Collaborate: Internet Marketing Tip #26 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip 26 of 100 - Collaborate with Others

We all have weaknesses. And that's okay. Our strengths and weaknesses make us unique.

But when it comes to marketing, weaknesses must be identified, addressed and eliminated – as soon as possible.

One of the ways you can eliminate a marketing weakness is by collaborating with others. Determine your marketing objectives, find where your weaknesses lie, and then find somebody who can contribute in that area.

Here are some examples of how you might collaborate your way to a stronger marketing program:

• Collaborate with a mortgage expert to launch a home buying seminar series. (End goal = client acquisition for both parties.)



• Collaborate with a talented writer to create an online real estate resource center for your city or town … bigger than anything else that has come before it. (End goal = search engine visibility, website traffic, word of mouth and client acquisition.)



• Collaborate with an agent in a nearby, non-competitive area to share leads. (End goal = more leads than you would have on your own.)

These are but a few examples of collaboration in real estate marketing. Use your imagination, and you could come up with a dozen more ideas.

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #27 tomorrow!

~Brandon

Experiment with Pay-per-Click: Tip #25 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip 25 of 100 - Experiment with Pay-per-Click Marketing

Pay-per-click (also known as sponsored search or paid search) is one of two paths to search engine visibility. Search engine optimization is the other path -- this is when your website ranks well in the search engines naturally, due to its content, link popularity and other factors.

• With natural SEO, it takes a lot of work and patience to reach the top of the search engines.
• With pay-per-click, you could reach the top of the search engines later today or tomorrow.

So if you want search engine visibility in a hurry, pay-per-click is the only vehicle that will take you there.

The Google AdWords program is by far the most popular of the pay-per-click options. Yahoo Search Marketing and MSN also have pay-per-click programs.

How to conduct a pay-per-click program is beyond the scope of this blog post. You can find plenty of books and articles online to help with that -- and I even offer an online training module on the subject.

But for now, just know that pay-per-click is one of many ways you can start generating leads and growing your business via the Internet. Is it right for your real estate Internet marketing program? Only you can answer that. But with the ease of entry and pricing flexibility of a program like Google AdWords, there is nothing to prevent you from experimenting with pay-per-click.

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #26 tomorrow!

~Brandon

Minimize Marketing Attrition: Tip #24 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip 24 of 100 - Minimize Marketing Attrition

Attrition is the enemy of real estate Internet marketing. So to be successful in your marketing, you have to understand attrition and work hard to reduce it.

What is Attrition?
The dictionary defines attrition as "a reduction in numbers usually as a result of resignation, retirement, or death." Now let's translate that definition for Internet marketing purposes.

Real Estate Marketing Attrition
In real estate Internet marketing, attrition refers to the people who do not take the actions you want them to take. The higher the attrition, the less successful the marketing program.

At each step in the marketing process, you stand to lose some people. The good news is, each point of attrition can be improved – that is, you can minimize the number of people who "drop off" at each step of the way.

Here are some examples of attrition points, and what you can do to reduce them.

Attrition Point #1 – Many of the people who visit your website will leave if they don't find anything of value. You can counter this by constantly adding valuable content and resources to your website.

Attrition Point #2 – Even if people find your website (and find it useful), some of them will leave without making contact with you in any way. You can counter this by having lead-generation techniques on all key pages of your website.

Attrition Point #3 - Of all the people who visit your website, some will not find what you want them to find. You can counter this by having a clean, well-organized website with your preferred path clearly identified on the home page.

You can see from this brief sample list that attrition shadows all aspects of your Internet marketing program. But you can also see from this list that for every point of attrition, there are things you can do to increase the number of people who continue along in the process.

Understanding the concept of marketing attrition is the first step in reducing it. So think about your own Internet marketing strategies. Sketch out the various steps in the process, and jot down the attrition points.

Then think of all the things you can do to minimize each point of attrition, and work hard to do exactly that. Good luck!

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #25 tomorrow!

~Brandon

Generating Website Leads: Tips 19 - 23

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tips 19 - 23 of 100 - Generating Website Leads

I have fallen behind on my real estate Internet marketing series -- 100 tips in 100 days. So to get caught up, I'll be posting some "combo" posts with multiple tips rolled into one. This one contains four tips on website lead generation.

Here are real estate Internet marketing tips 19 - 23, taking the form of website lead generation tips and ideas:

Lead Generation Idea #1
Use Yahoo School Reports, your city's website and your own personal knowledge to create a "report card" of local schools. Promote it on your website with eye-catching graphics and plentiful bullet points, and offer it by email (lead capture).

* Related: How to Generate Website Leads

Lead Generation Idea #2
Offer a home listing update service. It's a low-tech way to give people what they want. You'll also be able to pre-qualify them by asking about price ranges, location, etc.

Lead Generation Idea #3
Create a unique report based on a hot topic or current events in your area. Urban sprawl? New neighborhoods? Other major construction? Use your report to connect these events to real estate, home values and the like. Give your report a catchy title, create a graphic to promote it, and offer it to your website visitors in exchange for joining your newsletter.

* Related: How to Generate Website Leads

Lead Generation Idea #4
Offer timely and relevant information through your blog, and invite people to sign up. Hint -- a lot of consumers still aren't familiar with RSS feeds, so you can add an email subscription box to your blog with a product like Zookoda (for free).

Learn the "Do Not Call" Laws
When discussing website lead generation and follow-up phone calls, it's important to understand the FCC's "Do Not Call" laws. When somebody requests information from your website, you can (and should) follow up with them by phone regardless of whether they're on the Do Not Call list. If you haven't familiarized yourself with the FCC's rules for telemarketers, start with this tutorial.

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #24 (and possibly more) tomorrow!

~Brandon

Put Keywords in Your Hyperlinks: Tip #18 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #18 of 100 - Put Keywords In Your Hyperlinks

This addition to the real estate Internet marketing series focuses on search engine visibility.

Putting keywords into hyperlinks is one of the easiest on-site adjustments you can make to improve the search engine visibility of your website or blog. Search engines read the text within hyperlinks (referred to as "link text") in order to determine what a web page is about.

Sure, there are plenty of other factors they use to determine a page's meaning -- like the page title, the page content, other websites that link to the page -- but link text certainly helps. It's an easy way to educate search engines about your website's theme or overall category.

Also Good for Usability
When you use descriptive phrases in your hyperlinks, you also improve your website's usability. A descriptive hyperlink tells people where the link will take them, as opposed to the always vague "click here."

Note the difference:

• Click here for more information. (This is vague for people and meaningless to search engines).


• Get more Internet marketing tips. (This tells people where the link goes, and it also tells search engines what the page is about.)

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #19 tomorrow!

-Brandon

Real Estate Postcards - New Article Available

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

We interrupt this blog series on real estate Internet marketing to bring you the following bulletin:

I just published a new article you might like, on the subject of real estate postcard marketing. It explains what I feel are the most common postcard marketing mistakes that real estate agents make when promoting themselves:

1. Over-reliance on technology.
2. Over-reliance on weak offers.
3. Over-reliance on vendors.

It also explains how to avoid these common postcard marketing mistakes.

You can read the article here:
Real Estate Postcard Marketing: 3 Fundamental Flaws to Avoid

Enjoy!

~Brandon

Combine Postcards with Website: Tip #17 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #17 of 100 - Combine Postcards with Website

The previous post in this blog series on real estate Internet marketing talked about integration. Specifically, it discussed the value of combining multiple marketing channels to serve an overall marketing goal.

In this post, I'm going to offer a concrete example of that tactic.

Real Estate Postcards + Website Lead Generation
Many agents use real estate postcards to promote themselves within their farming area. In fact, postcards are one of the longest-lived forms of real estate marketing. Many of the same agents who use real estate postcards also have websites.

But they don't combine the two marketing channels as effectively as they might. I know this for a fact, because I've worked for the two postcard marketing companies -- one of which served real estate agents almost exclusively. (You would know who they were if I cared to drop their name.)

Missing the Postcard-to-Website Connection
After seeing thousands of real estate postcards on a daily basis over a period of years, I learned one thing above all else. Most real estate agents are not combining postcards and websites as effectively as they might.

In fact, the most common web-related "call to action" I saw on real estate postcards was the ubiquitous "Learn more at www.whatever..." No reasons were given to visit the websites, other than the exciting opportunity to "learn more." Yawn.

But what if the postcard recipient had a really good reason for visiting the website? And what if, upon reaching the website, they were captivated by what they found and immediately wanted the big "prize" mentioned on the postcard? And what if they offered up their contact information in exchange for said prize ... and sent the web link to their friends ... and revisited the website again in the future?

I'll tell you what if. You would have (A) some viable leads to follow up on, (B) some free word-of-mouth marketing and PR, and (C) the beginnings of a postcard-to-website lead generation program that you could use, modify and repeat well into the future.

What Would Your Audience Desire?
Aside from the logistics, the key to this approach is the "prize." To come up with one, you simply have to find out what your target audience would really want. Information works great, provided it's done properly and not in a lazy, lackluster fashion.

I'm not talking about the "Ten Home Buying Tips" kind of reports here. I'm talking about creating a web-based resource with a login requirement (leads) ... or a high-value information report on the local school system, delivered by email (leads) ... or ... you get the picture.

When combined effectively, real estate postcards and websites can make powerful marketing partners. But when operated independently of each other, they will never live up to their full potential.

Related Resources

• Article: Generating Website Leads with Postcards
• Article: Real Estate Postcards - How Your Website Relates
• Resource: Real Estate Postcard Book

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #18 tomorrow!

View the growing list of tips

-Brandon

Integrate Your Marketing Channels: Tip #16 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #16 of 100 - Integrate Your Marketing Channels

Real estate Internet marketing should involve multiple channels. For maximum online exposure and lead generation, strive to combine as many online and offline marketing channels as possible, with the "centerpiece" being your website.

Articles, press releases, emails, real estate postcards, blogs -- if used properly, all of these things can drive traffic to your website. But then what?

From a marketing standpoint, lead generation should be one of your website's primary objectives. You can drive traffic to a website from multiple channels, but at some point you have to capitalize on that traffic. Website traffic, by itself, will not grow your business. You have to initiate contact in order to cultivate a business relationship. Your website should accomplish this.

Think of your other real estate marketing channels as fingers or signs pointing toward the website. Sure, any one of these channels could generate new business on its own. But more often than not, people will travel on to your website to learn more. This is a good thing, as long as your website is doing its job (by engaging, persuading, and motivating people to take a certain action).

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #17 tomorrow!

View the growing list of tips

-Brandon

Add Your Blog to Directories: Tip #15 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #15 of 100 - Add Your Blog to Directories

Previously in this series on real estate Internet marketing, we talked about the importance of inbound links in increasing your search engine visibility. Blog directories are another way to acquire inbound links.

A directory is basically a big catalog of websites (or in this case, blogs) that's edited and managed by people. With a blog directory, human editors review blogs for quality and relevance, and then add them to the proper category of the directory's database.

This "human intervention" is what makes a directory different from a search engine. (Search engines also add websites and blogs to their databases, but automatically and without human intervention.)

Directories Equal Inbound Links
Every time a blog directory adds your real estate blog to its list, you gain another inbound link (from the directory to your website). If the blog directory is a niche directory focused on real estate, it's even better because now the inbound link is relevant to your blog. The more inbound links you have, the better your search engine visibility. When those inbound links are relevant to your own website / blog, it helps you even more.

Resources & Blog Directories

• List of blog directories
• More blog directories
• Inbound links explained
• Real estate blog training

Check out the new directory category we created:
http://www.ceoblogwatch.com/directory/

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #16 tomorrow!

View the growing list of tips

-Brandon

Blog on Your Website: Tip #14 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #14 of 100 - Blog on Your Website

If you have a real estate blog that you've been using for a long time, it's best to keep it right where it is. Chances are, it has built up some search engine visibility at its current location, so you don't want to relocate it to a different web address.

But if you're about to start using Blogger, WordPress or Movable Type for the first time, it's best to publish the blog onto your own website (i.e. www.JaneDoeAgent.com/blog) rather than under the blog company's domain (i.e. www.Blogspot.com/JaneDoe).

Why?

Because a blog on your own domain will contribute to your website's overall search engine visibility, while a blog hosted by a blogging company will not. Sure, the blog will eventually create its own web presence and will earn search engine ranking in time ... but it will speed things up a lot if you consolidate your blog with your main website.

If you also blog in a community such as ActiveRain, that's great too. It gives people yet another way to find you online. But if you're serious about getting your own personal website to rank well in the search engines, consider adding a blog to the site as well.

Also see: Popular Blogging Software

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #15 tomorrow!

View the growing list of tips

-Brandon

Blog Regularly: Tip #13 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #13 of 100 - Blog Regularly

If you start a blog and publish to it regularly with quality, up-to-date content, you'll be strengthening your web presence in several ways.

The SEO Factor
First, you'll be increasing your search engine visibility with additional website content. Also, if your blog is really useful, unique or entertaining, other people will likely link to it. As you increase the number of inbound links steadily over time, you also increase your search engine ranking / visibility.

Also see: Real Estate Blogs & SEO

The Buzz Factor
Good real estate blogs create a following. If you create a blog, for instance, that offers timely information on your local real estate scene, people will see it as a reliable source for information. And when people find something they like online, they share it with others!

The Authority Factor
A blog can also help you position yourself as an expert, providing you use it in an authoritative (but engaging) manner. This can help you convert website or blog visitors into clients, regardless of how they come across your blog.

In the next few tips, we will talk more about choosing blog software and setting up a blog on your own website.

View the growing list of tips

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #14 tomorrow!

-Brandon

Avoid Data-Blindness: Tip #12 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #12 of 100 - Avoid Data-Blindness

I know a lot of Internet marketers who focus so heavily on data that they lose sight of the big picture.

Granted, Internet marketing is a numbers game. A certain number of people will find your website. Of that number, a certain number of visitors will stick around. Of that number, a certain (much smaller) number will respond in some way. And so on.

It's important to grasp this general concept and try to minimize all points of attrition. But don't lose sight of the end goal. You want people to be so enlightened, educated, motivated or persuaded by your website that they contact you or respond in some way. This is the only true measure of success with real estate Internet marketing.

I know people who view website traffic as the ultimate goal of Internet marketing. These people are data blind. All the traffic in the world is worthless until you make a connection.

View the growing list of tips

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #13 tomorrow!

Until then,

-Brandon

Publish Articles Online: Tip #11 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #11 of 100 - Publish Articles Online

If you write a high-quality article and publish it online through a website like EzineArticles.com, your article could be republished all across the web. This will increase the number of websites that link yours (link popularity), thereby improving your website's search engine visibility.

This approach is known as article marketing, and it's a great way to increase your website's search engine visibility / ranking steadily over time.

More about article marketing

• Search engine success w/ article marketing
• Article submission sites
• Training on article marketing

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #12 tomorrow!

Until then,

-Brandon

Advance Your Internet Knowledge: Tip #10 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #10 of 100 - Advance Your Internet Knowledge

Over the last couple of years, a variety of tools and technologies have emerged that can make your Internet marketing efforts easier and more effective at the same time. From blogs to website content management systems, the current trend seems to be "ease of use."

But the only way to understand these helpful tools is to proactively seek such understanding. Understanding the Internet is the first step to success with real estate Internet marketing, so you have to educate yourself continuously.

Here are some resources to get your started:

• The marketing power of blogs
• What is RSS?
• The web-optimized press release
• 5 popular email marketing solutions
• Build your own real estate forum
• SEO seminar with yours truly
• SEO and Internet training

If you'd like to learn more about any of the topics above, let me know and I'll post some additional resources.

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #11 tomorrow!

Until then,

-Brandon

Bulk Up Your Website: Tip #9 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #9 of 100 - Bulk Up Your Website

Writing content is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to increase your search engine visibility. If two websites are similar in most regards, but one is twice is large as the other, the larger one will rank higher in the search engines.

Creating additional web pages is easier than you might think. For instance, I have my blog set up to save each post as a separate page. So by the time I'm done with this 100-part series on real estate Internet marketing, I'll have 100 new pages of website content. Good for my readers, and good for search engines as well.

Glossaries and Q&A pages are other ways to implement this tactic.

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #10 tomorrow!

Until then,

-Brandon

Share Your News Online: Tip #8 of 100

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Internet Marketing - 100 Tips in 100 Days

Tip #8 of 100 - Share Your News Online

Online press releases make an excellent addition to your real estate Internet marketing program. Using a website like PRWeb.com, you can distribute your press release across the web and have it indexed by Yahoo News, Google News, Topix.net and more.

Write it. Optimize it. Publish it.
To get the most out of this strategy, your press release should be (A) newsworthy in some way, (B) written to appeal to your target audience, and (C) optimized for search engines. By incorporating keywords and hyperlinks into your press release, you'll increase your website's search engine visibility as well.

The end goal, of course, is to increase the number of ways people can find you and learn about you online ... ideally through noteworthy coverage of some kind.

Related Resources

• Why to use PRWeb.com
• Writing SEO press releases
• Online press release distribution
• Online press release tutorials

Look for real estate Internet marketing tip #9 tomorrow!

Until then,

-Brandon