Tada! There is a new cheap real estate postcard available for February. This month we are playing off of Groundhog Day coming up on the 2nd. These postcards are .12 per card and we will add your information to the backside. With a minimum order of only 50 cards, this is a steal! Need addresses? Let us know – we can add those, too, for .06 each address.

(Click on each photo for a larger view)

Google is the most recognized name in search engines but Google provides more tools than just searching online. One of our favorites is Google Docs. Google Docs are free online documents (think online Microsoft Office) that are stored and created online. Google Docs can be shared with anyone and can be accessed by any computer so you can cut that cord. 

What kind of documents can you create with Google Docs?

• Spreadsheets – think Excel
• Documents – think Word
• Presentations – think PowerPoint
• Forms – yeah, Microsoft doesn’t do that with an Office product
• Drawings – think Publisher but a much more scaled down version. 

How can you use Google Docs in your day-to-day real estate business?

• Listing marketing plans for sellers - Use Google Spreadsheets to give your sellers an easy way to see how the marketing is going for their home. Provide links to any online marketing so they can see it at any time. You could even create separate tabs in your workbook for showing feedback, inspection responses, etc. You can grant your sellers access so they can view this doc from the comfort of their own home – or the movie theater with their phone! 
• Listing maintenance – The marketing plan for sellers is just as valuable to you! Stay informed about your listing marketing status from anywhere you go! This is a GREAT tool for real estate teams or for collaborating with your real estate virtual assistant.
• Contact databases - Create and maintain your contact database with a Google spreadsheet. Contacts can even be easily imported from Outlook. (P.S. If you are still using Outlook we should talk.)
• Forms - Would an online questionnaire help you figure out what your buyers want? Would you like an easy way to gather testimonials? Google Forms allows you to easily create custom forms and provides a link to the form for you to send to people. You can even embed the form in your own website. The really cool thing about Google Forms is that once a response is entered on the form, Google creates a spreadsheet and collects and organizes all of the data for you. Uber easy. 
• Office sharing - Google Docs provides an easy way to share all of your office forms with your real estate agents, whether they work in the office or from their home office.

Getting started is simple.
Go to Docs.Google.com
You will need to create a Google account if you do not already have one for Gmail, YouTube, Docs, etc.
Create your first document by clicking on ‘Create’.
After you create your first document, you can click on the ‘Share’ button to share with the world or selected people you know. 

Do you have any other ideas about using Google Docs for real estate business? We’d love to hear them!

Running out of farming ideas? Try a few of these and get your business jumpin’!

1. Memorial Day/4th of July – stick a miniature flag in your neighbors’ yards near their mailboxes with your business card attached. Maybe some sparklers on the 4th of July would bring some spark to your business!

2. Host a neighborhood garage sale – pass out a flyer or mail a postcard telling your farming neighborhood that you are hosting a neighborhood garage sale (don’t forget to mention “sponsored by YOUR NAME, YOUR COMPANY). Let them know the dates & times and ask that they let you know if they will be participating and what items they will be selling – not only will this get them to contact you but you will also have more information for the ads.  Inform them that you will put out signs and run a newspaper ad – also put the ad on Craigslist if available in your area. The week before the sale, place garage sale signs, balloons & other markers. On the day of the sale, show up! Walk around & meet your neighbors. Pass out business cards. Ask them if they are cleaning out their home because they are considering moving!

3. Seed packets – they are cheap & simple. Buy them from .20 and up. Stick on a business card label and pass them out to your neighbors. Lily of the Valley smell great and wildflowers can always brighten up a long-forgotten area of any yard.

4. Facebook community page – Start a community page for your neighborhood. Send out a postcard letting your farm area know you have done so and invite them to join. Post things such as market updates, listings for sale, average neighborhood selling price, garage sales, area events. Set up a discussion page for neighbors to connect. Don’t forget to mention that this page is sponsored by you!

5. Host a market update open house at your home. Invite your neighbors. Give them the run down of the current market conditions, a print out of homes on the market, recently sold, etc. Make sure to have marketing pieces there for yourself but don’t push it. This should strictly be a meet & greet informative open house.  Some ways to entice people to show up may be an ‘instant value analysis’ for their home, free food, door prize (if allowed).

BONUS idea: Have a website? Create a neighborhood page focused on your farming area – show all listings for sale, market information, sold homes in the last 6 months, photos, etc.

It has to be said and I am sorry if this makes you uncomfortable.  As someone who reads a lot of listing marketing remarks I find many of them are just the same as all of the others. Boring.

‘Easy to entertain’, ‘move-in ready, ‘fresh paint’, ‘gourmet’..everyone says that and since everyone does, it has become cliche.

Rarely do I come across remarks that make me FEEL what it is like to be or live in that home and neither do buyers. When I do, that home stands out.  Think about it, the remarks are one of your listing’s first impressions. Don’t you want it to stand out from the crowd? As real estate agents, you know homes better than anyone else!

Some of you know that I have a strong love for mid-century homes. My heart starts beating faster when I see chrome edging on kitchen counter tops. This only happened because I started learning about my own mid-century home. When I started learning about it, I loved it. So when I read remarks that only point out the new items in the house it feels as if the agent is trying to strip away what makes the house so great in order to make the house new – to help it complete with newer homes on the market.

Guess what? It won’t…unless you show how it is wonderfully unique.

Why not mention the arched doorways or the well-maintained original subway tile in the bathroom? What about the classically simple landscaping?  In my experience, KNOWING about a home can help LOVE a home…its history….its charm. Yes, I would love to have my morning coffee in the sunny breakfast nook! For inspiration take a gander at ModCloth.com’s clothing descriptions. These are not your everyday descriptions. Compare them to this. Can you FEEL the difference?

Each home is unique. Don’t try to make it cookie-cutter.

1. Google Chrome

If you are still using Internet Explorer I highly recommend you give Google Chrome a shot. It is a much cleaner internet browser that is much quicker than I

E. There are fantastic plug-ins that make it much easier to use, as well.  The crashes & freeze-ups that come along with IE are much more reduced in Chrome.

2. Gmail
Are you managing several different email account? A personal email & a business email PLUS others? Gmail removes the need to visit various email sites to check your different email accounts. If you know your password for say your Yahoo! email, Gmail can pull your emails straight into Gmail. One email account to check. Simple. Using Outlook? Do you find it a pain that you have to be at a certain computer to check your email? Gmail solves that as well since it is web-based. Want to switch without a ton of hassle? Ask us to help you!

3. Scribd
Scribd is an online document host. Upload your files and share them with the world. You can embed them into your website, email a link, and much more.

4.  Point2
Point2Agent provides agents with customizable template websites for a nominal fee. We use it daily to help agents syndicate their listings to over 40 real estate listings sites online. If you need a website or want to change your current host, check them out.

5. Grooveshark
Because sometimes you just have to JAM! Keeping your nose to the grind is difficult for any extended period of time. Having your favorite playlist in the background makes it more enjoyable. Grooveshark is a web-based music player. You can upload your own music or listen to the albums others have loaded. There is no downloading so it is legit. You can ‘store’ albums to your account, create playlists, and share your music with others via Facebook, Twitter, and other social media services. Find your jammin’ real estate virtual assistant on Grooveshark. Groove on!

Today’s Virtual Assistant Adgenda:

1. Create 2 Open House email flyers
2. Create 2 Broker Open email flyers
3. Design and print real estate flyer
4. Input 2 listings into the MLS
5. Add agent to online roster
6. Syndicate 4 listings to online platforms
7. Create real estate client newsletter

Want us to take something off of your to-do list today? We have room. Give us a shout!

Have you stepped into real estate social media but find it difficult to keep up?

Having trouble coordinating your efforts between all of the different social media channels? A real estate virtual assistant can help you. There are several ways to automate some of that posting but when you need a more hands-on and consistent social media approach, let us pick up the slack.

Contact your real estate virtual assistant today to set up a plan that works for you!
Renee Crabtree
574.855.1238

renee@myassistantcan.com

Discount real estate postcards are here again this month and this time we have designed 2 postcards from which you can choose. The first is a sort of new spin on the Thanksgiving postcard.

Click on each photo for a larger view

The second option is a winterization tips postcard with 10 tips to help your clients protect their real estate this winter.

These real estate postcards are 10 CENTS EACH with only a 100 minimum order. Send us your mailing list and we can print it right on the card for you as well.

Order yours today!

Fall colors are all around us. Are your real estate listing pictures still showing summer scenes? If so, you know those photos can date your listing immediately and home buyers think they can grab a deal since the sellers may be getting a bit desperate. It might be time to consider having new exterior pictures taken of your listings for use on the MLS and in your listing marketing materials. Updating your photos is easy, especially if you have help from your real estate virtual assistant. We can schedule a day to take all new photos of your listing exteriors and upload them to the MLS and real estate websites as well. If you would like us to update your pictures, let us know!

We have just set up a page where you can find our current discount real estate postcards.

These are 1/4 page (5.5″x4.5″) postcards.
$.10 each! with only 100 minimum order!

Have a mailing list you’d like to include?
We can imprint your addresses right onto your card to save time labeling.

Need addresses? Just ask.