When you close a great deal or help find that hard to please home buyer the perfect pad, step up to the plate and ask them for a testimonial. If you stand around and wait for the testimonial to come to you, expect to be standing on that corner for quite some time. You need to identify your most valuable prospects from your past client database and give them a ring or send them a card asking for a testimonial. Take special care to ask those clients that have recommended you on their own. Happy clients are more than happy to give you a testimonial.

GUIDE your client on how to write a situation specific testimonial.

The best testimonials are those that address specific situations. So, feel free to guide your client on how you want that testimonial to read by reminding them of the specific circumstances of their deal that made it unique. For example, if they had very specific criteria for their home search, be sure to remind them of how hard it was to find those properties. If they had a home that had sat on the market for a year with another Realtor but you sold it in less than a month, push the testimonial in that direction.

DON’T fake or over edit testimonials.

Testimonials only really work when they are natural and REAL. Most people can spot B.S. from a mile away, so stick to the content your client gave you warts and all. You can edit the content down, but don’t change grammar or context. Also, never, never, never make up a testimonial. Your reputation is not worth the embarrassment of being caught gaffing a testimonial. Also, the real testimonials will drive in more traffic because you should always let a client know you have posted their words by sending them a link to the article. People like to be quoted, so they are likely to send their friends and family to your site to point out how brilliantly they were excerpted.

PLACE testimonials on your real estate blog appropriately.

There is nothing worse than seeing a Realtor that has taken the time to collect a slew of testimonials and relegated them to a never read Testimonials Page on their real estate blog or website. Always place testimonials related to buying towards the top of a page or post about buying in a larger and/or colored font, similarly place seller testimonials on seller pages and posts. Each time you pen a situation specific post that would tie nicely into your testimonial, be sure to couple the two. Feel free to use testimonials as inspiration for posts and addressing objections or problems potential buyers or sellers may encounter. This is a great way to grow your content and present testimonials naturally. Imagine the power a testimonial about how you helped a buyer through a difficult closing has sitting alongside an article about techniques you use to make a closing easier.

DIRECT readers to your lead generators through the testimonial.

If you make the testimonial itself a focal point of the page by enlarging the font and/pr changing the color, utilize the impact of the testimonial to guide readers to your lead generator. If the article and testimonial is about selling a home, clearly place a graphical link close to the testimonial to your lead generator for sellers.

~ REBlogGirl

What others say about you may be just as important as your own marketing message. In today’s information age, people tend to do a little homework before making a purchase or hiring for services. Often, folks rely on the referrals and testimonials of others.

The fact is that testimonials work. If at the end of a listing presentation you provide Mr and Mrs Seller with a list of names and positive comments from other happy sellers, this automatically gives you credibility. Or while a homebuyer is searching the web, they come across several testimonials showing how you have helped others save money and time, this person now feels you might be just the expert they are searching for.

You now have an advantage over the competition and a better opportunity to turn leads into clients.

As REALTORS, how many of you have one or more marketing messages posted on your website, printed materials, and advertisements? All of us, right?

And how many of those include testimonials from your clients? If you don’t have testimonials yet, get some. Ask each client personally for a written synopsis of their experience with you. You can even help them promote the message you want to convey by asking questions.

Mr Seller, how much money did I save you in selling your home? Mrs Buyer, did I negotiate an excellent price for you on this home? Did I make the escrow process as painless as possible? Did I always follow up in a timely manner? Would you recommend my services to others?

Adding testimonials to your sales message is certainly not a new concept. Jay Abraham, perhaps the most famous marketer of them all, stresses the importance of getting your clients to talk on your behalf. “Provide testimonials and show examples…that other clients have experienced…” he pitches to a group of business clients (Summaries of the Master Marketing Strategies, 2003). In fact, as popular as he is, even he displays client testimonials on his own website.

Always be sure to keep a copy of the original testimonial from each client – and be sure to get the client’s permission to publish their name and comments.

If you are new to the business with no clients yet, ask if your brokerage has some statistics and testimonials that you can use. You could use something like “My company sold over 1200 homes last year” and “92% of my company’s clients would recommend us to their friends.” This can get you started. Then, ask for testimonials from every client you service.

When you post the testimonials on your website and printed materials, be sure to include the client’s full name. Using anonymous names or initials makes it look like the clients aren’t real. This can actually detract from your credibility. Adding full names and possibly the city or phone number gives your testimonial a human touch.

And you will be seen by potential clients as the trustworthy and reliable agent that they are seeking.

~ Andrea Messenger

Some businesses make the mistake of trying to design their own logo, business card, or website. Or they have an amateur “throw together” something for them. This is actually a VERY costly mistake. Having a logo, stationery, brochures, and other marketing materials that look unprofessional and poorly designed creates a less-than-favorable impression in the minds of new prospects and can lose you potential business.  

Hire a professional, reputable design firm to develop your logo and marketing materials. Do it right from the beginning. Here are some specific reasons why having professionals design your marketing materials is an investment in the future of your business:  

1. First Impressions Count: Your logo and marketing materials are the first impression people get of your company. People often make decisions about where they make purchases based on imagery. Your appearance helps sell your company and draw in new prospects!  

2. Your Branding Sets You Apart: A well-designed identity will help to differentiate your business. Without a solid brand, your core-marketing message isn’t being reinforced, you aren’t memorable, and you also have a problem distinguishing your company from your competitors.  

3. Your Materials Sell You: Anything your company puts out in front of prospects and customers must be of the highest quality. If your logo, website, business cards, and brochure aren’t professional, why would prospects think your services are any better?  

4. Professional Design Enhances Credibility: People want to purchase services or products from a company that appears established, secure, and reliable. Your business needs to look sound and trustworthy. Professional materials show that you care about quality and have attention to detail.  

Well-designed, strategic marketing materials will reward you again and again by driving more customers to your company and helping you to make a great first impression. Professional, high-quality marketing tools will move your prospects closer to making a purchase. And after all, you wouldn’t show up to a professional networking event in pajamas, so, why would you dress your business in sloppy clothes? 

~ Wendy Maynard – Kinetic Ideas

What that means – generally speaking – is you are still writing promotional copy designed to cause a *person* to take a specific action. Your target audience (your site visitors) should come first. The elements designed to help the copy rank well absolutely come last.

What good is all the traffic in the world if your site copy doesn’t convert visitors into buyers? Not much. That’s why – when writing SEO copy – the human visitor comes first.

Unfortunately, SEO copywriting is getting a bad name because so much of what is being cranked out is repetitious babble. Most of these pages would never have made it on to a site, except for the fact that the site owner wanted to rank highly for certain key terms.

So, in the interest of salvaging the good name of search engine copywriting, before it’s too late, let me offer some guidelines.

SEO Copy Is:

• first and foremost – written for the visitor.
• unique and purposeful.
• natural-sounding – it flows.

SEO Copy Is Not:

• written exclusively with the engines in mind.
• mirrored, adjusted or altered to create new pages by simply changing keyphrases.
• stiff, forced or overly repetitive.

The Dos of SEO Copywriting

When writing SEO copy, you’ll want to:

• understand who you are writing to.
• choose what the focus of the page will be.
• create a plan outlining the message you want to convey.
• decide how best to communicate that message to your particular target customers.
• choose which keyphrases will be incorporated into the copy.
• make sure those keyphrases work well with the page and the planned copy.
• incorporate keyphrases as you write (not after you write), so they flow naturally with the planned message.

The Don’ts of SEO Copywriting

When writing SEO copy, you should never:

• create a plan based solely on how to rank high.
• replace *every* instance of a generic term (car) with a keyphrase (red, convertible car).
• add pages of copy simply to appease the search engines.
• rely on useless keyword density ratios and formulas.
• shove keyphrases in everywhere possible. (No, it won’t get you banned, but it will sound completely ridiculous!)

SEO copywriting is not the process of writing exclusively for the search engines. It is the process of writing copy to appeal to your visitors, while including elements to help the search engines and your visitors understand what the page is all about.

If you remember who truly makes or breaks your site’s success (your customers!) and focus on them, you’re sure to create SEO copy that rings true.

~ Karon Thackston – Search Engine Guide

Every day, millions of people go to the web for research, shopping, news, entertainment and more. Offline stores are heavily promoting their websites to their consumers in the isles and at the checkout stand as a means of building brand loyalty as well as shopping convenience. Marketing your website online can literally add thousands, hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars into your business bank account.

As consumers turn to the web for a variety of reasons, planning the online marketing strategy of your website can help you tap into each of those avenues as a way to generate new traffic, more conversions, and a loyal customer base. Ignoring the potential of the web will only serve to give your competitors a substantial advantage in reaching your target market. Not investing appropriate time, money, or resources into the online marketing of your website is akin to handing your customers over directly to your competitors.

Let’s consider the success of Amazon.com. When you think of online bookstores, most people think of Amazon. Why is that? Why not BarnsandNoble.com or Borders.com? Ten years ago, when the web was in its infancy, yet growing in popularity, Jeff Bezos jumped into the online game with a bookstore of his own. He got his store online before Barnes and Noble and Borders and now runs one of the most successful marketplaces online: Amazon.com

Even today, as all national booksellers are selling their products online, they have not been able to overcome the online success of this one guy who started a bookstore in his basement. Here we are, ten years later, and there are still thousands of businesses that have still not built up their online presence. Many have websites, but very few are marketing their websites effectively. You may not become the next Amazon.com success story, but effective marketing of your website can add considerable coin to your purse.

~ Stoney deGeyter

If you’re not sure what back links are, back links are links to your site from someone else’s. Each back link acts as a vote for your site. In other words, the search engines think that if others are willing to link to your website, you must have relevant worthwhile information on it. However, there are a few points to remember: 1. The quality of the pages linking to you matter.2. The higher their ranking, the more their vote weighs for your site.

3. Be careful not to get banned from the search engines by creating many different junk sites that link to your site.

4. Don’t SPAM all over the web, linking your site however and whenever you can. You should only be leaving your link on other relevant sites when you have something to contribute!

~ from: www.royallmedia.blogspot.com

One way to increase your conversion ratio is to make sure your Web site is easy to navigate and information is easy to find. In other words, ensure its “usability.” Often, search engine optimization and marketing principles benefit a site’s usability with people as well as search engines.  

Here are some tips on how to improve usability and improve your conversion rates.

Analyze the usability factor

Your Web site can drastically change over time with the addition of new products, services and content. That’s why it’s crucial to regularly put yourself in your visitor’s shoes and evaluate what they experience. Carefully study your homepage. Can visitors quickly find what they are looking for? Is the site navigation simple and logical, or are visitors confused by too many options, too much junk or flashy ads? Even though you know your product inside and out, assume your customers don’t. Show them why it is the best, how it can be used and how it will benefit them. Offer free demos (if possible), or provide customer testimonials or third-party reviews from professional sources. Try to get an outside perspective. Ask a few trusted customers, other business associates, or family members to look at your site with fresh eyes.

Deliver what you promise

Some sites forget to follow up on their promises. Or, just as frustrating, the product that’s attracting customers’ attention is buried behind other information. Putting essentials in the back of a store might work for the grocer down the street, but it doesn’t fly online. Online customers have a choice: If they don’t see what they want right away, they leave and click over to a competitor. You can show visitors other products and services after you deliver on your offer, whether you’re touting free shipping, a white paper, a case study or specific product benefits. Your customers will have a more positive experience, and they may bookmark your site so they can come back again and again.

Design landing pages with care

Make good on any headline or offer, whether you’re directing traffic from pay-per-click ads and banner ads or links to specific pages. For example, if you advertise, “Download A Free Demo,” then be sure to give them the free demo. No tricks or gimmicks. No lengthy explanations of your other services or products, no matter how great they are. There’s time for that later, after you make your customers happy by giving them what they requested.

Landing page design should be clean; it should have easy-to-find buttons and a clear call to action. Test which images work best. In general, photos of people are attractive and engaging, but you’ll also need to determine what kind of product photo tells the best story or explains the most about your benefits.

Small changes, like tweaking the location of your submit button, can add up to big differences, influencing conversion rates by as much as 40 percent.

Keep the navigation options to a minimum. The point of a landing page is to quickly guide your prospect to the item, issue or offer that caught his or her attention in the first place. Too many navigational choices are distracting. Plus, if you’re trying to guide folks to a form, you don’t want them to veer off track.

Forms are a good way to capture information about your prospects on your landing pages, which should provide information or some other benefit in return for a completed form. Keep those forms as short as possible, users can suffer from fatigue and abandon your offer if they get bored or you ask for info that they feel is too personal.

To make prospects comfortable about telling you who they are, display your privacy policy and let prospects know what you plan to do with their information. Ask permission on the form before you follow up with a phone call or email. And keep testing these actions as well, finding the precise balance of information gathered to information shared.

Rely on your analytics technology

Your analytics technology should be able to tell you where visitors enter your site and what content interests them. Some visitors might enter on a page touting a research study, for instance. Keep them engaged by making it easy for them to explore related topics, suggesting they read a new products page or subscribe to a newsletter. Use your analytics technology to find out what components engage them most.

In the end, the most compelling reason customers buy is because they believe in you or your product. Make it easy for them to see your benefits. Analyze your site regularly, making sure it’s easy to navigate and delivers what you promise. Then watch your visitors turn to loyal, paying customers.

~ Lisa Wehr – MarketingProfs.com

1) Find a Differentiating Factor:
What sets you apart from other Realtors? Whenever I ask prospects and clients this question, I get the same laundry list of responses. They tell me they provide better service or they offer a discount or they are quick to respond. When I look at agents’ marketing materials, I read things like “#1 real estate agent” or that “I’m different from other agents.”The truth is that none of these are good differentiating factors because every agent says them. And once everyone starts saying the same things and doing the same things, there’s no differentiation. Instead, find a way to differentiate yourself that’s bold and clearly states how you’re different. Don’t tell them. Show them.

2) Outspend Your Competition:
Spend more on advertising and mailings and other promotions so that you do get greater and repeated exposure to your audience. It does work but it takes a long term approach. In the short term, you will burn through a lot of cash breaking into the market and establishing your dominance.Look at how Microsoft operates. They see a profitable industry they’d like to get into and buy up a few companies. Then they blitz their current customers and everyone else with ads, promotions, and samples. They look for ways to get their message out – through the media and customer evangelists – and they pick up those messages and market some more. It’s the same way with real estate or any other industry. You can outspend your competition to reach more people more frequently.

3) Find a Niche and Fulfill Their Need:
The last strategy is to find a market that has an unmet need and focus your efforts on solving their problems. Niches usually have less competition than the overall market, so if you can create a marketing message tailored specifically to your target audience, you’ll stand out. The benefit of this is that you start small and build a reputation as the agent to go to for this particular niche.

The absolute worst thing you can do is say that you focus on “buyers and sellers.” It’s too general. Marketing works best when you can reach the same people repeatedly. It can take 6-8 times before people even start to recognize your firm. Reaching them once or twice is not enough. You have to have enough resources – time, money, and expertise – to reach these people on a constant basis.

What types of people should you focus on? Consider these: first time buyers, baby boomers, vacation home buyers, second time move ups, Hispanics. I bet if you start brain storming and you can come up with more.

~Krista Baker -Morningstar Multimedia

This philosophy has gotten me in trouble more than once. Most recently, I broke my blog. Because I knew enough to know that I didn’t know how to set up a blog, I paid somebody to do it all for me. At the same time, I know enough about web programming to be dangerous and figured that I would take over once it was up and running. Consequently, I really messed things up for a few days.

This was a great lesson to me on why I pay people to do things that I shouldn’t be doing. I don’t paint bedrooms (and my wife is much happier for that), I don’t change my oil (tried and failed) and I don’t mess with plumbing. But like so many other people I still find myself trying to do things myself in order to save a few bucks. In the end, it usually costs more—either in insufficient time management or having to fix what I broke—than it would have if I had simply paid somebody with experience to do it right.

The same standards can and should be applied to online marketing. I run across many people who still like to take care of these things in-house. I certainly understand the motivation for doing so, saving money and all that, but what about the time factor? What about ensuring it’s done correctly. What about keeping up with trends and industry changes?

Doing your search engine optimization and marketing in-house will often times produce poorer quality results and use up more valuable man-hours than simply paying a professional in the first place. Even if you were to hire a full-time SEO to work in-house there are so many levels of experience that are necessary to make any optimization campaign successful.

If you rely on only one person to do all that you’ll still be shorting yourself some necessary components that make a campaign successful. There is a reason that the clich?? – “you get what you pay for” is so often repeated – more times than not, it turns out to be true. So the next time you think you’re going to save money by getting it for “free”, weigh the cost vs. benefits for the long-term. Are you certain that the job will be done right? Do you have the knowledge to ensure success? Are you really going to be saving any money, or will you end up losing more than you’re “saving”.

These are all valuable questions to consider, and if you do you’ll be better armed to make the right decision for your situation. After all, any marketing job done right is an investment to your future success.

~Stoney deGeyter ~ MarketingProfs.com

2.     No Community Information: Ok, most agents include a few links, but there’s nothing that talks about what living in the community is like. What are the good points? Why would I – as a first time buyer, a move up buyer, a retirement buyer, or any other buyer – want to live in this community? According to NAR’s 2002 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, after listings, people are most interested in the neighborhood. You can use your website to show pictures, local news and events, and other community information that captures why this neighborhood is a great place to live.

3.     Poor navigation: I’ve seen countless real estate web sites that simply provide a link to every page on their website on the top or left side. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to why the links are in such places, and navigating is a chore that requires me to read every link on the page to determine which I should choose.Web visitors are picky and if they can’t find what they want in a few seconds, they’ll leave. They won’t stay and try to figure out how to use your site. They don’t care, and there are many other easier to use choices.

4.     Focus on the Agent: Websites that focus on how the agent is #1 in their area and have their picture all over the front page are simply a waste of money. When people hear phrases like “the #1 agent in XYZ County” they are immediately skeptical. Don’t hype yourself up. If you can’t prove it, don’t say it. And if you can prove it, list the third party source that backs up your claim.Instead, make your website client focused. If your ideal prospect visits your website, what do they want to know? How can you help them find it? Focus on your visitors, not yourself. Use your knowledge of and experience in real estate to demonstrate why you are the one they should work with.

5.     Hard to read text: People don’t read websites the same way they read print materials. On the web, people scan. If you have large blocks of text, use industry jargon, or write in long, wordy sentences, your readers will skip over them. If you use fonts that are too small, are multicolored, or are ALL CAPS, your readers will skip over them. Web visitors want quick access to information that will help them achieve their goals or aid them in their research. Don’t expect them to take the time to figure out what you mean. Say it clearly and get to your point quickly.

6.     Poor lead generation tactics: Often, agents include a “free market evaluation” as their way to get in the door. They think that as long as they can see the home and make contact with the prospect, they can close the deal. That may be so, but often, prospects aren’t willing to make such a jump from knowing little about you to inviting you to their home. It can be intimidating, especially if they expect you to “sell” to them.Instead, think about what types of valuable content you can offer free on your website. These might include a tip sheet for moving into a specific community. A buyers kit that discusses relevant information. A tip sheet for sellers to get the best price. A relocation guide. Or anything else that might appeal to your target audience.Offer to mail them a booklet if they provide their address or create an email course that they can receive if they provide their email address. Think of ways to start educating prospects before they contact you.