Real Estate Beginners Guide to Internet Marketing

Real Estate Beginners

INTERNET MARKETING GUIDE Take the

6 steps to get

leads, referrals, and outdo your competition!

Introduction........................................................1 The Benefits of Internet Marketing ............................................................................... 3 What works in real estate internet marketing today?.................................................... 4 Mistakes People Make With Internet Marketing .......................................................... 6 Where does all this knowledge come from? .................................................................8 What you shouldn't expect ........................................................................................... 8 What you should expect................................................................................................8

Internet Marketing Plan and Funnel...................9 WHY: Your purpose ..................................................................................................... 13 WHO: The ideal customer avatar ................................................................................ 14 DIFFERENCE & POSITIONING: The value you provide and why you are better .......18 The Internet Marketing Funnel....................................................................................19 The Misconceptions About the Customer Journey..................................................... 23

Content Marketing ...........................................24 Content is King............................................................................................................25 Why is content marketing great for real estate? .........................................................27 What valuable content does for your business ........................................................... 27 What does valuable content look like? ....................................................................... 28 What type of content works best and why? ................................................................29

Email Marketing ...............................................31 Why is email marketing so effective? .......................................................................... 34 Your real estate email marketing strategy ...................................................................36 Don't make these mistakes ......................................................................................... 39

Social Media Marketing ...................................41 The Benefits of Social Media Marketing for Real Estate .............................................43 Social Media Strategy for Real Estate .........................................................................47

Relationship Marketing ....................................51 5 Key steps to successful relationship marketing ........................................................ 54 Customer retention tactics that boost your results ..................................................... 55

Paid Acquisition [PPC] ......................................55 What is Paid Acquisition? ............................................................................................ 56 Upsides & Downsides to Paid acquisition ...................................................................57 When's the right time to start with paid acquisition?.................................................. 58 How much money do I need? .....................................................................................59 Where to start advertising for real estate? ..................................................................60 Paid acquisition strategy .............................................................................................62

Summary ..........................................................64

Introduction Learning the ins and outs of real estate is overwhelming. And so is learning and setting up your internet marketing if you don't know where to start…

That's why this free internet marketing guide will lay down the 6 steps you need to take to set your self up for online success.

Your competition is already online and taking full advantage of it's broad reach, lead and referral generating powers!

So you understand that in order to compete in the industry, you have to outdo your competition with internet marketing. Traditional marketing now has a really poor reach and conversion compared to internet marketing.

You probably already saw so many super-successful Realtors having a killer online presence. They've got websites, social media, email newsletters, they're guest posting, they're making videos... And to much of that they give credit for their speedy growth.

So you wanna do what they do, and more:

• Without the help of an entire marketing team, • Without a huge marketing budget, • Without wasting time you don't have on hunting down free real estate marketing advice scattered around the Wast Wast Web, • And without being so overwhelmed that you end up taking no action.

I hear ya!

That's why in this guide we'll start from the bird's eye view and then zoom in on specific strategies and tactics. 'Cuz that's how you get it right from the get go.

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You'll learn how to be strategic in your approach to real estate internet marketing, learn the laws & skills you need to realise your marketing plan, and also have some fun doing it because that makes things soooo much easier.

In the end YOU will create a marketing mix that is specific for you, which will help you stand out and grow rapidly.

Here are the steps you'll take through this guide:

1. Internet Marketing Plan & Funnel - The fertile soil you can do nothing without.

They will give you great insight, save you time down the line, and help you make all business decisions easily.

2. Content Marketing - You need to create content because content is what people are after online. Every Google search is a hunt for answers and solutions You could be providing. If your content is valuable you will build credibility, generate traffic and leads, drive shares, build your brand, and more.

3. Email Marketing - It's the backbone of any business since it's a channel YOU own and you can use to have two-way conversations and build relationships with prospects. It also has the highest ROI (Return On Investment) and converts visitors to leads and customers, and customers to clients and your promoters.

4. Social Media Marketing - Is what spreads your content in front of eager eyes, and builds networks and partnerships for your further growth.

5. Relationship Marketing - Realtors best strategy to leverage connections with people so you gain more referrals and repeat business. In real estate, it's all about referrals and good relationships.

6. Paid Acquisition [PPC] - Since organic (unpaid) reach is diminishing, paid acquisition is like your shortcut to more prospects and leads.

But first, let's take a look at...

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The Benefits of Internet Marketing Reduced cost You can develop an online marketing strategy for free, or a very low cost, and replace costly advertising channels like radio, TV, billboards, Yellow Pages etc.

Simple to measure Unlike traditional methods, with digital marketing you can see exactly how many people are coming to your site, clicking on your offers, sharing your material, and anything else you want to measure AS IT HAPPENS! This gives you a HUGE advantage since you can instantly adapt, optimise, or even pivot your strategy and tactics.

Far greater exposure Your online presence and marketing campaigns can be seen by anyone in the world, at any time. Who knows if the buyer for your Boston real estate is in Mumbai. With traditional marketing you would either pass this opportunity to sell to someone in Mumbai, or it would cost you a fortune to do it.

Viral growth Your flyers usually end up in the bin, if we're honest. Rare are the ones who survive But online, using social media share buttons on your website, email and social media, your content can be shared incredibly quickly with a wast audience. If it's valuable and/or interesting enough.

Unobtrusive You yourself probably hate flyers in your mail, or sales calls regarding stuff you don't care about. So why would you do that? Online, people have the choice to opt in to receive information that is relevant to them, that they were searching for.

So if you create valuable content and gain people's trust, you can have a loyal audience that wants to hear from you, and buys when you recommend something great. Because you've earned their trust.

Greater engagement With a proper digital marketing strategy, you can encourage your followers to take action, share, visit your website, buy what you offer and then even recommend your services, rate their experience and provide feedback you need to keep improving.

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Whoa, that's a lot!

So as you can see, by implementing a proper internet marketing plan and funnel (or hourglass in your case) you will generate leads, generate sales, generate referrals, spread brand awareness, and also generate a ton of ideas for your continual improvement.

Darn, that's a lot of wins. So much to gain, only time to lose. Well... not even that.

But you're probably still asking…

What works in real estate internet marketing today?

98% of people start their search for anything online. And 96% of first-time home buyers start their hunt for information online. Through search engines, social media, forums and such.

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Buying and selling real estate is a big decision for anyone, so people spend weeks and months on researching every little detail, making sure that the huge amount of money (aka. their future) is handled and invested in wisely.

People are on the lookout for VALUABLE, helpful information.

If you were a first-time home buyer, wouldn't you be drawn to those Mistakes first-time home buyers make, and How to get pre-approved articles?

Of course you would.

That's why you have to create content. As you'l see later in the guide, video is probably the best content to create in the real estate industry. But there are other things that you can create too, as you'll see.

And after spending probably a month (or more) doing online research and gathering information, who would you call in the end? In which real estate professional's hands would you put your trust and your future?

The one who provided the most value of course!

What works in real estate marketing today is what "the online market" (aka people) demands, and always will demand - VALUE.

If you provide that value, you will generate leads, clients and referrals any day of the week! Online, value is a prerequisite.

But, the Web is also crowded with other real estate professionals trying to out-value each other.

Fear not! There is always a way to cut through the noise.

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Just like Nike and Adidas, Apple and Samsung, McDonald's and Burger King can coexist and thrive in the "same" market, you can achieve that too.

That's why you need a solid marketing plan, that will set up your business and brand on the right track where decision making is easier, and the brand is strong

And of course, setting aside a small marketing budget for paid acquisition can only speed things up. Facebook and Google rule the street, but other paid channels could be smart for YOU, depending on your marketing plan

I'll show you that and more in this guide, so let's take it step-by-step…

Mistakes People Make With Internet Marketing Internet marketing is mostly about generating traffic, or simply put - attracting people, and figuring out ways you can later convert them into leads and customers.

And when it comes to driving traffic, there are 2 mistakes people make:

You don't use any traffic generating strategies Yes your content could be so valuable that it should “sell itself”. It’s great, so people will just naturally find it…right!?

You write posts that should go viral, that should inspire people to share, that should lead to people flooding your site and paying for our services.But the truth is, it just doesn’t work like that. You need to be active about promoting your material by getting it in front of your ideal customer.

You'll learn how in this guide.

You're trying every traffic strategy on the block It’s easy to get sucked into the digital marketing vortex — SEO, PPC, Twitter, Snapchat, Affiliates — you name it, there’s some new tactic around the corner.

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"Get on board or you’ll be left behind!”.

The result is that you spend your time (and sometimes our money) chasing the “next big thing” in internet marketing. This guide is written to help you write your plan and strategy.

Chase your true North.

So the key to online success is focus! I cannot emphasise this enough!

You shouldn't try every strategy under the Sun - you should be smart and make a good marketing plan that employs the strategies YOU need to stand out.

If you have a big competitor that has a great blog whose content gets shared on social a lot, it's normal to feel scared that you will never outdo them.

BUT, when you have a good understanding of marketing, you are able to see the gaps in competitors' marketing and, with a solid marketing plan, take advantage of that!

That's how you will differentiate yourself, how you will stand out and generate leads that they are not reaching. That's how Nike, and Adidas, and Under Armour co-exist. They have a marketing plan & strategy in place.

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Nothing is more important for your success than a solid marketing plan & strategy.

Where does all this knowledge come from?

All of this which you will read is derived from knowledge that marketing legends have left behind in books and their amazing work.

Learning from books and works of legends in the industry is the only way to go.

Apart from them, you'll also hear advice from digital marketing experts that are becoming legends as we speak, and examples and advice from those who have already successfully built their online empires.

What you shouldn't expect Now, it's unrealistic to think you will have an audience of millions overnight. No one can do that without already having a successful (personal) brand behind them!

But can you expect to grow from 0 to 1000 followers rather fast, and then exponentially grow from there? Absolutely! *if you put in the work that is...

What you should expect After you grow and start generating revenue from all the leads, you will be able to hire someone to do all the marketing for you so that you can free up your time, focus more on making your clients happy, and start working ON your business instead of IN your business.

And that's what drives growth.

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Internet Marketing Plan and Funnel Do you want to know the not-so-secret secret to success with internet marketing?

The make-or-break element in your sales machine?

Well... it's building a super-solid foundation in the form of the li'l ol' marketing plan and marketing funnel.

When you're starting off in real estate, you ain't got time or money to waste!

But investing a day of your time into figuring out a marketing plan for your real estate business will save you weeks, maybe even months per year. But more importantly having a proper plan will save you from failing!

Just like Napoleon Hill wrote in his book Think and Grow Rich (aka "evergreen blueprint for success”):

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A plan improves your decision making because you know what is a good fit for your real estate success and what is not.

It saves you time AND gets you to your goals faster.

Most people don't create a marketing plan at all. So that would be your advantage right off the bat.

Most people just have a couple of marketing ideas (which anyone can come up with), and they think "This is good enough to give me growth".

Well it ain't gonna work. I know, I tried.

So most people are in for a loss of time & money.

Without a solid plan in place (for anything in life as you know well) you are essentially doomed to end up overwhelmed, confused, and disappointed.

Making your own marketing plan will provide you with the immensely valuable knowledge of your customers, your business, and your competitors.

And that is a huge, huge, HUGE PLUS for you. Doesn't matter if you do your own marketing or end up paying someone to do it for you, knowing the basics is essential!

Now enough chit chat, let's get down to business.

Here's the hero of our marketing love story:

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For all marketing types and channels you have to know Who you're talking to, Why, and how you can Position yourself so that you stand out from the competition and show your value.

If you want to attract the buyers and sellers that are eager to do business with you, you have to understand how they think, their problems, needs and desires. Only then will you be able to serve them those exact things that end up making them your customers.

This is an oooold marketing wisdom that all success stories are based on.

Really. Don't ignore it. There is no more important knowledge than that of the people you want to do business with. It governs every other aspect of your marketing, and sales, and design, and everything.

Knowing your Difference and Positioning will help you take advantage of the gaps your competitors are leaving. Help you cater to a specific niche that your competitors are not taking advantage of.

That's how you have a winning chance.

If everyone is selling condos, maybe you can focus on selling cottages. If everyone is playing all nice & clean with their brand, maybe you can break free and let your quirky personality shine. Like Ash did with her MiddleFingerProject, through which she became the talk of the town.

So in this part of the guide we'll cover the Why, Who, Difference & Positioning. The other parts of the guide will cover the rest. Do not fear.

So let's start with…

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WHY: Your purpose Before we begin let me just remind you - it's not about you. Your why is for the world...

What if someone asked you why you got into real estate and how you can help them? Would you know what to say and how to present yourself?

Yeah, that ain't easy. But the point is in identifying your uniqueness and presenting it in a unique way.

So why did you choose real estate? Do you believe it's the best way to gain financial freedom and you want to help others get there? Are you on the path to bigger investments and early retirement?

I understand that you wouldn't have chosen to go into real estate if it weren't for the money, but there's many, maaaany other ways to make money in the world today. Some even faster and more passive than real estate.

So why'd you choose real estate?

Is it because of the beautiful architecture? Or because you thrive when interacting with people? Or maybe you want to help people go back to nature by living in beautiful lakeside cottages?

What ever it is, grab it and show it to the world!

Because real estate is a big investment everyone wants to make sure they chose the right partner to help them invest their money smart.

So show them you're the one.

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I picked out some great examples you can look at to get inspired:

• Referral Candy's - Start With Why: 10 Mission Statements Simon Sinek Would Approve • 51 more examples from Alessio Bresciani, God bless him.

• You can even craft a more personal Why, like these 5 CEO's. *Amanda Steinberg's is my favourite <3

WHO: The ideal customer avatar The holy grail of marketing is to attract the HOT MOTIVATED LEADS that are chasing you to become customers, not the other way around.

That's the holy grail of real estate marketing too.

So what's the secret to attracting motivated leads?

Beware, it's seems simple...

You need to think like a motivated lead.

Have you ever stopped to think about what's going through the mind of a motivated lead? As in why someone became a motivated lead in the first place, and what actions would they take, and in what order, to sell or buy real estate.

Those who've never thought like this are the ones who struggle to achieve success and end up quitting. And that is like a million people in the US real estate industry alone every year.

Let's think about it for a second...

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You're knee-deep in debt... You've delayed it as long as you could but you've reached your breaking point... The only solution you can muster is to sell your house. As fast as possible.

But you're not sure if it's really possible to sell a property in that short of time. I mean, don't you have to list with a Realtor? And put it on the market for months? And invest money into touching it up for the people who come by to look at it?

So here's the deal: in that situation, what do you think you'd do?

Do you just sit around and wait for a postcard to show up in the mail offering to buy your property? (I mean, maybe by luck one will show up that day.)

Do you just say "Screw it!" and call up the first Realtor you can find?

I think you know that most people in that situation would do what you do for just about ANY problem these days... They'd go to Google.

And then they'd type in simple search terms, like...

Sell my house fast Miami How to sell my house fast without a realtor Miami.

Sell my extra property this week Miami

...and on, and on. You get the picture.

Then they'd click on the first few results that pop up (most clicks go to the first three results, and rarely anywhere beyond the first page of results).

And if one of those pages they click on speaks to their problems, makes it clear how easy it is to sell their properties fast for cash, and then offers to help them do it as long as they submit their contact information...

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Then THAT PERSON wins!

The motivated seller (who's totally unlisted at this point) would submit their contact information out of curiosity, which allows the investor to immediately call them up and figure out their situation...

And then set up an appointment to view their property...

And then offer them a contract to purchase their property immediately.

All with little to no resistance! It was the motivated seller who CONTACTED THEM, not the other way around. They WANT the help selling their property. Now!

Even if it means selling below market value. Or not getting "top dollar" for it.

In other words: at this point in time, the easiest way to get in front of the "starving crowd" (aka motivated leads) is to be at the top of Google for the exact search terms that they're putting in…

And then having a website that effectively communicates to them that you can help them with their problems... Turning them from prospects into leads that want to talk to you.

This is why so many high-level real estate professionals have switched their entire business model to online lead generation.

This isn't to say that direct mail or other lead generation methods don't work. Done properly, they work very very well.

But they don't laser-target the most highly motivated prospect as well as online lead generation can - when it's done right.

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So understanding your ideal customer is one of the most important parts of your marketing.

It will improve every aspect of your business - your traffic, social engagement, lead generation, connections, your conversions (both online and offline), your customer retention, word of mouth, referrals...

Everything darn it!

Did I stress this point enough?

You don't want to spend 60+ hours a week hustling in your business, only to find yourself dealing primarily with wishy-washy leads that take forever to close at extremely small profits (if they ever even turn into deals in the first place)...

When targeting everyone instead of the "starving crowd", you're trying to please everyone. So you end up pleasing no one.

Because if you can implement this simple shift in the way you approach your business, I guarantee you, you will not believe the results.

Less hours, more deals, more profits, and a lot more fun.

All right, I hope this has inspired you a bit. There's research to be done and insights to collect, so I'll let Huspot's article guide you through it.

But you don't have to do it right away. Because when you read through this entire guide you'll see how every part of marketing is intertwined with this customer knowledge, and you'll get a full picture of what you have to know about them to put your strategies in place.

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DIFFERENCE & POSITIONING: The value you provide and why you are better Have you ever thought Why would someone do business with me instead of 10,000 other Realtors?

Did you struggle to come up with the answer to someone's Why would I come to you over your competitors?

We all do sister... But there's an answer you can come up with so you can showcase your values, your difference, your uniqueness.

So what is it that makes you different? What makes you worthy of people's attention and then their business?

In the marketing world, answers to this can be found through differentiation, positioning and the UVP (Unique Value Proposition).

So here are a few articles to help you do them: • [Infographic] How To Write A Great Value Proposition • How to Create Strong Brand Positioning in Your Market • Useful Value Proposition Examples (and How to Create a Good One) • 31 Value Proposition Examples You Wish You Had

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The Internet Marketing Funnel This is a plan for your customer's journey.

This is what takes your ideal customer from finding out you exist, to considering your options, to converting into a prospect or client.

This is your plan for generating and converting leads. But more importantly - retaining customers!

The classic internet marketing funnel looks like this:

It's all very logical and straightforward.

But this funnel is flawed, as many experts have noticed.

The problem lies in the fact that the bottom of the funnel looks a bit neglected.

Why does that matter you ask...

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Because there is an old marketing wisdom that says: It costs 5x as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.

And when it comes to real estate, referrals are your bread and butter.

Yup. Now you see the problem clearly.

So what's the solution?

The upper parts of the funnel and hourglass are the pre-purchase stages, and the bottom parts are post-purchase stages.

The two different customer journey representations show how much the marketing community is focusing on acquisition, and neglecting retention.

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Forgive us. But don't make the same mistake.

You don't have the luxury of making that mistake since, again, your success in real estate depends on word of mouth and referrals.

The customer retention part of the funnel is where you should invest as much time as you do in generating leads.

There may be more steps in the pre-purchase stages, but that just demonstrates how much more work and investing you have to do to gain new clients than to retain existing ones.

So when you get a new customer, don't let them slip through your fingers!

Now let's look at what the steps in CustomerJourneyMarketer's hourglass mean:

Engagement stage = Brand awareness You figure out how to expose as many people from your 'ideal client pool' as possible to your business, your content, and giving them value so that they want to engage with you more in the future.

Education stage = Problem identification If your ideal client wasn't already aware that they need to buy or sell real estate, this is the stage at which they realise that they have a 'problem' they need a solution for. Perhaps they spent years ignoring the fact they live in a cramped space and that they need to move.

Research stage = Investigating solutions Here people are aware of a problem or need, but they are investigating different solutions so they can be sure they will make the smart choice. Content still plays a big role here.

Evaluation stage = asses satisfaction of needs From this stage onwards, the focus is on your specific offering. People have researched solutions and know what the ideal solution should have, so they're looking for it. Now you should communicate your value, benefits, difference, and 21 of 66

address any possible obstacles people can have to choosing your solution. Give people as much info and help you can.

Justification stage = Justify & Quantify Value, Internal Buy-In Now people are thinking if they really need to take this big step of buying or selling real estate. They need to justify this big decision to themselves and other people this decision impacts. If people contact you, but not many become clients, than this is the stage where the drop-off happens. You need to stress the importance of the decision, the value it will bring them, remove fears, put the math to work and help them see that real estate really is the best investment on the block.

Purchase stage = Transaction and Transition Factors After deciding that they really want to become your clients, some leftover fears can surface. For example - are there any hidden costs, is the kindergarten really good, will selling my house and moving to a condo work out for me…? Help people feel confident in their decision and you'll get your client.

Adoption stage = On-boarding and Implementation After they've finally sold or bought their real estate, people want a smooth transition. If they come to an unexpected roadblock you could have mentioned but didn't (like hidden costs), you can bet it will leave a bad taste in their mouth.

This means you can say goodbye to positive word-of-mouth and referrals. Maybe even the opposite happens.

Retention stage = Satisfaction & Success If you've made your clients happy, then great job my friend! Now you just have to stay top of mind for those clients and you can expect that when they encounter someone looking for a real estate agent you'll be the first they'll mention. How can you stay top of mind? First, after the transaction get in touch to see if everything is going smoothly, maybe even send them a gift. Then for later on, you can segment your clients and send them more content that's valuable and relevant to them. If they're dog owners send them a list of dog-friendly cafes and restaurants in the neighbourhood. If they're investors, send them regular market updates so they can seize another opportunity, and call you again Expansion stage = Upsell, Cross-sell If you've reached this stage that means you've earned trust from your clients. You can thus expect that when your clients think about investing in real estate again, you'll be the first they call. Who knows, maybe they want to rent space for an office or a restaurant. Or maybe they need a bachelor pad for their now grown up kid. You'll be the one they'll call.

Advocacy stage = Loyalty & Evangelism 22 of 66

This is the part where clients have gained soooo much value from you, that they just want to spread word of their (unexpectedly) amazing experience. People can see the excitement in their eyes when they mention your services, that they automatically position you above all other competitors you may have. You've won my friend. Big time. Kudos!

The Misconceptions About the Customer Journey Now, there are some flaws, or misconceptions of the internet marketing funnel that you should be aware of:

The idea that customer journeys are linear People can enter the funnel/hourglass at any stage. Maybe they have already done some research on other sites, and now came to do business with you.

Maybe they just want to research what you have on your site and never engage you. Or maybe they have signed up for your emails, never became customers, but still referred you to people they know.

Bottom line - don't expect people to go through your funnel from top to bottom perfectly.

You have the power to influence a customer’s journey, but not to dictate or control it. So just make sure each step in your funnel can be a starting step that guides people to the next one.

Forgetting the customers after the purchase stage Many many marketers make the mistake of not focusing enough on the postpurchase stage. The stage where you continue to interact with, delight, and provide value to someone who has already done business with you. These people have already been persuaded of your worth, they believed it, done business with you, and if all went well, they are your best chance of getting a lot of referrals.

Referrals are great because people trust recommendations from other people above advertising.

And it costs 5-10x more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one and have them be your brand advocates.

Real estate is all about relationships, positive word-of-mouth, and generating referrals, so never make the mistake of neglecting old customers.

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By diving into this guide with an understanding of the marketing funnel and your own marketing plan, you are well on your way to building a successful real estate business that you won't be overwhelmed with.

Content Marketing In this day and age, we rarely ever go straight to a website. We are usually first exposed to some content that then gets us curious for more.

And if that content delivers and we sense that there is more content like it, that's when we head out to the website to explore further.

So content is the entry point to your website, your business.

Here's how Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing:

Wow... that's a perfect definition. They haven't missed a beat.

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If you want more clarity you can read this article on how the top 25 marketers, like Seth Godin, Brian Clark, Neil Patel and more, have defined content marketing. It's interesting and gets the ideas flowing

So how is content marketing different from advertising?

Well, being super valuable is what makes content marketing different from advertising (and spam).

“Traditional marketing and advertising is telling the world you’re a rock star.

Content Marketing is showing the world that you are one.”

Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer, Content Marketing Institute

But you will see how for successful advertising you also have to provide value and relevance.

We always want to know, see and hear more of what interests us, what we're passionate about, what we want to understand, what helps us solve our problems, and more.

That's why…

Content is King And not just of the online realm

In January 1996, Bill Gates wrote an essay titled "Content is King" where he famously said:

"Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting."

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And he was right. Content always was, and always will be king!

Just think about it - what do we do all day?

We consume content - newspaper, movies, shows, books, music... Anything and everything that carries a story we are interested in.

That's why content drives the world and the Internet. That's why Google is so huge.

That's why Social networks are huge. They all provide content, answers, advice, and guides we seek out!

Just keep in mind one important thing:

"If content is king, then context is god."

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vee, as everyone calls him, is an inspirational FORCE in the online world. He anticipates where marketing channels are moving and always uses the perfect content form (video mainly).

And he says that no amount of valuable content will do anything for you and your business unless that content is relevant to YOUR audience and the context of the channel/platform you're placing that content in.

And that couldn't be more true.

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Why is content marketing great for real estate?

Because people know that making a mistake with real estate can cost them their livelihood, so they're on the hunt for ALL the information, ALL the steps, ALL the advice and tips they can get their hands on.

Wouldn't you do the same?

That's why content marketing is a real estate professional's not-so-secret weapon. To use a corny metaphor - it's the net you cast to catch the fish.

With content marketing you give people exactly what they're looking for, and there's nothing better for you, your brand, and your business, than going above and beyond to help them.

So here's a little more about…

What valuable content does for your business • Spreading your content online gets you traffic. A little at first, but it grows exponentially because...

• Valuable content gets shared. With shares you get more traffic, and more shares. It's a loop.

• This traffic and social sharing rank you higher and higher in search engines, so you get more traffic. Another loop. But if your content is not valuable, and visitors leave immediately, that signals to search engines that your content is not of quality, and your rankings drop. And with it your traffic.

• When content is engaging people go through the whole thing. This means they stay on your site much longer, and scroll through the entire page. That signals to search engines that the content is valuable, it ranks you higher, you thus get more traffic.

Again.

• Engaging content gets a lot of great comments, that signal quality to search engines, that rank you higher…. You know the deal.

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• Valuable content is what establishes you as a value giver, an expert, an authority, and most of all - valuable content makes people trust you. Don't you trust people who you see are giving their all to bring value and help you? Yup, you do.

• Valuable content spreads brand awareness. And with all the value your content brings, people assume your services are just as valuable, if not more. So they're ready to show you the money • All that value does the hard work of guiding people down the marketing funnel.

Valuable, engaging content leaves people wanting more, so they sign up for your emails, webinars, podcasts… and there, after delivering more value, you can ask people to show you the moneyz. And you know what? They will! Because they trust you will provide value for their money!

What does valuable content look like?

Well, it's made up of 7 must-have features:

1. Relevant - Content that YOUR target audience craves.

2. Helpful - Content that answers your audience's questions, solves their problems, helps them achieve success.

3. Organised - Content that is well organised and digestible helps clear things up for your audience. And clarity is exactly what they are after.

4. Unique - Almost everything was already said online, but you can put a new spin on old ideas and differentiate yourself.

5. Personal - Sprinkle some personality into your writing. Make it memorable and you'll stay in people's minds.

6. Engaging - Remarkable content prompts people to respond to it, to comment, to share, to give feedback.

7. Detailed - Include all the information your audience needs to make sense of a subject - videos, images, infographics, checklists… Always add more than your competitors.

As a bonus, take a look at Ahref's post on how to create "link bait" a.k.a. Content that gets you a lot of backlinks and shares.

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What type of content works best and why?

Content that works best for YOU is the one that is aligned with your marketing goals.

Never forget your goals, or who your target audience is.

And any type of content you create should:

• Educate • Entertain • Inspire • Convert

It should be a perfect blend of both emotional & rational appeal, because some people respond better to emotional appeal, and some respond better to rational appeal.

When it comes to content marketing for real estate, there are 5 general types of content every real estate professional should post:

• Buyer questions, • Seller questions, • Local market updates, • Neighbourhood updates, • Listings & open houses.

Keeping all that in mind, here's the content forms you can fill your content calendar with:

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Video Live video Photography Infographics Quotes Tutorials Case studies Guides How to's Ebooks Audio books Webinars Presentations Client testimonials Q&A's AMA's (Ask Me Anything) Interviews Research & Data Checklists Courses

Competitions Challenges Free resources & tools Interactive content Maps Quizzes Giveaways PDFs GIFs FAQs Polls / Surveys Lists Podcasts Comparison and VS content Industry news Roundups Personal stories What not to do; Failures; Mistakes Spreadsheets Games

Wow, that's a lot of content you can create! And it's not like you just have to create, you can also repurpose your (old) content.

For example if you've made a blog post, you can repurpose it into a video, a slideshare, PDF or ebook, maybe an infographic… There are so many opportunities!

But can you guess the No.1 performer for real estate in this list?

Yup... it's video!

Video consumption in general is on the rise. And a considerable one too!

And 73% of homeowners said they prefer Realtors who promote their offerings through video.

So using video throughout your marketing funnel can only help you increase traffic, generate more leads, convert better, and improve your bottom line.

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And another huge advantage of content is that it get's people to sign up for your email list so they can receive more, or receive a special lead magnet that you offer in exchange for their email and thus the opportunity to contact them.

So let’s talk about…

Email Marketing Over 70% of people who visit your website will never come back... Gone for good!

Unless... you capture their email address and add them to your mailing list.

They gave you permission to contact them in the most personal way because they are interested in hearing more from you. And curious.

Your email list is the only marketing channel on the web that actually belongs to YOU.

Social networks, search engines, affiliate links, they can all go away or change in the blink of an eye.

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The most reliable way to reach your audience is through email.

And the best thing is it's ROI (Return On Investment). Because it's not just good for promotion, but invaluable for staying top of mind and keeping quality relationships going! Relationships that bring you more relationships.

Email marketing may sound like an outdated technique. I know it did to me before I got into marketing.

Compared to so many social media and messaging apps that are available, email does feel like it's from another day and age.

But in reality - email marketing has an insane ROI because it converts like crazy. It' kinda the oldest form of communication and it has been tested ever since marketing came around. And, time and time again it's proven itself to be amazing.

For every $1 you spend on email marketing you can expect a return of $40. That's a 4000% return on investment!

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And besides the huge ROI, email has higher click-through rates than any other channel. It converts like nothing else. Period.

You'll learn why in a few moments...

Let's not forget that 92% of internet users have an email account.

In fact, there are 3 times as many email accounts then all of the Facebook & Twitter accounts COMBINED!

72% of email users check their inboxes 6 or more times per day.

The effectiveness of email marketing is so high that consumers who receive email marketing spend 83% more when shopping, their orders are 44% larger, and they order 28% more often.

Here's why some of the very famous internet entrepreneurs, marketing experts, and online millionaires put their trust in email:

"Out of all the channels I tested as a marketer, email continually outperforms most of them. Not only does it have a high conversion rate, but as you build up your list you can continually monetise it by pitching multiple products. Just look at e-commerce sites like Amazon, one way they get you to continually buy more products from them is by emailing you offers on a regular basis."

Neil Patel - Cofounder of KISSmetrics, Crazy Egg & writer of the Quicksprout blog

"So many brands and companies build their audiences on Facebook and Google +, which is fine, but we don’t own those names – Facebook and Google do. If we are thinking like real media companies, the asset is in the audience. Getting an email address is the first critical step to figuring out who my reader is, and hopefully in the future, my customer of some sort. If our goal is to drive sales or keep customers happy in some way, we first need to get them as part of our audience. If I have one regret as a business owner, it’s not focusing on building our email list earlier in the process."

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Joe Pulizzi – Founder of Content Marketing Institute

"If you rely on Facebook or Twitter, you are at the mercy of them allowing you to talk to your customers. When you email it gets in your customers inboxes. Then it’s up to you to make sure you are sending things your customers want to receive.

Email is the most scalable way to make sales with new customers and build deeper relationship with deeper customers. AppSumo.com is a 7 figure business and 90%+ of our revenue comes from emails."

Noah Kagan – Founder of SumoMe

"Email marketing is an essential tool in every smart marketer’s tool belt. Nothing else is as good at reaching your customers where they are, and nothing else is as effective at building personal relationships with customers. If you want your business to succeed, start building your email list on Day 1."

Dan Oshinsky – Director of Newsletters at Buzzfeed

So don't make the mistake of not utilising email marketing from the first day you launch your online presence. Many confess to making that dire mistake.

Now let's dive in deeper…

Why is email marketing so effective?

It's direct That means that every person who has signed up to your email list receives an email every time you wish them to. Every time you have new neighbourhood content, a promotion, a new listing...

Also, you don't have to hope that someone will stumble upon your content or advertising. People willingly gave you their email and said - You can speak directly to me whenever you want to, because I like what I've seen from you so far. (Just make sure that you always provide valuable & relevant content, and that you are not too salesy. 80% value 20% sales.)

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It's necessary Email is the first thing you (have to) set up if you want to have an online presence, or if you want to do business in the 21st century.

There is no social network or blog, or business you can engage in without using your email. That's why it is the channel with most users - Radicati projected that email usage will reach 4.9 billion by 2017.

Plus, you can go a few days without checking your social media or other channels, but most people check their emails several times a day.

It's customisable You can create an email campaign on any subject, and add any bells and whistles that you need to get the job done.

It's inexpensive As opposed to hundreds or thousands of dollars you need to spend on designing, writing, testing and optimising advertising campaigns, email marketing costs you only the email marketing platform's monthly cost.

Yes, you can design, test and optimise email, but you can do it yourself since many many tests have confirmed that people prefer email that looks like... mail.

No design no nada. So feel free to just write (at least in the beginning).

It's highly measurable and trackable Every aspect of your email campaigns can be measured and tracked - open rates, click through rates, unsubscribes, etc.

Thank God for that, because you can use it to constantly optimise and increase... everything.

It's personal The power of email marketing lies in segmented lists.

Why? Because segmenting by behaviour, and preferences, you deliver more relevant content of course. And copywriting with it. That of course reduces unsubscribes, and increases conversion.

You see, everything revolves around your who, email included.

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Your real estate email marketing strategy Your email marketing strategy supports your overall marketing goals and your marketing funnel.

After you get people to sign up to your email list (which you can do in a multitude of ways) there's much value you can provide your audience with to help them on their customer journey, and down your marketing hourglass/funnel.

But first of all, you have to have SMART goals.

In line with your marketing plan and funnel, think about what you want to achieve with email marketing and set SMART goals.

Those SMART goals could be related to spreading brand awareness & content, to promoting your listings, and some should be related to maintaining relationships.

Well actually, every strategy should focus on building and maintaining relationships.

That's a given.

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And since list building is your first and crucial step, let me provide some list-building 101:

1. Signup Form First you'll need to put a signup form (also called an opt-in form) on your website or blog, which is where your subscriber will enter their email address.

For the best results, you will have more than one.

Opt-in forms do the job of being, or popping up, on your site and asking people to subscribe.

Many would say that opt-in forms get visitors converted into subscribers. But it's actually your valuable, relevant content that makes people want to subscribe, not an opt-in form.

The opt in form is like an ad for your email list. Its design, copywriting and positioning influence conversions, but if you don't offer something valuable, you ain't getting far.

The best way to get a lot of subscribers is to attract people by offering them a valuable piece of content that they can only get if they subscribe - a lead magnet (explanation coming up).

2. Email Service You will need an email service (here's a list of free ones) that will store all your subscribers, verify their email addresses, and send emails to your list for you.

You need a proper email service to do this, rather than just doing it yourself with your own email program, as their emails will have better deliverability (more of them will get through).

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They will also provide reports so you can track who opened your emails and see which links they clicked on. This is important so you can see what worked and what didn't, to improve your results in the future.

An email service will deal with things like unsubscribes & bounces, and allow you to segment your list so you can send very targeted emails to just certain groups of people.

It allows you to schedule your emails too, so you can be on a trip around the world and your emails are still delivered to the right people at the right time.

3. Lead Magnet It’s not enough to put a form on your website and hope people will signup just to 'Keep up to date with the latest news’. That’s not compelling enough these days when people have so many things competing for their attention.

You need to give them a better reason to signup, and the most effective way to do this is to give them something useful for free, in return for signing up.

In marketing-speak this is often called a Lead Magnet or Opt-in Bribe.

These are not difficult to create (I’ll show you how in a different post) and it will increase your signups dramatically.

Your email service will deliver this Lead Magnet for you automatically every time somebody subscribes.

A lead magnet can be an ebook, an infographic, a checklist, a challenge, a webinar, a free quote or consultation… Something that is relevant, valuable, and convenient for your audience.

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You can even create different incentives depending on where people are on your site - if they're looking at mortgage advice, you're best off giving them an ebook, checklist or webinar packed with mortgage advice, right?

4. AutoResponder Sequence Next you should have what’s called an Autoresponder Sequence — a series of follow up emails that are sent automatically at predefined intervals after they subscribe.

The purpose of this is to build a relationship with your subscribers. By following them up in a way that even the most diligent person would struggle to do manually, the Autoresponder Sequence will build trust and make your subscribers more receptive when you finally come to sell them something.

Don't make these mistakes After reading this guide so far, you understand the importance of knowing your audience and giving them valuable, relevant content.

That is why you will never make the mistake of buying email lists (or followers for that matter). Because you know that the number of subscribers (followers) doesn't matter.

What matters is that you find people who are genuinely interested in real estate and have them subscribe. That's who you will get conversion from, not subscribers you can buy by the thousands uninterested in your message.

Also, don't make the mistake of adding emails from people who haven't opted-in to your emails willingly!

Like adding emails from people's business cards, or taking your real estate friend's email list and adding them to yours.

No, no, nouuu!

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Doing that will just agitate those people, ruin your reputation, and you'll get marked as SPAM. It's the quick road to failure.

There is absolutely nothing to gain from adding people to your list without their permission.

Also, don't make the mistake of not starting with list building as soon as you have a site.

Many people list this as one of their biggest regrets.

That, and not segmenting their lists from the get go.

So be smart and success will follow.

Here are some great links if you're inspired to investigate:

• Drip's Email Marketing Tips: 33 Industry Experts Share Their Best Strategies and Tactics • AWeber's Email Marketing Best Practices in 2017: 5 Tips to Improve Your Emails • And SendGrid's 2017 A-Z of Email Marketing Guide 40 of 66

Social Media Marketing Real estate is time consuming and overwhelming enough, so why waste even more time on social media?

Well because with the help of social media you can get in front of people who wouldn't have found you otherwise, you can partner with other compatible businesses and drive prospects to each other, and you can show people that you are in fact a genuine person worthy of doing business with.

And when it comes to real estate, you know that the industry is all about people and building relationships that bring you word-of-mouth and referrals.

Social media provides you with a platform to do that, and more.

Now you may think you know how social media works because you've been using it for a decade probably. But that's the problem...

There is a big difference to how social media is used for business. Especially for real estate that focuses on a specific zip code or neighbourhood.

There are things to click and options to optimise for the best results, that you have never encountered before.

Plus, the platforms are constantly evolving. If you don't have a solid base, a good bird's eye view of everything, than you just won't know where to put all that new information, or how to apply new rules.

But don't worry, it's not that complicated. I'll show you how it goes in a later How to post.

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Now the best thing about social media is that you get a chance to interact with your audience and gain insights that will inspire your success.

You always learn something about human psychology and how your target audience thinks, feels, behaves. And you already know how valuable any insight into your ideal customers mind is for improving your marketing as a whole...

Social media is also a great platform for testing ideas. You can see how people respond through comments, likes, shares. You start to understand what works and what doesn't. What inspires their action, and what drives them away.

For example - marketers say that when someone follows you on Twitter, you should send them a welcome DM and point them to your best content, your website and other channels. But those messages rarely ever get opened. I found much much more success with just sending a simple question:

"What books are you reading right now? Is there one that really amazed you lately?".

I get an unreal amount of replies (like 20x more than with that promo message) and all because I took a personal approach - I asked a question I'm genuinely interested to hear an answer to. Plus, people love it when someone is interested in them and their life, so it works from that perspective too.

I couldn't believe how many people not just answered me, but started having a conversation with me! Even famous and busy people like Aaron Simpson, an ex UFC fighter and successful real estate agent. Thank you Aaron <3

That just goes to show that you HAVE TO be social and human on social networks. Not business cold and salesy. Even if you are interacting with businessmen. They're human too you know.

Be quirky, be genuine, and be interested in people. Business success will come as a result of being genuine.

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Lastly, social media knows so much about people (spooky, yes) that growing your business with the help of their ads, and learning what ad content and copywriting people respond to, is the shortcut to success. Both online and offline.

And there's no place for testing your ideas and audience like Facebook.

No social network knows people as much as Facebook does, and no social network can zero in on so many people with so much accuracy like they can! Their ads are their money maker, and they want to be the best at it. But we'll talk more about ads in a later chapter.

The Benefits of Social Media Marketing for Real Estate 1. Building an engaged community Like I mentioned before, social media is one of the rare places you can have a true two-way conversation with your audience. Use that to the max! Show how unique you are. Converse with people, help people, laugh with people. You will learn a lot about your ideal customer.

Don't just promote your business on a SOCIAL network. Do 80% of communication and engaging your audience, and 20% of promotion. If you flip these numbers, you risk having a really bad reputation in your customers and in your industry peers eyes. You lose your authority, you lose respect, and you ultimately lose your business.

2. Brand awareness and recognition With content syndication, and all that liking, sharing and commenting, social media is a great way to increase your brand's visibility. By investing a couple of hours per week on social media, you will greatly increase brand awareness and recognition, and start building trust and credibility.

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3. Brand authority When people see you regularly posting valuable content on social media, replying to comments and engaging with your audience and being helpful, they remember you, make a connection with you, and they come to trust you.

Because they feel thy know you. This boosts conversion, word-of-mouth, and referrals. Win!

4. Thought leadership Posting valuable content on your social media is a great way to become a leader and influencer in your field. Apart from gaining credibility, thought leadership offers you a chance to connect with other experts and influencers in the field, make partnerships that grow your businesses, learn or be mentored by those you've looked up to from the beginning.

5. Market insights One of the most valuable aspects of being on social media are the insights you get about your market. Social media is the best place for monitoring your market's opinions, problems, needs, joys and so much more. Later on you can use all this intelligence to: create better content, to improve your website, your copywriting, email marketing, your ads…Everything gets improved when you have market insights.

6. Customer satisfaction Every interaction on your social media is an opportunity to publicly show that you care for your audience and you're there to help them. Especially when someone has something negative to say, you can immediately react and resolve the situation, and leave that person with a smile instead of a frown and a bad opinion that they can't wait to spread online.

7. Increased traffic If content is what you use to get traffic, than social media is what you use you get that content in front of people. While search engine optimisation gets you in front of people looking for answers you provide, social media gets your content and brand in front of people who maybe didn't even consider buying or selling real estate. A whole new audience. A whole new set of opportunities.

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8. Improved search engine rankings Having a social media profile doesn't directly increase your search engine rankings. But social media can be an amazing ally in your efforts to rank higher.How you ask? Well for example: by sharing content on social you get it in front of many new eyes who will click on the link and get back to your site. If they find it valuable and relevant, they will share some more, and you'll get more traffic.And you can encourage link building by connecting with influencers, which is super important for SEO.

9. Increased conversion rates With an increase in your brand's and content's visibility, you don't only gain traffic, but also a new opportunity to convert those visitors into prospects and clients. The more helpful and human in your interactions on social you are, the more trustworthy, credible you are, and the more likely that person will convert.People want to do business with people. Be people!

10. Brand loyalty and advocacy After people do business with you, and you delight and over deliver, you should stay in touch with them and deliver some more. That's how you'll be well on your way to getting a lot of positive word-of-mouth, referrals and 5-stars.

This is basically free advertising for you. Yay!

11. Cost effectiveness Social media marketing is extremely cost-efficient. Creating a profile on almost all social networks is free. Investing in additional promotion for your profile, content or services is also relatively low cost compared to other marketing tactics.

Facebook advertising has a great ROI and is HUGELY effective due to the immense data the network has collected on people.

As you can see there's a lot of value in social media. It's not just a time waster.

Here's a look at important social media statistics…

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Social Media Strategy for Real Estate With so many platforms and so much to do on each, you have to have a good strategy or you'll end up overwhelmed.

Each platform is a different context in which you will operate.

On each platform people behave differently, and like different things. That's why you need a good strategy to get through the jungle and cut through the noise!

There's 2 things you need to start: 1. Your ideal customer avatar, 2. Your goals.

You have to know what you want to achieve with your social media marketing, that is also aligned with your general online marketing goals & funnel.

For example - increased traffic and lead generation, so you can guide people down your marketing funnel.

So start with your ideal customer and figure out what social media channels they use.

If you're after serial real estate investors, and they are usually successful business people, around 50+ years, then you shouldn't focus much on Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Tumblr… They aren't there! They're business people over 50! They probably use LinkedIn, Facebook, and maybe some hidden gems like Medium, or Reddit. It depends.

If you're targeting expanding families, than you know that the mother is usually most excited about buying real estate and turning it into a cozy home. That's why you can be sure she will hang out on Pinterest looking for furnishing inspiration and advice for helping her kids transfer to a new school or kindergarten, or how to set up a nursery.

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The family probably uses Facebook too, isn't shy on sharing their happy photos on Instagram, and maybe looks for answers on Quora and Reddit.

That's where you need to be, delivering content that fits the context of each social network your ideal customer uses.

That's why you gotta do the research. You never regret doing research.

Just do it smart.

And set SMART goals.

After you've figured out which platforms to use, and know what you want to achieve through those channels, than it's time for a…

Social Media Strategy Step-by-step 1. Analyse where your audience is on every network, 2. Analyse your competitors, 3. Plan how much money you'll allocate to each social network (ads & social media management tools), 4. Decide on how many social profiles you'll have (different profiles for home improvement, mortgage advice...), 5. Plan what kind of content you'll share on each network, and how will your visuals look for each (Pinterest loves red and orange, videos do great on Facebook, images/gifs do great on Twitter...), 6. Create checklists for each network's messages (size of visuals, number of characters...), 7. Create a content plan and editorial calendar and share your content at the appropriate frequency and time on each network. Also repurpose content, and share it multiple times.

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8. Create protocols for social engagement - how you respond to messages, welcome messages, outreach to those who have shared your content, how you handle bad reviews & comments, etc.

9. Know how you'll measure success for every network (KPIs & metrics)

You can go ahead and download CoSchedule's Social Media Strategy Template and fill it out so you have your own strategy put in place.

It's not that hard. And CoSchedule made a really intuitive template that makes the job easier.

Also, Sprout Social made a super helpful post on How to Create Achievable Social Media Goals. Do go and follow through the steps. You'll have a framework written down, and later on you can just fill in the blanks and finish writing down your SMART goals.

And…

Here's some great links to help you get started with specific social media channels, the real estate way

Facebook • How To Use Facebook For Real Estate: The Ultimate Guide • The Facebook Funnel – The Real Estate Lead Generation Process Using Facebook • How To Start A Facebook Page As A Realtor [Video]

Youtube • How to Sell Real Estate Properties Using YouTube • 5 Real Estate Agents Nailing YouTube Marketing • 4 Simple Steps To Create Free Real Estate YouTube Videos In Under 10 Minutes!

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Instagram • The Dos and Don’ts of Instagram for Real Estate • 5 little known ways agents benefit by incorporating social media tool into their business • 20 of the Best-Run Agent Accounts

Pinterest • Using Pinterest as a Valuable Real Estate Social Marketing Tool & 5 Great Accounts • 25 killer Pinterest real estate board suggestions to target buyers and sellers

Twitter • Anatomy of a Tweet: A Guide for Real Estate Agents • 10 of the Top Real Estate Minds to Follow on Twitter • 9 Must-Do Twitter Marketing Tactics For Real Estate Agents

Snapchat • How to Use Snapchat for Real Estate Marketing • The real estate agents selling $6 million NYC apartments via Snapchat • Why I’m jumping on Snapchat in 2016 — and why you should, too

Linkedin • How To Optimise Your LinkedIn Profile For Real Estate Agents • 9 Effortless Ways to Use Linkedin to Generate Real Estate Leads

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Relationship Marketing Congrats on reaching the bottom of your internet marketing funnel! Aka the most important part of the funnel for your real estate business.

This is the part that many internet marketers fail to elaborate on, or even work on. But in real estate, where relationships with people matter the most, dedicating a whole part to this practice is very welcome.

Let's first dive into what relationship marketing is…

"Relationship marketing is a form of marketing that recognises the immense long term value of customer satisfaction and customer retention. It helps you nurture relationships with your clients in the aim of increasing client lifetime value, brand value, positive word-of-mouth and referrals. It communicates with customers without employing intrusive advertising and promotional messages, and focuses on relevant and valuable content."

Wikipedia

Relationship marketing is more important today than ever before because there are more and more real estate businesses and professionals every day, and only so many clients to gain.

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Add to that the fact that clients who stay with you do so because they trust you above your competitors (and trust is a hard thing to earn), so they are full fledged brand advocates who bring you more clients.

Without you even asking for it!

Now, relationship marketing is much easier and less resource consuming than any other form of marketing.

With relationship marketing your main task is tracking and analysing each client's preferences, activities, problems, tastes, likes and dislikes, so that you can serve them in the most relevant and valuable way.

But most of that is taken care of by a CRM system (Customer Relationship Management).

The client profile is gradually built as they go through your funnel and you keep track of their interests and problems, and after doing business with them and meeting them in person.

Managing relationships with clients and knowing as much as you can about them will help you show them additional offers you might have through cross-sells, email recommendations, content, social media and so on.

It also helps you learn which people to focus on and which to ignore because you see that they will not bring you any value at all.

So a great thing to do is use CRM intelligence to your advantage and do some segmenting in your email marketing.

This way you can delight people and provide more relevant and valuable content/ messaging that reflects the individual needs and preferences of each recipient.

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This increases click through, open and response rates, and they increase your revenue.

Ain't that awesome?!

But relationship marketing doesn't focus just on the bottom of your funnel, the retention!

It tries to delight and build a relationship throughout the "relationship ladder of customer loyalty".

The relationship ladder of customer loyalty groups types of customers according to their level of loyalty: 1. Suspect - Someone who is at the top of your funnel, who's just stumbled upon your promotional material.

2. Prospect - Suspects interested in what you are promoting become prospects.

3. Customers - A customer is someone who has purchased your product or service.

4. Clients - Clients are those who keep doing business with you. They like what you offer and how you do business. So now it's your job to figure out what exactly they liked, and disliked, and optimise the whole process for others, while giving your clients more of those experiences that they liked so that they can become advocates.

5. Advocates - An advocate promotes your business on your behalf. They've reached the point beyond just loyalty and doing business with you again and again.

They had a great experience and relationship with you so they tell others about you.

An advocate is EXTREMELY valuable for your business, and this relationship should be nurtured above all others! Feel free to offer them special discounts, freebies, invites to special events, loyalty rewards and more.

Love these people!

All in all, your objective in relationship marketing is to help people go from Suspect to Advocate by providing more personalised, valuable and relevant service that exceeds people's expectations.

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5 Key steps to successful relationship marketing Don Peppers & Martha Rogers have launched a customer relationship management revolution when they published their first book The One to One Future: Building Relationships One Customer at a Time.

They've also set a great foundation to customer relationship with their 5 I's, which are key to relationship marketing success:

1. Identification - You need to not only identify your potential customers as they sign up on your website, but also adequately keep track of them, where they are in the marketing funnel, what are their preferences and their demographics.This is done with the help of CRM tools, which you can use to then engage with people, and send personalised content, promotions, offers and such to each segment of your potential and current customers. CRM tools are the best friend to your real estate business!Without keeping track of people all else falls to pieces, as you will see.

2. Individualisation - This involves taking data you've collected on people CRM, and using that data to send different messages to each segment audience.This way you can serve people the most relevant messages, doing that exponentially increase their engagement and your marketing's rate!

in your of your and by success

3. Interaction - Use every opportunity to interact with potential and current customers. Anywhere where people seek answers or wish to express opinions is a great place to be.But don't spread yourself too thin. You can only manage to be on so many places at one time...

4. Integration - You can combine social media platforms and your website to serve and interact with people so that you potentially keep them interested, or guide them further down your marketing funnel.You can use chat on your website, email, Facebook groups, comments on your blog posts, social media and more. From there you can also direct people to a specific channel (email, FB group and such) if you need to.

5. Integrity - This is essential since you need to build trust and remain credible to retain customers and turn them into advocates.It's all about the long- term game.

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Customer retention tactics that boost your results Here's some super useful links I think will really help you get your relationship marketing strategy in place:

• 11 Customer Retention Tactics With Real-World Examples • 10 Customer Retention Strategies That Supercharge Your Marketing • 10 Customer Retention Strategies to Implement Today • 17 Awesome Customer Retention Strategies That Work • 46 Experts Reveal Their Top Tactics For How To Retain Customers • Customer Retention Strategies for Real Estate Agents • 9 Relationship Marketing Strategies and Tools • 20 Customer Retention Strategies that Work

As you've seen, there isn't a single downside to retaining clients and doing relationship marketing.

Paid Acquisition [PPC] Yea yea, I know - you don' have money.

But there is a point where free channels show their limits. And that point is now moving less and less in your favour…

First of all, you ARE paying when you use free channels.

How? With your precious time of course.

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Second, organic reach on the internet is diminishing.

All the free platforms have grown so much in the past 10 years that they can't afford to not make you pay for using them. Aaaaand that's why they've developed ads.

Because of ads they are now purposely diminishing your organic reach, making it harder for you to reach new people and promote your (real estate) business without paying.

Bastards, yes. Smart bastards.

So, in this part of the guide you're gonna learn when and where you can start spending your money smart on generating leads.

What is Paid Acquisition?

Acquisition is the first step towards getting customers, as you've learned in the chapter on your marketing plan & funnel.

It's goal is to attract visitors, have them leave you their email so that you can then keep in touch with them, and convert them into leads.

And paid acquisition is like paying for a private jet instead of a cheap flight. It just takes you where you wanna go, sooo much faster, and hassle free. Well... almost.

The top 2 performers in online advertising are PPC and Influencer Marketing. So let's focus on them.

PPC (Pay Per Click) is the most popular advertising method.

The concept is simple - you pay a certain amount of money each time someone clicks on your ads.

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That's why it's important to target only your ideal customer. You don't want other people racking up your bill while you have no chance of converting them.

Influencer marketing is gaining more and more popularity because it converts very well.

People prefer referrals over advertising and that's why this model works.

With it you're kinda borrowing someone else's authority and having them promote you so that you get their audience (which should of course consist of your ideal customer) to visit your site, download your lead magnet, or whatever you want to promote.

It works because with it you attract high-quality leads.

More details coming after I give you the…

Upsides & Downsides to Paid acquisition Upside: You have an overview of everything. You can track cost and revenue, performance of each campaign, clicks and conversions... You have a constant stream of insights for improvement coming your way.

This helps you kill bad performing, money-wasting campaigns and focus on experimenting with those that work. Yes, experimenting... But don't worry, because with the insights you get, you learn to do and optimise your advertising so that you end up reducing costs and increasing revenue.

The more you do it, the more you learn! Yup, you gots the power.

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Downsides: You have to pay. Yup. No way around it. And in the beginning it costs you the most.

It’s because you're starting with no knowledge of what works, so you're wasting some money to figure out which campaign will work best... Does video convert better, or is it just images? Which copywriting sells best? Which Call To Action (CTA) performs best?

Things that work for other people don't have to work for you. So... you have to test. No way around it my friend...

There will be many people advising you how to set up your campaigns, including me, but this is something where you really have to test things. Wait and see.

Because sometimes the "uglier" campaign performs better.

That's why it's crucial that you don't rush into advertising but take your time with free channels so that you validate your market fit, get to know your ideal customer much better, and see what people respond to most.

When's the right time to start with paid acquisition?

When it comes to business there are 3 important stages: 1. Searching for product/market fit, 2. Searching for repeatable & scalable sales model, 3. Scaling the business.

The first 2 stages are where you need to save money and the 3rd stage is where you invest money.

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Here's why it works like that...

Paid acquisition is just a channel you use to get in front of the right audience, and with it's copywrite and content it entices them to click your CTA and that CTA takes them to your funnel.

So to maximise the conversion of the ads you're paying for, you have to: 1. Understand who your ideal customer is, so that you can target only them with your ads; 2. Know how your ideal customer thinks, so that you can crate your ads to attract their attention and pull them into your funnel; 3. Have a perfected sales/marketing funnel that has been proven to work, otherwise you're completely wasting money.

You get it now... No matter how much money you pour into your ads, they ain't gonna convert if you haven't set up a sales funnel that converts. Plain and simple.

How much money do I need?

You can start for somewhere around $300.

In the beginning you need enough money to experiment, learn and run your ads before you can even think about getting your investment back.

It costs you some money to experiment, but then after you've found the winning campaigns and start earning from them, you don't ever have to stop advertising. WIN!

But you shouldn't spend your first $300 all in one day.

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You set up a few different campaigns with only a few dollars and then the results come in. You start seeing what's working, you kill the non-performing ads and put money in the winning campaigns.

I'll cover the details in another post because you're just starting out and I don't want to overwhelm you.

Where to start advertising for real estate?

The simple answer to this question is - start where your ideal customers are.

But let's look at what the best channels are so that you get a clearer picture:

Google Adwords Google is huge of course, so it seems like it offers a lot of opportunity. But in all honesty, it's more expensive to advertise there because the competition is insane, and it doesn't deliver the high quality leads as for example Facebook does.

Its better for the top of your funnel and getting traffic.

Facebook Ads This will probably be your main channel. And for a good reason!

Facebook ads are very diverse. You can drive many different actions with them get people to like your page, promote content on your site, get people to download your lead magnet, get them to sign up for a webinar and so much more.

But the best thing about Facebook ads is the targeting & retargeting.

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Facebook knows sooooo much about people, and that allows you to pinpoint the perfect audience for your ads down to the socks they wear. This means more high quality leads, and that means more conversion.

And you can leverage the infamous Facebook Pixels to retarget the people who check out your site but don't convert, and serve them ads later down the line.

This is more effective because these people

The analytic & metric insight you get is also unparalleled.

Twitter Ads If your ideal customer is here, than by all means use Twitter ads.

They also have good targeting, drive user action, and provide great insights, but they don't convert as well as Facebook (and Pinterest) does.

Instagram Ads Facebook owns Instagram. So you you can be sure they're using their intelligence to help you target users better.

But the analytics aren't that great, and Instagram ads don't drive much action or conversion, so it's more for spreading brand awareness.

LinkedIn Ads If you're targeting a business audience, this is a good platform. It provides good targeting, but the rest of the picture can't compare to Facebook.

Pinterest Ads Now Pinterest is very interesting... It doesn't have a huge audience, and it's more popular with women. But darn does it convert! That's why if your audience is there leverage it!

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There are of course more channels, but why waste your time on the low performers for real estate?

Let's now take a look at the…

Paid acquisition strategy First - You need to have validated that you're on the right track with your ideal customer and your sales/marketing funnel. If you're not, don't start advertising until you know you have zeroed in on your ideal customer, know their mindset well, and have a funnel that is tailored to taking them from visitors to customers.

If you start advertising before all this is solid, you're gonna drown.

Second - If your first step is solid, you can start thinking about what you want to achieve with ads. What are the goals that will take you closer to success?

I'm guessing lead generation is at the top of your list.

Third - Figure out which channel to focus on first, depending on where your ideal customer is and the ROI of that channel. You don't want to waste money on low quality leads or low conversion.

Fourth - Plan your campaigns. You should have at least 2 campaigns running at the same time so that you can test them head to head (or A/B testing as the online world calls it).

You need to know what content you're gonna include (images or video), what copywriting you're gonna employ for your ad and it's CTA, and some basic psychology you're gonna use to make the ads perform better (like the psychology of colour for example).

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And for the best conversions you should definitely create dedicated landing pages for your ads. You want visitors to focus only on your offer, not get distracted, and serve them all the answers, testimonials and content they need to see to remove all obstacles to converting.

Fifth - Measure, measure, measure, so you can constantly improve!

You should also measure the performance of your funnel/landing pages. If you get a lot of clicks on your ads but not many conversions on your site/landing page, then you know you need to tweak them and not the ads. For a while.

Bonus - Use the insights you get from the ads to improve other aspects of your marketing too. You'll gain a lot of insight, so use it well.

And there is no such thing as a perfect ad. There are great ads, but every ad can be improved and tweaked to infinity. And beyond

And so can your marketing. But for now, just go and set everything on fertile soil so you can grow!

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Summary Realtors ARE marketers.

Your main task is to promote a property and sell it. Your main tools are marketing and sales! So what should you be doing if not marketing?

And is there a better way to do marketing than online, where everyone has shifted to a long time ago? Your prospects especially.

What I’ve shown you in this guide is the essence of (internet) marketing. The floor-plan.

And it may sound a bit too much, but as you go on to implement things, the more everything will fall into place and you’ll realise that marketing isn’t that hard to figure out!

Main thing about success, and marketing, is that you have to have a solid plan, do things a bit different (as I’ve shown you), and BE.CONSISTENT.

Consistency is key!

And if you set up things the right way you’ll quickly start to automate things too. Before you know it you’re getting a return on your investment which you can use to hire someone to assist you.

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The five main points I would highlight are:â&#x20AC;¨ 1. Know your audience like they are your best friend, 2. Have a funnel in place so you can guide them to become customers, 3. Know what content your audience craves and give them that, and more, so that you can be found through search engines and social media, and gain credibility, 4. Build relationships so you can partner, do linkbuilding, retain customers and gain referrals (not only from customers but also partners), 5. Analyse, analyse, optimize.

And one thing I want to especially point you to is - Be observant.

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Observing how successful Realtors do internet marketing, and where internet is shifting to, reassures me that the best way to present your business and properties is with video content.

Video is still underused. Many think it’s hard or they are just shy, but video is actually so much easier than writing content that aims to show your expertise, build trust and get people down the your funnel.

Video gives everything another dimension. It shows your energy, your body language, and your uniqueness. And it shows your listings in the best possible way - one where prospects can get a complete feel for its atmosphere and vibe. So leverage video!

Also, an important point to note is that not many of your colleagues are doing any marketing at all. Hell, chances are YOU won’t even implement proper marketing!

Will you…? Or will you be among those 50,000+ real estate agents that don’t make it through the first year, even though you desperately want the financial freedom it brings?

Iva Houseters Grčić

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