Publishing these newsletters is time-consuming, frustrating and ultimately worthwhile. This month marks a big step. I am no longer going to be mailing out the newsletter; it will be entirely online, save for those who email me and choose to receive a hard copy. Please email if you would like a copy.
Browsing Category Marketing
Labor Day
Labor Day:Labor Day is the celebration of the value and dignity of work, and its role in the American way of life.I have an 11 o’clock (marketing presentation), a one o’clock (write an offer) and a three o’clock (take photos for a new listing). And then input another new listing. It’s a Labor Day, alright. 🙂 More reading on Labor Day here and here.
Why use print?
With internet marketing, there are metrics I use to determine how advertising campaigns are working. Click-throughs, referrals from specific sites, hits, time spent on a particular page – these are all methods by which I can measure whether my money is being used effectively to market my clients’ property…. I was simply not interested in their print arm, as nice as it is.How is print effective?… Marketing to the passive real estate consumer – those who may be looking in six, nine or eighteen months. A good example of this is the recent two-part series by the local Real Estate Weekly (PDF 1, PDF 2) – this type of feature article will do more than a 2×2 box that has a front shot of a house and a few clichéd words of description.There is a survey out today validating my thoughts (and spurring this post).Inman:But Realtors say they buy print ads because their customers expect them to, not because they produce results, according to a survey by Florida-based Classified Intelligence LLC and Realty Times…. (bolding mine)So what’s taking so long for the transition (to the internet) to happen?”The difficulty is that many sellers value print advertising because they see it, they feel it, and they also feel that there is an investment that the agent is making in their listing with some forms of print advertising,”Realty Times:In allocating their budgets, Realtors get the word out on the street via flyers, yard signs, and billboards — still the top category of spending, as it was in 2005…. Thirty-six percent of respondents said that up to 10 percent of their advertising dollars go to newspaper advertising.Thanks to Joel for the link to the study.The only exception to this is Open Houses. The Sunday paper is the best way to get traffic to an open house.
Two real estate cycles
The first cycle is comprised of those sellers who have purchased in the past five years who have either bought and sold a couple of times already or have watched their friends and neighbors buy, sell and hit the housing lottery…. These are the short-timers.The second cycle is the one that will show itself after this first cycle has run its course. This cycle is the one that will most accurately determine true market appreciation rates for the housing stock in the Charlottesville/Central Virginia market…. These sellers may be comprised of those who purchased properties primarily as places to live, a reason to purchase that has seemingly been lost over the past five years…. This timeframe is short enough to not be irrational and long enough where our culture’s relative new-found transience can play itself out. My mother, who has been a Realtor for 20+ years, used to tell clients that if they were to purchase a home and sell it three to five years later and not lose money, then they had done very well for themselves. Quite a different perspective than that which we have witnessed over the past cycle, huh?We are returning to a time when the housing market is less a liquid asset and more of a long-term assets with as much intrinsic, intangible value as financial. Short-time buyers and sellers will find their way out of the market as will the short-time Realtors.
The HooK’s Annual Manual
I neglected to mention that one of the best resources for those relocating to the CharlAlbemarle area came out last week. The HooK’s Annual Manual has become one of the must-send components of my comprehensive relocation packages.Perhaps the only “bad” aspect of this issue is its relative short supply and the time it takes to cut out all the other Realtors’ ads is quite time consuming. Either way, it provides real insight into the local vibe and vernacular.
2006 Readers’ Choice Awards
This year the Daily Progress is asking for their readers to vote for their “Best of”. Last year I was pleased to be selected the “Favorite Realtor.” Should you have the time and inclination, I would appreciate your taking the time to vote. As I said last year, Self-promotion is one of the most difficult aspects of my profession; I don’t do it well and I don’t like it very much – but it is one of the most important parts of my job. I gained one lead, and ultimately earned their business, directly from this promotion…. Note: If you have ad-blocking on your browser, you normally wouldn’t see this promotion…. When I went to their site and turned off my ad-blocking, I realized how intrusive their ads are. There has to be a better way, but that is another post for another day.
Morning links June 1 2006
Marketing challenge – how would you do it? Finding the balance between branding a real estate company and maintaining the “buzz” of a new listing is more and more daunting.But the tangle of options also requires any successful marketing plan to take into account the nature of the product, its durability in the public’s mind and the advertising budget needed to make it all work.Digital real estate roundup – they aren’t viable in the CharlAlbemarle market yet, but they will be. Which ones will survive?Is podcasting’s slow growth due to a bad name? We have been podcasting our listings for some time now – with marginal results. Are we just ahead of the curve?The 108-year-old phone tax may yet have life.