5 Additional Free things to Help your Business Grow...

If you have not read my post ‘5 Free Things to Help your Business Grow' please go ahead and read now. This is a continuation of that list with more of an emphasis on what you can do to grow your Real Estate business. Here we go...

1) Advice- Never underestimate the power of good advice. One of the reasons we are all here on the ‘Rain is for the advice we give each other to help us grow. Look to your colleagues at your office or here on ActiveRain for inspiration and advice. Beyond this online resources can be very valuable-- visit eHow.com (search for advice such as ‘how to market real estate‘), Real Estate Tomato, and RealtyTimes.

"To accept good advice is but to increase one's own ability" -Goethe

2) Advertisement- Agents need to take advantage of the newest and latest in Web 2.0. Why? It's great advertisement and usually it is free or cost-efficient. Start advertising yourself and Real Estate Services on your blogs (WordPress.com, Blogger.com, ActiveRain.com), Comment as much as you can on others blogs, Post your listings on Craigslist.com and videos on Youtube.com, and Join social networks such as Facebook.com, Myspace.com, and LinkedIn.com. An important thing to remember about social networks is to keep it professional-- instead of posting pictures of your weekend escapades on Facebook/Myspace, post pictures of your latest listings and post bulletins with Real Estate Tips. Remember while taking advantage of these sites to make yourself stand out and promote why a client should choose you as their agent.

 

3) Website- EVERY Real Estate Agent needs a website these days. Let me make it clear that FREE website creators are for starters only and after creating your website you will need to buy a domain name (try GoDaddy.com starting at $9.99).

Try using Weebly.com which was voted one of the 50 Best Websites of 2007 by Time Magazine: "Clever WYSIWYG website building tool for non-techies" and BBC News says "Weebly" is a must. (examples: Montreal Photographer , Get out in Byron Bay) Weebly is easy to use with a drag and drop creator, a blog, professional designs to choose from, free domain hosting, and more.

Also check out Webs.com (examples: Mark Hawk Photography , Akeni Rose Imaging) which offers over 300 templates, e-newsletters, Blogs & Forums, & Statistics. Free Websites are also a great tool to create Listing Websites.

 

4) Word of Mouth-  Word of Mouth is one of the strongest tools for Real Estate Agents. Treat your clients right and when they become your past clients stay in touch so not only will they become repeat customers but their family and friends will become your clients. Every person you come into contact with is a potential client (the cashier at Walgreens, the car dealer you bought your car from, your childs teacher, etc.). Treat everyone with respect and be sure they know you are a Real Estate Agent. Make great contacts and a lasting impression and they will pass your name to those in need.



5) Tools-Business tools fuel your business but can become quite expensive. Here are some tools that you can take advantage of to cut costs: 

  • Vista Print- offering 250 FREE Business Cards to get you started.
  • Photo Bucket-  Upload and Store your photos here then edit and share them with others-- all for free.
  • Google Calendar- Create a Calendar, Share it with Others, View your Friends and Families then coordinate with them, Create event invitations, set up mobile notifications, and much more!
  • Open Office- Free Office Software Suite with word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, etc.
  • Zamzar- Free online conversion to Image Formats (png, jpg, bmp, etc.), Document Formats (pdf, doc, pub, etc.), Music Formats, and Video formats.
  • GoodSync- Back up your computer data for free!
  • AdAware- Protect your computer from viruses and spyware

Enjoy all these freebies!  What did I miss and what are your favorites?

 

 Have a Real Estate Need in Central Louisiana?

Call Paige Walker or Text it to Me:  318-308-2121

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Pineville or Alexandria Louisiana it would be my pleasure to assist you!

Paige Walker Alexandria Pineville Real Estate Guru

Paige Walker at www.PaigeWalker.com


CENTURY 21 Millennium, Pineville, LA USA  318-640-2121 (office) or 318-308-2121 (cell)

Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated

Paige Walker is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Louisiana USA



Paige Walker, Broker and Owner of Century 21 Millennium, Pineville, LA

 
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9 Comments on 5 Additional Free Things to Help your Business Grow

FEB
08
2009

Hi Paige!  Great list of tips and tools.  I am aware of some of these and need to compile a post with a whole bunch of others that I know of.  I teach a session each month in my market centre about all the new "stuff" (most of it FREE) that I have found over the years.  Now AR is quickly becoming my number 1 source for ideas for that monthly session. Thanks for yours!  I will let you know when I've put one together of mine.
10:36pm • #1
650,191 Points Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

Good post -- good tools. Thanks for sharing. All the best.
10:42pm • #2
344,632 Points 1 Featured Post

Free is good and I'm all for it.  However, in a business environment, some things are essential.  Just as English is the official business language (yes, I'd love for it to be French but I accept that it is not), Microsoft Office is the business software.  Open Office should be fine for personal use but not for business.
11:11pm • #3
531,916 Points 15 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

Hey Paige,

Good info. IMHO #4 stands out among them all!
11:13pm • #4

Always looking for free stuff.  I just did my taxes and realized that I spent SOOOO much money to set up a website and to maintain it last year -- with little return.  But it LOOKS good:-)  Thanks
11:23pm • #5
119,871 Points 2 Featured Posts Attended Rain Camp

Hi,

I'm a huge Vista print fan.  I send out postcards to my farm I get from Vista Print and give my buyers postcards from Vista Print with a pic of their house and their new address.  All for the cost of shipping. 

Karen
11:46pm • #6
APR
08
2009
625,083 Points 16 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Thanks Paige! Good stuff. I've looked at some of it, I'll have to bookmark this and read later for more.
5:56am • #7
MAY
06
2009
196,286 Points 9 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Thanks to all for your comments on these free ideas! I have a follow up list coming out soon! It all helps and we need to share this information with each other!
3:45pm • #8
JUL
10
2009
518,404 Points Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

I am totally diggin' Open office, thank you so  much for the resource.
1:32pm • #9


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