Time is a funny thing. With in the last week I have taken off from posting on the blog to research some things and also get caught up on other items, some of which I will be Blogging on in the future.

I wish that I could add support to the idea that the faster you go the slower time moves... it does not appear to be true as I have been moving fast in researching various marketing avenues and have still seemed to have lost time.

Silly Sci-Fi stuff.

Getting caught up and Keeping Up is the truest test of time management deserving its very own theory paper.

So what does this real estate related marketing exploration have to show for new discoveries? Lets refer back onto the Table Talk With Apella log, and no there will be no star dates because I am having enough of a troubled time keeping with the normal calendar let alone trying to figure out a star date one on top of it. So the following is some of the places visited and discovered with reports on contact with other life forms.

Average Betty is one life form that we have known about for a little while now and have had the pleasure of introducing to the real estate blog neighborhood. We have received word from Average Betty about her newest episode that can be viewed on her site Average Betty or Veoh.com. The topic for her latest video is one close to our hearts here on Table Talk With Apella and that is coffee cake, the tasty little snack that goes great with your coffee while at the table visiting. The item is perfect for open house showings, broker meetings and office break rooms as a snack for office members.

Please visit the Average Betty site or visit Veoh.com to view the latest featured video from our favorite cook and see the recipe. We would also like to thank Average Betty for her communication expressing how powerful the blog is as a virtual vessel. Table Talk With Apella would like to thank those who have viewed the Average Betty site via links from our blog with the numbers approaching a hundred views in less then 1-½ months.

Other projects that we have been working on over the last week are Co-Marketing projects with companies that are worlds of their own. Every company has its own culture and atmospheres. Part of Co-Marketing is learning of these things and while the learning process does take time it is an investment that is often well worth it. Other time consuming task when working on Co-Marketing is legwork and communication that goes hand and hand with documentation on each company and their unique attributes.

Some companies when approached are very open to the idea of Co-Marketing relationships and have incorporated the idea into their working marketing plans. Many major retailers offer an affiliate program that can be accessed from their web sites. Other companies and their inter working culture requires closer scrutiny of the Co-Marketing relationship and require more formal request as such as in the submitting of proposals. With the requirements of proposal submitting the process is slowed down and requires time to be spent but at the same time it does offer some hope to opening up formal communications with these companies should they like seeing what your company may have to offer. With many that require proposals they are looking to see if the numbers will add up and if there is any possible clashes of product or company matching.

While we have come into contact with a few companies that do not offer any real ease to the idea of Co-Marketing relationships we have submitted that these companies do have some form of intelligent marketing life forms but it may require the same techniques used by SETI in contacting these slower marketers and establishing a working relationship. With the companies that do not offer ease to the idea of Co-Marketing we still hold hope but it will take more time and resources to establish such relationships. It is very tempting to move on in search of other more open to Co-Marketing cultures. While it may seem sad to leave these less then developed marketing cultures and risk seeing them replaced my more advanced marketers it is a rule of survival in the business universe.

Then their seems to be yet another dimension with in the virtual space known as the Internet and while we have know about it for a little while we have not had time to really probe it and that dimension is Second Life. Because of the complexities of this topic it will be saved for a future Blog topic as we do a little more research in it. This much we can tell you, and that is that Apella is not the only company to have an interest in this new and exiting world as some other well known companies such as Coldwell Banker who recently became the first nation wide real estate company to offer sales in Second Life joins other big companies such as FedEx and even Investment Bank HSBC, as having a presents there. Should be exciting as we develop contacts and connections.

New marketing territories from the addition of vendors is another time dedication that we have been investing in this last week. We are pleased that we have added several new vendors allowing us to expand our marketing areas. With these new relationships we invest time in exploring the markets and not only what they may have to offer but also who is a part of them as a community. Which all of these time investments lead to the next time spending venture and that is our main web site.

The Apella main web site tweaking is still undergoing its own exploration and we have had the recent feed back for those who have viewed the site allowing us to add changes that should benefit future visitors. This is a pleasant reward for seeking out contacts and Apella extends a sincere thank you to those that supply feedback and impute. The effort of developing a web site that is helpful, educational and a resource to the visitors from the real estate world is challenging and rewarding at the same time.

From the recent expenditures in time we are hoping that future marketing relationships and Co-Marketing ventures will be very rewarding. So far our explorations seem to be producing results even though the cost in time is somewhat demanding.

So until we set our scanners on you or your company thanks for reading and best of luck in your own explorations. In the words of Spock... Live Long and Prosper!