NEW Template Postcards

Each month I am going to feature a template postcard with a crazy savings designed to help you keep in touch with your client base, farm, and/or sphere. Statistics show you need to be in contact with people AT A MINIMUM of every 4 weeks. A slower market is the best time to focus on your marketing efforts.

This month's postcard reminds your clients to the fall time change. I encourage them to hang the postcard on their fridge, maximizing your exposure. Why use my template postcards?

No design set up fee - yes, it will be customized with your own contact information, picture & logo on the back

Super low price! Template postcards are a crazy .12 each! That's .08 off the normal price!

No minimums!


click on each picture for a larger view



Let's get started! Let me know how many you'd like and we'll get your marketing going in full swing. I work with you to make this process easy for you. Want to automate these mailings every month? We can do that, too.

In the Moonlight

Looking to make your open house stand out and tap a new open house market? Try hosting a Twilight Open House from around 5-8pm. Turn all of the porch lights on, use the outdoor firepit if there is one, have appetizers & background music. Everyone is so busy on weekends. Maybe a weekday would be easier for people to come to. Try a Thursday night. Not everyone has the weekend off. The thought of something new might entice them. Host it like an event, not just and open house. How to get them there?

1. Send out an eflyer to local agents or mail invitations.


2. Send out an invitation via mail to the neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods. If you're feeling up to it, walk the neighborhood and hand out the invitations.


3. Give some invitations to your sellers to invite their friends & family. Sellers can be your best resource for word-of-mouth advertising.


4. Post an ad on Craigslist and other classified sites.

P.S. Twilight can be a great time to get beautiful home shots that really say Welcome Home.

Search Engine Happiness

It used to be that in order to get your website ranked on the first page of the search engines, you needed to fill your website with keywords and use appropriate meta tags on your site. One could create ranking for a bunk page through this. Search engines caught on. With the advent ofWeb 2.0, this is no longer the case.

Now, search engine placement is all about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. You know that mantra, don't you? Search engines want to see that you have a real prescence online, not just a web page that you stuck up there and forgot about. They are looking for content, yes, but they are really looking for how many other websites link to yours AND crawlers will also rank those sites to make sure they are relevant sites and not simply pointers. So, if YouTube.com links to your site, you get mad kudos for that. You page rank goes up. If ActiveRain links to your site, your page ranks goes up. Take it further- if the Chamber of Commerce, Craigslist, REALTOR.com, etc link to your site your page rank goes up.

So, how do you utilize web 2.0 (see definition in the link above) to increase your page rank?

1. Start and maintain a blog
2. Join social networking sites and use them - comment on others' blogs and put your web address in your signature (if the site allows this). Such networking and blogging sites include:
   - ActiveRain - My profile
   - MySpace - My profile
   - Facebook
   - Twitter
   - Blog service providers: Typepad, Wordpress, Blogger
3. Change the name of your website to brand yourself. Don't name your home page 'South Bend real estate'. When people search 'South Bend real estate' almost every link in the results say something generic. Nothing stands out. Instead, use something like 'John Smith Getting Real Estate SOLD in South Bend'.
4. Market your listings online using any of the classified site outlets. My favorite is Postlets. Use them, use them, use them. Search engines & your sellers will love you for it.

You need to have a presence online in order to have a presence online. Sounds a bit like a Catch-22 but it really helps searchers to find relevant sites from people who really ARE online and not just throwing out blank/outdated/irrelevant pages.

I can help you with any social networking you may need. I can get you set up with a MySpace, Twitter, ActiveRain and Blog account and can even maintain them for you or I can just answer questions if you have them.

Cute Little Netbook

My laptop is nice to have but I don't really take it with me as much as I would like to due to the size. I only have a 14" screen but it's still cumbersome. If you would like to have access to commonly used files and the internet but don't want to lug your work laptop (or desktop for that matter) with you, then you'll want to take a look at the $399 Mini Inspiron Netbook from Dell. At roughly $399 you can get a decent laptop for your on-the-go needs. Here are some ideas on how you could use this.

Backup in case your other computer crashes.

MLS access on the road.

Zip forms

Traveler lappy so you don't open your sensitive files to loss of theft.

Kids' Use

I am sure there are other benefits to the mini laptop - what are your ideas? I'd love to hear them.

Harvest Time

It's harvest time - are you reaping a good crop? Yes, I'm talking about farming and want to focus on ways to farm in your own neighborhood. You are the agent that is most invested in the property values and quick sales of the homes in your neighborhood. Hopefully, no other agent knows your neighborhood better than you. Here are some ideas to get you started.

-Mail Holiday cards.

-Host a neighborhood garage sale.

-Hand out seasonal promotional items - walk your neighborhood to pass them out. (mini pumpkins, boxes of pencils, etc. - all with a card featuring a real estate theme)

-Take walks and talk to people.

-Need an ice breaker? Buy a box of popsicles and hand them out on a hot summer day to the kids playing (with their parents' permission first - this will get you talking to them).

Slow times are the best times to market and to get to know the people in your neighborhood. These times force us to focus on the much needed fertilizer that will grant us a good crop for years to come.

What is your favorite way to farm your own neighborhood? I'd love to hear your ideas.

How to Make Your Listing Look Old

You want a fresh & clean listing that appeals to buyers. Here are some tips to keep your listing from looking like it's been sitting on the market:

• Take the date off of the pictures. You may need to read your user's manual but for goodness sake - get them off. A fresh date is only fresh for a week. Then it's old.
• Keep your pictures in tune with the season. I'm not even just referring to summer vs. winter. I mean, take spring, fall, etc. A listing someone is viewing in the fall still has a summer picture. Yes, the summer picture is nice but it immediately says "This house didn't sell even during the summer". Make a habit of going out 4 times a year AT LEAST and make a day out of taking all new pictures of all of your listings. No time? Hire someone.
• Speaking of pictures, take good ones! Don't use your camera phone. Keep vertical lines straight so the house doesn't look crooked. If the incandescent lighting is overly yellow, use a photo editing program to fix it. Use a good pixel camera - nothing DOESN'T say 'home' like a grainy, yellow photo. Take a not-so-good photo? Fix it or find someone who can.
• Remove outdated remarks, especially 'no showings until xx/xx/xxx'. Perhaps even if they don't want showings until a later date, don't list it until that date.
• Wait until the house is clean and uncluttered to take pictures. Those are the pictures that will be syndicated to other websites (even if you don't do it yourself). Those are the pictures that go out to prospective buyers IMMEDIATELY when it's listed. Get the nice pictures first, then list the house.
• Change the verbiage to match the season's desires. Play up football in the fall, baseball in the summer, etc. Appeal to the senses of the seasons. Buyers want to feel what it's like to live in the home - in every season.
• Write descriptions under the photos on the MLS

These are all things you can do for cheap or free that can really enhance your buyer's experience and help get them into your listing. More tips? Please share!

Point 2 & Broker Reciprocity

I've had a few questions recently regarding the Point2 websites and their signature 'Handshakes' and how those apply to the rules of Broker Reciprocity. Broker Reciprocity is basically a program that is run by the MLS and that in which agents can select to participate or to not participate. It's a yes or a no option. In order to participate and use Broker Reciprocity you usually have to pay a fee and to agree to display other agents' listings in a very structured manner. Lots of disclaimers to display. Honestly, it's kind of scary.

With the Point 2 system, you load your own listings online; they are not harvested from the MLS automatically. You agree to allow agents (or not) to display your listings and you understand that your information will not be displayed except for a snippet at the bottom with at a minimum just your company name. There are no disclaimers. It's easy. Still, you may be cautious due to the number to times you have been warned about Broker Reciprocity and I understand your concerns.

Gary Walter, Executive Vice President of Southwestern Michigan Association of REALTORS, INC., explains SWMAOR's stance in more depth.

My understanding of Point 2 is the agent places their listings only on the site and then gives permission to other Point 2 users to display their listings on the other user’s web sites. The MLS does not have any rules regarding where the Broker or their Agents send their listings or what information they decide to display for their own listings on the internet. As an agent, the only rules you need to follow for advertising your listings on the internet is your Broker’s policies, the State Laws and the REALTORS Code of Ethics, Article 12.

The MLS only has Rules that apply to you if you participate in the MLS Broker Reciprocity program by displaying other Listing Office’s active listings on your website.

Hope this helps to clarify and ease any hesitations you may have. Check with your local MLS if you still have concerns.