Note: This 7 part blog series is directed towards all those stay-at-home moms out there who always thought a career in real estate would have to wait until the kids were grown, and to the women Realtors out there struggling with finding the balance between their "ideal of success" versus what truly makes you happy. It's not a business model for everyone, but is something that has been on my heart to share for some time now. Take from it what you will, and know that everyone's journey in life and in real estate isn't and shouldn't be the same for it to be a SUCCESS...

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Part 6: Free & Inexpensive Ways to Market Your Real Estate Business

ROI

Perhaps one of the biggest mistake a newbie Realtor can make is jumping in full throttle, ready to go, itching to write their first contract WITHOUT a plan as to where they will get business and how they will FUND these marketing endeavors. It's very easy to get bombarded with marketing catelogs featuring new, fancy pens/magnets/calendars/mouse pads/umbrellas/T-Shirts/Dog Bowls/Toothbrushes/Dental Floss/Toilet Paper/(insert useless gadget here) with your name and brokerage logo written ALL OVER IT. In Sequins. And Flashy lights. With sirens.

You know what I'm talking about. You've flipped through the pages. You've been tempted to throw money at those things. Perhaps you have. Maybe you've spent an entire year's worth of commissions on those things. It's tempting at first. You want the world to know that you now hold a real estate license and are worthy of the title, "Realtor".

But the question you need to ask yourself is - WHAT IS THE ROI?

ROI is the Return on Investment. If you spend $250 on 25 water bottles with your logo on them, what are you hoping the return will be? If you can't see a substantial ROI, you should consider skipping it.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't buy promotional materials. Sometimes we spend money on these items in order to "get our name out there". But when first beginning, there are a number of FREE & INEXPENSIVE ways to do this. Reap the rewards from some of these ideas and use the money you've earned to place in a marketing account. Then use the money you've made (Cash - NOT CREDIT) to purchase these items.

But until then, concentrate your marketing efforts and dollars on the best FREE & INEXPENSIVE (and most powerful) sources of business. I present...

THE 5 BEST FREE/SUPER INEXPENSIVE WAYS TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

1. Active Rain

This absolutely, positively deserves top billing in any new agent's toolbox as the number one place to spend money. And only a little money, at that. Seeing as how I can make an entire post about this one tool alone, I will only highlight the benefits from spending your time and money here. I'll leave it up to you to read all the information-packed posts at www.ActiveRain.com and learn for yourself what the site has to offer.

** FREE ACCOUNTS - Sign up for FREE and gain access to the wealth of information about EVERYTHING real estate related. Hear from Realtors, lenders, inspectors, stagers, title companies, appraisers, builders and everything in between.

This is a SAFE HAVEN where new agents can come ask questions and not fear "looking stupid" for not knowing something. You WILL have questions in this business, and not just as a new agent. Seasoned agents turn to AR for advice on transactions, marketing, technology and support in general.

It is here at AR that you will begin to build your own REFERRAL NETWORK. Begin to build relationships with agents across the nation and you will end up with a solid go-to guide when referring your clients to agents in cities from Sacramento to New York, Minneapolis to Austin and all over the globe. Play your cards right and you will RECIEVE referrals, too!

** RAINMAKER ACCOUNTS - Upgrade your account and then the WHOLE WORLD (not just members) can read your blog posts. Many agents are using Active Rain blogs (for their super Google juice) as their SOLE source of new business leads.

How does that work? Example: Buyers go to the internet to begin their home search. They google "McKinney Real Estate" because they are moving to the north Dallas/ Collin County area and they want to know about homes and neighborhoods in their price range. (I just happen to BE a McKinney Realtor!).

It is my goal that while they are google-ing away, all of my area hyper-local blog posts on Active Rain will be the information that they find on Page One of Google. They read my blog. Learn about my area. Then they call ME to be their agent. It happens like this ALL THE TIME.

Did this cost me millions of marketing dollars? NO! It cost me my time and perhaps monthly subscription amount to be a Rainmaker.

** OUTSIDE BLOGS - Pay just $19.00 per month for an Active Rain powered outside blog and choose your domain name and customize a blog for just about any niche you want a piece of.

What do you mean? Let's say I want to concentrate on first time home buyers in McKinney, TX. I will flag any of my AR blog posts that relate to first time buyers to feed to this particular "outside" blog. This way I don't have posts about selling a home or how to stage a home mixed in with first time buyer related posts. The domain name can be specific to first timers too. Try the same thing for Luxury Homes in McKinney, TX. Or perhaps a specific neighborhood in McKinney, like Stonebridge Ranch real estate and cater to that market. The choices are endless...

2. BLOGGER

A free blog with Blogger (or any other blog platform) allows you to make as many hyper-local blogs, in much the same way as the Active Rain outside blogs. You will have to work on building in proper SEO (search engine optimization) and adding the proper widgets, but the premise is the same. And it's FREE! I have a Blogger blog for my neighborhood, Stone Brooke Crossing. We update neighborhood real estate info along with social activities and other fun links.

3. FACEBOOK!

Personally, I think Facebook is one of the most FUN ways to stay connected to your SOI.

Yes, another acronym. SOI = Sphere of Influence. SOI = everyone you know. SOI = your Christmas card list.

Facebook makes it easy to let everyone know - on a frequent basis - that you are a Realtor. Now, there's etiquette as to HOW to do this without annoying all your "friends". Otherwise you could see a case of the incredible shring facebook friend list. No one wants that.

But, more importantly, you need to set up a separate business page where you can invite your friends to become a fan of your business. Here you can post info about your listings, current market updates, invitations to open houses, local information, etc. I just love the functionality of using Facebook in your business. (Oh, and search Active Rain for hundreds of tips on optimizing Facebook to work with your real estate business. I'm telling you - AR is where it's at!)

Oh, and it's FREE!

4. TWITTER

Twitter, for me, piggybacks on the benefits of sites like Facebook. It is a constant subtle reminder in the back of all of your "followers" minds that you are in the real estate biz.

It also allows you to easily hook up with other agents across the country for purposes of expanding your referral network. Follow them and they will follow you. It's about reciprocity and the sharing of information.

Twitter has an application allowing agents to "tweet" your listings at Tweetlister. For Free. Yet another tool to add to your real estate marketing arsenal that DOESN'T break the bank.

5. The "Brian Buffini" Style of Referral Networking/ aka YOUR DATABASE

Brian Buffini is a really funny Irish guy that moved to America only to begin a massively successful real estate business until he created an equally successful real estate COACHING business. His method? Keeping in touch and asking for referrals from people you know. Almost TOO easy, right?

The premise is simple and it is EFFECTIVE! After all, we all would rather work with "warm leads" or people we know or that were referred to us over cold leads, cold calling and strangers. Correct? It all boils down to constantly keeping in touch with your database with a system of varying communication methods.

You can incorporate this inexpensive form of marketing like this:

- Each day write 5 personal notes to people you know. Just to say "Hi". To announce that you are now in real estate. To thank them for going to lunch with you. WHATEVER. Just take the time to send a HAND WRITTEN note. It's powerful. Cost? 5 stamps.

- Each month stop by (or as Buffini says - "pop" by) 5-10 of the people on your database. Bring with you a small, inexpensive (less than $5) gift that is related to real estate and ask them if they know of anyone who needs help buying or selling real estate. If they do, ask them to keep you in mind and refer you. Cost? Under $50.

- Each month mail out a newsletter, or perhaps e-newsletter, to your database. Set yourself up as the "expert" in all things real estate and create credibility amongst those people that  you know. Cost? Free to $50-$100 depending on how large your database is, and the form of communication (mail vs email).

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• Can you see the power of using these 5 tools to get your real estate business off the ground?

• Can you see that most of these strategies mainly involve your TIME, not money?

• Can you see that you can easily fit these strategies into your daily schedule and perform most of these tasks from a home office or computer?

You don't have to spend a TON of money when it comes to marketing yourself in real estate. If you plan your business the SMART way, with your partner, and with a PLAN, you shouldn't be out much money in this area.

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In this Series I’ll cover:

• Introduction - Why you should begin a career in real estate before the age of 50. Why you should BREAK the stereotype!
  

• Forming your Dream Team – Partnering with another like-minded Mom creates the BASIS of this Business model

• The Basics – How to Become a Licensed Texas Realtor. What fees are involved.

• Choosing Your Brokerage – Training, Commission Splits & Corporate Culture

• Breaking Down the Workload – Time Blocking! This is how you get the part of "eating your cake too".

• Free and Inexpensive ways of Marketing Your Business – with an emphasis on Blogging & Social Networking

• Setting Yourself Up for Success in the Future – When the kids are older, and when your friends just start to think about a career in real estate...you're already on your way!