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Realtor Marketing – Direct Mail Postcards

Tara Jacobsen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:50:15 +0000

Realtor Direct Mail Postcards

The BEST marketing money I ever spent when I was an active Realtor was on direct mail postcards! I sent them out to my farm, to past clients and to prospects. To this day, two years later, I still get people who mention that they are sorry that I am not still sending them as it helped them keep up with the real estate market in the area that I farmed!

So why should YOU mail out realtor postcards? Here are my top five reasons!

They hang around A LONG time – people will keep them on their desk, bulletin board or refrigerator for longer than you ever though possible!
It reminds people that you are still in business – I know, you are a professional and should not have to say so BUT with the market the way that it is you never can be too sure.
You can market your listings – I know this one is not popular but it is true! Part of the reason you are paid commissions is that you market a property. I always made sure to put my client on the mailing list and boy did it make an impact that I was doing my job when they got it in the mail.
They help grow your farm – When you do consistent mailings into an area you become the defacto neighborhood expert even if you have never had a buyer or listing there!
Lastly, the cost has come WAY down from when I was doing it!!! – The price per piece, including addressing, First Class Postage, and Delivery is now $.40 per piece. Dang.

That last one is a life saver!!! The one thing that I did not like about doing real estate postcards was the cost! First I had to order the printing, then I had to have a bulk mail stamp to save on postage, then lick and stick the stamps and finally schlep on down to the post office and make sure I had my postcards sorted the right way. Wow am I having a bad flashback!

The cool thing now is that you can order one or a thousand with no change in price – the weensy ones are forty cents no matter the quantity you order when you use www.BrokersHelper.com (KW Agents make sure you use My Red Tools for a little discount).

So as you are planning your marketing for the upcoming year, make sure that you consider adding direct mail postcards to the mix. Here are some of the top ones that I sent out with great results!

Expireds
Just Listeds
Just Solds
Neighborhood Info
Spring Ahead/Fall Back
Happy Thanksgiving
Funny Realtor Postcards (if you are not the queen of corn like I am don’t do these)
Future sellers drips
Farms
Under contract in X days

Ones I didn’t send

Recipes – I am a realtor not a cook!

Hope those help with your realtor direct mail marketing ideas – please feel free to comment if you notice one I may have forgotten!!!

How To Pick New Small Business Opportunities

Tara Jacobsen — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:34:31 +0000

This month’s second small business marketing newsletter was about having multiple streams of income, which got me thinking about how we should choose those streams for ourselves. I have a confession to make…I am a huge proponent of multiple streams of income and I have an entrepreneurial spirit so I spend lots of time considering new things I COULD do to increase my business opportunities. This post is about what I (and you) SHOULD do to maximize my time and effort and minimize pain!

John Jonas gave the best description I ever heard about how to pick what to do. He said you should never get more than one step away from what you do now or more than one step away from the kind of customer you serve now when deciding new things to try.

Here is my one step approach for Marketing Artfully. The three main things I do for my business are blogs, information products and speaking. Because information products often have affiliate programs, starting my own or joining someone else’s is a good fit for me and makes sense to add to my resource page. Also, doing internet masterminds involves speaking (which is one of my things) so it is okay also.

Some other things for me that would be a good fit are things that provide services to entrepreneurs and small business owners, social networking items and other business related items.

Now here comes the brilliant part – when I get a great idea of something to do that is NOT one step away, I can drop it quickly. Instead of spending time and energy on researching something (or more likely diving into something) that will not help my business, I can easily determine if it is a good fit and, if not, move on!

This system works for ANY business! My buddy Deb Ward of Deborah Ward and Associates is a realtor in the Tampa Bay area. You can see from her blocks that there are some things that match well with her business model and some that don’t. She does coaching, sells real estate and owns a team of realtors. Getting referrals and owning shares in a title company are great for her, she could also add speaking to realtors easily because of her coaching focus. BUT, adding non-real estate related items would dilute her message and efforts.

So, to all you entrepreneurs out there considering new ventures…make sure that you are checking your blocks and keeping on track for success!!

Eyejot – a free email marketing tool!

Tara Jacobsen — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:21:45 +0000

There are SO many free tools on the internet to get your marketing message out – Eyejot is a winner! One of my absolute favorite marketers – Brian P. Forrester of Mortgage Communication Spot sends out an eyejot most Mondays to tell his sphere important information about the mortgage industry. It takes him less than a minute to record and he reaches many realtors and home buyers with his message!

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If you want to get great updates from Brian, email him to get on his eyejot list…:)

Marketing Planning Seminar for Real Estate

Tara Jacobsen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:07:28 +0000

BE PART OF THIS AMAZING OPPORTUNITY TO
GROW YOUR REAL ESTATE BUSINESS!

This one-day Marketing Planning Seminar for Realtors, Title Companies and Mortgage Professionals will help you focus on the activities that will help you establish your brand, grow your business, get new clients and generate leads for your business.

Marketing Guru Tara Jacobsen will take you through the steps to take to make a marketing plan that works with YOUR business. Some topics we will cover include:

Finding your perfect customers
Developing a mission statement
Building your brand
Online and offline marketing ideas
Lead generating ideas

You WILL leave the class with a detailed plan for how to grow your business!

SEATING IS LIMITED TO 25 ATTENDEES – Don’t miss your chance to change your business!

PLUS – As a bonus, everyone who attends will get a FREE copy of “How To Service Your Listings” AND the special report “100 Things To Do To Sell Your Listings” (A $30 Value)!

When: February 6th from 9-1
Where: Integrity First Funding Group
1237 Lady Marion Lane
Dundedin FL 34698
Cost: $25

NAR 2008 – A Marketing Perspective

Tara Jacobsen — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:08:06 +0000

The Swag Winner Is……………..

Swag is the “stuff” that companies give away at their trade show booths. It can be as bland as a pen or as exciting as a brand new car, but in general is something that will help draw people to your tradeshow booth or help them remember your company after the show.

At the NAR (National Association of Realtors) 2008 show held in Orlando, Florida I picked up some great swag! Using a totally non-scientific method I have declared Chelsea Title Company the 2008 Best Swag Winner! They had MULTIPLE great items at their booth – a truly amazing selection!

Best of Show – My favorite item was a glasses cleaner stuck into an itty bitty holder that I can hook on my keyring or anywhere else handy. Ticor Title Company had a similar item at the show.

First Runner Up – A tire gauge! In this time of soaring gas prices, having your tires inflated the proper amount can save you big bucks!

Second Runner Up – A carabiner with a compass attached. Great for a keyring and not getting lost – my husband was super excited about it!

Totally Fun And Useless – These pens from Pitney Bowes are super fun! They are cute and have little bobbly heads!

Most Useful Tool – Realtors are predominantly women or they are men with wives. A great giveaway that everyone likes! American Home Warranty had the prettiest ones at the show!

Listingbook - (who I contract to teach for) had dashboard sticky holders. Listingbook website link

Wise Agent – Our new database company Wise Agent was there! They have a super great product and offer affordable prices!! If you use them make sure to tell them that Mudly68 sent you!!! A Wise Agent website link

First Home Tour – I have used First Home Tour for years. They offer unlimited tours for $29/month and have GREAT customer service!!! I got to meet Kate who I have talked to a couple of times, these things are great for putting names to faces! First Home Tour website link

Constant Contact – Let’s Play Hide and Seek!

Tara Jacobsen — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:36:47 +0000

While I was an active realtor I was VERY good at keeping in touch with my clients and prospects. It was my favorite part of the job (which is why I am now helping agents and small business owners with their marketing instead of actively working with clients)!

Lead generating is like a really neat game of hide and seek with the prize being someone calling or emailing you with an opportunity! There is nothing more fulfilling than preparing a well thought out marketing piece, generating the content, doing the sticky-sticky of the labels and stamps, then sending it out into the world and having someone notice it and contact you! (I KNOW – I really need help with this, like a marketing 12-step program)

What I have found is that not everyone loves this part of owning a business. It can sometimes seem overwhelming and can fall by the wayside while you are busy doing your “real” job. It can seem really pointless to get MORE business when you are feeling swamped by the business you already have BUT… if you wait until you are less busy then you have lulls in your work (and income).

Some tips to make your marketing less intimidating:

Do what you like to do (Part 1)! If you like to talk to people then do it more – join a small business networking group, go out for dinner at the same place and get to know the clients and staff (tell them what you do and they WILL refer you!), visit businesses and tell them about your service and how it can help them.
Do what you like to do (Part 2)! If you like to talk on the phone do it more – call your friends and remind them that you give great service, call your prospects, call your past clients. Make it a part of your daily routine and it will get easier – I promise!
Do what you like to do (Part 3)! If you are an online guru do that more – send emails with a signature line from your business, have a great website to capture leads, comment on blogs with a link to your site. Internet marketing is a VERY affordable way to go!
Mail stuff out – Don’t wait until you have the “best” direct mail piece or the most extensive marketing plan finalized, send something. Send just listed or just sold postcards, send your brochure, send a market snapshot or a great article you found, send out helpful tips for your industry, just do it!
Start an email list – Find out how to set up an email list subscription on your site (I use www.feedburner.com) OR call everyone you know and tell them you are setting up a GREAT mailing and need their email address. DO NOT SPAM them! Make sure you send relevant content and not too often.

Marketing is fun and anyone can do it (remember that at the end of it you will have new clients to work with!) I have one realtor friend who gets a new client EVERY time she sends out her newsletter! It takes her a little money and a while to send them, BUT knowing that it gets her results makes it all worthwhile. While you may never be a marketing nut like me, think of it like a game of hide and seek or an Easter egg hunt and it may seem easier!

PS – If you are a realtor and would like to hand off some of the work to us visit our 33 Touch page for more info!

Ebook – SEO Marketing For Realtors

Tara Jacobsen — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:06:39 +0000

We like to share our tips and tricks with everyone! With that in mind we are offering a series of Ebooks to help small businesses and realtors with SPECIFIC information on how to best accomplish your niche marketing goals!

SEO Marketing for Realtors will guide you through the process of setting up your real estate website in the best possible way for placing high on the search engines. It will give specific examples on proper keyword selection, writing compelling content that will attract visitors and, and how to submit your website to the search engines.

Whether you have an established site, or are just setting up a brand new site, you can start using the techniques to get more traffic TODAY!

This book includes:

A Quick Word About Keywords
Search Engines 101
Naming Your Website
The Content
Tricky SEO Company Gimmicks
Make The Search Engines Notice Your Site
Paid Submissions