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Our First Television Show!

Well, we went and done did it! After 6 months of classes and another 6 months of planning, biting nails and snapping at anyone who dared walk by, we planned, produced and taped our first two television shows. They are now in edit and, like an expectant father; I am having difficulty waiting for the final results, an airing of our first two segments – “Living and Enjoying Life in Northern VA”. These shows will air beginning in mid-July on Channel 30, the Fairfax, VA foreign language public access channel.

If you recall, many blogs back, I decided to participate in the growing housing market for Spanish-speaking individuals and families. So I did what any hungry broker would do, I hired four Spanish-speaking Realtors. I also decided at that time to move in a new direction for us and have a television show that addressed issues and information for the Spanish-speaking community in Northern VA.

If you have your own show or are in the midst of planning one, what ere some of the hurdles you had to overcome to get on the air?

Whether or not you have a show currently, what community or real estate topics would you suggest? There is a lot of information to share about getting to this point and, I will do just that in future blogs.

Dave Rosenmarkle

Broker Owner

Highland Realty

Arlington, VA

(703) 538-2566

davidrose@mris.com

www.HighlandAgents.com

Posted by Dave Rosenmarkle on 07/01/2008 01:14 AM

Comments (29)

real estate, marketing, advertising, television show, sales, sales strategies

Post is included in group: The Art Of Marketing You
Post is included in group: Technology

29 Comments on Our First Television Show!

JUN

2008

Been there. Done that. Don't plan to do it again.

http://www.marylandvirginiahomefinders.com

Hi Lenn. I think you have mastered the art of being succinct.... What made you decide not to do it? The biggest pain for us was just getting it all organized and approved. Now, it's actually fairly easy.

Dave.

The first shoot was not up to a good standard and so I trashed it. The photographer came from Comcast. The second company I hired did a wondeful shoot, I loved the spot. It was my brainshort and I wrote and co-directed it. I have some experience in these matters.

But, it went on Comcast in Herndon and Reston. I was spending $2,500 a month for about 200 spots a month and got no visible return I was not able to get the log of the spots before, only after they ran. I selected the location based on demographics. Of course, the timing, THE MARKET WAS CRASHING, didn't help.

I let the contract die after 6 months. I liked the spot a lot. I just did not like the way Comcast handled the rotation. If I ever do it again, I'll go with Fox Local and show throughout the market area.

But, it was fun.

Lenn

I shoulda known you woulda gone foist class. I'm a little surprised about relative control over the timimg of the spots unless that was part of the pricing. Hopefully, the spot is timeless and will be usable when the market more consistently returns to more predictable future values.

We're taking a very different, more informal approach in a smaller market with a lot of exposure. We will be taping 2 one-half hour shows per month for the next six months for the Spanish-speaking community in Northern VA. Each show will air a minimum of 3 to 5 times. We will be on the foreign language channel 30 and, will, eventually, have the program airing all over the DC Metro area on every cable provider foreign language station.

I have no idea what the prospective return for my Spanish-speaking agents is going to be. The costs is very low, more for my time (6 months of classes) than dollars; and, it has been fun planning the shows, recruiting guest speakers and practicing with Highland staff to prepare for their parts and presentations.

Dave. Sounds fascinating. I produced TV spots for attorneys some years ago and I know how the system works.

You're are more in the line of infomercial/public relations ads. That might work in the Spanish speaking market.

Good luck with it. Let me know how it goes.

JUL

2008

Congratulations, Dave. Producing your own TV show is definitely a lot of work, but can be a lot of fun too. Good luck with everything!

Dave,

TV works! I`ve been on a few shows as well as radio.

The callers are very grateful to you for assistance you`re able to supply...

Great job!

Real estate is of course local...but the folks here who have tried it in southeastern Wisconsin have found it failed miserably. Better internet presence...participation or visibility in the local communities activities...summer festivals ? church festivals ? I hope your market rewards your efforts but I would be looking for plan B...

Lenn - Hadn't quite thought of it as an infomercial, but that's at least partly right. In addition to real estate matters, we also had a lender on to talk about financing options and repairing credit. There was a long segment on becoming Spanish foster parents. This month, we will have someone on to talk about Arlington County's ESL program and a social worker from Fairfax County to discuss their Family Services Program.

Michael - Thanks for the encouragement

Scott - I agree. Hope we are able to deliver meaningful assistance. Thanks.

Sally & David - plan "B" has been in place. Our goal is to provide real estate education and community service. If and when additional business opportunities manifest, that's just a bonus.

I think I'll stick to the video blogs and podcasting for the moment. It sounds like it was a lot of work.

Tracy - yes, getting the TV Producer certification takes a fair amount of work and time. Getting the show planned and approved took additional effort and time. Now that we're up & running, it's really fairly easy to plug in the segments, find new participants and tape the shows. One piece of advice: there are lots of volunteers at TV stations to help with the actual production, some are a lot better than others. I do not use volunteers in my taping, only staff studio technicians.

It should really help to position you as the market purveyors of real estate information.

Dave: Congrats! May I suggest for you to also look at adding RADIO. I host a (now) nationally syndicated radio show that we are just now adding the t.v. part. It will certainly tie it all together and get more "Bang for the Buck." You can also look into web radio. We are using to a portion of our t.v. for the radio. Makes production and (time) a little easier to manage. Best of Luck! Fred

Dianne - we hope that's one of the results.

Fred - You kust have been reading my mind. That is one of the next steps. Our local station has a relationship with Verizon and most of the radio shows are simulcasted on the Onternet. Do you tape or live broadcasts? Have you done a "call-in" show as yet?

Dave: Great Question! I'm scared to death to do Live!!!! Reason, You just never know what some one will say. Plus I was always worried about my competition trying to pull a fast one. Alot of jealous real estate agents. Mostly, I am a perfectionist. (as it sounds you are too). I want the show to be a professional as possible. May I suggest going to a local college or broadcast school and hiring an intern or two. Great way for them to get resume experience and great way for you to keep the showing moving forward. - Fred

Fred - I agree, gulp, you just don't know what esoteric question may come up. I'm certain when we go live, we will have screeners to at least hold off some of the wacko's. Good idea about interns. I will need to see what skills are available.

Dave -- I'll be interested to hear how this goes. With podcasts and online video becoming so popular and, for the most part, easy to produce, it seems like television is becoming a forgotten medium. I hope this goes well for you -- it sounds like you've put a lot of great work and effort into it!

Christopher - Thanks for the comment. I think it depends on the demographics and availability of alternative media. My impression thusfar is that the Spanish-speaking community, while increasingly technologically savvy, still turns on the TV for Spanish language shows. Our target population is not the 20-text-messages per hour younger person, but the one who's paying the rent, tuition, etc.

Dave, All the best to you and your television venture. It has to be so rewarding to go through all the processes and finally have the final product complete for on air exposure. Hats off to you. It's quite a commitment.

I would love to dive into this area as well...Public access maybe, nice post..thanks

www.davidvannoyjr.com

Unless you have mega bucks to put into advertising, I think your best et for return would definitely be internet. That's where they all are right now.

congratulations! keep going.

Let us know how it goes - you have way more energy than I do, hats off to you Dave!

Hi Dave - My video focus would be on showing different neighborhoods, recreational opportunities, new home developments, and green building projects. I would really limit my time on camera, and instead concentrate on capturing the visual experience of daily living in the area.

JUL

2008

Dave,

Congratulations. I hope this works out well for you and brings the business you hope it will.

Congrats! Yes, please let us know the results.

Dave,

I taught a class in Houston 2 years ago on staging. We always send out a blast to those in attendance looking for a property to stage. When we arrived the family was Cuban and the agent was Hispanic. I however, unfortunate do not speak spanish. We did have the agent translating for us.. They were shocked we would do their home.. I asked why, they said because they were hispanic and couldn't speak English. Well, the children could speak english very well. I must say it was one of the best properties to stage in the area, we had it all! These clients were motivated and ready to move on! I have often said, and I have been in real estate over 10 years, and staging over 7, we are here to help those in need of our special services, our clients are special. Yet communication is key to how successful we are in either industry.

I would recommend a staging event and I would love to help with this, you tell me! Is this something you could or would do for your clients.. I believe this is an area in which we need to help and learn from each other. Best of luck with your promo!

Pat - yes, it is a definite commitment, but very doable & fun!

David - unless you have unlimited resources, Public Access is very definitely the way to go!

Steve - this does not need to be an either/or situation. I am spending many dollars per month on an Internet presence and backlinks. There's no one way to do it. We'll evaluate over the next few months to assess the effectivness of being on TV.

Thanks Denise % Dawn!

John - I understand where you're coming from, but this is not exclusively a real estate show. We are trying to show a broader view of living in Northern VA.

Thanks Christine!

Teresa, we hope to start experiencing results and feedback by early to mid-August.

Jackie - Good idea. If you have time, fel free to contact my program Host, Erika Ecgegaray, at eechegaray03@hotmail.com

JUL

2008

I have really enjoyed reading your blog. I am relatively new to AR and have noticed you have received a lot of points and have achieved a remarkable high ranking. Congratulations! May I ask if you have had success in turning your high ranking into business? I am curious if it has been a profitable venture personally as well as financially. Thanks for sharing and best of luck in your business.

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