For many real estate pros, the most effective response devices are offers directing prospects to agent websites. According to the 2006 NAR Profile of Buyers and Sellers, four out of five recent buyers used the Internet to search for homes. Many prospects see your offer will not be ready to pick up the phone and call you. For those people, having the option to learn more about you before deciding to make contact is critical.

The issue for many agents is a disconnect between a very specific offer and a very general website. Because many agents don't have the time or technical resources to create offer pages, or landing pages, site visitors are often directed to a home page and must navigate through the site to find the promised offer. The issue is that very few site visitors have the time or patience to find their way through your website.

The result is a high "bounce rate," the percentage of visitors who arrive at your site, fail to find something compelling and quickly click off. Here are some ways to make direct respondents feel welcome on your website:

• If your postcard, for example, is sending respondents to your website, try repeating the offer, including the headline and key phrases, on the landing page. This is especially important with free offers, which make many people think, "What's the catch?" Repeating the offer also quickly orients readers and assures them that they are in the right place so they can continue on to your offer. 

• Ensure text and images are complementary. It seems obvious, but many direct marketing pieces contain images that don't explain or illustrate the offer. If you're using a strong photo to capture people's attention on your postcard or sales letter, try using the same or a similar one on your offer page. Real estate is a highly visual medium, so it's surprising to see so many listings with low-quality images or with no photos at all. Don't skimp...use high-quality images on all your direct marketing offers and landing pages.

• One offer per page is best. The reason it's not good to send prospects who respond to your offer to your home page is decision paralysis. Your home page probably has numerous images, links and options for visitors to choose from. They may follow another path and forget about your offer. It's more effective to send visitors to a single-purpose landing page and make it as easy as possible for them to accept your offer.

• KISS - Keep it short and simple. The purpose of the landing page may be to have readers sign up to receive your email newsletter. If your offer is about your newsletter, explain the benefits of receiving the newsletter and move quick toward the goal of collecting a name and email address. Establishing an ongoing relationship with a prospect at this point is more important than listing your other services, awards and community service.

• Asking visitors for information causes anxiety, even for free offers. As a general rule, only ask for the information that's necessary to complete your transaction. If your offer is to receive a report on neighborhood schools via email, don't make address and phone number fields mandatory. If you're offering a free instant home valuation, you will need the address...make the information you request appropriate to your offer.   

• Remember to keep text to a minimum on landing pages. Use a strong headline that matches your original offer. If your postcard or email says "Prepare your home to sell for top dollar," then repeat that headline on your landing page. Use short paragraphs and bullet points to lead the reader's eye down the page to your offer. Save the many other services you offer for a different page.

Finally, be sure to make your call-to-action highly visible. Some landing pages bury the call-to-action in a block of copy or make readers scroll down a long page just to find the TRY IT FREE button. If you don't have a button, there's nothing wrong with putting your offer in capital letters or red text. There is a time for subtlety, but this is not that time.

To learn more, download a free eNeighborhoods Real Estate Direct Marketing Guide today. To learn more about eNeighborhoods Home Sale Alert Postcards or NewsLetters, call Eric at 800.975.9742. Dial 1, then 3757. eNeighborhoods is a division of Dominion Enterprises.