Real Estate Virtual Assistant - Megan Barber

Have You Met My Latest Assistant?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:26:24 -0600

I've been having some fun over at my regular blog, The BVAS Connection. We've done some remodeling over there and I thought I would do a quick post over here on my AR blog that I've been neglecting so badly. (SORRY ActiveRain blog. Let's kiss and make up, OK?)

Today I wanted to share my latest short video, introducing my little office partner. He brightens each and every day while I work in my home office, and he will hopefully become a good little assistant someday.

I promise to try not to be a stranger here on ActiveRain anymore!

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Free Showing Feedback Tool

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:16:39 -0600

Ever have a problem nailing down showing agents by phone trying to get showing feedback for your listings? Playing phone tag, or dealing with a fellow agent who is annoyed with the fact you called to bother them is never fun. (Been there, done that.) Then some of the online feedback systems either cost to much and offer too little.

Well today I wanted to share a great tool to help your showing feedback results. And best of all it is FREE! The program is www.ShowingFeedback.com, and my agent client and I had recently stumbled upon it when looking for cost effective showing feedback solutions.

ShowingFeedback.com allows you to create and send short surveys to agents that show your listings, and then give access to your sellers to review the reports and comments that have been left by the agents. To use you simply enter your listings and seller's information into the system, and when there is a new showing, add the agent's information and a showing feedback is sent back to the agent. So far in using it the past few weeks we have seen about a 90% response rate from the showing agents and we are very impressed. And of course, the sellers like getting direct notification of their showing activity and feedback.

And did I mention that this was free? Give it a try, you have nothing to lose!

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Feedback on USHUD.com??

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:58:38 -0600

Does anybody have any feedback on the company, ushud.com? (also known as allhud.com, hudworks.com, Heavy Hammer Inc.,etc.) I have an agent client that who has recently signed up to be an "exclusive agent" with ushud.com, and I want to see if this system will really be worth it for them for the price.

I know that AR has many sales people on here associated with the ushud.com/Heavy Hammer company, but I want to hear from the actual users. I don't want to hear from the sales people. What I am looking for some real honest feedback from real agents that have worked with them.

So ushud.com users, past and present:

Are you receving the amount of leads promised from them?
Are the leads you receive/received from ushud.com quality leads?
Have you had additional closings directly related to the leads received from ushud.com?

Feel free to comment here, or email me privately at megan@barbervasolutions.com. I appreciate any comments or feedback you can provide me.

I always look out for the best interests of my clients, and want to make sure they get the best ROI on all of their marketing efforts. I am not always sold on these types of lead selling systems, but if it is worth it to them, then I am all for it.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Direct Marketing for Fall

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:10:13 -0500

Though internet marketing has taken up the forefront of many Realtor marketing plans, many agents still find success by regularly marketing to their prospects and sphere of influence via direct mail marketing. The ultimate goal is to continually stay in front of you past & present clients, prospects, and farm, so that they remember you when it’s time to talk real estate. So what are YOU doing to stay in front of your sphere?

The Fall is a great time for marketing, with many ideas or excuses for you to reach out and touch your prospects. And it is always helpful to send them something of value, that they would appreciate and hold on to. The following are a couple ideas to get you going on your fall marketing.

Fall Events Calendar - Send your sphere a postcard containing fun fall events going on in your neighborhood or town. Let them know about the hayrides, pumpkin displays, fall festivals, or costume contests going on in your area. And be sure to attend some of those events to meet your prospects and show them that you are not ALL about real estate ALL of the time.
Fall Time Change Reminder - The most popular fall time marketing opportunity is the fall time change reminder. It is a simple thing, but clients appreciate it, and it’s a great excuse to get in front of your contacts.
Winterizing Tips - Homeowners appreciate a good home improvement tip. Remind your clients to keep one of their biggest investments, in top shape. Before the sting of winter takes it’s hold, send your clients a few tips on how to winterize their homes and get ready for freezing temperatures.
Thanksgiving - Sending Thanksgiving wishes seems almost an obvious choice for fall marketing, but I recommend you do it with twist. Use it as a client appreciation opportunity and work out a discount coupon with a favorite local shop or restaurant (local business love cross promotion). To “give thanks” to your sphere, they can bring the postcard to said local business, and appreciate a discount on you. You may even get extra cards printed for that partnering business to display for you.

Do those get your creative juices flowing? Need to know how to implement something like this? Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions has your answer. Let us coordinate your fall postcard marketing with our custom designs and we arrange the printing and mailing for you too!

Announcing our “Pre-Vacation” Special - Order your Fall Time Change postcard from one of our exclusive designs before the deadline on October 6th, 2008*, and receive 10% off the design fees we normally charge. Contact Megan for more details on this and other postcard marketing opportunities.

*Orders received after October 6th for the fall time change are not guaranteed to be sent out in the proper time. Please act fast!

© Megan E. Barber, Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions, LLC

Megan Barber is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant, owner of Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions, LLC, and publisher of The REAL Advantage E-Zine. Megan has spent over 10 years doing the “behind-the-scenes” work in the real estate industry assisting agents with their real estate marketing and transaction needs.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

CA Congresswoman Walked Away From $578k Mortgage

Wed, 21 May 2008 16:36:51 -0500

To me this story is dispicable: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/05/report-californ.html Just another great example of the fiscally responsible politicians we have.

I know that there are people that are truly vicitms in this whole foreclosure mess and I do feel bad for them. But then there are others that have either simply made bad decisions at the peak of the market, or have been blatently irresponsible. The sad thing is we ALL will probably end up bailing them out.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Please Don't Bring Your Battle Here

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:02:58 -0500

My Craig's List issues won't seem to die. I awoke this morning to several new comments in my inbox on a subject that seems to have been revived from Part 1 and Part 2 of my venting on flag happy people on Craig's List.

Last night it looked like someone decided to to bring their anti-Realtor battle to my Active Rain blog (comments in part 1), via what I call "drive by" commenting. Apparently I am too dimwitted to understand that CL is apparently only for the little guy and non-commercial people. And then there was the usual excerpt from the TOS that was meant to back up their claim.

I left my own follow up comment there, but really, I can tell them the same thing over and over about how my agents ads have never violated the TOS, blah, blah, blah. They will never really listen or understand. For someone who calls me out as dimwitted, they fail to research and understand the facts and only look foolish themselves. Quoting that same TOS passage over and over again does not help them as there are so many holes in that argument, it's not funny.

So they want to bring their battle to Active Rain? I haven't the time to waste on this, but if Smitty is brave enough to engage the AR community, good luck with that.

Unfortunately Craig's List was not worth the harassment and time spent to keep reposting for my clients in the Santa Fe market area, and have since moved on to using only Backpage.com. We still us CL for other market areas, but Santa Fe CL is hopeless.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Suing Agents Because You Paid Too Much? It Seriously Has Come to This?

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:19:56 -0600

I'm sure many of you that read the news or frequent the Drudge Report like I do, came across this little gem in the news: Unhappy home buyer, feeling misled on price, sues agent. The fact that this was on Drudge made me groan in disgust.

Now I must say in my whiniest of "Meredith Gray" voices (from TV show Gray's Anatomy)... Seriously? It has come to this? Seriously?

There are so many things wrong with this article, one of which being RE/MAX is written totally wrong (an annoying pet peeve of mine). And the whole slant of this article seems to paint picture that the "big bad Realtors" have found another way to scam the consumers through the use of buyer agency. This whole thing is preposterous.

Not being a Realtor myself, but an educated consumer, I do know how to do my due diligence when selecting a neighborhood and examining the sold prices in the area by viewing public records. It does take a little bit of work, but that is the right way to do it. One's laziness or stupidity is no one's fault but their own.

Really, I am getting so sick of this litigious society in which we live, and how the solution is blaming anyone else you can for your own stupidity is beyond me.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

2008 Goals - Putting it out there for everyone to see...

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:40:56 -0600

Hello 2008!

New Year, New Start. It's the time of year where people traditionally make resolutions and set personal and professional goals. I have occasionally done this year after year, but this time I'll add a little more accountability by putting it out there for people to see

2008 may be a little over a week old so some may think that I am a little late at making my goals, but goal #1 was to make my goals for 2008 so here goes.

Professional goals:

Finish putting together my Operations Manual (thanks for the reminder Laura) documenting all the processes of what I do each and every day
Finish up my Policies and Procedures Manual for my Associate VA team members and possible future in-house assistants
Add 1-2 more Associate VA team members to assist with more clients and allowing my business to grow
Develop relationships with professional web designers and graphic designers and professional copywriters to be able to enhance the services my company offers
Blog on my BVAS Connection blog at least 3 times a week
Blog on Active Rain at least 2 times a week
Start a new blog geared towards advising Virtual Assistants and individuals considering starting a VA business
Organize, make improvements & redesign my home office to make it more functional for my needs and encourage more productivity (looking for feng shui advice)
Stick to my office hours, and remove myself from "work" mode after 7pm every night (a tough one for me)
Create a monthly newsletter to send to my clients and interested parties

Personal Goals:

Cut out my diet soda intake and replace by drinking at least eight 8oz glasses of water a day
Eat more fruit and vegetables, and less junk
Get out of the house and get an at least 30 minute walk 3-4 times a week
Shine my sink every day, and get back into a firm daily routine (FlyLady is the best).
Keep my house in order, one baby step at a time
Kiss my husband goodnight every night and thank the Lord that I have such a wonderful man in my life

I could probably go on, but these will get me started for this year. Now that I've let the world know what they are, I better hold to them. Here's to a happy and prosperous new year for us all!

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Megan Barber, Real Estate Virtual Assistant Earns REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHERTM Certification

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:58:57 -0600

Vineland, New Jersey. Megan Barber has successfully completed the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER^TM certification to join an elite group of real estate professionals who have earned the prestigious certification offered through the National Institute of Webographers, LLC (http://www.webographers.com/). Megan has successfully completed 12 short courses which include: Online Business Strategy, Agent Websites, Single-property Websites, Lead Generation and Management, Virtual Tours, CMA and AVM technology, Neighborhood Search, Online Transaction Management, Electronic Forms, Virtual Assistants, Mobile Technologies and Blogs.

The REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER^TM certification teaches real estate professionals how to develop and maintain an effective online business strategy in a web-based environment. Candidates learn how to establish an effective consumer-facing, all-inclusive web presence; while increasing their knowledge on real estate technologies and strategies clients expect. The program helps real estate agents and affiliates increase marketability by aiding them in determining where they should invest their resources to generate leads, acquire new clients, advertise and facilitate closings.

About Megan Barber
Megan Barber, owner & CEO of Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions, is a Real Estate Virtual Assistant and a REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER^TM professional. She specializes in providing high quality support services to real estate professionals knows how to assist her clients in winning more listings, attract buyers by turning a listing process into a marketing process. For more information about the valuable services that Megan provides to her clients and web-savvy consumers, please feel free to make contact with:

Megan Barber
http://www.barbervasolutions.com/

Megan@BarberVASolutions.com

About National Institute of Webographers, LLC
Since 2004, The National Institute of Webographers, LLC has specialized in the education, training, assessment and certification of web-based technologies for the Real Estate industry. The REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER^TM Certification (REW^TM) provides consumer-facing solutions, education and training through a series of interactive online courses. Certification, online modules for REALTORS® and Assistants include Agent Websites, Single-property Websites, Lead Generation and Management, Virtual Tours, CMA and AVM technology, Neighborhood Search, Online Transaction Management, Electronic Forms, Blogs, Mobile Technologies, Virtual Assistants, and the Learning Laboratory^TM, where Certificants can access an array of showcased technologies for hands on learning. Available 24/7/365, these courses provide the opportunity for working professionals to learn at their own pace while enhancing the skill sets necessary to compete and excel with today's web savvy consumers. REW^TM professionals provide consumers with a positive and profitable Real Estate experience. For more information regarding the National Institute of Webographers, please visit http://www.webographers.com/ or contact Scott Lau at ScottLau@Webographers.com.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

More Craig's List Woes Part II

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:25:10 -0600

So yesterday I told about some of my client's Craig's List ads being flagged due to a campaign being waged against Realtors by some Craig's List users.

This is an example of what we're dealing with here in Santa Fe's Craig's List: ~~http://santafe.craigslist.org/rfs/529079852.html~~. It is frustrating how misinformed some people are, and this person seems the type that could never be convinced otherwise (like the one who decided to send a nasty email one of my Realtor clients off of CL recently, or who decided to do this).

I can tell them till I am blue in the face how these ads (my client's in particular) are not violating CL's terms of use, and are NOT promoting commercial services as these people claim. The ads we post simply advertise the property they have listed and have no external links going anywhere. Where is the violation here?

And Craig's list seems not to care. As long as their "version" of harassment is not involved, they see no issue.

Not being a Realtor myself, but a Virtual Assistant, maybe is not my battle to fight. And Craig's List is not the forum to be fighting this battle on. Needless to say, I feel like I am spinning my wheels and I am frustrated.

UPDATE 01/06/07 - The original ad had been flagged and removed, so unfortunately those that have come late into the story missed out on reading an arrogant butt-head's rant on "evil" Realtors. But if you check the Santa Fe craig's list from time to time, he posts again and you might just catch it before it gets flagged again for removal.

The unfair flagging has not stopped unfortunately and we are refraining from spending any more advertising on there until it has died down, and either Craig's list put a stop to this, or they come up with a solutions where FSBO's and Realtors can advertise in harmony.

This seems to be a purely regional issue.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

More Craig's List Woes

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 22:14:35 -0600

So is Craig's List really worth taking the time to post in? Who is really seeing good results?

Or what about using something like vFlyer or Postlets? Do people really care or pay more attention to those "fancier" html ads done through something like vFlyer or Postlets? I know agents really like them, but is the public care?

Well someone in the Santa Fe NM area's Craig's List seems to have a vendetta against Realtors, and Realtor's posting on Craig's List. They are flagging ads left and right, for what I assume is simply the fact that they do not like Realtors. And since it is "community moderated" the CL powers that be don't really check to see if ads are wrongly being flagged and just remove them. The flagged ads, including some of my very own clients' ads, are done with things like vFlyer or Postlets, both companies who have taken a great deal of time in making sure their ads are in compliance.

The person doing this has announced as much posting right on there and wants Realtor's off Craiglist, stating they are in violation of CL terms of use. From what I understand, both vFlyer and Postlets ads are in compliance with Craig's Lists terms of use, as long as they do not have links to external websites and are not repeatedly posted like spam. and I really try to space out my clients listings so they do not look spammy.

I don't think I am going to convince this person otherwise, but I'm starting to wonder if it is even worth it to try. What does the rest of AR think?

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Just Taking Time to Reflect and say Merry Christmas!

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:34:28 -0600

Though today my business is technically "closed", I just wanted to stop in and wish each and everyone in the Active Rain community a very Merry Christmas!

As I look around and see all the packages wrapped, the ornaments hung, and the house spotless, clean and ready for guests, I want to take time and remember how blessed I have been this past year, how blessed I am to have a home to live in and to have wonderful family members to spend Christmas with.

I pray for those who may be alone on Christmas or do not have a warm place to stay. And above all, I keep troops overseas in my thoughts and prayers. God bless them who are away from their families on Christmas, who continue to risk their lives to protect our freedom.

Warmest Holiday Wishes from me to you!

Megan Barber - Barber Virtual Assisting Solutions

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

The Wise Agent - A Viable Alternative to Top Producer?

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:27:26 -0600

I think I'm falling in love... In love with a Customer Relationship Manager, The Wise Agent.

The other day, I posted this in my regular blog (outside of AR) about Wise Agent and about their features. Wise Agent is yet another vendor I came across at the NAR Conference, but they stood out to me because they were confidently claiming to be a great alternative to Top Producer. Needless to say, it piqued my interest and I signed up to see if they really can live up to it.

The last few weeks, I have been testing out all their features, their training resources and really learning the ins and outs of their system. The thing that stands out the most is how easy it is to use especially compared to other top CRM products out there (mainly TP 7i). And with the right set-up, it can really do some powerful things. You can find more about my findings so far here.

What I am dying to find out what other Active Rainers have had the opportunity to try it out and what their opinions would be. Has anyone found it to be a program that's comparable to Top Producer?

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

View Your Website Traffic in 3-D

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:45:04 -0600

The post might out me as a complete web/gaming geek, but I stumbled upon a web traffic tracking tool that I thought was just too fun. Those that are familiar with simulation games such as SimCity, The Sims, or even Second Life, might get a little bit of a kick out of this. Let me introduce you to VisitorVille. This is a place where you can watch a 3-D interpretation of your actual web traffic and how it moves through your site.

VisitorVille uses video gaming principals in to easily show you a visual representation of your website traffic statistics. Buildings represent your actual pages within your site, buses represent the search engines and animated characters represent actual real visitors to your site.

Some of VisitorVille's features include a 3-D viewing environment (or 2-D if you have an older PC), where you can watch your web traffic in real time, or use the "VCR" to play back traffic from any given previous day. Watch the animated characters as they arrive to your site via bus (search engines) and go from page to page. There are also numerous reports that track visitor trending, track pay-per-click campaigns, and other analysis you come to expect from a web traffic analyzer. There are even "visitor passports" that give you insight into your visitor demographics.

To use, you simply insert their tracking code into your pages and download their analyzer. There is a monthly fee of $6.95, but they are offering a free trial.

Google Analytics shows you the numbers... VisitorVille puts the numbers into a visual presentation. It is a great tool for those visual learners to really understand their website's traffic. Not to mention, it makes it a little fun too. But be careful, it can be somewhat addicting.

Happy tracking!

Megan Barber, Real Estate Virtual Assistant

www.BarberVASolutions.com

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Need Client Gift Ideas? Give the Gift of Choice

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:47:21 -0600

I posted about this on my own separate blog, but I thought I would share with the Active Rain community too.

Don't you just love stumbling upon a hidden gems? A few weeks ago at the NAR conference, I must have walked by this booth a half dozen times before one of my colleages told me that I must check them out. The vendor that had generated a lot of buzz among us VAs at the conference was this company, Ribbon Gift Collections. The reason I think they are so cool and I just had to share is that Ribbon gives you the opportunity to let your gift recipients choose exactly what they want, and is a fabulous idea for closing gifts.

To give your clients the gift of choice you choose to send one of Ribbon's gift albums to give your recipient and that consists of page after page of quality brand name gifts where your client can pick the perfect gift for them. They can choose from the latest technology, apparel, sporting goods, kitchen items, jewelry and more.

There are several different gift collections that can fit every budget with prices ranging from general "Variety" at $25 and all the way up to the "Luxe Royale" collection at $750. They include real quality brand names that many of us enjoy.

How does it work? 1st you select the gift collection you would like to give your recipient. Then you choose the "All Pieces" ensemble that includes the catalog, a gift card and an envelope that make a lovely package to give to your client. The packet will then be mailed to you to give to your client. Your client then goes to www.ordermygift.com to make their gift selection that will then be shipped to them within 10 business days.

It is just that simple. And your client will have no idea what price range you chose for them, just that you gave them a great selection of gifts to choose from. How cool is that?

Ribbon can be used for any occasion including birthdays, weddings, baby showers, housewarming and holiday gifts. I will even be using Ribbon myself during this Christmas season for those "hard to shop for" members on my gift list.

Happy Giving!

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Craig's List & Malicious Behavior

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 19:32:02 -0600

Anyone have any Craig's List horror stories?

I've spent much of the last two days putting out fires for one of my lovely Realtor clients that all came through Craig's List. And not through any of her own ads we had been posting.

First thing Thanksgiving morning, my poor client started getting phone call upon phone call non-stop. People were calling asking about a ridiculous ad for house for rent and petsitting for only $200/mo. And these had nothing to do with the property ads we had regularly been posting on a regular basis for many months now.

Apparently someone was posting bogus ads on Craig's List, but not by hacking her own account like I originally though. They were posting ads on thier own with "too good to be true" pricing for rents or house-sitting fees, and then using her name name and phone numbers (not to mention these ads had horrible grammar and misspellings). I found two of the offending ads posted local market area and had them flagged and reported for harassment and abuse. Luckily they were removed shortly after I reported them and I had though crisis had been averted.

Well today she told me she was still getting calls and now they are from all over the place. Not only was someone posting these bogus ads in her own area, but in random cities all over the country! I was finally able to find a few more offending ads to flag and report the abuse. And after a quick email to abuse@craigslist.org, they were able to find any more similar ads that I may have missed and have had them removed.

My poor Realtor client is frazzled and wants nothing more to do with Craig's List ever again. Unfortunately it looks like something like this can easily happen to anyone whether they post on there or not. I will never understand how people can do something so mean and malicious to someone for no reason at all.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Back From NAR & Back in Action

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:05:38 -0600

After a few days of decompressing from my trip to Vegas (and resting my feet), today I'm back from NAR, back in my office, and back in action!

There were a reported 37,000 in attendance this year and I was thrilled to meet Realtors from all over the world. Just meeting new vendors and learning about what's new with tools and technology in real estate made this trip to NAR super valuable and one that I will be sure not to miss in the future. I came back from the trip when new contacts, new vendor connections and full of new ideas that I can't wait to share. I am energized and excited for the all possibilites of what I can do for my present and future clients.

I was there with my colleages representing the IREAA (the greatest bunch of real estate VAs on the planet) and I was so proud to be there with the "cream of the crop" in my industry. They were so much fun, and I can't thank the organizers enough for the work they put into our being there.

So if you didn't get a chance to meet me last week at the conference, mark your calendars for November 7-10, 2008 for the NAR Conference & Expo in Orlando. It is something that no Realtor, or Real Estate Virtual Assistant can afford to miss. I will be sure to be there!

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.

Viva Las Vegas: Meet me at NAR!

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:29:33 -0500

Meet members of the IREAA at NAR! In a little less than 2 weeks I am heading off to Las Vegas and joining my colleagues from the IREAA for this year's NAR Conference and Expo Nov. 13 - 16th. It should be an exciting conference and a great opportunity to meet new vendors and Realtors from all over the country. I personally am looking forward to networking and making new connections with other Realtors, virtual assistants and new vendors.

Want to win some cool prizes? Come by booth #3951 and meet some of our great IREAA members and enter to win some fabulous prizes. At our booth, register for a chance to win one of two Flip Camcorders, a cool new technology tool that can be used to take videos of homes and then be quickly uploaded to promote properties on your website, Realtor.com or on YouTube. Also, you can enter for a chance to win one of two dotMobi websites, websites made for the mobile internet user to be viewed on Blackberry's and PDA's. And also, we will be giving away e-stationery to one lucky booth visitor.

In addition to giving away prizes, we will be conducting video interviews with Realtors and vendors that will be later posted on the IREAA website. So don't forget to add booth 3951 to your list of must see exhibitors at this years NAR Conference!

See you at NAR!

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

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Snap Listing Photos Like a Pro

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 16:55:28 -0500

Something as simple as a photo can make or break one's impression of a property. When listing a property it is crucial to have good pictures for potential buyers to look at on the web and in print advertising. Now a days, most web consumers will just plain skip over listings that they cannot see photos of, or have photos that are too dark and of poor quality.

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to take great photos of your new listings. Here are a few tips on taking better photos of your listings to maximize your advertising potential.

Sunny Skies - Try and take photos of the exterior on clear, sunny days. Grey skies dull the impression of the exterior walls and landscaping leaving a photo just blah. Also, try taking the photo at a slight angle instead of straight on. Shooting from a slight angle gives the house more definition.
Underexposure - Avoid underexposure problems by cutting down on the background light. Take the exterior shots when sun is in front of the house, and interior shots away from bright lights.
Let There Be Light - The easiest way to improve indoor shots is to turn the lights on or open drapes and curtains in dark rooms. But again, avoid taking shots directly towards bright light to avoid background light issues, or your room will look like a cave.
Clear Out the Clutter - Make sure countertops, dressertops, floors, etc., are as clutter free as possible. Too much clutter may make rooms look small and undesireable to potential buyers.
Focus on the Key - Before shooting the interior, check around for the important features that should be highlighted. Think about what key features you would want to see if you were looking for a home.
Location, Location , Location - When shooting an interior room, try and position yourself in a location that best views the features of a room. No one wants to see just boring walls.
Pets Are Cute, Sometimes - If there are pets, it is okay to include them but be wary of their location. No one wants to see them on a kitchen counter.
Mirror, Mirror - Avoid shooting directly at any mirrors. You don’t need a shot of the photographer.
Close the Closets - Make sure closet and cabinet doors are closed for a cleaner appearance. Only take shots of a closet if it is extremely neat and orderly.
Zoom Out - Make sure you zoom all the way out to get as much of a room in as possible. If you have a wide angle attachment, use it. This also helps when creating virtual tours.

Use these tips and your listing photos should turn out beautifully. If your photos still aren’t coming up to par, look upon the help from a Real Estate Virtual Assistant to help with your photo editing.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

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Protect Your Website's Content

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:20:40 -0500

In recent weeks, I had discovered that our main site, www.barbervasolutions.com had been plagairized. The offender had stolen several of our pages's content almost word for word (including a typo). This is web content that I took great care and lots of time developing to convey my business's message. I was shocked and saddened that someone had done this, especially since this person is someone who works within the same industry.

I was a victim of "copy-and-paste plagiarism". Taking one's content from their website and without their expressed permission, putting it on your website representing it as your own work is not only wrong, but it is illegal and against federal copyright law. Not only could someone take legal action against you, but your site may be banned by search engines as well. When developing your own website content, it may be useful to use other sites similar to yours as a frame reference or inspiration, but be careful to craft your content in your own words.

How do you make sure your site is protected from plagiarism? Copyscape to the rescue! A free tool from Copyscape.com can be used to help find possible word-for-word plagiarism of your site. Just put in the page url and search. You can also place this banner on all of your pages to warn others not to copy your site. Copyscape also provides premium services that will regularly check your site for content theft.

What do you do if you found someone that plagiarized your site? If you have found someone that has stolen your content, you must act quickly. It may be best to first consult an attorney for legal advice or to draft necessary documents. The first thing you should do is investigate as much as possible and keep thurough records to document what content has been stolen. You can do a Whois search to find the contact information of the sites owner and their hosting company. All that you may need to do is send them a polite email informing them to take down the content from the site. For more in-depth information about responding to plagairism, check out http://www.copyscape.com/respond.php or Copyscape's resource center.

After we had sent the offender a simple cease and desist email, the content had been removed and we were given a sincere apology.

Remember to protect your rights and fight against online plagiarism.

This post was brought to you by Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Megan Barber.

If you would like more information on how a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can be a great benefit to your business, contact me at 856-896-0318 or check out my website!

Have We Connected? I'm all over the web!

Connect to me in these other great ways.