Property ManagementHow New Agents Can Get on the Web
Editor"s Note: This is the follow-up to "The Web is No
Substitute for Shoe Leather," published previously on Agent News.
If you are a new agent, you are already challenged by the difficulty of
getting your business up and running. If you read my previous article, you
already know that the Web is no substitute for shoe leather. You have to build
a local foundation of business before you can hope to compete on the Internet.
Once you have done that, you are ready to bring the building blocks of your
business to the Web.
1. Go to HomeSeekers.com and get a
web site from them to begin with. Tell them that Bill Koelzer sent you. Ask
them to make some extra special META tags (tailored to your city) to put on
your page to make it easier to find. See a sample.
You need to know what META tags are, so learn more about them at: http://www.searchenginewatch.com.
2. Go to
http://www.searchenginewatch.com once again to learn how to get better
found on the web. Or, go to http://www.advancedaccess.com and let them make
you a website. Just like Homeseekers, through their Genstar Media Division,
Advanced Access does a superior job of making and giving sites "findability" on
the web through use of good META tags and other sophisticated techniques.
Why do you want to be found on the web? Because, right after hunting for
homes, what buyers do next is hunt for a Realtor. The Realtor can help them
find a home in their relocation city even before they arrive themselves.
To see a web site especially set up to appeal to such buyers go see Web
Realtor Debbie Ferrari’s custom web site at: http://www.debbieferrari.com.
Note how often the word "you," (or a derivative) is used on her home page to
establish empathy with the 150-per-day visitors (mostly buyers) who view
Debbie"s site. Last year Debbie sold $5 million just from buyer inquiries sent
to her from her web site. But, unlike Debbie (22 years in realty), you will
want to first practice the basics that I offer here before you can expect such
results from your site.
3. Enroll in a class teaching Internet marketing for Realtors. Sadly, many
local boards fall down on the job where Internet training is concerned. Since
many are ignorant of the value of Internet marketing, they defer training that
they ought to be doing internally to outside firms. Often, these outside firms,
title companies, etc., spend most of the course time grinding their own axes.
That is why I recommend paying your money and enrolling in a college night
course or similar course in which the evening won"t be spent listening to an
advertorial by the trainer.
4. Go to Agent Tools or Web Promote and read all their stuff.
Same with International Real Estate Digest.
And WebSiteGarage.
Sign up for free e-mail headlines from
Real Times and Agent News, which are full of how-to articles for you to learn
more about Web marketing. Also, sign up for their free Newsletter. Real
Times will put your picture and contact information at the top of a monthly
newsletter for you to send out to your contacts. You will look like a 20-year
pro.
Try http://www.dummies.com. Find more
such sites yourself. Learn. Learn. Learn. Get in relationship with the
technicians at your local Internet Service Provider firm so that they"ll help
you out more in your early web work.
With these suggestions, you ought to have a running start on a great Web
site and Internet marketing.