Mr. Internet News Real Estate Blog» FEATURE ARTICLE

Mid-Life Crisis vs. Mid-Life Transformation

Mr. Internet — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:11:17 +0000

If you are anywhere between 40 and 60 years old chances are you have experienced something generally referred to (and depicted in uncountable comedies) as a “mid-life crisis”. Most think of this in terms of a mortality-awareness panic attack. For some it certainly is that and no more. There are others however that use that awareness as a jumping off point for a major reset in their life. We all come to terms with our own mortality and failures to achieve what we thought we would by a certain age. What we do about it can literally affect how you live the rest of your life.

Never Waste a Good Crisis

A mid-life crisis, as the name suggests, is a fear-based reaction to the sudden acute awareness of one’s limited life span and failures to achieve goals and dreams. And any time you react based upon fear, the result is usually not good. A person going through a mid-life crisis will typically try to assuage their fears (or dull their awareness of them) by looking to external things. A new lover / spouse, hot new car, etc. with great mis-guided concern about what others think of them. Unfortunately this approach never works because it is the opposite of acceptance of what is. And until one reaches that acceptance they will never find true peace. Quite often, once the manic phase of a mid-life crisis burns out, the person reverts to “settling” for their current life situation. Not a very inspired way to live the rest of one’s life. By the way, “settling” and “acceptance” are worlds apart.

A mid-life transformation starts out the same way –a sudden realization that a) life is short (and getting shorter by the day), and b) you are not happy with your current state of affairs. Those who use this new-found awareness as a jumping off point for true transformation react quite differently from those is “crisis” mode. There is no panic or fear-based reaction. The first thing that happens is true acceptance of what is, then a deep inquiry as to what can be.

A mid-life transformation is an inside job, internally focused. There is little concern about what others think –a good thing because many people going through true transformation tend to lose many of their “friends” who are threatened by the “new you”. A mid-life transformation is about assessing (and being grateful for) all the skills and experience you have acquired so far and re-purposing them to design and live the life you want. A mid-life transformation is not about acquiring anything, it is about releasing what was always inside of you that was afraid to come out all those previous years.

There is something far worse than a mid-life crisis however. And that is being so dead inside that you never have one. Millions of otherwise hardworking, decent law-abiding people exist with barely a flicker of life. They go through the motions, smile when appropriate, tip the waiter, say hi to the mailman and hang out with friends whose lives are as dead as theirs. These are people who are so afraid of who they really are and the possibility of their own greatness that they bury any glimpse of that awareness. They’re born, they live, they die and all they have to show for it is a little 2″ dash between dates on their tombstone. These are people who live complaining about what is and die with nothing but regrets.

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

~~Henry David Thoreau

So if you had (or are about to have) a mid-life crisis –celebrate! It means you are still alive and a bit more aware. Now the trick is to turn that awareness into an opportunity to transform your life from the inside out. Take full responsibility and go for everything you are worth until your last breath. Do that and I guarantee you will live life fully and have no regrets at the end of this journey.

Lose Your I’s to See and Be Seen

Mr. Internet — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:13:31 +0000

As social beings one of the most important things to us is to be “seen” – that is noticed, cared about and feel relevant to others. Likewise there are few things worse than becoming “invisible” to those we most want to be seen by whether they be family, friends, prospects, clients or lovers. How ironic that there is a common habit of which we are all guilty that literally guarantees people will not see us fully (or us them). Here’s what it is and what you can do about it.

The Most Alienating Word In the English Language

It’s amazing how the innocent, tiny word “I” can cause so much trouble –especially since it is so endearing to those who use it liberally. Don’t let its size fool you because it packs a huge punch. The moment you use the word “I” (or one of its cousins “me”, “mine” etc.) whether verbally or in print, you have made yourself just a bit harder to see and those who you are communicating with, harder to be seen. The more you use it, the worse the effect.

The reason this happens is that it is hard-wired into our human nature to want to be seen by others. The moment someone uses “I” when communicating with you, they have preempted your chance at being seen by insisting that you see them first. Which of course has the exact opposite effect because now (feeling somewhat dissed) you concentrate even more about being seen by them rather than really listening to what they are saying. This can devolve rather quickly to the point where even two friends at dinner end up just txting others because of the illusion of “connection” that txting can give oneself. You’ve probably seen it happen.

Have you ever been with a friend, colleague or family member who rudely txts while supposedly spending quality time with you? And if so, how does that make you feel? In that context, txting is a sign of severe “I” disease. You apparently are not “seeing” them enough so they disconnect from you and delude themselves into thinking that whomever they are txting is somehow seeing them more. Meanwhile you are making a mental note to never invite them again.

As bad as that is, it can be worse, much worse. For example, a friend who is so self-absorbed that practically every other word out of her mouth is “I” (with lots of “me”, “my” and “mine”s thrown in for good measure). To the point that you are not really there except simply as a mirror through which they can admire themselves that much more. This is a form of narcissism that typically precludes these types of individuals from having any real meaningful long-term relationships and often has them wondering cluelessly as to why that is.

So, how do you cure “I” blindness? It’s really so simple, that it has been right in front of your nose all the time…

Say Bye, Bye, Bye to All Those I, I, I’s

You want to connect powerfully (and be seen clearly) by your family, friends, prospects and clients? It’s easy, eliminate the word “I” from your vocabulary and substitute ”you”, “your”, “yours”. Do that consciously and watch the magic happen. For example, before you hit “SEND” on your next email, take a moment to count how many “I’s” it contains –you will probably will be blown away by the number. Now, rewrite the email to eliminate every one of them –that’s right, every single one with the focus shifted to the recipient. This takes practice at first, however after a few times it will become second nature and you will never send an I-filled email again.

Doing this verbally with another person can be challenging. So here’s a way to make it fun for both of you. Next time you have a meal with a friend (always best to practice with them first :0), agree to the rule that the first person to say five or more “I’s” during the meal picks up the tab. In the highly unlikely event that neither of you used “I” five or more times, you split the tab. The beauty of this approach (once you gotten over the “gotcha” attempts playful friends try at first) is that it forces you to consciously ”see” the other person first. And when one person feels seen, they will usually reciprocate. The only exception to this is if the other person happens to be a narcissist –in that case your efforts of seeing them just feeds their bottomless hunger to be the center of attention (at least it’s a great way to get a lot of free meals :0)

The bottom line is this: If you want to be truly seen by others, strive to see them first. And the way to do this is to have the courage to lose your “I’s”.

Funny Anecdote:

Imagine living with a college roommate for almost a year who has only known you to have a full head of very blond straight hair AND a very jet-black curly beard (quite a striking combination :0). Then one day, after months of living together, you completely shave off your beard. When the roommate comes home that evening you ask if he notices anything different about you. He looks and looks and can’t for the life of him see any change. Then you tell him and he about falls on the floor. Talk about not being seen – this actually happened. And as a postscript, this “blind” roommate ended up going into real estate sales :0)

How to “Make” Things Happen Effortlessly

Mr. Internet — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:38:52 +0000

Anyone in business for any length of time is used to “making” things happen. Trouble is we typically struggle, sometime mightily, in our efforts to do so. There is a way to allow things to happen with little or no effort or struggle. And here is why it is so much better than brute force.

“Making” things happen is a very western way of thinking that resides firmly in the ego. In essence, when you try to make things happen, this is what you are really saying about how it will get done:

In my way
Within my time schedule
Using my resources
Under my control

“Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead –ram anybody or anything that gets in our way!” Are you beginning to see the problem here? Especially when others are all taking the same approach. Everyone struggles and he/she who struggles most/best wins –that is if you call being exhausted, uptight and frustrated most of the time “winning”.

There is another way that is so powerful you may be tempted to think that it is just too simple to ever work. It’s called “creating a space” for things to happen. Instead of fighting for every inch, go with the natural flow of things. Open up the space of possibility for what you want to happen. Now for you to successfully employ this method and enjoy all of its benefits (relaxed effortlessness, serendipity, greater outcomes than what you intended, etc.) there is a few things you need to let go of.

First is the illusion that you have control over anything other than your own choices. Anything else is just part of the mystery and wonder of life. Secondly (and this is REALLY important) let go of any attachments to the outcomes. This means being dispassionate about whether or not you achieve your objectives no matter how badly you want them. When you marry strong intention (i.e. what you want) with letting go of the need for control and not being attached to outcomes you have by definition created a space for your intentions to happen. This is a powerful space in which miracles occur effortlessly and often bigger and better than you intended. They may not happen in the way you intended, on your time schedule, or through your resources, yet they will happen never-the-less.

This doesn’t mean sitting back waiting for things to happen –not at all. It means taking the steps with full commitment you deem necessary for fruition, yet being open to any possibility that may result from your efforts. By the way, this approach is even more powerful in relationships. When’s the last time you tried to “make” a relationship happen? (and how did that work for you?) In this context making a space for a desired relationship means showing up fully for the other person yet not being attached to whether or not they respond in the way you wish.

There is a corollary to this principle that basically states that the more you try to make things happen, the less space you create to allow them to occur with little or no effort and the more fear is pushing you away from what really works. There is no valor in struggle when there is an easier, more natural way.

The next time you feel tempted to swim upstream just ask yourself how tired do you really want to be when you finally get to where you want to go –only to be taken down stream once again anyway. Fight life or flow with it –it’s your choice.

Retarget Site Visitors to Maximize Lead Conversion

Mr. Internet — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:05:23 +0000

You do a lot of work to drive traffic to your website. Blogging, social media, SEO optimization, pay per click ads, postcard campaigns, drip messaging… It’s overwhelming and probably costs you a fair chunk of your income. Yet for all that, how many visitors land on your site once and for whatever reason, never come back? Well, now there is a way where you can follow up with your site visitors to remind them of your services, and even qualify those leads as you do so! The amazing thing is it’s very easy to do and costs far less than you think…

How Retargeting Works

Humans are creatures of habit. We seek information using certain guidelines or parameters. And, when there is something we are interested or curious in, we tend to notice things that relate to that item more readily. So, let’s say you are considering buying a house, you will search for information on the internet using some term like “buying a home in ______” (fill in the blank with a geographic location). You get a list of real estate websites, and will probably click on the first 3 or 4 before wondering what other resources you can find and try a different search, perhaps ending up on say, Realtor.com.

Now, consider this… You are starting to search around there, when you see an ad offering a custom luxury tour of a neighborhood you were just considering, or perhaps the ability to get greater details on a house you were interested in. Coincidence? Nope! Retargeting.

Because of your cookies, search engines can track every single place you visit on the internet. Google also has a vast network of advertisers, and they only get paid when someone clicks on one of those ads. So by combining these two pieces of information, Google has the ability to present specific ads to select people who have already shown an interest in that particular service or product, thus increase the likelihood the audience will click through.

You can leverage this for your site and business by developing targeted ads presenting tempting offers to entice the lead to return and engage with you.

Implementing a Retargeting Campaign

Firstly, you need to understand there are two different ways you can garner an audience for retargeting. The strongest by far is building your own list – which happens over time as people visit your site and are naturally tracked by their cookies – because you will already know that not only are they interested in real estate, but possibility even what specific kind of real estate. The second way is to use a “preset audience” which goes by established preferences based on browsing history, for example internet users who like horses, in a certain geographic region, and expressed an interest in real estate. This second method is not quite as accurate as the first, but allows you to get started right away.

Next step is to develop your ads. You must have a variety of them, because think about it… If you see the same thing getting shoved in your face over and over, are you really going to say yes the 10^th time you see it when you’ve already said no 9 times before? Don’t think so! A templated ad builder is available, or you can have a designer customize and upload them. By the way, ever notice that ads are different sizes at different places on web pages? Some are a banner across the page, some a little box to the corner, some long up and down the side. You will need to have your ads created in all these sizes because Google will select ones that fit the available space.

You can control all aspects of your ads including budget, number of impressions, termination point, etc. You can set your ads to display according to certain keywords, or even specific websites. You can even control what they see when they get to your site, which means you can drop them right in the entrance to your click funnel. For example, here is Progressive Insurance’s general site at www.progressive.com:

Obviously, you see navigation, multiple offers, all kinds of access to all kinds of information. Now, look at what we get after clicking on a retargeted ad:

No navigation, no offers. One purpose, and one purpose only – follow the three easy steps. Note also that the box she is holding says “Auto” on it, because I searched using the keywords “car insurance.” I repeated this exercise using “house insurance”, and in the image she was holding two stacked boxes, you guessed it – one labeled “Homeowners” and the second “Auto.” So you can very simply drop your retargeted lead directly on the landing page for the offer you present, don’t make them think about it.

After launching, you will want the ads to run a couple of months until you saturate your market, then swap them out. It can still be the same offer, mind you – just a different way of presenting it. For example, you may start out with an ad offering a “No Committment CMA,” then go to “See Recent Sales in Your Neighborhood,” then swap to “Check Out Detailed Market Data.”

How Much Does Retargeting Cost?

So, I’m telling you that you can follow up with warm leads on a consistent basis over a long period of time with a single effort of setting up a couple ads. You’re saying, this has got to be yet another major expense to undertake, right? Actually, it costs less than standard pay per click.

To determine the cost of an ad, you have to balance out the per click payment versus its quality score. On the basic level, Google determines the quality score by the number of times a given ad is displayed (an impression) and the number of people who respond to it. If the ad has too low of a quality score, Google will shut it down because the ad is not making money. On the other hand, if you are getting people clicking through but still not engaging, it is not worth any money you are paying and you need to revise the ad.

Now, let’s look at a return on investment. Studies show it takes an average of 7 touches for someone to engage with a site. If you are paying $4 per click to get a visitor to your site using pay per click, but out of 100 visitors only 2 engage, that’s $392 lost. Now, if you can pay a fraction of that to retarget those other 98 visitors over a period of weeks or months, you vastly increase your exposure and the chances of those warm leads returning, thereby increasing your return on the initial investment.

In the end, retargeting comes out less expensive than standard pay per click. PPC is triggered by keyword searches, which although gives you a “best guess” does not necessarily identify any specific need. On the other hand, retargeting is based in the actual content the user elects to view, which is a far more accurate gauge. So Google charges less based on the likelihood being much higher of someone clicking on a retargeted ad versus a generalized pay per click ad.

Best Practices for Successful Retargeted Ads

As always, there are a few guidelines you should follow when creating and launching your campaign:

Make sure your ad shows on related sites. A guy shopping for lingerie for his wife on Victoria’s Secret is NOT thinking about real estate. Do not waste your time and money displaying your ad to him. Be sure your keywords are specific enough that only sites related to real estate are used.
Don’t make it easy for your competition. Don’t show paid ads on your blog or site. You cannot control what ads Google shows on your site, and it would be mighty embarrassing to have a competitor stealing your leads.
Follow good marketing practices. As always, your ads should focus on benefits first and foremost, have big headlines and a strong call to action.
Give ‘em what they want. Few things are more frustrating to a visitor than having to search for the promised information. If your ad offers a specific product or service, make sure the link takes them directly there, not to your home page landing. The whole point of this is to channel them into your click funnel.

Although some companies have been using retargeting for quite some time, it is becoming more and more prevalent. To find out more about actually implementing retargeting, you can go here: http://www.google.com/ads/innovations/remarketing.html

When used strategically and judiciously – there is a huge difference between retargeting and cyberstalking – this long-term method of marketing to potential online clients has shown itself to have tremendous success.

NOTE: Mr. Internet®, RUSSER Communications, its staff and officers receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors (unless he/they are directly involved with the creation and/or improvement of a vendor service or product), and make no recommendations as to the suitability of the products or services mentioned in this article. Always thoroughly investigate any product or service before trying or purchasing.

Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.OnlineDominance.com and Facebook page at Facebook.com/OnlineDominance

This article is reprinted in its entirety from the December 2011 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.

Increase Website Traffic Through SEO Optimized IDX

Mr. Internet — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:06:19 +0000

You probably pay a lot for your IDX service, but have you ever wondered if you are getting as much out of it as possible? Many agents don’t realize that proper and strategic use of your IDX integration can not only make your site more engaging to the visitor, but increase your traffic and search engine ranking as well. You just need to take four steps…

Four Steps to Getting the Most from Your IDX

Search engines, are constantly crawling sites, looking and comparing information to determine the best results to return to users searching for a particular set of keywords. By using a few simple strategies, you can leverage your IDX for content:

Step #1: Ensure your IDX resides on your site.

Most do this now because of the high demand for it, but if you don’t start from this premise, the rest of this article is a moot point for you. When it does, then every individual listing in the MLS can be viewed as a page of content on your site – and this is the central crux of the matter.

To see how many pages you are being credited for, try this… In a Google search, type site:yourdomain (in the example below, site:onlinedominance.com). In light gray writing at the top of the page, you will see the words “About ______ results returned.” So Google finds 1,340 pages of unique content associated with Online Dominance^TM.

You can get “content credit” for all those listings in your MLS, provided you follow the next steps.

Step #2: Create predefined searches and install them on your site.

Having just a form for people to fill in with their search preferences, while vital, is not sufficient for this purpose because search engines are just an algorithm and are not interested in completing preference forms. So, if you want the search engine to see your content, you have to make sure the data from the MLS is being actively pulled onto your site. By creating predefined searches, such as by price, location, or even type of property, you are setting up a stream of constantly linked data of every listing that falls within those parameters.

Step #3: Create unique content describing that search

One of the more recent “gotchas” initiated by Google is an update that finds “low quality” pages, which is basically information it determines is syndicated from one source to many different sites. So, unfortunately for you, this means you can’t have just the predefined search. But you can end run this by taking the time to write a paragraph or two of custom content and add targeted title tags, so when the search engine indexes the page it may see some syndicated material but this will be offset by the unique content.

OK, you’re almost there!

Step #4: Link often and well

If you want the search engine to think a page is valuable, you have to treat it as if it IS valuable. So, every time you write something that relates to one of these searches, for instance a blog post about a recent upswing in sales in a certain price range in your market, include a link to that predefined search result page.

How this Helps Get Traffic to Your Site

So I know right now you are saying “Sure, I understand how to strategize the IDX, but what about the traffic and visitor engagement?”

Well, when the search engines find more pages of relevant content that is frequently updated, it helps your page ranking. Also, having lots of related third party sites (such as Trulia, Active Rain, etc.) link back to multiple points on your site helps not only ranking but the likelihood of people finding you. Finally, since every listing is viewed as a page on your site, searches on specific addresses (like when someone drives by and sees a yard sign) will yield your site as a result, so you don’t have to rely on over-used or highly competed for keywords.

As to customer engagement, people love the convenience and instant gratification of being able to see properties in the ranges or categories they prefer with the click of a button. Often, they aren’t sure exactly what they are looking for until they see some results, and having to go back and adjust information in a search form can be a bother. You will get more clicks on saved searches that then allow the user to sift and sort their specifics from there.

A Few Words of Advice

You have the step by step plan to get your IDX SEO optimized, and as always the next step is to implement. But be aware of a few more things before you do!

Do Not Sock Google – Google is like the referee in a game, it watches to see if you are playing by the rules, and will throw the red card at any suspected foul punch. So, if you had say, 30 pages on your site one day and then next had 20,000, what do you think will happen? That’s right! So, pick the top 2 or 3 searches you think would be most effective in your area, and start adding those, going through all 4 steps to get them strategized. Add slowly to make your results most effective.
Use the language your users use – People will tend to type search terms that they use in natural language. Name your predefined searches that same way to increase the match rate and hence your page position.
Get a help in executing this over time – This is the perfect kind of task, low-level and long term, to get a VA to help you execute. Set up the process, set your priorities, and give a VA marching orders. You will see the results as they are added to your site, while freeing you up from worrying about maintaining the flow of information.

So, there you have it! Make sure you are getting the most out of your IDX’s capabilities when it comes to site traffic and visitor engagement by consistently initiating these strategies over time. The best thing is, since that IDX resides on your site, it will all be for your greater good!

Special thanks to Brad Carroll of Dakno Marketing for his contributions to this article.

This article is reprinted in its entirety from the October 2011 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.

Look Over Your Website Visitor’s Shoulders for Greater Profits

Mr. Internet — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:28:17 +0000

Ever wonder what prospects did when they visited your Website? What if you had the ability to “stand over their shoulders” and see exactly what they clicked on (whether actually clickable or not), the path their mouse took, etc. With this kind of insight chances are you would have a much better idea as to what’s working on your site, what’s not and what to do about it. Seem too good to be true? It was, until now…

Measuring Your Visitor Behavior

Website analytics (e.g. Google Analytics) provides extensive statistical data about where your visitors came from, how long they stayed, links they clicked on etc. While a powerful and necessary tool for any Web marketer, it’s not enough. Since most Websites are not static, it’s crucial that you also see how visitors react to and interact with your Website. This is called behavioral metrics and there are now a number of easy to use (and inexpensive) tools that provide detailed insights on how visitors behave on your site.

In one of my previous articles I mentioned an online service called CrazyEgg which provides “heat maps” of what your visitors view and click on in aggregate, on your site (see example heat map below —the brighter the spot, the more people clicked).

While very useful, another recent startup company, LuckyOrange, has taken behavioral metrics to a whole new level. In addition to heat maps, LuckyOrange also gives you the ability to record (like a video) what visitors do on your Website, including how they move their mouse, where they scroll, what they click on, etc. This innovative service even lets you “spy” on visitors as they are on your Website in real time!

Now before your brain starts screaming “That’s an invasion of privacy!”, it’s really not, well… in most cases anyway. The reason is that you don’t know who they are, just that they are an anonymous visitor. There is one exception however, and that’s if they start filling out a form on your Website and then decide not to hit the “Submit” button. LuckyOrange will record what they typed into the fields, whether or not they decided to follow through.

The only way to really get a feel for the full scope of what is possible with LuckyOrange is to visit their site and click the “Watch the Live Demo” button near the top. Be ready to have your mind blown as you watch recordings of actual Website visitors move their mouse, scroll, click, fill out forms and so on.

Best Practices

Like any kind of tool, LuckyOrange has no value unless used and used properly. With this in mind here are some best practices to help you get the most out of this one:

Don’t Initiate Chat – while in real-time “spy” mode you have the ability to initiate a chat session with your visitor, ostensibly for the purpose of helping them find what they are looking for. Avoid that temptation unless you want to scare them away from your site.
Watch what they click on (and don’t) – use the heat map feature to determine what most visitors find attractive as they vote with their mouse clicks. If they are not clicking on various parts of your site consider changing them to something more compelling.
Watch their mouse movements – by viewing the recordings of individual visitors you will gain insight as to how engaged (or not) they are with your Website. You will find that most people move their mouse as they read, almost like using a finger to underline text as a book is read. Do they appear to be focused and engaged, or distracted? You may need to change some of your site copy to keep them on the edge of their seat.
Watch for any hesitancy in when completing forms – you may consider redesigning your forms, adding privacy language etc. if your LuckyOrange recordings indicate visitor hesitancy to completing your all-important Website forms. Abandoned forms cost you immediate business.

As of this writing you can try LuckyOrange for two weeks free and after that it is $7/mo per Website. To get started, you (or your Web master) simply put a bit of code on each page you want to record. After that, it’s just a matter of visiting your own site and pressing CTRL + SHIFT + 1 on your keyboard to bring up your site’s LuckyOrange dashboard (after entering your email and password one time).

The more you understand your Website visitors’ behavior, the better you will be able to tweak your site to help convert them into closed transactions. And I know of no other behavioral metrics tool that does a better job of this than LuckyOrange.

Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.OnlineDominance.com and Facebook page at Facebook.com/OnlineDominance

This article is reprinted in its entirety from the August 2011 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.

Increase Website Profitability by Instantly Testing It

Mr. Internet — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 14:31:57 +0000

When you build your Website you hope that it will be effective in engaging visitors so they pick you over your competitors. Perhaps you included several unique offers on your site that you hope will catch their eyes and cause them to start clicking on their way to doing business with you. This is all well and good except for one thing. You really don’t know how your visitors are going to react to any particular part of your Website until you test it. Typically, this was a process that only the “big boys” could afford to do. Now there is a way you can instantly test any aspect of your site’s ability to engage visitors, so you know for certain what works and what doesn’t.

A/B Testing on Steroids

A/B testing is the process of creating two or more versions of your Website that are delivered at random to your site visitors and then measures the click-through rate for each version. This is a proven way to have your visitors vote with their mouse as to which version engages them more. The traditional tool for this is Google Website Optimizer which is free. However, it requires that you (or your Webmaster) create the different versions of your Website that need testing which is time consuming, requires a fair amount of technical skill and therefor is definitely not free.

That has all changed now with a new online service called Optimizely. With Optimizely you can create different versions of any part of your Website instantly right from their Website. Its online WYSIWYG editor allows you to make create alternative versions of your site’s copy, images and even move whole sections around in just a few minutes. And the astounding thing is that this can be all done without creating different versions of your Website’s code.

After you have created the alternative versions of your site, you simply add a bit of Javascript code provided by Optimizely to the pages being tested. Once your A/B test is active, Optimizely will automatically and randomly send the different versions of your site to visitors and measure the click-through rate of each one. You just let it run until you’ve had sufficient numbers of visitors to give you a reasonably certain statistical answer to which version more effectively causes visitors to click or convert. And don’t worry about trying to remember your Statistics 101 class because Optimizely automatically calculates the statistical significance for you.

Since videos are worth a thousand screenshots, the following will demonstrate just how easy and powerful this new service is to use:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Your first 30 day’s use of Optimizely costs nothing, after that it is a very reasonable $19/month. Now here’s the thing, you can turn this service on and off at any time which means that for about $19 you can determine what kinds of changes to your site will produce greater conversion of visitors to new transactions. Not a bad ROI.

Of course all of this begs the question as to just what you should consider testing on your site…

Offers, Offers, Offers

Ideally your site has one or more “Irresistible Offers” that are designed to attract your visitors’ attention and compel them to take action. If you are a little fuzzy about what irresistible offers are just check out my earlier REALTOR Magazine article “Make An Offer They Can’t Refuse”.

Often what we think is irresistible is anything but from the consumer’s perspective. So creating different variations of your offers is the first thing you would want to test for conversion effectiveness. Here are some other things you might consider testing as well:

Copy – create alternatives to copy that compels visitors to take action. For example, one Pennsylvania REALTOR found that he received a far greater click-through by changing “Featured Listings” to “Best Buys”.
Images – perhaps a different kind of image in the body of your home page will cause more people to click on getting your special report or check out your IDX listings.
Action Buttons – this is a subtle yet potentially very powerful test. Consider changing the shape, color and/or copy of your clickable buttons and see which version receives the most clicks.
Reassurance Language – test different variations of the copy above your important forms that reassure your visitors that their privacy will be protected and see which ones cause the form to be filled out more often.

Avoid Build and Forget

The most profitable Websites are under a constant state of refinement. Far too many people just have their Website built and then do nothing to improve its ability to convert visitors into new business. The main reason for this is that it was just too time consuming and expensive to do it the old way. Now with Optimizely you have no excuse for having a site that “doesn’t work”. It’s just a matter of testing different variations until it does.

Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.OnlineDominance.com and Facebook page at Facebook.com/OnlineDominance

This article is reprinted in its entirety from the June 2011 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.

Making Movies In 2004 (future redux)

Mr. Internet — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 04:40:42 +0000

With all the focus on online movies lately, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that my very first movie was made in 2004. After watching this you may think that today’s crop of online promotional movies have come a long way, or perhaps they have a long way to go.

Let’s Get Right to the Good Stuff

This video was originally shot in a full 720 x 480 resolution for the purpose of promoting a 3-day advanced workshop (it was played to a Las Vegas conference audience in my absence). However, it was so long ago (49 in Internet years) that the only thing I had left was this little 320 x 240 example –so bear that in mind…

Now before you start giving me the two-thumbs down remember this was not only my first promotional video, it was the first time I was in front of a video camera for business purposes. Without a doubt, way too much gesticulation going on (I was very excited :0). In case you are wondering how all this video magic was pulled off, here are the details.

Hardware and Staging:

Canon XL2 Semi-pro Camcorder
High-quality wireless lav mic
Laptop #1 – used to record the video scenes direct from camera to disk
Laptop #2 – used to run the teleprompter software
Vacant neighbor’s home – turned their living room into a green screen sound stage using high-intensity construction lighting
Yards and yards of green fabric – used for the back drop and floor (actually ironed that sucker myself –much easier ways to pull this off now using green paper)

Software:

ScriptQ – to turn one of my laptops into a sometimes balky teleprompter
Adobe Premier Pro – for video editing (learned quite a bit about this during this whole process)
Adobe OnLocation – used to set the camera up and record takes directly to computer
Serious Magic ULTRA – this was the software that made it possible for me to create all those virtual scenes and fly-throughs. Unfortunately Adobe bought this company up and stopped supporting this marvelous software (I still have a working copy)

Wetware:

Yours truly – I learned a lot about speaking in front of a video camera, trying to act like I was having a conversation with the viewer while not showing I was reading every word from a teleprompter.
My son Max – who ran the camera at the tender age of 12 wishing he were doing anything but helping dad with this dumb project.

Preparation:

Storyboard – each scene, including both direction and dialog was written a head of time. This was actually the first crucial step without which would have resulted in a totally failed project. To this day every video I shoot is story boarded first.
Makeup – plenty of it

This project took a solid 80 hours of work from start (concept) to finish (final editing and burning the DVD). I did it because it was a huge project from which I could learn immensely. And yes, there were more than a few moments of wondering what I got myself into, hoping what was bit off could be chewed.

Learning by doing is the way that works best for me. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to pull something like that off. However, my future projects will most likely be quite a bit more, well… tame.

The take away for you on this is that there is much more that can be done with video than you can imagine –especially when shooting in front of a green screen (or blue screen, which is how many if not most Hollywood films are at least partially shot these days.)

As I develop additional unique ways to tell your story via video, I’ll look forward to sharing them with you.

NAR We Have a Problem…

Mr. Internet — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:17:26 +0000

Just recently my staff and I completed the analysis of an online lead conversion pilot program for a major franchise. The results were not pretty.

The companies and agents who participated were tasked with two things: 1) use my Critical First Response email script for every new online lead, and 2) keep track of the results. That is all they had to do. The purpose of the pilot was to measure the efficacy of this email script. What ended up being measured, however was far more telling.

Of the 48 companies and 832 agents that participated, only 29 and 410 respectively actually completed the six month pilot program. Within the first two weeks we already started hearing that the agents wanted “something more”. This is the “bright, shiny object” phenomenon we actually predicted would occur. Not content with just applying a very simple fundamental principle, they wanted “more”. While some brokers insisted that their sales associates were following the protocols, my surreptitious ghost shopping showed otherwise. In the end the reported data was so poor due to not following very clear and simple rules, that the original intent of the pilot program, testing the email script, was hopelessly lost. This is not a reflection of just this particular franchise, instead this kind of behavior is endemic throughout much of our industry and says a great deal.

Starting at the highest level, the National Association of REALTORS, it says that its stated goal of member professionalism and unspoken strategy of boosting membership numbers are incompatible. Like any other service industry, you can have quality or quantity, but you can’t have both. At the franchise and broker levels, the current business models also reward quantity over quality. Both look to generate substantial revenue streams for providing membership services whether or not high levels of performance and professionalism are maintained.

How can you possibly maintain consistent and high levels of professionalism in an industry with such low barriers to entry, where many (if not most) do not work full time, and accountability is rarely defined or enforced? Clearly the answer is, you can’t.

There is an answer however, and it starts with a vision and commitment to professionalism and dedicated leadership to see it through. Another component that is absolutely crucial is accountability. If I were to start a real estate company today, this is how I’d work with my sales associates:

Specialization – get each and every one to commit to a speciality that will enable them to stand out head and shoulders from the competition (less than 2% specialize currently).
Vision – have each one write down what they want from their business in terms of personal fulfillment and lifestyle over the next 2, 5 and 10 years.
Exit Strategy – have each one clearly define how they will retire from the business in a way that leaves them financially independent.
Accountability – structure a written accountability agreement that defines minimum standards, methods of measuring progress and consequences (that have real teeth) in the event they fail to be accountable. By the way, this kind of accountability goes for both the sales associates and management.

Would a company structured like this grow very quickly? Probably not in the beginning. However, my many years of coaching tell me there are people who would absolutely flourish in this kind of environment. All they are waiting for is the right kind of leadership to show them the way.

Code to Your Online Success

Mr. Internet — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 09:52:21 +0000

In case you didn’t notice, there is a whole crop of young, willing and able real estate buyers that seem to have their head buried in their smartphones. Gen-Y prefers texting over talking and their phone IS their world. Here’s a way to get their attention and business —fast!

QR Codes to the Rescue

Think of QR (Quick Response) codes as a two dimensional bar code that can contain just about any kind of information and be read instantly from any number of free smartphone apps. The opportunities for real estate marketing are nearly endless since one of the main uses of QR codes is to embed URLS that when scanned will take the phone user to wherever the URL was pointing (i.e. your Website, listing detail information, etc.) They effectively turn anything (including paper) they are printed on into an active and trackable hyperlink.

QR codes were invented in Japan by a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Corporation to help identify car parts. Once people recognized their flexibility of encoding links to the Web, they took off big time in Japan and other Asian countries. In fact, you will find QR codes plastered on billboards, signs, storefronts and just about any place you look in all the major Japanese cities.

Here is where you can find free QR Code Reader apps for your smartphone (by smartphone type):

There really are only two issues to consider when incorporating QR codes into your marketing: a) how to create them, and b) where to place them for maximum exposure and impact.

Create QR Codes Instantly for Free

If you do a Google search on QR code generators you will find literally dozens of sites that will create them for you at no cost. My favorite is a site called BeeTagg QR Generator which allows you to create any number of QR codes in different formats for free. When you first land on this page you can enter the URL of the page you want your code to go to and choose the type of code it generates (make sure you have the QR Code selected and uncheck “Optimize size”). Then just hit the “Go” button and you will instantly see your code with download options like this:

Now this next part is very important. Of the six different download options shown, there are only two you will typically work with. Gif if you plan on placing the code on a Webpage or email and Eps if you plan on using it in print. Gif images are the smallest file sizes for this kind of image and are ideal for placement in Webpages. However, they are not good for print or other media because they don’t scale well. That is, they get blurry or pixelated if you try to blow them up beyond their original size and will become unreadable by the smartphone apps.

Eps file formats are ideal for print media because they can scale to any size (including 16 foot billboards) without any loss of fidelity. The key here is to use the appropriate QR code image type for the right kind of application.

GEEK TIP: here’s a quick shortcut you can use to place a QR code on any page of your Website (with the code pointing to that page) just by including the following Javascript in your HTML code where you want the QR code to show up on the page: