Thoughts on Real Estate Marketing…

Trying to be all things to all people never works – not even in real estate. The more you try, the more scattered you become and the more your work suffers.

Instead, decide which customers and which properties interest you most, and concentrate your efforts on serving them well. You might prefer first time buyers, move-up buyers, or 2nd home buyers. You might like fixers and repos, or you might prefer palatial waterfront homes. Whatever you prefer, you owe it to yourself to spend the bulk of your work time with the people and properties you love.

Here’s how to get started:

• 1. Select your niche
• 2. Position yourself as THE expert in that niche

Creating your niche involves some personal introspection. You have to stop and think about your own likes and dislikes. This is important, because when you serve the market you love, you’ll enjoy your work – and it will show in the size and frequency of your commission checks.

Once you decide on the niche, become the expert others turn to for advice. Soon, you’ll be THE agent that buyers and sellers turn to automatically.

This is not only easy, it is a much more efficient use of your advertising dollars.

Everyone places ads that say “I’m a Realtor, hire me.” Instead, place a short article about something of importance to your niche market. For instance, if you work with first time buyers, write a short article about getting ready for your first meeting with a lender. Taking the right paperwork along will save your customers time, so your article will be seen as valuable.

An article in place of a block ad is better for two reasons:

• 1. It positions you as an expert
• 2. It will have a larger readership.

Think of your own habits – don’t you, like the rest of us, read articles and skip ads? And don’t you assume that people writing articles know something you might not know? Most people do.

Right now you may be saying you can’t write. It doesn’t matter. With all the free articles available now, all you need to do is choose one. And if you want something specific to your market, hire a copywriter.

A bonus benefit to becoming the expert in your niche is that before long newspapers will publish your articles for free. They’ll know you’re giving valuable information to their readers and they’ll welcome your submissions – while helping to reinforce your expert status.

Talk about a win-win situation!