Real Estate Marketing Drips

Scouring the Internet I have chosen 70 Forums and discussion groups that have had active participation within the past thirty days and have a real estate theme or topic of local information and are geared toward interactivity with consumer rather than real estate professionals only. 

• Get involved directly in discussions.
• Observe and gather topics of consumer interest to blog about.
• Find topics of consumer interest for guest blogger post topics.
• Use to build a successful marketing campaign (See the last item on this post for more information on how to).
• Combine with Question and Answer Websites for a powerful online internet real estate prospecting plan= Free Lead Generation.

Pick and choose forums and dicussions based on your niche, area(s) of expertise, and locality. 

1. Bigger Pockets-Canadian Real Estate Forums
2. Redfin- Bay Area
3. Redfin- Boston
4. Redfin- Chicago
5. Redfin- Inland Empire
6. Redfin- Los Angeles
7. Redfin- New York
8. Redfin- Orange County
9. Redfin- Sacramento
10. Redfin- San Diego
11. Redfin- Seattle
12. Redfin- Washington D.C. Baltimore
13. Wired New York- Questions and Answers About NYC
14. WiredNewYork-Moving to New York
15. WiredNewYork-New York City Guide for New Yorkers
16. WiredNewYork-Events, Groups, and Meetups
17. WiredNewYork-New YorK Metro
18. WiredNewYork-New York Real Estate
19. WiredNework-Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and SI Real Estate
20. Zillow.com Discussion- Local Topics

1. Bigger Pockets- Real Estate Deal Analysis and Advice
2. Bigger Pockets- Land and Farm Investing Forum
3. Bigger Pockets- Trailers and Mobile Home Investing
4. Bigger Pockets-HUD, VA's, and Tax Sales
5. Bigger Pockets- Short Sales
6. Bigger Pockets- Pre-Construction and New Home Construction
7. Bigger Pockets-Rehabbing and Flipping Forum
8. Bigger Pockets- Foreigners Buying in the USA
9. EscapeHomes.com- General Second Home Owner Forum
10. REI Club.com- Bird Dogs, Wholesaling, Flipping Properties Forum
11. REIClub.com- Sub2, Lease Options
12. REIClub.com- Rehabbing, Landlording

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Rebecca D. Levinson is a real estate marketing consultant with 17 years of experience serving real estate industry professionals.

If you need assistance with online marketing, offline marketing, social networking, or blogging contact Rebecca D. Levinson at #262-203-5231 or email rebecca@bloggingintherain.com.

Three Tools for Real Estate Agents To Use To Write A Competitive Analysis

Google Alerts

Take your keyword list that you have crafted after completing your keyword research.  Sign up for a Google Alerts account and add the keywords to your list so you will receive "...email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.)" for these keywords".  This will help you develop content around those keywords and also see what websites are ranking for those keywords and if there is any repetition.

These websites are your competition and you want to track them.

Perform initial searches on the search engines-Google, Yahoo, Bing- for the words on your keyword list.  Write down the companies and/or names of professionals who are ranking in the top positions on Page 1 of these search engines.  Add their names to your Google Alerts account. 

Don't Dismiss companies like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Redfin or the like show up in your results  Just because a company isn't a traditional brokerage doesn't mean you shouldn't add them to your competitive analysis.  If they are showing up high in search results for your keywords then they are doing things you may be to able to duplicate or even improve upon.

These companies and professionals are your competition.  You want to watch how they move online and you want to be in those places too.

SEOBOOK Toolbar

Download the SEO Toolbar for Firefox. The information from this tool is incredible for your competitive online analysis.  A few things this toolbar will give you:  PageRank of a website, SEM.com traffic rush valuable(indispensable information in my humble non SEO Expert Opinion), monthly unique visitors, keyword density(more invaluable information for your keyword research), directory links, page links, and links to the domain.

Use this wealth of information to your advantage when devising your linking and keyword strategy. 

You should also use this toolbar when deciding what sites to comment on as it will give you quick page rank and nofollow links information. 

Simple Checklist

Don't limit your analysis to your competition's keywords and SERP online marketing effectiveness.  There are other electronic AND offline marketing verticals that provide good business opportunities for real estate professionals and they shouldn't be automatically dismissed.  Put yourself in the shoes of your competition AND your customers, not all of who will be tech savvy.

Does your competition have a strong brand presence, are they holding open houses, are they a member of the Chamber of Commerce, do they have an internet radio show? 

Here's a simple spreadsheet to help you get started.

Take Action

Once you have completed your analysis you may develop some astounding conclusions. 

Perhaps you have found a niche market your competition has not yet captured.  Maybe your competition is finding themselves in more unusual places online than you had realized and now you know you need to be seen there too.

Competitive analysis is an ongoing process but it is a pillar to market domination.  Use these three tools to analyze your competitive real estate landscape and keep your business on top.

If you enjoyed this blog post on competitive analysis you will enjoy reading,

• Digging Deeper~Marketing Real Estate As A Business
• Observation and Reflection:  Preparing for The Role of Real Estate Agent in 2009
• Crush the Box.  Somebody's Gonna Do It and It Should Be You

Need help analyzing your landscape and creating a competitive analysis?  Contact Rebecca D. Levinson, dba Real Skillz, Real Estate Marketing Consultant- #262-203-5231 or email rebecca@realestateskillz.com.

Don't Believe the Hype.  Manipulation Creates Missed Sales Opportunities

In every sales situation there are trigger points that once hit on they allow people to purchase goods and services.  When I sold internet marketing products to real estate professionals I was trained to find and hone in on these trigger points. 

Old School Sales Skills

1.  I Will Give It To You Today And Take It Away From You Tomorrow- You can have this product for this price today, but tomorrow it will be a different price.

2.  Flattery Will Get You To Buy- I can see you hold such and such designation and you have been in the business for so many years, so certainly you will do well advertising on our website.  Why wouldn't clients choose you over the other agents who are advertising?

3.  All The Top Real Estate Agents Are Doing It- I have been speaking with Bobby Smith in your area and will be speaking with him again tomorrow.  He is very interested in this product.  Do you know Bobby Smith, the top producing agent in your area?  Yes, well he was impressed with the quality of this product (Shouldn't YOU be?)

4.  Exclusivity Is Key-  There are only x number of real estate agents we can take in this area. Let me show you where you would appear, it is prime internet property and again, I only have x number of slots (dim lights, open red curtain, hit spotlight button NOW).

5.  Your Membership is Paid.  Can I Squeeze You for An Upgrade?- Dear valued member, I know your membership has been paid for the year, but don't you think you need this newfangled widget that will make you even more money by producing more leads for you.  C'mon, you know you want it....will that be Visa, American Express, or Mastercard....oh wait, I think I have your old card on file.

Guess what?  These five simple triggers sold the sale more times than not.  Some salespeople were better than others at push marketing goods.  Some of the sales talk could have played ball with the best playas out there. Some of the claims were so outlandish that I couldn't even believe the words could escape the mouths of the salespeople...I couldn't believe their mouths allowed them to utter the words.

But they did....and man did they cast and reel.

Can I claim that I did not use any of the five tactics taught to me?  No dear readers, I cannot.  What I can tell you is that despite the popular saying, sometimes people can change.  What I can claim is that I changed my sales tune and though my numbers weren't as high when I did, I still fed my family.

It was like switching to chicken soup for the sales soul.

Sales Training

I learned something very simple.  I had a pretty cut and dry product.  There were some real estate agents who could benefit from my product.  There were a number of real estate agents who didn't NEED my product. 

There were other real estate agents who wouldn't take the time to use the tools and so my product would essentially be shelved next to the power point presentation software, sales books and cd's that were collecting dust in their offices.

• I had to find my target market- The agents who would benefit from my product.
• I had to present my product- The elevator pitch and it had to be quick.
• I had to shut up and listen- This involved questions and answers.  I had to ask the questions and let them answer.  No interrupting, no puffery, no posturing.  Just shut up and listen.

At the end of the day and possibly 100 calls dialed I would have many, many no's....a few maybes....and 1 or 2 yes's.  BUT the yes's were solid.  They could use my product, they would benefit from my product and yes they made the decision to buy my product. 

These closed transactions were the sweetest high imaginable....they just felt good 'cause they were right on the money.

ROI

Today with my own business it is even sweeter.  How do I find my target market?  I research.  I network.  I blog.  I write transparently about myself and my real estate marketing principles.  I use keywords and I try to make each topic timely, sometimes timeless, but always USEFUL. 

I don't want professionals to be tethered to my concepts, but to develop the concepts to work for THEIR marketing needs.  I don't suspect I will ever have many long term clients.  Hopefully they will be able to fly free on their own.

That's my goal.

And when people do call me I go back to square one....albeit with a twist.

When Prospects call many tell me they found me online.  Many of them have read my real estate marketing blog.  They tell me what connected with them, why they resonated with my words, and what made them pick up the phone to call me.

Prospects ask me questions about my services- Do I do xyz? Should they start xyz? How would they do xyz? What do I charge for xyz?

Sometimes we close.  Sometimes we wait.  It depends on the situation.  Sometimes, honestly, they don't really need me.  Sometimes they do.  Sometimes they have to back up a few steps and start with square one and I refer the business out in the right direction.

I owe my sweet sales to blogging.  Blogging has given me the perfect medium to broadcast my value and I am truly grateful.  Blogging gives life to my business and Google archives my messages so they are never thrown away like a scroll in the dead sea.  Professionals type in words in Google search and come across my blog, my services, and get a window into me.

All Manipulation Free.

Don't Believe the Hype.  Manipulation Creates Misses Sales Opportunities

Let's have some fun and break this open.  Please share the most recent sales lines used on you...you know, the kind that some playas salspeople use.

If you enjoyed this blog post about sales, you'll want to read:

• Are you Chasing Your Tail? Stop Running In Circles, Pick up the Phone and Call
• How Often Does You Say No To Prospects? When Does It Make Cents to Do So?
  
• Can Your Brand Stand the Three Repeat Challenge?