Email Campaigns and Drip Marketing. What Do You Use?

Hello Everyone, I hope you all are gearing up for the up coming holiday. No, I don't mean Christmas. THANKSGIVING!! I know I cannot wait.

In this post I wanted to get your opinion on email campaigns:
 - What service do you use?
 - How often are the emails sent to your subscribers?
 - What type of campaign seams to yield the best results?

I am currently using a email campaign system that has some limits as far as what I believe I want it to do. Coming into the new year my email marketing is one of the bigger projects I wanted to focus on. There are just so many options out there I thought it would be a good idea to see what my fellow AR friends thought. If anyone has any opinions, thoughts or advise on email campaigns I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks everyone in advance.

 

 

 

 

- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4256653/email-email-drip-campaigns-and-email-blast#sthash.pSqufIMG.dpuf

End of the Season Business Plans

Heading into the winter and holiday seasons this year I wanted to post on what my business plans were going to be.

Towards the end of 2013 and into the beginning of 2014 I plan to work on my websites and social media. I really want to get these systems organized and in shape. I also plan to work on getting a few systems in place with lead generation and mailings. Since I haven't noticed a real slow down in business just yet I want to start time blocking or at least attempting to. :P

In addition, our company recently just went paperless. YAY! We are required to turn in our contracts electrically and I would like to work on filling out contracts the same way also. The Dotloop program we are using really is wonderful and has so many options. I actually look forward to working with it more often. It's been by far more efficient that our paper contracts.

Another big project I wanted to work on was getting my drip campaign revamped and enter new contacts into the system. Its been a while since I've messed with that. I suppose being busy with working on my business is a good thing though! If anyone has any recommendations on what program they use for their drip campaigns I would really appreciate it. I like the one I'm using but would like to move to something better with more customization.

I'm hoping this will be enough to keep me busy this winter. I'm sure I can find something to fill my time should I come up with nothing to do. (if only that really happened) As we enter the new year I will also be updating my personal and business goals as well as business plan. In addition to looking back at the goals I had made at the beginning of the 2013 year.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Be sure to travel safe and enjoy the time spent with family this year!



- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4252245/business-plans-for-the-winter-and-holiday-season#sthash.T3AyrJSx.dpuf

The Holidays and My Personal Time: Making the Effort

Its so easy to get caught up in the swing of things: Wake up, check email, grab coffee, Head to office, come home, rest, Go to bed and REPEAT. Especially during the go, go, go months of real estate its hard to find the time for yourself. I don't know how real estate agents who have family's find the time or the balance to juggle work and family life. Kudos to them!



For myself, I can not really remember the last time I went and did something for me. I mean I do spend time at night watching a show or two on the television, but I'm usually on my email or reading something about real estate during. As far as spending quality time with people outside my work circle. HA! Not that I don't love being a work-a-holic and seeing my hard work pay off, I do, I still wish I would/could actually make the time to see my friends and family more often than I do.

That being said, I have decided to make the time to see the people who mean the most to me. I deserve it. We have one side of my family coming up for Thanksgiving and I will be going to Florida for a week to see the other half for Christmas. YAY! My first Florida Christmas. I may not have a white Christmas this year, but laying out on the beach and getting a tan will defiantly make up for that! I know the snow will be there when I get back.  

I'm looking forward to the holidays this year. I remember last year when I was a Customer Service Manager at Walmart working on Black Friday! NEVER AGAIN! This year I will be able to stay for the whole Thanksgiving dinner and I'm looking forward to that very much! I hope everyone has a safe and exciting travels this Thanksgiving. And don't forget to be thankful!


- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4252257/the-holidays-and-my-personal-time-making-the-effort-#sthash.1C9bovHo.dpuf

Agent Websites and Why Every Ageny Should Have One

In this blog post I wanted to talk about agent websites and my opinion and experience with Zillow's Premier Agent Websites.

As far as Agent websites go I believe that most of us have at least one, maybe two. Since most larger real estate companies provide their agents with a website or page, some may not feel the need for additional sites or pages. However, I feel differently on this.

Company Provided Websites
If you are strictly using a company provided website or web page I recommend obtaining a website of your own for many reasons. If you put all your time and marketing into a website the company provides you, what happens if you switch companies? Most likely, you will lose your website. So all that time you spent doing SEO (search engine optimization) and advertising is gone! I'm a firm believe of NOT putting all your ducks in one basket. Usually these websites do provide great lead management and organization, but they aren't the only resource provided out there as far as agent websites go.
I thinks it important for agents to have their own websites for the sole purpose of having complete ownership of the site. Many company provided websites market the company more so than the agent. When you have your own website you can choose the layout and content.

My experience with Zillow and Agent Websites
I use a combo of Zillow Agent Premier Website and the website my company provides me. I was weary of using Zillow at first, but after finally setting up my site I'm glad I did. Zillow makes it very easy to set up your website, edit and change things around. The templates they provide you are fresh and clean looking. There are many of widgets and extras to add to your site as well. For only $10.00 a month I feel its a great tool to use and promote your business. You also get to pick one free domain name and you do not have to worry about bandwidth like other website providers package.
I also use the web page my company provides me. It's free and adds extra exposure to my business. I don't add content to it as much as my Zillow site because this site isn't on my business card nor do I advertise it. I do however have my company provided website set up to direct visitors to my main website.

What do you use for your website provider? What works and what doesn't?
I would enjoy hearing what everyone is using for their agent website, whats working out and what hasn't. Please comment!


- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogs/rrussellneo#sthash.jCiYzsiO.dpuf

Starting Out as a New Real Estate Agent

I though I would share my experience and what I have experienced with other new agents in starting out in real estate.
First and foremost, I believe that some pre licensed and newly licensed agent are not fully aware of what it actually takes to be not only be a successful agent, but an informed agent. Real estate is not for everyone, most new agents think they are going to make it rich selling houses and have fun working with their clients. Maybe television is the blame for this misconception, or a misleading recruiter at a real estate company. Regardless, making sure someone you know if fully educated about the field before they decide to make a career change.

The drive to become an agent.
For myself, I choose the real estate path because I've been involved in the industry at a young age, given I am only 20. My family has been involved in real estate for over 27 years. It was an easy choice. I was able to enter the field with a decent amount of knowledge that I have learned over the years. For some of the newer agents, some may not have any prior real estate knowledge, which isn't horribly bad, but would put them at a lesser advantage over others. I have had multiple peers join real estate and quit their jobs thinking they were going to start selling and listing homes right off the bat. I wish I had gotten to them sooner!

I'll Be Rich!
One of the biggest issues with new agents is what they believe they will make their first year. $100,000; $200,000? Most likely not. There is nothing wrong with setting goals, but learning how to set smart goals is key. For myself, I decided to set the number of sides I wanted to complete my first year. I wasn't going to be too concerned with the amount I was going to make. Gaining actual real estate experience and working with a number of different scenarios was what I was after. 

Where are my Clients?
The most important factor in real estate; The customer. Where is the client who will buy the house from you come from? Family? Friends? I've talked to too many new agents either starting out or thinking about getting their licenses and their answers are is usually the same; "The company will give me my clients." If only they knew! Most do not understand that you have to work to get clients, work to sell or list with those clients, and then work on maintaining relationships with past and current clients. Not saying I haven't received a few company leads, but that isn't where my business comes from. I choose to work as a buyers agent with an established team in my area. It gives me a chance to work IN my real estate business as well as have a decent supply of leads to work ON my business.

In Conclusion. 
I absolutely love real estate and wouldn't want to be doing anything else. I also enjoy seeing new agents join the field, its seeing them fall out after a few months is whats disappointing. We should all work together to educate the general public and people interested in joining the real estate industry. Everything aside, real estate is a growing field, lets make sure everyone has the proper knowledge. Every single one of us as agents are who the public enguages with, lets make sure it a positive interaction.
- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4228817/starting-out-as-a-new-real-estate-agent-#sthash.mvgUrP4Z.dpuf

Finding the Balance of Working IN Your Real Estate Business

Well, I've seemed to find time again to do some more blogging. I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments on my first blog post. Again, Thanks everyone!
For this post I wanted to talk about the importance of working IN your real estate business, and finding the balance in which to do so. As I am approaching my second month as an active agent, my goals as to where I wanted to be at an online stance isn't up to par. I've been working in real estate as an admin and tech support for a while. In my time I've found that the biggest neglected factor for others and myself is working inside your real estate business.

Finding, Making and Planning the Time

Working on your real estate business is easy. We do it everyday. Meeting with clients, showing houses, writing contracts, etc. However, do we always take the time to work inside our business? For myself, I've acknowledged the fact that I do not work in my business as much as I originally planed to. My website needs to be updated. I've been ignoring my Twitter, Facebook and I haven't been on AR as much as I would like.   I finally had to set specific time aside to do so!
Since then, I have decided to set a few hours, one day a week to work on organization, web pages, social media and other odd and ends that do not get the attention during the rest of the week. I feel like the importance of this is just as important as working on my business if not more.

Why is it so Important?
I've spoken to many different clients and customers who shared their experience in finding an agent and starting the home buying process online. Since so many people do start online these days, why wouldn't we want to focus AT LEAST a few hours a week to working inside our business. In the experiences I was told, the most common factor that pushed clients from one agents page to another was old content and layout. I don't want to focus on agent websites too much. (That's a whole post on its own) Continuing, a simple update to your homepage can mean the difference between gaining a client and losing one.


Organizing Yourself
In addition to working on your online presence. Making sure your keeping organized is key as well. Entering that clients contact info you jotted down on a sticky note into your CRM, and that those random papers are filed where need be. I've had days were I go look at my desk and question how I let it get that bad. I try to stay organized as I go but at the end of the week I've surprised myself again.

I feel like to could go on and on about the topics in this post. My main goal was to encourage agents to make the time to keep organized and updated on the web. Such a small amount of time can make a bigger difference than you think. My next few blog post will go into specifics on tech for agents and I've included the topics and schedule below. Please feel free to comment and let me know your opinion and any tips or pointer you may have or if there is a topic you would like me to cover. I'd love to hear what other agents have to say.



1) Agent Websites and Zillow Primer Websites 11/11
2) Email, Email Campaigns and Email Blasts 11/20
3) Social Media and Real Estate Agents 11/30
4) CRM's 12/9

Richard Russell
cutler Real Estate
330.281.6582
Selling Akron Oh and Surrounding Areas! 

- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogs/rrussellneo#sthash.qY8dh2ku.dpuf