12 Ways to Find More Real Estate Clients in a Slow Market

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Times are tough for most real estate agents these days. Slow markets and a general lack of clients have driven some agents out of the industry completely.

But then there's always that one guy or gal in every market who seems to whether the storm with ease, attracting more real estate clients while other agents come up empty. How do these agents do it? Well, they probably cast a wider marketing net for one thing. Smart agents realize the importance of diversity, when it comes to marketing. There are dozens of ways to find more real estate clients in your city or town, and the more channels you use the better.

Nobody can tell you how to run your real estate marketing program. You must find your own way, based on your own strengths and weaknesses, your specific marketing goals, and your personal preferences. But it always helps to have ideas to ponder, and that's what this blog post is all about. Below, I've made a list of ways you might be able to find more real estate clients in your market.

Ways to Find Real Estate Clients

Not every idea on this list will be right for you. How you promote your business will depend on what you're trying to accomplish. But with so many marketing and networking ideas in one place, there's bound to be something worth trying.

1. Conduct a home buying seminar for first-time buyers in your town. Now is a great time for this kind of strategy, because first-timers are apprehensive about the real estate process. Who better to talk them through it than you? It's also a great way to get clients
   
2. If you don't already have a Facebook account, set one up as a way to connect with old friends and colleagues. I've spoke to more than one agent who gets an occasional real estate client through their Facebook connections.
3. You can also experiment with some of the other networking websites. Here are some that have a business focus: LinkedIn.com, gibLink.com, Ryze.com and Spoke.com.
4. Start a blog, if you don't have one already. You can install a blog onto your existing website in less than an hour, and it's a great way to publish new content on a regular basis. This new content will help you pull in more traffic via search engines, and that could mean more real estate clients as well.
5. Keep a handful of business cards on you at all times. You could encounter a potential client when you least expect it. Imagine you're standing in line at a coffee shop and you overhear two people talking about the real estate market. One says she want to buy a home soon. There's nothing wrong with saying, "Excuse me. I couldn't help but overhear..." And then you offer a business card and go along your way.
6. Does your car advertise your services? If not, you might want to consider a magnetic sign. A lady who lives up the street from me drives around with her sign on her car, and I know two people personally who have contacted her for help selling their homes. Her magnetic door sign is generating real estate clients from the neighborhood, and it's not costing her anything extra.
7. Have you experimented with door hangers / flyers? I never put much stock into this before, as a marketing technique. But in the neighborhood where I've lived the last four years, there's an agent who puts her real estate newsletter on my door twice a month. It doesn't have the usual stock content and fluff -- it has real market data, recent home sales, local real estate news, etc. She is the only agent doing this, and as a result I hear her name mentioned by my neighbor's all the time. They say things like, "Did you see the Jenny report this month?" She's like the unofficial neighborhood agent for this whole area, and I'm sure she gets a steady stream of real estate clients from sellers in the area.
8. Networking with local bankers and mortgage brokers is always a good way to get more real estate clients in your town, especially if they're not already partnering with an agent. It's a mutual marketing technique that has a long history of positive results.
9. Does your local chamber of commerce have monthly meetings or social events? My wife used to attend these events all the time, on behalf of the bank where she worked. She said it was a networking extravaganza, and that there was always a real estate agent or two in the crowd. I'm sure those agents were getting clients from it, or they wouldn't have been coming back each month.
10. Have you considered expanding your services to include collateral area, such as home staging for sellers? This full-service approach is a popular trend among real estate companies right now. One of my former clients (a Dallas brokerage) had a lot of success with this. They paid a professional home stager to give an in-home consultation to their home-selling clients, and it set them apart from most of their competitors.
    
11. Real estate PR is always a smart (but often overlooked) strategy for agent marketing. Local news outlets are always looking for insight from the field, especially in times like this. For example, you could contribute to a newspaper article about how it's a great time for qualified buyers to purchase a home right now, despite reluctance many consumers are feeling. You've probably seen agents in your local newspaper before, or even on television. Why not let it be you next time? It's a surefire way to get more real estate clients -- and it doesn't cost anything but time and effort.
12. Many agents claim that referrals are their biggest source of new business. This comes from treating clients right during the relationship and, more importantly, helping them succeed with the sale or purchase of the home. When you add to this an effective follow-up program after the sale, such as birthday cards, you have another source of clients.
    

Hopefully, this list of marketing and networking ideas has caused those little synapses to start firing in your brain. What kind of ideas can you come up with? What motivates you toward action? Which marketing techniques do you get excited about? Those are the ones worth pursuing.

Attracting more real estate clients is not a "one-size-fits-all" concept. There is no right or wrong way to start the process. You have to experiment with different strategies and find something that works for you.

Real Estate Marketing Strategies for the New Economy

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

There's no doubt that 2009 will be an interesting year for the real estate industry. The economy is still on shaky ground, buyers are having a hard time getting financing, and foreclosures continue at record numbers across the United States.

The question is, how do you plan to adjust your real estate marketing strategy to reflect this new economy we are facing? And beyond that, how will you adjust your business as a whole?

These are tough questions, but they are questions you must start asking yourself. I've spoken to a few agents already who are making some serious changes to their real estate marketing strategies in order to survive and thrive in 2009. It's beyond the scope and possibility of this blog to offer specific advice on marketing strategy -- that's something you must develop for yourself. But I can tell you this.

In the near future, those real estate agents who take an educational approach to their marketing are going to get the biggest share of business in their market areas. It's not enough anymore to say: "I'm an agent in your area and I can help you. Give me a call." Actually, that was never a good marketing strategy, but it's even weaker in the new economy. Home buyers and sellers have more questions today than ever before. So if you want to sustain your real estate marketing program in that kind of environment, you have to adjust the strategies you use.

For example, home buyers today have a lot of questions about financing -- more so than in the past. They have heard about people making mortgage mistakes and getting foreclosed on. And they know it's harder to get approved for a mortgage loan these days. So the best real estate marketing strategies are those that address these burning questions.

Where Marketing Strategy Meets Education

There are plenty of ways to take an educational approach to your real estate marketing program. Here are a few off the top of my head.

• Put on a home buyer seminar in your city. Give it a modern angle and theme, such as "Buying a Home in the New Economy." Promote it like crazy, and try to get your local news to cover it (the economy is a hot topic for them too). Attract enough people to your educational seminar, and you'll get some clients out of it.
• You could even take a "virtual" approach to the seminar marketing strategy above by using an online webinar program, right from your office computer.
• Another strategy you can use: Create a buyer's guide to the new economy (an e-book available on your website). Explain the importance of good credit, choosing the right kind of mortgage, etc. Position it properly from a value standpoint, and people will email you for a free copy.

These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. You get the idea, and the idea is that you can get more business in a troubled economy by educating potential clients about it. It's the kind of real estate marketing strategy that can help you survive -- and perhaps even in thrive -- in a down market.

How to Reduce Your Real Estate Marketing Budget - Without Quitting

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Reader Question: I feel like I need to reduce my real estate marketing budget because of the economy (fewer clients, spending cutbacks, etc.). Any suggestions?

Without knowing what your marketing budget is, it's hard to make any recommendations. So let me use this opportunity to offer some general advice on real estate marketing budget matters...

We are certainly having some touch economic times right now, and agents are feeling it more than most. One of the biggest problems is that many buyers can't get mortgage loans right now. All of the banks are nervous, and they have tightened up their credit criteria quite a bit.

In most market areas (but not all), real estate agents are really feeling the squeeze. Business is down, so they are now examining their marketing budgets in an effort to control spending. Here are some ways to reduce spending without scrapping your real estate marketing program entirely.

1. Focus on Your Top-Performing Techniques

Identify your strongest marketing channels, and focus you energy on those. Actually, this is something you should do on a regular basis, to ensure you are spending your time and money on the right techniques. But it's even more important when looking for ways to reduce your real estate marketing budget in pace with the economy.

2. Eliminate Costly Marketing Techniques

If you use direct mail letters or postcards, and you outsource the printing and mailing to a vendor, consider scaling back or putting the program on hold. Of course, you'll have to consider your ROI before doing this. I just know from experience that direct mail can be a real money drain when used wrong. If you want to continue using it, check out my postcard marketing book for tips on improving your ROI.

3. Use Guerrilla Marketing

Use more networking and word-of-mouth techniques. It doesn't cost you anything to be more active in your community, except time out of your day. But this can also be a great way to gain new clients without spending extra on real estate marketing. Earlier this month, I blogged about buyer seminars and how they are a great marketing idea for the current economy (for many reasons). This is a classic example of doing more with less.

4. Prepare Now for the Next Upswing

I often get questions from agent who ask, "Why does this other agent's website do so well in the search engines? What does he / she have that I don't?" Usually, it comes down to the fact that the person started working on their real estate SEO long ago, and thus they are now reaping the rewards. This illustrates the need to plant seeds in the present that will grow in the future.

If you have some extra time on your hands, start working on your website to boost its ranking in the search engines -- and to reap the rewards when your market picks up again. Here is some step-by-step SEO advice that will help you get started.

A Better Real Estate Marketing System With Buyer Seminars

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Now is a great time to expand your real estate marketing system by offering seminars to first-time home buyers. In this blog post, I'll explain why this is a good strategy for the current economy, how to conduct a buyer seminar in your area, and how your real estate marketing system can benefit from it.

A Timely Marketing Technique

The current financial crisis has a lot of would-be home buyers confused and intimidated about buying a home. I know this for a fact, because I receive their questions and concerns constantly through my home buying Q&A blog over at the Home Buying Institute.

So my question is, why aren't more real estate agents using buyer seminars right now? Not only it is a worthwhile community service, but it can also help you strengthen your real estate marketing system with a timely technique. Now more than ever, consumers need help making sense of the economy as it relates to the home buying process.

People are afraid of making the same mistakes they hear about on the news. They think mortgage lenders are out to get them. They fear that the sky is falling.

But as you and I both now, a well qualified home buyer can still purchase a home in this market, and can often get a great deal in the process. Sure, you need a better credit score these days to quality for a loan and get a good rate. But that's the way it should be. The lending standards today are exactly where they should have been for the last decade, during the heyday of "easy money" lending. So a qualified buyer with good credit should have no trouble getting a loan.

The trouble is, many buyers don't realize these things. And that's why I feel that a real estate buying seminar -- if properly planned, promoted and delivered -- could be the perfect addition to your real estate marketing system and business promotion.

This article on how to conduct a seminar includes such things as planning the venue, promoting the event, delivering the presentation and more.

This is just one example of adjusting your real estate marketing system to reflect changes in the economy. You have to stay on your toes in this kind of market. You have to come up with creative ways to attract clients, and this is a perfect example.

Like many things in business, a real estate marketing system that doesn't change is one that's doomed to fail eventually. Be flexible and open minded. Look at what's going on in the world and ask yourself, "How can I adjust my marketing program to reflect consumer fears and concerns? How can I encourage qualified buyers to come out of hiding? Is my real estate marketing system well suited for the current and future economy, or is it outdated?"

Top 5 Real Estate Marketing Articles

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

The Marketing Articles section of the main website now offers somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 real estate marketing articles for your reading pleasure.

I thought it would be useful for readers if I listed some of the more popular articles in the library, ranked by how often they are read. I've also included the oldest and newest article in the library, just for good measure.

The oldest article:

Real Estate Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
I published this one "way back" in 2006. It talks about the need to be an innovator when it comes to your real estate marketing program -- and how you should have the courage to try new things instead of following the pack.

The newest article:

How to Create a Marketing Plan
I published this piece yesterday. It's written with new agents in mind, but even the veteran agents will find it useful. This article explains some of the key components of a real estate marketing plan and how they work together.

The 5 most popular articles (by readership):

Tips for Real Estate Lead Generation
This is by far the most widely read article on the website, which probably has a lot to do with the popularity of this topic among agents. This article offers advice on generating real estate leads through your website or blog. It also offers a 65-page booklet on lead generation success.

100 Tips for Internet Marketing
This is actually a work in progress. The article linked here is a compilation of lots of "mini articles" on real estate Internet marketing. By the time I finish it, the article will provide 100 tips on this subject that also serve as links to related information. In others words, it will be like 101 articles rather than only one.

Real Estate Letter Writing - 7 Tips for Agents
Apparently, a lot of agents are still writing letters to their target audience, as a way to generate new business. I know, because this article gets read several times a day. It offers letter-writing tips on researching your audience, writing your content and more.

How to Modernize Your Farming Postcards
If you use real estate postcards as part of your overall marketing strategy, then this article (and the e-book it recommends) is worth your time to read. I spent a few years working in the direct mail marketing business, mainly for real estate clients. The article and book featured here summarize what I learned during that time.

How to Write a Real Estate Ad
I get questions all the time about writing magazine advertisements. This article addresses some of the most commonly asked questions on the subject or real estate ads. It is meant to help you boost your advertising response rates by using proven and effective techniques.

One of my personal favorites:

Real Estate Business Cards - Lessons Learned
This blog article from April 2008 is one of my favorites, mainly because it goes into such detail on the process of ordering business cards. In truth, it's a fairly simple process these days, what with online ordering and all. But this article explains how to increase your card quality while decreasing the cost. It comes from the time I spent working for a commercial printing company in Austin.

I hope you find these articles useful.

Commercial Real Estate Marketing - Steps to Success

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Marketing commercial real estate is not much different than marketing a home to residential buyers. Sure, the property is different. And sometimes the price tag is larger. But the general principles of real estate marketing success apply to commercial properties and residential properties alike.

With that in mind, I'd like to offer a few tips that are specific to commercial real estate marketing and sales.

1. Use Existing Networks

In ever city and major metropolitan area, there is already an existing "attention" network for commercial real estate properties. In 0ther words, there is probably a magazine, newspaper, or website that lists commercial properties. Potential buyers already know these channels exist, so that's where you want to be ... where the attention lies.

Your commercial real estate marketing will be more successful is you leverage existing networks, instead of trying to divert people's attention elsewhere.

2. Increase Your Internet Visibility

You should start your commercial real estate marketing program with known channels, as mentioned above. But it certainly doesn't hurt to create your own marketing channel, and to slowly attract attention to that channel. You can do this by creating a strong web presence focused on commercial real estate in your area.

Combine web marketing, blogging, and search engine marketing tactics to make a highly visible web presence. It will help you market your own properties, and who knows ... you may even grow the site into the premiere commercial real estate marketing site in your area. There's a lot of potential advertising revenue in that, on top of everything else.

3. Match the Marketing to the Property

Industrial properties may not need the ultimate "high gloss" treatment, as far as your real estate marketing materials are concerned. You might get by with bare-bones information pieces to promote this type of property. But a high-end office building requires a bit more polish. As with residential real estate marketing techniques, you should match the promotional materials with the property. Keep the audience in mind, and give them what they're used to seeing.

4. Promote the Intangibles

With every commercial real estate property, there are tangible selling points and intangible selling points. Square footage, recent renovations, new A/C units ... these are the tangibles.

But many brokers forget to mention all of the intangible selling points when marketing commercial real estate property. This might include easy access to parking from the street, proximity to popular lunch spots, a view of a nearby lake, etc.

I hope these tips have given you some new ideas, and I wish you well in your commercial real estate marketing program.

Real Estate Business Cards - Lessons Learned

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Article summary: Real estate agent business cards are easy to obtain and even easier to use. And even as "low-tech" as they are, biz cards are an essential part of your real estate marketing toolkit. Here's everything you need to know about getting some real estate business cards for yourself.

In a former life, I worked for a commercial printing company in Austin, Texas. I've also designed and purchased my fair share of business cards over the years. So this combined experience puts me in a position to offer you some tips for creating, ordering and using your real estate business cards.

Do Agent Business Cards Still Matter?

In a word, yes. Despite the rising popularity of all things "e-business" related, real estate business cards are still very much a necessity. After all, not all of your clients are going to find you via the Web. You will meet many of your potential clients in person. And having a nice-looking business card handy can make the difference between gaining them as a client or losing them forever.

The Convenience of Online Printing Shops

The Internet has not made the real estate agent business card obsolete. It has simply made them much easier to come by. These days, there are hundreds of web-based printing companies that can produce your business cards in no time at all. In the pre-Internet days, you had to visit the print shop in person with your design on a disk.

But these days, you can design a business card online using the web-based design tools of printing company. You can also design the card yourself (or have a graphic designer do it) and then upload it to the printing company's website. From there, they handle the rest of the process for you. They'll print the cards, package them, and ship them to your doorstep.

Printing Real Estate Business Cards Online

Here's the step-by-step process that takes place when creating your cards. Once you understand this process, you'll have a much easier time navigating your way through it.

1. For starters, you will either need a business card designed already, or you'll have to design one online as mentioned previously. Many web-based print shops offer design tools, such as fill-in-the-blank templates, stock images, and the like.
   
2. After the design process, you must proof your real estate business card before the company will print it. Once again, this is where the Internet makes things incredibly simply. In most cases, you can simply view the design online as a JPEG image or a PDF file.
   
3. Once you have given the design proof a "green light" your business cards will move into the printing phase. Obviously, you won't see this process take place, nor will it involve you in any way. The printing company will either use a digital printer (which allows for shorter runs but typically has lower quality) or an offset press (which offers the best print quality). Offset printing is commonly used for real estate business cards because it's cheaper with larger quantities. This means you'll get a price break for bigger orders.
   
4. Once the business cards have printed, they may be inspected by someone within the printing shop. Actually, this will depend on the quality of the company you use. A reputable printing shop will inspect all orders prior to shipping them out. A "low grade" print shop will ship just about anything, regardless of design / printing errors.
   

Here are some other things to keep in mind when obtaining real estate agent business cards:

• If you are paying more than 20 cents per card, you are paying too much. The last time I ordered business cards I paid $45 for a quantity of 500 (one-sided design).
• If you design your own real estate business card, be sure to read the printer's requirements regarding color mode (RGB vs. CMYK), resolution, size, etc. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you should have a graphic designer help you (or use a print company that offers online design tools).
• Choose a medium thickness card stock. The super-thin kind is cheaper, but it feels cheap when you hold it too. The thickest stock is overly thick and therefore a waste of money.
• Limit your design to the essentials -- a catchy image, your name, specialty, contact info and website address. There's no need to have any more than that. A real estate agent business card with too much info crammed onto it is likely to get tossed. Don't make people squint!

Business Card Marketing Ideas

Lastly, let's talk about some of the ways you can use your business card for marketing purposes. Sure, it's a simple, low-tech approach to real estate marketing. But it can also be effective in generating phone calls.

Remember, the more ways you market yourself the better. It's like financial investing ... you want to diversify your portfolio. Search engine marketing, direct mail, seminars, handing out business cards -- these are all good ways to generate business.

Why not have cards printed with property listings on them (in addition to your regular business cards)?

Why not conduct a free home-buying or selling seminar and give all the attendees an informational guide with your business card attached?

Why not give a handful of your cards to business associates in a position to refer business, such as home inspectors, mortgage brokers, etc.

These are just a few examples of how to use your real estate business card for promotional purposes. Use your imagination and you'll come up with a dozen more of your own.

Conclusion

I hope you've enjoyed this guide to real estate agent business cards (and the printing companies who create them). Like I said, the Internet makes it really easy to obtain cards these days, and the fierce competition among print shops keeps pricing down. There is no reason you cannot get 500 or more high-quality cards for somewhere around $50 these days. Good luck!

New Real Estate Agent Marketing

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

I'm a new real estate agent and I want to know where to spend my marketing dollars. What is the best type of marketing for an agent who is new to the real estate business?

I cannot tell you how many times I get emailed some variation of this question. But this is not a question I could even begin to answer for a total stranger. Real estate marketing for new agents will vary from one person to the next, based on such things as:

• The agent's background, unique skills, etc.
• The level of competition in the area
• The agent's marketing goals and intended audience

These are three of the biggest variables, but there are many more. So it's impossible for anyone to say that new real estate agent marketing should consist of this technique or that strategy. A thorough analysis would have to be performed to flesh out the three criteria listed above, among other things.

With that being said, there is one aspect of marketing that new agents should definitely include in their "arsenal" ... that's online visibility.

Web Marketing for New Agents

This is the only aspect of marketing I feel comfortable recommending to 100% of new agents 100% of the time. The reason is obvious: Everyone goes online when researching real estate in their area!

People like to throw statistics around like "84% of home buyers use the Internet" and other random numbers. Stats aside, we all know the truth ... if you're a new real estate agent without a web marketing strategy, you're going to have a hard uphill climb ahead of you.

So when I am asked what a new real estate agent marketing program should consist of, I offer the following advice:

It depends on the agent and his or her market, but the one thing the agent absolutely must have is search engine visibility. With a highly visible web presence, a great burden is lifted from the agent's shoulders in terms of marketing effort and cost.

Of course, it's not easy to achieve good search engine ranking. Search engine optimization / SEO takes time and effort. So people often ask, "Is SEO worth all of that effort?"

Let me answer that question with another question. How great would it be if you got a steady stream of inquiries from prospective clients, day in and day out? It would be worth a lot, wouldn't it? Then it's certainly worth the effort to pursue a search engine optimization strategy as part of your agent marketing program.

Lastly, let me offer you a path to better search engine rankings. Actually, I'd like to offer two paths ... one for the do-it-yourself agents, and one for everyone else:

• For the do-it-yourself types: My guide to real estate SEO
• For everyone else: My SEO services for agents

If you found this guide to new real estate agent marketing helpful, you might also want to check out this article I wrote on the subject a couple of years ago.

Real Estate Marketing for New Agents

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

Marketing advice for new real estate agents:

When I talk to real estate agents who are new to the industry, one of the first questions they ask is, "How can I compete with veteran agents?" Or more specifically, "How should I conduct my real estate marketing program to compensate for my inexperience."

My response: "Take experience out of the equation, and focus on lead generation."

Remove Experience from the Equation

Veteran real estate agents were "newbies" at some point. They got past that stage, and so can you. In fact, everybody in the entire world has been new to something at least once in their life. We are new to elementary school, middle school and high school. We are new to the working world. We are new to people, places and social situations.

Everyone knows what it's like to be the new guy or gal. So why sweat it?

As a real estate agent, you'll find that most clients judge you by your knowledge, your personality and your professionalism. And here's the good news -- you can bring those things to work with you on Day 1.

Focus on Lead Generation

Some marketing "experts" will tell you to promote your brand and keep yourself "top of mind" with your prospect area. Those things are okay over the long-term. But if you're relying on them to generate business in the short-term, you better have some living expenses tucked away. It's going to be a long wait.

Here's where you, as a new real estate agent, can actually outperform the veterans you're up against. Build a better lead-generation program. Instead of relying too heavily on branding or top-of-mind awareness (secondary marketing strategies, by the way), focus on generating leads you can turn into clients.

Here are three specific ways to outperform the veterans in your area:

Be More Visible

Get yourself a website and start learning about search engine visibility. Search engines don't care how long you've been in business or how many clients you have. They will rank a popular, well-optimized website over an older, more stagnant website much of the time.

Build a strong web presence, get some people linking to it, publish press releases and articles online, and you'll make your website more visible to the search engines. See the resource mentioned at the end of this article for more.

Be More Proactive

Build an exclusive "must read" report around a hot topic in your area. Make it provocative and thought-provoking, not just another "Tips for Home Buyers." Urban sprawl is a great example. If there's development in your area, create a report along the lines of "How Urban Expansion Affects Your Property Values."

Choose a topic that matches your audience (buyers, sellers, affluent, middle-class, etc.). Build a direct mail postcard campaign to promote the report. Send people to a web page where they can sign up for it with only an email address. Make it easy for them.

You've just built your first lead-generation program, and no experience is necessary!

Be More Creative

Why not partner up with a mortgage professional, a home inspector or both to launch a home-buying seminar series? Make it free, easy to sign up for, and fun! Come up with a creative angle for it, like "The Modern Real Estate Process" or "Mortgage 101 for the Mathematically Challenged." Invite your local news to cover it (that's the kind of thing they look for on slow news days).

Knock people's socks off with the quality of your presentation and your enthusiasm. Give them your business card and other take-away items. Stick around afterward for questions and chit chat. There will be clients in that group, I guarantee it.

Conclusion

I spun off these ideas in the span of an hour. You might come up with a dozen more of your own. But let me ask you this -- how many of the tactics outlined above require vast experience? That's right, none of them. Be creative. Be proactive. Be enthusiastic and positive. Before you know it, you'll be so busy you'll forget how new you are.

* Copyright 2006, Brandon Cornett. You may republish this article online if you keep the hyperlinks active and retain the author's note and byline.

Learn More

Brandon Cornett is the author of several real estate marketing books. You can learn more about real estate marketing for new agents by visiting the New Agent Learning Center at: http://www.armingyourfarming.com

Real Estate Marketing In a Slow Market

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

The following question gets the award for most commonly asked question from my real estate SEO clients over the last month:

The market has sure slowed down lately. Do you any real estate marketing ideas that are specific to a slower market?

Unfortunately, there is not much to say to a question like this. Most agents realize that real estate is a very cyclical business, and we are scraping bottom right about now.

So the best advice I can give about real estate marketing in a slow market is to be smart about where you spend your marketing dollars, scale back on unnecessary expenditures, and focus on marketing techniques that will benefit you during the next upswing ... because it will come eventually.

Here's how this relates to search engine optimization, which is my particular specialty. Anytime is a good time to work on your website's search engine rankings. It's a slow and steady process, so you should work on it a little each month. I've even given step-by-step SEO instructions in my book Top Ten Agent, so there's plenty you could be doing.

When real estate markets turn upward, the volume of real estate-related Internet searches also begins to rise. I've seen it happen for years. So if you boost your website's search engine rankings starting now, you'll be in good shape to capture your share of that increased search traffic down the road.

Thus, search engine optimization is a good investment in any kind of market, and I'm not just saying that because I offer real estate SEO services. Truth be told, I have about all the clients I can handle right now.

Other forms of real estate marketing do not share that trait, and are not a wise investment in slower markets. For example, it's usually a good idea to scale back on print advertising (newspaper, magazines, etc.) during anything that resembles a housing slump. After all, what's the point of spending money on print ads when nobody is going to respond to them? Magazine ads don't have the same future benefit that SEO does.

So while there aren't any magic techniques for real estate marketing in a slow market, there are certainly things you can do to prepare for when the market swings up again. The key is to spend your money on marketing tactics that have a future benefit.

Related article:
The Recession Monster Rears Its Head

Brand Imitation - Is it flattery, or laziness?

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

I wanted to share a new section of my postcard marketing website that I was forced to create recently. I thought at the least you would find it amusing ... or maybe saddening, I don't know.

I won't go into much detail here because it's all spelled out in the story linked below, and I don't want to tarnish this blog with any kind of negativity. But click the button below to read this partly amusing, partly pathetic story about sheer laziness and spitefulness among a real estate marketing vendor.

Morden Marketing Tips for Real Estate Agents

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

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The real estate profession has become incredibly competitive in recent years. I don't say that to disturb you, but only so you'll know the truth. The number of real estate agents in the United States is mind-boggling ... and well into the millions. On top of that, we are seeing an explosion in the number and size of real estate "self help" sites such as Zillow and HouseValues.

As a result of all this, real estate marketing has become more challenging as well. You have to work smarter and "out-think" the competition in order to succeed. To help you do just that, I've compiled some real estate marketing tips. I hope these tips make your marketing a little less intimidating and a lot more effective.

Read the article here:
Marketing Tips for Real Estate Agents

Real Estate Marketing ... After the Sale

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

I came back to my office after lunch yesterday and found a small package waiting for me. I looked at the label and saw it was from EzineArticles.com, an article distribution site where I send a lot of material.

Inside the box was a thank-you note, some mints, and a jumbo-sized mug with the EzineArticles.com logo on it.

Did they have to do this?
Of course not.

Why did they do this?
Because they did not have to.

What's the result of doing this?
It stands out in my mind, because they did not have to do it.

What are the extended results?
I'm blogging about it, giving them free publicity, and probably sending some new users their way. All because of a mug? No ... all because they took the time to send me a mug when they did not have to.

Now switch gears to real estate marketing. What can you do to pleasantly surprise your clients after the sale? How might that affect your business? Something to think about.

-Brandon

Service Matters - A Car Buying Story

© 2010, Brandon Cornett. All rights reserved.

The Importance of Offering Good Service

My wife bought a new car recently. There's a Nissan dealership about 5 miles down the road from our house. But she went past that dealership to another Nissan dealer near where she works, quite a ways from where we live.

Why did she go to the trouble? Because I've bought a car from the closer dealership, and the service was terrible. It took three months to get my license plates (I had to keep going back to get updated 30-day tags). The finance guy talked down to us like these matters were outside our comprehension, though we're both financially smarter than he is. The sales lady told me to give her all "excellents" on her survey so she could "get her fifty bucks."

Yes, it was a joke.

So my wife drove out of her way to avoid buying her car from the same dealer. Actually, both dealerships are owned by the same person. But they service she received was totally different that what I received.

When it's time to trade in my car, I too will drive out of my way to the other dealership and ask for her salesman by name. I will recommend the other dealership to friends. And she has given the dealership all "excellents" on their corporate survey, though the guy certainly didn't ask for it.

Moral of This Story
Remarkable products and services create talkability and buzz. The same concept applies to the real estate business. If you offer an experience that makes your clients say Wow, this was really nice, then those clients will talk about you. And who knows, maybe somebody will go out of their way to have you as their agent.

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More real estate marketing tips
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