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Editor: Josh AvneryAuthors: Rachel Solomon,Liat Behr & Josh AvneryWhat you will learn in this guide.Stay current on everything Realtors need to know.Why and how to create a portfolio of your work.How and why to be as present as possible on social media.How and why to build your own website.From productivity to outsourcing, here are the expert tools and resources to grow yourbusiness at the pace you want.Next steps, inspiration, and how to keep growing.
You want to succeed in your business (and we want you to as well!). To do that, youneed to implement some basic, scalable online marketing strategies that we’llexplain in this guide.The Internet is an ever-evolving environment, but no matter how much thingschange, one rule stands true: Your online presence matters. Your personal brand iskey to building trust, and making more sales.The challenge is getting noticed. You need to establish your brand and stand outfrom the crowd. You need to get your work recognized by the largest audiencepossible and convert them to business leads. In other words: you need to do someonline marketing. We’re here to help.In this guide, we will give you the best tools, advice, and resources to achieve all ofthis and more. Our mission is to help you grow your business. To do that, we havespent countless hours curating and creating the most actionable advice on how tomarket yourself.We’ve compiled a wide breadth of best practices, tips, and strategies from expertmarketing resources. We did the work for you. With this easy-to-follow guide,you have a simple action plan for establishing a strategic marketing plan.Read on and learn to showcase yourself online, attract new audiences, and growyour business.To next-level growth,Josh Avnery WiseStamp Co-founder & CMOTwitter LinkedinGrow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!2
About the authors of this guide:Josh AvneryJosh is a WiseStamp co-founder and growth hacker. Josh hasa vast SEO & SMO marketing background. Josh managedmarketing while WiseStamp grew from zero to over onebillion emails empowered by WiseStamp users. He lives andbreathes the internet and is a struggling foodie in an officefull of vegans.Rachel is a Realtor and journalist who specializes in SmallBusiness and Entrepreneurship. Her editorial work hasappeared in The Wall Street Journal Online, Dow Jones, andEntrepreneur.com. At WiseStamp, she focuses on creating,researching, and curating the most actionable and accessiblecontent to help small business owners, freelancers, andRachel Solomonentrepreneurs take their business to the next level.Liat BehrLiat is a Realtor at WiseStamp and copywriter at Ink ofImagination. She delights in creating and sharing valuabletips and helping businesses craft effective content. Whenshe’s not writing content, she can be found in the world offiction, embarking on adventures with her characters.Showcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!3
The world of real estate is constantly evolving, and you need to keep pace.Which tools should you be using to promote your listings? How can youbuild your online reputation and brand?Staying up to date can seem overwhelming. But you can easily manage it byfollowing the resources that supply a steady stream of the most relevantinformation for the realtor industry.Here are the resources and experts to follow:Blogs7 Best Realtor Blogs to FollowThe world of real estate moves quickly: What is happening with mortgagerates? What new developments are going up? What are the latest tools tomarket to clients?You can stay on top of all the critical news by following the right industryblogs.Sure, you can use social media to gather news, but not everyone wants tospend their days combing through their Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitterfeeds. Save time by going straight to the source, the blogs themselves.Grow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!4
1. Trulia Pro blog - For Real Estate Professionals resources from smartways to generate leads, to staging tips your sellers need to know.2. Zillow Pro blog - A great blog that helps real estate professionalsmaximize their business.3. Real Estate Trends - Most trusted name in real estate business andtechnology trends.4. Top Agent Magazine - Top Agent Magazine features articleshighlighting real estate agents and firms, as well as industry experteditorials focusing on the business of real estate.5. NAR Research - Find out what NAR experts are saying about theeconomy, the housing market, and other factors impacting yourbusiness and your life.6. Inman News -The leader in real estate industry news & tech info toprofessionals and consumers.7. Realtor Magazine - REALTOR Magazine is the business tool for realestate professionals.Pro Tip: Streamline content from all the blogs you follow by usinga simple aggregating tool. We recommend Feedly, a free service.FacebookReadingthe "7 Best Realtor Blogs to Follow" on The Ultimate MarketingThe MustFollowFacebookGuidefor RealEstateAgents Pages for RealtorsShowcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!5
Social media is not only a great way to promote yourself and your business,it’s also an essential discovery platform for the ideas, news, and inspirationyou need to get ahead and grow.If you want to stay current in the latest trends and news for real estateprofessionals, then you must follow these Facebook pages. Millions ofrealtors combined follow them religiously for their knowledge sharing andinsights. You should too.These are the top Facebook pages for Realtors to follow:1. Realtor Magazine - REALTOR Magazine is the business tool for realestate professionals.2. National Association of Realtors - America’s largest trade association,representing 1 million members.3. Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC) - REBAC is the world’slargest organization of real estate professionals focusing on buyerrepresentation.4. NAR Research - Find out what NAR experts are saying about theeconomy, the housing market, and other factors impacting yourbusiness and your life.5. Inman News -The leader in real estate industry news & tech info toprofessionals and consumers.6. NAR's Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) Certification - SellerSolutions. Buyer Opportunities. Real Estate Recovery.7. Real Estate Trends - Most trusted name in real estate business andtechnology trendsGrow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!6
8. Top Agent Magazine - Top Agent Magazine features articleshighlighting real estate agents and firms, as well as industry experteditorials focusing on the business of real estate.9. Trulia - Trulia gives home buyers, sellers, owners and renters theinside scoop on properties, places and real estate professionals.10. Zillow - Zillow is the leading real estate marketplace on mobile and theWeb.Reading the "The Must Follow Facebook Pages for Realtor s" on TheUltimate Marketing Guide for Realtor sShowcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!7
Marketing BooksTop 6 books that will help you get more leads as a RealtorHere are the six best books to start with, for promoting your listings:How To Become a Power Agent in Real Estate by Darryl DavisWhy you should read it:Because Davis offers excellent action plans for both the newand experienced agent.Endless Referrals by Bob BurgWhy you should read it:Because Burg offers proven strategies that will help you buildrelationships and leverage them.Sell with Soul by Jennifer AllanWhy you should read it:Because it’s an informative guide with great tips and arefreshing approach.The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary KellerWhy you should read it:A step-by-step how-to book that will help you build a lucrativecareer as aThe Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki andPeg FitzpatrickWith over one hundred practical tips, tricks, and insights,authors Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick present a bottom-Grow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!8
up strategy to produce a focused, thorough, and compellingpresence on the most popular social-media platforms.Maximize Your Social: A One-Stop Guide to Building a Social MediaStrategy for Marketing and Business Success by Neal SchafferMaximize Your Social will guide you to mastery of socialmedia marketing strategies, saving you from spending achunk of your budget on a social media consultant. FollowNeal Schaffer's advice, and you'll be able to do it yourself—and do it right.Reading the "Top 6 Books for Realtor s" on The Ultimate MarketingGuide for Realtor s Showcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!9
As a realtor, you absolutely need to build a web presence to compete.Establishing yourself online will build confidence among your prospectiveclients; they’ll be able to easily learn who you are and what your specialty is.There are several sites specifically for promoting real estate professionals,and it’s easy to get started on them. They give you the critical advantage ofpromoting your listings, your expertise, and who you are as a professionalwith ease. Your presence on these sites will make you more visible in searchresults, and, in turn, generate more business opportunities.Pro Tip: Once you complete your portfolio, link or add it to yourwebsite.Just for Realtors Zillow- Target buyers and sellers in your local market and increasevisibility for you and your listings. Trulia- Promote your listings and boost your leads by using Trulia’spopular marketplace. Realtor.com- The official site of the National Association of REALTORSwith listings for millions of homes for sale across the United States andCanada.Grow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!10
Homesnap- Create a profile and select your area, and Homesnap willsend you relevant buyer inquiries.Also Recommended Squarespace is an easy-to-use option for creating a more robust websitewith graphics. You can blog with it as well.About.me makes it easy for people to learn about you and understand yourarea of expertise. It offers detailed stats on who visited your page, what theyclicked on, and where they cReading the "Top 5 listing promotion sites for Realtor s" on The UltimateMarketing Guide for Realtor sShowcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!11
How and why to be as present as possible on social media.Why and How You Need to Set Up Your Social Media PresenceAs we’ve seen from the first chapter, social media is a key tool for staying inthe know, and many experts use those platforms to share and leverage theirknowledge. Your social feeds are the best resource for you to get real-timeinformation on critical news on your industry, and generate more businessleads and sales.Social media is a key component of any competitive online marketingstrategy. With the growing scope of social media platforms and influenceacross the web, you cannot afford to be absent. On the contrary, you must beas present as possible.Your clients expect to find you on various social media channels. By buildingyour presence on social media, you will be able to communicate with themmore easily, develop a voice and reputation that will give people confidencein your brand and become more visible in search engine results.To help you achieve the top social game, we have compiled this short guideon how to use the social media channels that we believe are most importantto building a business: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest andYouTube.Grow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!12
Facebook PageWhy Facebook MattersFacebook is the world’s largest social network with the most users. It’scritical that your business partakes. Here are some fascinating statistics onFacebook as of 2014 from marketing expert Jeff Bullas. These make the casefor why you need to be on Facebook: 829 million people use Facebook on a daily basis; and you want tocapture their attention.30 million businesses now have a Facebook Fan Page; you should too.Tips for Optimizing your Facebook Business Page Create a Facebook Fan Page for Your BusinessFacebook has a great portal just for Business users; use it as a guidelinewhen building your page. Use the “About” section wiselyThe “About” section is your opportunity to really tell people who youare and what you do. There is no limit to characters. Make sure to addkeywords so you are optimizing your search potential. Design the right-sized profile picture & cover photoMake sure your photos look great by sizing them correctly: profilephoto, 180p x 180 pixels, cover photo 851 x 315 pixels.Showcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!13
Follow and “like” influential Facebook pagesStart “liking” other Business pages relevant to your industry andengage with them. This will help you enter their community andbring Facebook fans of your own. (We have a whole chapter on whoyou should follow on Facebook.)Pro Tip: For more tips on optimizing your Facebook business page,check out Facebook’s resource center for business.Twitter ProfileWhy Twitter MattersTwitter is a social network powerhouse with a huge, growing user base. Hereare some fascinating statistics on Twitter as of 2014 from marketing expertJeff Bullas. These make the case for why you need to be on Twitter: 34.7 million American adults use Twitter.27.9% of all social network users in the U.S. are on Twitter, 19.2% ofinternet users are on Twitter, and 15.2% of the total U.S. population ison Twitter.Tips for Optimizing your Twitter Make the Most of your BioGrow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!14
You don’t have a lot of room for your Twitter bio-- but make sure toinclude one to two keywords or hashtags (#hashtags) to increase yourvisibility.Add your locationBy adding your location, you can be found via geographic search tools.Design the right-sized profile picture & cover photoProfile photo should be 400 x 400 pixels. Cover photo 1500 x 500pixels.Follow InfluencersFollow the people who are most relevant to your industry (we have awhole chapter dedicated to who you should follow).Pro Tip: For more tips on optimizing your Twitter account, checkout this article from Entrepreneur.com: Advanced MarketingTechniques to Help Your Twitter Account Take Off.Kevan LeeContent Crafter at Buffer@kevanlee“Share your best content, even if you've shared itbefore! At Buffer, we've found that resharing yourblog posts and best stories multiple times onTwitter helps you reach a growing, changingaudience. You can connect with those who mayhave missed the post the first time, the newfollowers who have joined since, and people inother timezones that might have been fast asleepthe first time! “Showcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!15
LinkedIn ProfileWhy LinkedIn MattersLinkedIn is the ultimate social network powerhouse for professionals. Itsnetwork of millions of users can help you grow your business contacts andleads. Here are some fascinating statistics on LinkedIn as of 2014 frommarketing expert Jeff Bullas. These numbers make the case for why you needto be on LinkedIn: 300 million users are on LinkedIn.2.1 million LinkedIn professional groups exist. This is where peoplenetwork, connect, and share valuable ideas and dialogues.Tips for Optimizing your LinkedIn Profile Page Use the “Summary” section wiselyThis is your opportunity to grab people’s attention. There is no limitto characters. Make sure to add keywords so you are optimizing yoursearch potential. Upload a cover photoMake sure you use the proper dimension: 1400 x 425 pixels. Grow your networkLinkedIn allows you to invite people to connect via your emailcontacts. This is a great tool for building your network.Follow influencers and join groupsGrow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!16
Stay up-to-date on the most relevant news in your industry byfollowing thought leaders and joining professional groups.Pro Tip: For more great tips on optimizing your LinkedIn profile &Company pages, see LinkedIn’s resource: The SophisticatedMarketer’s Guide to LinkedinGoogle plusWhy Google MattersGoogle might be the most misunderstood of all the social networks—butits influence cannot be underestimate. Here are the impressive stats ofGoogle from leading digital and social media marketing blog DigitalInsights: 1.6 billion total users540 million active users53% of interaction between a Google user and a Brand is positiveTips for Optimizing your Google Use the “Story” section wiselyMake sure to add keyword to increase your SEO visibility.Join communitiesShowcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!17
Joining Google communities is a great way to connect with otherGoogle brands and users who share your interests and goals.Add your contact informationEmail, phone, and physical address (if applicable for your office orstore)Pro Tip: Follow the Google user guide for more ways to optimizeyour Google profile, or head over to the Google Pages section tolearn how you can make your brand at home on Google .Kristi HinesFreelance Writer“People often ask how I get so much writing donewhile still maintaining an active social mediapresence. The answer is through automation. If youcan find ways to automate the simple stuff using toolslike IFTTT and Zapier, you will have more time toengage on social media and get your work done. “kristihines.comGrow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!18
Instagram ProfileWhy Instagram MattersInstagram People love sharing photos of all kinds, and the proof is inInstagram’s popularity. Here are the impressive stats on Instagram fromleading digital and social media marketing blog Digital Insights: 200 million active monthly users50 million users joined Instagram in the first half of 201420 billion photos have been taken on Instagram to dateInstagram checklist: Add your nameUpload a profile photoWrite a descriptionInclude a link in the descriptionUpload a profile photo (110 x 110 pixels)Include your company specialtiesPro Tip: For more great tips on how to use Instagram, check outInstagram’s business blog.Showcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!19
PinterestWhy Pinterest MattersPinterest is a hugely popular visual discovery tool you can use to reach newaudiences. Here are the facts on Pinterest from Digital Insights: 70 million users are on Pinterest.40 million users visit Pinterest per month.23% of Pinterest users use the site at least once per day.Optimizing Your Pinterest Page Use the “About” section wiselyMake sure to add keywords so you are optimizing your searchpotential. Create a custom username and Pinterest URLPinterest allows you to create a custom URL, which is great for SEOpurposes. If available, use your name or your business name, or acombination that is SEO-friendly. Design the right-sized profile photo: 165 x 165 pixelsFollow influential Pinterest pages Grow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!20
Start “following” other Pinterest pages relevant to your industry and engagewith them. This will help you enter their community and bring Pinterestfans of your own. Add your Location – this will help you get discovered in location-basedsearch queries. Connect your other social networksPro Tip: For more great Pinterest tips, check out the Pinterest Guide blog.YouTubeWhy YouTube mattersYouTube is the leading video content platform and the 2nd largest searchengine after Google. You can get creative by making simple videos with yourown marketing tips and add any video content that you have scripted foryour clients. 6 billion hours of video is watched on YouTube per month 1 billion YouTube mobile videos views per dayOptimizing Your YouTube Channel Use the “About” section wiselyShowcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!21
Make sure to add keywords so you are optimizing your searchpotential. Get a custom YouTube channel URLOnce you are eligible, make sure to claim your custom channel URL Optimize your Video Channel and each videoMake sure to tag and title your videos with SEO in mind. Include clearand relevant keywords that will help your content appear on YouTubesearch queries . Learn from the experts follow influential YouTube ChannelsSubscribe to popular YouTube channels to learn their best practiceson how to produce content and engage with viewers.Pro Tip: Create your own YouTube Channel, follow YouTube’s help guideYouTube, and learn how to optimize it by reading The Beginners Guide toCreating a Compelling YouTube Channel by adknowledge.comReading the "Top Social Media Tips for Realtor s" on The UltimateMarketing Guide for Realtor sGrow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!22
As we discussed earlier, there are several excellent third party web sites thatsuccessfully showcase all you have to offer-- from online portfolio sites tovarious social media channels. But you can further your web presence evenmore by creating a site of your own.You might ask by this point, “Why create my own site if I already have abunch of social media accounts and an online portfolio?”Good question. To answer it, we default to the simple words of wisdom fromGoogle executive Matt Cutts."I often get asked, ‘What is the mostcommon SEO mistake?’ And it’s actuallypretty simple: the answer is not having awebsite. If you don’t have a website,you’re kind of invisible on the web.”Matt CuttsGoogle executive & SEO expert@mattcuttsShowcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!23
The rule is simple: The greater your web presence, the more visible youbecome. Yes, you can achieve great visibility through social media andonline portfolio sites we mentioned earlier. But, if you want to cover all yourbases and climb the SEO rankings to the summit, then you must create a siteof your own.Creating a website might sound intimidating. But there are tools that makebuilding a website as easy as sending a Tweet or updating your Facebookstatus.We’ve sketched the process out in three simple steps.Build Your Site in 3 StepsStep 1: Choose and Register Your Website’s Domain NameQuestion: “How do I choose a name?” Your domain should contain your company name.Use keywords that are relevant to your content or area of expertise.(I.e. JohnSmithContent.com or JaneDoeMarketing.com.)Domain names need to be easy to remember. Keep your name shortand clean. (I.e. JaneDoeMarketing.com NOT Jane-DowMarketing.com.)If possible, choose the .COM version of a domain.For more tips on choosing a domain name, we recommend GoDaddy.com’sguide.Grow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!24
Question: “Where do I host my site?” There are a variety of differentwebhosting services, each with different features and price plans. Werecommend looking at these webhosting leaders to see what best suits yourneeds:1. GoDaddy.com2. Hostgator.com3. Dreamhost.comYou can also compare and contrast these webhosts and others with PCMagazine’s Best Web Hosting Services of 2014.Step 2: Outline the pages you want on your siteIt’s important to identify the amount of pages you want to have on yourwebsite. There is no magic number for how many pages you should have. Asa rule, create only as many pages as you need; no more.Here are the four essential pages every Realtor’s site should have: Homepage: The homepage should include the name of your businessand what type of service you provide (I.e. copywriter, contentstrategist, branding, etc.) Portfolio: Showcase examples of your work on the portfolio page. Endorsements: Feature client testimonials to inspire confidence andtrust. About: Write a short bio on yourself. People want to know who youare, not just what you do. Contact: Include all the ways you can be contacted— email, phonenumber, address, and links to any social media accounts such asTwitter and Facebook.Showcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!25
Step 3: Design Your SiteYou don’t have to be a professional graphic designer in order to create a greatsite. There are several resources that can get you up and running for little tono cost and at the click of a mouse.Option 1: Do It YourselfThere are so many services that allow you build a professional website out ofa variety of highly customizable templates and designs. Most of them offerfree services (with limitations) and premium packages to best suit yourneeds. Here are the ones we recommend: Wix – Like Weeby, Wix also has an easy drag-and-drop tool. It alsoboasts the largest selection of free templates and great customersupport. WordPress – One of the most popular website builders, WordPress hasthe greatest amount of professional templates to choose from. Squarespace – Offers very stylish, responsive, and easily customizabletemplates. Weebly – Their free service has the smallest ad placement as comparedwith others, and also a very easy drag-and-drop site builder tool.Option Two: Hire a Freelance to build your websiteYou can find great, professional, and highly recommended talent online.Here are some great marketplaces to find skilled web builders & designers.1. Fiverr4. Freelancer.com2. oDesk5. Sortfolio3. Elance6. CoroflotGrow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!26
Every business owner needs a toolkit of services to help maintain and growtheir business to the next level. From productivity, to communication, tomarketing and more, we collected a thorough list of our favorite tools thatwill optimize your business performance, streamline your workflow, andhelp you make the most out of every minute of every day.Business Apps & Digital Storage Google Apps for Work - Google offers professional email, onlinestorage, shared calendars, video meetings and more. The apps arespecifically designed for business and teams to share and collaboratesecurely. Dropbox - Safely, securely, and easily store all of your documents,which you have access to on your desktop and mobile devices.Email WiseStamp - Professional email signature designs with easilycustomizable templates. Promote your business with every email yousend.Streak - Customer Relations Management (CRM) inside Gmail.Boomerang - Scheduled email sending.Hellosign for Gmail - Sign documents in Gmail.Showcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!27
Scheduling & Meetings Doodle.com Simplifies scheduling. It’s the scheduling tool you'llactually use. Find a date for a meeting 2x faster. World Time Buddy - Simple time zone converter for scheduling. Timer tab - Never lose track of time with this helpful timer tool to keepyou on task. Join.me - Easy screen sharing.Communication UberConference - Free conference calling with easy dial-in system. Google voice - Google voice users can make cost-free calls betweeneach other, leave voicemail as easily as email, and much more. Hellofax - With HelloFax, you can conveniently send and receive faxesonline.Marketing Social Media Managemento Pagemodo - Everything you need for a powerful social mediarresence.o Buffer - Buffer is the easiest way to publish content on socialmedia across multiple accounts.o Postplanner - PostPlanner saves you 2 hours daily on Facebookmarketing.o Oktopost - Easily manage and measure all of your B2B socialmedia marketingGraphicso Canva - Canva makes graphic design simple for everyone.Create professional graphics with the click of a mouse.Grow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!28
oooPicmonkey- Editing your photos is easy with PicMonkey! Addfilters, frames, text, and effects with this free online photoediting.Social Media Image Maker - Resize and retouch your socialmedia images for the most share-worthy pictures.Powtoon - Create animated marketing videos and videopresentations.Newsletterso Getresponse - Email marketing made easy.o Mailchimp - The most popular email marketing solution.o Madmimi - A great solution for creating, sending, sharing andtracking email newsletters.Customer Service Highrise - Communication and customer service made easy with thisnifty tool. Survey Monkey will help you build your questionnaire with itsquestion bank and survey templates.Outsourcing Fiverr - The marketplace for creative and professional freelanceservices. Elance - A community of skilled freelancers eager to help you get thejob done right. 99designs - The largest marketplace for sourcing graphic design talent.Showcase your work, your brand, yourself. Create your email signature now!29
We’ve shared a lot of information with you. Now, here are the next steps forimplementing it.PrioritizeThere are many action items you can now take having completed this guide.Where will you start? First, knock the small stuff out of the way; determinewhich actions you find easiest and quickest to complete, and check them offyour list. Then, begin tackling the larger action items.The TakeawayEvery professional has his or her individual goals. After reading this guide,ask yourself, “What’s is the biggest takeaway for me?” As you proceed toexecute your marketing plan, focus on that takeaway.Long-term GoalSet a long-term goal for your business and think about how your marketingstrategy will help you achieve it.Use Our ResourcesThis is your starter guide for building your marketing strategy. We havecreated a resource center especially for you that has more great tips andadvice on social media marketing, SEO optimization, generating leads,converting customers, and much more.Make a Professional SignatureGrow your business with us. Get a professional email signature now!30
Now that you have (or are bu
1. Realtor Magazine - REALTOR Magazine is the business tool for real estate professionals. 2. National Association of Realtors - Ameria’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members. 3. Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council (REBAC) - REA is the world’s largest organi
