This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link):
How do you get visitors to come to your home’s custom weblog? Shoe leather works well. Search engines? Not so much…
Okay, so you’ve built a custom weblog to help sell your home, and you’ve dressed it up with photos, a map, a floorplan — every bit of content you could think of. Now what?
Your home now has a twenty-four-hour salesperson on the internet. How do you go about getting potential buyers to visit your blog?
Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is not search engines. For one thing, your site is brand new. The search engines don’t even know it exists. Even if you manage to get indexed, you won’t have the kind of popularity to bring you to the top of search results for your keywords.
But there is an even more compelling reason why search engines won’t be much help to you: Visitors brought in by search engines are very loosely motivated. Many will have been looking for something else entirely, so they will bounce right back off your site in seconds flat.
Your objective in promoting your weblog is to target people who are motivated to buy your home — or who know someone who is motivated to buy your home. Your job is not to broadcast your appeal to everyone but to narrowcast to just those people who can do you the most good.
You’ll put notices about your weblog anywhere online that you can — Zillow.com, Trulia.com, CraigsList.com, local weblogs supporting nearby schools, little league teams, etc. But your primary promotional strategy is going to be offline — person to person.
We print business card-sized promotional pieces to advertise our open houses. These are distributed to every house in the neighborhood, since the neighbors may know someone who wants to live nearby.
During the school day, there will be more than 100 cars in the school parking lot, most of them driven there from out of the neighborhood. Some of those folks are sick of commuting.
Most local retailers will have some kind of bulletin board. Your cards belong there.
Your buyers probably won’t find your home on a search engine. But if you manage your promotion right, your house will be sold long before that matters.
Technorati Tags: arizona, arizona real estate, blogging, phoenix, phoenix real estate, real estate, real estate marketing, technology
Diane Cipa says:
Greg: Timely post for me and you are absolutely right. I launched that little Ligonier Living blog this weekend and the first thing I did was print up a bunch of notices with a pretty screen print, the URL and IT’S FREE…IT’S FUN and walked around town in a snow storm. It is shoe leather promotion with notices and e-mails and posting wherever you can. Word of mouth will eventually push a site but you can never stop marketing. It’s like breathing.
March 11, 2008 — 12:15 pm
Brian Brady says:
I gotta ask because I’m curious. What about a PPC campaign for a specific neighborhood search term?
ie- “Homes for sale in FQ Story”
Probably not cost effective?
March 11, 2008 — 3:55 pm
Craig Tone says:
I don’t think Google likes your ideas, Greg.
Brian, Google says checks in the mail! LOL
March 11, 2008 — 5:10 pm
Carl Minicucci says:
A good balanced approach..
Indeed, there is the opportunity for local people to be aware of others (friends, family, co-workers) who may want to live nearby. An understated part of this strategy is the fact that locals will be trusted cheerleaders for their own neighbourhood.
If you assume otherwise, you will have initiated a lead generation campaign for those looking to vacate.
A win-win.
March 11, 2008 — 5:22 pm
Greg Swann says:
> I gotta ask because I’m curious. What about a PPC campaign for a specific neighborhood search term?
I get 350 words and a presumption of total noobie-tood. You can be sure I will never write about Pay-Per-Click in the Republic. 😉
As for doing it, it might be worth trying for fifty bucks, with maybe the same spend on Zillow.com. In F.Q. Story, people will salute. In Litchfield Park, not as many — maybe none. But: You never know with Direct Markrtting until you test.
March 11, 2008 — 5:55 pm
Greg Swann says:
> I don’t think Google likes your ideas, Greg.
We were spending $600 a month on AdWords until they tried to tell us that the word “hi” in “hi-tech Realtors” was trademarked. Kissed ’em goodbye and haven’t missed ’em. Sell your Google stock is my advice.
March 11, 2008 — 6:04 pm
Hopkinton MA Realtor says:
Its always a good idea to promote your site in both online and off line avenues. They both can be a profitable means of getting results.
March 11, 2008 — 6:39 pm
Brian Brady says:
That coffee house idea you had, last summer, plays well into this. Get the local, free wi-fi joint to have the weblog as the default page.
March 11, 2008 — 9:21 pm
Greg Cremia says:
I have a bunch of blank sign riders. I have a local sign company make vinyl letters of the url which I put on the blank sign rider and attach to the sign. When I am done with the rider I peel off the letters for the next listing.
The downside is you won’t get all the sign calls.
March 12, 2008 — 6:16 am
Diane Cipa says:
I think the point of the post is not to rely on search engines and that’s good advice. Spreading the word by whatever creative means works for your demographic is what it’s all about. It’s like trying to be seen in the ocean. You’ve got to wave your hands or have some damn good flares. Being in the boat isn’t enough.
March 12, 2008 — 7:04 am
Todd says:
“…During the school day, there will be more than 100 cars in the school parking lot, most of them driven there from out of the neighborhood. Some of those folks are sick of commuting.”
Please don’t “analog spam” my car. Stick with creating a “Make me move” page on Zillow.
March 12, 2008 — 8:11 am
Diane Cipa says:
I understand but how many of those 100 people are even looking at Zillow? They might not think about a move until someone puts the option in their face, literally.
March 12, 2008 — 8:21 am
Greg Swann says:
> Please don’t “analog spam” my car.
My first broker called it commercial graffiti.
March 12, 2008 — 8:27 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@ Brian Brady- Just my opinion, but I don’t think a neighborhood PPC campaign will fare much better than it’s natural result cousin (grin). At least not for a single home blog. Maybe a bit too “hyper-local”.
I can think of some COOL targeted keywords that you could target with $50 to generate interest with a traditional hyperlocal blog that would generate some traffic that would turn into repeat traffic and (dare I say) clients provided that you have the content tweaked so that the landing page lowered the “bounce rate” that Greg was referring to.
Interesting post Greg and good points, all.
March 12, 2008 — 9:00 am
Thomas Johnson says:
At least Greg’s little business card sized ambassadors don’t fly around in the parking lot like so many hot dog wrappers at a baseball game…
March 12, 2008 — 9:06 am
Tom says:
If I was a real estate agent I would have no excuse in following Greg’s advice on this. It is not rocket science and with printing cost so low the combination of online and offline marketing can be done for the cost of 1 horrid 3 line ad in the local paper.
How cheap check this out http://www.psprint.com/printing_products/gloss_postcard_printing.asp
500 4 x 6 full color front, black back postcards for 36 dollars.
How, how can you go wrong. Tie it into your website marketing and you have the magical thing called exposure. Even better, have on the back of the postcard advice to send it to someone who is interested in the neighborhood. 🙂
March 13, 2008 — 3:12 pm
Diane Cipa says:
Tom: I can’t believe you mentioned that site. We started using them this year for business cards, our custom designed holiday cards and most recently, the 4 x 6 postcards. These cards push our Choose and Save program which is only accessible from our web site. The cards are classy and we use them in all kinds of ways. We send them to our existing consumer database, put them on bulletin boards throughout our 34 county market, put stacks in Realtors offices and get supplies into the hands of agents and lenders. They are larger than a business card so they have more visual impact and are smaller than a normal brochure. It makes it an easy handout. They do nothing more than drive traffic to our web site. Frankly, next to our fleet of billboard minicoopers, this postcard is my second favorite marketing tool.
March 13, 2008 — 3:53 pm
Tom says:
Diane
I use them for a number of marketing efforts. Everyone seems to get hung up on the postage with postcards but in reality they are just a small form handout.
Good quality, inexpensive, fit in a purse, and did I mention inexpensive? And if someone wants one mailed to them it is all set to go.
Great for restaurant menus and coupons. 🙂
March 13, 2008 — 4:07 pm
Greg Swann says:
We sometimes use postcards, but we love the business card form factor. Our flyer boxes have a pocket at the top for business cards for people who don;t want anything too big.
March 13, 2008 — 4:27 pm
Jacksonville Real Estate says:
It’s an old idea and it’s not mine … but if you are targeting just a certain areas then getting your flyer on the local pizza delivery box can work wonders.
March 15, 2008 — 11:05 am
Greg Swann says:
> It’s an old idea and it’s not mine … but if you are targeting just a certain areas then getting your flyer on the local pizza delivery box can work wonders.
Oh, very cool. I tend to think in terms of things we can do on our own, but this is actually an interesting cross-promotion:
“Visit our custom web site for 123 Mulberry Lane and your next pizza is on us!”
Build a PDF coupon in the site and redeem them with the pizza joint once a week. Meanwhile, your contact info is on the fridge for weeks or months.
That’s a Brian Brady-style idea. I must be channeling… 😉
March 15, 2008 — 11:16 am
Jacksonville Real Estate says:
Wow! Greg you took the idea to the next level.
I don’t think I would pay for a pizza, that’s pretty expensive pay per click. But there has to be an affordable way to make it work.
I like how the coupon would be on the fridge for weeks or month.
Maybe get a bunch of service providers together from other industries so that you can try to “zero cost” the marketing idea.
March 15, 2008 — 11:35 am
Diane Cipa says:
Come on. I like Greg’s idea and the original idea but to make title people aka other service providers pay for your promo, I hate that idea.
March 15, 2008 — 11:37 am
Greg Swann says:
Buy the soda instead, then. It’s an upsell for the pizzeria — bigger mark-up, and therefore often deferred. Your cost is down to maybe three bucks — only on redemption — for the most valuable real estate in the house, the front of the fridge. That’s a smokin’ deal, and you can turn it into a locals versus The Big Chains thing, too: We support Luigi’s because Luigi’s supports Littleton Heights. There’s a lot you can do with this.
Make them fill out the coupon prior to redemption, then take them all back from Luigi — and share your DB with Luigi; he’ll love you for it. Then send two more coupons to everyone who uses one. Better yet, hand deliver them. Sales is getting belly-to-belly. Everything else is either prospecting or marketing.
I agree with Diane, but for different reasons: You don’t want to muddy up your marketing message with appeals from other vendors.
March 15, 2008 — 11:46 am
Jacksonville Real Estate says:
Greg,
I also agree that bringing other service providers in would muddle the message. But I was looking at the cost of pizza.
However, sodas I definitely can do. I am going to talk to my local pizza chain about getting it started.
Diana,
I don’t believe there is anything wrong with getting other service providers to pay for the advertising you create if this advertising includes marketing their services also. (I may not of made it clear in my previous post that they would be advertising their service also.)
If you are putting together the advertising, doing all the follow up work and getting the ad created then I don’t see anything wrong with this being your contribution to the project and the other service providers split the actual cost of production.
March 15, 2008 — 12:30 pm
Diane Cipa says:
I understand. 😉 The problem is that you can’t make it “zero cost” without violating RESPA. Each service provider pays base on their real share of the advertising. So if I were joining you, I’d expect to have a real ad cost based on the size of my ad next to yours and I’d expect you to pay for your share.
I don’t want to move the conversation away from the subject and I think Greg’s point is the real issue. Marketing of that type is best when the message is simple and direct. GO TO MY WEB SITE. SEE THE HOUSE. I’LL BUY YOU A COKE.
I may just have to put a flyer on a pizza box. I like the idea.
March 15, 2008 — 12:51 pm