Efective Advertising

[madmichael]

I am always getting hit up for all froms of advertising.  The city I live has four different telephone books.  I would like to hear from some seasoned veterans on what they beleive to be the most effective and economical form of advertising they have tried.   What is a total waste of money and to steer clear of would be interesting to.

[4EEM]

1.  Website
2.  Sunday Paper
3.  Community Paper
4.  "Fax Blast" every realtor in the county atleast once.
5.  "Pull tab" ads in local open markets.

[Kpolote]

4EEM

What are "pull tab" ads?

[4EEM]

You see them on any university campus....8X11 paper with message....and then at the bottom are "tabs" that can be detached...these tabs have your contact information on them.

[ShaunG]

Inserts in your community paper or regular paper.  I would avoid the Sunday paper if you do this though because it will get mixed in with the 8 million other inserts on Sunday.

[4EEM]

I like the community papers.  I allows you to better target you market and the rates are much lower than the daily paper.

[TNinvestor]

Effective advertising depends on your target audience. If it is something that has broad based appeal then a broadbased advertising medium is best (ie. newpapers, etc). If it is a very narrow based audience (ie preforeclosures) I'd advertise directly to the target with mailings etc. Why pay for reaching an audience of 500k when in reality you only want to reach 150 people?

[cytrader]

Whats The cheapest way to advertise a site?

[southerngirly]

I wished I knew the answer to this one because I have been trying to get my Mortgage website out there and I am having problems to. I come to this site to read up on the helpful information.  I would like some pointers on advertising as well.  I have advertised with a few of the web advertisers and spent 129.00++ to run my website through the search engines but I am not seeing any results yet.

[aznewbie]

Try advertising your site/services with online classifieds like craigslist.org or other free classified sites. Google "free classifieds" and a list will come up.

I just started doing this two days ago for properties I am trying to find buyers for and have gotten about 5 (serious) callers so far.

It's worth a shot and if you want to pay for the ad to get more exposure than the free ads it doesn't cost to much.

I have only been using the free ads so the paid ones might get better results...

Good Luck!

[southerngirly]

Angelina :D

Thank you so much I'll do that.

Kelly

[Kawika_CA]

It's not just a matter of traffic to your site, you want qualified traffic. By qualified I mean those predispositioned to do business with you.

I've tried all the ways and I've concluded that at this time the best way to get online traffic is to have a list to contact. And the best way to build a list is to do it offline. Some online marketers will tell you they get fantastic results making offers online but they're really mailing to a huge list they already built-up, usually offline.

Of course do the basic search engine submissions but don't spend a lot of time on it. We run several hundred sites for clients so I get to analyze millions of visitors and page hits so I know where they're coming from. A lot do come from search engines but it's unqualified leads coming for thousands of different reasons. That in itself is not bad but wouldn't it be better to 500 coming for the same reason who were inclined to do business with you? You should be nodding your head in agreement.

The best traffic comes from an offline ad (no referral address in the logs) or from another site where those visitors gather, like craigslist. A cheap little ad or forum post can drive better qualified traffic than spending days on SEO. Just a thought.

[mdrealtor]

I am getting traffic to my site and have got a few good leads but I think there is always room for improvement. I would greatly appreciate your input on my website. Please be as brutal and honest as necessary. What changes should I do to make it sell better?

Thanks in advance for your help!
Charity Raling
O'Brien Realty
www.charitysellsobrien.com

[Kawika_CA]

Well, I don't usually give free critiques but I'll make an exception this once. I'm into over-the-top marketing so some of this might not be right for you.

- The overall function of the site is good and pretty much covers what your visitors are looking for.

- It's good that you have lot's of free things to get.

- I'd consider some copy upgrades on the homepage. Look for ways where you can turn words around from Me, My, I, and Us to you, you, you. For example, a phrase like:

"As a Calvert County and Southern Maryland resident for over 16 years I am very familiar with the county and all it has to offer."

which is very good but could be better as:

"Since I've been a Calvert County and Southern Maryland resident for over 16 years you'll discover I am very familiar with the county and I can show you how-to choose the right home in a great location for your lifestyle that helps you take advantage of all Calvert County has to offer.

another one is:

"I would love the opportunity to meet with you and discuss your particular needs."

personally, I don't believe they care what you love. Consider:

"If you qualify (do they have a pulse?) and we meet, I'll carefully analyze your every need right down to the smallest detail. Then I'll work tirelessly to find you just the right property (or buyer) to ensure that your transition is easy, fast, and convenient. Guaranteed!"

My general attitude about copy is if it's true, flaunt it (I know what I'm doing ... to ... I can solve your problem). If it's something that has to happen anyway or is an expectation, turn it into something you're giving them (law says I have to give you 3 days cooling off period ... to ... after we agree take 3 days to consider your options and make arrangements for your new life). If it's a negative, find a positive angle to it (we have lots of toxic waste sites ... to ... many properties are near water). Just kidding on the last one but hopefully you get the point.

- I may have missed it but what is your unique selling proposition? In other words, why you over all the other agents in the area? Experience, because you answer the phone, or your company is the oldest doesn't count. What matters is results. Do you sell properties faster? When your deals close do sellers get more money and less discounting than an average or all other agents? Do you give them free tickets to a nice dinner after you close? Whatever, pick anything but there should be no question in the mind of your clients that you're better than everyone else in something that matters to them.

- Add as many testimonials as you possibly can. You can't have too many. Pictures are great. First name and city/state are good. They should be outcome testimonials meaning closed transactions "I sold my house for full price in 18 days" and not "Well, she tried really hard."

- Make the rotating image on the home page clickable.

- This was a discussion awhile ago about having portraits so this is just my opinion. Pictures if they must be used should convey an emotion or reinforce an important point. As a home buyer I'd want to see a picture of you handing me the keys to my new house. If I'm a home seller I'd want to see you handing me a check or better yet just show someone on the beach having fun because they've moved on with their life. Show outcome images, if any images at all, that show how they'll feel and what they'll experience after they've done business with you.

- If its in your budget, send lots of postcards to your prospects telling them to come to your web site and get your free thing(s). Don't mention listing their house or anything like that. It starts with a free thing then and only then do you follow-up with more marketing hits.

Just some thoughts.

[mdrealtor]

Wow! Those are all great suggestions! Thank you so much for taking the time to do that for me. I will work on all of your suggestions and changes. They all make perfect sense to me and I think they will make a great improvement to my site.

Thanks again!
Charity

p.s. if anyone else has any other suggestions good/bad/ugly I would appreciate it. Thanks!