The real estate market is slow. There is no denying it, no sugar-coating it. But that does not mean you should just curl up in a ball and give up. Its likely you're not selling as many properties as you were a few years ago, and you're either a) waiting tables/delivering pizzas/working the cosmetics counter at Macy's to pick up the slack, or b) throwing all your efforts into marketing yourself, improving your image, and getting to know the community around you. Can you guess which is going to pay off when the market starts to accelerate again?

I know, it's hard to imagine what it will be like when the market picks up, since you've spent so much time thinking about how down it's been. But if you've been in this business more than five years, you know that the market goes up and down and constantly fluctuates. Just like the dollar. So if you're smart, you're preparing appropriately.

Here are a few things you could/should be doing with your newly abundant free time:

• Blog. Yes, you should be writing a blog on your website. If you're a client of ours and you don't have a blog, email me and I'll get you all set up with one. If you're not a client of ours (then you should be, *wink, wink*!) you should contact your web company and demand they install a blog ASAP. Not only does a blog give you something to do, but it turns you into a human being. You will get readers and they will be interested in what you have to say. Imagine this... You currently get, say, 1,200 visitors each month to your website. Each visitor goes to maybe 5 pages on average while at your site. The reason they're there is to get to know you, and see what properties you have to offer. Well sometimes your About Me page just doesn't cut it. I can tell you, that's not enough information to sell me on a specific realtor. That's where a blog can be helpful. Not only does it turn you into a real person, it can also show how knowledgeable you are about your community, and how involved you are as well.
  
• Learn about SEO. Currently, you don't have any knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) because you don't need to, right? Well, I can tell you from my own experience that the top real estate agents in this country right now know all kinds of stuff about SEO and how to enhance their sites. You should be one of them. You want to be on the cutting edge so you can stay in the game. If you don't focus on SEO now, while you have time, then once the market picks up you WON'T have time and all your competitors who spent the time and effort will have a leg up on you. If you want to know more about SEO or where to find some excellent resources that can help you get started, email me.
  
  
• Network. And not just with people in your area, per se. You should be on the social media sites like Twitter, MyBlogLog, Facebook, Myspace, LinkdIn, and any others you can find. If you don't have time for that many, you should at least be on Facebook, Twitter, and MyBlogLog. Twitter is even mobile, so you can put it on your phone and keep up that way. And if you have an iPhone, Facebook has a really good version to use on the go. The purpose of all this networking is that one day, one of those awesome real estate agents in another part of the country may have a friend of a friend who needs a good real estate agent in your area. Who do you think will get the recommendation? You, or some realtor they have never spoken to before?
  
  
• Read Blogs. As many as you can find. I have a personal list of favorites that I visit frequently, and so should you. You should probably just subscribe to the blogs you like, that way you don't have to remember them all. By "subscribe", I mean via RSS Feed. You'll see a link for it on any kind of decent blog. We have one here, to the right and under the Archive. All you do is put in your email address and Voila! new posts are emailed to you for your enjoyment and convenience. The purpose of reading all those blogs is twofold. First, you can see how the market is doing in other areas, what other agents are doing to market themselves, and what topics are relevant to them and their readers. Second, you can stay on top of technology. Many real estate bloggers find some cool stuff on the internet and blog about it. You'll be privy to the cool tools they find just by reading their blogs.

I hope this has put some things into perspective for you, and if you have any questions about any of these hints, or need assistance implementing them, don;t hesitate to contact me. You can comment here or email me.