Last week, my business partner Neil posted a video on how to create a Google Places account. (To view, click here now) Neil has recently learned that Google is giving priority placement to businesses that have a Google Places listing. And, as we all know, priority placement in Google is what the whole SEO game is about. Priority placement is how your Ideal Prospect finds you.

So, if you can optimize your placement in Google simply by having a Google Places listing–and it costs you absolutely nothing–you most definitely want to take advantage of that opportunity!

So today, I am going to show you specifically how to set that up.

If you have not already done so, the very first thing you will need to do is create a Google account for yourself. This is free and only takes a few minutes. You will want one anyway–because Google offers all sorts of really cool ‘apps’ now. All of them free. (They make enough money selling ads on Google Adwords apparently.)

[As a total aside about how much money Google makes selling ads: my nephew works for Google. He just started with them in August. Google is giving everyone that works for them--across the board!--what amounts to a 25% pay increase! Talk about a great company to work for!]

Here’s all you do to set up a Google account: Go to http://Google.com/accounts

On the right side of the screen, this dialog box appears:

Sign in if you have an account. If not, click on “Create An Account Now.”

The next screen shot shows you the form to create an account:

That’s it!

Once you have your account set up, this screen will pop up:

Notice that Google Places is one of my products already. Immediately under “My Products” is “Try Something New”. Most likely, you will find Google Places here. (It’s possible that you may need to click “More” in order to find it.)

Once you click on “Google Places”, the form you see below pops up. Here is where you fill in the information about your business. Just go ahead and fill out the form. You can always come back and change it later if you want to say something differently later on.

“Description” may be where you want to place your compelling tag line that you created in Step 2 of our “Fool-Proof On-Line Real Estate Marketing System”.

Continuing on, you now select your service areas and location settings. You have the option of selecting either a radius or zip codes and whether or not you want your address to be shown. Google does this specifically for small businesses that work out of their home and don’t want their address made public. Also for service providers that go to the client’s site rather than have clients come to them–such as contractors and the like. Simply answer the questions appropriately.

Further down you have the option of posting the hours you are open for business. Again, you have the option of having this information displayed or not.

Now you can upload up to 10 photos and even a video. (You may even want to add a couple of your current listings?)

Finally, at the bottom, Google gives you a couple of text boxes for you to add whatever you would like. I noticed that the 1st box is a link whereas the 2nd box describes the link. Once you have everything the way you like it, simply click on “Submit”. And your Google Places listing  is up!

My Google Places listing:

Once you have your listing in place, now you can ask your clients to post reviews about you. (See Neil’s video by clicking here now.) But be careful with this. The reviews are supposed to occur ‘organically’. I sent out an email blast to my clients asking them to review my services and my reviews were ‘filtered’–meaning they were blocked from public view. Which doesn’t do me any good. My suggestion is to personally invite a few of your A+ clients from time to time to write a review–and send them the link so they can do so easily–although they will need a Google account in order to review you.

Underneath the reviews are other links that Google has found that match you and your business.

Once you start generating traffic to your Google Places site, Google will begin placing you higher in their search engine. When you log into your Google Places account, there is a dashboard showing you the activity to your account in the past 30 days. You will also receive emails from Google with status updates reminding you how your account is doing.

The more places your Ideal Prospect can find you on the web, the better the likelihood of them contacting you. Taking 15-20 minutes to set up your Google Places account is free and well worth the effort!

How Would You Like Google To Send You Leads?…And at NO cost to you? is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

Maybe you are like me: I know how to handle a phone call that comes in from a prospect inquiring about a particular property – whether it’s a sign call or an ad call. I garnered the know-how and experience on how to do this from many years of working floor duty.  Working floor used to be a great source of new leads. Over the years, I became really adept at converting those leads to new clients. But sign calls  are kind of rare these days. And ad calls even rarer still! So floor duty is not the bonanza of leads it once was ‘in the good old days’.

Many agents have made the decision to work open houses rather than floor duty to make up for this short fall. And open houses are a great way to have face-to-face contact with a prospective new client. A face-to-face meeting is, hands down, the single best way to build rapport quickly with a new prospect and convert them to a client.

But what has N.A.R. been telling us for probably 10 years now? That some silly number – is it 96%? – of prospective purchasers begin their search for real estate where? ON-LINE!

So if we are to be efficient and effective in generating leads, then we MUST learn how to convert leads from the Internet to clients. You have heard that in order to capture an Internet lead, you must get back to them within 15 minutes – and so much other baloney. Internet leads aren’t really that much different than any other kind of lead. There IS a specific strategy to converting an Internet lead to a client. And to tell you truth, it’s actually much simpler and easier than working floor time or sitting an open house!

The key to converting ANY lead into a client is to simply listen to what they want  – and then GIVE it to them!

But how do you do that with an Internet lead where the only thing you might have is an email address?

Well, yesterday I had coffee with a colleague. Tim has built his business almost exclusively by generating leads from the Internet. He has invested hundreds of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars in this business model. So when Tim speaks, I listen.  (You can listen to our recent interview of Tim by clicking here now.) And this is how Tim does it:

1. He has his website set up in such a way that, in order for a prospect to get details on a specific property, the prospect must first register on his site. (A classic ‘V.O.W.’ concept.)
2. Once the prospect has registered, Tim’s website has the capability of letting him know which property they want details on. With that information in hand, it is a very simple matter to quickly comb the MLS and find two or three other similar properties that are currently available.
3. He then sends the prospect a personalized email saying, “I noticed you were interested in such-and-such a property. Perhaps you may find these of interest also?” And includes the info on the other properties that he has identified. An important detail: he puts the information right in the body of the email. There is nothing they need to click through or on. The info is right there immediately accessible to them.

And that’s all there is to it. Simple! By following this very simple – but personalized – procedure, Tim has been able to secure 2 new $1,000,000+ clients just in the last 30 days. So whaddya think? Is it worth spending 15 minutes personalizing an email to a prospect in order to secure a million dollar client?

Too bad this business is such hard work, huh?

The Secret To Converting Internet Leads To Clients is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

Claiming your Google local listing is step 1 in the process of getting found and setting yourself up as a local expert. The next step is to get your Google local listing found so that your customers actually find you and want to connect with you immediately.

One way to do that is to use reviews so that Google automatically thinks your local listing page as an authority site and directs leads to that pages. And the best part is that when potential clients find that local listing page they see endorsements by your customers telling them why you are the local authority of choice in your local real estate market

This is a ‘must have’ real estate marketing strategy to promote your business and set yourself up for success before the spring market.

This video reveals exactly how to do this.

Wondering how to set up your own Google Places account? Click here now!

How to Use the Power of Reviews To Get Google To Send You Leads and Market Your Real Estate Business is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

Google has made a major online marketing change. They are giving preference to local business owners and showing their sites first. Google has taken this one step further. As a real estate agent you can get one of their free websites for your business. And the best news is that these Google Places websites beginning to show up first in Google. As a result you get all the traffic and leads.

As a local real estate agent you are now given preference rather than someone else from outside town trying to attract your leads online.

In this video i reveal what Google Local places is all about and how to claim your free Google local places account. And make sure to take advantage of this in 2011 since this is the way that Google wants you to promote your business.

Watch the video and please share this with your friends or visit us on Facebook by hitting the like button below.

How Google Is Giving Every Real Estate Agent Their Own Free Website On Google And Sending You Free Local Leads is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

Protected: Password Protected (password#123) is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

Most real estate agents think of social media as a time vampire. You end up connecting with friends and family and most times it does not get you referred leads and sales. And you end up wasting your time.

However based on my experience, Ifind that most real estate agents are using social media the wrong way. It is not your fault you. How are you supposed to know the specific techniques that work for your marketplace?

In the video today I am going to reveal to you the two specific social media activities that gives you referred leads and sales. These are so powerful that when you implement them you will see tangible results in the next 30-60 days. These two steps are your social media action plan for 2011. If you do nothing else but these two techniques, you will set yourself up for success in 2011.

And the best part is that they require no technical skills and only take 15 minutes of your time every day.

Once you watch the video, please leave me a comment below and let me know what your social media action plan is for this year.

Not sure how to go about setting up your own Facebook Page? Click here now!

A Very Special 2011 Social Media Action Plan for Real Estate Agents is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

The final episode in our series: “The Fail-Proof On-Line Real Estate Marketing System For Non-Techies”

You have successfully built your marketing platform. You have a blog that is optimized with your keywords to attract your Ideal Prospect. Now that your system is built, it is time to press the “on” button and turn your lead generating system ON! You gather steam and build momentum by regularly adding content and inviting ‘friends’ to view the content you have added.

Marketing – no matter WHAT kind of marketing you do – requires consistent and persistent effort. Effective marketing is never a “one shot deal”. SO, for the next 90 days, commit to spending one hour every day on your Internet marketing. You will be amazed: in just 90 days’ time, you will have an unstoppable source of leads that will propel your business forward.

The beauty of marketing on-line is that it can be done in your ‘off’ hours – late at night or early in the morning. So a busy day of appointments or meetings does not give you an excuse NOT to get your marketing done!

As promised: here is our daily “60 Minute Marketing Formula”^TM:

• 5 min: Figure out what you can either write about or create a video about.
• 40 min: Create your content – either a video or an article. If you don’t like to write, then definitely video is your way to go. (To learn how to create videos without even using a camera, download our “Drive Leads With Videos Now! No Camera OR Experience Needed” now!)
• 10 min: (Set a timer!) Log onto Facebook. Add 3-5 friends. Leave 3-5 comments on the News Feed (for more details on this, purchase our “FaceBook For Business” mp3). Go to your FaceBook Page for your business and post a comment directing them to your blog.

5 min: Go to http://ping.fm and sign up for a free account.

Have your posts link to your FaceBook profile, your twitter account and any other social media accounts you have (Linked In, Merchant Circle, etc…)

Once you click “Add More Networks”, you simply select which ones you want to add. Do not neglect to add your FaceBook Page! And if you want to post to a site that is not listed here, simply select “Custom URL”, type in the URL and you’re done!

Write a post of <140 characters announcing your new blog content. One post will automatically be distributed to all of your Social Media sites.

TOTAL TIME: 60 minutes!!

Now you have all the tools and information you need to go and make 2011 a great year!

“Dedicated To Your Success!”
Mary Nack
Neil Venketramen

(Have a friend or colleague who could benefit from this information? Do them and us a favor – let them know about it!)

Step One

Step Two

Step Three

Step Four

Step Five

“Wash, Rinse, Repeat” – Your On-Line Marketing Formula To Build Momentum and Restore Cash Flow is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

This Is Step Five In Our Series: “Fail-Proof On-Line Real Estate Marketing System For Non-Techies”

You have gone through a lot of trouble to decide who your Ideal Prospect is (Step One) and how you are going to attract them to you (Step Two). You have done your research to figure out what keywords they are using to search on-line so that they can find you (Step Three). You now have a blog up and running with tasty tidbits of information that they find interesting (Step Four). And hopefully you are adding a few new delicious morsels there a few times every week.

This is not a one-shot deal – you must be consistent with your postings.

Contrary to urban legend, now that you have it all built, it does NOT necessarily mean that ‘they will come’! There is one final step you must take – and it must become a consistent, regular practice that you spend every day doing. Otherwise, all the time and energy you have spent up to this point will have been in vain.

You must alert people that you have new information for them.

So how do you do that? Through your social media tools!

And one of the most powerful social media tools you can use for this purpose is FaceBook. It amazes me how real estate agents – that are in the business of selling – use Facebook as a toy, a way to distract themselves from working. This is a hugely powerful medium to tap into and it is most decidedly NOT a toy.

A trend I have been noticing over the last year is that nearly every major advertiser has created a FaceBook fan page. Have you noticed this too? Do you wonder why? Well, consider these facts:

There are over 500 million ACTIVE FaceBook users! That’s half a billion people! If FaceBook were a country, it would be the third largest country in the world – bigger even than the United States (which has a population of 309mm). Only China and India are larger than FaceBook!

50% of FaceBook’s active users log in every day! FaceBook reaches 56% of the active U.S. Internet universe and is the #3 site visited by users 65 and over. More facts to consider:

• Average user has 130 friends
• Average user sends 8 friend requests per month
• Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook
• Average user clicks the Like button on 9 pieces of content each month
• Average user writes 25 comments on Facebook content each month
• Average user becomes a fan of 2 Pages each month
• Average user is invited to 3 events per month
• Average user is a member of 12 groups

Are you beginning to understand why you are seeing so many companies inviting you to become a fan of their FaceBook page? So – take a tip from the Big Boys. Get yourself a FaceBook page and tap into the 3rd largest ‘country’ in the world.

(If you do not as of yet have a FaceBook profile – or want to optimize your profile for business – then purchase our “FaceBook for Business” CD now. For the rest of this article, we assume that you are already on FaceBook and know the basics of how to navigate it.)

So here’s how you do it:
Scroll down to the very bottom of your FaceBook Home Page. On the right, you will see this fine print:

Click on “Advertising”. When you do, this screen comes up with a link: “Facebook Page”:

Clicking on that will bring up this screen shot. Click on “Create A Page”.

You are actually given two options – to create a community page or to create an Official Page. Even though you will be using your page to comment on your area of specialization (in our example we have been using West Loop), you have no control over a community page. Community Pages are something FaceBook manages. So you want to select “Official Page”.

Select “Local Business”, then “Real Estate” from the drop down menu that appears.

Now you need to come up with a name for your page. This is where you will want to refer back to your keyword research again. And, if possible, try to use the same name as you did for your blog. However, if that name is not available, then turn to your keywords for other options – just as you did in Step Four.

A mistake that I commonly see made by probably over 90% of the real estate agents is to use their own name or – even worse! – their company’s name for this. You want to use your keywords so that your Ideal Prospect can find you!

(DO NOT NEGLECT TO CHECK THAT YOU ARE THE OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THIS BUSINESS!)

When you are all done, click on “Create Official Page” button.

This takes you to your newly created page. Now you need to add in your information. Click on the “Info” tab and then “Edit Information”. You can see what we have done on our page in the screen shot below. As a real estate agent, you are not selling any products on-line. You are trying to establish “front of mind” presence with your Ideal Prospect. So be sure you let them know how to find you! Include your contact information here: your phone number, your email address and your blog site address as well as your website address.

Finally, click on the ‘Wall’ tab. Click on where the picture goes and upload a picture appropriate for your area. If you are focusing on a particular area, perhaps you want a picture of a neighborhood landmark. Otherwise a picture of a representative property will do.

And remember that compelling tagline you came up with in Step Two? Well, this is yet one more place that you will want to use it! Click on the little pencil icon in the box underneath the picture and put it in! This is a good place to put your contact information as well. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to get in touch with you.

That’s it! Your FaceBook page is up and ready to go. Any status updates that you post here will appear on your News Feed. Even better news is, since you have a business page (as opposed to a personal profile), your page will always ‘make the cut’ on the News Feed. This means that not only will YOUR friends see it – but THEIR friends will too!

By all means, click on “Suggest To Friends” and invite them to ‘like’ your page!

This now becomes the appropriate place to start putting announcements of your blog postings with a link that takes them right to the post. (See screen shot below.)

Remember, you want people to come and “like” your page. So be sure you keep the content relevant to something that THEY want to know. It should NOT be about you and what a great salesman you are!

One final tip: another common mistake that I see many agents make is to ‘friend’ every other real estate agent they know. Don’t do this! You only want to ‘friend’ clients and friends of clients. Spend a few minutes every day adding a few more friends to your profile. The more friends you have, the more people who will see your messages.

And for even more specific information about how to use FaceBook For Business, purchase our mp3 now. It comes complete with it’s own Action Guide, screen shots and our Fourteen Minute Social Media Marketing Formula TM. Following our Social Media Marketing Formula TM will assure you that the things necessary to generate a steady flow of leads are getting done on a daily basis. As with any marketing, being consistent is absolutely key.

As long as you continue to regularly provide fresh content that interests your Ideal Prospect, your message – and your FaceBook page – will become viral.

Dedicated To Your Success!
Mary Nack
Neil Venketramen

Go to the final episode in our series now: “Wash Rinse Repeat”

STEP FIVE: FaceBook Pages To Take Your Business Viral is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

By Guest Contributor Roberto Interiano,
Mortgage Loan Consultant with Wells Fargo

While most professionals agree that renovation loans are a definite solution to the foreclosure crisis, many REALTORS® are still skeptical that these loans can actually close. It is true that these loans are more complicated than a “standard” loan. However, not only will they help you sell your listings faster, they can also help your buyers make an offer in less time.

Do you remember just a few short years ago when you would advise your sellers not to negotiate an offer subject to an FHA mortgage? Now FHA is probably responsible for a big part of your income. Well, this is no different. It is time to take another step forward and get familiar with renovation loans.

Renovation loans take longer to close because the bank needs to review a renovation project on top of what they usually review to approve a mortgage. Furthermore, the buyers must choose a contractor familiar with the process that knows how to quote the project properly. In addition, the buyer will need to decide what work they want to do to that will fit within the limitations of what they can afford and will be approved for. This adds a couple of layers of complexity to the entire transaction – as well as time to the approval process. But once you close your first one you will be ready for the next one.

And with these few key elements in place, you will be able to close a renovation loan smoothly:

1. A buyer that understands the process. If your buyers are looking for the bank to give them money to go to Home Depot and buy the materials so that they and Uncle Ned can do the project on evenings and weekends (unless Uncle Ned happens to be a licensed contractor), this is NOT the loan for them. This is not a DIY “Mr. Fix-It” loan. Hiring a licensed contractor may be more expensive, but it is the only way the bank will lend the buyer the money to improve the house.
2. A good contractor. Before submitting the loan to underwriting, the contractor has to be approved by the bank. They will make sure he is licensed, that he and all his workers are insured, and that he has experience doing similar projects. The bank needs to know that when the contractor quotes $15,000 to re-do the kitchen, he has enough experience doing kitchens that he won’t come back later asking for $20,000.
3. An experienced loan officer who has access to good renovation products. The loan officer needs to know your borrowers’ financial situation well enough to know how much the borrowers can afford and even if they will qualify for the renovation loan to begin with. You must make sure your borrowers have a good conversation, preferably face-to-face, with the loan officer to make sure all parties fully understand what they are trying to do. This will streamline the process and avoid many future headaches.
4. And, of course, you as the REALTOR® must also understand the process. From your perspective as the real estate agent, the key to the renovation loan is that the market value of the property after the renovations are completed has to be equal or higher than the cost of buying the property plus the cost of renovations. This is where the REALTOR® can guide the buyer as to how to wisely allocate the work projects. Furthermore, the REALTOR® representing the buyer must be able to manage the sellers’ expectations. Many listing agents get nervous when the buyer doesn’t have final approval in 30 days.

So how does the process work?

Once the buyers identify a property they like, and realize they will need money for upgrades, they need to contact a licensed contractor that will give them a detailed budget for all the work to be done. The REALTOR® should review the work to be done and do the research to determine what the reasonable market value is after the renovations are completed. If it all that makes sense, then the buyer should have a loan officer pre-approve them for the loan.

From the bank’s perspective, a ‘renovation’ can range from just buying new appliances to a complete gut-rehab.

The budget MUST be very detailed so that the underwriter will be able to see exactly what type of work is being done and that the quote makes sense. A broad quote saying “Re-doing kitchen: $15,000” won’t do. This is when you will save time by using a contractor who has worked in a renovation loan project before and knows how to write these quotes.

The appraiser will visit the property with the contractor’s quote. The appraiser’s job is to determine the value of the property based on what it will be worth afer the quoted renovations are completed.

In a standard loan, the appraisal is typically ordered within 48 hours of the contract being signed by both parties. In a renovation loan, the appraisal cannot be ordered until the detailed quote of the renovation project is turned in – which adds time to final approval.

Once the appraisal and project budget are turned in, the file is finally ready to go to underwriting. Again approval will take longer than a standard loan because, in addition to analyzing the credit-worthiness of the borrower, underwriting must also analyze the budget for the project as well as the potential market value of the property.

At closing, a draw account will be established. This permits periodic pay-outs to the contractor for materials, sub-contractors, etc… It will specifies when workers will be paid according to the inspection schedule. You, as a REALTOR® get paid your commission at this closing.

When the borrower calls the bank to say the project is completed, the bank will order a final inspection to make sure everything is finished according to specs. The bank will then authorize everyone’s final payment.

Hopefully, you can now understand why these loans take longer to approve. However, that does not mean they will NOT close. Once you have closed your first renovation loan, you will be ready for more!

Types of renovation loans

There are several types of renovation loans:

1. FHA 203K. This is the most popular type of loan. It is insured by HUD and has the advantage that the buyer only has to put down 3.5% of the combined purchase price plus cost of renovations. The most popular one is the Streamline 203K where the buyer is entitled to a maximum of $35,000 for renovations. There is also a Full 203K where the only limit to the renovation project is that the combined purchase price plus renovations cannot exceed $410,000.
2. Conventional renovation. This is a conventional loan that can be used for primary residences or second homes. The borrowers must have higher credit score than with FHA and must put 20% down of the combined purchase price plus renovations.
3. Renovation for investment properties. This is also a conventional loan with the rates for investment properties where the borrower must put 25% – 30% down of the combined purchase price plus renovations.

Keep in mind that all these loans apply to 1-4 unit properties only.

Many older properties could benefit from these loans. I’ve financed some properties that are 100 years old – and they can always use some upgrading! Also, renovating an investment property can be a good business decision. An updated property allows the landlord to command top rents, attract a higher caliber tenant and keep good tenants longer.

If you are the kind of REALTOR® that maintains strong ties with your clients, you may be willing to recommend that your client use one of these loans to refinance and make improvements to the property rather than sell.  A satisfied client that knows you have their best interests in mind is always good for business – both repeat and referral!

Roberto Interiano

If you need additional information or perhaps a personal consultation on a particular situation, do not hesitate to contact me at Roberto.Interiano@WellsFargo.com or on my mobile phone at 630-802-9450.

Are You Leaving Money On The Table? is a post from: Real Estate Marketing

This is Step Four in our Series: “Fail-Proof On-Line Real Estate Marketing System For Non-Techies”

Let’s review. So far you have completed:

Step One: Determined the specific niche you want to begin marketing to. (In our example, we settled on Buyers and Sellers of Lofts in the West Loop neighborhood.)

Step Two: Crafted a compelling tagline that speaks to your niche. (We chose: “Looking for a loft in the West Loop? Go to http://WestLoopLofts.com now!”)

Step Three: Researched and compiled your keywords to begin your Internet Marketing campaign. (We came up with about a dozen keyword phrases that we wanted to use.)

So now that you have your keywords in hand – what do you DO with them? Remember that your keywords are important because it is how your Ideal Prospect finds you. So what you do now is create content (a fancy way of saying write stuff and make videos) about things that your Ideal Prospect wants to know about. And you use your keywords in the title and in the body of what you write so that they find you.

That’s it! Simple, huh?

But we are not going to leave you there. You know us better than that. We promised that we would not leave anything to the imagination – nothing to chance. We promised to take you by the hand and walk you step-by-step through the process.

What I am going to show you today is a way to set-up a free blog on Word Press – a widely utilized blog provider. Nothing that I am showing you today will cost you a dime. However, in the future, we will show you how to set up a blog that you own and have complete control over. Word Press is fine to get started – but they control it. It is like renting vs. owning. When you get serious about your On-line Marketing Strategies, you will want to own and control your blog site. Your blog is the cornerstone of your entire On-Line Marketing Strategy. It is too critical to your business for you NOT to own it and control it.

But for now, let’s buckle up and get started!

SCREEN SHOT #1: First set up your free blog account. Go to http://wordpress.com/:

SCREEN SHOT #2:   Before you proceed, think carefully about what you want to title your blog. This is where you will turn to your keyword research. Based on the research that we did for our example, you probably want to use something like “ChicagoLofts” Don’t be disappointed if that phrase is already taken. This is a common occurrence – particularly with a popular keyword. In this instance, you may want to go with a phrase that has just a few searches (i.e. <500/month). This has the advantage of helping you get found sooner. While you are creating a history with Google and getting ranked for higher traffic keywords (i.e. phrases that have lots of fishing boats competing for the same fish), you can easily be found in the little ponds where your competition isn’t even fishing. Perhaps even immediately! So do not be afraid to use keywords that only have a couple hundred searches. This is a great place to get started.

A quick look at our keyword research reveals 4 options that you may want to consider:

In our example, I may want to go with ‘WestLoopCondo”– only because it is easy to remember. But that is a judgment call. Once you’ve settled on a couple of names, put it into your Blog Address where specified (see below). Hopefully, your first choice will be accepted – but if not, draw upon some of your other choices. Complete the form you see below and you are on your way!

Continuing with our example, our blog address is now: http://WestLoopCondo.wordpress.com (Incidentally – as of this writing, this domain is available!)

Your blog is where you will be putting up lots of your content and where you will be directing people to go. Think of your blog as your home office – the place where you will be conducting the bulk of your marketing. It is more important – MUCH more important! – than having a website. If you must choose between one or the other – by all means choose a blog!

SCREEN SHOTS #3 & #4 – Themes: Now that you have your blog address, the Dashboard opens up when you log in, This is where you will begin customizing your blog and moving in to your new home. The first thing you will want to do is select a ‘Theme”. Click on “Appearance” and you will see “Themes” on the menu. Click on that and you will have nearly a hundred themes to choose from!

But different themes have different functionalities. You want one that will allow you to create tabs and different pages. You want a theme that will allow you to put different types of “widgets” in a menu bar on the right. For example, allowing your regular readers to ‘subscribe’ to your blog is an important function not available on all ‘themes’.

The theme that I am currently using for my own blog is called “Twenty Ten”. It allows me to customize my own header image (a picture of an architectural artifact from my neighborhood) and it has a ton of functionality. If you just want this step done, then go ahead and choose this theme. In the search bar (see screen shot below), type in “Twenty Ten” and it will pop up for you to select. Simply click on “Activate” and PRESTO! It’s done!

Otherwise, take your time, scroll through your options, play around with different themes until you settle on one you like.

(Beware: Word Press will, from time to time, eliminate certain themes and replace them with new ones they have designed – just ONE of the reasons you will want to own your own blog.)

SCREEN SHOT #5 – Pages: Once you have selected your Theme, the next thing you will want to do is set up your Pages. Click on the “Pages” menu on the left. When the drop down menu appears, click on “Add New”. There are a few Pages you will definitely want to include right away. In the Screen Shot below, you can see the Pages on my blog (http://RavenswoodInChicago.com).

When you “ADD NEW” pages, you have the capability to add copy just as if you were adding a new blog post.
“About” is where you want to let your visitors know a little something about you.

“Contact Us”: You definitely want to let your visitors know how to contact you!

(For examples, go to my blog:  http://RavenswoodInChicago.com)

I have also created a page where visitors can search for properties as well as a page of pictures from around my neighborhood. As I think of other pages I may want to add, I can easily do so. For example, you may want to have a “Featured Properties” page where you put your newest listings.

SCREEN SHOT #6 – Widgets: You are nearly done with your set up. Your next step is to create “Widgets” in your side bar. To add a widget, Go to “Appearance” > “Widgets”. When the page comes up, you will see a list of widgets available to you alphabetically arranged. Simply drag the widget you want from the list on the left into the primary widget area on the right. The widgets that I have on my side bar are in my Primary Widget Area.

“Blog Subscriptions” allows visitors to be notified when I add new content to my blog.

“Text” allows me to put in html code for anything I want. (Go to Screen Shot #7 “Blog Posts”. There I explain how to get HTML code to do this.) I have created links to commonly used neighborhood sites – the alderman’s office, the chamber of commerce, the historical society, etc…

“Image” allows me to put one of my neighborhood photos in my side bar – just another ‘widget’ that says “I am the neighborhood expert”.

I have a fan page on Facebook for my neighborhood. Facebook has an application that I can place here. You can also drag a ‘twitter’ app here as well so that people can follow you on twitter.

SCREEN SHOT #7 – Tag Line: Just one more step and you are done moving in! Remember that compelling tag line you created in Step Two? Well, at the bottom of the menu, click on “Settings” > “General”. This brings up a screen that allows you to customize your settings – and insert that great tag line.

HEADER IMAGE: Finally, if you want to customize your header image, and you have a photo that you want to use, click on “Appearance” > “Header” and follow the instructions you see there. Or you can just select one of the options they give you.

Once you have all this set up, you are done! NOW you are ready to begin blogging. Click on “Posts” > “Add New” in the menu bar on the left. Once you click on that, a screen appears that allows you to now write a blog post (see below).

SCREEN SHOT #8 – Blog Posts:

On the right, you will notice 2 tabs: “Visual” shows you what you get (WYSIWYG). HTML converts the copy on the Visual screen into HTML code.

(This is where you type in the copy that you want on your “Text” widget. When you click on “HTML”, you will have the code that you can then copy and paste into your “Text” widget.)

A couple of other buttons I want to point out: On the top left you see “Upload/Insert” with various icons following. This is how you insert things like pictures, videos, etc… into your blog post. Immediately under that line, you have your typical formatting buttons. The very last button on this line is called “the kitchen sink” button. Clicking on that makes the bottom line appear. This gives you more formatting capabilities.

Finally, the icon immediately to the left of “the kitchen sink” icon will allow you to see your post on a full screen. This can make editing it easier – plus it is easier to see what your post looks like. But you must go back to the small screen in order to save and publish your post.

A key tip for writing blog posts is to be sure to include your keywords in your blog post titles and in the body of your copy as well. To start out, I would strongly encourage you to write one blog post for each keyword phrase you have identified. This will help you get found more quickly by your Ideal Prospect.

SCREEN SHOT #9 – Tags: Keywords are also critical to include in your “tags”. Tags are another way your Ideal Prospect will find you.

Once you have your post just the way you want it, click on “Publish”. Don’t worry – you can always go back and edit it later if you need to.

Now you should be well on your way to having an effective, lead generating blog! Set up a schedule to regularly add content to your blog – at least 2 or 3 times a week.

Be sure you include your compelling tag line and blog address on every item of your marketing materials: the back side of your business card (a valuable little square of real estate that should not be left blank); on your property brochures; in your email signature. You will want to include your compelling tag line as well as your blog address on everything you can think of.

In our next step – Step Five – we will discuss your Distribution System – how you let people know you are open for business – ON-LINE! Then our final segment will give you our super-duper “14 Minute Social Media Marketing System” – a daily plan to make sure your marketing is getting done on a consistent basis – the key to success with any type of marketing!

That’s it for today. Now go get settled in to your new blog!

“Dedicated To Your Success!”
Mary Nack
Neil Venketramen

Miss Step Three? Click here now!

Wondering what topics you can blog about? Register now for our free 7 day mini-course “Pull Clients To You Like Magic” for a wealth of ideas!

Ready For Step Five? Click here now!

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STEP FOUR: Blogging Your Way To New Clients is a post from: Real Estate Marketing