Arran Events, Advertising and Marketing

I am not sure about anything in Realtor marketing before the 70’s but I have been thinking over the last couple of days about what has been, and what is, and what will be in the future for Realtor marketing. This will probably be a multi part post as I am not sure exactly how long I will be able to go on for with each post.

First of all, back in the 70’s many Realtors where using geographic farming techniques or just talking to friends and neighbors. The real organized way to do Realtor Marketing at the time was to find a small geographic area and walk around knocking on doors. This was a very effective method that still works although the original idea was diluted by losing the knowledge of the area and instead getting a larger and larger farm market. There is nothing wrong with geographic farming and I know of many Realtors that make it work still although I believe that it is not nearly as effective as it once was for a few reasons.

First of all geographic farming is time consuming in an area of 500 homes and most Realtors have tried to increase the size but have to reduce their effectiveness. How do Realtors do this? Well most of the time the Realtor will instead of door knocking and getting their face out will instead phone through an area and either before or after send a newsletter or a notepad or some thing else. I know that it works but it the personal feel of the Realtor coming to the house has been lost in a way.

Second there are many more Realtors know then there ever have been. As home prices have skyrocketed the number of Realtors has skyrocketed as well. Trouble is sales have not kept up and the average Realtor makes just over 30,000 dollars a year. I know that becoming a Realtor is a bit of a fad and I am sure like any other market things will equalize over the coming years I am not really sure what is going to change that. If you are a Realtor now and facing this huge number of Realtor issue then you must set yourself apart by using Realtor Marketing in a different way.

In the 80’s more and more realtors had started doing Realtor marketing by using the phone to do farming and databases were just starting to get into place so that Realtors could access past, present and future clients could be easily mailed to and contacted. Again this was a very successful method of marketing but as the 90’s started and especially late in the 90’s as Act, Maximizer and Top Producer became popular as Realtor marketing tools and cheap enough for many Realtors to be able to afford. The type of Realtor Marketing that had earlier been very successful become oversaturated and lost its initial effectiveness. I am sure that this method has become less and less effective but is still popular and easy to do for most Realtors. I know of some Realtors that will mail a letter a day to expireds for two weeks or Realtors sending some kind of mailing to past clients every two weeks.

Now that we are into the internet age and with access to MLS info only a mouse click away Realtor marketing has again changed. If you are looking to make a difference then you must again go back to the way that Realtors worked in the 70’s and that the most successful Realtors have worked over the last few years.. No, I do not mean go door knocking but instead make sure that you are getting into the customers head by being likeable, trustworthy and top of mind by being a person and not just a voice on the phone or a signature on a letter or email.

It is more important now more than ever to be sure to use technology and to personalize your service. I believe that the best was to do this is to have a website that speaks in your own words and follow that up with a weblog that talks about not only real estate and contains Realtor marketing but also personal stories that create an aura ofbeing a real person instead of just a salesperson..

http://realtorweblog.xptechsupport.com

Tags: Marketing, Realtor marketing, sales

One marketing technique may work wonders for someone, but that doesn’t guarantee that it’ll do the same for you. The only way to really know what works for YOUR products and YOUR target audience is to experiment. Testing and experimentation are crucial to increasing your profits.

1. Try using the occasional pop-up window to get more subscribers to your newsletter. Some people *really* hate these, so use them sparingly. For example, you could have a window pop up only the first time someone visits your site … or you could have one appear whenever someone leaves your site. Try different scenarios to see what works best.

2. Change the price of your product and see what impact it has on sales. Even if your sales drop, you may still come out ahead when it comes to profits. Note: your sales may not drop at all; I increased the price of my own booklet from $12.95 to $19.95 and sales stayed the same. You never know until you try.

3. Test different sales copy on your website and in your autoresponder. Should you come on strong, be subtle, be extremely detailed? Does long sales copy do better than short copy, or vice versa? Do you get more sales by spreading your sales copy on multiple pages, or by putting it all on one page? Be sure to make backups of your previous work; if you find the new copy kills sales, you can always restore the previous version.

4. Track your advertising. There are a number of commercially available ad tracking packages that can help you see which ads are working well and which aren’t. Discard anything that doesn’t work, and try to improve on ads that appear to work well.

5. Experiment with the navigation of your website. For example, change the number of clicks required to get to your ordering page, or change the flow of navigation so that your visitor always ends up at an ordering page.

6. Test different types of links. You might try short ads in the margins of your web pages vs. text links within the context of an article, for example.

7. Test response rates between direct links to your sales page and the use of a follow-up autoresponder. Sometimes people just need an extra ‘push’ or a reminder to order. (make sure your autoresponder has an easy way for your prospect to unsubscribe)

About The Author

Angela runs several successful sites dedicated to helping beginners profit from the Internet. Her new web magazine, Online Business Basics, features step-by-step tutorials for eBusiness ‘newbies’. To take the guesswork out of starting and building an Internet business, click over to http://www.onlinebusinessbasics.com

Tags: closing the sale, Marketing, sales, sales closing, sales letters, sales tips

Elections are a great chance for small business owners like you to see how advertising works in a rather short time frame. With three weeks to go before elections here across the USA, you have the opportunity to observe local and state political races.

Consider the candidate “the product” and his / her campaign advertising and public relations campaigns.

As you try to predict the winners, it’s a great opportunity to observe how various politicians communicate their messages to specific groups of voters.

Compare this to your own small business advertising.

Of course, candidates have been working their audiences throughout the campaign, but what media they use and how is worth watching in these final weeks.

Sure, there will be upsets and predictable wins and everything in between. You’ll be able to observe whether or not those “dirty campaign tactics” worked or not on election eve. (P.S. most don’t!)

Using combinations of different media makes the candidate appear to be everywhere,

You’ll find each politician strives to stimulate personal referrals, debates / forums (you use seminars to educate), and different media such as direct mail pieces, newspaper ads, lawn signs, radio, tv as the budget allows.

The political advertising season once again hammers home the need for advertising to repeat, repeat, repeat. Studies show it can take from 6 to 9 impressions before your ad gets the attention of your potential customers (i.e. the voter).

The repetition factor came to mind one recent weekend here in Connecticut when – all of a sudden – almost overnight, literally – yard signs appeared for a new candidate for State Senate, running for his very first time. Not only did he have a difficult to recognize last name, but he was pretty much unknown in some of his district towns.

But this was no amateur effort. It seemed as if suddenly the distinctive yard signs appeared. You could see them from one yard to the next as you drove down some of the main streets, Very hard to miss. Not one sign here and there. It was repetition of lawn signs superbly orchestrated.

Some people love to watch the politicians battle it out and pay fairly close attention. At the other end of the specrtum, some voters sort of listen and make vague emotional judgements. Just goes to show how different people often react differently to the same message.

So whatever your political persuasion, remember you still need to promote your small business with advertising. Learn from what you see happening in political campaigns in your town or city during these last few weeks.

© 2006 Jon Sinish

This article may be reprinted and distributed as long as the resource information remains intact.

Jon Sinish is a 30-year champion of advertising for small businesses, whose clients range from international corporations to private professional practices.

Now, at his web site, you can discover more exciting articles that reveal practical tips, tactics and strategies to help the small businessperson manage and improve their advertising and marketing programs. Please visit http://www.advertising-for-small-businesses.com

Tags: poltical advertising, small business advertising