean they maintain them with any kind of regularity.

Do a search for "new orleans condos," and you know who comes up in first place in Google?  Our very own Eric Bouler and his site, NewOrleansCondos.net.  Why?  Because he has been blogging consistently since I met him on ActiveRain two months after the network launched waaaay back in September of 2006!  He has at least three years of consistent, relevant, and targeted content online.

That's what you have to do.  It takes a good year of solid content to start getting traction, two to start making an impact, and three to start seeing major results, but even in the first few months, especially with social media like Twitter in the mix, you can start seeing the benefits.

A Newsletter

I hear you.  "Isn't that very 1999?"  Maybe, but retro is back.  I can tell you that, personally, my newsletter is way more effective than my blog at helping me maintain and build relationships with followers.

My blog helps me find new traffic; it helps me with search engine optimization.  My newsletter is my rapport-builder and the real communication medium for my business.

As I mentioned in a previous post, be sure to house the content on your site so that you take advantage of the content for search engine optimization.

An Article Directory

As I said in the first part of this series, your newsletter should be reserved for timely and relevant content, not generic things like "10 Tips to Spruce Up Your Yard," but that doesn't mean that type of content shouldn't go somewhere on your site.  On the contrary, it should, and this is the place for it.

Reserve a special part of your resource section for housing helpful tips and seasonal articles regarding home maintenance, preparing a home to sell, getting prepared for purchasing a home, etc.

A Real Estate Glossary

Create a comprehensive glossary that covers any and all real estate, mortgage, insurance, inspection, and other relevant terms.  Team up with other professionals for accuracy.  Then be sure to direct clients to this section of your site early on in your relationship.

Mortgage Rates and News

You should have a "current events/news" section of your site to post an updated list of mortgage rates, as well as timely articles that customers and clients are hearing about in the news, and don't just post links to other articles.  Formulate an opinion, explain the issues, and get involved.  Not only will this help withSEO , it will also establish you as the "go-to" expert in your area and not just with customers and clients, but even with local media.

Content is the most important thing you can do for your site.  Add a lot of it - often.  Keep it updated - regularly.  Make it a hub of information for your area and specialty.  It's a great way to get new business, and if you do it right, it can be your primary source of incoming leads.

Well, that should keep you busy until next week's post!  Don't work too hard.

By Amber Riviere
BrownBugProject.com

Previous Awesome Website Posts

Part 1 - http://activerain.com/blogsview/1119217/an-awesome-real-estate-website-part-1-
Part 2 - http://activerain.com/blogsview/1128003/an-awesome-real-estate-website-part-2-

Last week's post discussed how an awesome real estate website should capture follower information and offer something of value in return.  Now on to Part 2.

An awesome real estate website should engage visitors and followers with interaction and valuable insight.

You know what is probably the number one weakness for a lot of agents when it comes to securing new business?  Not being there.  Buyers and sellers contact agents for help all the time, and you know what happens?  Agents drop the ball.  They don't follow-up, they don't keep their promises, so buyers and sellers move on to the next agent.

Of course, following up and keeping promises is the first level of "being there" as an agent.  If you can master your follow-up and then add in one or two of these ideas, you could be the local superstar.

Host online tele-seminars.

You've probably already heard the idea of conducting seminars about buying and selling a home, but many times, the logistics get in the way.  Planning and carrying out a complicated, in-person event might seem too overwhelming to tackle, but there's a way to get around those details and maybe even appeal to a greater number of potential customers.  Conduct "virtual seminars" viatele-conference and web interface, and there's a free service that can help with this.  It's called Calliflower, and it can conduct both parts of the seminar - the conferencing side (phone support) and the web side (online features).  The free version offers several great features, like:

Unique Pins for Each Participant

This allows each attendee to upload his/her photo and allows you to track who is on the call (rather than having a "universal" access code).

Communication Management Tools

During the call, attendees can ask questions and contribute to the discussion by "raising their hands" or using the chat interface (see images).

But, what kind of seminar will you do?  I'd say that depends on the local market and what's happening in it, but here are a few ideas.

• Find hot button issues and conduct "town hall" events where attendees can vent their frustrations and find a trusted professional to give them direction.  One example I know of personally, Chinese drywall.  Locally, there are issues cropping up surrounding Chinese drywall, and buyers (even those who just purchased recently) are worrying about it (and understandably so).  A lot of professionals here are dodging the issue, not communicating and dismissing buyer concerns.  If this is an issue in your area, you could put together a seminar with tons of resources and experts on the subject.
  
• Conduct monthly "Q&A" sessions where customers can ask you questions about buying or selling.
• Get help from other experts (mortgage specialists, inspectors, designers, etc.) to add variety, interest, and depth to your events.
  

The most important thing is to be informative, both at the event and when promoting it.  Be specific about what information they can expect to learn and how you will help them, and provide a clear objective for the call so that people know what to expect.

Start an online podcast.

Start a real estate or area "radio show" as an informational source for your customers and clients.  You could even use Calliflower to simplify the process (since podcasting can be a huge undertaking, if you're not careful).  Calliflower can record each event, and then you can post the mp3 version to a podcast feed on your website - two birds with one stone!  Plus, with this option, you can actually have "live call-in radio shows."  In this case, I would recommend posting the dial-in number and a universal pin so that more people will participate (radio shows are more about anonymity, after all).

Cover information similar to that suggested for seminars, or you could get really fancy and have a more true-to-life radio show format.

Conduct live chats from your site.

Provide live chats from your website on a regular basis (examples, "Real Estate Wednesdays" or "Mondays with [Fill in Your Name]").  You could use theCalliflower service again, but there are also plenty of chat-only options.  Google Talk, Live2Support, and Bravenet are just a few of them.

You could use an open-discussion format, like the "Real Estate Wednesdays," where visitors can just ask questions and jump into the current discussion, or you could have a more structured format like the seminars where you focus on a particular topic.

Create an online forum or discussion board.

For a more ongoing approach, you could have a forum or discussion board on your site.  Set up separate areas (or threads) for different topics (examples, "Buyer Questions," "Seller Questions," "Investors' Corner," etc.).  If you go this route, be sure to put a message (in a prominent location within the forum/board) about when you respond so that visitors don't think you're available around the clock or think they're being ignored.

Create video casts (aka vidcasts) for your site.

Find a house that's about to go on the market and do an instructional "how to prepare your home to get top dollar" video.  You could even do this weekly or monthly and showcase a new property each time.  Walk through the home, pointing out areas that could use improvement, making recommendations as you go.  Then, if the seller takes your advice and makes the improvements, end with an "after the show" segment where you go through the new and improved home.  You could even show how much the improvements cost and the sales price (and marketing time) for the home.  You could even do "curb appeal" ones, too, where you focus on the outside of the home.  (Note: Be sure get written permission from the seller to post all the info and the video online.)

Well, those are a few ideas for adding some interactive elements to your website.

Don't forget, this is an ongoing series, so keep an eye out for next week's post.

By Amber Riviere
BrownBugProject.com

Previous Awesome Website Posts
Part 1 - http://activerain.com/blogsview/1119217/an-awesome-real-estate-website-part-1-

I'm planning to write a series of posts about creating "an awesome real estate website."  I'll post a new part to the series each Wednesday over the coming weeks.  Here's Part 1.

An awesome real estate website should capture follower information and offer something of value in return.

But, don't ask for the cow.

By capturing information, I mean a name and an email address.  You really don't need much else, at least right now (maybe a Twitter handle, or just ask them to follow you).  The longer you communicate with them, the more information you'll gather.  Right now, it's about making contact and establishing yourself in their minds.

And, don't worry about giving the cow away right now, either.

Don't think that you have to give something away for free to get a visitor's name and email.  Although plenty of people offer FREE tips or FREE notification of listings or FREE access to their hair stylists (okay, maybe I haven't seen that one), it's not necessary.

If you offer something of value (of obvious value), then you won't need to promise the sun, moon, and stars to get them to believe in you and sign up.  In fact, if the only reason the person signs up is because of some souped up "free gift" for doing so, then he or she will likely unsubscribe right after the free gift is delivered.  Why?  Because, chances are, he or she will feel that you're trying too hard and being too "sales-y."  Visitors don't want to receive a bunch of sales-y messages in their email boxes, so they'll wait for the gift and then unsubscribe.

Plan to develop a following - a loyal following, and then plan to be loyal to your following by delivering something of real value each and every time you contact them.

And, automated MLS reports don't count.

Buyers and sellers can get those anywhere, so they're not unique and not valuable.  They're a commodity.  Your content should be of value and not something they can get anywhere else. 

It should also be timely and relevant, not a generic "free report" or "free tips" or "10 tips" of any kind.  No, think timely (meaning very, very current) and relevant (very, very worthwhile to the recipient).

Although it would be much easier to just let your assistant come up with some generic set of "10 Tips to Spruce Up Your Yard," who wants that?  That type of content can go in the Resource section of your website, but send it by email a few times, and you're going to get deleted, unsubscribed from, or worse, reported as spam.

Consider these ideas instead.

• A Morning Audio Update (with a fun, catchy, and unique name - maybe some kind of "radio show"): Drive your town or area each day and note changes (new listings, new businesses, the status of upcoming developments).  Suggest places to stop for lunch that day (you could even make it a point to the lunch spot each day and meet with people who want to discuss real estate, or you could run some sort of contest at the day's location).  Don't forget to transcribe each day's message for those followers who prefer to read instead of listen (and for helping with search engine optimization).

• A Daily City Round-Up (again, find a fun name): Deliver something in more of a news bulletin or newsletter format with the latest happenings around town.  Include a few of your listings, as well as coupons and discounts from local businesses (great reason to get in front of local business owners on a regular basis, too).

• A "Swap Shop": Email daily classifieds with garage sales, haves/wants, services, etc.  Capitalize on the fact that many newspapers are ending their paper-based editions.  Accept classified listings on your website, and then send out new entries in a daily email.  Oooh, here's a thought.  We have a local Swap Shop radio show.  People call in and offer their classifieds by phone.  The host answers, "Swap Shop, you're on the air."  Then the caller says something like, "Yes, I have two cocker spaniel puppies that need a good home.  They're 4-months old...  Call 123-456-7890."  You could set up a voice mail line to do something similar (try RingCentral).  Just have the line accept messages only (not ring you).  Have the outgoing message say something similar to, "Swap Shop, you're on the air."  Put all the messages together and send them by email daily.  It's fun and unique, and you're offering a service to your area for free.  Don't forget to add a "sponsored by" at the beginning and end of the "daily show," too.

Well, that gives you a start!
Be sure to keep an eye out for next week's post.

By Amber Riviere
BrownBugProject.com

BackPackIt is the perfect productivity tool.  It's versatile and can be molded to fit your business needs and working preferences.

Basic BackPackIt Navigation

BackBackIt is mostly about pages (image below).  That's the primary organization method it uses.  It also has a few other tools, such as a calendar and reminders, which I don't personally use (I prefer Google Calendar for these).

Within a page, you can add lists, notes, files, pictures, writeboards, dividers, and tags.

You can share pages, which is great for collaborating and sending information in an organized fashion.

Along the left side of the BackPackIt interface, you'll find the actual page contents (image below).

Along the right, you'll find links to all of the pages within your sidebar (image below).

At the bottom of each page (image below), you'll find additional controls for each page, including links to email yourself a copy of the page, duplicate the page, delete the page, and add/remove from sidebar.  You'll also find the page's RSS feed, history of changes, and it's email address (so that you can email content directly to the page).

My Current BackPackIt Setup

Currently, I have the following setup (image below).  I have a TO DO and TO BUY page, which both contain a list of items that I can check off as I complete or buy them.

I have my WORK "folder" (which is really just a tag that I added to my sidebar).  All my open work projects have their own pages and are tagged 'work' so that they are included within that "folder."  When it's time to get to work, I just click the WORK tag, and a list of all my open projects opens (image below).

My week day pages (Monday-Friday) contain relevant to-dos for the given day within a list.  For example, I only write blog posts on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so on those days, I have a task in my checklist to "Blog."  On any given day, I open that day's page and begin doing the tasks that are laid out for me.  This really helps me to stay consistent and organized, especially with recurring tasks and with my marketing and promotion efforts.

I also have NOTE pages, which contain information related to a particular marketing tactic.

I have REFERENCE pages, which house any current promotions I have in place, as well as my website statistics.

Making It Work

The most important thing I've found is using the sidebar effectively, and this comes with naming pages clearly and in an obvious hierarchy (you can drag pages around so that they're in an order that makes sense to you).  I also add things like '(Reference)' or '(Notes)' so that like-kind pages are kept together and so that I can quickly decipher what's actionable and what's informational in nature.

Another key is to use the helpful features of BackPackIt, such as duplicating a page.  That's where my TEMPLATES come in.  I have a tag in my sidebar called 'Templates,' which houses commonly used pages.  For instance, whenever I set up a new client, I go through the same process, so I've created a page called 'New Client Checklist.'  Whenever I get a new client, I simply duplicate that page, name the new copy the client's name, tag it 'work' so that it shows up in my WORK "folder" (and remove the 'template' tag so that it's taken out of that one), and then remove the page itself from my sidebar (since it will be available now within WORK).

BackPackIt provides unlimited ways for customizing and organizing content, which makes it ideal for - well, almost anyone!

Related Posts

Get Organized with BackPackIt

Yesterday I had a call with my accountability partner.  We were talking about struggles we were having and the idea that you have to focus on the right goals for you at any given point.

Until last week, for instance, I had been stumbling over a side project I had been trying to launch for nearly two years.  Not getting it underway was a thorn in my side, but until about two weeks ago, I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.  It wasn't the right time for that particular goal.

The Back Story

A few years ago (some of you might remember), I participated in the Care More Giving Circle challenge, along with several great ladies within this network and around the world.  It was a life-changing project, and I think about it often.  When it was over, I missed not having some intentional project going that was focused on giving back, so soon after, I set out to start the "Give Back Project."

The only problem - I couldn't wrap my mind around it.  I couldn't figure out how to make it work.  I didn't know what it was supposed to be.

The Interim Story

Meanwhile, I put my real estate business on a (likely permanent) hiatus and started a web design company.  Since it always seemed that I was working on side "projects" and since web design was (up to that point) a one-project-at-a-time thing for me, I decided to call my site BrownBugProject.com.  That way, on any site I created, I would put "A Brown Bug Project" in the footer, sort of as my mark.

Today's Story

I didn't intentionally name the two concepts that way (both with "project" in the name, that is).  I didn't even realize it until a while after I started BrownBugProject, but as soon as I did, I knew I wanted to incorporate the Give Back Project into the business somehow.

The only problem (still) - I couldn't wrap my mind around it.  I couldn't figure out how to make it work.  I didn't know what it was supposed to be.

It has nagged at me until just two weeks ago, when it finally came to me what the Give Back Project was supposed to be.  I would make it a "websites for success" program, where I'd create a website (for free) for an aspiring small business owner who did not have the resources to pay for a designer - hence, for me, a give back project.

Within two weeks time, I had the entire concept planned, implemented, and added to my business website.  After nearly two years of struggling, it came together so easily!

The Moral, I Guess

It was finally the right goal at the right time.  Without sounding too "new-agey," I really think that the universe (or something - subconscious, maybe) has a way of getting in the way when we're trying to force the wrong thing into our lives at the wrong time, and that's just what happens - we end up trying to force it, and it's a struggle.

Now if I could just figure out when to be persistent and not give up (when that's the order of the day) and when to defer a dream to a better time and place.

Although the economy (and business) may be slow, now is the perfect time to start preparing for a turn-around.  At some point, things will start improving, and if you've managed to hang in there through the tough times, you'll probably be in a really good position when they do.

So what can you do now to get ready?

Spruce up your website.

• Is your design a true representation of you and your ideal client? 
  
• Does your site cover all relevant content for your market, area, and prospects? 
  
• Does it have "dynamic" sections that are regularly (and frequently) updated and are based on targeted keywords? 
  
• Are you actively involved in the maintenance and upkeep of your site (can you be, or does your "designer handle all that")?

A good website can be the lifeblood of your lead generation and marketing efforts, if you treat it like a living thing that brings value to your followers.  Set it up right, maintain it consistently, and it could generate a good majority of your business.

Set up a regular email campaign.

Whether you choose to send a monthly newsletter, a daily audio message, or a weekly video, if you effectively plan, implement, and maintain an email-based marketing campaign, you can quickly and easily build rapport with your followers.

Email marketing might seem "old school," especially with so many other web-based tools, like blogs, Twitter, and podcasts, but I can personally attest to their effectiveness in building an email list.

Take advantage of the effort you spend in compiling email marketing messages by housing the content on your own site (rather than on the email marketing service's site or in the actual email messages) so that you take advantage of the "Google juice" these keyword-rich posts offer.  Create an RSS-based feed, and you can make the email part automated.

Start building a Twitter following.

Twitter has great potential as a marketing tool for real estate professionals.  New listing on the market?  Update all your followers in a second.  New restaurant just opened?  Be the first to notify your clients and prospects so that they have the "inside scoop."

There are tons of ways to use Twitter as a real estate agent.  Plus, it's fast, it's easy, and it's free.  Start building a following now by adding a link to your profile, as well as a feed of your tweets, on your website and blog.

Fine-tune your marketing plan.

How do you plan to capture those buyers who are just waiting in the wings for the market to start turning?  Be ready by getting all your marketing ducks in a row now.

Figure out your strategies, plan out a 12-month marketing calendar, and get to work.  When things start picking up, you'll be ready, while other agents are scrambling to get back in the game.

Tweak your systems.

When is the last time you went through your checklists and systems to improve and streamline them?  Really evaluate your systems, work to make them as simple and as automated as possible, and you'll make life much easier on yourself and your clients and prospects.

Think about it.  Is there a better way that you could be processing incoming leads?  Could your auto-responder messages be updated and improved?  Start from the top (point of initial contact) and work to the bottom (customer relationship management after the closing).

Take advantage of slower times and take care of all those tasks you've been putting off for a rainy day.  The sun will be shining again soon!

One of my English professors in college once said, "No matter how much you know, you'll never know everything."  That's very humbling, but it's also a good reminder that you don't know everything and could learn more.  You can always improve.

It's not about being smarter than the next guy or having something to show off.  It's about increasing your value and the value you bring to your business, your clients, and your customers.  The more you have to offer your clients and customers, the better your service will be, the better your job prospects will be, and the more you can demand in compensation.

It's not always the obvious either, like real estate agents becoming more fluent in real estate law (although that's always a good thing).  It's not always directly related to your business.  For instance, agents learning more about gardening, landscaping, or interior design could prove to be helpful to clients.  It's not always about your own or even any related industry either.  Learning a new language, for instance, could open up the pool of customers and clients you are able to serve.  Point is, you can get creative and learn something that really interests you (of course, save room for the boring stuff, too - there's a place for everything).

Learning can open new doors for you and your business, and it's as easy as visiting your local library or bookstore.

Happy reading.

I think there are a lot of times when we over-complicate things; I know I do - a lot.  The "keep it simple, stupid" idea seems...well, too simple.

Over-Complicating My Marketing

For a long time, I thought that the only good marketing and lead generation plan was the complicated one - one that included as many strategies as possible (really more strategies than possible).  Otherwise, I felt I was carrying all of my eggs in one basket.

Recently though, I've smartened up.  I've started evaluating things with a results-oriented lens, and all of a sudden, things have gotten really clear - and easy.

When I looked at the actual numbers (not just over the past six months or so, but over the past four or five years), I knew where I could contribute the bulk of my business success - writing.  Nearly all of my contacts and prospects had found me through my writing, but instead of spending the bulk of my time doing that one thing, I worried about developing other lead generation tactics.  Why?  Writing (although not always the easiest task) was simple and easy to implement.

Lately, I've dropped almost all of the other tactics.  I've pared down and now spend almost 100% of my lead generation time doing the one thing I know works.

Over-Complicating My Networking

Over the past year, I've been trying (to no avail, mind you) to find another network that more closely matched my career goals (since I was no longer an active agent).

Each time, I'd quit the newly-found network in frustration, telling myself, "There's no place like ActiveRain."  (I felt like Dorothy.)

Finally, I asked myself, "Why can't I just forget this ridiculous search and go back to the network where I want to be?  Even though I'm not an active agent, I do have other things in common with the members there.  I'm a business owner just the same, I'm building my business through hard work and hard knocks just the same, and I enjoy sharing and learning with friendly, conversational, and helpful people just the same.  On top of that, agents need websites, too, dang it!"

Instead of beating my head against a wall, I decided to simply forget it and go back to what I wanted and what I knew.

Over-Complicating My Days

For months, I've been struggling with the profitability dance.  "Am I doing the right things?  Am I doing everything I can do to generate the work I need?  Am I monitoring things well enough to ensure that I'm profitable?"  I crunched numbers.  I made estimations and projections.  I sighed and chewed my nails, worrying about it all way too much and way too often.

Then I simplified.  I asked myself, "Realistically, what do you want to make at this stage in the game?  Don't throw out arbitrary numbers.  What do you really want to make right now?"  I came up with a real and reachable and okay-with-me number.

Then I asked myself, "What kind of lifestyle do you want right now?"  That was an easy one.  I wanted simple, uncomplicated, and easy.  I wanted space to breathe, and I wanted to step out of the rat race for a while (if not permanently).

"Okay, can you have both?  Can you make that kind of money working those kinds of hours and having that kind of lifestyle?"  A simple, "Yes."

Each day now, I track my time.  I watch to make sure I hit my time goal, which means I also hit my income goal.  After that, I do an hour or two of lead generation (writing), and then (are you ready for this?), I quit.

The really nice part is, I'm reclaiming some me time.  I'm catching t-ball games.  I'm going for regular walks at local parks.  I'm spending much needed time with family and friends.  I'm making decent meals (actually cooking) for myself for supper and sometimes even lunch.  I'm getting up when I want and going to bed when I want, and most importantly, I'm not walking around with a cloud of worry over my head.  How?  All because I've simplified, and I know there's plenty of time for everything.

You should try this simplifying thing!  It really works, and it's much more fun.