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Wordless Wednesday Intro- Bad MLS Photos

Jun04
2009 3 Comments Written by Renee

Okay, I’m going to be a bit blunt here. Yes, your job as a real estate agent is to negotiate legal contracts and work on behalf of your clients. But much of that is marketing as well. One MAJOR piece of marketing nowadays is visual marketing – photos, virtual tours, marketing pieces, etc. I am sure it is easiest to take photos when you are already at the home for the listing appointment but I BEG YOU to set up a separate photo shoot appointment. Ask your sellers to stage their home in the same manner they would for a showing. What does that mean? YOU NEED TO TELL THEM. I’ve seen some absolutely atrocious photos at which any buyer would laugh. Don’t mistake what I’m saying; they are laughing at you as well. They probably think you are not a good agent for the sellers. You won’t even tell them to:

  • Get the dishes out of the sink
  • Make the bed
  • Get out of the photo! You’ve heard about taking personal items out of the home – gosh, don’t forget to take the seller out of the photo! Same reason – buyers can’t visualize themselves in someone else’s home.
  • Store all of your knick-knacks in a storage unit
  • Turn off the TV
  • Clear the kitchen table of breakfast dishes
  • Close the toilet
  • Close the garage door

If you don’t have the nerves to tell them these items to their faces, put a Staging Guide in your Seller’s Presentation packet. For goodness sake, do something. They are depending on you to help sell their home. If you can’t take a good photo and you know it, HIRE SOMEONE. It’s well worth the cost.

Now, I won’t point at anyone specificially, so take a look at these Bad MLS Photos websites. Believe me, sites like these are all over the internet. People notice bad photos.

Stay tuned for photo tips every Wednesday.

MLS Trash Can

Worst MLS Photo

Bad Photos

Check out these photos from Google

Posted in Headline, marketing, SEO/Websites - Tagged , , , ,

Go Komando

Jun02
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

032408_komando_tips.jpgIt’s overwhelming keeping up with current and new technology. Luckily we have a friend in Kim Komando.She will gladly do the work for you!

Kim has a TON of information and she gladly shares it with her radio listeners and web visitors. She takes new technology (hardware, software, programs and apps) and gives you the low-down on each. She can help you make a purchasing decision or solve a technology-based problem.

I listen to her show whenever I can and subscribe to all of her newsletters.

Posted in Cool websites - Tagged , , ,

Shortcut to Writing Common Emails

Jun01
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

Do you find yourself sending the same type of email message repeatedly? I do. I have responses to inquiries about work. I have an email I send when I provide a proof on design work. I have invoice emails and custom customer emails in which I update them on their marketing plans. To type them out each time is time-consuming and sometimes I forget to mention something I should have. If you have this problem there is a very easy solution.

You can learn how to create an email signature here. We will be doing the exact same thing for common text in emails. 

In Outlook, go to ‘tools’ – ‘options’ – then click on the ‘mail format’ tab. 
Click on ‘Signatures’ 

To create a new signature (which is what this is) click ‘New’.
Enter a name for your new signature, such as ‘Invoice’. 

Enter in the text you’d like to be included in your form email and hit ‘ok’.

When you are ready to use your form email text, begin a new email and go to ‘insert’ – ‘signature’ – then select the signature you want to use. 

Now, you can only use one signature at a time and the one you select will overwrite any others you’ve used in the same email.

Posted in Software/Hardware - Tagged , , , , ,

Twitter Alerts

May30
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

With the era of instant information, it is growing increasingly important to manage your brand, your self, your industry, etc. Twitter is especially instant and viral. Motrin didn’t realize the importance of Twitter and ended up in a big ole mess. If you missed it, check out the Motrin controversy. 

I’ve had a great experience with companies on Twitter. Every time, I mentioned the company’s name they are quick to respond. I mentioned I love Uncommon Goods – guess what, received a tweet offering me a coupon. I expressed my displeasure with a Comast and Bank of America issue and after our back and forths I received a call from the Assistant to the CEO of Bank of America who took care of the problem instantly. Crazy! I didn’t have to sit on the phone for an hour. I didn’t have to go through various people. 

You should see some of the stuff that is said about Realtors and real estate. Really, you should. Ever wonder if maybe someone is talking about you as a Realtor? There are many ways to monitor your name, your brand and your industry through various Twitter alert services. You will be notified via email when your specified keywords are mentioned.

Tweet Beep: You can even track who is mentioning your website or your blog – even if they are using a shortened url (tinyurl, bit.ly, etc.) Quite cool.

Twilert:  I have Twilert set up but have found that its notificiations are at least a day old. I want to respond to tweet immediately as they are mentioned. 

Seesmic Desktop: Twitter is instant. Your information is there and then it’s gone off your radar screen.  Email alerts are good but only if they are timely. Motrin should have JUMPED on the first mention of their brand in a negative tone. Seesmic Desktop is a computer program you download. It allows you to manage your Facebook & Twitter accounts AS WELL AS monitor your keywords instantly, just like your @replies. It’s a great tool.

Whether you are in the conversation, the conversation is happening. Be in it.

Posted in social media - Tagged , , , , ,

Because Quality Matters

May23
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

Quality is key. My goal is to make you look your best in front of your clients.

Up to this point, I’ve printed flyers on 32lb glossy stock. Recently, however, I’ve noticed that the toner is not adhering to the paper as well and that the price per pack has gone up 50% in the last few months. I don’t want to pass on the extra cost to my clients whom I know are looking to save every penny they can, especially for quality I don’t feel is living up to my expectations.

To that end, I’ve made a change in paper stock for client marketing flyers. All flyers will now be printed on 32lb Premium Laser Paper. There is no glossy coating to this paper but I feel the coating provided the imperfections I mentioned. Costs will not increase but will remain the same. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email me.

What is Your Printing Priority?

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Posted in Featured, marketing - Tagged , , , , ,

Mailing Services – Address Look Up

May12
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

Have trouble finding addresses for mailers?

Need help merging addresses into letters?

Don’t worry about it. my|assistant can help.

For only $0.06 per address, let us do the work for you. We can pull addresses, print them to labels, or do a mail merge so the addresses print directly on your document. No more hand-writing for hours; we can get it done. Contact us for more info.

Posted in Featured, marketing - Tagged , , , , , , ,

Juggling Multiple Email Addresses?

May08
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

ADD YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNTS TO GMAIL

 

Maintaining several email accounts? Tired of logging in to each one? Use Gmail to access all of your accounts from one place. Simply create a Gmail account, go to ‘Settings’ then ‘Accounts’. Enter your email address & password. Voila!

 

Posted in Software/Hardware - Tagged , , ,

Updated Contact Info

Mar27
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

In case you missed the memo:

New Office Phone Number for My Assistant is:
574.855.1238

Please update your records.

Posted in Featured, Uncategorized

Web & Domain Ownership – What You Need to Know

Mar08
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

I can’t say it enough:

OWN YOUR DOMAIN
OWN YOUR WEBSITE

Why have someone else register your domain and have them own it? What happens if you want to take over the control? Is it easy to do? You better make sure it is.

Why pay a company thousands of dollars to design a website for you only to find out down the road that the content is not yours? The US Copyright office has determined that web designers are considered ‘authors’ and even if you collaborate with your designer on content that it is the designer’s property! So if you want to switch providers down the road, you might lose your site. They can and will sue you for your content.

Make sure you get it in writing that after payment, ownership if your website is to be transferred to you. Do not sign a contract stating anything else. You paid the money; you keep the website. It’s your company brand.

Posted in marketing, SEO/Websites - Tagged , , , , , , ,

March Template Postcards

Mar02
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Renee

You get two choices this month! Template postcards are only .12 each and have no setup fee. Small changes to the back are fine. No minimums! Postcards will print the last week of March for April mailing.

Posted in marketing - Tagged , , , , , , , ,
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