Affordable Marketing Ideas

Attracting homebuyers and home sellers to look and buy your properties, and to list their homes for sale with you is becoming harder and harder. The real estate industry is very competitive and it is becoming harder for agents to compete and stand out above the rest.

The agents and real estate companies that stand out most are creative in their real estate marketing ideas. The best place to start with real estate marketing ideas is look at what other successful companies are doing. Here are a few other things you can do that you may find beneficial.

One idea you should think about is people like something physical to hold on to and look at. They love color and information. When using newspaper, you are limited on the amount of space you can use to effectively describe properties. Using color brochures or postcards that describe your listings can be one way to promote your listings. Another idea of promoting your home listings is the internet. The internet is popular because it allows people to become interactive and share information.

If you don’t have a website or have not done a virtual tour for any of your listings, you may want to spend the time researching this strategy to promote your real estate company. Virtual tours are provided by companies who provide a service to real estate professionals. These companies will not only help you develop quality videos of the exterior and interior of homes, but they will also help you get the best search engine traffic. They will also give you exposure from niche real estate websites online.

The beauty about videos is potential buyers in the market for homes will save them, download them, share them with friends and family and refer back to them when they need to. Incorporating tools on your website, like mortgage calculators, community information, schools and churches in the area, will make your website useful to those who visit. You will create a resource for individuals to access at anytime. This keeps potential buyers always coming back.

Internet video marketing is not only great for showcasing homes, but more and more people are using the videos to promote themselves personally. This is a good way to show your personality, build rapport with your audience, explain the benefits of your service, and express a call to action. This helps create loyalty and trust.

Anywhere you advertise online, include links to a specific property or properties and your website. Have something of interest that will invite visitors to leave their email address for further communication via email and other marketing opportunities. You can tailor a message for users to sign up for a free market analysis or home tour. This will definitely get your foot in the door. Another one could be, sign up to receive future notices of similar listings.

There are hundreds of ways to develop effective real estate marketing ideas and launch them to increase your results. These are some of the basic steps you can take. If you do additional research online, you will find a lot of creative ways to boost sales and start moving those listings.

When I started my business four years ago, I had enthusiasm and passion for my work, but a very small marketing budget. I also lacked a marketing plan for getting my message out to my target customer. I have learned a lot along the way and hope to impart what I’ve learned onto you. Whether you have just started your small business or are in your tenth year, there are some simple, affordable ways to keep your name in front of prospective clients and customers.

News releases. I recommend to clients that they distribute three to four news releases (better known as press releases) each year. This gives clients an opportunity to shout news out to the world about new products, services or partnerships; key hires; industry awards and certifications; new locations; events and more. News releases should be distributed on a timely basis to local media, trade publications and online. In addition, a well-crafted news release makes a great direct mail piece or a nice addition to your sales or media kit. Depending on whether you do the writing and distribution yourself, costs are variable. Distribution costs will also vary. Distribution via e-mail or fax is virtually nothing. Online distribution varies. Many news distribution sites are free, but I like to include a contribution to PRWeb.com to guarantee inclusion in popular search engines.

Online forums and networking sites. As social media continues to grow, relevant online forums and networking groups (Linked In, Connexions, Konnects) are a great way to interact with professionals and prospective clients. By actively participating in Q&A forums, you expand your reach. To take full advantage of these free opportunities, make sure you complete your online bio; include your contact information and web address; and participate regularly. Such participation can also help to position you as an industry expert.

Referral program. About half of my business comes from client referrals. To let clients know I appreciate their referrals and to encourage them to keep sending them to me, I include my referral program in my business agreement. In exchange for a prospect who does business with me, I offer the referring client two complimentary hours of writing, editing or marketing services. Aside from my time, this costs me nothing and benefits both my clients and my business.

Newsletter. There are so many affordable e-mail services these days that sending an e-newsletter to prospective clients is a no brainer. The service I use costs about $5 per month, and it not only maintains my e-mail lists for me, but it provides templates and tracks reader stats. Clients can opt-in, unsubscribe or change their e-mail address at any time. This is an inexpensive way to stay in touch with clients and prospects.

The next question, of course, is how and when to implement the above. I recommend pulling out your calendar and scheduling time for marketing and business development. Schedule a news release for each quarter, or at least three times a year. For online forums and networking sites, set aside a certain amount of time each week to participate. A referral program requires a little bit of set-up time and a notification to clients of the new program, but aside from that, it doesn’t require much time. For your newsletter, I recommend sending them to clients at regular intervals. If you can’t manage biweekly or monthly, at least put together a newsletter on a quarterly basis. Save ideas in a folder so they are all in one spot when you’re ready to get started.