Real Estate Marketing Guide

Every now and then a real estate boom hits and new agents enter the business by the dozens - all excited about the big money to be made just by "being there."

Then the boom ends and those agents are faced with reality; If you want to make a living in you have to work hard at all details of listing, showing, and closing sales in addition to marketing.

Before you market your listings, you must market yourself to homeowners first. And with about one million realtors working in the United States, you have to think of a way to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

First you need to look at your own business and see what you do that's better than your competitors. It could be specialized knowledge in a certain niche, it could be extra service or even a fanatic dedication to returning calls promptly. But it has to be something. If you choose a niche, be sure it is a certain kind of property, and not a certain kind of person.

Then you need to seek out ways to get your message to your potential customers. I recommend choosing a "farm area" and using direct mail. Just be very careful to write a professional, "you-directed" letter. Tell them how you'll help solve their problems; don't ask them to solve yours.

Of course you need to hand out business cards at every opportunity - even if you have to create the opportunities. Talk to people and be willing to give free advice when asked. Make friends with everyone. Be creative, keep your eyes open, and market at every opportunity.

Marketing to buyers is more difficult, because you don't know who they will be. The good news is; most home buyers search first on the internet. That gives you the opportunity to market yourself and your listings at the same time. Just be sure to create a strong presence, because not appearing in the first page of search engine results simply means you are not present.

Marketing your listings is another two-part process. First you have to determine the words to use, and then decide where to put them.

Where to put them is the easy part. The internet is the obvious first choice, but you also have local magazines, perhaps the newspapers, and direct mail to clients who might be interested. E-mail also offers a good opportunity to reach a large number of people at no cost.

The words are a little more tricky. Writing an ad that sounds just like every other ad won't bring you buyers excited to see your listing.

When ads were financially restricted to just a few words it became impossible to write good descriptions. But now, the internet allows unlimited words, so there's no excuse for boring ad copy. Your real estate marketing can once again be creative, descriptive, and exciting. Your flyers also allow space for your creative efforts, make sure to use it.

Stay away from features and bring back benefits. I don't think anyone has outlawed the word "enjoy" yet, so you can tell buyers that they'll enjoy the breeze, or the view from the deck, or the flickering fire in that massive rock fireplace. In other words, you can tell them there's a view; you just can't suggest that they can see it. Make them "feel" how fantastic it will be when they live in that house.

In return, you'll get faster closings, happier sellers, a better and better reputation, and more money in your pocket.