This is a tale of the interesting journey that started with my comments on Active Rain regarding the effectiveness of Open Houses. Ironically, it started on the day I was inputting the internet marketing for my next Open House.
I picked up the phone and heard, "Hi, This is Marcie with Realtor magazine. I read your 
comments on Active Rain and would like to interview you for our upcoming article "Open Houses That Work". My first thought was "sure you are....." as I tried to indentify the voice of the practical joker. Imagine my surprise to learn that she really WAS a reporter from Realtor magazine and really WAS interested in hearing my internet marketing strategies for an effective Open House. I happily chatted away not really believing that a word I said would actually show up in print. In fact, I was so certain of it that I didn't mention the interview to anyone.
Much to my surprise, I was actually quoted....and even more surprising, I started receiving phone calls from Realtors all over the country asking if I would share more specific details. The most common questions are "How did you learn internet marketing?", "When do you have the time?" and "If I had to pick three things to do immediately, which three should I pick?"
Here are my answers (but, hey, still feel free to call because I have enjoyed many interesting conversations):
"How did you learn internet marketing?" Brad Andersohn! I met Brad before he was an Active Rain "Big Kahuna" and he introduced me to internet marketing. When Brad joined Active Rain, I quickly bookmarked his blog because the topics are always presented in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format.
"When do you have time?" I have a designated "learning pile" and pick an item whenever I have some down time. When the pile gets too big or an individual topic appears to be complicated, I schedule an entire learning day. I like learning days the best because I can delve in and accomplish a LOT but, I must confess, my butt gets really flat from sitting in the chair so long.
"If I had to pick three things to do immediately, which three should I pick?"
#1: If you haven't already, sign up for Active Rain immediately. Blogging may scare you, but Active Rain is an amazing resource of the best and brightest in the industry (IMHO) who willingly share everything they know. The Active Rain search function provides very valuable information and interesting blog discussions.
#2: (Specifically as they relate to effective Open Houses) - pick the top two property search engines in your market, set up your profile and spend time learning how to use the marketing features of each.
#3: Post your listing and Open House in Active Rain MLS for good Google juice.
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