Real Estate Internet Marketing

This blogging tip is from Joanne Masterson of BlueJProjects Web Design

You don’t blog enough.  But you want to.  You know all the good reasons – better Google rank for your real estate blog – the increased traffic to your real estate website – building a reputation with your readers.

But still, you’re so busy you don’t know how you’ll squeeze out another blog post.

This post is NOT going to tell you how to manage your time, where to buy real estate blog content, or even try to motivate you to write more.

I’m going to tell you to surrender.

Leave your real estate blog alone.  Go check your email.  Take the next message from a friend or colleague that you respect and admire, and invite that person to write a guest post for your blog.

You may even know about guest posting.  But something stops you from asking.

I have a hunch it’s one or more of these show-stoppers

• My blog is personal
• My blog will look inconsistent
• I may not like what my guest writes

If you’re sweating blog upkeep, you deserve a truth that will set you free.  The truth is — what may be holding you back is treating your real estate blog content like it’s personal. I’m going to challenge you to re-think these objections one by one. (more…)

Happy New Year!  I just made my 2009 New Year’s resolution for marketing my real estate business.  It’s going to be very difficult, but this is one resolution I’m going to keep.  Want to know what it is?  To add at least 2 new posts to this blog every single week this year.

What is your 2009 New Year’s resolution for marketing your real estate business?  Consider making yours the same as mine.  It will tremendously improve your online presence, make your blog readers happy, improve your search engine ranking, and generate more clients.

Want to know a super easy and inexpensive way to achieve the goal of adding 2 new posts to your blog every week in 2009?  Join my Lead Booster Club.  You’ll get 20 pre-written, easy-to-customize blog posts every month for only $29.95.

If only I had someone who was writing well-researched, professionally written blog posts for me!  I’d run as fast as I could to get them at $29.95 per month.

P.S.  One blog post done, only 103 more to go this year!

To keeping your 2009 marketing real estate business resolutions,

Kathy Goughenour

A special book promotion that will help you build your real estate agent personal branding is happening today only - Thursday, December 11, 2008! The book is called Publishize: How to Quickly and Affordably Self-Publish a Book that Promotes Your Expertise. It is written by Susan Daffron, who is a brilliant writer and marketer.

Publishize is Susan’s ninth book. In it, you’ll find all her best self-publishing secrets that made it possible for her to self-publish 8 books in less than 18 months.  I’ve now purchased 2 of her 8 books and know first-hand how well-written and informative they are.  And, I know getting a book published on any real estate topic will help you build your real estate agent personal branding in a multitude of powerful ways.

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Do you understand how tags help your real estate internet marketing?  Perhaps you’d like to know their purpose, how they relate to keywords, and whether or not they should be used the same way as keywords.

Betty Byrnes, a Kokomo real estate agent who is a member of my Lead Booster Club, recently asked me these questions about real estate internet marketing.

I researched Betty’s questions, and found that several experts had already answered them.  Here’s what I found.

The bottom line is that keywords and tags are different names for the exact same thing.  I’ll let the experts give you the details: (more…)

Although the housing market may seem to have gone from bad to worse, real estate sales are still taking place, and therefore real estate agents still need to attract the attention of buyers and sellers before clients commit themselves to a competing agent.  According to real estate marketing expert Kathy Goughenour, author of Blogging 101: A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Boosting Business and Getting Tons of Leads, there is more and more recognition among marketing experts that blogging is the best method for real estate agents to use right now to attract new business.

“In an economy where everyone is watching their dollars, blogging stands out as both inexpensive and effective,” says Goughenour.  “In the same month, both Marketing Sherpa and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® presented the case for blogging as a great way of reaching customers looking to buy or sell a home.” (more…)

Linking text, often called anchor text, is the clickable text that takes people to another web page.  The use of keywords in linking text is a simple but powerful way to improve your search engine ranking and thus improve your real estate internet marketing.

For example, if your keyword phrase for a web page is “Cincinnati real estate,” you should be using “Cincinnati real estate” as linking text on that page.

What can you link to?

• A page on your web site with specific information about Cincinnati real estate such as the types of homes that are available (i.e., condos, townhomes, ranch, 2-story, raised ranch, etc.)
• Your Cincinnati IDX
• Your Cincinnati Featured Listings
• Videos of Cincinnati homes for sale
• A page containing photos or virtual tours of Cincinnati real estate
• Your blog about Cincinnati real estate (more…)
  
  

  
  
  

Your blog is an extension of your business and one of your most important real estate internet marketing tools.

Because so many potential clients begin the process of buying or selling a home through the internet, your blog may be the first impression you make on them. You will generate leads through your blog when its message and tone resonates with your readers.

Most people are now suspicious of big business’ pushy marketing.   Today’s potential clients want to know the individual behind the name of the company. They want to get to know your personality, what makes you tick and if you can be trusted to do what you say you will.

What does your blog say to your readers? Does your personality shine through your words and topics? Can your readers tell that you love what you do and the area in which you live and work?  Do you want them to believe you are the leading expert in your field? If your personal message isn’t shining through, change it so it matches your goals. (more…)

Email is still America’s number one online activity.  This is especially true for the millions of people who use their cell phones to access their email. If you want to reach potential and past clients easily, effectively and inexpensively, email should be one of the major components of your real estate follow up marketing.

Here are 8 guidelines to help improve your email marketing:

1. Eliminate spam. You know what Spam is, but you may not realize that the way you write your emails could cause them to be considered Spam.  To reduce the possibility of your emails being flagged as spam, and ending up in someone’s Junk Folder, avoid common words used in spam. These are those too good to be true words like, “Save $$$ Now”. To help you eliminate spam words, there are several sites online that provide lists of spam words to avoid and alternative words to use.
2. Write your subject line carefully. This is the recipient’s introduction to your email, and it is often what makes the reader decide whether or not to open it. That means the subject line is critical to your real estate follow up marketing email success.  Keep the subject line short.  As a rule of thumb, keep it no longer than 60 characters. Write subject lines that describe the benefit the reader will receive by opening your email.    Benefits should emphasize how readers will save money, save time or make their life easier.  Here’s an example:  Discover tips for selling your home quickly (43 characters) (more…)
   
   

   
   
   

A real estate blog is an essential business tool for agents who want to get more leads through real estate internet marketing.

A real estate blog gives you the ability to connect with countless potential clients. In your blog, you can share your expertise about your local area and the real estate market. You can also build your brand by helping your readers face and overcome problems as they try to buy or sell a home. For example, you can write a blog post about selling your home during the holidays.

Selling a home is a stressful situation, and this is only compounded with the added stress of the holidays. You readers can definitely use some advice about how to make it through the season with some semblance of sanity. This is a great post for a bulleted list, like “7 Ways to Survive Selling Your Home During the Holidays” or “5 Things to Remember During Holiday Showings” or even “10 Things to Do to Sell Your Home During the Holidays”.

No matter which topic you choose, you should remind your reader of the following: (more…)

Although blog writing is not like writing a research paper, you do need to follow some basic English language rules in your posts. This will boost your credibility and make your blog more readable. More readable blogs get more readers. That means you will get more real estate internet marketing leads from your blog.

Here are some rules you need to follow in each post.

1. Abbreviations. You may think everyone understands an abbreviation that you use regularly.  Do not assume that.  Spell words out completely so the meaning is clear.  Abbreviations are appropriate when text messaging or instant messaging but not in a blog.
2. Avoid run-on sentences. Run-on sentences happen when you stick too many ideas into one sentence instead of breaking them down into smaller pieces and these are very hard for people to read and they don’t look right. See what I mean? Shorter is always better for online readers. (more…)