Template sites such as Point2 and RealPro Systems are improving their back-end tools and stepping up their standards. This means, you can now have a customized-like site without the customized price tag.

Many of these template websites used to look unprofessional and very cookie-cutter. Everyone had the same look to their website – one photo that stretches across the header with your team’s name in big letters plonked on top.

Very few people are willing to drop the money for a custom website design that can cost anywhere between $4,000 to $25,000. In comparison, spending $20/month on a basic template site becomes very tempting after seeing those prices.

Here is where your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can step in and save the day. Your VA can work “customization magic” with most template websites. Incorporating custom designed elements and graphics is key.  Wow that potential client when they are visiting your website for the first time.  Make them think that you’ve invested thousands in your website!  Examples of custom designed elements include a banner (header) and footer.  The header and footer should be designed using pictures or graphics that will appeal to your target market. Your Real Estate Virtual Assistant can choose some effective stock photos to use or even better, take your own community photos and email them to your VA!

Don’t stop there, take your affordable website customization a step further.  Your VA can create eye-catching, appealing graphics for all of your Irresistible Offers (which you always want to showcase on your home page) to emphasize them even more.  When clicked on, the graphics for your  Irresistible Offers will lead directly to the page or form with pertinent information for requesting that specific offer.

The possibilities are endless!  You CAN have a website that you’re proud of!  Here are some examples of template websites (Point2 and RealPro) that we’ve added custom elements to:

Point2 Websites With Custom Enhancements:


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RealPro Systems Websites With Custom Enhancements:


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When it comes to content, most people are not using these sites to their full potential. They often come with great tools like drip campaigns, statistics and already written content.

That doesn’t mean that you should accept all the defaults that come with the template. In fact, this is something you want to avoid at all costs. Your content must be aimed at your target market!

Your Real Estate VA can customize/re-write/tweak the content just as much as they can customize the graphics. Most agents don’t have the time to do this themselves, which is why it so often slips through the cracks, leaving consumers un-impressed by the same old buyer and seller tips.

Your VA can easily slim down or beef up the stock content, re-name the pages, write SEO’d content tailored for your market and even add in all of your social networking links. Make the site more than a marketing gimmick. Make it a resource with community pages, dining suggestions, tax credit updates, loan tutorials – whatever appeals most to YOUR ideal client. The result is a site map that fits your target market’s needs and interests as well as a website that you can guarantee no one else has.

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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