Real Estate Marketing Series
Welcome to the second installment in my Real Estate Marketing Series, "5 Unique Ways to Market Your Real Estate Business." In the first installment, we discussed 5 Things To Do To Jumpstart Your Real Estate Business. That was basic information, things that all real estate professionals should do on a regular basis but if you're just starting out or need a business boost, that's the post you should start with. This time, we're going to get even more involved with ways to make you stand out from the crowd! So let's discuss 5 Unique Ways to Market Your Real Estate Business!
5. Door knock (and leave something seasonal)
Let's face it... Most agents are NOT door knocking. (I've mentioned this before!) It is time consuming and doesn't often yield the results you would like. However, I'll say it again. Most agents are NOT door knocking. That means, if you DO, you'll be ahead of the pack. The whole point is to do something that other agents are NOT doing... to make them remember you. And, uh, that would be door knocking. When you door knock, though, be sure to leave something seasonal. If you door knock during the fall, that's the perfect time to leave items such as weather stripping or plastic for windows. If you door knock during the spring, that's the perfect time to leave things like flower starter sets (just one or two). Coupons are great, as are gift cards (if you want to spend that much). Remember, the point is not to leave so much that they can plant an entire bed of flowers or weather-proof all the windows in the entire house. It is just a little to get them started! (And don't forget - many home improvement stores are willing to work with you to give you the products with their coupons or give you big discounts for buying from them!)
4. Send sweet treats
Choose your top 50 or 100 contacts and send them an envelope filled with Hershey's kisses or Starburst candies. Let them know that they are the sweetest contacts you know and you really appreciate the referrals they send your way. The point? To make them remember you! When is the last time you received an envelope in the mail that contained candy and a hand written note? Probably not since you went off to college and your Mom sent you a care package. So be the first to send sweet treats to someone else. They will likely remember you and think sweetly of you thereafter!
3. Host a coloring contest
Pick a farm area and send out flyers and postcards that you are hosting a coloring contest for children ages 15 and under. Be sure to have your age categories set (for example 12-15, 9-11, 6-8, and 5 and under). Additionally, put 
up a page on your website to promote the coloring contest. You should also be able to advertise the coloring contest in your local newspaper either free of charge or at a discount if you make the newspaper a sponsor of the contest. Prizes can be secured from companies at no additional cost to you through a mutual agreement with the company. For example, gift cards to Build-A-Bear, a local toy store, and/or a department store (Wal-Mart, Target, etc.). The key here is to also get gifts for the parents of the winning children! Home improvement stores, department stores, grocery stores, etc. will all work! As "sponsors" of the coloring contest, with free advertising on your website, most companies will be happy to donate prizes! Then, host a luncheon or brunch or just an award ceremony program for the entire farm area to announce the winners! (If you don't have many entries, let everyone win, depending upon how many prizes you secure.) The point? To make them remember you!
2. Host a brunch for Working Parents Day (Sept 16)
Working Parents Day is always September 16th. This is a perfect opportunity for you to show the working parents in your farm area, community or your database just how much you appreciate how hard it is to be a working parent. (Even if you aren't a parent yourself, you had some at some point in your life so you know how hard it is!) Host a brunch, luncheon or just cookies and punch for the working parents. You want people to see your name and see you active in your farm area or with your sphere, leads, and other contacts. If you go in on a Working Parents Day event with a mortgage lender, the cost of the refreshments won't cost that much at all. And what's the point? Let's say it together: To make them remember you!
1. Create a Community Website
Where is the first place people will go when they are interested in a particular community? The internet, of course! And you want them to find you. One of the best ways to do that is to become the "go-to" person for that community. By creating a community website, you can become the IT website owner for that area. Your community website can include upcoming events in the community, important dates to remember (such as the first day of school, no school, city council meetings, etc.), highlights of the community, condo association information, virtual tours of available properties in the area, listings of available properties only in that area, and information about your preferred home staging company and mortgage lending partner. Have a community newsletter with information about both old and new businesses in the area and also with relevant news on your community website. Also, you can highlight the neighbors on your community website. Take pictures of the homes in your community once they've started decorating for holidays or planting flower beds for the season. Anything and everything to make your name prominent in their minds because, after all, what's the point? To make them remember you!
Want to uniquely market your real estate business by implementing these and other real estate marketing ideas but you just don't have the time? The best thing you can do for your business is to contract with a Virtual Assistant. Ask me all about it!
~Renae - Market 4 Real!
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Need help with consistently marketing to your leads and your listings? Don't put it off! Contact us today for assistance and get started on the road to turning your leads into clients and your listings into SOLD properties!
Ok, Should I Jump For Joy Or Start Crying? School Is In Session in Garfield Heights, Ohio!
now have a high school student <gasp!> who started yesterday, a middle school student who started today, and 2 pre-school students who start on Monday. For the most part, all of them are excited about returning to school (good for us!). Our eldest son has no feelings about school one way or another other than that he has "a lot of goals to accomplish this year so I have a lot of stuff to think about" (probably not so good for us).
One thing I noticed while driving my son to and from high school today was the number of drivers who were speeding. I just 
wonder sometimes... Do people remember what a school speed limit is? I mean, those slower speeds are set for a reason. Mostly, to ensure that my sons and my daughter - and everyone else's son and daughter - get back home safely. It really isn't set to give you a hard time (I promise).
Anyway, I'm happy about school because my children are in a great school system and they are learning and growing a lot! So I'm looking forward to how they will develop this school year. Also, with all 6 children home, it has been a very long summer. Lots of fights and arguments, aggravated children, and major meltdowns which overflowed to the other children. So the first day of school is usually a day of jumping up and down for joy in my house!
