12 Tips to Make Money in Real Estate

12 Tips to Make Money in Real Estate

When you invest in real estate, you invest in something tangible. You can look at it, feel it, drive by with your friends, point out the window, and say, “I own that”. For some people, that’s important psychologically.

Real estate investments have traditionally been a terrific inflation hedge to protect against a loss in purchasing power of the dollar.

When it comes to real estate investing there are multiple ways to earn a dollar. Here are

12 tips to make money in real estate.

1. Taking calculated risks by implementing the LOANs strategy
This is a real bonafide strategy. Using other’s money can help you get started. You can make a fortune in real estate by taking out loans. You might not even be able to get a credit card so you try to put deals together with no expenses other than a phone number.

If you are going to own real estate, on the other hand, then you need to be prepared to take out a lot of debt — or leverage — to finance your property with the least amount of down payment. This can be risky because there are laws stating the minimum that you must put down to buy property in different jurisdiction. Some articles recommend risking it all by taking out credit cards. This is fine if this fits your appetite for risk and using hard money. Just be respectful of the fact that you have to pay this money back. In most cases loans with higher interest rates are meant for short term uses. Some people buy their property free-and-clear.

Leveraging Other’s Assets Now Strategy

2. Care about your tenants by improving your property
What’s the point taking all of the risk if you don’t care about the property?

Many investors don’t care about the condition of the property. They care about getting paid. Some investors would rather offer discounts on rent than make an improvement to their property. This tells me that they are undercapitalized or just aren’t good business people. If you want to invest in property you should care about making improvements to it to optimize the property’s value.Plan for your property to be damaged, budget to repair your property, and take people to court to recover costs. Real estate is built around contracts. If you want to enforce your contracts you have to take them to court often to get liens, judgments, and help getting tenants out of properties. Make sure to talk to your lawyers.

3. Condos vs SFR (Single Family Residence), make for better rental properties
What property type should you choose? Your property type should depend on the real estate itself, however most real estate professionals prefer a specific real estate niche. If you are in real estate you have probably heard the industry adage, “Never fall in love with real estate…fall in love with the ROI.” So what real estate ventures can provide a return on investment (ROI) a real estate investor can love? It’s been said by sites and realtors that condos make for better investments than single family residences, however, it really is based on the numbers. Decide whether you are a cash flow investor or capital gains investor, analyze your deals and make your decisions. It seems that mobile homes and mobile home parks are popular right now.

4. Find partners that you can trust
At some point during business growth, it may make sense to take on a partner. Too much work, you’re stretched too thin, missed opportunities. A good business partner may be the solution – and you can take a day off once in a while.

Finding a business partner is a lot like finding a partner in life. A solid foundation is based on trust and respect for each other. Your business partner will be an integral part of your life.

Finding partners you can trust is a key element for all types of relationships in real estate. Like all relationships, business partnerships are built on trust and mutual value. The beginning phases of these relationships are critical to establishing that trust and value. You need to prove to a potential partner that working together is in both of your best interests, right from your initial conversations.

Eight Ways To Build Trust-Based Relationships With Potential Business Partners

5. Diversification is key
Diversification is important, as with any investment, so plan to buy lots of property, a big portfolio of real estate assets, or do deals. If you do deals by being the middle man, you only need a few good connections to strike it rich. Consider investing in assets outside of real estate to diversify as well.

6. Start local
Robert Kiyosaki mentioned in one of his real estate courses to focus on your local neighborhood and get to know the market well. Focusing locally is a great strategy because you are not far from your property and know what is going on. It can be more difficult doing out-of-state deals because you have to build trust with the people you are dealing with at a distance. It’s good to be able to fly to meet cash buyers and motivated sellers face-to-face. Once you connect with buyers and sellers, you can meet them face-to-face — it’s up to you! You have the potential to become an international expert when you start local.

7. Know Your Neighborhood
As we mentioned previously, starting local is a great strategy. Get connected with local experts who know about the specifics of each neighborhood before you invest. There are such drastic demographic changes between close neighborhoods in the U.S. that it’s good to know people in those locations who you trust, you can joint venture with or consult and to visit those locations yourself so you can see the difference in the areas which you are investing. Some of you invest in such big packages which make it prohibitive to visit every single neighborhood but it’s a good idea for smaller investors to visit where they are investing. Even some coaches visit where they invest.

8. Find a niche
Finding a niche is really important. You do not need to be expert in everything. You need to be exceptional at a few things and customers will buy, tenants will rent, cash buyers will invest. You can try to be an expert in many phases of real estate, or you can specialize in a niche market and become the authority in that market. There are many highly successful real estate agents and brokers that have narrowed their real estate marketing niche focus to a specific geographical area, a type of property or a category of consumer. Recognizing the opportunities that are out there and selecting a niche that appeals to you can be a lucrative strategy. Here are just a few niches to get you started…

• For Sale By Owner Properties (FSBO's)
• Resort and Vacation Homes
• Hispanics are a growing home-buying group.
• More and more Singles are buying homes every year.
• Baby boomers, or Seniors are a huge market influence.
• Luxury Homes - A market requiring specialized skills and money.
• Condominium buyers and sellers offer a great niche opportunity.

9. Pick Trending Markets
In tip 6 remember Robert Kiyosaki mentioned to focus on your local neighborhood? Contrary to starting local, Forbes recommends going where the money is. In this article, David Lichtenstein recommends following hot industries in order to know where prices will go up. He believes that trend spotting is very important to accumulating wealth in real estate quickly. Getting a jump on the upcoming trends can have a positive financial impact on your real estate business. Here are Housing Market Predications for 2019.

10. Have good tax accounting
Claim capital expenses on your taxes to defer paying taxes. Rollover your properties to new investment properties so you don’t have to pay taxes on the sale of one property when upgrading to a bigger one with more doors which cash flows better. Learn the different tax laws in each market so that you don’t miss out on investing in all of the hot markets with the biggest price appreciation. Consult your tax professional.

11. Get control of as many properties as you can while mortgage rates are at historical lows
Debt is still debt. You have to be careful of taking on too much debt because interest rates can rise and you can be over leveraged, unable to refinance, and go bankrupt. With so many countries going into negative interest rates, who knows where interest rates will go. With low interest rates it is more affordable to own property.

Good Debt - There's no better example of the old adage "it takes money to make money" than good debt. Good debt helps you generate income and increases you net worth.

Bad Debt - While even "good debt" can have a downside, certain debts are downright bad. Items that fit into this category include all debts incurred to purchase depreciating assets. In other words, "if it won't go up in value or generate income, you shouldn't go into debt to buy it."

12. Build a lead generation system
“Systems and technology have leveled the playing field.” - Josh Altman, the star of the hit TV show Million Dollar Listing. Some real estate investors have their own IDX integrated sites with lists of 80,000 cash buyers, which really help them, get deals done in their local market when a distressed seller calls them. However, you need to have your own lead generation system to make this happen. Placester provides tools that will help you increase your sales however, look to pay an annual fee of $1,200 to $3,000 if you need an entire IDX integrated site and email marketing. Your real estate leads are your bread and butter. However, you don’t have to start from scratch and you don’t have to pay thousands of dollars to get started. This is why RECBL provides verified real estate cash buyers for agents, brokers, wholesalers and investors to help real estate professionals with real estate ventures. RECBL provides real estate cash buyer packages starting at only $10. Also, with each package, we make sure you are able to access the free real estate property software and free real estate email marketing software.

Here is an article on the marketing trends to pay attention to in 2019.

How much are you going to make in real estate in the next ten years?

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Real Estate Industry and the New Normal

Real Estate Industry and the "New Normal"

This month’s National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Power Broker Roundtable discusses the evolution of the industry’s “new normal.”

 MODERATOR: ​​​Christina Pappas, District Sales Manager, The Keyes Company, Miami, Fla.; Liaison for Large Firms & Industry Relations, NAR

 PANELIST: Sherry Chris, CEO, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Madison, N.J.

 PANELIST: Joan Docktor, President, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach, REALTORS®, Devon, Pa.

 PANELIST: Long Doan, CEO, Co-Founder, Realty Group MN, Coon Rapids, Minn.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Christina Pappas: Everything old is new again. The saying comes from the lyrics of a Peter Allen song originated nearly 40 years ago, but the words were never truer than they are today, especially in the real estate industry, which has changed and reinvented itself over and over since the term “REALTOR®” was first coined way back in 1916.

So what exactly is traditional real estate? Is it relevant in today’s world? What do we mean by “the new normal”—and where is the industry heading? For answers—and some very well-informed interpretations—we’ll be speaking with three industry leaders who are positioned on the forefront of change. Sherry, you’ve been a real estate innovator through several cycles of change. What do you see as today’s new normal?

Sherry Chris: Well, I can’t go back to 1916, but I have been around long enough to see how the industry has turned upside down with the advent of modern technology. In the early days of technology application, consumers would search our websites on their own and perhaps eventually call an agent. Today, we can give our agents the edge through the use of predictive modeling. We can use Smart Bots. We can match up artificial intelligence (AI) with a treasure trove of deep, rich data to determine the habits and patterns of potential buyers and sellers, so that the agent can be the first to reach out with exactly what that consumer is looking for. That’s the direction we are taking, and we’re investing heavily in the effort. But to speak to your “everything old is new again” reference, Christina, the truth is that regardless of the impact technology is making, the agent was, is, and should be the trusted advisor at the center of every transaction.

Joan Docktor: I agree. Today’s new normal combines the best of traditional real estate—that is, building relationships and giving every consumer the best possible buying or selling experience—with everything that technology can offer to accommodate and advance those goals. We are using AI to make our agent CRMs smarter—to give our agents more and better information and to keep them front and center with consumers. We’re also in the process of developing Chat Bots, or Smart Bots, to reside online and answer consumer questions 24/7—and, more important, to connect online searchers with knowledgeable, live agents.

Long Doan: Of course, technology has dramatically changed the way real estate is practiced today, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle. In my new normal, keeping the agent front and center means more than providing tools; it means creating an environment where the broker works for the agent, and not the other way around. Our goal is to provide a business platform that includes technology, as well as marketing support and coaching, to help every agent become the CEO of his or her own business—and we are turning the traditional commission structure on its ear with a 100 percent commission and a flat fee. In my view, that’s the way to produce dedicated and competitive agents who perform at peak levels.

CP: There’s another way the industry is changing, and it has to do with physical footprint, both in terms of space and layout. Shrinking office space was a natural byproduct of the last industry slowdown, but what may have begun as an economic need is giving us a new-normal benefit. In our offices, for example, cubicles are becoming a thing of the past in favor of open spaces—almost like a Starbucks atmosphere—that are flexible and that definitely create a more congenial business setting.

LD: I think that back when cell phones went viral, and everybody became mobile, many agents seemed to want to skip the office in favor of working from home. But now, agents are coming back because they miss that interaction. Part of my approach is making the office environment so valuable, so compelling in terms of support, sharing and mentoring, that agents want to be there whenever they’re not out selling real estate.

JD: That’s a good thing, because real estate is first and foremost a people business, both in terms of office culture and in building client relationships. But as more business is transacted online, the new normal also means we need to be more focused than ever on security. Hackers become more wily every day, and many consumers don’t realize just how vulnerable they are. As brokers, we need to have two-step email authentications and other online security measures in place to help keep consumer information and all our data as safe and secure as possible.

SC: And yet all of that is in the background, as far as consumers are concerned—security, data-mining, even Smart Bots. All most consumers want to know—even millennials, who are the most tech-savvy and who make up the largest segment of homebuyers today—when the rubber meets the road is that their agent is there for them, face-to-face, throughout every phase of their transaction. In that way, traditional real estate hasn’t changed…and I doubt that it ever will.



For more information, please visit www.nar.realtor.





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Real Estate Investing: It’s not in the property

Real Estate Investing: It’s not in the property

RECBL - Real Estate News

Thomas Edison was quoted as saying, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

If you are new to real estate investing you probably have a ton of questions. Real estate investing is more than just the purchasing, owning, managing, renting and/or selling real estate for profit. Real estate investing, realistically, is a career and way of life.

There are people whom have chosen a path, who’ve pursued degrees to become lawyers, doctors and even bartenders because those career areas are compelling and give them reason to live a certain lifestyle.

I am not talking about getting a license to become a real estate agent so you can become the middle man of property transactions. I am talking about becoming a real estate investor which does not require a real estate license but does require skills such as patience, a willingness to succeed and most of all knowledge of the industry you call real estate investing.

To become successful in the real estate investing industry, here are 10 must-haves to help get you started in your new lifestyle.

Know Your “WHY?”
Ask yourself the main reason you are choosing real estate investing as your career and lifestyle. You may say money but go beyond the obvious and dig deep. Is it to help yourself, your family and/or your community? Is it to create a legacy which will continue long after you’re gone? Understanding your “WHY” will support your passion, drive, motivation and focus. Keep your “WHY’s” written down and close to you at all times so you never lose focus of your purpose for your choice.

Create Realistic Goals
This can be a tough one, however, if you have spent time on your “WHY” your vision for your goals will develop easier than you may realize. And in the same manner you have written down your “WHY’s” and kept them close to you, write down your goals and place them in plain view throughout your home so you can read them at every turn. In everything you do have purpose. Your goals are your roses, stop to enjoy them and remind yourself as to the purpose of your “WHY’s”. Maintaining that focus and passion will forge your goals into results.

Find a mentor
This step is probably one of the most challenging. Finding a mentor requires you to test your comfort zones and allow yourself to become a clean slate for someone to help you become what you have never been before. This step requires more than just visiting your local REI meetings and introducing yourself to a seasoned real estate investor. This step is about finding someone who is passionate about mentoring. Remember, a mentor is both an experienced and trusted advisor. A mentor is as passionate about teaching and mentoring just as much as you are about learning and being mentored. You want to find real people, with real knowledge who provide real estate mentoring and who produce real results in real estate.

Create a to-do-list
You’re probably thinking, “How many lists am I going to have to make?” The answer is, “However many lists it takes to help you get started and keep moving forward.”

Start with creating a simple to-do list. Make the list aesthetically pleasing so you are able to read it easily. You can create a daily, weekly and monthly to-do list. Whether it’s on a piece of stationary or your smart phone, make sure to create a list which inspires you to stay motivated and focused in order to get your tasks completed.

Create a minimum of three columns.

• First column: Task – what is task you want to complete (e.g. attend 3 REI meetings)
• Second column: Time – what time are your tasks to be completed? (e.g. REI meetings at 6:30 pm)
• Third column: Due Date – how soon do you want this task to be completed (e.g. Dec 1, 4 and 6)

This is just a rudimentary beginning and you can develop your own list to meet your needs. However, as you accomplish each task mark them off the list. At the end of the day you create a new list and move everything forward. Do the same thing with the end of the week and month. You’ll instantly see progress which will help you stay focused and motivated and before you know it, your goals become concrete accomplishments and results will follow.

Become the Socialite
Announce yourself into the market by telling people who you are and what it is you do. Your mindset makes a huge difference in how people will accept you and what you do. If you want to be a real estate investor then you must believe you are a real estate investor. Whether you’re a novice or pro is irrelevant, it’s all about your belief in yourself. You must embrace the real estate investor mindset and work ethic.

Advertising and Marketing Yourself
Vehicle signage, business cards and flyers still work, however you want to get your name on the Internet. Social media can help tremendously in this area. You can reach more people in a shorter period of time. Facebook, Instagram, Google+, YouTube are all fantastic ways to help get the word out about yourself. If people don’t know who you are or what it is you can do, breaking into the real estate industry can be even more challenging. The Internet is the number one area to get your business to the next level. Eighty six percent of first time home buyers hit the Internet first in search of their dream home. This step is definitely a to-do list item especially due to the positive impact it can make on your introduction.

Build a buyers list – Lead Generation
This is a critical step and everyone is trying to do this. This reason this step is so important is because you want to have a network of people who are looking for real estate, just like you. You want to find cash buyers who are accustomed to buying real estate for cash. You want to know what other real estate investors are buying and where they are buying. This step is all about lead generation. If you are looking to find real estate cash buyers there are many different ways from software purchases, real estate lead providers, visiting the county recorder’s office and getting a list of all cash sales in the last 30 days in your area. The goal is to find real estate cash buyers and their parameters so you have an idea of what to look for so you can find it, lock it down and flip it for a profit.

Deal or No Deal?
Now you are in the meat and potatoes of the real estate investing industry. Finding a deal may look easy for some and that’s only because they have done everything else already to make sure they can get to this point. The only way you are really going to be able to determine whether or not you have found a deal is if you run the numbers. Remember, if the numbers don’t make sense, then your deal is not a deal. Also, the deal not only has to be a deal for you, but also for the real estate investors you have connected with. You want to make sure you are able to win-win-win situation for you the seller, you and the buyer. It’s a balance you will have to learn to implement correctly.

Get an Agent
Some say this is a must. You probably remember reading earlier that a real estate license is not a necessity and it isn’t, however having a great real estate agent who knows and understands the areas in which you are interested in can be a real game changer. Also, you want to be able to find a real estate with an investor mindset as well. (You’ll understand this more in depth as you meet different agents.) An agent with an investor mindset will have a bettering understanding of you and your goals. You may have to meet with a few agents to determine who you feel comfortable working with but in the end it pays off and you can build a long-lasting relationship.

Continue your pursuit for your goals
This article opened with a Thomas Edison quote and we will close with a Thomas Edison quote. Thomas Edison was also quoted as saying, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” True, true, true!

You will experience obstacles in your pursuit for your goals. Obstacles are not dead ends. Obstacles are milestones on your path to success. Most people experience rejection and give up. If you give up you will never realize how close you were to success. When you experience obstacles, remember your “WHY’s”. Reach into whatever pocket you have your “WHY” list so you never lose focus of your purpose for your choice.

You can try doing all of this yourself or you can connect with a network of investors who can teach, train and mentor you in all of these areas. This is your opportunity to make a difference, not just for yourself but to accomplish the bullet points you have on your list.

Don’t wait, click here to connect and get started.

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Local Hyper-Targeted Marketing

Local Hyper-Targeted Marketing

RECBL - Real Estate News

Hyper-targeted marketing has emerged as a definite trend in the real estate market. The ability to reach prospective clients according to closely targeted locations via zip code and neighborhood data can be an effective way to establish and grow connections.

What exactly is this buzz phrase that’s capturing the attention of real estate professionals nationwide? It’s a series of techniques that involve narrowing your focus and marketing efforts, versus more traditional approaches like casting a wide net.

When combined with the technology available for agencies, homebuyers and sellers, hyper-targeted marketing can be an effective way to create and establish important connections. How to use it?

Go local-hyper-local. When advertising a new listing, open house, sale or other important update, focus your efforts on targeting very specific regions. If you have the available info, try reaching people based in relevant zip codes, subdivisions or neighborhoods, rather than just an entire city or suburb.

Know your target audience. Are you looking to reach current homeowners? First-time buyers? Millennials? Empty nesters? Zeroing in on your desired audience can help make your communications more effective by making sure the right message is relevant to the right people.

Marketing by home type. Hyper-targeting can also apply to the type of home you’re trying to help your clients buy or sell, from condos and townhouses to estates and duplexes. For example, lofts located downtown may be a great fit for working professionals, while lakefront properties may be sought after by empty nesters looking for just the right vacation property.

Targeting by move time. In addition to location, timing is another important factor in the marketplace. Considering the timing of your communications is also important. Would you like to reach people looking to move now, next year, or in a few months? Or do you know which prospects are likely to respond during traditionally busy versus quiet moving seasons?

In today’s increasingly competitive real estate market, it’s not just about delivering the right message, it’s also about reaching the right audience. While your prospective clients may be fielding a sea of information from both competitors and businesses outside of your industry, you can still cut through the clutter to let them know about what you have to offer. Hyper targeted marketing combined with iIntercept Media’s local target marketing redirect solution can help you gain the edge over your competitor. Are you looking to step in front of your local competitor?

What would give your business the edge? Here’s what all of your competition does:

• Yellow page ads
• Radio advertising
• Newspaper ads
• TV commercials
• Social media and even
• Google advertising...

What’s the problem with all of this? It’s expensive and everyone’s doing it.

If you want your business to explode it’s imperative that you learn how to gain the edge over your competition. That’s where our local marketing redirect solution comes in.

Imagine this scenario; two local pizza parlors are competing for business, pizza place A is advertising on Google, the radio and a ton of other expensive mediums. Pizza place B is only using our local pop-up redirect marketing services.

A customer hears about pizza place A from radio or TV or any of their other expensive advertising so they simply go online and type in their address, www dot pizza place a dot com. Immediately a nice ad from pizza place B shows up over and on top of the competitors’ website saying, “Hey we’ve got great pizza too, plus we’ll give you a five dollar discount if you print this page immediately.”

What just happened here? Pizza place B just stepped in front of the customer and gained their business from an extremely targeted and inexpensive ad, something that your competition won’t be able to do.

When you enroll and use our services we guarantee we won’t sell this service to any of your competition within a five mile radius or you can contract us exclusively. You get the exclusive ability to absolutely gain the most targeted customers you’ll ever find. Our service is inexpensive and can be live within just hours. You gain the edge over your competition and many new customers as well. 

That’s the power of local pop-up marketing.

That’s the power of our company.

To find out more contact us at marketing@iinterceptmedia.com for a consultation and a demo.


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Facebook Video Marketing

Facebook Video Marketing

RECBL - Real Estate News

Did you know that, this year, 74 percent of all content online will be video?

Marketing with it is a must, according to Marki Lemons Ryhal, a social media speaker who recently shared tips on video at the National Association of REALTORS(R) 2017 REALTORS(R) Conference & Expo.

One of the easiest, and most inexpensive, marketing methods? Facebook Live, Lemons Ryhal explained. On Facebook, an audience two billion strong contains your next homebuyer or seller and a live video can help them find and get to know you as their real estate professional.

Anyone can "go live" at any time, but it does pay to be prepared, Lemons Ryhal said. Dispel the fear of imperfection-"People do not care how you look" -and pick up some tools:

Extra Juice - A backup battery and/or charger
Lighting - A ring light
Mic - A lapel microphone (more than one, if youll be sharing screen time)

Give your followers and friends a heads-up youre planning a video-"about 24 hours in advance," said Lemons Ryhal. Is it a how-to for homebuyers? A Q&A? Give some thought to what you will say, even though it will be (mostly) unscripted, and market it. Avoid, however, promoting properties.

"Every listing has three disqualifiers in it," Lemons Ryhal noted. "Most dont care about the location, and either they can or cannot afford the price point, and maybe a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home is not ideal for them. Every time you post a listing, youre posting content that does not resonate with people in your sphere because it has those disqualifiers."

Carrie J. Little, managing broker of a company in West Chicago, Ill., appealed to a broad group with her first Facebook Live video:

After going live, Little advertised her video again from her Facebook business page, and earned $42,000 in just six months off eight transactions-a 2,105 percent return. According to Lemons Ryhal, Little did a lot of things right: she introduced herself, explained what she was going to talk about, and took questions. She also included a call to action and interacted with viewers.

"Ask people what they want to know and what their problem points are so that you can solve them, or, develop content [around them] and start researching it," said Lemons Ryhal. "Become the problem-solver for real estate in your community."

The other key to Little’s success? Timelessness. Consider the diversity of your followers and friends, and also how you might repurpose the video. Some tools Lemons Ryhal uses:

aTubeCatcher - Creates an MP3 (ideal for podcasts)
Fiverr - Hire someone to transcribe (ideal for blogs, e-books)
Zoom - Cross-promotes/syndicates to other platforms
Explaindio 3.0 - Video creator for a more professional rendering

"We should, as real estate professionals, originate all content in video format because of the ease of converting it into other content," Lemons Ryhal said. "All you got to do is do it."

​For more information check out Facebook Media for tips.




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Effective Real Estate Ads

Effective Real Estate Ads

RECBL - Real Estate News

If you are in the real estate game, a necessary skill in today’s digital marketing era is to learn how to write compelling real estate ads. As a real estate agent, getting the best leads is typically your number one priority. That starts with getting lots of targeted traffic to your lead generator with a balance of strong SEO tactics and strategic real estate advertising ideas.

An effective ad has the power to sell your properties quickly. When creating real estate ads, you should take time to brainstorm features that will make your ad special. That means the phrases you choose, the buyer you’re speaking to, and the best qualities of the listing or your business that convey a clear benefit to the consumer.

Here are five tips to help you write compelling ads for your real estate business.

Attention-Grabbing Headlines
With thousands of property listings currently available on the internet, you need your ad to pop and immediately grab the reader’s attention. You can accomplish this with an eye-catching headline. Because your headline is the main draw of your real estate ad, your headline should depict the strongest pull for a user’s search terms. With the limited attention span of most people who read content online, a headline may be your only chance. The best headlines will give readers a reason to click on your listings. An effective headline includes something that benefits the reader and has a curiosity element. For that reason, it’s also ideal to put at least some of the keyword terms you’re targeting in your headline.

Your headline should be no more than 25 characters. It’s best to use keyword-rich, attention getting action verbs with bold language.

Concise Property Features
Few agents think from the customer’s perspective when creating ads. Because there are so many ads on each page, you must appeal to consumers’ needs within seconds using tactics which are proven to get clicks. Your ad should engage both a consumer’s logic and emotions to get them to take action. An effective real estate ad gets to the point and immediately lists the property’s primary features. Don’t just highlight the number of bedrooms/bathrooms and the property’s overall square footage. Inform your readers about any recent renovations/upgrades or if the home has any unique characteristics. Discuss the property’s location and any nearby schools. Make the ad easy to read by pointing out this information using bullet points. Here are some examples depending on what you’re advertising.

• Single Property: Beautiful renovated beachfront home; Secure a virtual or in-person tour!
• Area Properties: Premium Coastal Listings for Sale; Search 100s of area listings first.
• Brand/Business: Top-ranked agent 3 years running; Call for free valuation report!
• Overall, develop a variety of terminology so you don’t repeat yourself in your ad’s small space.

Promotions
If you want to keep a prospective buyers attention while they are reading your ads, you should point out any special promotions you are offering. Promotions may include a discounted list price, seller financing, an offer to pay the buyers closing costs or any rent-to-own or lease-purchase agreements.

Sell a Lifestyle, Not a House
Many folks in the real estate industry think they are selling houses to potential buyers. In reality, the most successful real estate pros know they are selling more than a house; they are selling a lifestyle. Most prospective buyers will picture themselves living in a house. An effective ad actually draws your readers in to their new home. Many leads are searching for homes in a particular area for a variety of reasons beyond the physical property. Whether it’s proximity to culture, great schools, or a relaxing environment, describe some great things about actually living in the area.

Inspire Your Readers
Words are a powerful tool when selling real estate. If you can write well, there is serious value in putting compelling words in your ad copy. Describe to your readers that your properties have panoramic views or 1,900 square feet that will give them plenty of space without losing the coziness of a smaller home. Inspire your readers to enjoy the property’s breathtaking sunrises. Choosing the right words in your ad will give your content tremendous power.

The words and phrases you use should be alluring, aspirational, relatable, and not alienating or used in every other ad. Also, you should use action verbs and bold language to get users’ attention.

Note some guidelines for popular real estate advertising words:

• Positive: beautiful, move-in ready, spacious, turn-key, remodeled, master bathroom, etc. are top performers. Try playing around with these examples.
• Overused: Stunning, designer, updated, gourmet kitchen, and more tend to be overdone.
• Negative: Cozy, charming, needs paint, must sell, motivated seller, potential, and others should be avoided.
• Offer Exclusivity: Tell users they’ve come upon the best deal, or that they’ve found the most savvy agent in the area.
• Build Urgency: Give viewers the feeling that if they don’t click on your ad, they’ll miss out on an important deal or a great agent.

As a reminder, do not forget to include a strong call to action. Kick it up a notch and play on the prospective buyer’s sense of urgency.

Here is an example: "If you are still reading this, you should stop and call us now. This might be your last chance to make an offer on this incredible property!"

Are you looking to increase your real estate lead generation?

For more information visit www.placester.com.​

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Tips to Help Market Yourself

Tips to Help Market Yourself

RECBL - Real Estate News

Marketing is the action or business of promoting and selling products or services. When it comes to real estate there is no shortage of products or services to market.

If you’re like many real estate professionals, you can market properties with surprising ease, but may have difficulty when it comes to marketing yourself.

Even if it’s not something you particularly enjoy, marketing yourself and your services is a necessary part of helping your business grow and being in the real estate business marketing yourself is essential.

Whether you’re a new real estate professional or a veteran agent, here are some "Marketing Yourself 101" tips and reminders that you may find helpful:

• Brag a little in your marketing materials. Potential clients want to know what you’ve accomplished and what your professional strengths are. Were your sales figures last year commendable? List them in your marketing materials. Have you won professional awards over the years? Don’t be shy about sharing them. Were you recognized in the community for volunteer efforts or generosity? Be sure to include that information, too.

• If you have trouble writing about yourself, ask colleagues and clients who know you well to describe you. Then, consider using those words in your marketing pieces. Sometimes the people who’ve seen you in action recognize things that you don’t necessarily see in yourself.

• Find your niche. Do you enjoy working with first-time homebuyers? Is there a particular part of town that you know extremely well? Do you have a lot of experience with corporate relocations? If so, make sure your materials reflect your experience with these business segments.

• Update your marketing materials regularly. If you’ve been using the same resources for more than a year or two, it’s probably time to refresh them. Include any new sales data, accomplishments, or professional descriptions. Make sure your contact information is accurate. Have new professional photographs made, and include those. 

• Don’t be afraid to share some personal information. While your marketing pieces should be professional and focus mostly on your business acumen, remember that your goal is to form relationships with your clients. Divulging a little bit about your family life, hobbies, or interests can give potential clients a glimpse about who you are as a person as well as add a little warmth to your communications.

• Consider using testimonials. Ask permission from long-term or favorite clients to share some statements about working with you.

Remember, there are many other ways to promote you in addition to marketing collateral and social media.

• Be involved in your community.

• Volunteer your time at community and charity events.

• Sponsor a Little League team or buy an ad in a local sports team or arts program.

• Socialize often and actively look for ways to meet new people.

• Join your area alumni association, be active in your children’s schools, and participate in neighborhood associations.

The more people you meet and the more you get your name out, the more connections you will make that may lead to new business opportunities.

Source: HSA Home Warranty

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3 Facebook Updates That Affect the Way You Advertise

3 Facebook Updates That Affect the Way You Advertise

RECBL - Real Estate News

You’ve spent months, maybe even years mastering the art of advertising your real estate business on Facebook; however, there is one constant that we can always count on in regards to Facebook: change. Change can either benefit your current position by giving you more options to work with, or throw you a couple of months off track while you master the updates that replaced features you were accustomed to using or that worked to your advantage.

In the last couple of months, Facebook has rolled out new updates to their Ads Manager that affect the way you advertise your listings, business, and yourself as a REALTOR(R).

These updates include the removal of key options in detailed targeting and the addition of new options to target audiences and new ad layouts that give audiences a more engaging experience.

Facebook Updates

1. Detailed Targeting
In September 2017, Facebook exposed anti-Semitic ad targeting options in the job title/employer sections of their detailed targeting options. Anti-Semitic groups used these options to target ads to hate groups. Facebook quickly took action and removed "self-reported targeting fields" to help the fight against hate speech and discrimination.

However, in the attempt to fight hate and discrimination, Facebook removed a lot of the job title/employer options real estate professionals use to target ads to their audiences. For instance, targeting using job titles such as "real estate sales agent, agent/broker, broker/owner, REALTOR(R)" (options that were once available) are not available anymore.

As winter approaches and you create your 2018 social media marketing plan, this is the perfect time to get organized with Ads Manager and start researching the options available to create the perfect, detailed targeting list.

2. Event Interaction
A great way for agents to bring in leads for open houses is by using Facebook events. Sending all your followers an event invite for your open house can give you insight into those who are interested in the property. Facebook has seen the potential for advertisers to target followers who show interest in the event and are now allowing ads to be targeted to anyone who has marked the invite as "interested," "going," or both.

After the open house, take the list of "interested" invitees and send them a promoted ad of the listing. That way, you gain lead information from those who attended and possibly even those who showed interest in the event, doubling your chances of getting the property sold before the slow winter season.

3. New Canvas Layouts
Canvas ads are beautiful, interactive ads that not many REALTORS(R) seem to use. This ad type takes more time to create, but allows audiences to engage with the ad by choosing the direction they want the ad to take them (you can watch a video of canvas ads here). The only issue with canvas ads was the limited number of templates Facebook had available. Seeing the potential, Facebook released new templates for users to pick from.

Imagine using canvas ads to take your audience through a virtual tour of a home. The first image is the front of the house; followers can then click through the ad to see the home, room by room, in the order that they want to go, falling more in love with the property. This ad type pairs well with the event ad-targeting update to reach followers who couldn’t make it to your open house.

Facebook has been busy this third quarter releasing update after update, and there’s only one thing we know for sure: they will continue to release updates. As a professional using Facebook to advertise your business, you need to grow and expand your knowledge of their ad services, or you can let Homes.coms Social Fuel handle all your Facebook advertising needs. Social Fuel creates ads and posts social content for you so you can focus on selling homes.

For more information, please visit connect.homes.com.

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Using Generational Preferences in Your Property Marketing Mix

Using Generational Preferences in Your Property Marketing Mix

RECBL - Real Estate News

The following information is provided by the Center for REALTOR(R) Development (CRD). It probably comes as no surprise to you that communication preferences vary considerably across generations. This is largely a result of what communication method each generation grew up with and got used to. Understanding these differences can offer insights into working better with cross-generational colleagues or clients. While there can be wide variation within generational groupings, and we shouldn’t fall into the trap of believing in rigid stereotypes, there is, however, enough of a pattern to generate some useful guidelines:

The Silent Generation, those born between years 1900 and 1945, are typically disengaged from technology. Their signature product is the automobile; for communication, they prefer face-to-face, letters and memos.

Baby boomers are those born between the years 1946 and 1964. Their signature generational product is the television. They are less formal in their communication than the Silent Generation, but still prefer doing business in person or via conversation on their cell phones.

Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1976, grew up during the advent of the personal computer. Their preferred mode and style of communication is direct and immediate; therefore, they will typically appreciate emails over phone calls and in-person meetings.

Millennials are complete digital natives for whom the signature product is the smartphone. They tend to prefer digital and informal methods of communication such as text, Twitter or Instagram. If something is important, though, they will appreciate an email or a voicemail that they can review later.

With these preferences in mind, when you are planning a property listing and marketing strategy for a seller, you will want to take into account the market economics (Is it a buyer’s or a seller’s market?) that the property is in-and the geographic and demographic realities of the area (What kind of buyers do you want or will you be able to attract?).

According to NARs Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, for all of the generational groups described above, online search and real estate agents consistently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 as their most-used methods of finding a property. Furthermore, mobile apps, online video sites, yard signs, and open houses come in at the No. 3 through No. 6 spots for all the groups (but in a different order of preference for each). Other methods that don’t rank as high as these, but which can be reliable under the right circumstances, include: print newspaper ads, home builders and printed "home books."

Based on this research, it’s safe to assume that technological and non-technological methods for finding and selling properties are being used in a blended, overlapping, or complementary way. The key when you are serving seller clients is to devise a marketing strategy for the property that has the right mix of marketing activities so that you minimize wasteful activities and maximize effective ones. You’ll need a different marketing toolkit for different homes and different markets and different circumstances.

Below is a comprehensive list of the marketing activities you may have at your disposal. The specific ones you choose to use, the way you (re)combine them, and the relative emphasis or resources you devote to each will have an impact on your success marketing the property within its particular market:

In many ways, coming up with a marketing plan is an act of creativity based on practical experience, much like creating a recipe of your own or building something without instructions. The more skilled you are, the more you will "just know" how.

Even if you already have a good feel for what might work, there is tremendous value to documenting and tracking your efforts over the long term, even down to the property level. In the same way that you should be tracking ROI (return on investment) for your own business prospecting (client acquisition) activities, you should also have an established process for tracking ROI for each of the different tools in your property marketing toolkit. By tracking ROI for each of the different tools in your property marketing toolkit you gain clarity and visibility, when and why you have success, so you can add this information to your base of experience.

There is nothing better than putting information and actions to paper so that you can see patterns emerge and see something that you didn’t even realize was there. All of this can help inform and add precision and cost-effectiveness to future marketing planning.

To learn much more about generational preferences within property marketing plans, tracking ROI for your success with seller clients and their properties, and seller representation overall-please consider checking out the education, benefits, and resources offered by REBI and its SRS Designation. In October, the featured 25% OFF course at the Center for REALTOR(R) Development is the Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) Designation course, which is the core requirement toward obtaining this credential.

For more information, please visit the online learning portal from NAR's Center for REALTOR(R) Development (CRD) and the Learning Library. Here, real estate professionals can sign up for online professional development courses, industry designations, certifications, CE credits, Code of Ethics programs and more. NAR's CRD also offers monthly specials and important education updates.

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Digitally Transforming Your Business

Digitally Transforming Your Business

RECBL - Real Estate News

(Family Features)-One of the challenges facing small businesses today is trying to deliver the same customer experience as larger competitors. As technology advances and takes on an ever-growing role, small businesses can tap new innovations to better communicate with customers, save money and simplify operations.

As small business owners look to transform digitally, they face a number of options, from upgrading their technology to optimize shipping operations and decrease costs to adopting digital marketing tactics to better understand and target their customers. While it can be difficult for a small business that is well-established using analog processes to switch to digital, the key is to start with the final objective in mind; in other words, begin by defining your end goal. Once you’ve determined the desired outcome of digitizing your business, these tips can help you establish a strategy that can benefit both your business performance and customer experience.

Reach customers through digital marketing.
An important step in digital transformation is revisiting how you attract and interact with current and prospective customers, who are increasingly turning to a combination of physical and digital channels to engage with brands and businesses. If you think of digital marketing and email or online ads, you’re on the right track, but effective marketing requires more than simply hitting send on an email or counting clicks on an ad. Email marketing should be focused on providing helpful, relevant content to your target audience based on its preferences. Recipients can come to appreciate your insights on industry news and helpful information, so your sales pitches are likely to be more warmly received.

Beyond the content, an effective strategy establishes connective links between all your marketing touchpoints, from email to blog and even to your traditional tactics, such as direct mail and more, all with the goal of boosting credibility and visibility via search engine optimization and foot traffic.

Optimize operations through the cloud.
As technology evolves, more tasks can be handled online and more traditional analog devices are connected to the internet and the cloud. Adopting the use of these digitally connected devices can not only make fulfilling tasks easier and more efficient, but also track patterns and collect data that brings new value to small business owners. For example, with a surge in parcel volumes year over year (thanks, in part, to a sustained e-commerce growth, according to the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index), consider a cloud-enabled shipping solution, such as the SendPro C-Series, to simplify sending operations. This digital multi-carrier platform leverages the latest cloud technology to enable offices of all sizes to easily select the ideal sending option for every parcel or letter, while also providing full tracking information and delivering savings.

Make decisions based on analytics.
Beyond providing efficiency and simplicity, connected and cloud-enabled devices can generate and track valuable data, which can, in turn, be analyzed and used to make important business decisions. In a business environment dominated by ever-changing consumer preferences, data-driven insights are key to serving the needs and securing the business of todays hyper-connected consumers. By utilizing data and analytics, your business can be better equipped to deliver superior customer experiences, support product and service innovation, and optimize business processes.

Use mobile to communicate with customers.
Even the smallest of businesses can take steps toward better mobile communication, such as ensuring their websites are mobile-friendly and responsive to different device types. This is especially important as mobile usage continues to climb in the U.S., and consumers increasingly rely on mobile devices for information to guide purchase decisions. Your business can also capitalize on location intelligence capabilities to deliver timely coupons and promotions to customers in the immediate vicinity.

Source: pitneybowes.com/us/digital

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The Tao of SEO: Mastering Website Advertising

The Tao of SEO: Mastering Website Advertising

RECBL - Real Estate News

Referrals are your best leads, but the next best way to get leads that convert is with a good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy. What is SEO? It’s simply the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website. SEO helps the people who are looking specifically for what you have to offer find you easily and quickly.

Albino Garcia, SEO expert and CEO of iIntercept Media and Director of Marketing for AZ Social Realty, has dozens of suggestions for helping REALTORS(R) get more attention online with his spotlight on Mastering Website Advertising. We’ve included just a few strategies to create more website leads.

As a REALTOR(R), you sell a lot of different types of homes, but to capture the attention of homebuyers who want to buy a specific kind of home, the more descriptors you can link to your site, the more buyers you’ll attract. If someone is looking for their dream cabin, castle, four-bedroom ranch, or tree-house, you want to let them know you have a listing that matches what they’re looking for.

SEO produces the highest-converting leads.
SEO helps people find you, but, more importantly, it helps people who are ready to buy, looking to buy, and eager to buy. That’s why it’s such a valuable tool-but unfortunately not one many REALTORS(R) use as effectively as they should. Garcia has three steps REALTORS(R) can implement immediately to start generating leads:

Step 1: Add your business to mobile and online maps.
Do this by claiming and optimizing your company on Google My Business, Bing Places profile, and other social media sites.

• Have a unique description that links back to your site.
• Select the right category for your business. Have as many photos as possible-the more, the better.
• Have a complete profile.
• Get as many reviews on your site as possible.
• Make sure your name, address, and phone number are the same across all your social media pages, including Google My Business, Yelp, your website, and any other social media sites (Facebook, etc.). Google looks for that when ranking sites.
• Get local reviews. Not every customer or client will leave a review, so make sure to ask your happy clients to leave a review. Most are happy to rave about you when you’ve done a great job.

Step 2: Optimize your website for Google and other search engines using SEO.
Make sure you optimize your title and your meta description tags on each page. If you’re not sure how to do that, there are online tutorials and articles to help you figure it out, or you can hire someone. Title tags need to have a unique description. In fact, Garcia said, "Every page on your website should have a title and a description relevant to the information on that page. It’s how Google ranks pages."

• Use an additional markup called "schema markup." Schema is a process that allows your web manager to mark up your web pages with additional coding that allows search engines to find your site easier.
• Optimize page content. Does your content relate to the title and heading? Is the information useful? Longer is better when it comes to content, and content is important when it comes to SEO.
• Images can also be optimized. Make sure your images have a keyword related to your title. Make sure there is an "alt-image" tag on all your images. It should also be keyword-related.

Step 3: Create interest in your brand.
"Generate buzz around your business," Garcia said. There’s only so much buzz you can create at an open house, so take to the internet. Use link-building, guest-posting, and news or public relations stories on your website to help build the buzz. "Google is in the business of providing searchers the best results possible, so their algorithms are all about doing that. Your business should also follow that model. How can your website deliver the best results possible and be a resource for your searchers?" Garcia asked.

The best ways to help generate buzz and visitors to your site are:

Link-Building - Links that come back to your website from quality sources that people trust can help build your reputation with search engines. Make sure your business is found on legitimate sources across the web like Yelp, Google My Business, Bing Profile, Craigslist and Realtor.com, or sponsor a local sports team that will link back to your website. Follow influencers in your industry. Have a LinkedIn profile.

Guest-Posting - The objective is to create a blog which links to your website which someone else will post on their website. Find good writers in your niche and engage with them, follow them, retweet them and reach out to them and ask if you can write a guest post for their site that links back to yours. This creates links back to your website, increases traffic to your site, and legitimizes your ideas.

Press Releases - There are more newsworthy things happening around your business than you realize. By putting out a press release, you’ll get the attention of journalists and others who will want to know more. The more information, quality content, news, and updates you can get online, the better.

Garcia shared a variety of apps, tools, tips, and websites which can help REALTORS(R) learn more about SEO and apply it to their websites. If you would like to learn more, view the entire 5 part series, Mastering Website Advertising or pick up the free eBook, REI Marketing Solutions: How to Market Your Real Estate like the Professionals.


For more tips on how to increase your website traffic, please visit www.iinterceptmedia.com

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Real Estate - Search User Experience

Real Estate - Search User Experience

RECBL - Real Estate News

In our industry, we make a big deal about having the best data, but consumers value something even more: a great user experience (UX) for real estate search. Following are some common mistakes which websites and apps make:

​1. Making it too easy to over-constrain the search. When a search presents users with too many fields, not only does it make the search process seem complicated, but it also makes it too easy for the user to end up with too few results, or no results at all.

The most effective sites present users with a simple search form and then let them narrow their results on the results page.

2. Giving users too many choices for next steps. The interfaces are often too crowded, or have a lot of advertisements. This results in user confusion and decreases the efficient use of the application. It’s essential to know what the most important thing is on each page, and what users are most likely to want to click in order to provide large, obvious links and actions, not wasting precious space on items that don’t take the user down the critical path.

3. Showing every piece of information you have, just because you have it. This is very common in IDX and VOW displays. Even if you think it’s crucial to show everything, it’s important to highlight the listing content that’s meaningful to different users. For buyers, for example, that will be price, pictures, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, size and location.

4. Not focusing enough on mobile. Make your mobile web experience as thoughtful and robust as your desktop experience. The best way to support this is by creating responsive web pages. Apps have their place, too. Either way, the mobile experience must offer strong features while respecting the constraints of the mobile platform.

5. Asking for unearned trust. Don’t ask too much of the user before showing them the value of the site or app. Some sites or apps make the user accept location-sharing right away, force users to sign up right away, or make them agree to a big terms-of-use agreement right off the bat. Downloading an app or visiting a site doesn’t mean the user trusts you enough to agree to your requests. Ask for permissions as late in the process as you can. When possible, explain your need to request information before doing so.

It’s important to evaluate UX with end users early and often, and develop a plan for UX as early as possible-it’s always less expensive to plan design before software coding has begun. If you’re creating a real estate search app, you should involve user experience design experts in your design, while relying on industry specialists for industry knowledge. When it comes to creating great software and user experience, the right people at the right time in the process make all the difference.

Matt Cohen is chief technology officer at Clareity Consulting.

For more information, please visit www.clareity.com.​

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