Writing Good Ads to Get the Phone Ringing

What is the difference between an agent who makes money from their marketing and one who doesn't? Ad copy!!!

In our advertising-saturated world, if you're not writing unique, clever ads that stand out, your marketing dollars are going to waste, as most consumers will "tune out" 95% of the marketing around them. (Think about your own habits. How many commericals do you actually watch?)

The tips below are a good starting point for writing any ad. - Kim

The basis of Adwriting 101 is tied to the acronym AIDA. Remembering these four elements of a good ad will make you more money.

• A ttention: How does your ad grab their attention? Write a great headline. Do something different or unusual with your layout or photo
• I nterest: Give them the information they are looking for and make them think this is the house for them.
• D esire: Stimulate their desire with the benefits and emotional reasons.
• A ction: Tell them what to do next. This will come naturally if you've done a good job at the first 3, but make it easy for them to reach you or use a 1-800 response line.

Top 10 Tips to get that phone ringing:

10. Always include the price & location. As a buyer reads ads, they are trying to eliminate the ones that don't fit. When there is plenty of inventory, they will not even call if the price isn't there. To increase your effectiveness, do your homework and know the alternative homes that would fit their needs.

9. Link to Online Pictures Consumers love multiple pictures. Include a link to additional photos on your website. By sending them to your website for additional information, you will capture more prospects. Over 80% of buyers are searching online as well.

8. Offer A Virtual Open House If the media you are using has an open house section, advertise a link to your virtual tour of the house. Do this in your weekend newspaper instead of holding a real open house!

7. Turn The Features into Benefits Don't just list the features. Tell them why they will love the location, the cozy fireplace, the gourmet kitchen. A large yard can offer a place to relax with plenty of room for pets and kids.

6. Play To The Emotions People buy houses based on emotional reasons. They are trying to either to avoid pain (be it emotional, physical, or spiritual) or to gain pleasure (be it real or anticipatory). Ask a question or make a statement to involve their emotions.

5. Include Financing Get from your lender details of several loan options and advertise using the terms in the ad. . A headline of "Can you Afford $1000 per month?" will attract renters that don't realize that they actually could afford to buy. Take care if you add financing terms to be in compliance with Regulation Z.

4. Target Your Market Is this a golf course property? A gated community? A first time buyer home? Write your ad to appeal to the most likely buyer. Give them the benefits! An ad for an investor would focus on bottom line numbers. An ad for retirees would feature benefits of the 55+ community.

3. Write to Their Type Is your most likely potential buyer a Baby Boomer? A retiree? A young professional? An environmentalist? What are their values and concerns? The words and style you use to appeal to each different type of buyer matter.

2. Use Creative Words Bring the adjectives back! Bring alive the activities their family will enjoy. Paint a picture for them of those rooms so they can see themselves cooking gourmet meals in the spacious kitchen! Get your thesaurus out and make your descriptions outstanding and inviting.

1. Call To Action Give them a reason to call. "Won't last long at this price!" "Call today before it is gone."

Source: Broker Agent News

Advertising Online & Achieving Success on the Internet

Below is an excerpt from an article that I found on Broker Agent News. It highlights the 3 basic things that you should be doing if you have a website. If you aren't, and you need help with any of these, please give me a call (or email me) and I can help! -Kim

Today, 54% of people choose the Internet over the newspaper to look for a home. For that reason alone, if you are not dividing your advertising dollars with at least a nod to this reality, you are throwing good money away.

As an individual agent or brokerage, what can you do to be on the Internet and achieve success? Here are three simple strategies.

1. Register a consumer appealing domain name . Most broker or agent domain names contain some portion of your name. For example, www.BettySue.com (Note: the domain names used in this article are used only as examples and may or may not point to an existing website). This domain could potentially scare away potential clients who are not ready to be called by an agent. Register at least one consumer related domain name to use in your advertising efforts. For example, www.BuySanDiegoCondos.com or www.FreeRealEsateInfo.com. These domains placed in advertising are much more compelling for clients to click on or to visit. It's about them and not you.
2. Make your website all about the client – NOT you! Time and time again we se brokers and agents plastering "I'm #1" all over their websites. They believe that saying that they are the best means people will want to work with them. What's wrong with this? Most online visitors are looking for information to benefit themselves, not to red a full page resume about the agent. Make sure your websites message is geared toward the prospect or client. Content should read "Find out what your home is worth" or "Find your dream home at a price you can afford." Make this text link to interior pages of your website where they can perform these tasks.
3. Gain traffic to your website. If you're like most other Realtors, you aren't having enough success with your website because no one can find you on the Internet if they don't already know your name. Work with an expert who can make it so people looking for homes in your neighborhood come to you when they describe what they are looking for. For example, if you are trying to capture relocation business to your area, optimize your website to be found in search engines for local searches like "San Diego County Relocation."

Now you are asking yourself, how will this all pay off?

• NAR confirms that 77% of home buyers begin their home search online
• The wealthiest Americans are the largest group of online users.
• The majority of homebuyers consider online detailed property information to be extremely valuable in their search for a home.

The importance of Internet presence is already greater than newspaper presence for real estate professionals, and it will continue to climb. Start now and be solidly established and you'll be happy you did. For the last incentive to start now, consider this: next year at this time, most of your competitors will be that much further ahead of you if you don't get started with an Internet Marketing strategy.

source: Broker Agent News

4 Steps to Drip Email Marketing Success

1. Don't try and email your list of 300 clients and prospects manually. This can be very time consuming and tedious. I still see real estate professionals thinking they can handle this on their own. If this sounds like you, you are wasting precious time.

2. Do subscribe to a drip marketing campaign system. This will automate the process for you. Begin arranging your client and prospect lists into some predefined campaigns. I've seen this range from a first time home buyer campaign that will run for six months, and send up to 2 or 3 emails a month to each contact in that campaign. I've seen systems with predefined client email campaigns with targeted emails on touch points for the audience who already bought a home from you.

3. Split your email list into specific neighborhood or demographic segments. Customize your email content to match this target audience. For example, if there is a hot condo market or neighborhood in your area, send relevant emails to this group. Demonstrate that you're knowledgeable in your market.

4. Track the results. It is very important to understand your email statistics. When you have 110 prospects in one campaign and only 2% of that 110 are opening the email - it's time to reevaluate. Be sure to check if you have valid email addresses and you are sending relevant content to that target group.