Marketing Makeover Week 1: How Do I Reach My Ideal Clients?

Week 1 The Professional Content Blueprint

Content marketing is the use of content to market your services to your potential buyers and sellers. In content marketing, the questions are almost always the same when a new real estate professional comes to SIMC. What do I write about? What do my potential clients want to read about? Where do I post content and how do I do it? Sure, content marketing is something that seems pretty simple, but when you set to start writing… the page is a bank.

The main problems here are that most real estate professionals don't know what to write about or don't have the time to write. So, don’t feel bad if you are in this group. Know that with a little help and direction from this book, you will know more than the majority of your competition. In my conversations, every real estate professional I have spoken to over the years would definitely like to have a lot of relevant  and informative content on their website, but they don't know where to get started. They don’t know what their potential clients are looking for on the Internet. You are about to change that for yourself and to the benefit of your real estate business.

Here are the answers – (1) People are looking for answers or solutions. They're really only interested in themselves. It's called WIIFM: What's in it for me? (2) They want to know why they should choose you over every other real estate professional and they want to feel smart about choosing you.

If you want to connect with potential buyers and sellers, you need to solve common problems and answer questions that your potential clients have. They want to know how you will benefit them and why you are the best choice. So tell them. Write content that reflects your expertise and exhibits your personality. If you don't have the time to write, use ghost writers, and then proof and approve their work. You can also have an assistant edit and approve ghost-written work, or even have an assistant write some of your content. The question is not whether or not you should generate more content, it is how you will delegate the tasks so that it is getting done on a consistent basis.

Website Content vs. Blog Content

When they first come to SIMC, most professionals don't have a clue how to use a blog to attract new clients. They have heard of a blog. They have read a blog. But, in our initial conversation, most of our clients have no idea how a blog fits into the process of marketing their real estate businesses.

What exactly is a blog, and how do I use one to attract new buyers and sellers?

A blog is basically a collection of articles about your opinions and advice in your area of expertise. It could be written in a question and answer format to offer advice to prospective buyers and sellers. You can also write about common misperceptions in your field of expertise or on insider tips and tricks of the trade. Don't worry about over-sharing or 'if' your competitor will read your blog. If your competitor is reading your blog for ideas, then they really aren't your competitor at all.

Your website, on the other hand, is where you offer your services and tell prospective clients how to contact you or request additional information. Remember that your website is a tool with a purpose. Your blog is where you develop relationships with potential clients before they ever contact you. You use the blog to start a conversation and to start a relationship. You use your website to get new clients.

Remember this: You use your blog to direct people to your website. You use your website to direct people to contact you. Your blog must have consistent content to impress buyers and sellers and convince them that you are the right real estate professional for the job. But, keep in mind that there is a specific formula that must be used with every blog post or it is a complete waste of your time.

The Blog Formula

There is no big secret that your blog is there to make you money. No one is making a living directly from the money they collect from the articles on their blog unless they are a professional writer or a professional blogger. If you are a professional blogger, then good for you, but you are reading the wrong book.

As an expert offering professional services to your clients, the blog is a way to establish yourself as an authority and get people over to your website. You want your blog readers to become clients. Maybe that is obvious, but what I find interesting is that although it is so blatantly obvious that you would want your clients to contact you, most of our professional clients come to us having a blog with zero call-to-action.

What is a call-to-action? If you want potential clients to contact you, you need to tell them to do it and how. Don’t be lazy about this and definitely do not be shy. At the end of every single blog post, you need to tell them why they should contact you and how. You must have a link to your website and a CALL TO ACTION.

Here is The Blueprint Formula You Need to Use for EVERY Blog Post

1.       Write the title of your blog post based on a core problem or concern that your ideal client would want to know about
2.       Re-write your title to be catchy (think National Enquirer)
3.       Write three sub-headings about three concerns or issues to answer or support the main concern
4.       Rewrite the three sub-headings about the three concerns or issues to answer or support the main concern to make them appealing (look at a news stand to get ideas)
5.       Write an introductory paragraph that talks about all the negatives. Relate to the client and feel their pain.
6.       Write the three paragraphs on the three subheadings and solve the pain.
7.       Write a conclusion that sums up the problem, the pain, and how you solve the pain to make it go away.
8.       Write a call-to-action paragraph
9.       LINK KEY CONCEPTS to pages on your main website with anchor text.

Definition: Anchor Text: The text that you click in a link on the Internet. Usually underlined or displayed in a different color than the rest of the text on the page.

    Call-to-Action Paragraph

The call to action paragraph is at the very end of your blog post. This is where you tell the reader about yourself, what you do, and how they should contact you for more information regarding the subject matter of the blog post. Like an author box, this is where you self-promote. This can be as simple as:

Jane Doe has 30+ years’ experience providing real estate services to the communities of this, that, and the other town. She is the author of this book and that book and provides free consultations to prospective clients that have questions about [Subject Matter of Blog Article]. For more information, you can also visit [Website Page Related to Subject Matter of Blog Article] or call (555) 555-1234 to schedule a consultation that is convenient for you.

This call-to-action paragraph absolutely must be on EVERY blog article you write. If you want your potential clients to reach out to you, then this absolutely the most important thing you can do on your blog to drive traffic to your website and to your office phone.  

Week 1 Worksheet

This week you need to lay the foundation of your new Internet marketing plan by placing good content on your website and blog. There is no sense in sending traffic to a website or blog that has nothing for the potential client to read and no call to action.

Your assignment this week is to make sure that your website has good content throughout and to write at least three articles for your blog. Follow the worksheet to write your first article and then follow that exact format for each of the other two articles.

What problem will this blog article solve for my potential new client?

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What are this clients pains with this potential problem?

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What is the main pain?

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What are three related pains?

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What are three ways we can alleviate this pain?

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Write a summary that brings it all together.

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What is my call-to-action?

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What are some pages on my website that I can link to from this article?

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When will I post this article?

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This blog is the first in an 8 week series of Blueprint walk-throughs on the 60 Day Internet Marketing Makeover. 

Each walk-through is intended to be worked on for a minimum of a week so that at the end of 8 weeks, or approximately 60 days, you will have created a sales funnel that attracts your ideal clients from the Internet and consistently brings you new clients on autopilot. 

Week 1: Content and Blogging Blueprint

Week 2: Social Media Marketing Blueprint

Week 3: Website Traffic Generation Blueprint

Week 4: Search Engine Optimization Blueprint

Week 5: Website Design and Navigation Blueprint

Week 6: Local Internet Marketing Blueprint

Week 7: Video Marketing Blueprint

Week 8: Publicity Advertising Blueprint

These walk-throughs are the basis for my next book and I am requesting feedback from the AR community on what would make these walk-throughs better. They are intended to be short, informative, and easy to implement. What would you like to see added or expanded upon? Let me know in the comments and when I publish this next book, I will make sure that you get your hands on a free copy :)