Jun

3

Two Free Real Estate Strategies!

Filed Under Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Prospecting Ideas | Leave a Comment

It has come to our attention that we somehow landed on a couple of email black lists and as a result, many of you haven’t seen our most recent emails.

That’s not exactly the type of thing you want to hear when you’ve just sent out two emails with valuable strategies and business building information in them.

So, I decided to go ahead and create a post out of the email just in case we managed to miss any of you. If you’ve already seen these two reports, please forgive me, I just don’t want to leave any struggling agents out in the cold when I have the ability to help.

Over the past two weeks I’ve made two reports available to real estate agents, completely free of charge.

If you just want to jump right in, go to http://realestatemarketingmastery.com/renters-report, enter your name and primary email address, and you’ll be good to go.

You see, just recently I discovered an absolutely amazing (no make that beyond amazing!) marketing strategy while attempting to sell my waterfront condo at Lake of the Ozarks, in central Missouri.

Here’s what happened.

I’d heard about a free online ad source called Craig’s List, but never used it. So I thought, “What the heck? I’ve got nothing to lose. Why don’t I try posting my condo ad there?”

Well, after one try I got nothing. Not a call. Not a hit. Notta.

So I thought “Hmm? Why don’t I take some of the ideas I’ve been teaching agents for the last 12 years and apply them to this thing?”

My next run?

One or two calls…nothing great.

So I tweaked my ad a little bit.

Then…three or four calls…a little better.

So I tweaked it on last time…and then it happened!

My ad started to gather some steam. This time I got 11 calls the same day I posted. That’s when I knew I had something. After three or four revisions of my ad, subject line and a variety of other things, I had, almost by accident, discovered a formula that generated 147 inbound leads for my condo in the next 38 days!

And the best part was it didn’t cost me one red cent!

I got good quality prospects calling me day and night from a source that didn’t cost me a thing, except 5-10 minutes a day to post and re-post my ad. What was even more amazing is the fact that I did it all with just ONE listing…my condo.

All I could think was… “This is CRAZY!”

I’m getting leads out the ying yang…they’re good quality leads…and I’m doing this all while agents around the country are literally dying and dropping like flies.

Armed with this new knowledge, I put together a quick video (don’t worry, it’s 100% free) that explains exactly how I got 147 Leads in 38 Days from just 1 Listing. More importantly, I take you step-by-step through this information, and show you how to apply it to your real estate business and start generating leads right now.

Again, let me stress the fact that there’s no sales pitch, no catch, I am simply trying to help agents around the country that I know are struggling right now.

To watch the video, just go to http://realestatemarketingmastery.com/renters-report and enter your name and primary email address. We’re trying to avoid any future black list issues so you’ll have to verify your request.

Once you’ve verified your request, you’ll be given the access code to both the “147 Leads, 38 Days, 1 Listing” video as well as the 22 page Renters Report.

The Renters Report is another potent, high-powered strategy for you that will help you grow your business even in the midst of this struggling market.

In fact, it will show you how to capture huge chunks of market share and grow your business like never before…because of this tough market!

You see, every market has unique opportunities to profit…if you know what to look for and how to go after the business.

And in this tough market right now…foreclosures…resetting adjustable rate mortgages…declining property values…it’s created a “perfect storm” in the housing market that’s been a nightmare for sellers but an absolute dream for buyers.

If you have a well-developed strategy for working with Renters you can exploit a very timely series of events and start generating those sought after buyers leads right now, at a time when your competition is searching for scraps.

Rather than just giving you a quick general overview of how to target, and more importantly convert renters into buyers, I wanted to give you something that you can use, something substantial that you can take and put to use immediately and begin to see results in your business. So, I’ve decided to provide you with a comprehensive 22 page Renters Report.

This report is absolutely awesome! It gives you step-by-step instructions, precise details, a six-part mailing program, six follow up mailers, and word-for-word phone scripts to help you follow up with the leads you generate!

Ok, that should bring all of you affected by the black list issue up to date. To request your copy of these two 100% free reports, simply go to http://RealEstateMarketingMastery.com/renters-report, and enter your name and your primary email address. Again, there’s no sales pitch, no hidden cost, it’s just solid usable information that will help you not only survive this market, but thrive in it.

The comments on this post will be closed, not because I don’t want your feedback on this, I absolutely do. I would just prefer it if you’d post your feedback over on the Real Estate Marketing Mastery blog so that we don’t fragment the conversations.

Thanks and here’s to your success!

May

29

How to Write a Damn Good Email Subject Line

Filed Under Email Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, blogs | 1 Comment

Stop. I know what you’re thinking.

You think email is lame, backwards and not worth your time. If that’s you, think again. I’m about to turn everything you knew about email newsletters on its head.

In fact, I’ll go so far as to prove to you that not only is email better than the “new” technology like blogging, but email newsletters are more essential than blogging. Let me explain.

Email: The Most Powerful Internet Marketing Tool for Real Estate

Don’t get me wrong: social media is important. James Carey, Columbia University journalism professor, said this about the absolute human need of community:

“Man is a diurnal creature. He’s up during the day. He sleeps at night. And he has to sleep somewhere. And because he’s vulnerable, he sleeps in a shelter. And then other people come and sleep in their shelters nearby. And before you know it, they realize they will be safer if they join together. Next thing you know, they have a police force, and someone picks up the garbage.”

This may explain why social media is so hot. Social media like blogs.

How hot?

In February 2007 the Gallup News Service estimated that 57 million Americans read blogs. Somewhat astounding in a nation of over 300 million.

However, to put that in perspective, read this: The same Gallup poll found that reading blogs is far less popular than email. Approximately 87% of Americans read emails.

That’s roughly 261 million people. And that makes email ubiquitous, relevant and one of the most powerful real estate marketing tools on the Internet.

Four Principles You Must Know Before Writing Truly Great Emails

Crafting an email is pretty easy, right? Slap some copy in a message and hit “Send,” right? Dead wrong.

There’s four basic things you need to know up front about writing compelling and powerful emails.

  • Nearly half of email readers look at just the first few lines they see in the preview pane to decide if they want to continue reading the message. Less than a third will read the whole thing.
  • People are highly inclined to skip the introductory, happy talk in newsletters. Happy talk, you know, “Welcome to my newsletter. Thank you so much for reading.”

The takeaway from these four bullets: your subject line and early sentences have to hit hard, fast and furious, or the entire email newsletter will not survive inbox congestion.

The Unique Relationship Between Email and SEO

Here’s something else to take into consideration: With more email services offering large amounts of gigabytes to store emails, users are archiving more.

However, doing this adds to their information overload. But, it enhances the value of email. That means email newsletters are now part of someone’s personal inventory.

How this can work in your advantage is that these emails will be found when people search their inboxes .

And like Jakob Nielson said, “And although your newsletters don’t need full-fledged search engine optimization, you should consider how users might want to retrieve old issues in the months or years to come.”

That’s why one of the most important components of successful email newsletters is the subject line.

Introducing the Art of Writing Microcontent

Subject lines are part of what online writers call “microcontent.”

In a nutshell, all microcontent needs to be clear, concise and compelling. Usually under 140 characters. Think summary. Think keywords. Think subject line. Think Twitter. These are examples of microcontent.

With the subject line you get about 40 to 50 characters to explain your macrocontent–what your email is about.

So no matter how persuasive and electrifying your email is, unless the subject line makes it absolutely clear what the email is about, people will never open it.

The Essence of Writing Subject Lines That Capture Attention

Subject lines should say something valuable, timely or important. It should say “If you don’t open and read this email, you’ll miss out on something big.”

Subject lines should also work in tandem with the from line. Save the From line for your or your company’s name.

Subject lines must intrigue people the same way a well written headline does. It must stroke the right emotions.

Indeed, subject lines are a major driver of click-through rates, as they “direct” people to pay attention to specific articles, offers and information. Every email you send should have an implied strategy behind it.

Subject lines must recognize this and “speak” to the needs and interests of your people as individual customers, readers or prospects.

As a result, the job of a subject line now must not only entice someone to open an email, it must discourage the recipient from deleting it as an unwanted email. You must plummet something deep into people’s psyche with your subject line. Something that makes people restless until they read your email.

To do that, follow these 13 tips:

1. Personalize
Don’t put something generic like “Loren, Your Personalized May Newsletter.” Make it specific to them, their business or their life. Know thy customer.

2. Segment
Each segment should receive appropriate and different subject lines. This is related to personalizing, but deserves it’s on line. Segmenting and creating subject lines to your readers’ interests should improve open and click-through rates.

3. Use a Consistent Style
After testing and learning what style works best for your audience, stick with that approach: humorous, provocative, incentive-based or tip-oriented.

4. Have Someone Else Write, Edit or Review Subject Lines
Have someone other than you write, edit or at least review the subject line. Use this person like a newspaper story editor who will push your copy to new heights of relevancy and interest.

5. Send Subject Lines to Yourself
One of the best gauges of the strength of a subject line is to send sample emails with different subject lines to yourself. What kind of response do they warrant when they arrive in your inbox: “holy mother of God!”, “Boring.” or “hm, interesting, I’ll read later”?

6. Watch Your Own Inbox for Good Subject Line Ideas
The greatest inspiration for writing subject lines may come from watching your own inbox.

7. Track and Measure What Works Best
Track and analyze the type of subject lines that produce the best open and click-through rates. Open rates are the most obvious measure of the success of subject lines, but click-through rates are also an important measure of how well the subject line drove people to take action and click on a specific link.

8. Tie Subject Lines Into Current Events
A news angle is especially effective when promoting real estate offers affected by current events on a daily basis.

“How to Stay One Step Ahead of the Latest Fed Rate Cut to Get a Deal of a Century” is a good example.

9. Test Short Versus Long
I’ve heard that subject lines of less than 50 characters achieve higher open rates than those of 50 or more characters. That being said, there is much debate about shorter versus longer subject lines.

If you can, test various lengths and words to see what generates the best results with you.

10. Avoid The Generic and Boring
Don’t be afraid to be very specific in subject lines. Broad and generic subject lines: Bad, terrible, lazy and emails with such subject lines deserve banishment. Your subject line should be as narrow and specific as possible to generate interest and action from a majority of people.

11. Write It First
Perhaps the most common mistake marketers make is waiting till the last minute to write their subject lines. Don’t. Jt down multiple potential subject lines for your email early in the game. Never start from scratch at the last minute.

12. Push the Frickin’ Envelope
Don’t be afraid to try subject lines that are more aggressive, creative, tantalizing, specific or controversial. Of course, test everything.

13. Test, Test and Test!
Like every facet of email marketing, the most certain way to know if something is working is to test it. And email subject lines are the easiest thing to test. Split your email subscriber list in two, send one list one subject line, the other list a radically different subject line. Once you’ve discovered the winner, continue to test and tweak that subject line.

Conclusion

Still think email’s a backwater cousin to blogging?

Consider this: outside of traffic, subscribers and click through, the real ROI of blogging has yet to be cemented. Email, on the other hand, can give you cold, hard facts about the effectiveness of your campaigns quickly.

Sure, blogging has important intangibles that you must cultivate. But I wouldn’t depend on it to feed my family.

Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.

Related Article

A Short History on the History of Email and Design

Why Writing Is the Most Important Thing You Could Learn

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Mar

13

Boy in the Bubble: How to Entice Even the Most Preoccupied Person

Filed Under Persuasion, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Negotiation | Leave a Comment

Breaking news: You have to break through more than just clutter.

What do I mean by that? Let me explain.

Attention is the new economy. That means the barrier is preoccupation.

Yet, it’s hot stuff to rattle off how many ads CEO’s see a day, the average person sees a day, the left bank bookseller sees a day.

This is commonly known as clutter.

But it doesn’t explain anything about what’s inside a person’s head. That is the real obstacle.

But if you learn how to split through someone’s preoccupation, it doesn’t matter if the he’s barraged with 1 million messages.

You will strike him dead. But it’s not that easy.

Combating Tangible and Intangible Preoccupations

Think of preoccupation as a boy in a bubble. Inside that bubble?

His iPhone. His laptop. His email inbox. His magazines. His television. His notepads, pencils, drafting compass.

Those are the tangibles.

Intangibles include dreams, lusts, fears, worries. All things that keep his vision very short-sighted. In a nutshell, he sees, rarely, no farther than the inner edge of his bubble.

Unless he’s interrupted. Or enticed.

You, my friend, have to entice him. Interrupting him will only piss him off. Piss him off and he hunkers more.

Enticing him involves waiting for him to ask a question.

Why would he do that? He has a problem.

Enter the sales process.

That Irresistible Scent

The first thing you need to have is a clear understanding of is how your prospect arrives at a buying decision.

Here’s a very simplified flow of a buying decision:

  • Recognition of need or problem
  • Search for information
  • Evaluation of alternatives
  • Decide what to purchase
  • Purchase
  • Evaluate the purchase again

With that in mind, let’s now consider how you sell to your prospect.

Keep in mind: Sales is not a push-method. It’s a pull method, where you entice your prospect to follow you by an attractive scent you are offering.

This scent has to appeal to him. It has to satisfy a craving he has. That craving he got before he decided to crawl out of the bubble.

And the overall decision has to be a win-win scenario: both you AND your prospect feel good about the outcome. He must feel it is delicious and think it divine and you must think it fulfilling and feel like you didn’t feed him your arm and leg.

So let’s look at the sales process with a clear goal in mind: matching the what you have to offer to what they want or need.

Defining That Complex Relationship with Clients

A complex relationship, like the one you want to develop with your prospects, goes through stages, like this [with each bullet followed by a little narrative]:

  • Suspects–the entire universe of potential buyers for your product or service.

The boy in the bubble runs across your blog posts because he’s decided he wants a new home. You have an article called “11 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a New Bubble Home.”

  • Prospects–those suspects who have expressed an active interest in your service.

He’s decided to follow you at this point. The 11 Mistakes article was good. So was the article called “How to Sell Your Bubble for the Most Money in Less Time and Hassle.” But he really liked the story you told about another boy in a bubble who you helped successfully and safely buy a new bubble.

  • Leads–those prospects who are actively engaged in the buying process your service.

At this point, he likes you. He joined your email list. You have his permission. Eventually he wants you to help him find that dream bubble. In a matter of days, he’s calling you on the phone.

  • Buyers–those leads negotiating with you and who have made a commitment to buy in principle, but have not yet bitten the bullet.

Your relationship gets a little rocky at this point. He doesn’t feel like you understand what he means by “leg room.” Nor does he feel like you are listening when you show him a bubble with fist holes in the door. You listen, re-engage, probe deeper with questions, find out what he really is thinking. You are negotiating.

  • Customers–those who have paid for your product or service.

You did it. The dream bubble. You found him the dream bubble. He’s happy, you’re happy. So you buy him a wreath to hang on his bubble. He gives you a sketch of his foot. And then you follow up with him regularly through out the year. Why?

Post mortem, you still want him to love you.

Your advertising–not just your blog, because your blog simply can’t do it alone, neither can your email–must compel potential customers through these five phases.

To do so, they must not communicate not just information–but benefits. Benefits cinch the deal. It’s that attractive scent that snaps him out of his preoccupation to look at you.

Benefits are cream.

3 Questions to Find Out What They Desperately Want or Need

Benefits will provide the momentum to move potential customers along. This needs to happen, by the way, at every stage, both in an individual blog post or email through text ad or postcard through negotiations and post mortem discussions.

Now consider these three questions to determine your objectives every time you communicate with a prospective customer, whether via your website, phone or blog:

1. What actions do prospective customers need to take that will lead to a buying decision?

2. Who do I have to persuade to take action? The wife? The father in law?

3. How do I persuade them to take action?

The running theme here is “taking action.” Keep that in mind.

Truly powerful communication always addresses the recipient’s needs: What’s In It for Me?

If not, then you will never break through their mental preoccupations and get their attention. [They are thinking about dinner now, last week's Lost episode, not about you or what you have to offer.]

Always anticipate and ask the question, “Why should he buy from me?”

But be sure that you are addressing people at their level of interest and in the language that best suit their dominant personality styles. You want to give them information that convinces them to write a check, not write you off.

Conclusion

There is a huge difference between information and persuading. Persuasion is designed to move readers to action, to get results–whether it’s subscribing to your blog or pulling the trigger on a $800,000 home.

To persuade effectively you must take their point of view. You must answer questions correctly and fully. You must ask questions. And you must answer objections. Before they say them, if you can.

Breakthrough their preoccupation, maintain momentum, and actively lead your prospect through the decision process and you will survive.

Related Articles

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Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add.
And if you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.

Feb

26

What You Should Know About Building a Pocket of Greatness in 21st Century Real Estate

Filed Under Real Estate Marketing | 2 Comments

Do you know which company attained the number one-spot in terms of return to investors on a dollar-for-dollar basis, of all U. S. publicly traded companies from 1972 to 2002?

It wasn’t GE. Nor Microsoft. Not even Wal-Mart.

Who came out number one? According to a 30 year analysis in Money Magazine, the winner was Southwest Airlines.

Think about that for a minute.

There’s Something Wrong with This Picture

You cannot imagine a worse industry than airlines over this 30-year period: fuel shocks, deregulation, brutal competition, labor strife, 9/11, huge fixed costs, bankruptcy after bankruptcy after bankruptcy.

And yet, according to Money Magazine calculations, a $10,000 investment in Southwest in 1972 would have returned more than $10 million by 2002.

Meanwhile, United fell into bankruptcy, American limped along and the airline industry remained one of the worst imaginable. Not only that, airlines that had the same model as Southwest got killed along the way.

Airline executives have habitually blamed industry circumstances, ignoring the fact that the number one best performing investment in the universe of American public companies over a 30 year period–is just like them–an airline.

Now consider a question: what if the people at Southwest had said, “Hey, we can’t do anything great until we fix the systems constraints facing the airline industry?”

Jim Collins notes that he’s conducted a number of Socratic teaching sessions in the social sectors, and in that time says that he’s encountered an interesting dynamic: people often obsess on obstacles in the system.

At one gathering of nonprofit health care leaders he asked the question “What needs to happen for you to build great hospitals?”

The group poured out a litany of excuses.

Confront the Brutal Facts

Next Collins sorted the people into discussion groups and gave them the task of finding one health care organization that made the leap to sustained superior results, and most came up with at least one solid example.

After that, he made them go back into their groups and find one organization that faced comparable circumstances, but did not make the leap.

The groups went to work and for the most part came up with solid candidates.

He finally asked the groups to identify why some organizations made breakthroughs while others facing similar [if not identical] constraints did not.

His point was this: what if these organizations that went from good to great had all given up hope, thrown up their hands and waited for the system to get fixed?

It might take decades to change the entire context, and you might be retired or dead by the time those changes come. In the meantime, what are you going to do now?

This is where the Stockdale Paradox comes into play: You must retain faith that you can prevail to greatness in the end, while retaining the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality.

A Tough But Doable Task

So the question to you is: What can you do today to create a pocket of greatness, despite the brutal facts of your environment?

Whining is not an option.

In the end, greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline in strategy, marketing and execution.

Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add.

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If you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.

Feb

18

How to Carve Out Your Place in Real Estate History

Filed Under Real Estate Brand, Real Estate Marketing | 1 Comment

In building a great real estate business, there is no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment, no silver bullet.

Rather, it’s more like turning a giant, heavy flywheel.

Pushing with great effort–days, weeks and months of work, with almost imperceptible progress–you finally get the flywheel to inch forward. But you don’t stop.

You keep pushing, and with persistent effort, you eventually get the flywheel to complete one entire turn. You don’t stop.

You keep pushing in an intelligent and consistent direction, and the flywheel moves a bit faster. And faster and faster. Then, at some point–breakthrough!

Cool thing is, each turn builds upon previous work, compounding your investment of effort. The flywheel flies forward with almost unstoppable momentum.

This is how you build greatness.

The Article That Has Been On My Mind for Months

I’ve been thinking of this article for nearly nine months. Maybe even longer. Probably before I even posted my first article on July 2, 2007.

Since then, each time I’ve posted I’ve always asked myself this question: “Is this helping you [the real estate agent] not only survive but thrive in this current market?”

I’ve always felt that posts that talk about this negotiation tip or that prospecting tip sometimes miss the point–the greater point: survival and greatness are founded on doing the basic but essential stuff over and over again.

Think about it: If you are lost child stranded in a forest on the side of a mountain, it only makes sense to teach you how to stay warm, find food, filter water and seek shelter. Ignore these basics and your chances of survival are slim.

That’s how I view your helping you carve out your relentless focus on the highest money-making activity you love to do best [what Jim Collins calls the Hedgehog Concept].

Carving Out Your Place in Real Estate History

By sustaining this relentless focus on what you do best, you build results. Those results in turn attract resources and commitment and clients, which you use to build a bigger, stronger business. A sustaining, compelling business. A business that competitors have to reckon with.

If you do that now you may not be a millionaire in two years [assuming you are not a millionaire now, of course] but you may be able to stay above the water with some greenbacks in the bank to boot.

Just think what will happen in a good market.

However, maybe you are in a hot market like Austin. Then you definitely understand this:

People want to feel the excitement of being involved in something that just flat out works.

When clients and prospects begin to see tangible results–when they can feel the flywheel beginning to build speed in an individual [whether it's by consistent recognition of you by advertising or word of mouth]–that’s when most people line up to jump on board–whether they are clients or colleagues. They sense something big is happening and what to get on board.

This is the success of the flywheel. Success breeds support and commitment, which breeds even greater success, which breeds more support and commitment–round and round the flywheel goes. People like to support winners! Jim Collins

Examples of Financial Success in Non-Profits

In the real estate business the driver in the flywheel is the link between financial success and a growing reputation. Take a look to the social sector to see what I mean.

Does Harvard truly deliver a better education and do better academic work than other universities? Perhaps, but the emotional pull of Harvard overcomes any doubt when it comes to raising funds. Despite having an endowment in excess of $20 billion, donations continue to pour in.

Does the Red Cross truly do the best job of disaster relief? Perhaps, but the brand reputation of the Red Cross gives people an easy answer to the question “How can I help?” when a disaster hits.

Is the American Cancer Society the best organization for conquering cancer or the Nature Conservancy the most effective at protecting the environment? Perhaps, but their brand reputation gives people an easy way to support a cause they care about.

Conclusion

When you have a relentless focus on the highest money-making activity you love to do best, you will naturally create the flywheel effect.

This focus attracts believers, builds strength in your business, demonstrates results and builds the brand. It’s a cycle that feeds itself.

Consistency distinguishes the truly great–consistent intensity of effort, consistency with focus, consistency with core values, consistency over time.

Look at people like Joe Girard, Jim Rohn or Roger Dawson.

Enduring and great real estate or sales people preserve their core and stimulate progress, separating core values and fundamental purpose [which should never change] from mere operating practices, cultural norms and business strategies [which endlessly adapt to a changing world].

Remaining true to your core values and remaining focused on your Hedgehog Concept means, above all, rigorous clarity not just about what to do, but equally, what to not do.

And that will help you make your mark in real estate history.

Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add.

If you like what you read, subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.

Feb

4

Britney Spears Reputation Management Mistakes You Should Avoid

Filed Under Real Estate Brand, Real Estate Marketing | 2 Comments

Reputation is possibly your most important asset. Thus, reputation management is crucial to your success.

The classic example of reputation management can be found in the small town.

Population is so tiny interactions between members are frequent. More importantly, most interactions are face-to-face and positively identified–that is, there is no question who said or did what.

Thus, reputation accrues throughout one’s lifetime. In a nutshell, one’s individual reputation depends both on one’s own actions and experiences. [Yes, reputation is a lot like your brand. Think back to Bill Leider's post, "What Is a Brand?"]

I’ve said in the past that there are ways to go about becoming the most irresistible person at a party. Gauging by the comments, this topic resonated with people. But I should have added a warning: don’t become the party.

Britney Spears doesn’t seem to understand this.

The Grammy-award winning singer rocketed into success in less than 4 years and seemed to have ahead of her a brilliant career. But something unraveled. She failed to manage her actions, her experience–in essence, her reputation.

I like to thing she compromised her values [because, as you will see, she did have values] to please the world.

What follows is a brief history of her sad career to date and the the 6 reputation management mistakes she made. The mistakes you should avoid.

1. Spears posed for Rolling Stone.

The shot garnered widespread criticism for the mixing of wholesome innocence and sex.

But why the criticism? Didn’t Madonna do the same with sex and Catholicism ["Just Like a Prayer" video. Beware: content spotty.]?

I think the difference is that Madonna was controlled. Her image was not the same as her lifestyle. Besides, Spears was only 18, pointing to her lack of direction, experience and foresight. This will show up later.

The lesson for you: know what you are doing. And if you don’t, educate yourself. More importantly, figure out the consequences for your actions early in your life or career. Create a moral compass to live by. Anything that doesn’t fit into that narrow set of values, ignore. Think long term.

2. Spears declared she’d remain a virgin until marriage.

Noble, indeed. But hardly believable considering her childhood trauma, overt sexuality [see point 1] and relationship with fellow pop singer Justin Timberlake.

Spears’ statement is an example of a statement that lacks credibility. If you want to make a bold, noble statement, make sure that your lifestyle–both private and public–supports it. Otherwise you simply get the requisite cock of the head, the “yeah, right,” the wide swath people cut to stay away from you.

3. Spears ruined her restaurant through mismanagement and debt.

Early 2003, Spears entered territory she didn’t belong. And wasted dollars and time and reputation.

The same goes for us. We need to remain experts in our area of expertise. Going after money in an arena we know nothing about is doomed to failure. And failing by debt and mismanagement will remain on our reputation scorecard for a long time. Unless you move to a different state, of course.

4. Spears first marriage lasted 55 hours.

The reputation lesson to learn here is that you need to understand what you are getting yourself into. Otherwise you could look like a fool that people avoid [see point 2].

Spears requested the annulment to childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander on January 4, 2004, because she “lacked understanding of her actions to the extent she was incapable of agreeing to marriage because…[they] did not know each other’s likes and dislikes….”

The impact on Spears’ reputation is clear: she is either a naive or simple girl. Neither virtue that instills confidence in people.

If you want people to believe in you, steer clear of rash, uninformed decisions and opportunities. Build a foundation of credibility through perfection by making consistently wise business choices.

Your reputation will love you for it.

5. Spears does chaotic reality TV show.

Any particular reason you need to make public to millions of people your immaturity, abrasiveness or irrationality?

While this behavior might pay the bills for rock stars, it’s not likely to get you any kind of lasting success or brownie points. People might like to gape at your weaknesses, but it’s highly unlikely they’ll ever want to work with you. That wide swathe they cut for you…they’ll make it wider.

Of course, the best way to avoid publication of your weaknesses is simply to minimize them. And this means, investment in personal growth is one of the wisest decisions you could ever make.

6. Spears shaves her head.

Clearly, at this point, she is devastated by her life. She has no control over her emotions and appears to be tormented. From a reputation management perspective she needs intervention–someone to take control of her life for her.

For you this means having accountability, reporting to a mentor.

Don’t think you can weather the storm by yourself or that you are smarter than anyone else out there. An isolationist attitude will level you flat.

Find a friend, pastor, executive or relative you can easily trust and cultivate a relationship with that person. Ask them to hold you responsible for your actions. And to take you by the collar when you stumble.

Also, consider creating a small group of peers you respect to bounce ideas off of. Even if you have “the best idea in the whole world” and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s going to work, discipline yourself to run ideas by other people. They might just save your career.

Conclusion

Spears short music career is a history of a life spiraling out of control. Perhaps it is psychosis to blame, evidential in behavior that ranges most recently from crying uncontrollably as she walks her dog to faking a British accent to shopping manias at all hours of the night. But something like this doesn’t develop over night.

It’s sad, and overall speaks to the point that she needs help. And the final point to drive home to you is this: it’s probably safe to say that her misery was in part due to the fact that she surrounded herself with the wrong people.

Make sure you don’t make the same mistake.

Jan

14

What Should You Know Before You Write a Press Release?

Filed Under Real Estate Copywriting, Real Estate Marketing, Real Estate Prospecting Ideas | Leave a Comment

It seems Vivianne did not like my straying from my roots.

I think I was feeling a little weepy on Friday. A little metaphysical. Which is okay. As Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Today then, Monday January 14, I’ll get back to business, and focus on one of the four pillars of real estate success, marketing, by showing you how to generate positive press on a tight-budget with press releases.

Press releases are one of the main ways businesses, organizations and individuals share their news with the local and regional press.

In fact, a Fleischman Hilliard marketing and public relations specialist I know recently confessed [and this was not the first time that I've heard this] that they’ve often had to rely on press releases when marketing budgets were tight as a main means of generating press.

Trial, error and desperation have helped them to come up with some surefire tips for writing good press releases. I share those tips with you now.

1. Keep the press release content brief

This isn’t the place to send out an 6-page history of your business. Keep the release brief–to one page, if not, two pages at the very most–and accessible and get all the necessary information as close to the lead paragraph as possible.

It is okay to format the document to single space in the body, but only if there is plenty of white space in the header and the margins. If the page looks cramped and crammed, it won’t entice anyone to scan it over to see what it’s all about. Two space between lines then.

2. Write the press release heading

The heading on a press release should be in the upper left hand corner of the page and should include:

  • Release date or, “For Immediate Release”
  • Contact name, title and contact information. If possible, include two contact people and their phone, FAX and e-mail, as well as their titles and company name
  • Brief preview listing of : who, what, where and when - above the headline and before the copy of the release.

3. Create a compelling headline and sub-headline

Next, give the document a good headline and sub-headline. The headline should be creative and intriguing and the sub-headline should be more factual and fill in some of the specifics.

For example, the headline might say, “Local Realtor Saves the Environment with Unusual Festival” and then the sub-headline would say “Sammy Smith’s Water Festival Shares and Spreads Convservation Agenda.”

The harried reader will get a good, tantalizing idea of what the release is about just by scanning those bolded headlines.

4. Develop intriguing body copy

The copy of a press release should read like an article.

My public relations friend said she cannot count the times she’s had her copy lifted line for line from a press release and put in the newspaper. This is fine with her since she knows she’s getting the story out in her own words. For radio, this is especially helpful. A great release will often just be read aloud on air. All the main information should be easily gleaned and accessible. Use quotes in the copy, if possible, and make sure names and particulars are spelled correctly.

5. Include the essence of who you are

After your 3 or 4 paragraph “article” copy, include a statement about you and your company. Even include a headline such as “About Sammy Smith.”

This is the place to write a brief paragraph saying how long you’ve been a real estate agent, what you do and where, how you can help people and your contact information.

6. Closing the press release properly

Include a final, separated paragraph or sentence letting the reader know who to contact for more information or quotes.

If there are photographs, images, or an interview can be set up–put this at the end and in bold or all caps: “Photographs available in jpg.” or “Sammy Smith Available for Interview.”

The important thing to remember in creating press releases that get results is to make the information as interesting and accessible as possible. Like any other type of marketing or public relations or writing, a press release must compete with dozens, if not hundreds, of other stories.

With effort and practice, you can create press releases that stand out and get noticed. If you are interested, check out these articles on copywriting for tips and advice on how to write compelling copy.

[Enjoy, and I hope this article makes sense. *wink wink, nudge nudge*]

Jan

7

Cooking Up Persuasive Copywriting with These Two Crucial Ingredients

Filed Under Persuasion, Real Estate Copywriting, Real Estate Marketing | Leave a Comment

On Friday I wrote about Copywriting and the Art of Persuasive Advertisings and in other articles I go into detail the help you craft successful, lead-building, client-accumulating mail, ads, emails, web sites and more.

But here are two of the common and most powerful copy ingredients for effective direct response marketing, regardless of medium.

The One Thing You Cannot Forget

It seems so obvious and basic that you can’t imagine anyone would fail to do this, but I have to say upfront because writers frequently and regretfully neglect this point: Present your offer–the thing you are selling and the terms you’re making–as soon as possible.

And after you say it once. Say it again. And again.

Copywriting is like storytelling. You create drama. And you can create drama one of two ways:

  1. Demonstrate how you can achieve their desires
  2. Show how you can conquer fears

But in one very important way, direct response copy is not like a story…you give away the end at the beginning. That is the offer.

Even when you have a lot to say about your offer, you bring the conclusion [your offer] into the story right away.

And then backfill with persuasive material as you move along.

How to Achieve Your Greatest Desire

This is a a rough sketch of a marketing strategy when you’re making an offer for something desirable, such as a beautiful home or knowledge about the worth of their home.

1. Show the readers the vision.

Within the headline or the opening copy, tell the reader about the benefit: living well, saving money, entertaining grandly.

2. Offer the “prize” inside.

Either within the same headline or within the first few lines of copy, introduce your offer as the means for obtaining the desired end: the infinity pool that makes you to live well, the low property taxes that allow you to save money, or the finished basement with wet bar and 50 inch plasma screen.

3. Go on the quest.

Show the reader how and why your offer, in Step 2, fulfills the desire in Step 1. And bee sure to restate the offer along the way.

Now, the flip side of desire is fear. That’s the other persuasive ingredient of successful copywriting.

Overcoming Pain and Fear

This is the formula for benefits that help you overcome things you don’t want, such as high taxes, foreclosure, drop in property values, ill health or being left behind:

1. Make the readers hurt.

Describe the pain to be avoided: the rising property taxes, the crush on their credit if they foreclosure, loss of equity of they don’t move, diseases from contaminated soil or being the only one who didn’t invest in a rising market.

2. Show readers the cure.

Introduce your offer–the market with low tax dollars [maybe a way to lure people from one state to another], short selling, healthy lifestyle in your city or system to sell their homes fast for the most money.

3. Prove it works.

This is where the rubber meets the road. Your lofty promises better be backed up. Use testimonies, statistics, reports, anecdotes, professional statements. Anything you can get your hands on that support your claims.

Without evidence, your claims will be ignored. So do your homework. It will pay dividends.

Conclusion

One more word: In each of these approaches, it’s important that you repeat the offer often.

The reason? You want people to remember it.

In the next post, I’ll describe how to write good offers, offers that articulate the favorable consequences of accepting your offer and the undesirable consequences of doing nothing.

See you then.

Jan

4

The Nine Naughtiest Real Estate Agents in History

Filed Under Real Estate Marketing | Leave a Comment

In an inaugural sort of “Human Nature” roundup for the last century and seven years, we stooped to the naughty and outrageous. We didn’t go for the buttoning up.

Of course this doesn’t mean these people are creepy because they are real estate agents. They are creepy people who happen to be in real estate.

In the long run, who will history judge as the naughtiest real estate agent? Here are our top 9 guesses.

1. Real Estate Agent Arrested: Woman Accuses Howard D. Van Sant of Embezzlement

What I like about this one in particular are the prices and the language. The prices: “Van Sant agreed to sell her a piece of property at Island Heights for $450.” The language: Mrs. Cuppers swears up to the present she’s received but $75.

That’s like small claims stuff, right? Remember, this is in the year 1901.

2. Police Arrest Real Estate Agent in Raids on Pot-Growing Homes……21 pot growing homes to be exact.

Hoang was one of 15 people arrested in the raids, which followed a 10-month investigation. Police seized 6,855 marijuana plants, 36 pounds of processed marijuana, more than $200,000 in cash and 10 vehicles.

3. Real Estate Agent Arrested for Arson: Herman Jonas Accused of Setting Fire to an Apartment House

This is another one from the early 1900s:

There was great excitement at a fire which started in the five-story apartment house, 16 East One Hundred and Ninth Street, at 10:30 o’clock last evening, terminating with an arrest on the charge of arson. The accused man is Herman Jonas, a real estate broker, who has an office at 111 Rivington Street.

4. Man Profiled in WSJ Is Freed In Nicaraguan Murder Case

American Eric Volz, a surfer turned real-estate broker who serving a 30-year jail term in Nicaraguan prison, was ordered freed Monday after an appeals court threw out his conviction in the murder of his Nicaraguan lover. [Note: Subscription required to read entire article.]

5. Kidnapped Boy Found; Stolen by Ex-Broker:

Another story from the dustbin, this time 1906: J.J. Kean of New York abducted Philadelphia jeweler’s son…hiding him in a vacant house. The police eventually capture the “thief” at “pistol point.” Seems this “robber” stole more than just little boys: Two years before he “abducted” $20,000 from a Harlem bank. The blow-by-blow narrative, complete with dialog, is worth the read.

6. Realtor Leader Of Arson Ring Headed To Prison

Sixty-one year old James Insinga gets ten years and must pay over $400,000. In one case, Insinga had solicited an individual to purchase a home, furnish it, place insurance on it and then burn it.

Naughty, naughty.

7. Three Accused of Stealing More Than $2 Million Dollars from Lenders Using False Documents

The mastermind behind this scheme, Eric Braun, created a non-existent straw buyer, “Seth Davis,” who he’d later say “left the country with all the money.” Braun’s accomplice, Noah Yates, ran a website that said people legally can eliminate their mortgages. Prosecutors allege that the Web site Yates created was meant to make the venture, and “Seth Davis,” look legitimate. Yates and Braun said they got the idea for such transactions by attending a seminar held by a Bay Area group that is in trouble with federal authorities. And here’s how they got busted: after taking a look at Braun, who showed up in a new Cadillac Escalade, Morris, the lender who was being scammed, said the brokers began to think they had been taken…because the young man didn’t seem sophisticated enough to be a businessman who needed to pay off a palimony lawsuit, as he claimed.

8. Crazy Realtor Torments Rival with Sex Ads

In December 2007, Dean “Cookie Kwan” Isenberg was arrested and charged with “posting fake escort ads on the Internet using a rival’s phone numbers, sparking hundreds of raunchy calls” and text messages to the woman and her daughter. The victim, Debbie Blasberg, was a former coworker of Isenberg’s who had “closed on a property he had been trying to sell.” Yikes.

9. Creepy Real Estate Agents Walk a Fine Privacy Line

No peeping Tom here. But questionable behavior to say the least. A pair of real estate agents sent out a calendar to a homeowner with a photo of his home on the calendar. What I’d like to know is, when did they take the photo…and was he home? This would tee me off. What about you?

Jan

3

Copywriting and the Art of Profitable Advertising

Filed Under Real Estate Copywriting, Real Estate Marketing | Leave a Comment

Yesterday Brian Clark asked the question “If content is the new advertising, what is it saying about you?”

Knee deep in the article he brings in a good point:

Think about it… the advertising we actually enjoy is often witty and entertaining, but it doesn’t persuade us to do anything.

This is true for your blog. Or your articles. Or your email newsletter. And not only does it not persuade us to do anything, you’re not really sure what it’s doing.

Enter copywriting.

In this post I’m going to give you the five-cent tour of the copywriting world and how it can elevate everything you say or write to a level of scientifically precise persuasion.

I hope it provides some insight into effective advertising, or, at a minimum, gets you to think differently about your current notions regarding advertising and the attention you seek from it.

What Is Copywriting?

Copywriting includes all the written communications used to sell, market and promote your service to prospects.

As a category, it’s bigger than “advertising writing” because it also includes things such as brochures or web sites. Buit it’s smaller than “business writing” because it doesn’t include non-marketing communications such as interoffice memos.

This said, let me introduce to you three important ideas about copywriting repeated through this website: targeting prospects, inspiring action and measuring results.

These three ideas put together make up what is commonly called “direct response advertising,” which is different than brand or awareness advertising.

All direct response advertising appeals to specifically targeted audiences, is crafted to inspire action or response and can be measured to determine its effectiveness.

Targeting Prospects

Instead of making communications that impress a message on as many eyeballs as possible, direct marketers do everything they can to limit their efforts (and dollars) to the prospects most likely to be interested in their offers.

Instead of broadcasting, they narrowcast to increase their customer base.

Why the List Is So Important

Your audience is the single most important element of a targeted direct response campaign. In fact, in descending order, list is more imporant than copy, which is last [list, offer, format and copy].

Keep in mind that a weak message to the right audience has a far greater chance of success than a beautifully designed, brilliantly written message to the wrong people.

If you have limited time and money, concentrate most of your efforts on the list.

And lists need not be complicated.

Building lists are easy. For you, the most effective list is the one you gathered from past clients and propsects who have given you permission to send them meaningful stuff.

And that’s the secret: giving them something meaningful. Whether it’s a newsletter, blog, market updates, housing forecast information or new listing postcards…send people something they care about…something they’d trudged through 3 feet of snow to their mailbox or wait 3 minutes while their computer booted up to read.

Inspiring Action

Dig this: Copywriting provides a means for generating a lead in the here and now. This is done via a toll-free number, your web site, email address or postage paid reply cards. Prospects are encouraged to take action….

This “take action” quality is what separates copywriting from other business communications. It is intended for one thing: increase response.

Brand awareness advertisers attempt to create a set of ideas or emotions they hope you remember. But copywriters and direct response advertisers don’t give two hoots and a handshake about what people remember: They want to motivate action now.

That’s why it’s important you don’t rely strictly on “image” campaigns or “name recall.”

Years ago David Ogilvy demonstrated that brand recall and celebrity endorsements stuck in peoples’ minds…but nobody could remember why.

If you are spending hard-earned and hard-to-replace money on ads, make sure you are investing it wisely. Which brings me to my final point…

Measuring Effectiveness

In the last century, the following words have been put in practically every significant business leaders mouth:

“I know that 50 percent of my advertising doesn’t work…what I don’t know is which 50 percent!”

The truth is nobody knows who exactly said this. But that’s not important. What’s important is this: copywriting and direct response advertising can help you discover what is working and what is not.

The above adage was probably quoted by every business leader at one point in his career because all he knows is that they are selling products…but they are not sure which commercial or which magazine ad motivated people to go out and purchase paper towels or car tires.

Something spurred sales, but despite the best efforts of the best market researchers and MBAs, no one knows for sure.

You never need to be in that position.

You can know scientifically, objectively and absolutely down to the last dime what ads worked and which ones didn’t.

Imagine you send out a thousand letters with postaghe paid reply cards and get 20 cards back requesting a CMA.

Simple maths says you got a 2 percent response rate.

Now, add up the sum of the total houses sold and subtract the cost of the mailing [list fees, if any, creative time spent or charge, production costs, postage, and so on]. The difference is the money made–or lost.

If the cost exceeds revenues, you know you need to change something: the list, offer, format or copy.

As you probably figured out, you can get even more sophisticated and the run the numbers inside, outside, up side down to give you even more information about costs, values, revenues and profits.

In the end, one point remains constant: Action is measurable, and these measure give your business meaningful information on which to base future decisions.

On Monday, I’ll give you some tips on how to actually test your copy.

Stay tuned.

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