Phoenix Realtor Cathey East wants to sell her clients’ home as quickly as possible for the best price.  That’s no surprise, lot’s of real estate professionals want to do the same thing.  But Cathey was faced with some dilemmas:

• How could she maximize the excitement for her clients’ home?
• How could she make the best use of her time selling a home in Mesa… over 60 miles away?

So Cathey turned to the Big Bad Home Sale for answers.  You will definitely want to see how Realtors can use Big Bad Home Sale to help them get listings and sell homes faster just like Cathey did!  Make sure to opt in to Cathey’s Priority Notification List, and then check out Cathey’s blog.

Great job Cathey!  Keep us posted on your success!

Tags: sell own home, Blog, Creative Real Estate, Blogging, assist to sell, BigBadHomeSale

Topics: Realtor Examples, ActiveRain, Creative Real Estate, Big Bad Home Sale Publicity | Give Your Two Cents »

Passive Solar Heating systems and geo thermal heating systems are becoming more and more popular.  They may also be a way to differentiate your home from others for sale.

Many power companies are now offering rebates for homes that have these systems. If you consider these rebates, along with your monthly energy bill savings, you might find that the cost of a passive solar heating or geothermal heating system  is less than you think.

Check with your local mechanical contractor or Heating & Ventilation contractors to see if it might make sense to add this to your home.

Tags: Blog, assist to sell, Blogging, sell own home, BigBadHomeSale, Creative Real Estate

Topics: Home Selling Tips, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

The new Cardinal 366 Glass is the best energy efficient glass on the market.  It blocks solar heat gain and keeps your home at the temperature you like.  Home owners will see their energy expenses reduced and recover their windows’ cost in no time.  Home Energy Solutions newest window line features Cardinal 366 Glass in 3 attractive colors.

Tags: Blog, Blogging, sell own home, assist to sell, BigBadHomeSale, Creative Real Estate

Topics: Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Well the first episode of Flip Video Secrets is in the can! If you missed the call, I’ll tell you how you can listen to the replay for the next few days. But first let me tell you the highlights: We had Mike Stewart, who travels the world teaching business professionals how to use audio and video to build their business, with us for over 60 minutes. I’m really thrilled about all the great content we covered, but the true magic came at the end of the call! Mike and I spent about 10 minutes brainstorming specifically about how realtors can use video in creative ways to enhance their listings. We’re not just talking about pointing the camera at the living room and narrating the colors of the walls… We’re talking about innovative, creative uses of the Flip Video camcorder that will truly differentiate yourself from everybody else. There was also some great examples that Mike relayed of how professionals from other industries use blogging to kick the pants off the competition. You have to hear the story about Mike’s friend, the exterminator and his blogs “Yucky Nasty Bug Facts” and “Possum Skinnin Secrets”. See how a little creativity, sincerety and humor can help you establish credibility and build rapport with people? Who do you think people call when they need an exterminator in Atlanta??!! This was a fantastic call, and it will shortly end up behind the gates of my member area. But I’m going to leave it up for the next few days because I want ActiveRain members to benefit from the great content. It’s about 60 minutes long, and there is great stuff right up until the end. So grab a seat in your favorite chair, pour yourself your favorite drink and listen to the entire program. You’ll be glad you did! Listen to the replay here (remember, this replay will be taken down in a few days!)

Tags: sell own home, Creative Real Estate, BigBadHomeSale, Blogging, assist to sell, Blog

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Tags: BigBadHomeSale, Blogging, assist to sell, Blog, Creative Real Estate, sell own home

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Tags: Blog, Blogging, BigBadHomeSale, Creative Real Estate, sell own home, assist to sell

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Video, Podcast, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

One of the things I love about ActiveRain is seeing all the creative ways that real estate professionals market themselves and their clients’s homes.Marketing is in my blood… It always has been. I created and sold a board game, promoting my business nationwide, while just a teenager. Now, 25 (or so!) years later, I’m still at it; helping my clients learn the powerful strategies that make people want to buy from them, instead of the competition. That’s why I cringe when I think of the traditional notions about real estate marketing. Putting a home on the MLS, a sign in the yard, flyers in the info box, and a small ad in the paper is not marketing… It is the price of admission. You get to be in the game when you do those things. But the people winning the game in today’s tough market, and getting their homes sold, are the ones that put the time and effort into developing new skills. New skills like blogging, using video, search engine optimization and more. Last year, I sold my home in less than 3 weeks. I know some people sell homes quicker, but I’m pretty happy with my results. I never doubted for a moment that I would sell it in 3 weeks. The reason why is because I had a marketing strategy that created awareness for my home… and then engaged my prospects in a follow up campaign consisting of emails, blog posts, video messages and culminating in a huge event (like an open house). We packed the home with 35 prospects, received 2 offers and were able to negotiate a great price. Done, sold, closed… all within a total of 6 weeks. The formula is simple: Create Awareness Capture Contact Information Build Rapport With Your Prospects Ask For Feedback These steps will help you find and address your prospects needs and position your home (or your clients’ homes) as the one and only solution. Being here on ActiveRain, already elevates you above yesterday’s agents. Challenge yourself today to try something new and different (I know Bob Stewart is still waiting for that Flip Video interview with a school principal!) Learn how to use videos in your blog and real estate marketing

Tags: BigBadHomeSale, Blog, Creative Real Estate, sell own home, Blogging, assist to sell

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Good Saturday Morning,

Response to our new teleseminar Flip Video Secrets has been so
great, that I wanted to get up early this morning and give you some
more information.

Here are some of the most frequent questions we have heard from you
so far:

• "How do I set it up? The instructions in the box are pretty vague."
• "How do I get my videos to play automatically on my blog?"
• "How can I use videos to improve my business?"
• "How can I edit my videos?
• "How do I add music to my videos?

Get the picture??!!

People are flocking to the stores to buy the
Flip Video (Google has over 4 million results to the "Flip Video"search!).

Many think it's a cute little camera.

Thursday night, Mike Stewart and I will uncover the secrets that
will make your Flip Video a Powerful Business Tool.

Mark your calendar.  Learn the Secrets to use your Flip Video
camcorder, this Thursday, April 17. 9:00 EST, 8:00 CST, 6:00 PST.
Watch your email box for the call in information later this week.

Have a Great Weekend,
Steve Rosenbaum

P.S. Set a bookmark for FlipVideoReview for the latest
information about Flip Video cameras.

P.S.S. Ask me your questions about Flip Video to in the comment section.
We'll to answer as many as we can Thursday night.

Tags: Blogging, Creative Real Estate, Blog, sell own home, assist to sell, BigBadHomeSale

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

There have been a ton of posts on ActiveRain about the Flip Video…
some good, some not so good.

Make no mistake… this little camera is a weapon that can make the
difference in whether your site or blog is a pit-stop or a destination
on the information superhighway.

But it can be a bit tricky out of the box. 

If you're a Real Estate professional, you will want to learn how the
Flip Video can literally change the way you sell homes.

Next Thursday, April 17, Internet Video expert Mike Stewart (internetvideoguy.com)
and Steve Rosenbaum (BigBadHomeSale.com) will teach Realtors how
they can use the Flip Video to:

• Gain Clients
• Improve Listings
• Improve the "Stickiness" of your website/blog
• Increase Traffic
• Sell Homes Faster

You won't want to miss it. Visit http://FlipVideoSecrets.com/today right now for more information.

P.S. He you have a question about using the Flip Video, post it below.  We'll try to address it on the call.
P.S.S. Did I mention that the FlipVideoSecrets Teleseminar is free.  Tell all your friends and co-workers!

Tags: Blogging, assist to sell, Creative Real Estate, BigBadHomeSale, sell own home, Blog

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Using video on your Wordpress blog, on your property pages, on your personal website and on your salesletters is the fastest and easiest way to convert traffic into new clients.

My tests have shown that I more than tripled my conversion rate after Iadded video to my optin page at http://bigbadhomesale.com/optin.htm! Also, my video, “My Neighbors Are A Bunch of Asses!”, was by far, my most read blog post andwas responsible for bringing dozens of prospects to my home.

I get asked all the time how I put video on my WordPress blog and on my sales page. It’s one of the things I cover in the Big Bad Home Salesystem.

But, when it comes to using audio and video on the internet, Mike Stewart is the undisputed King! Mike is my mentor (and personal friend), so he let me in on the preview launch of his newest product by offering a WordpressVideoSalesLetter.com / BigBadHomeSale.com Special.

Mike is the master at breaking down the complex and making it super-simple. Wordpress Video Sales Letter is going to show you how you can put up high-quality video pages in less than 15 minutes! That’s right, in less time than it takes to
watch that Seinfeld episode for the 12th time, you can put up 2 professional quality, traffic generating, web sites!

Take a moment to think about all the great ways you can use video sales letters to grow your business.

Pretty awesome, right?

So, now let me tell you how you can immediately benefit from this product, and then I’m going to tell you about the special pre-launch offer that Mike is extending to my friends. Remember, if you have a short 15 minutes, Mike will show you how you can use video to:

• Attract traffic like a magnet to your site
• Capture your visitors attention so they listen to your entire message
• Convert your visitor into a paying client or customer

Mike doesn’t just tell you why video is the secret weapon that can differentiate you from your competition, but he shows you step by step how you can create your very own videolanding page. Call your webmaster today and ask him how much he would charge you for this. For a fraction of the cost, Mike will teach you how you can do it yourself. It’s so easy, you will want to duplicate your success over, and over, and over again.

So here’s the deal… I promised Mike that I would forego my commission, if he would let me give my friends a chance to buy Wordpress Video Sales Letter before the official launch on April 9, 2008. That means that I will give you $100 right out of my pocket if you act right now.

This is by far the simplest step-by-step process of how to put up Wordpress Video Sales Letters that I have ever seen. Take a look for yourself. In just over 3 minutes, Mike can demonstrate for you the power of his process. Just think how you can use this knowledge to benefit your own clients and help them make their home stand out from all the others trying to sell their home.

Remember, the price goes up $100 on Thursday. Take a look right now at what a real video sales letter should look like!

Regards,
Steve Rosenbaum
http://BigBadHomeSale.com

P.S. I have one more bonus to sweeten the pot. It’s a special 60+ minute recording of Mike Stewart from the Big Seminar 9 Preview Calls. Mike explains all the ways that he uses audio and video to increase internet business for him and his clients. (Yes,Mike has 2 Real Estate clients that both earn more than $1 million in commission each year!) Email me a copy of your receipt to steve {at}bigbadhomesale {dot} com and I will send you the recording.

P.S.S. It’s not too late to see Mike Stewart speak live at Big Seminar. I’ll be there, too. Come join Mike and me at what I believe is absolutely the greatest place to findand create internet marketing opportunities for your business.

Tags: BigBadHomeSale, Creative Real Estate, Blogging, sell own home, assist to sell, Blog

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Once again, Austin, Tx, is a favorite destination for people migrating from other states. Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio also landed in the top ten.

"People are running away from unaffordable housing, from the economic slowdown," said Karl Eschbach, a state demographer in Texas. "I would expect Texas to stay at the top of a slowing game."

With scores of people arriving into our city, it's important that you position yourself so that they easily find you when doing their research.  Here are seven things you can do to capture new clients relocating to Austin

1. Pick a Niche, Become and Expert - The market is full of agents, but how many of them are "Experts". Pick something you're passionate about, and market yourself as the authority on the subject (of course, you do have to know what you're talking about!) You can be an expert on "Living on the Lake", Corporate Relocation, Dell, UT, Medical, Hiking and Biking, Green Building…

2. Search Engine Optimizaion - SEO is much easier when you market yourself as an expert. Do your keyword research on your field of choice and add the word "Austin" to your keywords. You can also select only to advertise on Google in our geographic area. Both these strategies will help you achieve top rankings easier than promoting yourself simply as a real estate agent… Lots of people are doing that.
3. Blogging - People love Blogs, and so do search engines. Use your keywords in your blog title and also in your posts. I recently received #1 rankings on Google in less than 30 minutes after posting a blog post! (Yes, It can be done and I'll demonstrate that on a future post!) 20 years ago, I did research on Compuserve before moving to Savannah, GA. Obviously the web is much more prevalent and has much more information today.
4. Write Articles - Another strategy to position yourself as the expert and get the search engines to fall in love with you. Make sure to use your keywords in the headline and sprinkled throughout the article.  Make an offer in the Bio section that brings people to your squeeze page and captures their email address so you can follow up with an autoresponder, for instance "7 Great Places to Hike and Bike When you Relocate to Austin"
5. Post Videos - Break out your camera and shoot these beautiful surroundings.  Post your videos on YouTube and include a call to action at the end of your video that drives people to your squeeze page.
6. Take out a Toll Free Number - People still like to use the phone. They're cheap and it's easy to put up a message that drives people to your blog 24/7.  Follow it up with a free DVD offer (all they pay is shipping) that tells all about relocating to Austin (and of course all about your services and your areas of expertise!)
7. Network and promote - Where do people go when they come to town? They go to new jobs, churches, temples and other places of worship. Welcome Wagon, Chamber of Commerce, Hair Salons, Rudy's for Breakfast Tacos! Get to know people at all these places and let them know that you specialize in helping people relocating from other areas.

Any of these strategies will help people find you while they're researching their relocation.  But if you do them all, you will position yourself as the expert!  Watch the leads pour in!

Tags: sell own home, assist to sell, BigBadHomeSale, Blogging, Creative Real Estate, Blog

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

“Inspired Marketing,” a book written by two very dear friends, Craig Perrine and Joe Vitale, is launching today. Please join me in helping “Inspired Marketing” become a number 1 Amazon best seller, right now.

I’ll tell you how you can help in a moment, but first let me explain why this book is so important, and what it can do for you.

Many of you know Joe Vitale. He has written dozens of best selling books such as “The Attractor Factor” and “Hypnotic Writing”. He is also one of the featured experts in the mega best-selling book and DVD “The Secret”. You have probably seen him on TV on Larry King and Donnie Deutsch. Craig Perrine is part of Joe’s mastermind
group and a masterful and highly sought-after business builder…
He is also my personal mentor.
<!–more–>

Joe and Craig’s teachings have made a huge impact on the success of my
business. Here are some of my accomplishments in the past 6 months that
I attribute to what I have learned from Joe and Craig:

• Developed and launched an innovative home selling business called BigBadHomeSale.com.
• Received recognition from respected business publications such as The Wall Street Journal Online and the Austin Business Journal.
• Have sold our product and consulted with home sellers around the world.
• Worked with at least a dozen noted authors and business leaders.

But that’s not all. In fact, one of the things that I am most proud of is that Joe and Craig selected our story, about how we used “Inspired Marketing” to sell our home and create a business, to be part of their InspiredMarketing.com web site. They even gave me an advance copy of the book and feature my testimonial in the front of the “Inspired Marketing” book and on their Amazon book listing.

Now you understand why “Inspired Marketing” is so near and dear to me.

So, here’s how you can help “Inspired Marketing” become an Amazon Best Seller today (and this has to be done right now to help Joe and Craig):

Go right now to http://inspiredmarketing.com/invitation and place your order.

Joe and Craig will have many unpublicized offers on this page. These are
bonuses that you cannot get anywhere else.

But I’m going to sweeten the pot even more for my friends.

If you buy 1 copy of “Inspired Marketing”, today March 25, 2008,
I will give you my personal bonus recording of an interview that I made with Craig where he uncovers marketing secrets that he uses to build business. His clients pay him thousands of dollars per day for this
information, but I’m going to give it to you for free (I hope Craig doesn’t see
this!)

If you buy 5 copies of “Inspired Marketing” (keep 1 and give the rest to your friends and clients), I will give you a complete package of my Big Bad Home Sale Gold program. This is a $297 package that includes our book, over 4 hours of audio recordings (some featuring Craig Perrine) and lots of other bonuses. It’s a great example of “Inspired Marketing” that will inspire you to grow your business… whatever business you’re in. Of course, if
you have a house to sell, you’ll learn how you can sell it for top price
in 21 days or less!

To take advantage of my gifts, all you have to do is buy your books from http://inspiredmarketing.com/invitation , today, March 25, 2008,
and email me a copy of your Amazon receipt to steve {at} bigbadhomesale {dot} com.
Please send me your receipt no later than April 4, 2008.

Thank you very much.

http://BigBadHomeSale.com

P.S. With your help, we can make Joe Vitale and Craig Perrine’s Inspired Marketing an Amazon Best Seller today.

Tags: assist to sell, sell own home, Blog, Creative Real Estate, Blogging, BigBadHomeSale

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Agents pay me top dollar to create marketing strategies that attract more business for them. But truthfully, I'd much rather teach somebody new skills, than do the work for them.

That's why I want to share with you my absolute favorite internet marketing event. Watch this video and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

This April will mark the third time I've attended Armand Morins Big Seminar. Last year I generated over $250,000 in revenue within the first 6 weeks. In fact, the principles l Iearned were a big influence on our entire BigBadHomeSale.com business model that was written about in the Wall Street Journal online and also the Austin Business Journal.  So mark your calendar now, and meet me in Atlanta for Armand Morins Big Seminar 11.

So, if you're coming, drop me an email.  I'd love to meet you and discuss how we can help you improve your internet marketing strategies. 

Tags: assist to sell, sell own home, Creative Real Estate, Blogging, BigBadHomeSale, Blog

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

There's a secret society of internet marketers.  A small group of powerful web entrepreneurs that have their fingers on the pulse of how business is conducted on the web.

They know how to exponentially grow their web presence. How to come up first on google.  How to drive more traffic to their sites. Most importantly, they know how to command clients and prospects to take action, buy their products and services.

For them, Web 2.0 happened 7 years ago! They've been blogging, using video, social networks and all that kind of stuff for eons.

I know, because I'm one of them. I used these innovative, yet tried and true marketing tactics, to sell my home last summer… even in a very lousy real estate market.

Now I teach realtors how to get themselves noticed. How to set themselves apart from the competition, so that prospects find them first. And how to differentiate their services so that they never, never, NEVER have to discount their commission.

Hundreds of thousands of people call themselves webmarketers, but only a few hundered can actually call themselves members of our group. If you've never heard of Armand Morin's Big Seminar, you have to check it out now. We have learned more about internet marketing and made more money by attending these seminars that any other event.

I will be there and hope you join me.

Steve Rosenbaum
http://bigbadhomesale.com/

Tags: assist to sell, BigBadHomeSale, Blogging, Blog, Creative Real Estate, sell own home

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

I was excited to get a preview link from Amazon of my friends Craig Perrine and Joe Vitale's new book, "Inspired Marketing". (You all know Joe Vitale from his bestselling books: "The Secret", "Attractor Factor", "Hypnotic Writing", and more).

We were given advance copies and asked to review it. Guess what??!! Our review from Big Bad Home Sale is actually printed in the book and even on Amazon's page! It's very exciting for Joe and Craig to acknowledge the Big Bad Home Sale. (I'm told that the Inspired Marketing website will have a case study of how the Big Bad Home Sale helps realtors and homeowners sell their homes fast, even in difficult markets!).

It really is a great book.  Take a look at our testimonial and go ahead and preorder it. You will definitely be inspired to list and market homes much more affectively.

Tags: Blog, Blogging, assist to sell, BigBadHomeSale, Creative Real Estate, sell own home

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

I had a great comment from a reader of my recent post,

"This one tip can save

your client $150,000 on their home sale". The reader asked "How does one turn

an average home into something sleek and
stylish like an iphone or ipod"?

This is where you can really set yourself apart from all other
realtors and help your
clients market their home in a way that attracts buyers.

Watch this video:

Do you think this video got people’s attention? Why?

The house is nothing special. But the "Lifestyle" is special. And the video
uses clever
techniques to capture prospects attention and draw them in. You
won’t believe how
many times the video got watched, and how many prospects came
to view the home
and actually commented that they had watched (and laughed!) at
the video.
 

Of course, this shows that they actually paid attention to the video, which
makes it a 
"Home Run".

By showing people what it is like to live in the home, instead of selling the
physical house,
the video appeals to prospects and does an excellent job of
setting this house apart from
all others.

Blogging on Active Rain is a great marketing tool for showcasing homes in this way… and

videos like these get
watched (and paid more attention to) than sleek studio productions.

What lessons can be learned from this video?

• Every home has unique selling points that make it special

• Using humor and other persuasive techniques capture attention and make a
  home stand out

• People relate well to "amateur style" videos

There are some other techniques I’ll write about that ad value to homes and
make them more
desirable. 

Let’s hear your comments about how you would use video to make a home "sleek
and stylish"

Regards,
Steve

Distinguish yourself from all other agents. Sell your clients’ homes
faster for top market price. 
http://BigBadHomeSale.com

Tags: assist to sell, Blogging, BigBadHomeSale, Blog, sell own home, Creative Real Estate

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

WOW! You won't believe the call I had tonight. It's a great story that
illustrates so well why blogging and real estate marketing can set
you apart from all other agents.

 A man called me because his home has been on the market for 4 months.
He has had only 3 showings.

Get this… He lowered his price $150,000.
That's right ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.

Guess what happened?

You guessed it… Not one showing in 3 weeks.

Sound familiar? You and your client are not alone. In fact, that's the
problem. Everybody is lowering their price. People will have you
believe that the only way to sell a home is to lower it more
than the next guy. But tomorrow, he'll lower it below you.

There's a better answer. And I'm going to start sharing it with
you right now. But the best way is for me to have you think about
a couple of things:

Would you rather own an iPhone or a SCH-U740?
Would you rather have an iPod or a Zen Xtra?

I'm not trying to trick you. I picked 2 Apple products for a
reason. Why do people wait in line to pay Apple more money, while
other companies have to slash prices and even give their products
away for free with new contracts?

Do you get my point?

What would Steve Jobs (from Apple) say about your client's home if he were
trying to sell it?

Tonight's homework: Come up with the 5 Most unique features you
can about the home. Think about ways you can blog and market
these features.

Regards,
Steve

Distinguish yourself from all other agents. Sell your clients' homes
faster for top market price .  http://BigBadHomeSale.com

Tags: assist to sell, Creative Real Estate, Blogging, sell own home, BigBadHomeSale, Blog

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Once again, our Big, Bad Home Sale was featured in a prominent business publication.  The Austin Business Journal featured a very nice story about us today.  You can read about it at:

http://bigbadhomesale.com/abj

Tags: Creative Real Estate, Blog, Blogging, BigBadHomeSale, sell own home, assist to sell

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

There was post on Zillow that really tugged at my hearstrings today.  Somebody wrote: 

"Just curious to know if anyone else out there is in a similar boat…  My husband is in sales and is now in a new territory.  Its a great opportunity for us, but like a lot of people, we have to sell before we can all move…"

Boy, we've been to this movie! I really wanted to give some good advice to help these people sell their home, so I spent almost an hour putting together this post.  I want to share it with you because I know there is so much pain out there with people needing to sell their homes fast.

 (My Response)

TJ, I know exactly how you feel. We wanted to avoid this situation when I got relocated which was the impetus for us creating our home sale system.

First of all, I want to commend you for a great website, then I'd like to make a few suggestions that I feel will help you make it more effective. Is that OK?

Here's what I like about what you are doing:

• You do a great job showing why your home is unique (great pictures, descriptions, etc.)
• You are open and transparent (Disclosure Statement prominently displayed)
• You are a very articulate communicator… even a great storyteller (for instance, your Zillow post about your giant pine tree is fantastic!)
• You have your own descriptive web domain http://1212brownstreet.com… Excellent!

Let me ask you a few questions:

• How do you know who (not how many… but WHO) has visited your site?
• What happens if somebody sees your site and leaves without bookmarking it… How will they remember to come back?
• What are you doing to keep your site fresh and updated often?
• How do you follow up with somebody if they don't initiate contact you via phone or email?

Can you see where I'm going with this. You're site is like 99.9% of the other websites. It's static and unidirectional… for instance you give a lot of great information, but do not request or require anything back from the visitor.  It's like driving past a billboard at 70mph on the "information superhighway" and saying "yeah that looks interesting, I have to remember to take a look at that later." Has that every happened to you? How often do you remember to go back?

With some slight modifications, you can use effective Web 2.0 techniques and incorporate a 2 way communication dialog with your visitors that will benefit you in the following ways:

• You can capture email addresses to identify your prospects, and know exactly who is interested in your home. Do this via a "squeeze page" that makes people want to give you their email address for more information, rather than simply asking them to email you. It's a subtle difference that will exponentially improve your results.
• You can employ an automated follow up system that reminds people of your home well after they visit your website.
• You can put up a blog, update your constantly to keep it fresh and give people a reason to come back often.
• Your follow up system can give people the info they want, 24/7 and still allow them to remain slightly anonymous… This is real important in the early stages of looking for a lot of people.

Finally, Video, Video, Video. "Sell the Lifestyle, not the house." Actually show your home videos of your family making memories. This is especially effective when used on a blog.

Be creative, be yourself, use humor… Here is an example of my video, that received TONS of hits for my blog and brought a lot of prospects to my house.

http://bigbadhomesale.mpwr.tv/news/?p=14

As you can imagine, people were shocked, intrigued, and curious about what I was going to say when they saw my picture! The video was a huge hit, plus it showed off the neighborhood and gave people an idea about our "Lifestyle" and what it was like to live in our home.

OK, I've probably overwhelmed you with information. Take a while to digest this and let me know if you have any questions. You can find my contact info in my profile.

I hope you sell it soon, TJ. I really feel for you and your husband in your situation.

All my Best,
Steve

Tags: Creative Real Estate, Blogging, BigBadHomeSale, sell own home, Blog, assist to sell

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Here's some great news:

Jim Remley, who just released his latest book, "Sell Your Home In Any Market" will be our guest on Thursday's Teleseminar. I've been reading the book and am very impressed with his great tips… Of course you know that my favorite chapter is the one about web marketing!

Don't miss this one.  Jim is a Real Estate Veteran, and author of 3 books on the subject.  We're going to hear some great stuff!

Join us at http://BigBadHomeSale.com for more information about the call.

Tags: Blog, BigBadHomeSale, Blogging, Creative Real Estate, assist to sell, sell own home

Topics: ActiveRain, Blogging, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

Once again, Austin, Tx, is a favorite destination for people migrating from other states. Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio also landed in the top ten.

“People are running away from unaffordable housing, from the economic slowdown,” said Karl Eschbach, a state demographer in Texas. “I would expect Texas to stay at the top of a slowing game.”

With scores of people arriving into our city, it’s important that you position yourself so that they easily find you when doing their research.  Here are seven things you can do to capture new clients relocating to Austin

1. Pick a Niche, Become and Expert - The market is full of agents, but how many of them are “Experts”. Pick something you’re passionate about, and market yourself as the authority on the subject (of course, you do have to know what you’re talking about!) You can be an expert on “Living on the Lake”, Corporate Relocation, Dell, UT, Medical, Hiking and Biking, Green Building…
2. Search Engine Optimizaion - SEO is much easier when you market yourself as an expert. Do your keyword research on your field of choice and add the word “Austin” to your keywords. You can also select only to advertise on Google in our geographic area. Both these strategies will help you achieve top rankings easier than promoting yourself simply as a real estate agent… Lots of people are doing that.
3. Blogging - People love Blogs, and so do search engines. Use your keywords in your blog title and also in your posts. I recently received #1 rankings on Google in less than 30 minutes after posting a blog post! (Yes, It can be done and I’ll demonstrate that on a future post!) 20 years ago, I did research on Compuserve before moving to Savannah, GA. Obviously the web is much more prevalent and has much more information today.
4. Write Articles - Another strategy to position yourself as the expert and get the search engines to fall in love with you. Make sure to use your keywords in the headline and sprinkled throughout the article.  Make an offer in the Bio section that brings people to your squeeze page and captures their email address so you can follow up with an autoresponder, for instance “7 Great Places to Hike and Bike When you Relocate to Austin”
5. Post Videos - Break out your camera and shoot these beautiful surroundings.  Post your videos on YouTube and include a call to action at the end of your video that drives people to your squeeze page.
6. Take out a Toll Free Number - People still like to use the phone. They’re cheap and it’s easy to put up a message that drives people to your blog 24/7.  Follow it up with a free DVD offer (all they pay is shipping) that tells all about relocating to Austin (and of course all about your services and your areas of expertise!)
7. Network and promote - Where do people go when they come to town? They go to new jobs, churches, temples and other places of worship. Welcome Wagon, Chamber of Commerce, Hair Salons, Rudy’s for Breakfast Tacos! Get to know people at all these places and let them know that you specialize in helping people relocating from other areas.

Any of these strategies will help people find you while they’re researching their relocation.  But if you do them all, you will position yourself as the expert!  Watch the leads pour in!

Tags: Blogging, Creative Real Estate, assist to sell, sell own home, Blog, BigBadHomeSale

Topics: Blogging, Internet Marketing Secrets, Creative Real Estate | Give Your Two Cents »

“Inspired Marketing,” a book written by two very dear friends, Craig Perrine and Joe Vitale, is launching today. Please join me in helping “Inspired Marketing” become a number 1 Amazon best seller, right now.  

I’ll tell you how you can help in a moment, but first let me explain why this book is so important, and what it can do for you.  

Many of you know Joe Vitale. He has written dozens of best selling books such as “The Attractor Factor” and “Hypnotic Writing”. He is also one of the featured experts in the mega best-selling book and DVD “The Secret”. You have probably seen him on TV on Larry King and Donnie Deutsch. Craig Perrine is part of Joe’s mastermind
group and a masterful and highly sought-after business builder…
He is also my personal mentor.  
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: assist to sell, Blogging, sell own home, BigBadHomeSale, Creative Real Estate, Blog