Archive for the ‘MR. INTERNET TIP’ Category
The Instant and Free Way to Create Video Property Tours
Monday, August 30th, 2010
There are lots of ways to create video tours of your listings —most are not free or easy. Here’s a very cool and private way to do it that is free, fast and incredibly easy…
Smart Phone to Video Tour 1-2-3
The first thing you want to do is set up a free account on the Posterous photo-blogging service (click here for a previous post about the use of Posterous and photo-blogging). This just takes a couple of minutes and only needs to be done once. Now you are ready to create your video tours. Here’s what you do:
- Plan Your Walk-through – you want to keep your video tours short yet have great impact, this requires that you first think through what you are going to show and say as you show it.
- Shoot the Video – use your smart phone to do this and try to keep your hand as steady as possible.
- Post it Privately On Your Posterous Account – by sending your video to private@posterous.com Posterous will send you back a special link to your video up on your account site. This is a private posting so only your prospect will be able to view it.
That’s it! Now at this point you are probably wondering why I recommend that you keep this kind of tour private. First of all, shooting it with your smart phone allows you to complete the process in about 2 minutes and you can highly personalize the video by talking directly to them. This is incredibly powerful for relocating clients and prospects. By definition you wouldn’t want this kind of video to be seen by just anybody. You could certainly use your Posterous account to post publicly viewable videos as well. However, I’d spend more time and hire a professional videographer if you are going to show these tours to the world.
The method described above is perfect for 1-on-1 communications with prospects or clients that appreciate seeing properties they simply don’t have the time (or capacity) to view in person. It is free, fast, easy and will certainly set you apart from the crowd.
Perhaps It’s Time to Rethink Your Sync
Sunday, August 29th, 2010
Just when you started getting a handle on what it takes to have a successful Website along comes social networking. In your drive to keep up and stay synced do you find yourself texting, tweeting, facebooking yourself to distraction? Or is that very activity the distraction (from life, business) itself?
It’s so easy to get lost in “doing” when we are not sure of the reasons behind it. Or worse, because it is what “everyone else is doing”. And the very worst of all, because it fills the space of the moment, squeezing out any possibility of just “being”.
These were the questions and concerns that came up a couple of days ago during a recent meeting with a speakers mastermind group I belong to. Just like you, to a person they felt overwhelmed by the process of keeping up with social networking even though they were not quite sure what it could do for them.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge proponent of social networking. However it is just a tool. One that you should be driving, rather than it driving you. And, if you feel the need to be in sync all the time, perhaps it’s time to rethink your sync…
People who are way out of sync with the digital maelstrom of the moment aren’t always bad followers. They might be great leaders.
Seth Godin
If you are feeling overwhelmed trying to stay on top of social networking then a) it’s not working for you, you are working for it; and b) chances are the people you try to stay connected with are feeling the same. As the powerful tool it certainly can be, you either learn to master it, or let it go. But never, ever let it (or any other tool) lord over you —that’s just plain foolish.
The Ultimate Listing Website
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010
If you think the Web only works for buyers think again. Here’s a Website that is specifically designed to generate listings and doesn’t even use search engines to drive traffic to it.
Focus, Focus, Focus
Mega-producers Noel & Lee Bittinger are members of my ULTRA eTEAM and decided to go after the more affluent listings in the Canton, MI area. Only after months of planning and refinement did they even speak to a Web designer. The extraordinary result is SellingCantonHomes.com. It was the focus of a recent HOT SEAT session we did to evaluate its effectiveness and refine it even further.
The video below is a recording of that Webinar that shows you exactly what they did on the site and why it is such a powerful listing generating machine (be sure to watch it full screen!)
The site shows a lot of clever thinking and the application of rock-solid online business-generating principles. Take some time to study this site, view its “irresistible offers”, read the copy to see how engaging it is and so on. This goes so far beyond the typical “For Sellers” button or menu item on the typical agent Website —something potential sellers recognize instantly.
Websites are not just for buyers. Literally half the market is being ignored online, until now…
How to Drown Your Competition
Saturday, August 21st, 2010
How much can you talk about your real estate specialty? Assuming you have a specialty, do you run out of things to say or contribute after just a few minutes, or can you go on for hours?
How you answer this question is a measure of your professional depth and commitment. Given that Kevin Tomlinson doesn’t even have to look at the Miami MLS to tell you which South Beach condos are for sale, under what terms and what unique features each offers speaks volumes about his depth. One that his competitors can’t hope to match because they are far too busy trying to be everything to everyone.
The same with Linda Jefferson of GoArmyHomes.com who can give you every nuance of working with relocating army families. Like it or not, real estate sales is no longer just about sales. It is also very much a function of how well you serve and stand out from your competition as evidenced by your passion and depth of knowledge. It doesn’t matter if your experience spans hundreds of square miles if it’s only one-inch deep.
This reminds me of something my Dad said something to me when I was in my teens that I’ll never forget…
There are those with years of experience and those with experience in their years.
Max O. Russer (Mr. Internet’s Dad)
Guess which one prospects will be attracted to and to whom clients will refer others. If you call yourself a professional it is incumbent upon you to maintain and grow the depth of specialized experience and knowledge implied by that moniker. Anything less is just posing.
Brand Your Online Photos In Just Seconds
Monday, August 9th, 2010
If you use a lot of photos on your Website or blog each one can be modified in a very easy way that will protect them from being “borrowed” by your competitors and extend your brand every time a visitor looks at them. Here’s how it’s done…
Watermarking 1-2-3
Watermarking is the process of overlaying text on top of photo. Typically the overlaid text is just barely visible yet identifiable so it performs the job of marking the photo without detracting from it. Up until recently this was typically done with a program like Photoshop by people who knew how to use it (not many Realtors fit that description). Now there is a much easier and quicker method I just discovered that anyone can use to watermark their images in just seconds. It’s called WinWatermark Standard and you can download and use it for 30 days at no cost. However, once you use it you will not hesitate to pay the very reasonable $29.95 to keep using it.
Watermarking Best Practices
Watermarking by definition is supposed to be subtle, so you don’t want to go crazy with it otherwise it will work against you. Here are some best practice tips to help you get the most out of your watermarking endeavors:
- Watermark Text – consider using the URL of your Website as in the photo example above. This marks your ownership of the photo and extends your online brand.
- Watermark Size and Position – the size needs to be large enough to be recognizable but not so much that it takes away from photo itself. Same with positioning. If you watermark your images to primarily protect them from being used by others, then consider a 45 degree upward angle orientation in the middle of the photo —this makes it much more difficult for anyone to remove it. If that is not an issue then consider using a smaller one in the lower right side of the photo using normal orientation. IMPORTANT: whichever style you use to watermark your images keep it consistent throughout your site.
- Color and Transparency – suggest you use white text with about a 22% transparency. The amount of transparency you use for each image may need to be slightly less or more depending upon the image itself. Remember, watermarking needs to be subtle, not stand out and shout.
- Keep It Simple – WinWatermark gives you many options to style your watermarks. If you go overboard with styles your watermarks will be distracting at best and a turnoff at worst.
South Beach Condo King Kevin Tomlinson is a firm believer in watermarking and uses it very much to his advantage with all the custom condo images on his site. Every GoArmyHomes site we build out has the neighborhood photos watermarked as well.
If you are putting a lot of effort into your Website you may as well protect your investment. Watermarking lets you do this and extend your brand at the same time. That makes it a powerful tool that should be in everyone’s digital toolbox.
Choose Who YOU Want to Work With
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Do you work with every prospect that comes your way? Even in the best of times most agents do, figuring “Any business is better than no business.” And when times are tough, sales associates tend to look at prospects like someone dying of thirst looks at a glass of cool, clear water.
Yet this very understandable approach to new business could in fact cost you the very thing you want –a steady stream of new business.
The reality is that you will do better by being very selective with whom you choose to work. The reasons are very simple: you will enjoy your job so much more and those that you do serve will appreciate your efforts that much more.
The funny thing about human nature is that the more selective you become, the easier it will be to attract those very people. When I had my Mortgage company in the mid-1980’s, real estate agents told their borrowers they had to call and mention the agent’s name if they wanted a chance to work with me. Needless to say, this created a sense of extreme value in the minds of prospects —they were chasing me, instead of the other way around.
This effect was helped greatly by my very public declaration that I simply did not work with everyone…
It’s not a matter of who can benefit from what you sell. It’s about choosing the customers you’d like to have.
Seth Godin
There is one very important caveat here. This only works well when you also choose to specialize. Trying to be everything to everyone is like taking a megaphone to a crowd of people and screaming that you will take all comers —it kind of defeats the purpose.
Differentiate For Success
Monday, July 26th, 2010
What are the qualities that define a top producer from just another real estate sales associate struggling to keep it all together?
There are two primary ones that really make these folks, well… stand out from the crowd:
- Implementation – they consistently put into practice proven strategies and tactics. You never hear excuses as to why they didn’t do something.
- Differentiation – they strive to be different, stand out from everyone else.
This second one is so interesting because while most agents will talk about “standing out” their actions say something else. Many agents clearly become uncomfortable if they do or even consider doing something that will make them stand out. Maybe it’s a throw-back to the days when we were in high school and “being like everyone else” was social survival rule #1.
When it comes to being consistently successful however, being perceived as different from the rest (ideally in a good way) is absolutely essential both in business and life…
America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress. It acted on this belief; it has advanced human happiness, and it has prospered.
Louis D. Brandeis
(American Supreme Court Justice, 1856-1941)
We are all unique beings with unique talents, perspectives and gifts that can positively affect our world. It just takes willingness and courage to allow them to flower.
(NOTE: click on the image above to view a short video about the importance of differentiation in marketing)
The Nearly Perfect Real Estate Website
Monday, July 12th, 2010
As a speaker and author about doing business online I’m asked all the time for examples of Websites that work. There are plenty to point to but almost all have one or more things that don’t meet what I consider certain standards. Well here’s one that does and scores a 10 out of 10 on just about every measure of an awesome productive site.
Don’t Bother Calling a Web Designer
Roman Pavlik, the owner of this Web marvel is a member of my ULTRA eTEAM Alumni and is frankly one of the most coachable sales associates I’ve ever met. Instead of hiring the best Web developer he could find, he spent the first four months planning and outlining every aspect of his site www.DowntownLivingMiami.com from the perspective of his target market. Once he had his written site plan completed (and fully vetted by me and the rest of the ULTRA eTEAM) then and only then was introduced to the best Web developer I know of. With a written plan in hand (including most of the copy produced by a professional copywriter) it was relatively easy for the designer to manifest Roman’s vision for his site.
Hot Seat Wunderkind
During our Tuesday evening Live Group Coaching sessions we will occasionally have what is affectionately known as a “Hot Seat”. This is where a sales associate volunteers to have their site evaluated by me and the group live during the session. For most it is an extremely useful exercise on how to improve their sites dramatically. The video below is a recording of the recent DownTownLivingMiami.com site’s hot seat session. In this particular case it was a struggle to find any way to improve this site. Check out the video and you will see why (and you will also see which criteria I use to evaluate sites.)
(NOTE: it is strongly suggested that you play this video full screen to see all the details being discussed.)
Nothing is Ever Perfect…
You are probably wondering why this site is referred to as “nearly” perfect. Well, if you watched the whole hot seat session video above all the way through (it’s about 71 minutes long) you will have seen and heard about “constant refinement”. There is no such thing as perfect, only a constant state of refinement to continually improve a Website’s ability to generate business and differentiate you from your competition. By the way, Roman’s is the first of several “nearly perfect” Websites we will be highlighting here and during our future live Hot Seat sessions. These others will also be coming from my ULTRA eTEAM Alumni. You will find that their sites are just as impressive and unique as Roman’s but for different target markets.
The moral of the story here is don’t even THINK about contacting a Web designer before you do your planning and outlining first. To do otherwise you are inviting much frustration, financial pain and ultimately ending up with a business Website that is anything but perfect.
Facebook vs. Google
Sunday, July 4th, 2010
Last week I posted an article on how powerful Facebook Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising could be for your business. Since then I’ve received responses from people who say it is not all that great shakes. This is clearly a case of discovering a new “hammer” and thinking everything is the same kind of nail. It’s all about using the right tool, for the right purpose at the right time. Here are some tips that will help you choose the right business promotion tool for the job.
Facebook is about Interests
I recently challenged one of my ULTRA eTEAM members, Roman Pavlik to use Facebook to drive traffic to his new highly targeted DownTownLivingMiami.com Website. Since most of his buyers for luxury downtown Miami condos come from New York, Canada and South America he targeted his Facebook ads to people who live in those areas. Let’s just say there are a lot of Facebook members living in those areas. In a very short period of time (literally just a couple of days) he had over 60,000 ad impressions. Unfortunately, not one person clicked on his ads. And to add insult to injury, Facebook stopped showing his ads (after all, they want to make money too!)
So Brad Carroll (our Online Dominance Social Networking Mastermind coach) and I suggested that he further refine his targeting by including interests that would be consistent with anything having to do with Miami. For example, people living in Canada, New York and South America who are interested in Miami sports teams and so on. While this refinement substantially reduced his pool of Facebook members that would see his ad, the click throughs to his site shot up (he had 24 just in a couple of days vs. zero before).
When advertising on Facebook, less is more and you really have to think about which member interests are most likely follow through on your ad’s call to action.
Google is About Wants and Needs
When someone searches on Google, by definition they are looking for something specific (i.e. a want or need). In this case, it makes perfect sense for Roman to complement his Facebook advertising with a Google PPC campaign targeting people who are specifically interested in buying downtown Miami condos. A little closer to home, I am personally involved in syndicating GoArmyHomes.com Websites for every army base on U.S. soil. Part of this process includes driving substantial traffic to each respective base site. At first we considered running Facebook ads because there are well over 300,000 Facebook members who are also in the army. The only problem is that a tiny fraction of those will be interested in going to any particular base at any particular time. Without a doubt if we had pursued that course of action we would not have seen any click throughs and Facebook would have shut our ad campaign down. In this case, our PPC options are clearly better with Google. However, Facebook is the tool to use as we begin to promote our GoArmyHomes Facebook page.
Facebook and Google are two awesome online advertising tools. It’s just a matter of knowing which one is the best option for the task at hand and using it in the manner that produces the best results for the lowest cost. With a little bit of practice and patience, you will get the hang of it :0)
Learn From the Best of the Best
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
It’s not to often that you get the opportunity to see how success is done first hand. You now have that chance and it is one that could cost you big time if you don’t take advantage of it.
STAR POWER 2010
From Sunday July 25 to Wednesday July 28, the 2010 STAR POWER conference in Murfreesboro, TN has jam packed every hour with speakers, business growth strategies, interactive resources, tools, and networking all to help you take your business to the next level. “Mirroring” is one of the most effective and fastest ways to improve your business. See what other highly successful people do in their markets and then replicate those actions in yours. STAR POWER was founded by Howard Brinton on that principle and has been going strong for over 20 years.
The Whole Gang Will Be There…
In addition to the top agents in the business and stellar keynote speakers, yours truly, Mr. Internet will be there speaking and pretty much my entire ULTRA Alumni eTEAM, many of whom will be speaking and sharing their secrets as well. Yes, the market is tough and it may be hard to spend the time and money to attend, but don’t let a false sense of economy cost you tens of thousands in new revenue. Now is the time you look for proven methods that work in this market, and there is no better place than the STAR POWER conference at the end of this month. Be there or be square!
