I'm always looking for the best way to post to my blogs from my iPad. Tonight I'm testing Blogsy and while it isn't intuitive, it does have nice video instructions. It also has more formatting options and the ability to do more with photos than my other Type Pad app. I'm still learning, but so far, so good.
This photo has absolutely nothing to do with this blog post but it is a test after all.
For about 25 years I showed up at my REMAX Real Estate office in Gales Ferry every morning around 8AM. I had a little plaque on my office wall that read “home sweet office”. When I moved to a home office in 2008, I stayed with the company but moved 8 huge filing cabinets and a whole lot of boxes with me. Some of those boxes are still unpacked and most of the drawers in the filling cabinets are full. Thus, my latest project.
Every year about this time, I work on my real estate business plan and this year I decided that 2012 was going to be my year for getting rid of crap; like things in boxes I haven’t opened in 3 years. Because I don’t take on any project casually, I began to do some research. I quickly decided I wasn’t planning on becoming a minimalist at least not in the strict sense but I did find some websites that were fun and worth following. What I got rid of today is a day by day journey of one man’s “RID” experiment. 365 Less Things has become another favorite site and I subscribe to their daily email .
Although without certain, I have enough stuff to do a “365 days of getting rid of stuff” blog, I’m not going to commit to doing that. It would be too much like work and I want this to be fun. Instead I’ve started a Facebook Group called 365 Days of Eliminating Crap and hope to redd* up my house one day at a time.
Linda
*redd up is an expression used in my home town of Pittsburgh
You’ve heard the expression about being a big fish in a small pond? At CRS Sell-a-Bration, I’ll explain how you can become a big fish, maybe even a whale, to the people that matter.
Here’s the problem; too many agents try to serve too many masters and are only mildly successful in their real estate careers. By first becoming knowledgeable about a specific market, and then using the right combination of technology, social media, and traditional tools, it is easy to dominate in a small or niche market.
You will need to create a hyper-local business plan which will include creating a database, developing into “the” expert on local market data and inventory, becoming a publisher using high tech and high touch tools, and creating an online client resource center.
Plan to immerse yourself in your market area by attending and participating in local events, and delivering local news and real estate data through blogging and social media tools like Facebook Pages and Groups. Traditional tools like newsletters and postcards can be powerful but many agents have stopped using them. Don’t believe the guru’s who will tell you that traditional tools no longer work and using social media is the only way to a successful real estate career. Traditional tools work if you use them to add to your credibility as the area expert and trusted resource.
As Steven Van Yoder described in his book, Get Slightly Famous, "you'll need to build visibility and credibility by making yourself a mini-celebrity and an indispensable resource to your potential customers and clients."
It really is easier than you think!
I get this question a LOT – Who should I host my blog with?
The problem with WordPress hosting (or hosting in general) may be there are just too many options to chose from. Sometimes I wish there were just two to three web hosting companies, not 500 million. OK, there probably aren’t 500 million web hosts out there. But there are MANY and as with any service, there are great hosts and lousy hosts.
First let’s look at types of hosting.
Good information shared by Jay Thompson — otherwise known in the real estate blog space as The Phoenix Real Estate Guy - Linda Davis
I was one of the very first users of Agent Office when it was called RE/MAX Agent 2000 a gazillion years ago. The year 2000 seemed so far off at the time, and I suppose the name was meant to represent that the product was so advanced. Unfortunately they have made very few improvements over the past many years, and they have never developed a product for those of us looking for something web based.
I made it my mission to change to something new in 2011 and during the past few weeks I have test driven a few different products like SalesForce, Realty Juggler, and Batchbook. In the past I've tried Wise Agent and Act for Real Estate. I even investigated Highrise by the guys at 37 Signals. (Cool product!)
For me, the winner was Batchbook. I haven’t been using it long enough to give it 5 stars as a real estate application but so far I really like what I see and it might not be long before the stars begin to align. The cost at $19.95 a month for a small team is reasonable. I love the way it integrates with other products like Google and MailChimp. And reading their blog, I suspect more good applications are on the way. Although it is not a real estate based product, the ability to use what they call Super Tags makes it very adaptable for real estate. It has a mobile IPhone App too!
I’m very impressed in just a short week about how they pay attention to their customers. I suggested they consider a Batchbook user’s group and on that very same day, they set up a Real Estate category in their customer forums.
If you are looking for a new contact management program, here is what I learned and I’ll pass it along as advice: There is not one product that fits all agents. What may be perfect for me, might not work for you. So much depends on how you intend to use it and whether you are a single agent or a team. It also depends on how you run and think about your business.
Don’t be sold by fast talking sales people that have never sold a lick of real estate. You need to try out the free trials, add some data, and use it like you owned it. In the end, what you choose, should be what is best for YOU!
