Browsing Category Shameless Self Promotion

A logo for RealCentralVA.com

After donating money to Todd’s attempt to be released from “jail,” and receiving a t-shirt as thanks, I figured now was as good a time as any to have a logo for RealCentralVA.com.  I contracted with F5 Designs via Elance for a logo.  I filled out their questionnaire and this is the result -When I asked them what it meant, this was the response, one with which I am pretty satisfied:From what we saw in your site, we related the connected arrows with Market connections and communications.  As a central point for meeting and sharing information….What do you think?

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Does blogging get clients?

Jay has a great post yesterday about whether blogging “gets” clients.  After nearly 1900 posts in two and a half years, I can say unequivocally that yes, you can “get” clients from blogging (and surely lose some as well).  Without working at blogging and building offline relationships, I wouldn’t have gotten this in an email:I am comfortable selecting you to be our buyer’s agent without interviewing other realtors.  One, your whole philosophy and style is right there on your blog; two, Merv vouches for you.I have written many times before – if the goal of your blog is purely to “get” clients, don’t bother.

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Goin’ to San Francisco

The first week of August for Inman Connect, one of “the premier networking, information, and technology conferences for the real estate industry.”  And I’m moderately excited and somewhat nervous.Never having done something like this before, I don’t know where to set my expectations….  I debated going, but after some thought, think that this opportunity may never come around again….  But, this event gives a good lead into an upcoming story on building credibility in today’s online and offline world.

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Today’s radio appearance – on the Charlottesville real estate market

the first was last year about this time.Today I stumbled a bit, I fumbled a bit, but ultimately I think I did a pretty good job.  It was fun, and I hope I didn’t sound too much like a fool.  If anybody has any follow up questions, please let me know.We touched on a lot of information in a very short period of time – radio moves so fast!This is the kind of thing I could see myself doing on a regular basis.The podcast is here at the Charlottesville Podcasting Network….  Real estate, perhaps more than any other business is about having the right relationships – be they with home inspectors, attorneys or the media – and I am grateful for this one.

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Local media appearance next week

It’s not Fox News, but it is on what may be the most-listened-to local talk radio station.  Tune into WINA Tuesday, 8 May at 4:15 to hear me hopefully not make a fool of myself talking about the Charlottesville real estate market.  To be successful in real estate blogging, blogging is not enough.  One has to triangulate locally to garner traffic, visibility and more importantly, trust.Not that I have anything to do with what we will talk about, but are there any questions or topics anybody would like to hear?

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How to market a very personal property

First, it is a unique house in several ways: first and foremost, it is a contemporary home that has been renovated with extraordinary detail – the list of which is extensive….  They have re-landscaped with dry-set stones, poured aggregate spillways flank the house, there is tiered landscaping, erosion control, new trees, shrubs, ground cover, they resealed the foundation installed new copper gutters & downspouts – a virtual check-list of what to do to defend a home against water….  The renovations were made with that mindset, which is quite different than so many other “renovations” – made solely to recapture that cost when the property is ultimately sold.While preparing to market this property, I started to study real estate photography a bit (and discovered this great site in the process).  It is shocking that I have been in the business for six years and am just now educating myself on real estate photography (other than the wide-angle lens I purchased several years ago).

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