Knock knock. Who's there? Newspaper. Newspaper who? Exactly.

It's almost embarrassing for me to write about why you shouldn't advertise in newspapers so I won't. Instead, I'll update you on just what newspapers are doing to stay afloat in such turbulent times. You may ask "why does this matter to me as a real estate agent." It's a great question and the answer is simple. In the future, newspapers will still be a part of your business model but it will take a major paradigm shift from the newspaper industry before it makes sense for you to get involved again.

Not long ago, Shorewest REALTORS, a Wisconsin based real estate company, published the below advertisement in their local paper.

"Thank you for reading our property ads. Starting January 1st, our Open House listings will no longer appear in this paper. All of our listings are featured on Shorewest.com"

This ad is a bold example of just what real estate companies are finally doing. Slashing their newspaper budgets. In my opinion, this was a great move by Shorewest. However, it doesn't mean that newspapers are out for good. Not yet at least. In order to survive, newspapers will need to undergo a complete overhaul of their business models, content and delivery.

For years, the newspaper industry has been over exaggerating their circulation and providing very little value added. They all add very little benefit for a company/agent trying to target a very small and specific demographic market. Advertising in newspapers has become much like dropping fliers for your product from an airplane. You just hope that it lands in the right hands but most of the time, much of it is a waste.

In their current state, surviving newspapers are finding other ways to make money while providing additional services to companies--especially to mom and pop shops. Just some of the methods of creating new revenue identified by the industry include

• Website advertising with a new push for greater Search Engine Optimization
• Direct mail services and fulfillment
• Website hosting for easy lead generation
• Custom newspaper printing
• Call centers/sales support to qualify leads from your ad

Besides the value added aspect, newspapers are being forced to rethink the kind of news they deliver. After all, why should I have to wait a whole 24 hours before I receive major international news. I can look that up anytime on the web, have it delivered right to my phone, or watch it on TV. For these reasons the industry will have to create more magazine-like articles of special interests. Instead of trying to become the first to break a story, they will need to investigate stories that have already happened and give the side that no one knows.

Take one of today's events as an example. The Internet has already blasted the headlline "Justice Souter To Retire." Tomorrow morning I will scan through the headlines and read this exact same headline. If a newspaper wants to sell newspapers, its headline should read, "Obama's Arsenal of Possible Choices for Supreme Court." This article would contain in depth information on each candidate and would be of great value to anyone interested in this particular topic.

If I had to put my money in futures of the real estate company, I would place it with companies that would allow me to customize my own physical newspaper with the news that interests me, with only the ads that I care about, and delivered to me only on Sundays. This concept is being lightly considered by only a couple of companies. From an advertising standpoint, this would be a format that would be well worth putting money into. Couple this with a whole group of services that I, as an advertiser could use, and this could be a good thing. Newspapers, you have a lot of work to do before you can make sense to me again.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, "Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing"

Century 21 has come out with some killer research and statistics on a very important demographic. First time home buyers. If you do not have an aggressive plan on targeting this demographic, sit down and beginning thinking about how you are going to approach this audience. Many believe that this group will be the group to spur the housing market into more profitable times.

Important takeaways from the article include:

• 78% Of Potential First-Time Home Buyers Say That Now is a Good Time to Buy
• 85% say they consider current home prices affordable
• 56% of potential first-time home buyers are considering purchasing a foreclosed or short sale home
• 63% are open to purchasing either a "fixer-upper" or "as-is" home
• 75 percent of potential first-time home buyers believe it is difficult to get a home loan right now (This one is important to overcome!)
• 59% of potential buyers rated their understanding of the process as only "fair" or "poor."

Read the entire article and research findings HERE

I always seem to have a craving for Chick-fil-A on Sunday. The only reason I think this happens is because Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays. Have you ever noticed that you crave something more when you can't have it?

We are a 'give it to me now' kind of society. Most companies want to give their product/service the way the consumer wants it. Burger King says "Have It Your Way," 7-Eleven stores are open 24 hours a day, Sprite tells us to "Obey Your Thirst," or how about this one...."I Want My MTV!"

"Glorify God by being a faithful steward to all that is entrusted in us"Read the entire Chick-fil-A closed on Sunday policy here (Quick-load PDF file).

What if, as real estate professionals, we weren't the crazy people that much of the public views us as? What if we actually created hours and advertised them on our business cards? What if we told our clients and potential clients "Unless it is an emergency I do not work on Sundays?" Or maybe the more Disney-esq way of telling them is "I am available to you Monday through Saturday afternoon."

We may find that by doing this we are:

• refreshed by the rest that we receive


• our time is respected by our clients


• more productive since our hours are limited

What if... we actually created a craving for our services? Think about it and make the change.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, "Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing"

I don't plug too many books on my site but I can't stay quiet anymore.

If you are an agent who is thinking about this tough market and you are not sure how you are going to pull through and become the successful agent you've had always wanted to be, buy a good red pen and these two books:

1. The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (McGraw-Hill 2004)

2. SHIFT How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times

If you don't already know who Gary Keller is, grab the agent next to you and ask them so they can laugh at you. Gary Keller (along with Joe Williams) founded Keller Williams. His experience and organization of the residential real estate profession is truly a textbook example of how you, as an agent, need to run your business.

Find out about the Keller Williams secrets of 8x8, 33 Touch, and 12 Direct. This systematic approach to marketing not only works but works well. It is also what I have been telling you about for the past 18 months. Keller Williams agents: I'll see you at the Keller Williams Family Reunion in Orlando in a few weeks. Look for me at the Xpressdocs booth.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, "Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing"

When I worked for the University of West Florida back in 'the day' I'll never forget an individual that had to approve the advertisements I was making before they were sent out. I was a young Communications major with a focus in public relations and advertising (I also had a lot more hair then I have now) and she was a 20-year administrative assistant. Every time I showed her one of my ads she said the same thing. "Look at all of the blank space on this ad!" she would say, almost horrified."

In my presentations I often mention the importance of good design. It always amaze how many real estate professionals I hear from afterward that say "I am a graphic designer." or "I do all of my own artwork." To be fair I usually don't ask them about their experience.

I don't want to be insulting here but unless you graduated from a reputable school and have spent 4 years learning graphic design OR have spent years studying Quark, InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, please understand that you are probably not a graphic designer. If you use Microsoft Publisher on a regular basis, it does not qualify you as a designer.

I bring this up because as a real estate professional, it's important to protect your investments. Many of you hire designers to create a brand for you that will do one or more of the following:

• Attract attention
• Create familiarity
• Use a message to position yourself in the marketplace
• Show your professionalism

Whatever your reason for creating a brand it is important to allow the professionals to produce a piece that will best fulfill your objective. Again, assuming that you have hired a reputable person, let her do her job. Over and over designers have heard their clients say; "There is too much white space." "Make my logo bigger." "My photo needs to be big." "Can't my colors be brighter?"



I want to be clear. It's not that you shouldn't have any say in what your designer produces, especially if they are writing the copy for your pieces. It is that you need to let them have the upper hand.

Watch this video put together by agencyfusion. It outlines the things that agencies and designers hear all of the time from their clients. Plus it's a lot to fun to watch!

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, "Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing"

Several months ago I wrote about my dentist in Boston and how impressed I was with them. Not just the service, but the entire way they marketed themselves. I was so impressed, I called them back to find out how they knew my wife and I so well. I mean, really, after our first couple of visits they were able to recall six months later everything we told them. It turns out that every visit the assistant went back to the file on the computer and wrote down all of the things that we spoke about. They were big on writing down dates of things as well, birthdays, anniversaries and so on. Any date that they write down goes into another spreadsheet so they can send appropriate correspondence.

A similar thing happened to me when I went into get my haircut at Sportsclips. "Matt, do you want us to use the 2 on the sides like last time?" Cindy asked me. Then she asked my how my wife was doing with the pregnancy. Again, this was a person I remembered but hadn't seen a few months.

It got me thinking. How many of us actually take the time to record personal notes about the clients with whom we have worked. What does it do for our business when we can reach out to each and every one of our clients in a totally unique and personal way?

Unfortunately, many real estate agents these days don't even keep up to date blue lists, let alone going above and beyond to create notes on life events. There's no better time to change a habit then at the beginning of the year.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, "Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing"

It wasn't more then a year ago I was sitting down with a Vice President of a real estate company and we were talking about something that all of us are told to shy away from. The foundational question of the conversation was rather simple. Does God belong in real estate? Before you answer this question with a simple yes or no, think about it.

Almost immediately the first company that was brought into focus was Keller Williams. Keller Williams has been said to have a strong spiritual component to its core values. They even define this on their website. My VP friend told me that she thought they were just selling God to steal the best agents. I told her that this may be true, however, it was another discussion to define if this is right, wrong and/or effective.


Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, "Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing"

Thank you all for emails recently and concern for why you haven't seen my usual blog posts. I am a big believer that if I don't have anything important to write then it is just not worth taking your time. Secondly, there is a lot going on in our world today and instead of competing for your attention I think it is better to hold off (for the most part) for the next 30 days.

So you will notice that from here to elections I will be sparse in my posts. This will also give me time for other writing. I want to encourage and ask you all today to make sure you're registered to vote and that you get out and vote November 4th!

Two things before I end this pre-election post.

1. Promote voting to your sphere of influence. Xpressdocs has given you one tool. They have given you the opportunity to order "Why Vote?" postcards that can be direct mailed.

2. Share this link with your friends, family and clients. By typing in their address they will be able to find the nearest places to register as well as vote.

Enjoy and we will see you soon! Oh, as an aside. I was originally scheduled to attend the NAR conference in Orlando this year but this has since changed due to a conflict. Do me a favor and stop by the Xpressdocs booth and give your card to any of the reps there and mention my name. I will be sure to send you a little something extra special for taking the time.

The bottled water industry has always amazed me. I mean truly amazed me. I am able to watch this over $35 billion (Beverage Marketing Corporation) industry as though it were a sporting event. Most recently I have realized that it continues to evolve and the latest evolution is most definitely in the packaging.

Bottled water is using the same approach as the wine industry. It's use of various packaging and its method of story-telling is just now breaking the surface. Case in point: FineWaters.com

"GOTA- The Guaraní Aquifer, located beneath Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and is one of the world's largest aquifer systems. Named after the Guaraní tribe, it is estimated to contain about 37,000 km³ of water, arguably the largest single body of groundwater in the world, with a total recharge rate of about 166 km³/year from precipitation.

Bottled at its source and extracted from an 250 ft (80 m) deep well under the highest safety and quality standards, no additives or processes are inflicted to this water."

Doesn't this sound like a description of a great bottle of wine? If you are still not convinced, be sure to take a look at this ad for Gota Water. Categories like Balance and Hardness prove that this industry is after the most elite water snobs.

Water is just one way in which an industry has completely found a Blue Ocean Strategy. 15 years ago no one ever considered purchasing water in an individual bottle let alone buying a $9 bottle of water that was imported from a far away Antarctica glacier (could this be the reason our glaciers are melting? :-) )

Are there ways in which real estate may be able to find these Blue Ocean strategies within our own industry? The answer is we already are! Real estate websites like Trulia are finding ways to enhance the search process and are attracting a different demographic then what the usual MLS systems can do. Companies like Xpressdocs are creating easier ways to use direct mail and email marketing with greater capabilities and are designing them with the real estate professional in mind. Companies like Redfin are redefining the transaction process for the real estate world.

The truth is, your real estate package is much more difficult to change then simply changing the shape of a bottle. Your unique real estate business involves great thought, turnkey solutions, and a style that no one else can duplicate.

Pancakes have been around, seemingly, forever. So how could they ever get any better? For one, the packaging could change. Pancakes are commonly a weekend food because of the length in time of preparation, unless of course you are fine with the frozen pancake thing.

One company has created a new and unique packaging for pancakes. It’s called Batter Blaster They’ve solved a simple problem while creating a new way to enjoy warm stove-top pancakes (and organic at that!).



The Connection Real estate agents have been around for a long time as well. To the public, most agents are the same ‘pancake mix’ that can be found in any store. The agents that want to be successful tomorrow will need to change their packaging. As a real estate professional, how do you show the public that you do things differently? How are they supposed to know that you offer services that no one else does? What do you do differently? Do you tell them these things on your website, your blog, your advertisements, your voicemail message, your tagline, your press releases?

Answer these questions about your packaging, stay consistent and you have yourself a real estate agent that is going to stick around for a while.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon