Example Autoresponders

July 6th, 2008
4 comments
These are some example auto response emails to use with your real estate Website.

IDX Search Saver Registration

Subject: Account Information with http://www.mywebsite.com

Thank you for creating your Profile at http://www.mywebsite.com. Please make sure to save this message for future reference.

You now have access to thousands of area listings, and can set up saved searches that will notify you as soon as properties come on the market that meet your criteria!

You can log into your Profile at any time by pointing your web browser to:

http://idx.mywebsite.com

Your free Profile allows you access to several time saving features including SearchSaver and Favorites:

SearchSaver:
* Save searches and receive email notifications when new listings match.
* Choose notifications for just new listings or for new and updated listings.
* Email your Saved Searches to your Realtor, a co-buyer or a friend.
* Save as many searches as you like!

Favorites:
* Save listings to your Favorites folder for easy future reference.
* Email your Favorites to your Realtor, a co-buyer or a friend.
* Save as many Favorites as you like!

If you have any questions or if there is anything we can to do to make your home search easier, please contact us any time by email at example@mywebsite.com or 555-555-5555.

Thank you again and happy home hunting!

Joe Agent
mywebsite.com
555-555-5555

Contact Us Auto Responder/Buyer Information Request/Seller Information Request

Subject: Thanks for contact us

Thank you for your request!  We will contact you shortly!

In the mean time, you can browse all area properties at our website at http://www.mywebsite.com/search.  You can also register and have new listings that match your search sent to you via email as soon as they are on the market!

For home sellers, we offer a home value report based on current sales in your area of comparable homes.  If you would like a free home value report, please submit your request here: http://www.mywebsite.com/freehomevaluereport

Alt:

Home sellers can also register and create a search profile – find out what homes like yours are on the market!

Alt:

For home sellers, we offer a free report on the 10 steps to selling your home.  Request this free report here http://www.mywebsite.com/freehomesellingreport

We will speak with you soon!

Thanks

Joe Agent
mywebsite.com
555-555-5555

Property Inquiry/Showing Request Auto Responder

Subject: Thanks for your inquiry

Thank you for your inquiry about one of our properties!  I will be back with you shortly about your request!

Also, our property listings feature many additional tools, such as mortgage calculators, school district information, and neighborhood data.  Please let us know how we can help you improve your home buying decision!

If you are interested in being notified of similar properties, you can register for a search saver and have new listings emailed to you that match your criteria – register with our website here:  http://www.mywebsite.com/register

Joe Agent
mywebsite.com
555-555-5555

Email Newsletter Subscription Form

Subject: Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter!

We will be sending you periodic newsletters on the real estate market and buying and selling in your area.

Also, did you know that you can browse all area properties at our website at http://www.mywebsite.com/search. ? You can also register and have new listings that match your search sent to you via email as soon as they are on the market!

For home sellers, we offer a home value report based on current sales in your area of comparable homes.  If you would like a free home value report, please submit your request here: http://www.mywebsite.com/freehomevaluereport

Joe Agent
mywebsite.com
555-555-5555

Career Information

Subject: Careers at Keller Williams

Thank you for contacting me about your interest in a career with Keller Williams!  I would be happy to talk to you about what I have experienced with KW, and some of the key differences I found between Keller Williams and other firms.

I will be in contact with you shortly!

Joe Agent
mywebsite.com
555-555-5555

Internet Lead Generation Free Conference call – notes

April 23rd, 2008
3 comments
These are my notes from April 14th web conference call.

Basic Free Way to Advertise your Website
Google Seach Submit
Yahoo Search Submit
MSN Search Submit
Google Local (Free)

http://www.google.com/local/add/

This adds you to the Google Local Business Directory. You can create a link back to your site.

Yahoo Local Submission Program

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/local/business.php

Local Basic Listing (Free)
Local Enhanced Listings ($9.95/month)
Local Featured Listing ($25/month)

This is an example of the local business directory:

http://local.yahoo.com/results?p=real+estate&fr=&sortby=&csz=Austin%2C+TX&flnstr=2&flsstr=0&ppg_nm=1&pg_nm=2&xargs=

Featured listings are in the blue box at the top, regular listings appear in the list. Recommend starting with the free listing – have some past clients give you a review, it helps your placement on the site when people search for highest reviewed.

I don’t think the $9.95/month buys you much, the premium placement of local featured listing would generate more traffic due to the placement on the page.

Promoting Your Listings
Postlets, free web-flyer for real estate listings
Other, pay-for options for single property site web-flyers.
Craig’s list
Trulia Advertising

http://www.trulia.com/advertisers/agents/

Featured listing Program (Priced at 10 listings for $50/month) and
City Banner program ($250/month)

Zillow EZ Ad

http://www.zillow.com/learnmore/WhyUseZillowAgents.htm

1 cent per impression.

Yahoo Directory Submission Program (National Listing)

$299/annually

http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/dirsb/dirsb_pr.php

Google Adwords

http://adwords.google.com

Enjoy!

Jack

Scoble’s Starfish in Real Estate

February 28th, 2008
No comments

I’ve been following a discussion by Robert Scoble and others about how people find you, and eventually decide to transact with in in the context of the Internet.  Of course, things are a little different in real estate, but the core concepts are basically the same.

This is a diagram that I created early last year to explain what is being called the “Starfish”, the multiple tentacles that extend into different user contexts and that lead them back to your website where they are captured.

Scoble Starfish in Real Estate

I’m developing a list of all the places that I think it makes sense to place your tentacles – some are mentioned in this diagram, and some I’m still collecting information about.  There are a lot of places you *can* show up on the Internet, and it helps to have evaluated the value of some places over others in terms of traffic and audience.

Click here for the article about the starfish social media concept on Robert Scoble’s blog.

I hope you had a great holiday and a happy new year!

Jack

, ,

Don’t let this happen to you – be found on line.

January 2nd, 2008
No comments
Don’t make it hard for people to find you on the internet!

So, last night I spent the evening at an event sponsored by a small, will-not-be-mentioned software company.  They obviously had spent big bucks to sponsor this event, and the event organizers to their credit made a point of mentioning the sponsors several times during the show.

I left the show interested in the company, and wanting to find out more today I went to Google and typed in their name.

Nothing but pages of non-relevant results.

I tried their name, plus “software”, plus even more detailed descriptions of things I saw promoted.

No dice.  Nada.  Can’t find ‘em.

From my perspective, they might have just as well burned the money they spent on the event.  Since there were no trinkets handed out with their URL on it, I really have no good way to find out about them.

My best guess is they have some fancy website made all in flash, with little or no search engine readable text anywhere to be found.  Plus, their company name did not lead me to an obvious url to type in – so I’m just one more potential buyer, adrift and unlikely to purchase.

UPDATE:

I did find their site after a few more guesses at their domain name – and voila, a fancy flash website with only a few keywords in the meta tags.  Once I found that, I did see that they could be found by an obvious variation on their name – one word instead of two, i.e. “softwarecompany” vs. “software company”, but it makes you wonder how many hits they are missing from people that make this mistake.  Obvious take away – more key phrases (exact matches and close ones), more text, more find-ability.

I will be forwarding them a copy of this blog entry, and a referral to a company I work with that does search engine visibility.  In this day and age, a business can’t be hard to find online, and even a few small tweaks make a difference.

BTW, Great show guys!  Thanks for supporting the local arts scene in Austin!

, , ,

Adopting a New System in Business

July 6th, 2007
No comments
This is a diagram that I use to explain the process of adopting a new system in business.
Much of my coaching and consulting work involves some sort of transformation in a client’s business; putting a new system in place changes the business from one thing to another.  It is a transformation of their business into a new business that works better in some specific way.

Transformation is hard work, and doesn’t always yield desired results instantly.  You’ve got to learn things in order to be something that you are not, and develop new habits and skills that at first are going to feel a bit awkward.

Many people experience what I illustrate in this diagram:

AdoptingNewTechnology

Part of my job is to make sure that nobody “gives up the ghost” in the valley of death.   This is why I consider myself as much a coach as a consultant.  I’m there for my clients as an expert resource, but I am also there to cheer, push, and encourage them to stick to it and make the change that will take their business to the next level.

The nature of significant positive change, whether in life or in business, is that it is difficult, challenging, and highly rewarding.  I think it is the most interesting part of the game, and I aim to help my clients achieve their goals via systems and technology transformation.