Cheryl Waller | Social Renegade | DOMINATE the Search Engines

Press Releases: How and Why to Include Them in Your SEO

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:37:57 -0500

Think press releases are a thing of the past? Press releases, when done correctly, are a powerful SEO tool that helps drive more traffic to your website and increase relevancy for your website. By submitting your press release to press release distribution services you increase the number of back links to your site with relevant content through the newswire services and the web sites to which they distribute content. Just one simple act of submitting a single press release through a distribution service gives your site several relevant in-bound links from trusted websites all over the internet.

But, in order to benefit fully from your press release distribution, you have to approach the SEO of your press releases in much the same way that you would approach the Search Engine Optimization of any page on your website. Your press release has to be drafted keeping your targeted keywords in mind and must contain relevant content to those keywords.

Wait…Hold up… You don’t think you have anything to write about that is news-worthy? Actually you do. You can submit a press release about pretty much anything. You can announce a new product or service, announce a new service area, announce a new hire… anything. You can even submit a press release about your blog. Don’t have a blog yet? (Shame on you) Sit down a take a few minutes to start a blog, write your first blog entry and then submit a press release about it. Press releases are simply too important to not distribute.

There are 5 parts of a press release and we are going to discuss how to create each part. They are:

Title

Summary

Body

About the Company

Press Contact

Each part of your press release needs to be created correctly in order to maximize the SEO benefit of the final press release. Here are the 10 steps that you should take when drafting your press release.

Step 1. Choose the keyword(s) that you would like to target with your press release. Your keywords can be one word or more. Choosing long-tail keywords is best to attract visitors that are looking for your products and services. For example: If you are an exclusive buyers agent in Long Beach California and your farming area is actually restricted to the Long Beach Area, you would not want to just use ‘California Real Estate’. A better choice in this scenario would be ‘Long Beach California Real Estate Buyers Agent’.

Step 2. Choose a webpage or two on your website that you will be linking to that has the same targeted keywords. Many press release services will allow you to use anchor text within the body of your press release so choose your web pages carefully and make sure they have not only the same selected keywords, but also that they have relevant content.

Step 3. Create the title of your press release WITH your keywords in the title. What would someone type to come across your press release? Get inside your prospective clients head and then write your title to target that client.

Step 4. Draft the summary of your press release using the most important keyword that you have chosen in step 1. You will need to keep the summary short (less than 150 characters) and include different keywords from the ones that you chose to put in your title. Your summary will be used as a description directly under the title on SERPs (search engine results pages) and using different keywords maximizes the exposure for your selected keywords.

Step 5. Write the content (body) of your press release keeping in mind that it must be in a ‘third-party news reporting’ tone of voice. Refrain from using the words you, your, our, or any word that makes it appear that you are talking to your target audience. This part of your press release must be completely objective and cannot be promotional in nature. Use your target keywords throughout the content of your press release, but refrain from keyword stuffing. Use anchor text to link to exactly two pages on your website. Some newswire distributors will not allow you to include the anchor text but many will, so have your links ready to go for those that do allow anchor text.

Step 6. Create your quote. This is the only place in your press release that you can use your voice to advertise your business. The rest of the press release MUST maintain the ‘third-party news reporting’ voice. Only include one quote in your press release and stick to using only two quotation marks. Don’t break up your quote into two sets of quotes because some services only index the first quote and if it is an incomplete thought it will look very unprofessional.

Step 7. Create your ‘About the Company’. In 3-4 sentences describe your company in the same ‘third-party news reporting’ voice as the content of your press release. You want this to be your company’s ‘elevator pitch’. Include a link to the index page of your site using anchor text. Again, some newswire distributors will not allow anchor text. Most of the time, the ones that do not allow anchor text will allow you to write out the URL of your site as long as you do not precede it with the http://.

Step 8. Determine who your press contact will be and include the information at the very bottom of your press release. Depending on the press release service, you may have to remove this section when you submit your press release in lieu of providing contact information somewhere else on the submission form.

Step 9. Read your press release OUT LOUD. I cannot stress how important this step is in drafting your press release. Reading your press release out loud will identify areas of the press release that ‘just don’t sound right’. Once you have read your press release out loud and have made any necessary corrections to the content you are ready to start submitting your release to distribution services.

Step 10. Submit your press release to 2-5 distribution services. There are many free press release distribution services on the net. Two that I use are przoom.com and 1888pressrelease.com

That’s it! Once you have your press release submitted you will normally have to wait a day or so for the distribution service to approve your press release. Once they have approved your press release, you will have several relevant in-bound links from trusted websites all over the internet.

But wait… there is ONE more thing that you need to do with your press release.

Once you have submitted your press release through the newswire distribution services, you will then need to convert it to a PDF and place it on your site. You should have a section of your website dedicated to news about your company and link the news announcements to your PDFs. You should also link to your PDFs from your blog and link your blog to the news section of your website.

Whew! Sounds like an awful lot for one little press release doesn’t it? Truth is that once you have done it a few times it becomes easy. Try to get into the routine of submitting one press release every month. You can add it to the day that you already have set aside to write your monthly newsletter (you do have one right?) and alter the content a bit to include in your company announcements as well. Getting into this habit will help you to increase traffic to your site with visitors that are already looking for your services. What better way to increase your bottom-line with $0 investment?

-Cheryl Waller
Marketing Consultant SEO, SEM, SMM
www.CherylWaller.com

SEO Tips: 5 Dark Secrets to Dominate Google Search Results

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:48:43 -0500

Looking to dominate Google Search engine results for your real estate business?

I am about to share with you 5 of my darkest secrets. (Ok they are not 'really' dark secrets but it sounds better than 'tips') But, before we go any further I must remind you that Search Engine Marketing and funneling more traffic to your site is NOT about tricking the search engines, it is NOT about how much you can pay per click and it is NOT how many websites link to your website. At the end of the day, it is about how well you optimize your website for visitors as well as search engines. The SEO process, when employed correctly, enables potential clients that are ALREADY LOOKING for your product and services to find you easier and faster in that coveted top 10 results of Google for your specific keywords.

My name is Cheryl Waller and I am an experienced SEO, SEM and SMM consultant. I work with client websites to apply various SEO and SEM techniques to NOT ONLY optimize websites, but also dominate Google results for specific search terms.

First off, let me say that it is very important that whether you hire someone to do it for you or if you do-it-yourself, you must optimize using trusted Google webmaster guidelines. Never use black-hat strategies in your Search Engine Optimization process. Black-Hat strategies are dangerous to fool around with and can ultimately get your site removed from the index of most major search engines. Beware of SEO consultants that say they can get xxx links to your website in xxx time. They are probably using black-hat strategies. Search engines actually LOOK for these unethical methods to remove your site from their indices. Black hat strategies use methods such as spamdexing and keyword stuffing. I have helped hundreds of business owners get much higher rankings in the major search engines and improve the overall bottom line of their business without using any unethical or ‘manipulative’ techniques of any kind.

What Do You ‘Do’ to Dominate Google Search Results?

There are several key elements to improve your website rankings:

1. Keyword Research and Selection: As the foundation of your entire SEO project, research your current keywords and figure out what keywords you need to continue to use, what keywords you don’t need to be using and what keywords you should add to your site. Once you have your initial list then it’s time to get to work on optimizing your site for these keywords.

2. Meta Data SEO: Take each page on your website and begin to categorize each page for specific SEO goals. The titles, descriptions, keyword content and on-page navigation should be made search engine friendly and enable your site to be more properly indexed. One of the most shocking things that I find during this step is that many of my clients are using the same titles, descriptions and keywords across many pages… this is actually one of the top 18 Ways to Mess up Your Search Engine Optimization strategy.

3. Website Content SEO: One-by-one take each webpage and optimize the content to be both search engine and visitor friendly. It is important to carefully balance what the search engines want to see with what people will want to read (and more importantly REACT to by contacting you for more information or making a purchase on your site).

4. Inner-Page Linking SEO: Work with your code and navigation structure to make sure that all of your pages are being indexed properly, that there is accurate inner-linking relationships for all of your web pages and that both search engines and visitors will be able to find the information that they are looking for quickly and easily.

5. Link Building and Social Networking: The next step is to submit your site to various websites around the internet using directories, article submission and your social network. These links should be relevant to your website and business. Only place relevant links back to your site. Yes, you can probably find a site somewhere that will give you 14,000 links to your site for $14.95, but how many of those are even relevant to your business, how many are link farms and how many will actually still be there in a week. You DO NOT need 14,000 links to your site… what you do need are relevant links to your business from reputable websites that are trusted by search engines. You do this by developing a link campaign SPECIFIC to your business, not by paying for links or participating in link exchange scams.

How Do I ‘Know’ It Is Working?

Not only can you Google the key word phrases that you chose in the planning phases of your search engine optimization project, but you can also review reports about your site before you start, during the process and at the end of the project. I will forewarn you that even though much of the SEO will affect your site almost immediately, that it may take time for the traffic on your site to convert. That is why you also use Google analytics tools to measure the progress and watch how visitors navigate your site and make improvements along the way. Once you have the traffic to your site, you have watched visitors navigate your site and given visitors exactly what they are looking for when they arrive; then you will start to see significant change in your conversion rates.

So All I Need Is SEO?

No. Remember that it is not JUST SEO, but also web design, SEM, SMM and Social Network Marketing that affects your rankings, traffic and conversion rates. All of these work TOGETHER to funnel traffic to your site and get your website in the top 10 of Google results for your search phrases; naturally! While it is true that SEO alone can help your site, the true is the same for good web design. Having a true understanding of all of the elements, knowing how they all work together and being able to implement a plan that works faster, more effectively, and MOST importantly is time-tested and long-term is what sets you apart from your competition.

What Can You Do for ‘My’ Website?

Glad you asked. Just shoot me an email with the URL for your website and I will be happy to send you back a quick overview of what we need to do with your website to get it where it needs to be and make you more sales. Click on ‘Contact’ at either the top or bottom of my website to send me an email with your request.

-Cheryl
www.CherylWaller.com
Social Renegade Systems

Cheryl Waller is an experienced SEO, SEM and SMM consultant. She has authored several Internet and direct marketing manuals for small business owners and real estate agents. She is a contributing author to several websites and offers free advice on dominating Google search results. She also offers a free video on her Search Engine Optimization website that reveals her #1 Secret to Dominating Google Search Results.

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18 Things You Can Do to Mess Up Your Search Engine Optimization Plan

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:29:03 -0500

Search Engine Optimization is just another tool in your marketing bag. If used properly it can bring you more customers, more prospects, and more clients faster than any other form of marketing. But, like anything else in marketing, it requires a plan. Plans require a clear end result to be defined. This is first and foremost in your online marketing plan: your end result (or conversion). What is your desired conversion?

Whatever your conversion goal is, it will involve a living breathing person on the other end of the internet connection. Before the existence of the internet, before the existence of direct mail marketing, conversions involved face-to-face interactions. Keep this in mind while developing your marketing plan. Search Engine Marketing is NOT about tricking the search engines, it is NOT about how much you pay per click and it is NOT how many websites link to your website. At the end of the day, it is about simulating that face-to-face interaction as closely as possible.

When your prospective customer reaches your website, they probably do not know who you are. They are not familiar with your company and most importantly they do not want to be ‘sold’.

But WAIT??? You say. 'I have to make money. I have something to sell. That’s why I spent so much time and money bringing people to my website'.

Yes, but here is something to ponder. When you are shopping in a brick and mortar store, say for instance that you are shopping for a new stove. What are YOU initially looking for? …

INFORMATION!

You want to know what makes the $600 model better than the $400 model. You ask yourself, “do I really need all the features of the $600 model or can I live with the $400 model?” So you are sitting there reading all of the information on the tags. You are gathering information. If a salesman walks up in the first few moments, you tell him that you are ‘just looking’ to get him to back off. It isn’t until you have settled on one or two models that you ask for help. It isn’t until you have gathered all of the INFORMATION that you even glance in the direction of the salesman, fearing that even looking at him before you are ready will cause him to come running across the store and stand two feet from you until you make your final selection.

You don’t want to be ‘sold’. You want to make an informed decision and when you finally do ask for a salesperson, what are you looking for?

MORE INFORMATION!

You are looking for more information to support your buying decision. Only when you have satisfied all of your questions do you ever even pull out that credit card and make the purchase.

Keep that in mind when you are creating your internet marketing plan.

The successful salesman knows that he has products to sell. He knows that he must sell X number of stoves to put food on the table. But most importantly, the successful salesman KNOWS that in order to make the sale, he must know his product. He must have the INFORMATION. He must know how to communicate that knowledge & also how to make the sale passively without being a ‘salesman’.

So, back to how to market ineffectively online….

If you truly want to lose potential customers… if your passion is to sit around all day and figure out how to trick the search engines into ranking your website in the #1 or #2 spot….. If you love paying way too much for pay per click traffic… if you are absolutely sure that you do not need to pay attention to proper Search Engine Optimization... then here are a few sure fire ways to completely waste your time with your website:

· Use LOTS of cute graphics… especially the dancing cowboy one… everyone loves that right?
· Put everything you can possibly think of on the first page
· Include links to every single site you can think of
· Link exchange with everyone that asks
· Ask everyone to link exchange with you
· Make your contact information hard to find
· List your contact information everywhere and anywhere it fits
· Have no sensible navigation whatsoever
· Name your home page ‘Home’, your contact page ‘contact me’ etc
· Use images to link your inner pages
· Have at least three broken links on every page
· Use the worst possible picture of yourself and make sure its cropped wrong
· Use the same title tag on every single page
· Use the same description on every single page
· Design your entire site in flash (remember to include the broken links)
· Buy 14,000 links to your site for $14.95
· Hide text on your website so search engines see it and people don’t

And the #1 thing you can do to completely waste your time with your website is…….

· Don’t include any information anywhere about anything having to do with your business

Importing Bookmark Files into Delicious

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:26:10 -0500

The following video is a quick 2 minute overview of how to import bookmark files into delicious. The video quality is not that great because i made it rather quickly, however if you need to know how to upload a back-up file or import a bookmark file into delicious then this 2 minute video will show you exactly how to do it in less than 2 minutes.

8 Tips for Basic Do-It-Yourself SEO

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:28:25 -0500

•1. Meta Title
Create your title using keywords and your farming area. Do NOT use ‘Home Page', ‘Index Page', or just your name in the title of your webpage. Use different titles on different pages to increase your exposure in the search engines for different search phrases. Keep this UNDER 70 characters in length.

•2. Meta Keywords
Use your key words in your web page title, in the description and throughout the content of the page. Do NOT use the same keywords for every single page on your site. Target each page to different keywords to maximize internet exposure. Keep your keywords UNDER 10 per page to better target your message.

•3. Meta Description
Use your description to tell humans and robots what your webpage is about. Search engines normally use your Meta description under the title of your site in search engine results. Like keywords and titles, your description should be different for each page on your website. Limit your description to 150 characters or less.

•4. Content
Your content should closely describe the title, keywords and description. Stay on topic and don't overuse your keywords. Search engines now use what is called semantic indexing, so you do not have to repeat yourself over and over to get indexed properly for your intended topic.

•5. Anchor text linking
Whether you are linking to internal pages on your site or pages outside of your site, be sure to use anchor text to let search engines know what the linked page is about.

•6. Internal Linking
Make sure that you are opening internal links in the same browser using anchor text. Opening a new window for every page on your website just annoys viewers and detracts from a professional image on your website. Also, limit your use of images as links and try to use anchor text navigation as much as possible on your site.

•7. Website Organization
Organize your website into specific topics and dedicate one page per topic. Don't try to explain several topics on one page. Your home page should describe a little about you and your business and act as a ‘link portal' to information on other pages of your site. Do not overwhelm viewers with EVERYTHING about you, your business and your website on the home page.

•8. Website Navigation
Website navigation should be simple and easy on the eyes. If you have a lot of pages on your website then group them into categories and provide one heading for every 4-5 page links in your left navigation. This helps viewers quickly understand the content available on your site. If you list too many links in one list, viewer's eyes will strain, people will feel overwhelmed and you will lose visitors.

Also check out: How to Create an AWESOME Email Signature

-Cheryl

Using Anchor Text in Active Rain: Video

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:45:30 -0600

Recently, one of our RTV virtual tour providers sent me an email asking me how to use anchor text in their AR profile and blog. I decided to put together a quick 5 minute (actually less than that) video on how to use anchor text in your AR profile and blog.

So what is up with anchor text? Why is it so important?

Anchor text tells robots and search engines what the web page you are linking to is about. It also helps with what is called relevancy. Relevancy, as far as SEO is concerned, is basically a measure of how related content on one web page is to another web page. And it is important. So without getting too complicated, if you have a real estate blog linking to your real estate website, you want to use anchor text to tell search engines to go to your site while at the same time telling them a little about the content of the site. That is how you get indexed properly in Google.

Anchor text is sort of like a little directional road sign on the internet. “Virtual Tours in XYZ city over here” or “Real estate in ABC County over there”.

There are a few more factors involved, like making sure that you are using the anchor text as web page keywords, in the description and in the content of the webpage to which you are linking. That is all part of optimizing your site for search engines. But, I won’t get into that here. RTV Inner-Circle members can check out our SEO guide for more information.

If you would like more quick tips like this, subscribe to http://www.youtube.com/user/cherylwaller I just created the account tonight to start making quick 4 or 5 minute videos to give our dealers powerful tidbits of information. It is nothing like what we include in our dealer webinars, Inner-Circle membership or RTV eNews but definitely worth 5 minutes of your time every now and then.

Also check out: How to Create an AWESOME Email Signature

-Cheryl

Cheryl Waller
National Marketing Manager
RTV, Inc.
(866) 947-8687
http://www.realtourvision.com

PS - if you like the tips… sign up for our RTV eNews or connect to me on your favorite social network. My username is cherylwaller (all one word) on all of my networks.

How to Create an AWESOME Email Signature

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:52:31 -0600

In a previous issue of our RTV eNews I had mentioned that adding a picture to your outgoing emails is a powerful way to connect with your clients. Especially if you are like me and communicate by email a large percentage of your time. People like to know that they are communicating with a ‘person' and not just a company. By including a picture in your email signature, you are turning a normally ‘anonymous' type of communication into a more personal type.

But, why not take that a step further and include connections to your social network? At the very least, you can pick up a few more blog subscribers.

I like to use MyBlogLog to generate the code that I use for my outgoing signature in Outlook 2007:

But, unfortunately, Outlook 2007 does not allow you to edit html in your signature. So, here is the solution.

•1. Create your code in MyBlogLog for your awesome new signature

•2. Copy and paste the code to your favorite HTML editor

•3. Open a local browser (F12 in Dreamweaver)

•4. Highlight and copy the signature in the browser and then paste it into the signature box in out look 2007.

•5. Add your picture, click save and you have an awesome new signature!

Here is where to paste (again, this is Outlook 2007)

TOOLS > OPTIONS > MAIL FORMAT > SIGNATURES

And don't forget to have fun with your signature! Here are two that I have used most recently to reflect the holidays:

Want more tips? Subscribe to our monthly eNews or check out some of my other blogs here on AR:

Marketing Tips: Twitter

ActiveRain and Your NEW Twitter Settings

Getting Indexed Properly in Google

The Complete Marketing Plan

FINALLY a Sure-Fire Way to Beat the Economy

Visit the industry's best Virtual Tour Blog! Research, Educate, and Decide.

Follow Me on Twitter for RTV updates and MORE! Username: CherylWaller

Marketing Tips: Twitter

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:47:31 -0600

If you have been looking for a way to quickly fill your social network with like-minded individuals, look no further than twitter. With small 140 character updates, you can grow your social network like never before possible.

Here are some neat applications and websites to help you get started using twitter to its full potential.

Using tools such as www.twellow.com you can search for people with similar interests and start following them. While you are there, be sure to setup your twellow account and add links to your other social networks.

If you don't want to use your cell phone to send and receive tweets, you can use a desktop application such as twhirl or tweetdeck.

You can use an application like www.friendorfollow.com to make sure that you are following those that are following you and see who is not following you back.

Using www.tweetlater.com you can automate your twitter account to auto-follow new followers and send a follow-up DM (direct message) to thank them for following you. If you are careful (DON'T use follow-ups for self-promotion or even worse to try to sell anything) you can use follow-ups to invite others to connect to you on other social networks.

As a twitter beginner, you may have many questions. Here are a few articles to help you get started in the right direction.

In the article 10 Easy Steps for Twitter Beginners Darren Rowse offers a simple and informative answer to the question, "What do I do with twitter?"

In 35 Twitter Tips form 35 Twitter Users, you can find a collection of advice to get you started.

In Twitter Tips for new users, Paul Walsh lays out some candid advice for getting started.

Getting Indexed properly in Google

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:38:09 -0600

No matter what type of information your website presents, it is important to get your website properly indexed by Google. While there are many other search engines on the web, Google holds the lead for searches at 71.86% as of October 2008 (Source: Hitwise).

To get properly indexed, you have to take into consideration two main methods used by Google to index the internet; crawling and indexing.

The Googlebot is a robot used by Google to crawl the internet and find new and updated pages to index. There are two crawler versions used by Google; the Freshbot and the Deepbot. The Freshbot only looks for fresh content, while the Deepbot uses links within your site to index more pages and content.

When the Freshbot or Deepbot finds a new page or updated content on a page, it will then pass that information to the indexer which sorts through the content for indexing by Google. The Google indexer then analyzes the pages, sifts through the content and uses relevant keywords within the page content to index the page in Google's massive database.

So how do you get your pages ready for proper indexing by Google? Create good relevant content with...

Goodbye to Google Ranking

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:23:38 -0600

The days of Googling your keywords to measure the effectiveness of your SEO strategy are coming to an end. According to Bruce Clay of PubCon, there will be big changes in ranking. In the name of Top Shelp Organic SEO, Google will be tuning into the specific behaviors of individual users to serve up more customized results.

What this means to the end-user is better results and less spam.

What does this mean to SEO professionals?

Well, for the good ones it means more business. For those that have been concentrating on ranking without any reference to traffic, bounce rates and conversions it means a serious reality check.

At the end of the day, this is a change for the better. More individualized search results means higher conversion rates for companies that have a well built website. This does not mean that SEO is no longer important; it actually makes it more important! Tracking your marketing efforts will definitely require more diligence.

Q: What should you do to get ready for the change?

A: Nothing that you should not have already been doing.

The most important part of a website is the ends result; attracting more leads and increasing business. To get there you have to attract website visitors, keep them interested in your website long enough to stay past the first page and finally get them to convert. By convert, I mean to get them to perform a specific action like sign up for a newsletter or request additional information. Conversions vary by website. A conversion for you may be a request for information about one of your listings while a conversion for amazon.com could be the sale of a bestselling novel.

I, for one, think this is a great lead by Google. It forces website owners and SEO professionals to take a closer look of what traffic is actually DOING when it gets to your website. It puts the emphasis on website content, navigation and functionality.

Sending people to your website and getting XXXXX visitors is one thing, conversion rates are a completely different (and more important) aspect. I mean, you can send all the traffic (paid or otherwise) in the world to a dilapidated home, but if they never get out of the car and go inside... it's not going to sell.

It's time to get your website to do what it's supposed to: SELL!

Go Google!

Shameless Halloween Marketing Tip - Making Candy a Business Expense

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:11:01 -0500

Well it’s that spooky time of year again! The kids are gearing up for the neighborhood heist tomorrow!

This year my little one has decided he wants to be Optimus Prime from the transformers, which is pretty exciting for me since this is really the first year he has cared about getting dressed up for Halloween and canvassing the neighborhood for sweets! The imagination years begin! Up until now, Nicky has been pretty good about dressing up for Halloween and has never been frightened by anything 'spooky' on Halloween. Well, this year he is 100% into the Halloween spirit. Although he only lasted 45 seconds in the local 'Haunted House' attraction, he really enjoyed it and can't wait for tomorrow.

My two older ones have decided that they are not dressing up this year at all. This is a bit depressing since I dress up every year and was hoping to keep the tradition alive. But well... you know how teenagers are… “It’s just not cool to dress up”. I will bet you anything they will both be toting a bag for candy.

So what about this marketing tip I promised?

If you are like me, you spend a small fortune every year on candy and it goes out the door faster than you can fill the bowl. It’s amazing how the number of kids in the neighborhood seems to multiply exponentially on this one day of the year. (I mean really … where do they come from? Do their parents just keep them locked up all year? lol)

So, this year SAVE those receipts for your Halloween candy and attach a business card to each treat. If there is one thing that ALL little ghouls and goblins have in common, it is that they will be going home to mom & dad at the end of the night. So, use this opportunity to get your message out in the neighborhood this Halloween and save some extra $$$ at tax-time!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Cheryl Waller
National Marketing Manager
RTV Virtual Tours

Small Size...Big Results...

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:46:24 -0500

Traverse City, MI, United States, 10/9/2008 - Real Tour Vision (RTV) today announced the release of their newest 360 virtual tour system, the RTV Rotator-Mini^TM. This newest addition to their line of proprietary, calibrated virtual tour hardware and software solutions is engineered with the same precision as their full size virtual tour hardware packages. Their unique process involves Variable Controlled Stitching^TM technology which controls more variables throughout the image capture and photo stitching process than other available options available on the market today.

Jason LaVanture, Vice President of RTV stated, "We are excited to release the Rotator-Mini this month. Now more than ever, real estate agents and local virtual tour business owners need economical solutions to remain competitive without sacrificing the quality of their services or their business image. The addition of the Rotator-Mini allows both our in-house and full service virtual tour providers to offer the same high quality virtual tours as our complete builder kit and at a fraction of the cost. In the nine years that RTV has been in business this is one of those moments that you look back on and say, 'that was a game changer'!"

According to the website, the new Rotator-Mini panoramic tripod head provides uncompromised quality for virtual tours and panoramic VR. The evenly spaced and level photos taken with the Rotator-Mini produce beautiful interactive panoramas quickly and effortlessly. This small pano head is engineered specifically for lightweight point and shoot digital cameras and weighs in at less than 2 lbs. Combined with RTV software, the Rotator-Mini enables real estate agents and virtual tour providers to turn digital photography into immersive interactive virtual tours at an economical price.

RTV is also offering an upgrade program to replace the now discontinued 360 stick. Real estate agents that wish to upgrade to the Rotator-Mini may contact RTV at 866-947-8687 ext 410 for reduced upgrade pricing. Because of the compact size, the Rotator-Mini may not be compatible with many larger digital SLR cameras; however interested parties are encouraged to contact RTV for other available options.

ActiveRain and Your NEW Twitter Settings

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:21:05 -0500

Another reason I love active rain! I just spent about 15 minutes setting up a new twitter feed to add my active rain & other blog posts to twitter. I came back to AR to add the code to display my tweets and THERE IT WAS... a simple 2 second solution to add AR posts to Twitter..

Thanks AR!

(now I just have to delete the other twitter feed so that there are no double posts....lol)

Via Brad Andersohn ~ Community Builder:

Mark this day as another that will go down in History as an "AWESOME NEW FEATURE" added to the ActiveRain Network. We have added and are rolling out Twitter auto-feeds for your AR Blog posts. If you have a Twitter account already, you can set yours up now. If you don't, you'll need to go to Twitter.com and set one up. It will take less than a minute.

What is Twitter? It's micro-blogging. "Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, instant messaging, SMS, RSS, email or through an application such as Twitterrific or Facebook. Several third parties offer posting and receiving updates via email."

Setting Up Twitter on ActiveRain:

The process for setting up your Twitter Account on ActiveRain will literally take you 10 seconds.

Click On "My Home" at top of this page

Click on the "My Settings" link on left side of page

Scroll down to "Twitter Setup" and enter your info

Put in your Twitter user name and password, Click Update

When you create a new post now (if enabled), Twitter will automatically place an announcement in your twitter feed and profile including the Title of the post as well as a link to your post. We are looking at adding an option on the "New Post" page that allows you to select which posts you want to tweet. Now go post in the rain, and let the outside world and your followers know. You can follow me on Twitter here: Follow ActiveBrad

Here are some other Twitter related sites you may be interested in checking out. Enjoy this new feature, it will certainly drive more traffic to your Blog posts and it's so easy to use.

Twitter Apps - Twitter 3rd Party Apps

Twitstat - Real time Twitter Analytics

TwitPic - Stores Photos Taken from Phone

TWhirl - Another Twitter Use Interface

Twitterrific - For your iPhone or Smart Phone

For More - Go to Twitter Fan Wiki

Hold on to Your Socks: Facebook is NOT a Social Network

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:33:34 -0500

At least that’s what Facebook says. It seems Facebook is making a public stand that they are a ‘social utility’ and not a ‘social network’.

According to a Blog post on TechCrunch, Facebook users’ accounts are being deleted and users are being told that “…Facebook accounts are meant for authentic usage only. This means that we expect accounts to reflect mainly “real-world” contacts (i.e. your family, schoolmates, co-workers, etc.), rather than mainly “internet-only” contacts. As stated on our home page, Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you, not a “social networking site”.

As discussed in a recent blog post by WebProNews, it seems that Facebook is getting its feathers ruffled over a popular Facebook application called PackRat created by Alamofire.

In this game users gather, purchase, steal and collect cards. Apparently, this game is so popular that many people are making soaring amounts of ‘internet-only’ friends in violation of Facebook’s Terms of Use and quickly finding out that participation in the game has caused the cancellation of their Facebook account.

Who knew making new friends would get your account canceled?

Take Control! Ctrl+ that is…

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:08:04 -0500

I posted a blog yesterday about 4 Super Simple Sales Tips and one of the tips was about using Ctrl+F to scan pages, sites and documents quickly for keywords and phrases. I had a lot of positive feedback on that post, so I figured I would share some more ‘control' tips along with some ‘memory' queues.

***************************
SELECT COPY PASTE
***************************

Ctrl+A - Selects everything on the page (remember it as Ctrl+All)

Ctrl+C -Copy

Ctrl+X - Cut (the X looks like scissors..right... X it all!)

Ctrl+V - Paste ( I just remember this because its right next to ‘copy'.. if anyone else has a memory queue for this please share)

***************************
UNDO
***************************

Ctrl+Z - Undo the last action (Zee.. I didn't mean to do that)

Ctrl+Y - Undo the last undo ('yes, I meant to do that' OR 'Y did I undo that?')

***************************
DOCUMENT CONTROLS
***************************

Ctrl+N - New document

Ctrl+O - Open Document

Ctrl+S - Save

Ctrl+P - Print

There are plenty more, but these are the ones I use on a daily basis... and here's one that I use all the time, but probably of no use to you. Add it to your collection of useless information :)

Alt+0176 = Degree mark... as in 360 degree virtual tours or 360°

4 Super Simple Sales Tips

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:47:23 -0500

TIP #1: Efficient time management is essential for small business owners. At the end of each day, make a list of 5-10 things that you plan to do the next day. This will help to set the tone for the next day, keep you from ‘mulling over' things that need to be done and give you a sense of accomplishment as tasks are completed.

TIP #2: When searching in most browsers and word processing programs, press Control+F to search the displayed document for specific words. Using Control+F makes internet research much faster than scanning long documents and web pages manually.

TIP #3: Why not send out weekly tips to your current customers? Keep in contact once a week with helpful tips on marketing, real estate or business. Use tips supplied by RTV in our monthly eNews (Hint: Sign up on our virtual tour home page) or create your own.

TIP #4: Whether communicating with prospects, title companies, borrowers, or underwriters, add your picture to your emails. Why? Because your picture reminds them you're a person. In the typed text of e-mail, you can't see other people's faces or hear them speak. Anonymity inhibits some people. e-mail is an extremely important tool for maintaining contact. Use it to strengthen your business.

Google Phishing Alert!

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:40:27 -0500

Just a few minutes ago I received an email from a colleague asking me if I knew anything about his Google Adwords account being deactivated. He forwarded me the email he received and after about 30 seconds I realized it was a Phishing email. At first glance however, it looks very authentic.

But three things gave this email away:

Number 1. It was sent from the future.

Number 2. It wasn't sent to anyone at all.

Number 3. When you hover over the link in the email, it doesn't go to Google.

Gmail, eBay and PayPal have started using DomainKeys to fight phishing emails. The three companies are working together to ensure that these phishing emails do not even show up in Gmail accounts if the sender is not authenticated. The official Gmail blog talks more about what is to come from fighting phishing with eBay and PayPal.

If you would like to know how to set up your outlook account to seamlessly work with Gmail, check out the blog SPAM and PHISHING - Your email

Unzip My WHAT?

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:03:48 -0500

Jason LaVanture of BlueLaVaMedia recently posted a blog, Virtual Tour Follow-up is KEY to Success. In his blog he talks about the importance of (...you guessed it) following up with your clients and customers.

If your business services include the delivery of digital photos via Zip files from FTP (or if you are a real estate agent that sends zip files to homeowners), I would recommend that you add instructions on how to properly Unzip images. While many people are familiar with unzipping files, there are a few that are new to this process.

So, to avoid the question "Unzip my what?" I always found it helpful to include instructions on extracting images from a zip file on every virtual tour delivery to my clients.

The easiest way to ensure uniformity (if you use Microsoft Outlook) is to setup a template that is sent out to each client upon completion of their virtual tour. You can do this by writing an email as normal and then saving it by clicking on FILE>SAVE AS and then selecting OUTLOOK TEMPLATE from the drop down menu at the bottom. Remember to name your template something that you will remember before saving it. From them on it is as simple as selecting TOOLS>FORMS>USER TEMPLATES IN FILE SYSTEM> MYFILENAME.

I have included a sample of what I would send to my clients at the bottom of our delivery emails for your convenience. Feel free to copy and paste this into your email template.

*****************************

To download photos:

1. Click on the photo link above.

2. Click on open

3. When the folder opens, click on 'extract all'

4. Extract the photos to a folder on your computer.

Please note that if you save the zip file to your computer, the photos cannot be uploaded directly from the zip folder. The photos MUST be extracted from the zip file as instructed above, otherwise your MLS system will not recognize the images as valid and you will get an error.

*****************************

Adding these simple, yet straightforward instructions to your emails will assist those clients unfamiliar with Unzipping files and your clients that do understand will still have step-by-step instructions for reference.

Real Estate Marketing and the Mortgage Crisis

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 06:15:15 -0500

A recent article on CNN.com, Experts Tell How to Deal with Mortgage Crisis, answers questions that millions of homeowners find themselves asking. CNN's Larry King talked with several real estate and financial experts to get advice on handling the mortgage meltdown. Another article on CNNMoney.com, New Home Sales near Historic Lows, sheds light on just how low home sales have fallen.

The articles are everywhere; foreclosure rates are up, the economy is down and everyone is asking whether or not the worst is behind us.

While years ago simple marketing strategies would sell a house with little to no extra effort, today's competitive market demands more creative marketing. According to an article from the Kansas City Star, Real Estate Agents are looking to marketing to survive this weak housing market. It is now more important than ever to look at your current marketing strategy and ask the hard question. Is it working? Is every dollar I am spending bringing me leads, or am I wasting money in some areas? Am I using the proper combination of marketing media to bring in more leads?

As a RTV virtual tour dealer and RTV Inner-Circle Marketing member, you have access to the tools you need to accurately measure the effectiveness of every component of your marketing strategy. If you haven't done so already, now is the time to log-in, download the tools and start analyzing your marketing strategy. If you find one media is bringing you more leads, allocate more advertising dollars toward that media. If you find that another media is bringing you zero business, cut off the funding for that media and allocate the funds elsewhere. If you don't know what marketing is actually working for you, then you may be making some advertising rep very happy, but you are hurting your business.

It begins with accountability. Make every marketing expense accountable for the results it produces. If there are no results, then cut the expense. RTV has provided our Inner-Circle members with the tools you need to succeed in this weak housing market! Log in and get started optimizing your real estate marketing strategies today.

I’ve Been MeMe’d!! (and apparently I am Spider-Man)

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:35:48 -0500

Well, this is something that I did not expect when I checked in to see who has been blogging lately in our RTV Virtual Tours group. Apparently I have been MeMe’d by our Kansas City dealer, Karisma Olson.

Thanks Karisma, I love how you thank Fran for ‘a ‘kick in the pants’ and then proceed to pass it on to me…lol

So … thank you Karisma for the ‘kick in the pants’ and here’s your answers…

Who is my favorite musical artist? I would have to say the entire band the Eagles… Hotel California is my all time favorite song! I can’t believe after all these years they are on the May 2008 cover of Rolling Stone magazine wait! What am I saying? Of course I can believe it!!

Who is my favorite artist? Thomas Kinkade… hands down! Check out the video on his site about the Nascar® Thunder Painting

Who is my favorite blogger? Wow… what a question.. I have several bloggers that I follow and I don’t think I could ever choose one over the other. I follow each for uniquely different reasons so I really can’t say that I have a ‘favorite’.

What is your favorite city that you have visited? I would have to say London England. Getting used to driving on the other side of the vehicle is a bit unnerving, but if you ever want to get really good at it… scare the living [[[enter favorite phrase here]]] out of yourself and drive in London during rush-hour. That’ll cure ya quick! But seriously, I loved it there. So much culture, so much to learn. Absolutely amazing! – by the way, if you stop in at McDonalds to get a quick bite, the answer to the question ‘flat or fizzy’ is ‘fizzy’. See… I just saved you from standing at a McDonalds counter in England with the ‘deer in the headlights’ look.

OH and one last thing, I never want to hear about bad women drivers again! I successfully drove in downtown London during rush-hour on many occasions & on the small roadways in Italy at crazy (but customary for the country) speeds while leap-frogging (that’s my little imagery of how they pass in Italy) on two lane roads that apparently have an imaginary passing lane in the middle. My soon to be ex-husband however managed to damage many vehicles in every country we visited while telling me that ‘he’ knows what he is doing… Really!! Is that why the Italian mafia is STILL looking for you for sideswiping their vehicles right in front of them and then taking off?

Who would you want to meet dead or alive? I don’t think that I would want to meet anyone dead (that’s just creepy), so I am going to stick with living people. There are so many people that I would love to meet and have just one hour to pick their brain on marketing. This is almost like asking me ‘who is my favorite blogger’. I have a long list of people, and maybe just maybe… someday I will find the time to write them all and ask them for that hour. Hey, you never know if you do not ask!

What did you want to be growing up? I actually wanted to be a lawyer. I attended law classes when I was in high school and I am still, to this day, fascinated by the intricacies of law and how it is applied and evolved. I am not sure that I would be happy as a lawyer, so I am actually glad that I ‘fell’ into marketing as a career. I love what I do and not many people can say that.

What's the most interesting piece of trivia you know? Not sure if this qualifies as ‘trivia’ but it’s the first thing that popped into my mind when I read the question. Maybe it qualifies better as the ‘oddest’ thing I know... but anyway… here it is. The answer to, “How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?”… is… “A wood chuck would chuck all the wood a wood chuck could chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood.”…say it out loud… I dare you…

If you could live in any point in history what would it be and why? I would absolutely have to say ‘right now’. I am too addicted to this computer. So, the past would send me to the loony bin and technology moves too fast as it is, so the future is not an option either.

What is the most interesting job I've ever held? Paying or volunteer? This is definitely the most interesting job I have ever had. I have learned so much from all of the people I come in contact with every day. I learn innovative and remarkable things every time I communicate with someone new. One of the great things about this job is that every time I turn around, there is something original to learn… apply … and teach. Even better is the ability to help so many people with their businesses and ultimately their freedom from having to have ‘a job’. Although I miss being an entrepreneur, I find this job to be the most rewarding out of everything that I have done and all the businesses that I have run.RTV is truly the best place in the world to work. I would never leave and even if I did, they would send out a search party to drag my ___ back… I really do love it here. I still do freelance work on the side to keep my entrepreneurial spirit from withering to dust, but I think it will be a little while before I open another business.

And, even though it wasn’t asked originally, apparently I am Spider-Man…

You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		80%
The Flash		70%
Green Lantern		70%
Superman		65%
Wonder Woman		60%
Iron Man		60%
Supergirl		60%
Robin		55%
Hulk		50%
Catwoman		35%
Batman		35%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

So, who am I going to kick in the pants... Uh... I mean MeMe next? Hmmm it would have to be Michelle Spalding, Suzanne Roy, Chris Grumley and Jason LaVanture

A Tale of Two Marketing Campaigns

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:22:40 -0500

No matter what your business is, it is crucially important to remember that you are not primarily ‘in’ that business; you are primarily ‘in’ the business of marketing that business.

So whether you are a real estate agent that uses RTV software to advance your real estate marketing strategy or if you are a virtual tour provider that makes a living providing commercial and real estate tours, your primary focus must be on the marketing of your business to be at all successful. Without marketing, there is no business and there is no way around that fact.

The marketing department here at Team RTV understands that we have many different businesses that utilize the marketing material, systems and campaigns that we produce for our Inner-Circle Members. That is why we are always on the lookout for unique ideas, even from outside our industry.

This week we came across two very different marketing campaigns, each from outside the virtual tour industry and each with very different conversion goals. In the first example I will show you how a company effectively spends marketing dollars on a campaign to bring highly qualified (yet unsuspecting) leads right to their front door with one advertisement in a magazine. In the second example, I will show you how a very large corporation spent what must have been hundreds of thousands of dollars on a marketing campaign that brings them zero qualified leads.

The first example is a marketing campaign for a children’s book company which is placed in a children’s magazine. The advertisement features a ‘scratch & match game’ that uses the assumption that you are playing to ‘win’ something. But, if you look closely, nothing in the advertisement says that you are going to ‘win’ anything. In fact, every bit of text on this advertisement clearly states that you ARE getting free gifts. All you have to do is scratch, paste, enter your kid’s name, place it in the mail and you get the free gifts. You don’t even have to fill out your address, because the magazine company has already personalized the advertisement with the address of the magazine recipient.

So, why the ‘scratch & match’ game?

Its way more effective in drawing attention to the ad, getting people involved with the offer by scratching the apples and dropping it in the mail. It’s so simple that even a kid could do it. And kids love games, especially ones that they win. Redemption of the ‘prize’ requires nothing more than the kid to fill in their own name and drop it in the mail. This tactic is borderline manipulative (using kids to obligate parents) in my opinion, but very effective in converting the magazine’s customer list to their own.

The second example is a small game piece featuring a “$50,000 cash out contest” for a lunchmeat company. The game piece is place inside the lunchmeat package with images of $100 bills and the words “$50,000 Cash Out Contest” in monopoly-like lettering. When you open the game piece to reveal your ‘PIN number’ for the contest, you are directed to a website to enter your code and find out if you have won. So far, so good. The company has effectively reached people that are already buying their product. So you would think that the next step would be to collect information from these customers and sell more to them right? Nope. When you get to the website, you click on the link to take you to the page where you enter your pin. A screen comes up with an ‘entry form’. You enter your number and it tells you whether you did or did not win. That’s it. Game over.

I couldn’t help but feel an empty void when that happened. Is the marketing department sleeping? They spent ALL of this money on these game pieces and the website and they didn’t even ask me for my name. Nothing! Even if they had a ‘consolation prize' of a 50 cent coupon, then there might have been a clear conversion goal, but there isn’t. Zero leads, zero up sell. The most they would get out of a campaign like that is geographical location of the consumer via IP address, but since the product is shipped to supermarkets and people usually purchase from supermarkets close to home, so that would be a waste. Once this contest is over, they have no effective means of reaching consumers that engaged in their contest.

At the end of these two marketing campaigns, the first company has a customer list of parents with kids old enough to read, write and manipulate stickers on a page. Exactly the target market they are looking to sell their books. And I would be willing to bet that a pretty high percentage of those parents pay for the books that their kids ordered, so they also have many new customers. On the other hand, the second company has a cool looking website and no customer list.

Which company would you want to be after spending your marketing dollars?

Sending Money by Cell Phone?

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:25:35 -0500

Back when PayPal first started, they were a free service that operated on float. I remember because I actually signed up with them when they were a free service and thought it was a clever idea. Those days are long gone and anyone that uses PayPal knows just how fast their fees can add up. So, if you want to send money quick, but you don't want to pay the 2.9% plus $.30 charge to PayPal... what are your alternatives?

Send money by text!

Today I signed up for a service called Obopay. With this service you can send money to anyone with a cell phone. Once you set up your account and link it to your bank account, you can instantly send money to anyone with a cell phone number.

Better yet, you can even accept payments from customers via your cell phone. All they need is your cell phone number and they can pay you instantly from their Obopay account or directly from their bank account through the Obopay service.

Signing up took me about 4 minutes total. Just enter your personal information, your bank account information, verify your cell phone number and a few identity questions from your credit report and you are done!

Oh, and the best part... no matter how much you send, the cost is just $.10 to send and absolutely free to receive. The funds are automatically deposited into your bank account.

Sitting at a table and need to split the check but you don't have enough cash? Just send your friend a text and the money gets deposited into their account.

Your son in college and needs $50, send him a text and the money gets credited to his account.

Just complete a virtual tour and you need to pay the service provider? Send them a text on the spot and the bill is paid!

Check it out on their website www.Obopay.com

And yes, you receive $5 for referring others to Obopay, so before someone blasts me for using an affiliate link... I will put that out there. But either way this is a great service and I would definitely recommend it without the affiliate bonus, but I'm not one to turn down a free gallon of gas...lol

Something Strange is Going On

Thu, 08 May 2008 14:18:52 -0500

There is no denying that there is something very strange going on in America today. I am not talking about politics, the price of gas, or the economy. What I am talking about is a little bit closer to home and much more influential upon our future... In fact, if you're reading this, you are partaking in it and it is affecting your future right now.

Conceived in the 1960's by the scientific and academic need to communicate in the event of a catastrophic event; borne in 1990 of the idea of interconnecting computers to share and document evolving information; the Internet has changed the world.

What it has become, and is still becoming, was beyond anyone's wildest imagination at the time of its birth. Today, a social networking revolution has begun. People are taking to the Internet and connecting to each other; contributing their ideas; sharing their views; and creating a future that one can only conceive through the eyes of a child. Imagination and creativity are alive again; something most of us lost an early childhood... or did we?

Some call it Web 2.0, some call it social networking; I call it the beginning of what is to come.

Mavericks, mavens, and entrepreneurs are coming together and masterminding incredible innovations every second of every day. and none of it would be possible, this fast, this efficiently, without the Internet.

I invite you to check out this video by Charles Leadbeater. (thank you to Chris Keiff for sharing this video through his internet marketing blog)

Is It Time To Look For The Can Opener?

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:49:39 -0500

Last night I was sitting down to a movie with a friend of mine, when an all too familiar sound emanated from outside. It starts at the same time every night, just after dark. We have never been able to make out the words, but we know it is his neighbor saying something over and over again. He does this for about 45 minutes every night and has done so from the day my friend moved into his place over 6 months ago, probably longer. So, last night I decided to be a little nosy and find out what he is doing. I walked out to my car and sat in it, pretending to look for something, and I looked up to see what the neighbor was doing.

He is standing at his kitchen door, about 15 feet from his car. He has one hand on the door handle and the other motioning toward the 20 pound cat sitting on top of his car. At this precise moment, I finally realized what he was saying. He was repeating the words "come on kitty, supper" over and over again.

The cat, completely disinterested in the elderly gentleman, is staring at me and slowly swigging his tail back and forth over the top of the car as if he has no idea the gentleman is even there.

Right then it struck me; this man has been standing there for 45 minutes every single night calling a cat to supper. It boggles the mind. Not just the fact that every cat owner KNOWS that a cat will come when it darn good and ready. Not just the fact that he has done this UNSUCESSFULLY for at least 44 of those minutes every single night, but that he STILL stands out there calling this cat.

If the cat hasn't moved the last 30 times you stood at the door calling him, he's not going to move the next time you do it.

Right message, wrong medium. Has he even tried starting up the can opener and then seeing if the cat moves?

So how does this apply to marketing? I pose the question to you: Are you standing at the door calling for new customers to no avail? Are your ads getting any response at all? Your flyers? Are you using the right media to reach your customers? Do you even know?

Maybe it's time for YOU to look for a can opener. Find the message & media combination that gets heard and gets results. If you are not getting results from your current marketing, it is not ‘just' going to suddenly change.

Repeating marketing that fails the first time is not going to change the end result. You have to change up your approach and test new ideas constantly. Even when you DO find the right message & media combination, the process doesn't stop.

Test, measure, test, measure, test, measure, change & adjust, test, measure, change & adjust, etc. etc.

Anything else is just throwing money out the window. So, the next time your non ROI (Return on Investment) producing ad comes up for renewal, I invite you to remember the little old man that lives next to my friend and pose the question to yourself:

"Am I going to spend another 45 minutes standing at the door or is it time to look for the can opener?"

e-toursonline Announces New Full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360 Virtual Tour HitStats 2.0™

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:37:41 -0500

e-toursonline Announces New Full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360 Virtual Tour HitStats 2.0^TM

BRANDENTON, FL - April 13, 2008- e-toursonline (ETO) Interactive Media Solutions, a certified Real Tour Vision^TM virtual tour provider, is proud to announce the addition of ETO full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360 virtual tour HitStats 2.0^TM to its line-up of marketing tools. The addition of full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360° virtual tour HitStats 2.0 TM to ETO's existing services will allow their current and future clients to have the competitive edge in marketing their property listings and businesses utilizing these advanced marketing tools in the Manatee and Sarasota areas of Florida.

Lance Ziegler, Owner of ETO stated: "We are very pleased to be able to offer this new service to our clients. The addition of ETO full service 2D-3D Interactive Floor Plans and 360 virtual tour HitStats 2.0 TM to our already powerful line-up of marketing tools will give our clients the competitive edge they need in this tough market."

Lance Ziegler, Owner of ETO Interactive Media Solutions also stated: "We continually strive to offer state-of-the-art technologies and innovative online marketing ideas to our clients for a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing. Real Tour Vision^TM (RTV) and their staff of excellent engineers have done a great job of proving us with new technologies on a regular basis."

Since 2004, ETO Interactive Media Solutions has continually offered innovative marketing implementations such as RTV proprietary interactive virtual tour software, PanoRiders, single property websites, animated walk-throughs, custom websites, proprietary order-dispatch system, award winning professional website audio solutions, customized tour discs and sketch-and-fax services. For more information call 877-687-2748, email Lance Ziegler, or visit their website.

About Real Tour Vision

Real Tour Vision (RTV) is a recognized leader in interactive 360 panoramic virtual tours and virtual tour software. Since 2000, RTV has continually led the way in the virtual tour industry with marketing implementations such as their proprietary interactive software, RTV PanoRider(TM), single property websites, on-demand HitStats 2.0, 2D/3D interactive floor plans, 3D animated walk-throughs, custom websites, TourTrack(TM), tour audio solutions, TourDiscs(TM) and Sketch-and-Fax(TM) services. RTV virtual tours are chosen over other virtual tour software programs daily by intelligent business owners who demand the best virtual tour software to showcase and market their businesses online.

Real Tour Vision, TourTrack, Sketch-and-Fax, PanoRider, HitStats, TourDiscs and RTV are trademarks of Tour Vision, Inc.

About e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions

e-toursonline is a Florida based provider of interactive media solutions with an extended network covering virtual tours of Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice. Using only the latest in cutting-edge technology, their goal is to provide business owners and real estate agents with state of the art products that will help market their services at a fraction of traditional costs.

Contact Information:

e-toursonline Interactive Media Solutions
Bradenton, Sarasota and Venice Virtual Tours
Lance Ziegler
Owner
lanceziegler@e-toursonline.com
Phone: 877-687-2748
e-toursonline.com