"Listing Exposure" - Creativity in a Challenging Market

Up until just a year ago, the market here in Kitsap County WA was still fairly brisk. Most agents could afford to inflate the sales prices slightly, input the listing into the MLS, upload a few pictures, and wait for the offers to come in. It wasn't rocket science, and even the most inexperienced agents could attract Buyers.

But not so today. Things have changed. Dramatically. Those same inexperienced and lazy agents have gone back to their day jobs, and the committed seasoned agents remain. We're the ones who have always learned to adapt, in both good times and bad. Upturns, downturns, we've been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt!

So in a slowing market where there are more homes competing for a smaller pool of Buyers, we are hard-pressed to find more creative means/methods of gaining credible exposure for our listings. For most of us, that translates into leveraging the Internet, and identifying viable domains to upload our Seller's properties. Print advertising has long become a dying dinosaur, and the astronomical costs associated with monthly magazines are difficult to justify for most listings. More Buyers are turning to the Internet for their home searches. And our Sellers want results!

~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~

When publishing my listings to the Internet, I utilize a digital flyer that I've created on my vFlyer.com account. For a very reasonable annual fee, I can create a variety of high-end customized flyers. vFlyer automatically uploads them to many of the more popular listing aggregation sites:

In addition, I also place my listings on ActiveRain's Localism and Craigslist.

~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~   o   ~

Just recently, I noticed that a fellow member on ActiveRain was promoting a specific listing using their ActiveRain Advertising account. It was one of those rare epiphanies, the consummate 'Aha!' moment.

I quickly checked our recent stats....

Did you know that ActiveRain attracts over 60,000 unique visits each day? That translates into over 1.5 million unique visits each month! And our traffic only continues to grow!

With that in mind, it doesn't take a 'Stephen Hawking' to ponder the valued exposure a listing would receive if placed on strategic pages within our platform. By using an ActiveRain Ad Campaign, you can target specific geographic location pages, the same pages that consumers and potential clients will access. You can place your ad on pages relevant to real estate professionals in your particular market area, a virtual revolving 'Hot Sheet,' where cooperating agents will be constantly reminded of your listing.

When you consider the comparative costs of printing up colored flyers, feeding agents at a Broker's Open, or holding an Open House, the relatively low cost of running an ActiveRain Ad Campaign makes total sense!

I just recently created an ad campaign for one of my listings on Miss Ellis Loop over in quaint Little Norway, Poulsbo Washington. The set-up process was quick and painless. You learn to appreciate seamless and easy with technology applications these days.

To create an ad campaign for your listings, simply go to your ActiveRain 'My Home' page. On the left hand sidebar, you'll see the link "My Ads." Click on the link, and you'll be re-directed to your ActiveRain Ads Account Page. The first step is to 'fund' your campaign. There is a minimum $10 charge to establish your Ad Bank Account, and you can use any major credit card. Once you have funding, you can then create individual ad campaigns.

(For further information, go to the ActiveRain Advertising Info Page)

Yet another cost-effective and viable venue to promote your Seller's properties, and gain MAXIMUM Internet exposure!