Pop Quiz. Have you ever run a drip email campaign for an entire year without one person hitting reply? If you answered yes, then you have been running a canned campaign.

We have all been on the other end of a drip campaign that we unsubscribe to as soon as possible. You know the type – cheesy, canned and so obviously not personally directed to you, the consumer. As a realtor, why would you ever want to be the source of that email for your potential clients? Here, we have the solution to all of your canned campaign problems – 5 Steps to the perfect drip campaign.

1. Determine your target market. Really think about the tastes and values of your target market. Hire a Virtual Assistant to create your campaign and make sure you educate them on what direction you want to take with your campaign.

 

2. Find the drip campaign that will serve as your jumping off point. There are many drip campaigns available – many of which may already be included in a site you are paying for such as RealPro or Top Producer. Their email campaigns are a great starting point, but you should never use them right out of the box. They are usually very general and often canned.

 

3. Customize to your target market. Have your VA go through each email and customize them to your target market. You may be able to keep some of the pre-written content to pepper in between your more specialized emails, but this is your chance to run with it…

RealSupport has done some really interesting campaigns for our clients. For Joy Rice of Rice Realty Group, luxury homeowners with dogs were her target market. RealSupport created three campaigns for her: a buyer campaign, seller campaign and relocater campaign – but each had a unique dog-loving twist to them.

We also created an extensive year-long drip campaign for Lisa Murray of RE/MAX Sun Properties. Her focus was her town of Fountain Hills – an active, beautifully scenic city in Arizona that has a lot to offer. Each email offered a fun fact or feature of the community – from a list of the iconic fountains in the area to the best restaurants in town.

4. Customize your graphics. Depending on the drip campaign template that you are using, you may be able to customize your emails with eye-catching graphics. If there is an area for HTML code, your VA could create a graphic using your picture, a community scene, or maybe even a picture of a dog, whatever appeals most to your target market. Some campaigns are committed to the stationary they provide, in which case, it is even more important to make sure your content pulls in your audience.

 

5. Feature a Call to Action. At the end of each email, you have the option to feature some kind of call to action. This could be more direct, “Visit my website for more information about this beautiful community,” which would include a direct link to your website. Or you could simply feature a link to more information about the topic or tip you provided in your email.

If you follow these steps, you can create a one-of-a-kind, perfect-for-your-target-market drip campaign. The idea is that the person at the receiving end of these emails will think that you were up the night before writing this email just for them. When they are getting information that is interesting, entertaining and pertinent to their needs, they will be a lot less likely to jump at the “unsubscribe” option.

Carrie Gable of RealSupport, Inc. is our “VA Quick Tip” columnist offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, website and logo design, branding, lead generation, technical support, transaction management and more.

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Due to the marketing power of the internet and the fact that 87%+ of buyers use this as their source for finding a home; it becomes clear that having eye catching photographs is vital!

According to a study on Point2, the argument for real estate photography is clear. After monitoring listings for a 30-day period the results showed that the listings with 20+ photos brought in over 15 times more views and nearly 10 times the leads as those listings with a single photo.

An additional study showed that the average Days on Market had direct correlation to the number of photos posted:

- 1 photo = 70 DOM
- 6 photos = 40 DOM
- 16-19 photos = 36 DOM
- 20 photos max – 32 DOM

The price of the home is also affected by this marketing medium:
- 1 Photo = 91.2% of Original Price
- 6 or more = 95% of Original Price

These percentages will increase even more with a high quality photo.

Your Options:

Take The Photos Yourself – Of course this is the less expensive option.  However, this option is more than simply grabbing a digital camera and conducting a quick point and shoot as you move throughout the house. As a real estate agent, you understand the importance of marketing and the amount of time and energy that goes in to promoting a home with excellence.

As we have seen in the above statistics- quality images of a home are a big deal!  If you choose to take the pictures yourself; don’t get intimidated- get motivated! I recently saw a prelist presentation where an agent dedicated an entire page to photography.  She laid out the value of great photographs and ensured her seller would have nothing less.  At the end she included the photography certification she had received from a local photography school!  Talk about impressive!

Understandably, the real estate industry is non-stop and you’re probably wondering “what agent would have time to take a class?”  I would encourage you to do a quick search online for Real Estate Photography Classes.  What you’ll find are a number of online courses- which are sometimes FREE- as well as an overwhelming amount of articles giving helpful tips. Run this search locally and see what art schools or community colleges offer a single photography course.

You’ll be amazed at the difference in your pictures after a single course.  Even dedicating a few hours of reading articles online or reviewing your cameras’ user manual can have a profound affect.  The more familiar you become with your camera and the process- the more captivating your photos will become- turning the online audience into interested leads!

If you want the high quality photos, but aren’t interested in taking them yourself; there’s always another option…

Hire a Professional- Search for local professional or freelance photographers to ensure the best quality of photographs.  Be sure to check out their online portfolios in order to get a good idea of their style and level of skill.

As Virtual Assistants, we’re here to help!  We enjoy sharing new ideas or tips to make your life easier.  Have a photography tip to share?  We’d love to hear your feedback!

Need more advice?  Ask your Real Estate Virtual Assistant today?

Carrie Gable of RealSupport, Inc. is our “VA Quick Tip” columnist offering expertise inreal estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistantindustry, RealSupport offers marketing, website and logo design, branding, lead generation, technical support, transaction management and more.

Contact Carrie
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As a real estate agent or broker, you know that getting your name to page one on that search engine results page is one of the most sought after goals.  One of the best ways to improve search engine rankings (organically) is by Blogging.  When you use keywords in your blog consistently, you are driving more and more consumers back to your website.  As a “page one success story” ourselves, RealSupport has the knowledge and experience to get you the best results possible.   Here are a few tips we’d like to share:

1. Post Consistently
We recommend posting at least 1x per week.  Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can write AND post to your blog as often as you would like.  Of course, if there is anything you happen to come across that you want to personally write about, feel free!  Read more about this strategy in our blog post about how blogging can improve your search engine rankings!

2. New Listing Blog Post = GREAT idea
Let your blog serve as yet another avenue to advertise your new listings.  This step to can be included in your new listing marketing efforts.  While your at it, may as well announce your price reductions and boast about your solds!  Just another way to show off your expertise as a real estate professional.

3. Your Blog Should (Automatically) Syndicate to Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn

Yes, you should have a link to your blog on any and all social networking websites, your email signature and website.  You should also have your Real Estate Virtual Assistant setup your blog so it auto syndicates to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  With this syndication, each blog post is instantly fed to your social networking websites, exposing your friends, fans , connections and potential clients to the invaluable information you’ve just posted.

4. Mention Your Blog on Your Website
We recommend adding a graphical button linking to your blog on at least one page of your website.   This also adds a personal touch to your website beyond your “About Me” page.  It’s a great way for your clients and potential customers to get to know you.  Website information can get out-dated, but your blog will always stay current as long as you are following our guidelines.  Some websites even allow for a live feed of your blog so your most recent posts show on your home page.  Ask your Real Estate Virtual Assistant to help you determine the best way to advertise your blog.

5. Consistency With Your Key Words is KEY
Blogging your key words consistently is KEY to better search engine rankings.  Discuss your desired key words you’re your Real Estate Virtual Assistant so they can incorporate them into your blog and link them back to your website.  Can’t or don’t want to wrap your head around all of this?  Delegate it to your Real Estate Virtual Assistant TODAY!

These are just a few, I’m sure you have some of your own, so please DO comment to share your own quick tip!

Carrie Gable of RealSupport, Inc. is our “VA Quick Tip” columnist offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, website and logo design, branding, lead generation, technical support, transaction management and more.

Contact Carrie
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These days no one wants to be sold. We cringe when a telemarketer calls or someone knocks on our door selling something. We are reluctant to give our phone number to anyone for fear they will call us! Selling is just passe. It is the way of the past and a way to scare off your potential clients, that is for sure!

How do you serve? Depending on your target market, there are many ways you can offer yourself with no strings attached (and I mean NO string attached, no daily calls, no desperate emails). Offering your time and educating your potential client is the key. I don’t mean a Free CMA, everyone is offering that (although that is part of it too). In addition to a CMA, why not offer a complimentary home analysis to the home owner which would include a list of improvements you would recommend and a report on the potential financial gain that improvement would have when they go to sell. Who’s doing that? No one!

Is your target market first time home buyers (or home buyers in general)? How about a weekly “Successful Home Buyer Seminar” at the public library. I’ve suggested this to quite a few REALTORS and I am sometimes met with resistance… “Well, I’ve done this in the past and only a few people show up… it just isn’t worth my time”. I also here the argument, “Well, those people are never ready to buy now”. Wow, that blows me away every time. Two leads that are going to eventually purchase a home are not worth your time? Very short sighted. One of our clients gets every drop of business from his weekly home buyer seminars. He is a top producer and 2009 was his best year ever! How does he do it? He serves and educates his target market consistently. Consistency is key.

At RealSupport, this is a philosophy that we follow and one that we preach to our clients. Do NOT sell your service/product, SERVE your potential client and they WILL buy through you, they WILL list with you.

Ask your Real Estate Virtual Assistant to brainstorm ideas for you and then execute those ideas. You just need to show up!

And for your free consultation on what a Real Estate Virtual Assistant can do for you, please contact Erica Parpan, our Operations Manager here at RealSupport. She can be reached at 847-705-1655×201 or Erica@RealSupportinc.com

Good luck, and Happy New Year! It’s time to get excited for a successful 2010!

Carrie Gable of RealSupport, Inc. is our “VA Quick Tip” columnist offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, website and logo design, branding, lead generation, technical support, transaction management and more.

Contact Carrie
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What is Google Juice?
Those of you who are familiar with search engine optimization may have an idea of what Google Juice is.  For those who don’t, Google Juice is a slang term for “the ability to get pages to appear high in the Google search rankings.” It sounds pretty simple, right?

A few key tips will help you climb the Google Search Ladder:

Tip 1: Repeat your targeted search phrase a number of times on the website page and/or blog post:
This is so easy to do – and if you want to consistently get good rankings, you need to make a habit out of doing it, OFTEN! It is easy to do this the WRONG way, so beware, you want your text to make sense, while still peppering in your keywords/phrases. Do not overdo it! Too much of a good thing can be bad! Link those keywords and/or phrases back to relevant pages on your website.

Tip 2: Bold Keyword/Phrases: Google gives more weight to keyword/phrases that are bold.
Just like everything else in SEO, you don’t want to over-do the bolding. A couple bold instances per page should be enough. If you have links between your pages about the keyword phrase then it’s a good idea to bold those links.

Tip 3: Social Bookmarking for Google Juice:
Google not only looks at what is on your pages to decide your Google ranking — incoming links are also a big part of what makes up good Google Juice. It’s also not just the number of links, but how well respected the linking sites are in the Google algorithm. So, how do you quickly get good Google Juice links? Social bookmarking!

Three or four social bookmarking links can do wonders for your Google Juice and therefore, your Google ranking. If you don’t use any other social bookmarking sites, one Google Juice blog suggests the following: StumbleUpon - Digg - BloggingZoom -Sphinn. You will almost instantly have good incoming links to your pages even if the post doesn’t rank well with the particular social bookmarking site.

Tip 4: Crosslinking:
You can boost your Google juice by creating multiple posts about the same keyword phrase. Link keywords from one blog post to another related blog post, to your site. Link to your website from your blog, and to your blog back to your website. If done right you can multiply the effect of your good placement in Google rankings.

Summary:
Your blog is a powerful tool that can be easily used to raise the ranking of your website or blog. If you are using your blog to and raise the Google ranking for your website, do the following:

1.) Use your desired keyword(s) often and in places it makes sense.

2.) Bold those keywords and links to your site.

3.) Crosslink from your blog to your site and visa versa. Use social bookmarking to help your site along in it’s Google ranking.

BONUS! Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can implement all of this for you!  Your time is valuable…  A Real Estate Virtual Assistant can even post to your blog 1x per week or more.  Do what you do best and hire out the rest!

Best wishes!

Carrie Gable of RealSupport, Inc. is our “VA Quick Tip” columnist offering expertise in real estate marketing, technology and more. RealSupport’s office and team of 9 full-time staff members is located near Chicago, IL. Their successful team works virtually for many top real estate agents nationwide. Pioneers in the Real Estate Virtual Assistant industry, RealSupport offers marketing, website and logo design, branding, lead generation, technical support, transaction management and more.

Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
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