real estate marketing advice: When you know you'll need some help, don't wait!
- 01/27/17 04:01 PM
Avoid disappointment: Whether you need help from a copywriter like me, a graphic designer, a web guru, a stager, a photographer, or any other freelance service provider, don’t wait until the last minute to get in touch!
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to say “Sorry, I can't do that” to someone who needed a real estate bio, a few pages of web copy, a property description for the MLS or a magazine ad, or a customized prospecting letter, simply because they waited too long to ask for help.
Last week I had an inquiry from an agent who said … (13 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Stop beating up on yourself! Just let it go.
- 09/20/16 05:57 AM
Do you beat yourself up for hours or days when you lose a listing?
Since we humans are our own worst critics, the first thing you probably do when you realize you didn’t get the listing is replay the whole presentation. Then you start beating yourself up, thinking “Why did I say that”? “Why didn’t I show them this chart or that statistic?” “Why didn’t I tell them…”
From there you go on to thinking maybe you should have/shouldn’t have taken your shoes off at the door. Maybe you should have/shouldn’t have said yes to a cup of coffee. Maybe you should have … (21 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Please Disregard This Marketing Advice!
- 09/12/16 09:44 AM
Have you ever read marketing advice from someone whose opinion you usually respect – but this time thought “Oh no. Why did she say THAT?”
That happened to me when I read these words: “If you wrote a bad email message they’ll delete you and won’t remember you.”
The topic in question was “How often should you write your prospects?” The author was recommending that you go ahead and contact people every 3 or 4 days, which I generally agree with. Her thought was that it's better to be "out there" with a bad message than to let them forget about you. (Which, by … (11 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Do you think your prospects don’t know this?
- 09/03/16 05:44 AM
How many times have you seen this line or a variation of it?
“Your home may be the most expensive purchase you’ll make in your lifetime.”
It appears in dozens (Hundreds? Thousands?) of real estate websites across the country – perhaps in every country.
Why?
Do the folks writing that line think their clients don’t know this?
While there are many, many points to be made to help buyers and sellers make wise decisions (sometimes in spite of themselves) this one seems almost insulting to me. It’s kind of like saying “Now honey, remember that this is a lot of money we’re talking about.”
I … (27 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Marketing Your Services? Please don't do this…
- 01/28/16 02:46 AM
Yesterday's email brought a message that was a prime example of how NOT to market yourself or your business.
Here it is:
Our company operates an online platform that's composed of over 40 million subscribers. The technology that we use allows us the ability to show our people a best, preferred choice when they are looking on any of the main search engines.
We are looking for a best, preferred choice to send our people who are looking for real estate in Mount Prospect and surrounding markets.
I am in the office …. He gave his hours, then entered his name, followed by the … (25 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Revitalize your marketing - a challenge
- 01/14/16 05:24 AM
Have you noticed that the people who do the most - for customers, clients, and even friends - are often the last to notice their own efforts?
I find this to be common with my Realtor clients.
When they hire me to write letters, web copy, or an agent bio I ask them to fill out a questionnaire. Two of my questions are:
What special or added services do you offer to buyers and sellers? What do you do better than your competition? Quite often, they can't tell me.
In fact, some even tell me there's nothing different about their service. They swear that they do … (50 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Are You Marketing Mainly to Millennials?
- 01/01/16 05:19 AM
There's been a lot of talk lately about how important it is to appeal to millennials - how we all must get used to "everyone" wanting to communicate electronically, use texting, etc.
The first thing to debunk that was this post by Dusty Baker. Dusty brings us statistics from NAR showing that "all of the money and innovation in the world invested in technology only buys you a 13 percent market share of new buyers. On the contrary, your sphere alone (friends, relatives, neighbors and past clients) makes up an astounding 53 percent."
He also pointed out that: "A mere 6 percent of … (50 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: What is wrong with this introduction?
- 11/17/15 05:54 AM
What is wrong with this introduction?
Do the marketing and comprehension errors in this introduction jump out at you like they did at me?
"As a loyal reader of my emails... I wanted to personally invite you to…"
" As a loyal reader of my emails... I …"
This must mean that she faithfully reads all of her own emails? Well, we all should read our mails again before we send them out, but somehow I don't think that's what she meant. I think she meant "Because you are a loyal reader..." But that's not what she said.
"I wanted to.."
Ugh – beginning with "I … (63 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Why Do Webmasters Allow This?
- 09/17/15 05:39 AM
If you as a real estate professional had a listing client who declared that they were going to paint the exterior purple before the house went on the market, what would you do?
Would you say "Oh, OK" and let it go at that?
I doubt it!
You'd explain that a more neutral color would be more appropriate. You'd tell them that their wild painting idea would probably lessen their chances of the home being sold.
After all, you're the expert and it's your job to guide them in the right direction. If they don't listen after you give your best advice, that's their fault.
Maybe some … (49 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: The Sale Pending Postcard Is More Powerful Than Listed or Sold
- 01/21/15 01:56 PM
Barbara Todaro is a master marketer and someone I greatly admire. She told me once that she mails at least 3 sets of 1,000 postcards for every listing:
Just listed Sale Pending Just sold Today she explained WHY the Sale Pending cards carry a greater impact than just listed or just sold. It makes absolute sense, and it's something I'd never considered until reading her post.
By the way... something else Barbara told me was that when she first started mailing she started small, because that's what her budget would allow. Then, with each closing she set aside dollars for marketing … (18 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Can Your Prospects Read Your Marketing Copy?
- 01/21/14 08:00 AM
Every now and then I have to write a rant about over-long paragraphs, but today I'll take it a step farther.
The size of your paragraphs DOES matter. When you get past 5, 6, or 7 lines your reader will have trouble keeping their place on your page. And unless the words are really compelling, they'll probably just give it up. Speaking for myself, I usually don't bother trying to read anything that looks like a "wall of words." It simply "looks" boring (even when its not).
We've talked in the past about short paragraphs, sub-heads, and bullet points. All of … (40 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Real Estate Marketing – Are You Selling Time?
- 03/01/13 04:44 AM
When marketing your real estate services, do you sell savings or time?
An interesting email I received this morning cited "7 Scientifically Based Copywriting Tips." One of those tips said to be wary of selling "savings" and to instead sell "time."
So I thought about how that applies to your business of selling real estate, and to my business as a copywriter.
You first.
You do sell savings - when you discuss getting the highest price for a listing client or negotiating the lowest price for a buyer. And in my opinion, you do need to sell those savings. … (33 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: When do you write to your lists?
- 10/16/12 03:00 PM
Lately there's been some discussion here on Active Rain about the best time to post to get both views and comments.
My own opinion is that late at night is better for me. When I post mid-day I get very few comments. I've thought that was probably because each post travels through the blog roll quickly, so doesn't get noticed. That's especially true when one agent decides to upload 8 or 10 posts all in a row.
(I've never figured out why anyone would WANT to do that, but...)
Anyway, Get Response sent a link to an infographic today … (13 comments)
|
real estate marketing advice: Don't Let Today's Real Estate News Get You Down
- 08/25/10 05:25 PM
Today’s news on July home sales is bad – but not as bad as the sensational writers in the press would have you believe.
In fact, it should have been expected. According to the news, home sales plummeted 27.2 percent in July, down to their lowest level since the NAR began keeping track more than 10 years ago.
Of course they did. Everyone who was in the market for a home and could get a loan did all in their power to be under contract by the end of April and get their loans closed by the end of June. The … (9 comments)
|
Avoid disappointment: Whether you need help from a copywriter like me, a graphic designer, a web guru, a stager, a photographer, or any other freelance service provider, don’t wait until the last minute to get in touch!
;)
;)
;)
