https://activerain.com/blogs/mortgagequote en-us https://activerain.com/blogsview/61186/free-live-marketing---small-business-summit---attend-online I just stumbled across some great programming being offered by Microsoft this week as part of their “Small Business Summit“. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ve missed the first two days but there are still plenty of sessions that I hope to catch over the next three.  And by “catch” I mean try to pay attention to in the background as I try and do some “real work”.  Take a look, its free and it really looks like there will be some great information being shared! Wednesday, March 21 11:00AM Pacific Get a Higher Profile on the Web – Jennifer Laycock, Editor of Search Engine Guide Thursday, March 22 9:00AM Pacific Visionary Business - Gary Hoover, Serial Entrepreneur and Author, Hoover’s Vision, Original Thinking for Business Success 11:00AM Pacific Building Customer Trust - Joanna Krotz, Author of The Small Business Kit 12:00 PM Pacific Buzz Marketing - Gregg Spiridellis, Co-founder of JibJab Media Friday, March 23 11:00 AM Pacific Building a Brand as a Startup - Lance Morgan, publisher of Brilliant magazine 12:00 PM Pacific Where To Go For Money - Jim Nolen, Financial Advisor and Adjunct Professor, University of Texas 12:00 PM Pacific Create a Marketing Plan - Rob Adams, Entrepreneur and Author 1:00PM Pacific Develop Customers for Life - Joanna Krotz, Author of The Small Business Kit Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:57:58 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/61186/free-live-marketing---small-business-summit---attend-online https://activerain.com/blogsview/61045/shhh---be-vewy-vewy-quiet---i-m-hunting-keywords--- Before we even get started, let me answer a question that you will probably be asking yourself about me as you read this. “Yes” Yes, I should probably be institutionalized for even trying to compete for the terms below, let alone compete for them in California.  I guess I’m just one of those people who just hate being told “that can’t be done.”  I’ll keep banging my head against this wall until I pass out or I win.  But, my insanity serves only to benefit you, my good friends, the Realtors®.  I think it is safe to assume that that your completion for “City Real Estate” is slightly less than mine is for “Mortgage.”  And, the fact that I could even flirt with ranking for California mortgage related terms should serve as encouragement for you when it comes to making an impact on the rankings for your target markets!With that out of the way, I hope you can learn from my quixotic pursuit. (I think my high school English teacher just smiled somewhere.) When I first started building my online business, I made the mistake of building a website based on what   I thought to myself, refinance business is what I want so obviously, I should target the word “refinance.”   Off I went buying my domain name and submitting my site to directories thinking I can’t wait to get all these “refinance” leads!  I went about my merry way for a number of months knowing that it would take time for my site to do anything at all.  I was by no means anywhere close to knowledgeable when I started on this journey, and, by taking a look at the terms and associated searches (from Overture) per month, I think you can see where I made my mistake. "mortgage" 500,000 searches per month"mortgage refinancing" 336,292 searches per month"refinance" 56,000 searches per month In essence, I picked a term that was searched 10 TIMES less frequently than what my actual prospects were searching for. Not only that, but until I actually started researching keywords, I had no idea that the term “mortgage refinancing” was used in.   As far as I was concerned, people wanted to refinance.  And, if anything, they wanted a “mortgage refinance.”   Well, obviously, I was wrong.  The point of the above is that it makes sense to spend some time researching what your potential prospects are actually searching for. It is all to easy for us to get caught up in the jargon and “prejudicial phrasing” that comes with being on the business side of the industry. The good news, it’s easy, and free to find out exactly what our prospects are typing into Google and Yahoo thanks to numerous keyword research tools. The most widely used free keyword search tool is Overture’s “Keyword Selection Tool” (Overture is Yahoo’s Sponsored Search / Pay-Per-Click Division).   A really nice free application (that utilizes Overture’s search results) that you can download and run on your desktop is GoodKeywords.   Both tools are very straight forward, just type in the phrase you want to research and off you go.  They will return a list of keywords that are based on the word or words you entered.  If you are serious at all about developing a solid online presence, you will end up spending a good amount of time researching various keywords and keyword niches.  In addition to the obvious “Real Estate” based phrases, take some time researching the other things people are actually searching for in your target markets.  The easiest way to start is to just the tools above to search for any keywords that include your target city / metro name.   Just type in your target city name and see what comes up. It really is that easy. But, for the sake of brevity, I am going to give you this quick cheat sheet of “Top 5 Real Estate Keywords” in order of most to least searched.  This top five is by no means scientific.  This list is based on the 15 or so random cities I searched.  Top 5 Local Real Estate Keywords ranked from most to least searchedCITY ST Real EstateCITY Real EstateCITY STATE Real EstateReal Estate in CITY STReal Estate CITY STATE CITY = Target City Name / Target Metro Area NameST = Target State Abbreviation STATE = Target State Full Name Just replace CITY, ST and STATE and off you go! In all my searches, the overall most searched version is the “CITY ST Real Estate”.   We’re talking 4-10 times the search volume!  Ok, now that you know what keywords are popular with searchers, your next step is to find out which ones have the least competition.   We’ll cover that in the next post.  For now, just take some time to check out the free tools above and start building a target keyword list.Part of my series:A Step By Step Guide To Creating and Marketing Your Own Lead Generation Website -Joe RamirezMortgage Marketing IdeasReal Estate MarketingMy Day Job: California Mortgage Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:18:47 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/61045/shhh---be-vewy-vewy-quiet---i-m-hunting-keywords--- https://activerain.com/blogsview/59559/why-seo-is-important-for-real-estate-agents---mortgage-professionals I just read a a great blog post that sums up Why Search Engine Optimization is Crucial for Your Small Business. As someone who considers himself a firm believer in the importance of the interest as it relates to the future of my mortgage business, I found the article to be a great reminder that the internet goes far beyond being a venue for traditional “mortgage marketing.”I could blabber on about it, but the post really speaks for it self.  Check it out. Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Sat, 17 Mar 2007 19:20:37 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/59559/why-seo-is-important-for-real-estate-agents---mortgage-professionals https://activerain.com/blogsview/57922/website-music---sounds---are-they-costing-you-leads- As I really don't seem to have anything better to do than surf around visiting various real estate agent/broker and mortgage broker websites, I continue to be amazed at how many sites are set to blare music out.   I might be wrong, but this seems to be the default setting for at least one particular vendor's real estate agent/broker websites.   Now, this may be just my opinion, but I can't stand it when I visit a website and my computer starts spewing music at me. Perhaps I have control issues and just want my computer to do what I tell it to do. Perhaps I just don't want to hear muzak filling my office/house. Perhaps I am a bit upset that some website decided to ruin whatever I may have been actually choosing to listen to on my computer. Whatever the reason, I typically act quickly to regain audible supremacy over  my surroundings.  To achieve my preferred sound of quiet computer hum / white noise, I usually do one of two things depending on where my mouse cursor is currently located:Hit that little "X" in the top right corner of the browser windowPress the green arrow near the top left of my browser windowRegardless of which action I choose to take, that particular website has lost me as a visitor.  There is one guarantee that comes with each lost visitor - they aren't going to be a lead any time soon.-Joe RamirezMortgage Marketing IdeasReal Estate Marketing Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Wed, 14 Mar 2007 20:13:57 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/57922/website-music---sounds---are-they-costing-you-leads- https://activerain.com/blogsview/56231/the-cause There are details still to be worked out, and I’m sure we’ll face some hurdles along the way, but this will be the system that you will not want to miss out on. At its simplest form, this can be a virtually turn key solution to help you promote your website.  At least initially, all I ask is that you contribute one original article each month. The more you contribute to the group, the more benefits you will receive. Think you’re up to it?  Read on! Ok, now for the details.  It’s so simple now that I write it out, it’s almost funny!  (I’m sure the fact that I’ve been wandering in circles and typing – no not at the same time – for hours is contributing to the funny factor.) Articles are contributed to the group by each of the members on various real estate topics.  These can be general real estate topics, mortgage topics, topics covering local attractions, virtually anything that can be tied into real estate or your local area. First, I’ll confirm that you have submitted an original article. I will then pair your article with a complimentary website that focuses on your state, region or the article topic.  A simple link will be added to your resource section pointing to the complimentary website. I’ll then use a combination of the paid services listed in my article marketing article along with my own private tools to distribute your article to hundreds of directories. Additionally, articles will be promoted and distributed over time to ensure long term link growth. You will receive credit whenever your article is used.  So the more we can get it out there, the more exposure you will receive!  Talk about a virtually never ending source of one way backlinks! If all that wasn’t enough, your article will also be featured on a growing network of real estate related websites and blogs that I have been working on developing over the past couple years. The huge library of content that we will amass will allow us to do some incredible things! This is truly a win win for all involved  You help other websites grow by contributing fresh content, complimentary (and more importantly non competing) mortgage companies and real estate focused companies are able to piggy back on your article, and you, as the author receive free distribution and incoming backlinks. This program should be so powerful, that I will more than likely end up limiting the amount of people who can sign up based on geographic location.  It just doesn’t make sense to promote fifteen different San Diego real estate agents or five different Ohio mortgage brokers. Speaking of backlinks, talk about an incredible resource of ready wiling and able link exchange partners!  Once we get up and running, it shouldn’t be too hard for me to create a script that will automatically allow us all to exchange links.  Talk about on target, relevant links.  These are exactly the kind of links that companies would probably charge you hundreds of dollars to obtain.  High quality, relevant links form websites within your industry. At this point, I’d venture to say that almost everything that those who come on board will get from this system could be done on an individual basis. But by working together, we’ll be able to leverage the resources and brain power of virtually hundreds (dare I say thousands!) of other like minded real estate professionals! If this get’s as big as I think it will, at some point, there will probably need to be a small fee (no more than a couple hundred bucks a year on the high side) as its going to require some programming that’s beyond my ability, multiple accounts with article distribution companies, and probably a couple of full time helpers to keep everything moving smoothly.  The beautiful part is on your end, the most you will need to do is spend 20 or so minutes a month writing an article! I’m going to start promoting this on my two non Active Rain blogs as well. However, I’m giving my fellow ARers first shot at signing up as the response that I have received to my Internet Lead Generation series has really given me the energy and drive to make this project happen!   I’m not sure if you realize that power that we have as a group.  Just look at what Active Rain has accomplished over the past few months and imagine channeling that power in a more direct fashion! I’m ready to get started on this right away.  For the moment, if you are interested in giving this a go, contact me andlet me know what area you’d like to stake your claim to!  I’m going to set up a more formal “sing up” page as well as an exclusive forum soon but please send me an email now so that I can judge what I need to get set up first. For now, I have only posted this to my personal blog.  If you know of any other Active Rain members or fellow real estate professionals that you think would be interested in joining our cause, please feel free to direct them over here! Get ready, this is going to be huge! Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:53:20 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/56231/the-cause https://activerain.com/blogsview/56230/article-marketing--the-cheapest--fasteset-way-to-promote-your-website Over the past few years, online article marketing has become one of the quickest and most affordable ways to build one way backlinks to your website. The concept of article marketing is simple; you write an original article and then submit it to free article directories.  You include a “resource box” in the article that briefly touches on your services and that includes a link back to your website. These articles don’t have to be long at all, in fact, the recommended length is 450-700 words per article.  You will want to make sure that the article is genuinely informative and that it is not a self promotion piece.   Your chance to promote your services or website is at the end of the article in the resource box. I wrote my first article back in December of 2004. As a result of that article, I have received more than 450 requests for more information and I continue to receive between 2-5 new contacts per week.  Additionally, the linking power of that article has helped me maintain a top 10 ranking in Google for a keyword related to a very popular mortgage program. I hand submitted my site to about 50 directory websites (probably one of the most boring things I’ve ever done) and wrote and distributed two articles to perhaps a total of 30 or 40 sites between the two. Additionally, completely separate from the real estate / mortgage industry, I wrote four articles for a friend of mine who has a company that provides a specific type of legal service.  As a result of those articles, we moved him from deep in the search results (and in the case of Google, not ranked at all for his top keyword) to the top page of the three big search engines for not one, not two but three of his targeted keyword phrases.  While the submissions for the mortgage related website example I used were done just over two years ago, the non real estate example was done August and September of last year.  I only mention that to demonstrate that article marketing can begin to produce noticeable results in a relatively short period of time as well as provide your website with long term exposure. If you’ve read anything about online marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), you will have no doubt come across the term “duplicate content”.   What this refers to is the existence of the same piece of content in two separate places. Google in particular is known for picking only version of an article to return in its results.  This really makes sense as otherwise you’d be seeing the same article hundreds of times.  While each and every website that your article is published at may not rank for your article’s keywords, you will still be receiving benefit from the backlinks associated with those articles. I won’t get into the raging debate over duplicate content here, but if you want to be sure that your site steers completely clear of any duplicate content issues, you can take two simple steps to bullet proof your article submission strategy along with your web site when it comes to duplicate content.  Write two versions of the article, one for your own website and one for distribution. Just rearrange the paragraphs, change the phrasing and give the introduction and conclusion a good once-over.Try to avoid posting the same content in more than one place on your own websites. This really won’t hurt your rankings, but in all likelihood, the search engines will only return one of the pages that the article is featured on thus hiding the other content on the “duplicate” page. While not necessary, try and accomplish two things when it comes to keyword selection and your resource box.  First, try to vary your keywords from article to article. Over time, it would seem funny if every single link that pointed to your website said the same thing.   Second, give the reader a reason to click on your links and move past the article and to your websites.  You need a call to action to entice them to point that arrow and push that mouse button where you want them to. Many writers use free reports or newsletters to draw visitors.  If you can’t think of anything creative at the moment to use as a call to action, don’t let that stop you from writing and submitting your articles. Ok, now that you have an article all written and ready to put out there to start building your links and, as bonus, hopefully drive some very qualified traffic to your website, the next step is submission. (Check out this list of free article directories.) Submitting articles by hand is really out of the questions as it would take hours and hours if not days to submit your article to even a fraction of the directories out there. This being the case, there are a number of services that have popped up and that will distribute your articles for you to hundreds of free directories for a fee. Two of the more popular ones that I use are:Article Marketer (Starting at $ $79.99/quarter)iSnare (Starting at $2 per article) There are also a number of software programs out there that you can use to submit your articles.  It’s been a while since I have used any of these so I won’t go into any detail or make any recommendations.  If I do have the time to try some of these out, I’ll be sure to post the results. At this point, I need to share something with you. I started writing this post about 7 hours ago.  Just when I finished the paragraph above, I had one of those “AH HAH!” moments that can really knock you off of your feet.  Or in my case, send me wandering in circles around my house and “forcing” me to consume what I’m sure what would be considered by many as a near lethal amount of Diet Coke.   This thousand or so word article grew to over 4000 words and some how included a recap of the last eight years or so of my life. What it boils down to is that I’m now looking for some fellow real estate professionals who are looking grow their business on-line to join me in what for the moment I am calling “The Cause”.   In the short run, you’ll get free article distribution, in the long run….well, we’ll see! If you want to know more, click here . But, if you just want to know more about the benefits and technical “how tos” behind article distribution, take a look at some of the other posts on this topic made by fellow AR members: Publishing Articles: Internet Marketing Tip #11 of 100The Marketing Power of Articles - Demonstrated!More Free AdvertisingUsing Content from PLR Articles on your Blog or Site Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Sun, 11 Mar 2007 20:51:15 -0700 https://activerain.com/blogsview/56230/article-marketing--the-cheapest--fasteset-way-to-promote-your-website https://activerain.com/blogsview/55643/a-step-by-step-guide-to-creating-and-marketing-your-own-lead-generation-website First, thanks everyone for all of the positive comments!  I’m glad to see that there are others out there who think this information can be useful.  Over time, I’m probably going to go off on a few tangents in this what I’m sure is going to be a long series of posts, so please bear with me. If you look around, pretty much everything that I may end up going over has been posted before in one form or another. I’ve spent the last couple of days reading over previous posts on ActiveRain regarding internet marketing.  There is a ton of information that has already been posted by our fellow members.  Take some time and search through those posts. (Active rain posts that talk about SEO <-that should get you started). As you read, you’ll being to pick up on the common themes of keywords, unique content and link building/site promotion.  You’ll also quickly notice that there are varying options on all of those topics.  What you need to know is that no one really knows exactly how it all works.  Everyone has an opinion and what works today, will not necessarily work tomorrow.  What success online boils down to is creating and sticking with a system / combination of techniques that you feel comfortable with.  You can go the 100% do it yourself route, the 100% outsourced route, or any mix of the two.  For most people, the time/money balance will probably be best achieved by purchasing a turn key / custom build web site with all the necessary bells and whistles built into it and then doing some content creation and site promotion on your own. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that most of you already have a website up and are just trying to figure out how to get the most out of what you are already paying for. As I stated in my earlier post on internet lead generation, you can achieve top rankings for less than $100 a year.  But, as many have pointed out and I completely agree, it can take a lot of time.   Personally, I enjoy doing the work.  It is a good break from the mortgage grind and it allows me to have a consistent project that progresses every day.   Also, I feel I’ve developed a great skill set that can be applied to any industry if I decide to move on one day from the land of 1003s and rate vs. payment debates.   Also, as I’m sure you’ll agree, it can’t hurt to have at least a basic knowledge of what lies beneath all those pretty web pages and some understanding of why you see what you do when you type a search term into Yahoo or Google. Ok, back on topic.  Would I recommend that everyone give a go at the $100 a year route?  In one word - No.  My point simply was that it can be done.  If you are up to the challenge and really want to get your hands dirty, I strongly encourage you to give it a shot.  But, for most people, just read along and use what you feel comfortable using and what best fits your own unique situation. If you plan on making the internet a cornerstone of your business, it makes sense that you would want to devote a good amount of resources (both time and money) to ensuring that you are building a solid on-line foundation.  Just be sure to take some time to educate yourself on the topics before you start writing checks or clicking those oh so tempting “buy it now” buttons at the end of those long one page sales letters.  Below you will find an outline of the areas I hope to cover.  Bookmark this post as I will use it as a table of contents as we go forward.  Also, I'll probably jump around a bit.  As it seems most people are more interested in how to market thier existing websties, I'll probably focus on that area first. Step By Step Guide To Creating (Marketing) Your Own Lead Generation Website Step 1: Choosing Keywords         -Shhh! Be Vewy Vewy Quiet. I'm Hunting Keywords... (Find out what Your Prospets Are Searching For)   Step 2: Selecting A Domain Name Step 3: Choosing a Platform (Blog vs. Standard Website) Step 4: Planning Your Site Step 5: Selecting A Hosting Company Step 6: Building & Launching Your Site Step 7: Creating Unique Content Step 9: Marketing Your Site (Link Building)            - Article Marketing: The Cheapest, Fasteset Way To Promote Your Website  Buckle up, it’s going to be a fun ride!-Joe RamirezMortgage Marketing IdeasReal-Estate-Marketing.net Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Sat, 10 Mar 2007 09:22:06 -0800 https://activerain.com/blogsview/55643/a-step-by-step-guide-to-creating-and-marketing-your-own-lead-generation-website https://activerain.com/blogsview/54168/internet-lead-generation--it-s-not-as-hard--or-as-expensive--as-you-think I can't stand paying big lead companies for leads. I also refuse to pay $5-$20 per click for visitors. As an independent broker I'm smart enough to know that the "best" leads will rarely make it to me no matter how much I pay per lead. And, even if I do get someone who actually answers the phone, odds are I'm just one of four or five people to have called them within the last 48 hours. I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about.It only took me a couple of orders with some of the big names out there to decide that I needed to just start generating internet leads on my own. It's important to note, at the time I made that decision, I had virtually no experience at all when it comes to websites and internet marketing. Fast forward two years and hundreds of hours later, I'm finally generating enough leads to keep me comfortable. And, I've developed quite an obsession with helping other real estate professionals do the same.Over those two years I estimate that I spent about $4500 on internet marketing courses, tools, and other ways to "supercharge my web rankings", "explode my traffic," and "send a flood of visitors" to my websites. Let's just say I have a file folder full of so called "tools" and a pile of cd's and books that I may get to reading . . .some day. Now, in all fairness, some of the tools are very useful and they can greatly help automate the process. There are few that I do actually use frequently and most of them had good information included with them. And, in quite a few cases, I just never got around to spending the time to implement them or learn how to properly use them. I'm going to let you in on a secret, you can build a website that ranks well in the search engines and generates leads for less than $100 a year. Starting from scratch, with virtually no tools or experience, this can be accomplished in just a few of months if you are willing to put in some work. I'd estimate that with as little as an hour a day, you will be able to archive results. Now, the more time you spend, the better the results. I do have one warning, you will not start raking in the search engines and generating exclusive leads overnight. It can even take a few months for your new website to even start showing up in the search engines. Persistence is the key and if you stick with it, you will be rewarded.(Note, while I've personally focused on the mortgage side, the steps, tips and techniques that I use to generate mortgage leads should convert easly over to real estate leads.)Over the coming weeks, both on my blog (Mortgage Marketing Ideas)and here at ActiveRain,I'm going to go over what you need to do step by step to build your own exclusive mortgage lead generation website. I'll go over topics like hosting, domain names, keywords, blogs, link building, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and much more. I can't tell you how great it feels to flip on my computer and see an email with the heading "NEW LEAD" pop up in Outlook! I want to help you achieve that feeling as well. I'd love to hear from other agents, brokers, and loan officers who have had success generating thier own leads without using a "turnkey" system.  Stay tuned for more!-Joe Ramirez Note:  I formally started this series of posts here: A Step By Step Guide To Creating and Marketing Your Own Lead Generation WebsiteOriginal Post: Internet Lead Generation Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Wed, 07 Mar 2007 06:50:56 -0800 https://activerain.com/blogsview/54168/internet-lead-generation--it-s-not-as-hard--or-as-expensive--as-you-think https://activerain.com/blogsview/53555/mailers--drastically-increase-your-open-rate-for-less-than-a-nickel- As I was sitting at my desk at home this evening sorting through my daily pile of mail, I cam across a letter that I  just had to open! It was a plain white envelope, with a regular first class stamp, and my name and address printed in a script font. I think you’ll agree, there was nothing too spectacular there. But, as I went to reach for the envelope, I noticed it had a small lump in it. Ok, now my curiosity was peaked! I picked up the envelope and gave the lump a squeeze … It was firm but part of it gave a little bit. As opposed to continuing to play little kid shaking a present under the Christmas tree, I dove in and tore the envelope open. I dumped it upside down and out popped an eraser! You know, the little pink erasers that you stick on the end of a pencil. Ok, as I always open every piece of mail to examine the “junk” for ideas, this time I actually wanted to ACTIVELY read what was on this letter. Lo and behold, it was a friendly neighborhood mortgage broker! Up to this point, he had all the credit in the world for actually making me curios about his envelope. However, as I read his letter I was a bit disappointed. He just included the standard “I can help lower your payments and save you money” lines. Rather boiler plate stuff. I was waiting for the “Call me know and let me help you erase your debt!” or something to that effect. Want to try this yourself? Grab a box of 144 erasers and give it a shot!Mortgage Mailers: Drastically Increase your Open Rate for less than a nickel! Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Tue, 06 Mar 2007 03:43:06 -0800 https://activerain.com/blogsview/53555/mailers--drastically-increase-your-open-rate-for-less-than-a-nickel- https://activerain.com/blogsview/53012/get--em-while-they-re-hot-- Below is the actual text of an email I received from a lender as I was writing my last post.  They are still offering 100% Stated/No Ratio loans . . .  Market is starting to deteriorate on this type of product.  Like it says, get it while it's hot.  Send your loans in, we will aprove them and then LOCK and get your conditions to us.  Who know how much longer these products will be available.  Many of the lenders have cut their maximum LTV/CLTV's to 90%.Now...i find the sense of urgency a bit disturbing and am as far from compelled to send this company ANYTHING as I possibly could be. Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Mon, 05 Mar 2007 04:48:03 -0800 https://activerain.com/blogsview/53012/get--em-while-they-re-hot-- https://activerain.com/blogsview/53003/-subprime-meltdown----bring-it-on- Wow, wish I shorted New Century (again!). . . NEW has dropped 63% at the time of this post on news of federal criminal investigation into its practices.I also received an email from my Fremont Investment rep this morning saying they're closing their doors as well.The "easy money" of the past few years is coming to an end. I, for one, welcome it. I look forward to the weeding out of the uninformed, unscrupulous, and just plain uneducated when it comes to this industry.I welcome moving towards a day when I don't have to explain to underwriters and account executives how their programs really work and what their guidelines say. I look forward to fewer deals making it all the way to “secondary” before someone decides that loan actually doesn’t meet investor guidelines and that they just may not fund it after all. Don't get me wrong, I have had the pleasure of dealing with quite a few VERY knowledgeable AE's and underwriters. As I type that…the funny thing is they all are with companies that I don’t think are having the major problems at the moment…. Coincidence? And I’m sure those on the lender side who actually understand the industry will enjoy dealing with originators who are in the game for the long haul. I do feel for those who will be losing their jobs due to the criminal activities and equally criminal mismanagement of their companies. Perhaps its a dream, but I'm look forward to a more professional future for our industry as well as a more profitable one for those who choose to take the time do the right thing all along and actually build a solid business rather than chase the easy money. I'd love to hear your opinions on this. Updated - As I was writing this I received this in my email. Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Mon, 05 Mar 2007 04:40:28 -0800 https://activerain.com/blogsview/53003/-subprime-meltdown----bring-it-on- https://activerain.com/blogsview/52122/pros-and-cons-of-postcard-marketing-for-mortgage-professionals I've put together a quick introduction to postcard marketing for mortgage professionals. This article will highlight the pros and con's of postcard marketing and will briefly touch on production, copywriting and mailing lists.Pros: Low Cost, High Visibility, Easy to Do it Yourself, TargetedCons: Limited Space, Crowded Channel Low CostFirst of all, postcards are a low cost way to get your message in front of prospects. It is also an excellent and affordable way to get started in direct mail. First class postage for a standard sized postcard (4.25 x 6 inches) is $0.24 vs. $0.39 for standard first class mail. That's a savings of 38% on postage alone. An added benefit of mailing a first class postcard to your mortgage prospects is that it will be returned to sender if it has a bad address. This will allow you to keep your mailing list clean and up to date.High VisibilityPostcards put your mortgage marketing message front and center in the cluttered mail pile. In most cases, when dealing with letters, the bulk of your message is contained within the actual envelope. Put another way, envelopes can create another barrier between you and your prospect. You are almost guaranteed that someone in the household will at least read the headline on your postcard.Do it Yourself or OutsourceAnd, possibly the best reason for postcards, they are easy to create and send. A postcard doesn't need licked envelopes, folding, assembling, or letter stuffing. A postcard can be as simple as designing, printing, and stamping if you choose the do it yourself route.If you want to go the do it yourself route, you can use an 8 in by 11in, 110lb cardstock and a laser printer. This can produce four cards per sheet by cutting the cardstock in quarters. Cardstock comes in virtually any color. For small mortgage shops and individual loan officers and mortgage brokers, the simple do it yourself postcard can be a great, low cost addition to your marketing mix.For just a few cents more per card, there are many services that will even do that for you. All you need to do is create/approve the design and message and they will print and mail the postcards for you. There are tons of full service shops out there. Simple postcards work. You don't necessarily need a full color front / back glossy UV coated masterpiece to get a good response. Printing charges can add up quickly. If your card "upgrades" are costing 25% more than a basic card, might it make sense to send out 25% more cards?TargetedA great postcard is useless if you aren't sending it to a good list. One of the greatest benefits of direct mail is the ability to craft and send a message to a targeted list. Self generated lists typically outperform rented lists. If you are buying/renting a list, be sure to call a number of providers or brokers.Limited SpaceOnce you've subtracted the space necessary for postage and the mailing address, space becomes a premium on a postcard. However, this one "con" does force you to make sure your message is tight and on target.Crowded ChannelDespite the time and effort put into any direct mail piece, it will still be considered "junk mail" by the overwhelming majority of recipients. As such, many of your prospects will proceed to file your correspondence in the circular file with barely a glance. Additionally, the odds are good that you will be competing with a number of other financial officers in the same day's mail as well as numerous other non financial direct mail pieces.Crafting the MessageWhichever route you choose, you will still need to create or at the very least approve the message and design of your card. Don't be afraid to keep it brief. Give your prospects just information to take the next step and contact you. You are not trying to close the transaction with the postcard, you are simply to motivate the prospect to take an action that will convert them from prospect to a lead. Your headline is key as that is what will grab your prospect's attention. A good headline is arguably the most important part of your entire postcard. Use the valuable space on your postcard to give the reader an irresistible urge to take the next step. Make the website or phone number you are directing them to as clear and as big as possible.Overall, marketing by postcards can be a relatively low cost method to reach a large number of targeted prospects.Joe Ramirez is a Licensed California Mortgage Professional and the creator of Mortgage Marketing Ideas, a blog dedicated to providing marketing ideas and resources to mortgage professionals. Joe Ramirez (The Allaso Group) Fri, 02 Mar 2007 18:18:05 -0800 https://activerain.com/blogsview/52122/pros-and-cons-of-postcard-marketing-for-mortgage-professionals