The Real Estate Tomato: Marketing Solutions

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January 24, 2008: How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Uncle Jack LeVine
Comments: 7 | Categories: Blogging Advice , Interviews , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

This article is the second in a series of interviews that we've conducted with a handful of our Tomato Blogger Clients. The theme throughout these interviews is to learn how their blogging efforts have made huge differences in their real estate career. Today we meet "Uncle Jack". Jack Levine is the author of Very Vintage Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jack originally began blogging way back in October of 2005. He may even have been the very first real estate blogger in Las Vegas. After a break from blogging in late 2006, Jack reemerged with the official launch Very Vintage Vegas in March of 2007. A few months later, Jack hired us to take his blog and blogging skills to the next level. The following is how it has changed his life. Tomato- I know that you blog quite regularly. How often do you post and what's the secret to...

January 15, 2008: How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Jackie Colson-Miller
Comments: 19 | Categories: Blogging Advice , Interviews , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

This is the first in a series of interviews we’ve conducted with some of our clients that have completely made-over their marketing strategies since the launch of their real estate blog. Our goal is to illustrate just how much the Internet has become a part of their client acquisition process now that the blog has become the center of that strategy. Our first interview is with the author of Real Estate Sizzle, Jackie Colson-Miller of Tampa, Florida. She launched her site and training with us in March last year (2007). During arguably the worst year in recent real estate history, Jackie finds herself thinking outside the box, embracing new tools, philosophies and efforts. With a focus on real estate blogging, internet savvy clients, and increasing productivity, Jackie is reaping the benefits. As of Jan 2008, she has 13 concurrent Tampa area listings for the first time in her real estate...

January 12, 2008: 7 Reasons Why You Should Consider an Extreme Internet Marketing Makeover For Your Real Estate Business
Comments: 6 | Categories: Announcements , Blog Marketing , Marketing Solutions , Products and Services

7 Real Estate Marketing Powerhouses Team Up To Give Away More Than $16,000 Worth of Services, For Free! Our good friends over at Online Marketing Strategies had this crazy idea: Let’s get a bunch of very effective and cutting edge real estate marketing companies together to change someone’s life. The Real Estate Tomato was lucky enough to be chosen to be a part of this event, and we couldn’t be more excited. I can’t wait to see who wins. The Contributors To The Winner’s Package Include: - Online Marketing Strategies - This Web design and marketing firm will deliver a thorough review of the winner’s Web site, ultimately to design a highly targeted Web site incorporating the latest marketing techniques. The winner will also receive a custom, high-resolution print artwork branded from their Web site for business cards, letterhead, envelopes, Just Listed and Just Sold cards. VALUE $7500 - Jim...

August 10, 2007: Real Estate Blog Traffic, How Many Hits Should I Expect ?
Comments: 29 | Categories: Blog Lead Generation , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

Blog Visitor Statistics - Don't Drink The Kool-Aid At Bloggers Connect 2007, a woman from the audience during the panel I spoke on (Show Me The Leads) asked a great question. A question that I hear everyday. A question that I know every new and soon to be blogger is asking: “How many hits should I expect to get to my blog?” I was surprised to hear the answer by one of the panelists: “After a couple of months, you should be getting a couple of thousand a day.” As far as I know, based on most statistic metric counters, there are only a handful of blogs in the real estate blogosphere that can boast that they are generating visits in the thousands per day. Statements like these are reckless and misleading. There is a need for a common measure of traffic to a website, and that measure should be...

August 1, 2007: How Does Real Estate Blogging Actually Generate Leads?
Comments: 21 | Categories: Blog Lead Generation , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging , Web 2.0

I am here in San Francisco at the Inman Bloggers Connect Conference, about to go on stage to discuss the topic of lead generation through real estate blogging. The most important question, that I know we are about to be asked is: What makes a real estate blog generated lead different from a website generated lead? This article, which was written weeks ago, was saved specifically for today. How Does Real Estate Blogging Actually Generate Leads? Here on the Tomato, we've already pointed out a few times how ensuring that you have a clearly visible call to action (read: Home Search, Home Value Report) is a necessary element to acquiring leads through your real estate blogsite. 1. How To Generate Leads Through Real Estate Blogging 2. Your Real Estate Blog Is Bait 3. The Starbucks Mistake All this is emarketing 101, and something that I have been helping agents understand...

July 19, 2007: You Can Lead an Agent to Technology, But You Can’t Make ‘Em Type.
Comments: 17 | Categories: Elizabeth Weintraub , Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Topics and Opinions

A special treat today! One of our original guest authors, Elizabeth Weintraub from About.com, is back with a bold message. You Can Lead an Agent to Technology, But You Can’t Make ‘Em Type. By Elizabeth Weintraub “You can lead an agent to technology, but you can’t make ‘em type.” I made this statement to the marketing director at my company, who roared and then realized the seriousness and truth in that statement. My company announced today that it is withdrawing all advertising from the Sacramento Bee come September 1. It spends, corporate heads estimate, $2 million a year in major newspaper advertising. Part of the problem, the way I see it, is our local paper’s Web site is in direct competition with my company’s Web site for identical eyeballs. The driving force behind that decision likely has to do with the down real estate market in Northern California. Corporations need...

July 11, 2007: The Real Estate Blogsite Myth
Comments: 15 | Categories: Blog Marketing , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

Every client we work with has different real estate blog development needs. Often the concern is, “Do I need to replace the real estate website I already have in order to incorporate a blog into my marketing?” The answer: “It depends.” First, a quick look at the difference between the website, blog and blogsite: Website: Standard online presence; homepage, secondary pages, forms, listings etc. Blog: Database of articles appearing in reverse chronological order, sortable by category, keyword and date. Blogsite: The combination of the above. Let is be known, that I am a fan of the real estate blogsite. There are many obvious benefits: A single root domain (yourrealestateblogsite.com) for the website and blog. One branded look and feel. One hosting service. One development company. But it needs be explained that dumping your current real estate website to replace it with a real estate blogsite is not always the best...

July 3, 2007: Part 2 - Real Estate Agent2.0 Defined - The Drive To Be The Best
Comments: 4 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Stats and Trends , Topics and Opinions

Steven Groves is back with the second installment of his growing definition Agent2.0. Take it away Steve: Agent 2.0 - Defined – The Drive To Be The Best By Steven Groves So far in the rollout of the Agent2.0 model, I have talked about social media and the resulting social capital. Now I need to tell you that once you get in front of a prospect, none of that matters – it mattered to get them there, but once a prospect / client has requested contact, the needs of the Agent2.0 changes gears. From that point forward, a whole other set of tools / tactics come into play; we'll cover the personal drive to be the best first. The Drive to Be The Best "It’s a funny thing about life. If you refuse to settle for anything less than the best, that’s what it will give you." - W. Somerset...

June 25, 2007: Real Estate Agent 2.0 - Defined
Comments: 19 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Topics and Opinions , Web 2.0

It seems the more I try to participate here on the my own blog, the more I am presented with great content that I know our readers will enjoy. Today, we are introducing yet another new member of the Vine, Mr. Steve Groves. His topic: Agent 2.0. Grab a coffee, this is another great ride. Agent 2.0 - Defined By Steven Groves Jim Cronin and I have connected at various levels and he’s allowed a posting of the manifesto of Agent2.0 here at the Tomato and I am grateful. Premise of Agent2.0 – the ‘Duh’ Statement The sale of real estate is / has changed significantly in the last several years. The major shift is the immediate and widely available access to multiple listing service (MLS) data. MLS data was at one time the exclusive domain of the real estate professional, who acted as the gatekeeper of the data to...

June 18, 2007: Know The Facts: Proprietary Vs Open Source In Real Estate Web Design
Comments: 9 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging , Web 2.0

One of the least understood, yet most important elements when choosing your web design provider is knowing the difference between purchasing a proprietary product and an open source product. Now that the internet is literally driven by open source (Wordpress, Firefox, Joomla, Thunderbird, Linux, Apache, MySQL, phpBB, OpenOffice.org, OSWD, WikiMedia, and more.) consumers have better, more affordable options and more effective tools for their needs. Don't find yourself handcuffed to a product or company that has developed a limited and expensive solution for your current needs. Open source grows with you, and your options for service and development are approaching limitless. Know the facts: 1. Ownership Do you own the elements that make up your real estate website, blog or blogsite? Open Source: In most cases, yes, you do own all the elements of your site. You have dominion over the code, graphics, functionality and content. The site can in...

May 11, 2007: Donald Trump is in Real Estate. You're in Marketing.
Comments: 13 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions

Our friend Landon from MoonRay is back with his latest Tomato offering. Donald Trump is in Real Estate. You're in Marketing. By Landon Ray It’s a fundamental mistake of so many businesses, and professional service providers are the most guilty. We think we’re in the real estate business. We think we’re in the accounting business, or the lawyering business. It’s true that, as service providers, we have checks written to us in exchange for specific services, so it’s understandable to think we’re in the business of providing the service. When someone at a party asks what we do, we naturally say “I’m in real estate” or whatever it is that we do. So when we look at growing our businesses, we look at what we do for the levers. And that’s the mistake. You’re not in Real Estate. You’re in Marketing. When you really get that this is the reality...

April 12, 2007: Microsoft Word Is Like Gum In Your Blog's Hair
Comments: 27 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blog Writing Tips , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

Formatting issues will persist in your blog if you continue to copy and paste from Microsoft Word. Everyday we come across 'broken blogs'. The reason the blog 'broke' is always the same: Microsoft Word was used to compose an article and now the formatting is jacked up, and in some cases the formatting throughout the rest of the blogsite is also affected. The most common issues are challenges with font styles, sizes, bolding, italics and underlining. Other challenges include indenting, bulleting and numbering and total sidebar destruction. Here's why there is a problem: Microsoft Word is a desktop publishing tool, intended for standard, offline word processing. Microsoft Word is best used for items intended for printing or sharing offline: essays, business cards, menus, etc. The proprietary code that Microsoft has written for their word processing program IS NOT HTML. Below is an example of what their code can look like...

March 5, 2007: 7 Crucial Tips To Developing Real Estate Blog Copy That Gets Read
Comments: 24 | Categories: Blog Writing Tips , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

The biggest challenge for a new blogger is readership, not visitorship. Most who have the fervor to embrace the blog as a real estate marketing tool have no problem developing the content. Dropping a post on ActiveRain or Digg will generate an instant audience. It’s enticing that audience to actually read one’s work that eludes most. Poorly formatted blog copy (writing) will scare off the audience you worked so hard to inform. The audience you are reaching is not an ideal group of readers. Readers of your blog are going to barrel through your article at a pace much faster than you expect as you toil over the composition of each sentence. Realize that they aren’t cozying up with it on the couch nor are they taking it into the john. Your readers are just stopping by for a quick look before they head off to the next mental snack....

February 28, 2007: The Most Literal Home Page In The History Of The Internet
Comments: 6 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Web 2.0

A cameo appearance by one of the more active mortgage industry bloggers, Dan Green was a must after reading an email he sent regarding the online showcase of his home for sale. Dan may not be a Realtor, but his savvy to leverage the Internet as the prime marketing medium for his own home is outstanding. Here’s his account: The Most Literal Home Page In The History Of The Internet By Dan Green I can say with 100% certainty that I created the most literal Home Page ever in the history of the Internet. http://www.2502nsheffield.com. It's my home. And it's got it own page. Single property listing Web sites are nothing new, of course, but ours is taking a different tactic. Rather than have a MLS-like Web site, we are instead hosting a "We're Moving" blog, complete with photos, fears and funny stories. Now, I disclaim all of this by...

February 19, 2007: Local Blog Traffic, The Old Fashioned Way
Comments: 12 | Categories: Blog Marketing , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

I didn't coin it (Burke Smith did), but I love to use it: Technology won't replace agents; agents with technology will replace agents. There's a ton of talk about the next generation of Realtors and their unique approach to the business. The most common theme is that their use of technology and embrace of the collaborative culture will change the landscape of the industry so drastically that it will effectively bury the Old Guard. This prediction is most likely true; it's hard to turn back the clock when a tidal wave of change is bearing down. Don't be so quick to embrace what's new without taking along what's tried and true. Learning from what worked well for the Baby Boomers will help you best understand how to not only reach them but also how to improve on these new tools. Your local audience responds to your local effort. The farm...

February 15, 2007: Would You Like To See High-Res Video Supported On Your Property Listing?
Comments: 2 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

How would you like to see high-res video supported on your individual property listings? Last October I introduced Classifieds 2.0 provider vFlyer and earlier this year I told you about the company’s real estate service enhancements, which were based on the requested needs of real estate professionals. The company’s founders are very keen on listening to what you want, and recently founder Aaron Sperling asked us here at the Tomato what we thought about supporting high-res video on flyers. Here is your chance to tell him your comments and thoughts on how you’d like high-res video to be supported on your online listings: Is the quality of video streaming on YouTube and blip.tv acceptable? Do you expect you should pay for hosting and streaming of High-Resolution Video? What would you expect to pay? $.15/view $.30/view $.50/view $19/mo. $29/mo. $39/mo. Other Leave your responses to the above in the comments, and...

February 14, 2007: Let's Talk About Your Face
Comments: 23 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Teresa Boardman , Topics and Opinions

These days introductions are hardly needed for Teresa Boardman here in the Real Estate Blogosphere. She’s sassy, honest, insightful and clear. We love her contribution, calling it as she sees it each week. This week the real estate blogging goddess knows it’s not her face that has you recognizing her name, it’s what you’ve learned from her. When a consumer, or potential client goes to your web site what is the first thing they see? Let me guess, is it your face? If you are like most of the 2.8 million real estate professionals out there I guessed correctly. I’ll bet you have a wonderful face and you are very proud of it too, and so is your mother. Where is my face? Other agents ask that question, when they visit my real estate web site or blog but I have never heard a potential client or consumer ask. My...

February 9, 2007: Is This The Most Powerful Listing Tool?
Comments: 9 | Categories: Guest Author , Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marc Grayson , Marketing Solutions

Mr. Marc Grayson, our resident Internet Marketing Tool Specialist has returned with another insightful weekly offering. This week Marc examines the value of promoting properties for sale with the singular listing website. Thank you Marc. - Today, we see a number of sources to place listings on-line: your agent website, broker website, MLS/Association website, vertical search engines like Trulia, Propsmart and online classifieds such as Oodle, LiveDeal, GoogleBase, Realtor.com, Point2NLS, Zillow, Postlets, VFlyer etc. Given these numerous outlets to list properties to a nationwide audience, I'd like to present a listing tool that is a return to your "local" scene. Return to what is good and local Besides agent/broker websites, we've seen many posts on the Real Estate Tomato about being "Local" vs "National". Teresa Boardman talked about Keeping Local Real Estate, Well...Local, and how blogging can support and express your local knowledge and expertise within the microcosm of your...

January 31, 2007: Your Blog Is An Army
Comments: 9 | Categories: Blog Organization , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging , Search Engines

Any blog, not just a real estate blog, has the beautiful distinction that it is comprised of many separate entities represented by each published post. The blog, when organized properly, is the ultimate content management system and SEO tool all wrapped into one. It is truly as if each article that is published is a little website of its own, under the umbrella of the main domain. Each published article has: 1. The Permalink: A unique, keyword laden and link popular URL: The main URL for your site may be http://realestatetomato.typepad.com, but the URL of the article you publish looks more like this: Example: http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/2007/01/29/your_blog_is_an_army.html You notice the main URL with the addition of the date, and the words that make up the article's title - this is commonly referred to in WordPress as the "slug". The Beauty: Each article can be linked to independently of the main site The...

January 29, 2007: Going Paperless: Bringing Value to an Undervalued Process
Comments: 9 | Categories: Guest Author , Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marc Grayson , Marketing Solutions , Technology - Gadgets

A couple of weeks ago, Marc Grayson made his debut on the Tomato with a very informative article regarding the tools available for determining the value of a property. Ironically, the article has the Tomato coming up quite competitively for the search phrase: “What is my home worth?” So, I couldn’t wait for him to contribute another piece, expecting more great SERP success! This week Marc breaks down the process of how to take your real estate business paperless. This was a topic that was quite interesting to me, given I threw my printer away about 3 years ago, and have never looked back. Going Paperless: Bringing Value to an Undervalued Process As the Web 2.0 era is in full-swing, consumer-centric, real estate websites have allowed and inspired consumers to list their own homes, discover house values, conduct neighborhood searches, and further self-serve elements that were once the sole responsibility...

January 20, 2007: He Asked Me, "Why Am I Blogging?"
Comments: 13 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Writing Tips , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging , Search Engines

Last week I was inspired to write an article about developing blog content because of a conversation I had with a client that we are training, well this week he asked the biggest one of them all: "Why am I blogging, again?" At first it struck me odd that someone who has made the financial commitment to have a custom blog developed and trained on, would ask me such a question. As I began to answer, it occurred to me that the most valuable reasons for blogging may not be so obvious after-all. Our clients receive intense training that covers a broad range of topics from article formatting to social bookmarking, to community participation and search engine statistic analysis. I can see how one may feel that there are "too many trees in the way to allow for a good view of the forest." His question was followed up by...

December 13, 2006: Business Plan 2007: Blog For Leads
Comments: 14 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Lead Generation , Blogging Peers , Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

Teresa Boardman is back! Last week we were in the trenches with her, examining the challenges of embracing the technological side of real estate. Today we gain some perspective on why business blogging needs to be a big part of your marketing strategy for 2007. Enjoy! — It is that time of the year again. Well, actually it was that time of year last month; time to complete my business plan for 2007. I figure out how much money I want to make, and then I figure out how many transactions I need to accomplish my financial goals. The transactions are then broken down into buyers or sellers, and then I figure how many appointments will be needed each month to meet the goals. After I have my numbers I start planning the tasks that I will need to complete during the year that will generate the number of appointments...

November 27, 2006: How Often Should I Blog?
Comments: 16 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Topics and Opinions

Once the concept of business blogging is understood, the most common question I hear is: How Often Should I Blog? Before answering the question, we need to examine what the benefits of regular business blogging are and how to realize them 1. Search Engine Seeding Consistent blogging (at least once a week) helps you seed the search engines, making them regular visitors. Hence, the content you write is being spidered and indexed, creating a longer 'tail' of exposure for your blog. Take a few weeks off, and you will fall out of favor with the search engines, and the effectiveness of your efforts will diminish. Your relationship with the search engines can be recovered however through greater participation and a renewed fervor for article posting, but the best strategy is to maintain. 2. Maintaining and Building Readership Similar to the effect your regular blogging has on the search engines, a...

November 22, 2006: vFlyer Suits Up For Real Estate With New Features And FeedExpress™
Comments: 2 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

Last month we introduced online listing newcomer vFlyer, an online classified service that lets you create a great looking listing flyer in a snap and then post that ad to numerous marketplaces and search engines. Last week Patricia Ridgeway from IgnitePR informed me that vFlyer had made some upgrades to their product based on feedback from the first wave of Realtors that took advantage of their free service. Apparently, a large number of Tomato readers took the advice and signed up for the service. So, as a courtesy to you (and them) here's an announcement regarding those changes. vFlyer has added HotPads, Propsmart and Trulia to its ad distribution network, and Realtors can now post listings across new categories – including townhomes, condos, land for sale and commercial properties. Agents can promote Equal Housing and Real Estate associations as well as include headshots, company logos and Yahoo! Maps. The biggest...

November 21, 2006: Is 12 Months Too Long? The Real Estate Blog Is The Ultimate Drip Marketing Campaign
Comments: 11 | Categories: Blog Marketing , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Topics and Opinions

The industry stats claim that it will take between 6 and 18 months to incubate the Internet Lead. Is a mean of 12 months too long? Can the real estate blog accelerate this? First, let's define the Internet Lead: A valid email address, acquired through your Internet presence (read: site). The obvious is that with an email address you are limited as to how you can communicate to them. Without a blog: If the direct communications (personal, direct email efforts) are ignored, you are left using email drip systems (canned?) and IDX listing updates (better). I can see that with only these options in your arsenal then 6 to 18 months of incubation should be expected. Email drip systems work well to continue to educate and brand, and IDX maintains buyers' interest, but neither really work the warmer lead, still hiding behind their email address. The Real Estate Blog is...

October 22, 2006: 3 Soft Barriers - How To Generate Leads Through Blogging
Comments: 11 | Categories: Blog Lead Generation , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

Business Blogging for Leads. That's the goal, right? The Soft Barrier is a lead generating, online form that asks for as little personal information as possible. The strategy is to have the visitor exchange their personal info in order to access information worth the exchange. "Name and email required" is the info one needs to effectively include the generated lead into an email marketing program. Other information such as phone number, address and real estate needs, however valuable, are more tricky to ask for. The idea is to pick up leads, not deter response by over-stepping the visitor's comfort zone. The Tools Traditional lead generating soft barriers such as the promise of access to the MLS or a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) are still effective, to some degree. The stat that I hear thrown around: expect 4% of the audience that visits the soft barrier (accessing the MLS or requesting...

October 17, 2006: Postlets Has Competition: VFlyer
Comments: 13 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

On two occasions I have reviewed and recommended the services of Postlets.com. Now I have an opportunity to offer an alternative: VFlyer.com. Create handsome, online flyers for classified service websites search engines such as: eBay, Craigslist, LiveDeal, GoogleBase, Vast, Edgio and more. In addition to generating an HTML style flyer in a snap (no brainer easy), Vflyer also provides you with an online 'landing page' for your listing. Each listing allows for ample content and several high quality photos. Designs can be customized based on around flexible template layouts. Lead generation pages, photo gallery and traffic tracking systems round out the tool nicely. PDF's can be created for your listings as well to convert them into traditional or emailed flyers. The service, although useful for advertising anything for sale (with up to 40 categories to choose from), has mostly caught the attention of Realtors who are using it for their...

September 29, 2006: No Time To Blog? Bloggers' Block? 6 Strategies To Developing Quick and Beneficial Blog Content
Comments: 12 | Categories: Blog Content Creation , Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

After over 100 days straight of posting to the Tomato, you may (read: should) be wondering to yourself if there's a life outside of this blog? We're often asked, "How do you come up with all of that information?" "How do you find the time?" "How can you still manage to have a family, a job, a life?" I can't speak for Greg at BloodhoundBlog (Mr. 101 posts in 24hrs) but the short answer is that we have a strategies for consistently generating quality content. Being consistent with your expected posting schedule is crucial when it comes to maintaining an audience. Below are 6 strategies for populating your blog when you find yourself short on time and creativity. We use the top 4 to ensure the Tomato is fed its daily article. 1. Store Content For A Rainy Day If you were to log into our Writely account, you would...

September 21, 2006: 2 More Awesome Online Tools
Comments: 6 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions , Technology - Gadgets

My 2 New Favorite Online Tools. IntelliContact - This website is invaluable! With IntelliContact you can "Easily Create, Send, and Track Email Newsletters, Surveys, and RSS Feeds!" You can even create custom forms, with autoresponders and CRM (customer relationship management). This is all "click of a button" easy and there are even video tutorials to help. I give IntelliContact a 10 out of 10 when it comes to online email marketing and management. Writely- When Writely was acquired by Google last year, they halted all new memberships... and I have been waiting to try them out ever since. I never did receive my notice, as they promised... However, a few weeks ago I saw someone bragging about using it and it reminded me of how anxious I was to check it out. Goodbye Microsoft Word. Why would I ever want to use your cumbersome product ever again? How sweet is...

September 19, 2006: Blogging Your Listings
Comments: 9 | Categories: Blogging Advice , Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

It is hard enough to maintain one blog. Why would anyone want to try and develop multiple blogs for their listings? Below are the options and answers for this subject. Please feel free to expand upon this topic with your comments. Options 1. Blogging your listings within your blog This is when you write an article in your blog that is about a specific listing. The blog itself is not geared specifically towards the showcasing listings, but you figure you might as well drop them in there anyhow. This is the easiest and cheesiest way to promote listings with a blog. Easy because you don't have to create a separate entity just to post, and cheesy because your audience, although interested in your savvy, is not coming to your site regularly to check out a single, uninteresting listing. 2. A new blog for each listing Each listing is a new...

September 16, 2006: 4 Steps to Drip Marketing Success
Comments: 6 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions

Melani Gordon is back. Last month she examined the growth of online real estate ad spending, this month she's bringing it with some email marketing tips. Melani is regularly published in Realty Success Magazine, and we're honored to be able to pin her down for another pearl of wisdom. Online Marketing: 4 Steps to Drip Email Marketing Success By Melani Gordon I recently attended Inman Connect expo this past July in San Francisco geared toward real estate Internet marketing. The topic was titled, “The Web, Its Opportunity and Its Limitations for Real Estate Customer Acquisition.” The moderator focused the guest speakers on what they do now and what methods and/or tools don’t work. The panel was comprised of 3 successful brokers and one technology provider. Imagine a hotel conference room filled with 130 real estate agents and brokers. These were a group of professionals who were chomping at the bit...

September 15, 2006: Running Into Oncoming Traffic
Comments: 9 | Categories: Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions

Your mother told you not to play in the street. This is not your mother writing. Find the busiest avenue you can and step recklessly into it, eyes wide open. You will get the attention you're looking for. If you are blogging down a country road, where daily rush hour can be tallied on one hand, it's time to redirect that local highway o'er yonder. The real estate industry is writing and reading blogs at a furious pace. If the former is you, without the latter, it's time to start risking your neck on major traffic avenues. You have found your chops over the last few months, you've got a handle on your core message, the blog looks sweet... you're ready for some serious readership. Take that knowledge to the streets. Hit the most traffic'd blogs in your industry and start participating. 1. The moderators will begin to notice you...

September 14, 2006: The Real Power of Blogging - Search Engines Are Up For Grabs
Comments: 0 | Categories: Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Search Engines

Quick, but powerful post. Did a search for "epro classes" on Google today. To the left you will see the screenshot of the results. The Tomato article from last month is right there, at #3 (or 2 if you don't count the duplicated result). (Update - The same article above, regading epro, comes up as #1 in Google for "epro class") One article, from a couple of weeks ago and everyone searching "epro classes" or "epro class" will now have an opportunity to see what I think of NAR's class. This is proof that blogging is a very powerful tool when it comes to being found in the search engines. The Real Estate Tomato is not about 'epro classes' - not in my keywords, not in my metadata, and there is only 1 article (of over 120 articles) on the site about the subject... yet there I am, discouraging people...

September 12, 2006: The 3 Steps To Converting Purchased Online Leads
Comments: 3 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions

Today's guest author is Chris Daley. This is his second contribution to the Tomato. To learn more about Chris and to read his previous article, click here. Take it away, Chris! In speaking to hundreds of REALTORS over the years, I have found a profound love/hate relationship with online lead generation firms. On one side, you have agents and brokers who say they do not know where their business would be if the faucet from their lead partner were to ever dry. On the other side, you have agents and brokers who have found purchasing leads to be a colossal failure and a waste of money. The one thing that remains a constant is the existence of online lead generation and the cottage industry it has created. In working on both sides of the fence and in personally creating online acquisition strategies, I cannot accept the mindset that online leads...

September 7, 2006: All Lead Companies Are Not Created Equal
Comments: 6 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Mortgage & Lending , Topics and Opinions

At speaking engagements here in California, I find that although I am reaching out to real estate agents, my audience is almost always split with professionals in the mortgage industry. What strikes me as even more curious is that I am approached by a larger percentage of mortgage professionals, than Realtors after the session. I am not going to try and explain it, but rather embrace it. No, I am not changing into the Mortgage Tomato, however, I would like to not only welcome all our mortgage cousins but provide them with a piece that caters directly to their industry. One of my favorite people on the planet just happens to be an expert on using the internet as a marketing tool for the mortgage industry. So rather than me translate what I know into "lender speak," I invited my friend, Scott Kirkpatrick (CEO of MortgageMarketingSpecialists.com) to take the mic,...

September 7, 2006: Postlets Launches PostletsPlus (beta)
Comments: 4 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

Asher from Postlets has just notified me that they have launched their latest, greatest upgrade to thier core product: PostletsPlus. What you need to know: 1. Template is now multi-themed and multi-paged 2. Images are quadruple the size 3. Google maps are integrated 4. School info 5. Mortgage Calc 6. Links for virtual tours and external websites (yeah!) 7. Video Upload (googlevideo and youtube) Cost: For now, it's a free listing in exchange for any referral that signs up to Postlets. Future Cost: a couple of bucks or so per listing. Commercial listings? No. Sorry Brad.

August 30, 2006: Who Let's Them Print This?
Comments: 5 | Categories: Marketing Solutions , Topics and Opinions

Internet Crusade has yet again earned the award for Over Setting the Expectations of Their Unwitting Followers. First it was the reckless statement that their internet foundations class called e-Pro is the guiding light to "Thrive in the Competitive World Of Online Real Estate." Now they think that they have the keys to "Mastering the Blogosphere." Excuse me while I wipe up the coffee I just spit up all over my desk. I swear I don't have a vendetta with Internet Crusade. When I keep coming across them making foolish and irresponsible claims, I just can't seem to contain myself. Here is the article in full as it appeared in Realtor Magazine Online, yesterday: My comments are indentend and appear in blue. 10 Steps to Mastering the Blogosphere Blogs are online journals that give everyone the opportunity to be a writer and publisher. Real estate practitioners use the medium to...

August 29, 2006: What's Missing In Your Real Estate Website?
Comments: 4 | Categories: Interviews , Marketing Solutions , Products and Services , Topics and Opinions

Yesterday, Rory Siems (esteemed member of ActiveRain) and I struggled through the composition of a recorded phone interview using Skype and Audacity. Rory was interviewing me, and he and I can agree that there has to be an easier way given that it is 2006 and all. Today's article is about another topic that came up in Rory's interview with me, but before I get to it, I want to see if the audience has some suggestions on how to go about recording a phone conversation on Skype, with the intention of editing and podcasting it. Thanks for any input. In the interview, Rory asked me: "Is there something that clients want from a Realtor website that agents aren't yet providing?" Understand that I am not stealing the thunder of his podcast/article of our interview. The response to his question was left hanging a bit... and I've been thinking about...

August 26, 2006: Don’t Be The Ignored Real Estate Blog, How to Avoid The Starbucks Mistake
Comments: 11 | Categories: Blog Marketing , Marketing Solutions

Is it safe to assume that you've have been to a Starbucks, and are familiar with the ubiquitous white cup with the round, green logo on it? Somewhere on that cup is their web address: www.Starbucks.com. How many of you have been to Starbucks.com? The response is almost always "none." The scarce few that have are checking the balance on their Starbucks Card. Most have never even noticed the web address on the cup (this is Starbucks' first mistake). It would be a safe bet that less than .01% of their loyal customers have ever been to their website. 1000's of worldwide stores and close to a million white cup holders every day… if I am right, it's a pitiful reality. How many white cups are brought back to work, to be left just inches from a keyboard, and yet, the website remains ignored? You should be thinking to yourself,...

August 25, 2006: One Year Ago Today - Understanding Your Audience
Comments: 4 | Categories: Marketing Solutions

One year ago today I wrote my first blog post. No one ever read it. It was supposed to be the beginnings of a book about real estate emarketing. My intentions have shifted dramatically since that first post, but it seems that my edifying tone was fully intact. So, in an effort to begin again, here's my take on understanding whom it is that you are all marketing to. The unadulterated first post. Understanding Your Audience Arguably the most important element of an effective marketing strategy is understanding how to connect with your potential client. "Calls to Action," "Hot Buttons," and "Target Needs" are all used to describe this active ingredient in a campaign. To pen the perfect 'call to action' and drive traffic to your lead generating website, one must step back and take a look at the internet and the behavior of the internet user. Stepping into the...

August 24, 2006: "Site Unseen" The Backfiring Effect of Duplicate Content
Comments: 1 | Categories: Marketing Solutions

Did you 'borrow' it? Stealing content is unethical, petty and puts your website's success at great risk. The original authors of your 'borrowed' content can (and will) defend their rights: Old Welsh Guy has a great article on how to deal with content purloiners. So that you don't have to try and read in his thick welsh accent, I will 'borrow' a few excerpts: After asking politely, yet firmly to have the content thief remove your content from their website, he recommends you take the following steps: 1. Document every detail of the infringement: exact text, whois information, URL locations of original and stolen content, name servers, and date of notification to violator. 2. Take action by filing a DMCA report with Google and the like. This is a request to have the illegally promoted material removed from their databases. Contact the violator again, explaining that you have taken action...

August 22, 2006: Google Base's Next Move With Real Estate
Comments: 11 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

If I were a realtor, that just scored a listing, the next thing that I would add to my marketing plan would be to get that listing into Google Base. Google has snuck in their Base real estate listings at the top of their search results whenever you include the words "real estate" with major metropolitan geographical searches. Try it out. Here's San Diego; here's Seattle, here's Sacramento, here's Boston... If you have been taking the time to add your listings to Craigslist. Stop. Sign up for Postlets.com. They will post your listings in Craigslist, GoogleBase and 8 others, for free!. Now you can tell the seller (with a straight face) "I'll have your home at the top of Google."

August 19, 2006: SEO Can Be Snake Oil - Part 3
Comments: 0 | Categories: Guest Author , Jason Benesch , Marketing Solutions , Search Engines

The goal of these 3 articles authored by Jason Benesch is to give you an understanding of how search engines work and how you can drastically improve your search engine lead generation without wasting another dime on SEO Snake Oil. Last week Jason helped us looked at how to organize the meta-data and keyword density of our websites to ensure that we're are being 'read' by the search engines most effectively. This week, in his final SEO offering, he will be examining the proper approach to building your link popularity. Thanks again Jason! In this third installment of this Search Engine Tutorial we examine link popularity; why links work, how to acquire links, what and how many links you should have. Links, coupled with unique and growing content define the most important factors to increase your search engine visibility. It should make perfect sense as to why search engines would...

August 15, 2006: Real Estate Professionals Focus Marketing Dollars Online
Comments: 4 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Stats and Trends

Today we are pleased to intruduce our newest guest author and member of the Tomato Vine, Melani Gordon. Melani brings with her over 7 years of technology and Internet marketing experience with an emphasis on Internet presence management, strategic marketing, and online marketing communications. Melani has recently launched her own internet marketing consulting company, gWave. In a sentence they describe their service as: "Internet Presence Management, the art of bringing a company's business processes to the Web." We are excited to have Melani's expertise on the Vine, and look forward to her regualr contributions as an Internet Marketing Expert. In next month's issue of Realty Success Magazine, Melani will be featured and will publish the following article. Lucky you - you get the premiere! Online real estate ad spending grew from a $4 million market in 2001 to a $1.7 billion market last year, increasing its share of total real...

August 14, 2006: The 8 P's to Blogging Success
Comments: 8 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging

I have tried to stick to the following formula since the Real Estate Tomato was launched, less than 2 months ago: Plan, Pay Attention, Post, Participate, Probe, Prepare, Please, Partner It seems to be working. Before I joined the blogosphere, I had as much knowledge about blogging as my mom. Now, after just a few weeks, I have hundreds of daily visitors and appreciative fans from all over the country encouraging and inspiring me to stick with my mission. I know that I personally could use some help with all the elements of this strategy, but I am excited about the success to date. I hope you find them useful. PLAN Blogging is taking over as the 'must do' in real estate internet marketing. If you are going to catch and ride this wave I suggest you have a plan. Plan Your Strategy: Determine if you can make the commitment...

August 8, 2006: 13 Ways To Post Your Listings For Free
Comments: 15 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

Reading Bernice Ross's "RealClues" - The Weekly Newsletter for Real Estate Professionals is a fantastic way to keep abreast of what's working for agents in the marketing world. She has just started a 5 part series regarding the Inman Connect called: Hot Strategies from Real Estate Connect: The Ins and Out of On-Line Lead Generation. This week's article focus's on how to gain maximum exposure for your listings with the least amount of spend. She mentions Postlets as a great source for its all-in-one-effort service. I follow up with a few more, and invite you to chime in with any services you have found useful. Check it out: 1-10 Postlets.com (update: Postlets has competition: VFlyer. And, Postlets lauches PostletsPlus) The first 10 come in a neat little package called Postlets - "free classifieds creation and syndication" Build your online flier once, and have it automatically post to: Backpage.com Craigslist.org Edgeio.com...

August 5, 2006: SEO Can Be Snake Oil - Part 1
Comments: 2 | Categories: Guest Author , Jason Benesch , Marketing Solutions , Search Engines

So you've all gotten that call: a search engine optimization (SEO) company promising to place your site at the top of the search engines. Many Realtors, seeing the potential opportunity for online leads, have already wasted a lot of money on one (or more) of these services and will never see the results they were expecting or promised. There are a variety of companies with many different strategies, promising to position your site competitively and the majority are illegitimate. The goal of this article is to give you an understanding of how search engines work and how you can drastically improve your search engine lead generation without wasting another dime. Jason Benesch is a Personal Marketing Coach for Z57 Inc. Working one-on-one with dozens of website toting Realtors is his daily grind. I asked him to contribute to the Tomato this week with an article based on his experience with...

July 30, 2006: Another Carnival - Carnival of Marketing
Comments: 1 | Categories: Marketing Solutions

Much of the content on the Tomato has to do with marketing, so it was only natural to submit a recent post to the Carnival of Marketing. This week's carnival was hosted by Coolz0r and even though we just made the deadline for submittal we got into their top 10 picks! Next week's carnival is being held by a very resourceful blog: Seeds of Growth. The best thing about these carnivals is the exposure to quality blogs that match your interests. Both the Carnival or Real Estate and the Carnival of Marketing are excellent places to start if you are just getting into the habit of reading and learning from blogs. To learn more, and to submit your own articles visit BlogCarnival.

July 28, 2006: 3 (Not-So-Simple) Rules To Having A Successful Website
Comments: 1 | Categories: Guest Author , Marketing Solutions

This week's guest author, Steve Peron, has educated hundreds of Realtors on the formulas for online marketing success. We are excited to have him on the Vine, and are fortunate to have him take the time to share his expertise. Here's his abbreviated tutorial on getting the most out of having a real estate website. So, you have just purchased a website… or maybe you’ve had one for years, but it has done nothing for you. What’s next? Education is the key to success. Here’s a breakdown of the most basic formula for your journey to success. Please bookmark this page so you can use this as a guide in the future. The Equation = Traffic x Conversion x Follow Up = Sales Traffic (Rule 1): Traffic is the blood line of your site. Without traffic the other parts of the equations will not work. (0 Traffic x 100 Conversion...

July 26, 2006: Content Is King, Don't Be A Victim
Comments: 0 | Categories: Marketing Solutions

The importance of unique content on your website can't be stressed enough. Obvious benefits include: having something interesting for visitors to read, broadening your search engine exposure, supporting keywords and establishing authority on your subject. Copyscape.com offers the simple service of checking the 'uniqueness' of your website's content (copy). They even offer chiclets for you to add to your site as a warning to potential copy theives. If you are taking the time and effort to produce intreresting and unique content, just to have it republished elsewhere, wouldn't you like to know? When someone else borrows (read: steals) your website's content without permission, nor credit, it can potentially endanger your online success. 'Duplicate content' is essentially ignored by the search engines and eventhough you first wrote the content, it doesn't mean that you will be given credit for doing so if someone else is using it on their website. Duplicate...

July 23, 2006: Am I Singing to the Choir? Get Your Blog On!
Comments: 0 | Categories: Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Search Engines

One of the most globally informative blogs, Micro Persuasion points us to a study by MarketingVox on the effectiveness of corporate blogging. Bottom line: You will get more traffic. There are 3 steps to the internet lead becoming an 'engaged client'* - Generate traffic to website. Capture lead with compelling offer/service. Incubate lead until personal contact is made. You do the rest. No traffic, no lead, no deal. Content is so important when it comes to driving traffic to your site. Beyond terms such as 'real estate,' 'sacramento,' 'homes for sale,' 'realtor,' 'mls' etc that you feel will be your ticket to being found in the search engines, it can be the unexpected that will bring your next lead. There's only room for 10 sites in the top 10 for any given search. If you aren't in the top 10 for something as exciting as 'Sacramento real estate,' I've got...

July 21, 2006: The Good Ol' Fashioned Open House
Comments: 0 | Categories: Marketing Solutions

Realtor Magazine Online published an article today reinforcing the value of the good ol' Open House. RMO cites that sellers prefer that an agent holds and open house and that they are also a good way to bolster your prospective buyer list. No doubt. The article also provides a nice tech tip for improving your visitors' experience at the open house. "As a result, Coldwell Banker associates Gail Lowe and Joyce Harczo now give clients and others who tour their listings CDs that serve as a take-home reminder. They include still photos and other information that is also contained on the pair's Web site." In an earlier Tomato post there are some quality tips on how to successfully leverage a traditional open house with the technology available to agents. Realtor Magazine also points out that a "debut' open house for an agent tour or caravan is another means of getting...

July 20, 2006: Steal This Blog!
Comments: 3 | Categories: Blogging Advice , Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging , Topics and Opinions , Web 2.0

The large majority of the Tomato readers are Realtors. It is my mission to help this audience better understand how to embrace the tools that are going to keep them successful. The Tomato itself is an example of embracing a new tool (the blog) only to in turn illustrate how to leverage it yourself. Effective blogging will make you breakaway from your online competition. That is why I implore you to continue to pay attention to this site. Lofty goals for the Tomato inspire daily content and strategy focus. Learn as I we grow; come along for the ride. The Internet is shifting to what is being referred to as Web 2.0. Descriptive titles such as "collective collaboration," "participant architecture," "peer production," and "crowd sourcing" have been used to describe the core value of this shift. Blogs, MySpace, Wikis, Flickr, eBay, YouTube, Craigslist, Shoutcast, Forums and Mozilla are among the...

July 20, 2006: When Your Website Just Isn't Enough
Comments: 0 | Categories: Guest Author , Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

This week’s guest author is Chris Daley. With nearly six years of commitment to providing Realtors with the tools and knowledge they need to make their presence online a profitable experience, he comes to us today exploring the benefit of landing pages. Chris focuses on how landing pages can represent the missing link between your website and your next marketing campaign. Two ways to NOT use your website and find success “Make your personal website the centerpiece of your marketing!” Sound familiar? Give the client all of the information, all at once and they are sure to leave a name and phone number. Sounds like a plan! Once you get going, advance to search engine marketing like Google or Overture. That will really turn up the volume and increase your leads. Right? Thousands have followed that logic. Few have found tremen dous success. Most have found enough success to cover...

July 18, 2006: The Virtual Farm, Email Marketing Secrets
Comments: 1 | Categories: Guest Author , Jason Benesch , Marketing Solutions

So you bought the website, you have the lead generation forms, you got the traffic, and now you have a a bunch of names and email addresses with no clue of what to do next. Jason Benesch is a Personal Marketing Coach for Z57 Inc. Working one-on-one with dozens of website toting Realtors is his daily grind. I asked him to contribute to the Tomato this week with an article based on his experience with a common stigma among novice online Realtors: Email Marketing. "Internet leads are useless, I have no idea who's coming by, what they're looking for, and they never respond to my efforts to contact them." "I have called every number in my lead database, and those with whom I spoken weren't exactly serious about buying a home." "I have emailed everyone in my lead database and most have not responded." "I just assumed they would contact...

July 17, 2006: Haughty Haute Hot - The Million Dollar Real Estate Site
Comments: 3 | Categories: Entertaining , Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

I received an email last week pitching the MillionDollarHomePage clone PickYourRealEstateAgent.com reaching out to real estate agents to buy up pixels. Buy pixels (shelf life 5 years) from a map of the USA, and receive dominion over the area selected in turn increasing your site's traffic. You know the drill. I had forgotten about these guys, so I checked in. As of today they have already sold over 75,000 pixels in around 6 months. There hasn't been much chatter about it on the wire lately. Technorati pulled one result. (update, now there are none... postings only show for 90 days) Blog Optimization Blog's article is a blantant advetrtisement, but it is the take on the future of real estate agetns that I found most compelling. "Eliminating the real estate agent from the buying and selling process is the latest trend in real estate on the Internet." and "While competitors seek...

July 16, 2006: Open House On The Air
Comments: 0 | Categories: California RE News , Entertaining , Marketing Solutions , Sacramento RE News

Today, Margo Ray is holding an open house for her Stockton home. After more than 5 months of trying to attract buyers with traditional marketing by her agent (newspapers, fliers, etc.), this owner decided to take an unconventional approach to getting this 'buyer market' to pay attention her lovely 3 bedroom home. News 10 in Stockton, CA reports that over the past week, 30 radio advertisement spots have been pitching the amenities of Ray's Stockton home, as well as some attractive prizes to attract the curious. Buying up radio advertising will probably not become the next rave in real estate marketing given the budget constraints... but desparate times sometimes call for desparate measures. It doesn't hurt to be a radio salesperson as well (Margo Ray sells advertising for the radio station showcasing her home).

July 6, 2006: What Sellers Are Going to Be Asking You!
Comments: 1 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions , Web 2.0

I am so glad RealBlogging.com posted this article. This excerpt is the meat left on the bone for me: "As consumers become ever more aware of blogs and their use in the home buying/selling process, you can expect to be asked by sellers what online tools are included in your bundle of benefits. Perhaps it's time to include blogs in your answer." I see the constant promotion of the above in my near future. Offering and training Realtors on the best uses of online technologies available to them has become my career. Blogs are the next "website" for Realtors. Your clients are going to be looking for you to relate your expertise and experience to them as a vehicle to help educate them in the home buying/selling arena. Just offering the standard IDX MLS search, CMA forms, links to schools and demographics, mortgage calculators and some featured properties is so...

July 5, 2006: Get a Better Headshot For Your Website
Comments: 3 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

Most real estate agents like having their headshot on their website. However, not all headshots are created equal. A good first impression is imperative and can make all the difference when it comes to generating a lead with your site. If your headshot is unprofessional, then you look unprofessional. The world can be very superficial, and appearances do matter - people want to work with someone they feel looks "nice." LookBetterOnline.com is a website to locate a local headshot speacialist. They claim to be an online dating headshot company... but I see it as a great resource for professional headshots as well. However, if you have a face for radio, as they say, perhaps a cool, personalized logo would be better for you.

July 1, 2006: Have you heard of Google Base?
Comments: 0 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions , Search Engines , Web 2.0

Me either, until today. Behind the curtain, Google really is looking to take over the world. We've got Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, Google Maps, Picasa, Google Earth (see!)... and on and on and on. Just last week they announced Google Checkout and Now Google is going after Craigslist with Google Base. Their home page says: "Put Stuff on Google, Google Base is a place where you can post all types of content and have it show up on Google" Base is still in a beta mode, but given the web dominance of Google we should expect big things from any project they take on. In general, other than a handful of trailblazing agents, the only real estate listings I can find on it are mostly populated by homesandland.com, homesbyowner.com, therealestatebook and livingchoices.com. Here is an example of a search done in the Housing Section of Google Base for: Single...

June 29, 2006: HousingMaps.com
Comments: 3 | Categories: Internet (Sites and Tools) , Marketing Solutions

HousingMaps.com is a useful tool if you post to and troll Craigslist.com for real estate. The website is simply a blend of Craigslist Real Estate Listings with Google Maps. The properties appear as colored balloons that when clicked bring up the available images of the listing. Clicking on the address brings you directly to the post on Craigs. It's simple, it's curious.

June 22, 2006: eMarketing Tip:
Using the Internet in Your Open House
Comments: 2 | Categories: Marketing Solutions

I've found that the majority of my business is generated from the time that I take to educate Realtors on how to make the most of using the

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