What to write, you ask? Well, many agents who have become very successful bloggers write about their communities. Eve Leonard and Sarah Sydor on Bainbridge are great examples. They want to share Bainbridge with others by showcasing the wonderful people and amenities that make Bainbridge a very cool place to live. Along the way, they’ll likely pick up buyers and sellers.

Jamie Yantis, a terrific Windermere agent in Mount Vernon, WA, has worked in the Skagit Highlands development for several years. She’s taken the blogging idea and created an online community newsletter just for Skagit Highlands. Neighbors can learn about upcoming events, get information from the HOA Board, or even post that they’ve lost their dog or misplaced a jacket at the community park.  She’s taken the community newsletter idea and created an online, interactive version.  How clever is that?

Other agents I know write about market statistics in their community or neighborhood. What’s happening right now and what they see happening for the rest of the summer. Great information that increases their exposure as the expert in their market.

You don’t have to write a lot at any one time…most readers don’t like long posts anyway. And you can find all sorts of content if you just look around, read your local newspaper, keep track of upcoming events, and talk about why you love living where you live. It’s that simple.

If you want a great tool to get started, and you like the platform you see here, talk to the folks at Rahmn.com. They’ve created a very effective, yet simple and cost effective, way for you to reach out via blogging.

There are some tools, however, that I think every agent needs to take advantage of. Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics) is one of them. If you’re not using this tool, you should be. It’s an amazingly cool tool that tracks where your listings are seen on the internet, whether the viewer started at Windermere.com or from another real estate-related web site, how long the viewer stayed, where (globally!) they were sitting at a computer, how long they stayed and how quickly they left. (By the way, a ‘bounce’ rate is just that…how quickly the person stopped looking at your listing.)

How powerful to be able to use Google Analytics as part of the science of getting a house sold. At the click of a button, you have an amazing array of statistics to help you-and your seller-see who’s looking at their property and whether the viewers are staying long enough to get a feel for it. Are the viewers bouncing off the listing quickly? Most likely the price is too high. Or the house needs some TLC, staging and better photos to justify the price.

Imagine having actual statistics to back up your marketing plan, and a reason to stay in contact with a possibly frustrated seller. Instead of ducking that weekly call because, frankly, you have little to tell them except that the market is still very slow, you now have interesting, and hopefully positive, information to share.

For us Windermere agents, Google Analytics is so easy to set up. One of our Mount Vernon agents, Jamie Yantis, has 17 listings. It took about 20 minutes to set them up the first time. And she’s now got an entire arsenal of information to help her help her sellers examine and quantify how they want to approach getting their properties sold.

All you need to get set up is a Photo Gallery for each listing. Not just photos on the MLS, a Windermere Photo Gallery. If you need help getting set up, check with your office IC. Or call me. I’ve got a great tutorial that will walk you through the process quickly and easily (Thanks, Brian Kayler!).        

Want another good reason to really think about who the most likely buyer will be? How about the fact that the buyer might already be in your sphere! I’m always amazed at how many agents never stop to think about who they already know, and who might be the perfect buyer. They assume that they need to wait weeks (sometimes months!) for another agent to bring some unknown buyer. Now, I’m not advocating dual agency; I believe that it’s always in the best interest of both seller and buyer to have separate representation. I don’t like dual agency. But if you realize that someone in your sphere is the perfect buyer, and after looking at the house they agree with you, you could easily refer that buyer to another agent in your office. Ultimately you end up with a happy seller, a happy buyer and additional income in your pocket.

It drives me crazy when I ask an agent who the likely buyer is for their new listing, and they look at me like I have a third eye in my forehead. They have no idea who the buyer will be…they’re totally focused on their seller. When I ask them if anyone in their sphere might be the perfect buyer, they blink a couple times and then say, “Gosh, I never thought of that.”

Get your listing uploaded, get the photos online and get the postcards in the mail. Then get on the phone and call some of the folks in your sphere that you think your new listing might work perfectly for. I’ll bet you can get at least one or two people to go take a look. And I’ll bet that over time, the odds of you actually having the buyer for your listing will go up. Gee…the seller is happy because their home sold quickly. The buyer is happy because you took the time to tell them about their groovy new home (that they might not have ever thought about, had you not called!). The agent you referred your buyer to is happy that you sent them some business (and remember, they’ll return the favor…) and your bank account is very happy.

To the letter, each one said that in tracking their 2008 business they realized nearly 90% came from referrals. Referrals from current clients, past clients and friends. Oh, and friends of friends. When I asked what their business model looked like for 2009, they came up with this list (in no particular order, and not unanimous)

1. Increase my personal contact with my sphere. I forget how important they are.
2. Spend less time and energy chasing new business.
3. Spend more time qualifying the new business I am willing to take so that they become clients, not just ‘possible prospects’.
4. People are attending open houses less and less, as visual access via the Internet expands. Spend less time holding open houses unless it’s a house that will drive a lot of traffic my way, whether it’s buyers or other potential sellers.
5. Spend more time fostering a great Web presence.
6. Drive more traffic my way via my website(s).
7. Get my systems in place and streamlined so I stop wasting time.
8. Create templates for all my presentations so that I can just add a bit of data and go. No more spending hours recreating the wheel every time, or not having the professional looking materials I need.

So, that’s a pretty good list if you ask me. Think about what you’d add to your list and then get going. The longer you put it off, the less business you’re going to have this year.

Janet has played a key role in my success and achievements.  Her simple solutions to complex challenges have significantly reduced the amount of time I would have spent on many marketing projects.  Her toolbox seems to be endlessly full of brilliant ideas, and she always gets back to me when she says she will.  She is a most valuable resource and an extraordinary person.   Nadine Betts, Windermere Anacortes

Janet’s expertise in marketing, and her depth of knowledge and wealth of ideas and suggestions, helped me immensely! Once I had the tools I needed, she was eager to help me tailor them to my specific business needs. She is the BEST!
Debbie Macy, Windermere Anacortes

Janet’s knowledge and experience has helped me grow my business and become more organized on a daily basis. Her marketing ideas are brilliant and very easy to implement, and I never hesitate to ask for her opinion. She is a fabulous resource.
Jamie Yantis, Windermere Mount Vernon

You should consider a blog-based web site if:

• You’re looking for an effective way to communicate with your clients on a more personal level.
• You are an expert on your community, and the neighborhoods you serve.
• You want to share what you know and love about the place you call home. 
• You like to write
• You’re organized enough to keep up with posting blogs (you have to be diligent) and you enjoy reading other blogs for ideas on things to write about.

My site…the one you’re on now…was created by my friend Mike Rahmn  at Rahmn.com. It’s blog-based, it’s easy for the consumer to maneuver around in, and it’s really easy for me to manage on the backside (otherwise known as my ‘dashboard’). The beauty of Mike’s product is that it’s professional looking and although it’s still a template (which keeps my cost way down compared to a custom site), it’s somewhat customizable. I took out the windermere.com search function because my site isn’t about buying and selling real estate. But if you look at Meredith Laws’ web site, you’ll see how the search function is integrated.   

Mike Fanning has a couple great blogs that discuss why agents should consider blogging as part of their marketing strategy. In part, he says…

In a Web 2.0 world we have to understand that it is no longer about us but more about our customer’s needs and wants. Our sites need to be interactive and allow for collaboration. We have to let the customer get involved. We are no longer the expert but rather the facilitator of communication on shared ideas and values, and from that we get peer credibility. 

Having said all that, there are also good reasons why having a standard-style website still makes sense for many agents. But if you go this route, I firmly believe that you have to step up to a Premium Windermere site. If you’re hanging on to your basic, free website you might as well kiss any leads or referrals goodbye. There’s really nothing of value to the consumer on your site except a search function, which they can easily access by going to windermere.com or a hundred other real estate websites. Granted, your picture and contact information are there, along with your bio. But nothing compelling to show them your expertise in your market area.  

You should consider a Windermere Premium website if:

• You’re happiest telling clients about your market and community/neighborhood expertise, rather than writing about it.
• You have regular, consistent, personal contact with everyone in your sphere.
• You have enough time to manage things like adding featured listings and custom links to your website, but you don’t have enough time to manage regular posts to a blog.   
• You have a level of business that works for you, and all this web stuff just doesn’t interest you in the least.

Bottom line is this…I believe you need a web presence and it darn well better be a good one. I also believe that both blog-based sites and standard sites are great options, depending on your preference and work style. If you want to explore either type of site, or already have one and want to talk about customizing your look, let me know.

One of my Gifford PJM partners has created Instant Image, which is a fabulous solution to a myriad of marketing needs. Her company has more than 200 already-created, beautiful designs, made specifically for real estate agents. All you have to do is select the “look” that matches your personal style, add your name and contact information (and logo if you have one) and viola`, Instant Image.

The cool part is, you can pick a style and then over the course of time incoporate it into a custom website, flyers, buyer and listing packets, CMA’s, letterhead, notecards and more. For a one-time fee, you can also ‘retire’ your look from the company’s catalog of images so that it’s yours forever.

If this idea appeals to you, give me a call and we’ll take a look at how it might work for you.

One of my Gifford PJM partners has created Instant Image, which is a fabulous solution to a myriad of marketing needs. Her company has nearly 100 already-created, beautiful designs, made specifically for real estate agents. All you have to do is select the “look” that matches your personal style, add your name and contact information (and logo if you have one) and viola`, Instant Image.

The cool part is, you can pick a style and then over the course of time incoporate it into a custom website, flyers, buyer and listing packets, CMA’s, letterhead, notecards and more. For a very small one-time fee, you can also ‘retire’ your look from the company’s catalog of images so that it’s yours forever.

If this idea appeals to you, give me a call and we’ll take a look at how it might work for you.

It’s as easy as checking out community and performing arts web sites, along with local and regional newspapers. You’ll find schedules for community concerts, theatre productions and tree-lightening ceremonies. You can find out when Santa will be in town (and where…that Santa sure gets around!). You might learn that your community has an outdoor lighting contest that you didn’t even know about.

Once you have a basic calendar sketched out, you can write a blog on what’s happening and when, or post custom links to your Windermere Premium web site on activities that you think would be interesting to your sphere. But take it one step further by sending out a quick Custom Xpress postcard with a beautiful photo on the front and a note on the back. In the note, list 3 of your favorite activities, then direct folks to your web site for more information.

It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s a great way to let everyone in your sphere know that you’re thinking about them. And it’s such a deal–for 100, 5.5 x 8 inch postcards mailed for you, you’ll only pay 91 cents each.