CONTENT 2.0, PAGE 6 | SOCIAL MEDIA IDEAS, PAGE 3
NEWSFLASH December 2013
Energy seen before 2014 I recently returned from the NAR convention in San Francisco and you could feel the energy in the room. Final attendance figures haven’t been released, but from my experience it was very well attended with the aisles crowded and buzzing. There was a renewed sense of optimism with Realtors® very engaged in improving their businesses. Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the Bill Shue, NAR, released his update predicting that 2013 would CEO close with 5.2 million transactions and 2014 the same but with a six percent price increase. That would be two years in a row with above average transactions. And yes, we are seeing the same optimism and positive growth at Homes & Land. For the first time since the economic collapse we have seen page growth over previous year for the months of September and October. Forty-two percent of our magazines are up year to date over last year and we expect to see over 50 percent by the end of the year. That’s a substantial improvement since June, when only seven percent of our magazines were up over last year. That’s an incredible positive trend, and we are working diligently to help everyone
A Publication of Homes & Land Affiliates, LLC
Forty-two percent of our magazines are up year to date over last year and we expect to see over 50 percent by the end of the year. experience positive growth. Advertising spending is increasing and our strategies are gaining traction. Content 1.0, 2.0 and luxury are adding over 300 pages per month and we expect continual growth over the next twelve months to over 5,000 annual pages. The call center now headed by Bill Edwards is sourcing and targeting lists with over 200 new pages sold reported last month from the network. Digital luxury continues to grow, to 150 units last month, and the good news keeps coming. One magazine was just awarded the Parade of Homes issue, and the creativity in pages to induce small budget to high budget advertisers is amazing! I also want to personally thank our wonderful FAB Group for their tireless efforts and dedicating their time to assist in moving the company forward for many years to come. Their contribution is greatly appreciated.
2014 Homes & Land Annual Business Conference Where: Westin Orlando Universal Boulevard 9501 Universal Boulevard Orlando, FL 32819 When: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8 (travel dates should be planned for Feb. 6 and 9) Rate: $129 To make reservations: Call 1-888-627-7815 and mention Homes & Land business meeting. Interested in golfing? A golf tournament is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6, at around noon. For more information on ABC or the golf tournament, contact: Carolyn Hicks (850) 574-8238 ext. 2121 carolyn@homesandland.com
Inside Call Center...................... 2 Estates & Homes........... 6 Recent Webinars............ 8 Sales Presentation......... 5
December 2013
Page 2
Call to action appointments since 9/23
appointments for all of 2013
30
Publishers, representing 29 magazines, participating since 9/23
APPOINTMENT SETTING AT THE CALL CENTER
Bill Edwards, Inside Sales Manager
250+
committed pages since 9/23
2. If you have an MLS feed turned on, we will use that data to analyze your market and determine the best target strategy. If you do not have an MLS feed currently, we can still help you, however the feed does allow us to target prospects more effectively. 3. Together we will prioritize your list to make sure we call the top agents in your market. 4. We will then complete your list for you by researching missing cell numbers, email addresses and address information. 5. Then with input from you, we will determine the best strategy to develop a script for our callers. We are having great success using texting, WSJ and local events as triggers in our scripts. Once we have your approval on your final list and script, we will begin calling
EN
TRA
HLMarketingCentral.com At the refreshed Marketing Central website, you’ll find information related to all of the resources listed below.
PRODUCTS
Flyers Filler Ads Covers Content 1.0 Content 2.0 Estates & Homes Digital Products WSJ Luxury Package
Direct Mail Banner Ads Online Syndication Magazine Makeover Call Center
and setting appointments for you. So far, since January of this year, we have been able to set 1,300 appointments for many of our Publishers. We started tracking actual pages sold through these appointments on September 23 of this year. Thus far, over 250 pages have been committed to as a direct result of these appointments.
“The results were amazing. I highly recommend using the Call Center! They were awesome at setting appointments for me.” —Gabby Stigall,
Houston Homes & Land Magazines
If you would like to hear firsthand from Publishers who are having success with this service, you can view the webinar by going to Marking Central, then “Resources,” then “Archived Communications,” then “Call Center Webinar,” or scan the QR Code on the page 8. If you would like to get in front of more of your prospects, let us help you. Please call or email: Bill Edwards edwardsb@homesandland.com / ext. 2262
C
PROGRAMS
If you missed our recent webinar and did not hear the news, Homes & Land now has a full service Call Center to help you get in front of your prospects. We have made the process very easy. How does it work? 1. Just call to reserve your spot on our Call Center schedule.
ET
G
1,300
RK
IN
464
|
L
|
MA
NewsFlash
Doug Smidley smidleyd@homesandland.com / ext. 2359
TRAINING
Sales 101 Success Stories Power Point Slides Product Training Content 1.0 Content 2.0
RESOURCES
Financial Tools Leader Board Vendor List Company Information A rchived Communications Trade Show Displays Business Cards E-Library Who To Call
SALES
C ustom Sales Presentation Sales Training Videos
If you need login info, email: marketing@homesandland.com
NewsFlash
|
December 2013
|
Page 3
Ideas for social
POSTS, TWEETS & PINS
Every social media site caters to a different set of users, with different preferences for viewing your media. Facebook: The largest social networking site in the world — a must for any business. Do: Post photos whenever possible. Don’t hesitate to post something every day, or share posts from fellow Homes & Land publishers. Twitter: A “microblogging” site used for “tweeting” updates and information to followers. Do: Write quick, timely tweets and use “hashtags” to gain a wider audience. Don’t go over the 160-character limit. Google+: A social networking website that carries a significant weight with Google’s search engine. Do: Engage with Google+ by clicking “+1” on posts you find interesting. Don’t be shy about adding contacts to your “Circles” to keep up with their activity on Google+. LinkedIn: A business networking site that can be leveraged to connect with fellow professionals. Do: Endorse the skills and expertise of contacts in your network. Don’t neglect to complete your profile in detail, including certifications, honors and awards. Pinterest: Acting as a digital bulletin board, Pinterest is made for “pinning” photos. Do: Create different “boards” for your best interior photos. Don’t forget to pin your magazine cover every time a new issue is published.
SUGGESTIONS Deadline call to action Remaining spots available call to action
SOME ADDITIONAL INSPIRATION
What’s inside your new issue
Stacy Johnson Homes & Land of Central Oklahoma facebook.com/stacy.d.johnson1
Community events
Julie Walter Homes & Land of the Outer Banks facebook.com/HomesAndLandOBX
Open houses
Russell Haskins: Homes & Land Foothills of East Tennessee, Homes & Land of Knoxville @homesandlandman (twitter.com/homesandlandman) Homes & Land Affiliates, LLC google.com/+HomesAndLand Homes & Land Affiliates, LLC pinterest.com/homesandland
Feature an advertiser
Industry headlines
Upcoming board of Realtor meetings Link to Marketing Minute Where to find your magazine Brand yourself, referring back to your website Feature great photography Success stories when advertisers sell homes listed in your magazine
Need help with your social media strategy? Email: marketing@homesandland.com.
NewsFlash
|
December 2013
Contacts MANAGEMENT
Bill Shue, Chief Executive Officer bill@homesandland.com ext. 2177 Rober t Hardy, Chief Financial Officer hardyr@homesandland.com ext. 2254 Allen Harrod, Chief Operating Officer harroda@homesandland.com ext. 2374 Marjorie Schoelles, VP of Sales and Marketing schoellesm@homesandland.com ext. 2114 Doug Smidley, VP of Franchise Services smidleyd@homesandland.com ext. 2359 Eric Adair, VP of Business Development adaire@homesandland.com ext. 2130
|
Page 4
HOMES & LAND AFFILIATES, LLC 1-800-726-6683 1830 East Park Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32301
Prepress/Magazine Compliance prepress@homesandland.com Dave Frazier, Compliance Manager david@homesandland.com ext. 2260 HOMESANDLAND.COM/PUBLISHER CENTRAL 1-800-862-5151 apfeedback@homesandland.com Kenny Bar field, Customer Service Rep. bar fieldk@homesandland.com ext. 2173 Ron Fondo, Product Development Manager ron@homesandland.com ext. 2178 TECHNICAL TRAINING
LEGAL Terry Smith, Legal Services Manager terry@homesandland.com ext. 2245
Tracie Seale, Quality Assurance Manager sealet@homesandland.com ext. 2208 Gary Owen, Training Supervisor oweng@homesandland.com ext. 2386
SALES & MARKETING Will Haugerud, National Sales Manager haugerudw@homesandland.com 720-289-4553 Kevin Reagan, Regional Manager reagank@homesandland.com 610-329-8515 Ami McClay, Marketing Coordinator mcclaya@homesandland.com ext. 2171 Joni Branch, Managing Editor (content) branchj@homesandland.com ext. 2108 Bill Edwards, Inside Sales Manager (call center) edwardsb@homesandland.com ext. 2262 Cole Johnson, Electronic Graphics/Web Designer johnsonc@homesandland.com ext. 2198
FAX NUMBERS Finance/Accounting: (850) 574-8940 Legal: (850) 575-9567 Franchise Services/Marketing: (850) 574-2525 Human Resources: (850) 574-9609 Customer Service: (850) 574-2525 Legal/Compliance: (850) 575-9567 Call Center: (850) 574-2525 Finance: (850) 574-8940 Estimating and Special Publications: (850) 574-2525 Direct Mail Services: (850) 574-2525 Customer Service: (850) 574-2525 HomesAndLand.com Customer Service/Publisher Central: (850) 574-3771
OPERATIONS/CUSTOMER SERVICE Doug MacDonald, Customer Service Rep. dougm@homesandland.com ext. 2113 Tyler Andrew, Customer Service Rep. tyler@homesandland.com ext. 2265 Doug Brewer, Customer Service Rep. doug@homesandland.com ext. 2437 Kay Whipple, Estimating Manager whipplek@homesandland.com ext. 2404 Carly Echerri, Franchise Services Specialist echerric@homesandland.com ext. 2249
FAB CORNER F or a summary of the Franchise Advisory Board’s September meeting, visit Marketing Central and go to Resources > Archived Communications. pdates from more recent FAB meetings will be U presented at the ABC in February.
NewsFlash
|
December 2013
|
Page 5
Sales Presentation
The above sample slides are all available in the Sales Presentation.
The Sales and Marketing team, working with publishers and our regional managers, recently developed the custom Sales Presentation in order to create a resource to use during sales appointments. After testing with publishers, the Sales Presentation was released and made available for download on Marketing Central. It’s meant to be customized,
developed and updated, so please send feedback to marketing@homesandland. com, especially suggestions based on how well the presentation works in the field. The current Sales Presentation, which features plenty of stats and background on Homes & Land, is only the first phase. Additional versions, including a Content 2.0 piece, are in the process of
being completed for 2014. To customize and order a presentation, fill out the form fields at the bottom of the Sales Presentation Order Form on Marketing Central. We’ll send you a PowerPoint file that’s ideal for iPad, print or an office presentation. Based on your customizations, the Sales Presentation can contain as few as 17 slides and as many as 77.
Aside from the “core” Homes & Land slides, available sections include:
Scan the QR Code with your smar tphone and log in to Marketing Central to watch a 20-minute overview video about the Sales Presentation.
EN
TRA
MA
ET
L
C
G
For assistance, including password resets, email marketing@homesandland.com
RK
IN
SALES >> CUSTOM SALES PRESENTATION
NewsFlash
|
December 2013
|
Page 6
Content 2.0 Marketing Central Training videos Page samples Editorial calendars Ordering info Media Kit Sales tips sheets Content 2.0, which provides print-ready home-improvement ar ticles for use with contextual adver tising, has gone from an initial six ar ticle categories to a full dozen over the past year as the company reshapes the initiative to meet the needs of publishers and adver tisers. Get a look at home-improvement ar ticles in action, as published with adver tisements in magazines throughout
the U.S. and Canada, in the revamped Content 2.0 section on Marketing Central. That’s also where publishers can find copious suppor ting materials such as a Media Kit and multi-page sample layouts. The Content 2.0 ordering system on Online AdMaker also has undergone a makeover that makes it easier to use. Initially ar ticles could only be ordered in a specified sequence.
Content 2.0 now available in Corporate Inserts!
“People are really noticing and LOVE the content!!! I LOVE IT TOO! I have wanted editorial in my magazine since I bought it 9 years ago. Thank you so much for all that you are doing!!” — Andrea Barrett-Caser tano,
Homes & Land of Tucson, on the reaction she has gotten to advertiser-supported home improvement articles appearing in her magazine
Now publishers can request any printready ar ticle listed in the ordering system, in any sequence, and more ar ticles are posted each month.
150
Publishers have seen increased page counts that can be attributed to the addition of an Estates & Homes luxury listing section. For a complete rundown on Estates & Homes, including sales strategies and information about templates and suppor t materials, visit Marketing Central and click the “Estates & Homes Section” button on the home page.
Number of participating magazines Number of pages
TRA
MA EN
L
G
C
IN
ET
May
June
July
August
PRODUCTS >> CONTENT 2.0 PRODUCTS >> ESTATES & HOMES SECTION For assistance, including password resets, email marketing@homesandland.com
Sept.
153.5
16
128
13
98.5
15
81
13
114.5
14
56.5
13
57.5
11
50
April
RK
100
Oct.
NewsFlash
|
December 2013
|
Page 7
RECENT FLYERS, FILLERS & CORPORATE INSERTS
Flyer: Text Codes, PDF HL7196
Flyer: HomesAndLand.com Value in Visibility, Quark HL7252
Flyer: WSJ.com Adver tiser - Home Seller Brochure, Quark (4 pages, requires customization) HL7253
Filler: Consumer Texting, Quark HL7209
Filler: Shingle Sense Ar ticle, PDF HL7259
Filler: DIY Don’ts Ar ticle, PDF (2-page spread) HL7260
Filler: Moving Checklist, PDF HL7262
8-page Corporate Inser t
ET
EN
TRA
L
C
G
At the request of the Franchise Advisory Board, we have put together some training information to help publishers learn what tools and services may be available to agents who belong to a franchised office. You can find this information on Marketing Central.
RK
IN
FRANCHISE OFFICE OFFERING COMPARISON
MA
4-page Corporate Inser t
Fillers and flyers are available for download on the “HandL” FTP server. Contact your CSR for information about Corporate Inserts.
TRAINING >> PRODUCT TRAINING >> F RANCHISE OFFERING OFFICE COMPARISON
NewsFlash
|
December 2013
|
Page 8
RECENT WEBINARS Scan a QR Code with your smar tphone and log in to Marketing Central to watch and listen to any of the webinars below. All webinars are available on Marketing Central.
Call Center Webinar, Nov. 5
HomesAndLand.com New Sor t Feature Webinar, Oct. 1
Print Programs Recap and Update Webinar, Oct. 15
Consumer Texting Update Webinar, Sept. 24
Content 2.0 Update Webinar, Oct. 9
MailBlast Update Webinar, Sept. 17
MARKETING MINUTE EXCERPTS Marketing Minute ar ticles are available to email through MailBlast. Share them on your social media sites from ThinkHomesAndLand.com.
MAGAZINES ARE TOP TIER FOR DRIVING ONLINE SEARCH
“This year’s Factbook shows that magazine media brands satisfy readers when, where and how they choose,” says Association of Magazine Media President and CEO Mary G. Berner. In the real estate segment, expect integrated media to play a big role in the buying and selling experience.
COMMUNICATING YOUR VALUE AS A REAL ESTATE AGENT
Plenty of negotiating goes into determining the value of a listing, but there should be no question about the value of a Realtor. Unfor tunately, many home sellers and buyers may not know how critical it is to work with a real estate agent.
POWERFUL REAL ESTATE MARKETING FOR YOUR BRAND
By focusing on name recognition, concerns about the real estate industry’s challenges can be kept in check. With attention to detail and creativity, your brand and reputation can be working for you while you’re out working for your clients. As a postscript to complement each ar ticle, the Marketing Minute includes testimonials from adver tisers throughout the network. To have one of your adver tiser’s testimonials included in the Marketing Minute, or if you would like to suggest a topic, email marketing@homesandland.com.