How to Make the Most of Your Point2Agent Website on a Tight Budget
By Carl Martens | August 1, 2008
If you are just starting off or if you are an agent with years under your belt Point2Agent provides a great service. Perhaps the most powerful of any real estate specific web templates, Point2Agent offers the most user-friendly and robust platform for real estate websites. The real power lies within P2A’s listing module which is easy to load with content and images of your listings and is loaded with many “call to action” features.
That’s my sales pitch on P2A, my company, Zowbie Consulting is a preferred vendor of P2A…if you are signing up for the service please list me as a referral and notify me as well to receive a free 30 minute consultation.
Moving on…
Assuming that you already have a Point2Agent website, what can you do in order to make the most out of it and omptimize your return on investment? There are a few very simple things that you can do that will be light on your wallet.
Add an IDX
I’m surprised at how many Realtors forget this. Having an IDX on your site is the MOST important thing you can do. Visitors will most likely come to your site because they want to search for homes. Give them the ability to do so. Sure, visitors can search through your handshake listings, but it is best to provide them the ability to search the entire MLS. Most IDX’s also have lead capturing capabilities which will provide you with enough information to follow-up with a lead. I suggest using Wolfnet (especially if you are a Keller Williams agent…it is free!) or ListingWare. softRealty is also another great service, however their lead capturing capability is not scheduled for release until later this month.
Personalize Content
Go through EVERY page on your website and change out the “stock” content that the template comes with. Real estate is a competitive industry and having the same content as 40,000+ Georgia real estate agents will not benefit you in any way. Google and other search engines do not like duplicate content…it makes sense…how could a search engine rank a site higher than another if all content is the same? It’d be pretty hard to differentiate right? Search engines are in the business to provide the most relevant content based upon a user’s search…duplicate cotent will not get you at the top of the page.
36 Photos
I don’t understand why people don’t use all 36 photo slots that P2A offers. That is just stupid. Consumers are most interested in seeing the property for sale, if they like the pictures, they might read the description and hopefully they’ll pick up the phone and call you to setup a showing. In addition to using all 36 photos it is also important that you take amazing photos. Three tips for achieving amazing photos: stage the house, use a wide angle lens, use Photoshop. Contact me with questions about how to achieve amazing photos.
Be Relevant
Create pages that are relevant to your target market. Your pages and the content on them should provide information about the community as well as useful information for the clients you intend to attract. P2A templates comes with a standard menu…add to that menu. Pages you should create are: About Us, Communities, Schools, Relocation, Neighborhoods…these are the pages visitors are most interested in (aside from the Search for Homes page). make sure that the information contained on these pages is specific and useful to the reader.
Link Keywords
Identify the keywords throughout your content and hyperlink those between pages, between your various websites, and to others. Enjoy the power of Link Luv!
Customize Layout/Graphics
Although this isn’t directy related to generating more revenue it is important. Successful businesses build brands. Building brand recognition should be part of your marketing plan as well. For as little as $300-$500 you can customize the layout and graphics of your P2A site to not only create brand recognition, but also provide easy navigation throughout your website.
Topics: Point2Agent | No Comments »
Your Blog is Your Best Web 2.0 Marketing Tool
By Carl Martens | August 1, 2008
Get a Blog
Many people are scared when they hear the word blog. People view blogs as very time consuming and feel that if they don’t have the time to commit to a blog that it will not be productive. This is not true. Not having time to commit to your blog does not mean it won’t be productive, it just won’t be as productive. Unless a client requests otherwise, all websites that my company Zowbie Consulting designs are built on the Wordpress platform. Even my new “professional portolio” CarlHMartens.com is a Wordpress blog. Your blog is your best web 2.0 marketing tool for several reasons:
- Search Engine Friendly
- Appear Authoritative
- Relationship Building
- Community Building
- Easy Web Publishing Solution
Gone are the days in which you would have to call your webmaster to make a simple change on your site or to create a new page…blogs enable you with the power to do this!
How Much Will a Blog Cost
You can setup a blog for free with Wordpress or Blogger. Basic custom blog designs start at $500. Most blogs will cost between $750-$1,000 and can get as high as about $3,000.
I Have a Blog, What Do I Do Next?
Your blog should be the main entry way into your business. Blogs naturally connect to social media sites like Twitter, Digg, Technorati and many more. These social media sites already get a ton of traffic, your goal is to take some of this traffic and bring them to your site. You do this by creating a profile, being active and contributing to these sites, and by submitting your very best articles. If you do these three things you will get the attention of others and they will frequent your site (so long as what you publish is useful and relevant).
OK, But What Else?
You want to be sure that your blog offers a place for visitors to sign up for email updates. Email lists are the most important marketing tool to any internet business. I suggest using feedburner and iContact. Setup a feedburner account so that people can sign up for updates to your blog, these updates will then be automatically delivered to the person’s inbox. The other most important type of email subsciption is to setup a weekly or monthly newsletter, use iContact for this. The goal of any internet business is to stay in constant contact with visitors so that you are at the forefront of their minds.
Can I Make Money From My Blog?
Absolutely. If money was not a product of a website, no one would have one. A blog will make you more money than a static site. Not only will your blog drive more traffic and create more leads than a static site, it is also very easy to foster relationships with affiliates, sponsors, and other advertisers that are willing to pay or contribute to your blogs overall success. You can also setup Google Adsense on your blog in which you get paid based on how many times a Google Ad is clicked on. The owner of AsktheBuilder.com is reported to have made over $1,000,000 in one year by doing this on his blog. I know of a Realtor that claims to make $30-$80 per day from the ads on his site! Blogs are super profitable when you follow a system.
I Want to Learn More
Here is your chance, fill out the form below and I will contact you for a FREE 30 minute session in which you can “pick my brain”, ask me any questions, setup a plan of attack, or anything else related to blogs and blogging.
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How to Get Your Emails to Go?
By Carl Martens | July 11, 2008
According to National Association of Realtors, 87 % of buyers are using the Internet in their home search. Not only have these buyers changed the way that agents must lead generate to find them, but they’ve also changed the way that agents must communicate with them.
The recent “Internet vs. Traditional Buyers” report released by the California Association of Realtors reveals some striking changes:
- 47% of Internet buyers selected their agents because the agent seemed to be the most responsive to their inquiries
- 24% of these buyers selected an agent simply because the agent was the first to respond to their requests
- 85% of these buyers use email as the primary means of communicating with their agents
- 66% of Internet buyers expect you to respond in four hours or less
Meeting the expectations of these buyers can be difficult for agents who often find themselves out of the office for long periods of time without access to an Internet-ready computer. So how do you keep up with these buyers?
First, use an auto-responder that tells consumers what time of the day you will be replying to emails. The important thing is that you actually reply to them at that time. Second, be sure to check your email at least twice per day, preferably three times (morning, noon, and late afternoon).
But with the ever-growing sophistication of mobile communications, there’s now a third option. If you are continually on the go and want to have email access no matter where you are, consider using an email capable cell phone or PDA. There are numerous models available that allow you to send and receive emails. Check with your local provider for more information.
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Twitter is a Must Use Application
By Carl Martens | July 11, 2008
It took me awhile to come to the realization that Twitter is a great tool, and it has taken me even longer to figure out how to use it most effectively.
First off, if you aren’t using Twitter you really ought to…no joke, you NEED to set up an account. Once you have an account set up you’ll want to download the Twhirl application and use it. Twhirl makes using Twitter easy to use…trust me on this one!
I’ve asked some colleagues of mine how they use Twitter, their responses are below:
Brad Nix, Broker at Maxsell Real Estate
“I actually get comments on my blog by posting URL’s of new posts to Twitter. But I do agree that it can be a pain to bounce from Twhirl to Browser.
Just getting David (David Harris joined our blogger meeting because Brad had ”tweeted” that he was headed to the meeting) to join us was worth using Twitter, but I also find it a great tool to ask WP (abbreviation for Wordpress) help questions and to gather quick answers from a variety of viewpoints.”
Kathy Drewien, Broker at North Atlanta Realty Group
“Go to www.Remarkablogger.com Look for his post on Twitter is Like Sex“
Kevin Warmath, President at Warmath Real Estate
“I don’t really know any tips – the best people at twitting seem to be those who can make insightful observations in less than 60 characters, which is difficult to do. I think of it like 60 character blog posts. The stuff about people’s dogs and where they are and what they are doing is ok, but the real meat, for me, is the insight…you gotta find the right people to follow and I’m not sure who they all are yet.
One thing I think is annoying is that a lot of people just post urls (tinyurls) which just take you someplace else, so I find myself bouncing back and forth between twitter and a browser, which can be crazy.”
These were some great responses as I dug up some material to write about. There are many benefits of using Twitter, but you will only experience the benefits if you follow the right people. As Kevin suggested, follow people that have insight to offer. I use Twitter as an educational resource as well as a marketing tool. Like Brad, I will ask questions to my network. As a marketing tool, I advertise my “best” blog posts that I believe are of value and worth sharing with my network. As you begin to follow people, be sure to visit their websites and leave comments, in return you will get comments as well and more traffic to your website…and Google loves more traffic!
Share your thoughts on Twitter in the comments section as well as ask whatever questions you may have, I’ll be sure to answer questions!
Topics: Internet Marketing | No Comments »
6 Best Practices for Online Leads
By Carl Martens | June 18, 2008
I wanted to share with ya’ll an article that I found to be very interesting (thanks Brenda for sharing). The article was written by “Mr. Internet”, which is the alter ego of Michael J. Russer. Us nerds like these types of names…to Phyllis Durham I am the “Webstud”…chew on that Mr. Internet!
I should point out that I thought the article was great, however I disagree with “Best Practice #2″. I think it is your job to do some investigative research and to obtain as much info as you can about a prospect, go above and beyond where other agents don’t…this will set you apart from the rest. I do this all the time and have never had anyone get on the defensive or be upset about it, most people are surprised, but thankful when you go the extra step…just be sure you have something of value to provide them with and not just call to pitch a sale.
Aside from that best practice, I agree with everything else in the article. Check it out. Enjoy!
6 Best Practices for Online Leads
Topics: Internet Marketing | No Comments »
