Market 4 Real!

An Office Space That Blogs and Tweets??

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:07:48 -0700

So everyone who reads my blog knows how much I love unique marketing ideas. Well, here's one that I thought was not only hilarious but effective. There's this vacant office space in Tucson, Arizona that tweets and blogs and has a Facebook Fan Page. Seriously!

The office, called A Lonely Office, is named Ralph and says he started his foray into the online community because he's lonely and the office next door didn't password protect their Wi-Fi. Why is Ralph online? He's looking for friends. I'm not making this up people.

Not only does he blog and all that, now he's hosting a networking event in the hopes of getting people into the building just so he can feel like someone was there! He calls it his "No-Snob Hob-Nob."

Anyway, I hope you'll visit him and become his friend. More importantly, I think he hopes you will!

~Renae

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 18: Don't Forget to Cross Over

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Fri, 06 May 2011 01:20:08 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 18

My goal is to write 5 days per week for 30 days. So I've started this series that I hope to motivate me to write. 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 18 - Don't Forget to Cross Over

Some doctors do it. Lawyers do it. Musicians do it all the time. What am I talking about? Cross-marketing! Cross-marketing, in this instance, is marketing yourself across several social media platforms in an effort to ensure that your connections can connect with you on any social media platform - and then to use it to your advantage.

The question is, how does one implement social media marketing across platforms? It's really quite simple! If you have a profile set up on Facebook and have fans there, invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn. The connections you have on LinkedIn should be invited to join you on MySpace. Your MySpace circle should be invited to follow your stream on Twitter. And they all should be invited to subscribe to your blog's RSS feed!

There are many ways to do this. You can:

put an active hyperlink to each of your profiles on everything you write.
use social media logos everywhere that are linked to your profiles
set up a "find me" webpage that lists all of the ways people can connect with you
set up a cool toolbar that will easily allow people to connect with you - my newest favorite is Wibiya

Make sure those you are connected with are able to connect with you on multiple platforms! And to make it even better, why not offer/provide something different that one can only receive if they are connected to you on that particular platform.

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest
Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats
Day 11 - Throw a Party
Day 12 - Send Out 10 Greeting Cards
Day 13 - Host a Brunch for Working Parents
Day 14 - Create a Neighborhood Blog
Day 15 - Host A Webinar
Day 16 - Put Local blogs To Work For You
Day 17 - Fan Your Fans

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 17: Fan Your Fans

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Wed, 04 May 2011 13:26:06 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 17

My goal is to write 5 days per week for 30 days. So I've started this series that I hope to motivate me to write. 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 17 - Fan Your Fans

You're probably thinking, "Ok, Renae has lost it for sure now! What in the world is she talking about?" Let me explain!

For everyone who has set up a Facebook Fan page, or a Twitter or LinkedIn account, the first thing you did was to start requesting connections - you wanted people to friend you, connect with you, or fan your page. (And if you didn't, my first suggestion is to stop reading this, go connect to at least 10 people on each site, and then come back to finish reading this post!) Ask yourself this question: why do I want to have people connected to me? The answer is simply because you want those people to "opt in" to receiving your news stream! They are now directly connected and requesting information about real estate in and around your area. Or, if you're like my friend from Real Estate Client Referrals - @ClintMiller, you're not following him for his real estate information (although it is quality stuff). You're following him because you just don't know what he's going to say next and you're waiting on baited breath to see what it will be!

This support will be even more unwavering if you fan your fans. Support those people who are supporting you. How? By engaging them! It isn't just about "how many people can I connect with?!" It's about how you can make those connections mean something! Your connections should be two-way streets - you aren't just sending them information about you but you are receiving information about them as well. Then, when you retweet or repost what they've said, and it's something specifically local, you'll start making local blogs work for you (yesterday's post). This will make you even more of an authority and expert about your local community. So get out there and FAN somebody!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest
Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats
Day 11 - Throw a Party
Day 12 - Send Out 10 Greeting Cards
Day 13 - Host a Brunch for Working Parents
Day 14 - Create a Neighborhood Blog
Day 15 - Host A Webinar
Day 16 - Put Local blogs To Work For You

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 16: Put Localism Blogs To Work For You

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:34:40 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 16

This is Week 4 in my goal to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 16 - Put Localism Blogs To Work For You

When you write about local businesses on your blog, you accomplish a number of things:

your blog moves up high in the search engines due to concentrated local search terms
your blog becomes a hub for inforamtion about your local area
you become a local expert in the real sense of the word (a person who has special skill or knowledge in a particular field or area)

So, how do you make localism blogs work for you?

Choose your subjects. What are you going to write about? Ensure that you focus on the local aspect of that topic, whatever subject you select. Some options are to write local series on area businesses such as "________ of the Week" (Restaurant, Grocery Store, Movie Theater, Dry Cleaner, Dentist, Optomitrist, Beauty Salon).You could also write about local events (fairs, street parties, store sales, book fairs, construction, and of course real estate!).
Write local. When you write your posts, be sure to use as many words and phrases as you can that relate to your local area. That will help locally focus your posts for the search engines.
Comment on other local blogs. Your comments (along with your name and website when you log in!) will keep you associated with your local community. That's what you want and need.

When people start to associate your name with their community, it won't be long before you are the one they think about and call when they are ready to buy or sell! And that's what we want, isn't it?

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest
Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats
Day 11 - Throw a Party
Day 12 - Send Out 10 Greeting Cards
Day 13 - Host a Brunch for Working Parents
Day 14 - Create a Neighborhood Blog
Day 15 - Host A Webinar

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 15: Host A Webinar

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:47:25 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 15

This is Week 4 in my goal to continue providing marketing motivation for you! (I kind of got sidetracked when the servers were down and then lost my momentum last week so here we are again!) 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 15 - Host Webinars

World Wide Web + Seminar = Webinar - a seminar held online, or via the web. Have you considered the impact of setting up and hosting webinars? There are many positive reasons why you should host at least one webinar including:

webinars are very cost-effective - they are either extremely cheap or free, depending upon the venue you select to host the webinar.
webinars provide lots of bang for your buck (both time and dollar) - you can get many people onto a webinar at one time without dealing with the logistics of space and you can host them at a time that is convenient for your schedule so that you don't have to worry about time constraints

So now you're thinking, "I've considered having a webinar but I have no idea what topic to host a webinar on!" Here are some suggestions for you:

First-Time Home Buyers
First-Time Home Sellers
Investment Buyers
Relocation
Buying a Condo
Scaling Down
Buying a Luxury Home

Finally, now that you've got some topics for your webinar, let me provide you with some options for where to host it:

Do you have a great idea for a webinar? Do you have a webinar service that's not listed here? Please share!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest
Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats
Day 11 - Throw a Party
Day 12 - Send Out 10 Greeting Cards
Day 13 - Host a Brunch for Working Parents
Day 14 - Create a Neighborhood Blog

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

Check Out This Office Space for Lease in Phoenix!

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:59:02 -0700

Not only is this a great office space, but there is also an opportunity for you to earn $500 just by sending him someone who signs at least a 3-month lease! Check it out!

Aaron Eden | (740) 473-6812

2579 N. 1st Ave, Tucson, AZ

Jacinto Plaza - Just Reduced! 1st 3 months only $500/month!!

Furnished Retail/Commercial

$1,000/month

Sq Footage

1,200

DESCRIPTION

Are you ready to expand into your own office space? Then look no further!

Check out Jacinto Plaza!

Current tenants in the plaza are service-oriented commercial businesses ready to refer clients! Jacinto Plaza is a professional office park where no retail stores are allowed.

To view the property, call Debbie or Asherah / RPM Southeast Arizona - (740) 4RE-NT12

see additional photos below

RENTAL FEATURES

- Plenty of Parking

- Professional Office Park

- Furnished or Unfurnished

LOCATION FEATURES

- Centrally-Located Commercial Space

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Photo 2	Photo 1
Photo 1	Photo 2
Photo 1

Contact info:

Aaron Eden

(740) 473-6812

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: Mar 26, 2011, 8:16pm PDT

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 14: Create a Neighborhood Blog

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:41:23 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 14

This is Week 3 in my goal to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 14 - Create a Neighborhood Blog

A great way to set yourself up as the neighborhood expert is to set up a neighborhood blog. What better way to show people how much you care about their community than by ensuring that everyone knows what's going on there? Your neighborhood blog can highlight neighborhood or community events, important news affecting the community, PTA information, school information, and (of course) real estate information!

Fellow longstanding Active Rain member Gail Robinson created the neighborhood blog Black Rock Online. It is a prime example of how a great neighborhood blog can be done!

And of course, if you need help blogging, let me know!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest
Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats
Day 11 - Throw a Party
Day 12 - Send Out 10 Greeting Cards
Day 13 - Host a Brunch for Working Parents

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 13: Host a Brunch for Working Parents

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:44:06 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 13

This is Week 3 in my goal to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 13 - Host a Brunch for Working Parents

Working Parents are a great market for you to reach. This presents the perfect opportunity for you to show the working parents in your farm area, community or your database just how much you appreciate how hard it is to be a working parent. (Even if you aren't a parent yourself, you had parents at some point in your life so you know how hard it is!)

Host a brunch, luncheon or just cookies and punch for the working parents. You want people to see your name and see you active in your farm area or with your sphere, leads, and other contacts. If you go in on a Working Parents Day event with a mortgage lender (did you read my post Create a Partnership?), the cost of the refreshments won't cost that much at all. And what's the point? Let's say it together: To make them remember you!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest
Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats
Day 11 - Throw a Party
Day 12 - Send Out 10 Greeting Cards

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 12: Send Out 10 Greeting Cards

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:58:06 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 12

This is Week 3 in my goal to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 12 - Send Out 10 Greeting Cards

Each month, choose 10 leads and/or top contacts and send them a greeting card. The goal here is to refresh your name in their heads. You want referrals and leads. Alternatively, you can include a $5-10 gift card to Starbucks or for gasoline or something similar. If you choose to do a gift card, check into Starbuck's customizable gift cards!

Sending out greeting cards takes all of 15 minutes, maybe 30 if you add gift cards that you have to go online to purchase. That can be the best 15 - 30 minutes you've spent on your sphere all month!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest
Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats
Day 11 - Throw a Party

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 11: Throw A Party

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 07:46:09 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 11

This is Week 3 in my goal to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 11 - Throw a Party

Your farm is an excellent source of new buyer and/or seller clients, depending upon what type of farm you are working. So, if you host a party for your buyers which either showcases your current listing as the focal point or that does a round-robin for several listings, that would make an excellent way to not only connect with your farm but to make you more "real" to them. You will go from being the real estate agent who just leaves junk on their doorstep to someone who they can connect with!

And don't forget to invite your seller prospects! Let them join in on the fun, too!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest
Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

Sellers ! You can update the bathroom without spending a fortune.

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:58:00 -0700

As a future home seller (sometime in the distant future, that is), these are some great, inexpensive suggestions on fixing up your bathroom. And don't be fooled - buyers look as closely at the bathroom as they do the living room, probably even closer!

~Renae

Via GITA BANTWAL, REALTOR BUCKS COUNTY, PA HOMES (RE/MAX Centre Realtors):

Sellers ! You can update the bathroom without spending a fortune.

Buyers do look at bathrooms when they buy a home. Here are some tips for improving the looks of your bathroom.

1. If there is old wallpaper, remove the wallpaper and paint the bathroom.

2.Get a new shower head

3.Get new stylish Faucet.

4.Caulk around the tub. Clean the grout.

5.Get new toilet seat.

6.Get new shower curtains and new set of towels.

7.Clean the bathroom thoroughly and then daily when the house is on the market. Do not leave wet towels hanging on the rod.

8.Get a nice toilet paper holder . Always make sure there is toilet paper in the holder.

9.You can buy plug in type air fresheners for the bathroom.

10. If you are going to buy paint or faucets etc at Lowe's your Realtor can give you a discount coupon .

Gita Bantwal is a Realtor with RE/MAX Centre Realtors in Bucks County, a Northern suburb of Philadelphia. You can view 1000s of listings on her web site www.GitaBantwal.com

She can be reached at 215-343-8200x124 or direct 215-275-8491 or via email gita01@aol.com

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 10: Send Sweet Treats

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:23:06 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 10

This is Week 2 in my goal to write 5 days per week for 30 days.I'm continuing this series that was initially designed to motivate me to write. Now, the goal is to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 10 - Send Sweet Treats

Choose your top 50 or 100 contacts and send them an envelope filled with Hershey's kisses or Starburst candies. Let them know that they are the sweetest contacts you know and you really appreciate the referrals they send your way. The point? To make them remember you! When is the last time you received an envelope in the mail that contained candy and a hand written note? Probably not since you went off to college and your Mom sent you a care package. So be the first to send sweet treats to someone else. They will likely remember you and think sweetly of you thereafter!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website
Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr and see what can be accomplished in just 5 hours!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 9: Host a Coloring Contest

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:56:25 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 9

This is Week 2 in my goal to write 5 days per week for 30 days.I'm continuing this series that was initially designed to motivate me to write. Now, the goal is to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 9 - Host a Coloring Contest

Pick a farm area and send out flyers and postcards that you are hosting a coloring contest for children ages 15 and under. Be sure to have your age categories set (for example 12-15, 9-11, 6-8, and 5 and under). Additionally, put up a page on your website to promote the coloring contest. You should also be able to advertise the coloring contest in your local newspaper either free of charge or at a discount if you make the newspaper a sponsor of the contest. Prizes can be secured from companies at no additional cost to you through a mutual agreement with the company. For example, gift cards to Build-A-Bear, a local toy store, and/or a department store (Wal-Mart, Target, etc.). The key here is to also get gifts for the parents of the winning children! Home improvement stores, department stores, grocery stores, etc. will all work! As "sponsors" of the coloring contest, with free advertising on your website, most companies will be happy to donate prizes!

To end it out, host a luncheon or brunch or just an award ceremony program for the entire farm area to announce the winners! (If you don't have many entries, let everyone win, depending upon how many prizes you secure.)

The point? To make them remember you!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership
Day 8 - Create a Community Website

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr and see what can be accomplished in just 5 hours!

Recommendations on a Roofing Company?

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:54:12 -0700

Hi All -

We need to have our roof replaced and my husband suggested I "try that real estate group you're a member of" to find a reputable company.

Anybody have any recommendations for us of a roofing company? We need a company that does business in Garfield Heights, Ohio.

Thanks a ton!

~Renae

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr and see what can be accomplished in just 5 hours!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 8: Create a Community Website

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:45:21 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 8

This is Week 2 in my goal to write 5 days per week for 30 days.I'm continuing this series that was initially designed to motivate me to write. Now, the goal is to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 8 - Create a Community Website

Where is the first place people will go when they are interested in a particular community? The internet, of course! And you want them to find you. One of the best ways to do that is to become the "go-to" person for that community. By creating a community website, you can become the "IT" website owner for that area. Your community website can include upcoming events in the community, important dates to remember (such as the first day of school, no school, city council meetings, etc.), highlights of the community, condo association information, virtual tours of available properties in the area, listings of available properties only in that area, and information about your preferred home staging company and mortgage lending partner. Have a community newsletter with information about both old and new businesses in the area and also with relevant news on your community website. (Did you read yesterday's post about partnerships??) Also, you can highlight the neighbors on your community website. Take pictures of the homes in your community once they've started decorating for holidays or planting flower beds for the season. Anything and everything to make your name prominent in their minds because, after all, what's the point? To make them remember you!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings
Day 7 - Create a Partnership

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr and see what can be accomplished in just 5 hours!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 7: Create a Partnership

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:28:41 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 7

This is Week 2 in my goal to write 5 days per week for 30 days.I'm continuing this series that was initially designed to motivate me to write. Now, the goal is to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 7 - Create a Partnership

Have you picked a moving buddy? No? What about a general contracting partner? A mortgage lending partner? In the immortal words of Woody from Toy Story, "Everybody needs a moving buddy. If you don't have one - GET ONE!"

Partnerships give you an opportunity to do things that you may not be able to afford doing by yourself, such as first-time home buyer seminars or first-time home seller seminars. You can share the expenses of such an event with your partner and both of you can benefit from the leads you receive as a result of hosting the event. Your partner can also share in the expense of a postcard marketing campaign to your farm.

Aside from sharing expenses, your choice of a partner can also help with cross-promotion. A mortgage lender can promote your services to their leads and you can promote the services of your preferred mortgage lender to your leads. Moving companies are great for this as well - renters move with moving companies just as buyers do. You want to get the lead while they are yet renters because they may not want to rent forever and that's where you come in. Similarly, any moving company would be downright tickled to cross-promote with a real estate professional because those are sure leads - if you are buying or selling, at some point you are going to have to move either into or out of a house!

What partnerships have you developed and how have they worked out for you?

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works
Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr and see what can be accomplished in just 5 hours!

Pay It Forward - Giving Google Love to Lindsey Hasford and Gail Robinson

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:52:31 -0700

In my humble opinion, Russel Ray, a San Diego home inspector, is the king of the "Pay It Forward" mentality. His Pay It Forward series has inspired me to give a little Google love as well. On that note, here are some people who have been instrumental in my life - whether it was through business assistance or personal encouragement, here's my little bit of thanks to you!

1. Lindsey Hasford - Lindsey is a life-long resident of Elk River, Minnesota, which has placed her in the unique position of knowing her local real estate community inside and out. With Coldwell Banker for over 10 years, she has been certified as a Distressed Property Expert, she is in a further unique position to help those in her local Elk River community to understand and navigate the waters of short sales and avoiding foreclosures. And she's got two of the most adorable little boys you ever want to see! Read Lindsey's entertaining blog here.

2. Gail Robinson - Gail is the #1 real estate agent for the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, Connecticut and has been a resident for over 30 years. Gail's no-nonsense approach to real estate makes her "give them the facts" attitude both refreshing and thorough. Her designation as an ePro, which requires expertise in the use of internet technology, allows her to put the wonders of modern technology to work for both buyers and sellers. On top of all that, Gail is just the friendliest person you ever want to meet! Read Gail's informative blog here.

For the part you have played in my career, knowledge, education, and personal life, I can only say:

~Renae - Market 4 Real!

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Need help with consistently marketing to your leads and your listings? Don't put it off! Contact us today for assistance and get started on the road to turning your leads into clients and your listings into SOLD properties!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 6: Socialize Your Listings

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:44:32 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 6

We're back for Week 2 in my goal to write 5 days per week for 30 days. I'm continuing this series that was initially designed to motivate me to write. Now, the goal is to continue providing marketing motivation for you! 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 6 - Socialize Your Listings

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are real and here to stay. So make the best of them to promote your listings! On Facebook, upload photos of the listing into a separate photo album. Be sure you have your seller in your contact list and then tag them in the photo album. Make comments on the album about the different rooms to entice your Facebook friends to look at the photo album as well.

Set up groups on Facebook and LinkedIn that are specific. You don't want groups named "Real Estate in Tampa." You want groups that people will be able to connect with. Try "I Want A Condo On Long Island" or "My Dream Home is a Luxury Home on the River in Michigan." Your groups should be something that the person joining can really identify with. Then, when you have a new listing, you can post about it to the appropriate group and know that everyone who sees that information are your real target audience. Don't forget photos on LinkedIn as well!

Use Twitter and be sure to tweet about your listings - but not in the "I just listed a 4 bedroom home" way. Be creative! Be unique! Tweet something like "I just love the double ovens in my new listing on Park East Drive! Wanna see it?" or "I just listed a home with 2 built-in fireplaces. You've just got to see the finished basement, too!"

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays
Day 5 - Farming Works

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr and see what can be accomplished in just 5 hours!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 5: Farming Works!

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:59:07 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 5

My goal is to write 5 days per week for 30 days. So I've started this series that I hope to motivate me to write. 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 5 - Farming Works!

If you haven't already done so, choose an area to farm and then develop a plan for marketing to that farm. Farming an area is extremely beneficial. Some of the benefits include:

* The residents of that area get to know you more than other agents.
* You will learn so much about that area as you get to know the intricacies of that neighborhood.
* You can then blog about the neighborhood as the "area specialist" and watch your blog shoot to the top of the Google search engine!

So, how do you go about choosing and making the most marketing use of a farm area? Here are a few steps to help you off to a great start:

Select - The area you select should either be one that you are already somewhat familiar with or one that you feel relatively confident that you can learn about quickly and easily.
Research - Learn everything you can about the area. Learn about the market, what's selling, what isn't, what the homes are like, what the community is like, what the residents are like. The goal is to set yourself up as the area expert.
Market - Create a campaign to market to your farm area. Decide in advance how you will market to the farm. There are literally TONS of great blog posts here on Active Rain. Check out how these members are farming and the tips they provide real estate professionals:

LaNita Cates - Here and Here
Chris Self - Using Community Garage Sales in farming
Jeffrey DiMuria - Using a Neighborhood Directory in farming
The Sales Strategies / Tactics Channel - Farming (of course)

I'd love to hear your own farming strategies - the ones that work! Share!
~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign
Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 4: Take Advantage of Holidays

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:19:32 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 4

My goal is to write 5 days per week for 30 days. So I've started this series that I hope to motivate me to write. 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 4 - Take Advantage of Holidays

Are you taking advantage of holidays during your marketing activities? Most don't and that's a shame because holidays offer such a fun and easy way of taking advantage of something that going to happen with or without your input. So why not input? :-)

One of the biggest drawbacks that real estate agents give me to making use of holidays in their marketing is that they don't see how to tie it into real estate. Here are some examples of how you can incorporate holidays into your marketing efforts and keep the real estate angle:

* May - National Recommitment Month - Recommit to Becoming a Homeowner
* May 6 - National Tourist Appreciation Day - Take a Tour of Our Beautiful City Day
* May 18 - No Dirty Dishes Day - Arrange a tour of homes with dishwashers
* June 18 - National Splurge Day - Splurge On Something Great Day - Become A Homeowner
* June 28 - Insurance Awareness Day - Home Owner's Insurance Can Change Your Life Day
* July 2 - I Forgot Day - Because of the Market, I Forgot I Wanted To Buy A House Day

I challenge you to select a holiday and give it a real estate twist! Let me see what you've got!

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs
Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 3: Create a Marketing Campaign for Past Clients

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:33:19 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 3

My goal is to write 5 days per week for 30 days. (I almost missed today!) So I've started this series that I hope to motivate me to write. 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 3 - Create a Marketing Campaign for Past Clients

We all know that "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," right? Well, who is your bird in the hand? Your past clients, of course! Past clients have already bought the cow - they believe in you and your services and are the perfect place to start looking for new clients.

Your Virtual Assistant can create a marketing campaign that will keep you in front of and in touch with your past clients on a regular and consistent basis. The purpose of the marketing campaign for past clients is for them to keep you in mind when they are ready to move up or move down and for them to refer their friends, family, and associates to you when they need a real estate professional.

Your marketing campaign can include:
* regularly scheduled 5-minute telephone calls
* thinking of you cards
* scheduled pop-bys
* organized events for your past clients
* anniversary gifts
* maintaining your home information - postcards or letters
* repeat buyer, first-time seller, or investment seminar or webinar invitations

~Renae

Day 1 - Use Short URLs
Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

Cool Virtual Tool To Help Pick Paint Color

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:56:46 -0700

If you're putting off that Spring painting project you want to do because you don't want to deal with picking a color, try this handy, very cool tool that is sure to make the job a lot easier (and it's FREE!).

~Renae

Via Dan and Amy Schuman - Cleveland Ohio Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty Greater Cleveland):

Originally Posted At - Cleveland Real Estate Blog

Many people would love to paint the interior or exterior of their home, but are afraid of picking the wrong color. While paint is relatively inexpensive, the cost of choosing the wrong color and having to repaint can certainly add up. While enlisting the help of a decorator or Home Stager is always helpful, it is still difficult for most people to envision the finished product. Now, thanks to great technology provided by Sherwin Williams, a lot of the guesswork has been taken out of the process.

This great tool is called the Color Visualizer . It allows you to upload your own photos and try out different paints and trim colors. There is a great video here that will explain how to best use this tool. I have used this successfully for my clients and it is truly amazing. You can use it for both the exterior and interior of a home. I truly urge you to try it out because it is really helpful.

You may also went to check out another tool from Sherwin Williams, the ColorSnap for iPhone and Blackberry. Use your phone to snap a picture of a color that inspires you. Not only will Sherwin Williams help you match that exact color, this app will help you fine tune it using lightness, saturation, and hue features.

Have fun with these innovative tools and please share your experiences with these or similar products in the comments section below as we'd love to hear from you.

If you liked this post, please subscribe to our blog. We always appreciate having new readers and more importantly, enjoy making new friends.

If you enjoyed this article, here are some others that may interest you as well:

Designer and Staging Secrets To Choosing Paint Color

Is Social Media Killing Confidentiality?

Is Your Message Being Tuned Out?

Real Estate Agents Are Not Just Door Openers

Is Zillow Really Accurate? Take A Look For Yourself

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About The Author

The above information pertaining to Cleveland Real Estate News was provided by Amy Schuman of The Schuman Team Keller Williams Realty Greater Cleveland. Amy is an Accedited Staging Professional and can be reached at 216-403-9189 or via email, amyschuman@kw.com.

The Schuman Team services the Cleveland, Oh metropolitan area and specialize in Cleveland luxury homes and working with buyers relocating to Cleveland.

LET'S CONNECT:

Cool Virtual Tool To Help Pick Paint Color is the property of The Schuman Team and may not be duplicated or used without their written consent. ©April, 2011

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 2: Syndicate Your Blogs

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:35:23 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 2

My goal is to write 5 days per week for 30 days. So I've started this series that I hope to motivate me to write. 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 2 - Syndicate Your Blogs

Syndicating your blog is simply the process of sending the blog's RSS feed out to multiple websites simultaneously. This will give your blog additional exposure that you may not typically reach from your current contacts. Syndication puts your blog feed in front of other people, in places where they can easily subscribe to your blog.

To syndicate your blog, first find the RSS feed. On your ActiveRain blog, the link to your RSS feed is located beneath the Archive list of your monthly posts. Click on the button that says RSS 2.0 and capture the link. Then, submit the feed link to multiple feed burning sites such as:

* feedsubmitter.com
* search4rss.com
* digg.com
* technorati.com
* del.icio.us
* stumbleupon
* reddit

~Renae

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities Series
Day 1 - Short URLs

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 1: Short URLs

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:48:57 -0700

30 Days of Marketing Opportunities - Day 1

My goal is to write 5 days per week for 30 days. So I've started this series that I hope to motivate me to write. 30 Days of Marketing Opportunities will give you 30 projects or tasks that your Virtual Assistant can handle on your behalf, generating leads that will ultimately generate more income for you! These are tasks that do not require a lot of high-end skill but, instead, require some time (hence the reason your Virtual Assistant should handle these tasks, not you!) and attention to detail. Join me on the journey!

Day 1 - Generate and Post Short URLs on Your ActiveRain Posts

The short url is a nifty little feature on your ActiveRain posts that can bring even more attention to your posts. Simply have your Virtual Assistant go through previous posts that you've written and click the button that says "Generate Short URL" and voila! That's all there is to it (easy-peasy, huh?).

After the short url has been created, your Virtual Assistant can then submit the link, with a catchy, keyword-rich title to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and anywhere else you happen to have a social media profile set up.

Short urls drive additional traffic to your posts - traffic that can be tracked so that you can see exactly where your click-throughs are coming from. This is a handy tool indeed if you want to see which marketing methods are working best for you.

~Renae

Day 2 - Syndicate

Thinking about using a Virtual Assistant but not sure if you're ready? Contact me for a free consultation! Want to take a Virtual Assistant for a test drive? Try a 5-hour starter block for $20/hr!

You Want to Pay Me How Much to do WHAT?

Renae Bolton ~ Marketing 4 Realtors (Marketing 4 Realtors) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:43:47 -0800

You Want to Pay Me How Much to do WHAT?

Recently, I was told that it might be a good idea for me to sign up on a certain online forum to bid on projects posted for Virtual Assistants. (Company name held to protect the not-so-innocent.) I thought it was a great idea. What I found blew me away!

After setting up an online profile and taking numerous online tests to declare that I knew what I said I knew, I started browsing through the posted projects on the jobs board. What I found in the real estate section, posted for a Real Estate Virtual Assistant was something similar to this:

Duties include phone support and data entry. You will need to answer incoming calls, schedule appointments and showings and follow up from showings and appointments. You will need to enter all activities into our contact management system and you will learn to do other data entry tasks including uploading listing details onto websites and offer writing. Must reside within the U.S. Weekend availability a MUST.

That part was actually typical for what a real estate agent would need a Virtual Assistant to handle for them.

Here was the Zinger! Hourly Rate: Below $3.00/hr

Um, huh? I think I read that wrong. Hang out here while I go check that one more time. <play Jeopardy music in your head here while you wait>

Ok, yep. Below $3.00/hr.

What Virtual Assistant living in the United States and in their RIGHT MIND would be able to afford to charge less than $3.00/hr to work for this "busy real estate company?" And to top it off, they wanted someone to work 30+ hrs/wk. That's almost full time. Again, who in their right mind could afford that? If you live in the United States and work full or almost full-time and don't even make minimum wage, there's a problem, don't you think?

Here's what I'd like real estate professionals to know from the point of view of the REVA:
1. You get what you pay for! This is not to say that you have to pay $100/hr for a Virtual Assistant. But if you ask someone to work for pennies and give you a high quality level of work, something is going to suffer.
2. If you expect to get paid for the quality work you do, you should expect to pay your REVA the same way. Quality is quality, regardless of where it's coming from.

Here's what I'd like REVAs to know from one REVA to another:
1. Value yourself. If you don't value yourself, your time, your skills - no one else will, either.
2. Don't get caught in the rat race of "the lowest bidder wins." You'll end up getting contracts that you have absolutely no desire to complete and then who will suffer? Well, the client for one because you'll always put their work on the back burner. And then, so will your reputation. Which is extremely difficult to get back once lost.

I'm just sayin.

~Renae - Market 4 Real!

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