Posts Tagged ‘real estate sales leads’

In this blog we usually talk about ways that you can gain real estate sales leads using technology.  In this posting we are going to kinda – sorta deviate away from this idea a bit and talk about a time tested method for marketing to your target real estate market.  I am speaking specifically of real estate marketing postcards and how you can use them to gain more listings and prospects.

Just a Little Deviation Away From Technology in Real Estate Marketing

Actually, we really aren’t getting away from marketing with technology aspect of selling real estate because we will still be using technology in the delivery system of the real estate postcards.  You can easily go to an online service and order post cards for your marketing campaigns.  Most of these online services will not only allow you to design your postcards using stock photography, but they will print them up in the quantity you need and then send them out to the address that you give them.  This saves you a tremendous amount of time.

However, don’t expect the printing service that you choose to write a marketing message for you.  For that task, you will either have to learn how to write the message yourself, or hire someone that is real good at it.  At any rate, you will want to have a call to action somewhere on the real estate marketing post cards so that people or potential real estate sales leads will be spurred onto to call you.

The best call to action that a real estate marketing postcard can have is something that is tangible for free;  just for getting together with you and talking about your services.  You can always get boat loads of inexpensive gifts to give to people that make an appointment with you. There are tons of online companies that gratuitous gifts that have your company’s logo and contact information on them, from pens to desk clocks.  Generally, offering a free consultation is what many real estate professionals use, but this does not work and does not have a strong enough pull for real estate leads to actually take action and meet with you.

Make Your Real Estate Marketing Postcards Unique!

Another thing you have to consider when dealing with marketing with this type of vehicle is that on average, people make a decision whether or not to read or keep an advertisement sent to them within three seconds.  You have to really have a unique post card that initially arouses a person’s interest enough to make them read it.  Many of the online companies that make these types of post cards have templates that are like this.  Look, if you get a post card in the mail with a pink penguin on it that has big yellow letters on it that says “NAKED”, wouldn’t you at least look at the back of the card to read it???  So, make sure that you have a mind blowing picture with a caption that makes the prospect interested enough to read the back side of it.

To recap on how to Get Real Estate Sales Leads With Real Estate Marketing Postcards, remember to have a good free offer with something tangible, make sure there is a good call to action, and always have a compelling picture and text on the front to ensure that the prospect will read your message.

It doesn’t take very much brain power to figure out that if you are reading this blog you are probably going to hear about the virtues of getting real estate leads through the use of technology. If you are one of the any real estate agents that I meet every day that has not made the leap into the 21st Century, well, then let me just say, “Wake up and get on board!” You are definitely going to hear me advise you to get into technology here because if surveys and demographics are correct, almost a whopping 80 to 90% of the people looking to buy real estate today are using the Internet or at least some sort of technology to find a home.

Many real estate professionals that are not using real estate technology to get real estate leads or at least communicate with clients and past clients only do so because they are intimidated by it. Perhaps you are an older agent that has only been using a cell phone because using a computer and the Internet seems so vast and intimidating to you. One of the reasons for this is because there are so many websites, online services, blogs, applications, tools and software that you can use that you may get confused looking at the list or options that are available to you. Well don’t despair, because you really only need to learn a few of these things well to get ahead in the technology end of acquiring clients.

To give you an example, I have been involved in online marketing for almost 10 years. I have had several online businesses that not only operated in the online world but also in the real bricks and mortar world as well. Now please bear in mind that the tools that I am about to tell you about are the tools that I use, you don’t or won’t need t use all of these if you don’t want to.

Tools for Acquiring Real Estate Sales Leads

The technology tools that I generally use from day to day are as follows:
1. Software
a. Adobe Dream Weaver – This is a great software program that allows me to build great web pages.
b. Adobe Photoshop – Over the years this has become a personal passion of mine, but basically it is a high- end graphics program that allows me to alter photographs.
2. Blog Platforms /Websites
a. WordPress Blog – This blog platform is free to use and is the premier blog on the Internet to use. You can also use Google’s Blogger which is actually easier for novices to use.
b. HostGator – I use Dreamweaver to build my site but I use HostGator to Host with.
3. Social Bookmarking Tools
a. Facebook – If you know what you are doing you can leverage Facebook’s social networking attraction to gain clients and get great real estate sales leads. However, you will need to invest time and patience in building your network online.
b. Twitter – Twitter is great to use because after you have used their application considerably and posted your links on the site from time to time people will find and come to your website.