As promised here a two more widgets to help you build your real estate business online.

Feedblitz RSS to Email: If you have a blog, this is an incredible tool. It allows people to sign up to receive your blog posts by email instead of through RSS. It allows you to use your blog as a direct marketing email news system to keep in touch with your existing sphere of influence. Plus the basic service is free. You can see this one in the top right navigation right on this page! Have you signed up for the Consistent Client Feedburner notifications yet?

Top Producer Market Snapshot: This widget isn’t free but it is a nice online lead generation tool. It is basically a sign up form to get local real estate market conditions. It offers a summary of what is for sale, what just sold and how fast properties are selling in your market. It also requires viewers to enter their name, email and phone number to get the data. See an example at the Santa Clarita blog here.: http://santaclaritarealestateblog.com (top right-hand navigation)

Are you regularly using the tools available to you to grow your business?

Rich Rogala

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, Top Producer, FeedBlitz, real estate widgets, real estate marketing

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I’m willing to bet there are hundreds of useful widgets for the real estate industry and your clients. However I’d like to give you a list and explanation of a few that I think are useful (and most are free!).

Over the next few weeks, I’ll provide 10 resources for you.

Here are a couple to get you started:

VFlyer Listings Widget: VFlyer allows you to create single property web pages for your listings (up to five listings for free).This handy service will also help you get additional visibility for those listings by submitting them to online real estate data engines such as Google Base, Trulia, Edgeio, Craig’s List and others. VFlyer also conveniently allows you to create a featured listings widget for display on your blog or website. There are several different gallery options to display listings. Here’s an example from a Santa Clarita agent (middle left-hand navigation)
Postlets listings widget: Postlets is quite similar to VFlyer, it creates single property web pages and featured listings widgets. The pages and listings are much like a classified ad and also distribute data to online real estate engines. This is another free basic service.

You can compare VFlyer and Postlets here. Try these tools today and let me know how the resources worked for you. Happy closings!

Rich Rogala

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, Postlets, VFlyer, real estate marketing, real estate widgets, Google Base, Trulia, Craigslist

I know that we have touched upon Do’s and Dont’s for Social Networking, and relationship building online in general, but I believe it is so important, I want to mention it again.

Social Marketing Journal goes over a few of the “Social Marketing Sins” that he feels are the most important to avoid. I’d love to hear from you on what you’ve seen (or maybe done!) online that you feel crosses the border from relationship-building to self-promotion.

Talk to you again soon!

Rich Rogala

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, real estate marketing, social marketing, social networking, web 2.0

I previously explained the basic concept of widgets and you might be wondering how to put them on your site or blog. Every widget is represented by a piece of code. This is a set of instructions telling the widget where to go find that data and keep it current while it’s housed on your website or blog. There are many different kinds of code (HTML, JavaScript, Flash, etc) powering widgets. Honestly, unless you’re a programmer, you’ll probably never understand the code details (I don’t).

The good news is most widgets are easily created by following a simple set of instructions provided by the third party provider. This allows you to easily insert the widget code. Once you create the widget code, your job as a computer programmer should be done. Unless you are a “do-it-yourselfer” when it comes to blogs and websites, all you really need to do is pass the widget code on to your techies and let them install it for you.

For Realtors® there are a variety of real estate widgets that may be helpful. You can provide valuable information of interest to your clients, gain additional visibility for your listings, or help generate leads. Imagine adding a mortgage calculator, or instant online communication. I’ll provide specific resources later.

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, real estate marketing, real estate tools,   real estate widgets, real estate bloggers

As an active Realtor you want to stay on top of cutting edge online tools as well as traditional marketing avenues.

So, let’s talk widgets. In layman terms adding a widget (sometimes also referred to as a badge or snippet) to your website or blog is like inserting a window or a special box that can pull information from a third party resource (usually another website providing data). Once a widget is inserted, the data that is displayed in this “window” on your site. The cool thing about widgets is they manage themselves and stay current. I know, still confusing… let’s think about a specific example - a weather widget is a good one. Some of you may have seen a small box displayed on a website showing the current weather for a certain local area. That weather box is most likely pulling data from a third party website such as www.weather.com . It’s made possible and appears because special code is inserted. So, that’s the basics of what widgets are. Stay tuned for more info on how they can help you.

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, real estate marketing, real estate tools, real estate bloggers

Today’s Web 2.0 Wrap-Up is all about widgets!

It’s always fun to customize your site, and pick out different widgets that will draw in your customer, and provide them the information they are looking for, in an easy and attractive format.

I’ve found other real estate blogs that have done a thorough examination of several different widgets, and put them all together here. I’m convinced you’ll find just the widget you’re looking for. But as a reminder, be selective with your widgets. Too many will cause your website or blog to load very slowly, which will only drive away your customers (not the result you’re looking for!).

Sprout lets you build single property websites - A post from Future of Real Estate Marketing on using Sprout, both for realtor widgets, as well as single property widgets. Joel offers some great ideas on lots of different ways to use this versatile widget.

Top 6 widgets for a real estate blog and 5 tools that will make your real estate blog posts better - RSS Pieces has put together a fantastic list of some really cool widgets and tools. If you can’t find a handy tool among these lists, you’re looking too hard!

Last but not least, Does your blog need a side of widget? from MyTechOpinion offers some great choices, both real estate related, as well as some that provide general info your clients may be looking for, or that help build some community on your site.

I hope you have fun looking through these tools, and more than anything, that it sparks some ideas on ways to provide more value and connection to your clients. Remember, consistency is the key!

Happy Surfing!

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, real estate marketing, real estate blog widgets, real estate 2.0, widgets, RSS Pieces, Future of Real Estate Marketing, MyTechOpinion

The greatest thing that ever happened to my business was implementing systems that ran/worked automatically.

The most challenging hurdle you need to jump is the systemization of your business. Actually, taking the first step is the hardest part. Sometimes it’s difficult to “let go” because you might be worried someone else won’t do the job as well as you.

Mike Litman says “you don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going!”

I say, “You don’t have to create a masterpiece to start; you just have to dip your brush in the paint.”

Here are some ideas to get you started:
1) Hire an assistant to handle your direct mail
2) Invest in a virtual assistant to manage email request or blog postings
3) Outsource creation of your listing packages and home descriptions

You’ll be amazed at the time you save once you systematize. And, in the Real Estate business, time is money!

Rich Rogala 

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, Real estate marketing, sytems, real estate tips

As a busy Realtor®, it’s important to streamline processes and procedures. This improves productivity and efficiency. If you truly want to be successful, you’ll need to work smarter and not harder.

In fact, if you are still trying to do it all on your own, you must read this book. The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss shares tips and techniques to make your business run like a well oiled machine.

I have to admit, I still work more than 4 hours each week but the information in this book changed the way I think about doing business.

Ferriss is a firm believer in free time and automation. Sounds good, right?

He believes it’s absolutely important to be a “dealmaker.” He claims it’s simple. Reality is negotiable and outside rules of science and law, all rules can be bent or broken without being unethical. This ties in nicely with Real Estate because successful Realtors are ethical realtors and excellent dealmakers.

His acronym DEAL is key to becoming one of what he calls the “new rich”. It’s fully explained in the book and here’s a quick summary.

D = Definition. This clearly defines the “new rich” and changes old ways of thinking.
E = Elimination. Makes the idea of time management obsolete and supports working smarter not harder.
A = Automation. This signifies the importance outsourcing for efficiency.
L = Liberation. This section introduces the concept of mini vacation throughout life and embracing mobility.

You’ll have to read the book to fully grasp his concepts. In fact, I suggest reading it more than once.

Rich Rogala

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, Tim Ferriss, 4 Hour Work Week, recommended reading, real estate marketing, outsourcing

We’ve talked in our previous  Web 2.0 Wrap-Up’s about utilizing different forms of social marketing, such as blogging, social networking, etc., in your online marketing effort for your real estate business. There are lots of options out there, and probably not enough hours in the day to spend doing each form to it’s fullest potential! It can be overwhelming, when faced with so many options, to try and figure out which form should be the priority, that you spend most of your time on.

There is an excellent post over at the Duct Tape Marketing Blog on the hierarchy of social marketing. John Jantsch created a pyramid style graphic that really helps define what he considers the importance of each style of social marketing. He believes, and I agree, that you need to focus on one form at a time and follow the natural progression before moving on to the next new thing.

I’d love to hear from you on what order you’ve used in your social marketing efforts!

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing, weekend web 2.0 wrap-up, social networking, social marketing, blogging, real estate marketing, real estate 2.0

Our clients are our most valuable resources. Without them, well, business doesn’t happen. You make sure to provide the best service possible, build relationships and make your customers happy. Once you’ve closed a Real Estate deal, it’s important to secure testimonials.

Have you experienced the frustration of asking for testimonials and then not receiving them? Chances are it’s not because your client is dissatisfied. More often than not, they are just plain busy dealing with the aftermath of the recent Real Estate transaction

Make giving testimonials easy. Keep notes of what your clients particularly liked or appreciated about your transaction. After the deal closes, write a testimonial for them and ask for approval. You’ll find they’re more than happy to help and you’ve once again made working with you easy.

Technorati Tags: Rich Rogala, Consistent Clients, Client Testimonials, Referrals, Real Estate Marketing