New Marketing Information!

Real Estate Marketing ReportCard - Try It!

This new site is a front-end marketing tool to get you to purchase their syndication services (note: probably not necessary provided you have a system to fully syndicate your listing), but without paying anything you can quickly test your listing syndication effectiveness. Click here to test your listing.

The Power of Stories Comes from Deep In Our Past

"Humans are 'homo fabulans', the species that tells stories," exclaims Dr. Mark Brietenberg, Icsid President-Elect and Dean of Undergraduate Education, Art Center College of Design. "Stories make sense of our lives." Read more.
There is nothing like a compelling story to hook and carry us down the slippery literary slope. The first law of marketing copy is for the reader to not have to think, that they 'get it' without expending any effort.
"Since humans are hard-wired to stop when a story begins, a story instantly captures our attention," explains Paul Brown and Alison Davis in Your Attention, Please. "We want to be entertained, not lectured to, and stories feel genuine, not spin." Click here to learn more about this important marketing topic.  
When you write your marketing copy, remember that the reader wants to laugh, or cry, be scared, and feel better afterward. The experience of a story brings people together and creates a powerful narrative between us.

Awesome Viral Email

Modern-day spam at it's finest, but nothing spammy about it.

The link below is a new style of viral email that is the envy of email marketers. Pay no attention to the political slant, that is not the point. You'll want to notice how the producers cleverly designed the video to integrate extensive personalization based on simple information the user provides. After each recipient enjoys the personalized movie they can forward a version to their friends as well. And on, and on, and on it goes. Click here to watch the clip.
For you, the real estate professional, adding personalization to your mass email campaigns and postcard mailings will generate a higher response rate AND should not cost a dime extra. Marketing agencies know that personalization is essential to getting the best ROI. Call Shawn (760) 271-8584 to learn more how this works and why personalization is such an important marketing attribute, and other great ways to create highly responsive marketing campaigns. 

How To Build A Killer Website

As many of you know, the Inman Connect Event is currently underway, and similar to years past many real estate marketing 'standards and conventions' are being challenged.

An important article found at Inman News today reviews some of these new strategies, and features REALTOR websites that are designed to appeal to consumers and driving ready to buy prospects to their doorstep. It is a must read is you are frustrated with your website and considering a change.
Click Here and enjoy.

New Market Condition Report – Accurately Price The Home To Sell

When home listings expire (rejected) in this market it is generally because they are priced ‘outside’ of the market. The home may be “on” the market, but nowhere “in” the price target area. 

So, how do you help a homeowner price their home accurately in this buyers market? A compelling way is to simply provide them the raw market data that empirically demonstrates what the price should be. No emotion. ‘Bulls-eye’ pricing. 

 When armed with this report data, you help the seller understand the TRUE market conditions, and you do this without being perceived as negative or lacking in marketing aggressiveness.

Where do you get this raw Market Conditions data? 

Call Shawn or Bev, Shawn at (760) 271-8584 or Bev at (619) 246-6715. 

The Market Conditions Report is available in all areas of San Diego County and broken down by specific community. The Report will help you to understand the macro economics in a simple to read format to help your seller make the right pricing decision.

Real Estate Video Basics - Inman TV Interview

This new video explains the power behind the video tour. We are proponents of this marketing strategy as a low-cost, high impact marketing tool. Many of your questions about video tours should be answered here, and to learn more don't hesitate to call Shawn at 760-271-8584 or Bev at 619-246-6715.

Overstock.com & Wal-Mart.com Now Selling Real Estate

Right when you thought the available marketing channels to sell your properties had maxed out, Overstock.com and Wal-Mart.com have entered the fray. Agents take note, you now have two more sites that are helping to sell your listings so be sure they are listed on these sites!

Overstock.com Inc., which sells excess inventory of consumer goods like clothing and furniture, has entered the real estate space with a dedicated listings channel that claims 2.9 million properties, including 2.6 million residential listings. Of those, 1.96 million are single-family homes, 246,000 are condos and townhouses, and another 73,720 are multi-unit properties. Click here to see the site and learn more.

Both Overstock.com and Wal-Mart.com are being sourced by Oodle, which means that you want to be sure your listing is posted there. Be sure to check the Wal-Mart.com real estate site for your listing as well.

"I Am Not A Lead..."

Sometimes, we need a gentle thump on the head to remind us that our leads are real people. All too often, the marketing information we send to our contacts via email or post misses the mark and is not relevant or personal. Check out this video from Wellcomemat as a gentle reminder who we are striving to work with.

Click here to view video.

YouTube.com Open House Contest

The good news is hosting your videos at YouTube.com is free. Couple your video camera with a dash of imagination and you can expose your home tour to vast resources of buyers for practically no cost.

Century 21 has recently taken the free video hosting to a new level by creating a YouTube.com Open House video contest. "Dig the Diggs" is a great promotion for C-21 and shows off the usefulness of YouTube.com. Review their site and contest concept, and consider the possibilities in your own marketing campaigns of what YouTube.com can offer for you.

Be sure to watch the "Open House Videos" at the Vote link, to get a feel of what others are doing. I like the fact that these videos not "slick" to be effective. When you create your video keep in mind it helps to follow a storyline, and try to make it ‘professionally’ entertaining for the viewer.

To learn more, about this and other new marketing tools and strategies generating NOW business for real estate professionals, contact Shawn at (760) 271-8584 or Bev at (619) 246-6715.

A|B Testing - An Essential Marketing Strategy

"I believe that 50% of my marketing budget is a waste of money, but I just don't know which 50%.

It is time to get control of your marketing dollars, and there is one very effective way to wrestle back control. But first, we must remind ourselves what marketing is:

1. Marketing is the process of effectively reaching your audience and getting them to act.
2. Marketing is a constant and refining experiment, from one campaign to the next.

With that in mind, let's integrate a new element into your marketing campaigns, the A|B Testing process.
It is so simple, and usually does not add a penny of cost to your marketing campaigns. It just takes a little forethought before you launch your campaign, whether it be email or print.
For example, the next time you send your special 'Just Listed' or 'Just Sold' postcard into your neighborhood farm area, have your print vendor print your phone number 'call to action' on exactly half of the postcards, and your email address 'call to action' for the other half. Then MEASURE which 'call to action' results in a better response rate, and take it to the next A|B step.
This small feature should not cost you anything additional, most print vendors have the technology available for this. You will be surprised to discover which postcard 'call to action' generated the better response.
Once you have determined the preferred 'call to action' (phone or email address) then your next step is to alter a new element of copy on the postcard (perhaps the headline) and again split your list in half for your next mail of email marketing campaign.
Click here and here and here for excellent articles that will help you to learn more about the benefits of this strategy for your marketing. It is an eye-opener and will help you to be a 1st-class marketing expert!