The Road Less Talked About - 08/31/08 08:53 PM
My last blog post Oprah, Jordan and Jobs and the Celebrity Blogger created a few comments.
Most of them agreeing that success in real estate or anything else can come in many different ways.
Plenty of realtors are making money and NOT just from blogging and the use of social media.
Nobody,however, is talking about these.
Are you making money outside of blogging? Do you know others that are?
Let's hear those stories.
 
… (2 comments)

Oprah, Jordan and Jobs and the Celebrity Blogger - 08/31/08 05:16 PM
I have been listening to successful real estate agents with a view to understanding what makes them successful.
Some blog, some cold call, some use HomeGain, others work the leads their brokers send them, others twitter, rely on referrals, hang out a local events and hand out their business card or do paid search. Many do many of the foregoing.
There is one type of successful agent - the celebrity blogger - their blogs are on the front pages of google in their local areas, they get invited to host or be on Realtor panels, they code, they have more than 100,000 active rain points, … (14 comments)

Home Staging Radio Interview and Home Sale Maximizer - 08/31/08 10:45 AM
 
 read more
In a recent HomeGain Radio interview, Karen Breen Elia of RE/MAX Chicago and HomeGain member talks about the value of home staging.
She also touches on the market in Chicago and discusses full time/part time agents.
Karen also gives some tips on how to work with clients.
She notes that most home buyers can't visualize the types of changes that might improve a home, hence the importance of home staging. Karen also talks about which rooms to stage.
On this link you can listen to the interview and also learn more about HomeSaleMaximizer  a tool that helps consumers determine which … (0 comments)

#2 Lives the Realtors @ HomeGain-Ryan Ward from Restaurant Manager to .... - 08/30/08 11:23 AM
In the second installment of Lives of the Realtors we hear from Ryan Ward a successful Realtor in Atlanta Georgia.
In Lives of the Realtors, Ryan talks about his transition from Restauant Manager to Realtor.
Ryan has had some road bumps along the way, including his wife's battle with cancer. He talks about his sources of inspiration.
Please check out Ryan Ward's story in Lives of the Realtors.
… (0 comments)

Mike Farmer on Working with Buyers on HomeGain Radio - 08/29/08 07:42 PM
 

 On HomeGain Radio, Mike Farmer,HomeGain AgentView and Agent Evaluator customer goes in depth on how to work with buyers.
Mike discusses with HomeGain's Peter McCullough some of the ways to work with buyers to make sure your are not wasting your time.
Mike works in Savannah Georgia and focuses on three types of buyers:
-the first time homeowner,
-the out of town buyer, and
-people who value the services of a realtor and are willing to pay for it.
Mike discusses how to find these types of buyers and how to avoid the lookie loos and to focus only on serious … (0 comments)

These posts created a stir a while back... - 08/28/08 11:18 PM
Was listening to real estate radio usa tonight and they were talking about how Broker Bryant had 'Gone Fishing"    and recommended that perhaps bloggers should go back and like rock stars republish their back catalogues.
So I've taken Bryant up on his suggestion.
Here are three posts (not originally posted on Active Rain) I made on the homegain blog that got THOUSANDS of visitors and hundreds of comments.
 1.
The Case Against Blogging
http://blog.homegain.com/case-against-blogging
You can probably guess why that one annoyed a blogger or two!
2.
 HomeGain Cries Flattery On Zillow
http://blog.homegain.com/homegain-cries-flattery-zillow
In this one I pointed out that it was … (3 comments)

The HomeGain Blogging School on AgentView- A sample lesson - 08/27/08 07:54 PM
 

One of the features of AgentView is ,not just that it comes with a blog that can be tied into your profile and listings on the HomeGain Agent Blogging Network, but also that you get free blogging training at the HomeGain blog school.
Classes are conducted weekly by Homegain Blog school professor Joseph Ferrara.
A sample HomeGain blog school lesson is provided at this link.
… (6 comments)

"Lives of the Realtors" Goes Live - 08/27/08 02:06 PM
Mitch Ribak is the first Realtor that we are covering on the HomeGain blog. His post went live this morning.
Mitch starts out:
"It's been an interesting road I have had so far in my life. My goal was always to be successful and I have been. I have also lost just a little more than I have made in my lifetime. I was thinking about that today.
Then I started thinking about the past 8 years in Real Estate and how it has all come to where I am currently. I started thinking about when I decided to get my … (1 comments)

Max Returns from Paris, Signs up for Agent View - 08/26/08 12:51 PM
Max, the HomeGain Gorilla upon his return for Paris has signed up for AgentView in Emeryville, California.
Max also signed up for the  HomeGain's Blog school that comes with his AgentView subscription.
As you can see by Max's listings, he specializes in tree houses.
Any tips for Max?
 

 
 
… (0 comments)

New "Lives of the Realtors" Series @ Homegain - 08/26/08 10:08 AM
Starting this week HomeGain will starting a new series "Lives of the Realtors". Many Realtors had different jobs in their past lives and interesting experiences which help shape how they conduct business today.
The past life of Mitch Ribak will be our first feature post.
Click here for more details
… (3 comments)

The Value of Professional Networking - 08/25/08 06:39 PM
In a recent blog post on the HomeGain blog, Brian Kinkade, HomeGain member, talks about the value of professional networking.
With all the work that Realtors do setting up their systems, customizing lead capture pages, optimizing for SEO etc, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that perhaps one of the best thing Realtors can do for their business is seek the assistance of other Realtors.
This can be done by attending conferences, twitter, active rain and other online fora.
And of course it can also be done through HomeGain,  who has thousands of real estate professional using our products.
Through … (0 comments)

Home Staging and HomeGain's HomeSaleMaximizer - 08/24/08 10:08 AM
Every few days or so I come across a blog article on Home Staging.
Inevitably there is a mention to one of two HomeGain surveys (the 2003 and 2007 surveys) that indicates that home staging provides one of the best pre-sale ROI's.
The HomeGain survey is even cited the the book "Home Staging for Dummies" and a couple of pages dedicated to it.
While most people cite the study, they've never seen the nifty online tool, HomeSaleMaximizer that goes along with it!
HomeSaleMaximizer cites about a dozen other home improvement projects that can pay off.
There is also a handsome PDF … (4 comments)

Adding Music to Your blog with Free (legal) Napster - 08/23/08 12:55 PM
Most of us have seemed to have mastered the knack of adding video to our blogs.
But how about music?
free.napster.com makes it easy to add music to your blog.
At HomeGain we held an internal launch party for Agent View.
When we unveiled Agent View to the 'Gainers (see post below) we played a few bars from Aerosmith's "Walk this Way".
Click here to see that blog post with the music added.
Follow these simple instructions to add music to your blog.
Go to http://free.napster.com and then click on "share" and follow the instructions.
Or just start here!
By the … (12 comments)

AgentView at Home @ HomeGain - 08/22/08 05:42 PM
Earlier this week we gave an in house 3-D presentation of AgentView.
As you can see the 'Gainers had their AgentView 3-D glasses on for the event!
… (1 comments)

The Real Estate GrapeVine on HomeGain's Agent View - 08/22/08 07:02 AM
 The Real Estate Grapevine is operated by successful Realtors Ryan Ward (HomeGain Member), Eric Bramlett (Bloodhound Blog Contributor), Wayne Long (HomeGain Member) and Eric Blackwell (Bloodhound and HomeGain blog contributor), SEO expert and Director of Technology for RE/MAX Properties East.
The Real Estate Grape vine along with Messr. Ward, Bramlett, Long and Blackwell's other ezine Real Estate Industry Watch are worth checking out.
Here is what Ryan Ward had to say about AgentView: 
HomeGain Continues to Innovate with Real Estate Agents as Their Focus
 "I'm also being quite honest with my assessment that of all of the vendors that we interact with as … (9 comments)

HomeGain on Real Estate Radio USA Twice... - 08/21/08 09:10 PM
 

Yesterday HomeGain was interviewed on Real Estate Radio USA regarding the launch of Agent View.
We discussed online marketing as well.
You can click here to listen.
Today  I did not realize while people were commenting on the blog below, Real Estate Radio USA was discussing the thread!
You can listen to that here
… (15 comments)

What they Are Saying About HomeGain's Agent View - 08/21/08 11:18 AM
 

Late Tuesday evening HomeGain launched Agent View. The tool provides agents with one place to exclusively feature their listings, their blogs, their profiles all in an advertising free environment and along side HomeGain content. Agent view comes with weekly blog training and lead conversion tools as well. 
Joseph Ferrrara at Sellsius had this to say in his blog post  HomeGain Launches AgentView Marketing Tool for Real Estate Agents
" HomeGain is on a roll. First they hit the Web 2.0 blog pool like Michael Phelps. Then they gave their agents free blogs with a blog school . They even unleashed a … (34 comments)

HomeGain Launches AgentView! - 08/20/08 01:16 AM

 
This evening we launched AgentView, a new product that features real estate agents exclusively in an  advertising free environment.
Consumers can view agent blogs, agent listings and profiles as well as use HomeGain's original  instant homevaluation tool (pre Zillow circa 1999-2000) and our Home Sale Maximizer tool.
As the consumer explores these features, a real estate professional is prominently featured to assist in answering questions about the home buying or selling process.
Blog Training is also provided to AgentView subscribers by Joseph Ferrara of Sellsius.
For more information on Agent View click here to read about it on the HomeGain blog.
… (1 comments)

FrogPond.com Launches - 08/18/08 06:18 PM
FrogPond.com launched today offering "unique "Communications Solutions" enabling corporations, associations and small businesses nationwide to effectively reach customers, employees and members with ahead of the curve industry information."
They offer free re-printable articles from nationally recognized industry leaders and experts.
The site is the brain child of Susie Hale, wife of Bob Hale of the innovative Houston MLS.
Susie and Bob caught me after a panel I was on at Inman Connect and mistaking me for someone important asked me to do an interview.
Here is my interview with Susie.
Best of luck to Ms. Hale and FrogPond.com
Check out Houston Real Estate, Houston … (1 comments)

Who Covers Real Estate Better - The National Media or Bloggers? - 08/17/08 06:05 PM
 Was wondering - who does a better job of reporting on the state of real estate -the National Media, made up journalists who are under financial pressure to produce stories that will drive readership and advertising revenue or the unpaid blogging community?
What is the future of paid content?
 

http://activerain.com/blogsview/644451/Agent-View-by-HomeGain
… (8 comments)

Agent View by HomeGain Is Coming! - 08/16/08 10:35 AM
Early next week HomeGain will be releasing Agent View,  a unique product that provides a complete marketing solution combining featured listings, agent profiles, personal blogs, blog training, lead management and homevaluation tools and email.
Instead of advertising on Homevaluation sites or featuring your listings on another, or setting up you own blog, or licensing local content from yet another vendor , HomeGain puts it all together for you and also provides blog training and lead conversion tools for a low price starting at $29.
We have been working for a year on this product and while there are more features to come we … (4 comments)

Why Do People Buy Homes? Have We Forgotten...... - 08/16/08 09:07 AM
On the HomeGain blog John Badalamenti reminds us why people really buy homes.
In John's blog post "The Reason Most People Buy Homes: Has It Been Forgotten" he points out the difference between buying a home to live in and buying a home for investment.
What is most interesting about John's post is his reminder that while everyone knows real estate is local, our perceptions of real estate are to a large part formed by national media.
John's blog post isn't just a Now is the best time to buy a home plea, but gives some good food for thought on the … (5 comments)

HomeGain's "Ask the Experts" Program Now Available for listening - 08/14/08 06:47 PM
Earlier this week HomeGain hosted an "Ask the Experts" program featuring:
Joseph Ferrara of the Sellsius blog
Brian Brady of World Wide Credit Corporation
Jay Thompson a.k.a. the Phoenix Real Estate Guy of Thompson Realty
Mitch Ribak of Suntree Realty
Nearly 300 people registered for the event.
Listen here if you missed the live event.
http://blog.homegain.com/listen-ask-the-experts-real-estate-forum
… (2 comments)

Max in Paris in Anticipation of New HomeGain Product Launch - 08/10/08 10:19 AM
Max, the HomeGain Gorilla has headed to Paris in anticipation of the launch of a new HomeGain product.
What is now a tradition at HomeGain, Max, on the advice of his personal veterinarian Dr. Wolliz, hits the road whenever HomeGain launches a new feature or product. 
Recently Max has been to Phoenix and Rwanada.
Max is now in Paris on the eve of the launch of a new HomeGain product.
Click here to follow Max
… (1 comments)

Mitch Ribak, 100MPH Marketing and HomeGain on Real Estate Radio USA - 08/09/08 04:40 PM
On a RealEstateRADIOUSA interview yesterday, Mitch Ribak gives his interesting take on what he does to run a successful real estate brokerage.
Mitch explains how his firm Tropical Real Estate of Suntree Florida acquires and converts leads-ALL done via the internet. Mitch's firm is enjoying tremendous success even THIS year in this lousy market.
Mitch's firm is on pace to sell over 250 homes this year.
Listen to Mitch as he talks about his 100mph Marketing software solution and his Number one lead source, HomeGain's Buyerlink.
Mitch also gives his views on what it takes to be a Realtor vs a business person.
He favors buyers vs … (6 comments)

An Invite To HomeGain's "Ask the Experts" Panel - 08/09/08 09:33 AM
On Tuesday HomeGain will introduce yet another innovation on the HomeGain Blog (coming on the heels of our Inman Innovator Award nomination).
We will be launching the "Ask the Experts"  program, a live forum where Realtors can call in and ask the experts their real estate and mortgage related questions.
We have a panel of four experts assembled from our cast of HomeGain Agents and Guest Bloggers. More than 200 Realtors have already signed up for the event.  This event, like the HomeGain Blog and HomeGain Radio is a great way of spreading the word that HomeGain is the place to get quality … (0 comments)

Diversify Your Lead Sources - 08/06/08 07:46 PM
SEO expert Eric Blackwell posted recently on the HomeGain blog on the virtues of diversifying your lead sources.
Many realtors end up relying on one or two lead sources. Eric points out that in his office those that have many different lead sources are doing the best.
It may sound like common sense, but many agents refused to do referrals or to "pay for leads" expecting that their google positioning from their blog will get them all the business they desire.
Search engine placement for certain key words certainly doesn't pick up all the potential customers as not every customer reads … (0 comments)

More Regional Updates and One From Westphalia! - 08/03/08 07:29 PM
 
Over on the HomeGain blog we have been providing regional updates. The latest two regional installments are from  Columbus Georgia and Westphalia.
The Columbus Georgia update was provided by Wayne Long, HomeGain member and HomeGain blogger and the Westphalia update is the result of a phone interview I conducted with Dr. Pangloss.
Both are worth a look.
… (0 comments)

Lead Generation, Conversion and Closure - 08/01/08 06:19 PM
The topic of this post really sums up what a Realtor does.
I recently wrote about  Realtors' obsession with the first part lead generation/ marketing and complained that we do not spend enough time discussing conversion and the finer elements of being a successful realtor.
On the HomeGain Blog Brian Kincade discusses Lead Generation Conversion and Closure. Its worth a look.
The HomeGain blog has a category best practices which covers marketing as well as other useful tips.
These best practice articles have been written by a stellar team of HomeGain's guest bloggers and HomeGain customers.
… (1 comments)