Thursday

How To Dominate ANY Farm Area You Choose

I can hand you a method that will help you dominate any farm area you choose.   

Yup... it's a bold statement.  But here are the facts:

I take a very scientific proven approach to acquiring leads.  You want sellers to call you when they decide to sell, correct?  

My method makes that happen.  AND... most of the work is done for you.

This IS NOT a course! There is NO TRAINING.  NO VIDEOS TO WATCH.  NO INSTRUCTION MANUALS.  And best of all, there is NO CHARGE for this.  I simply hand you my method.

If you like it (and you will) you will need to buy printing.  I want you to buy it from me.  My prices are ultra competitive... you won't find it cheaper. So you can't lose.

No One is Doing This in Your Farm Area!!  Yet.

In the next few months, you will have the opportunity to run this program and LOCK UP your area.  If you wait, you will lose the area.  Simple as that.  Because someone else will do this... maybe someone from your office or from another office in town.  It's your call.

I've thought about running a webinar to introduce this to agents.  If I was selling a course, I would. But since there's a good deal of work for me to do, I wouldn't be able to take on that much business all at once.  

To begin, over there on the right... You see that opt in form?  Enter your name, phone and email.  When you get a call from a 727 area code, ANSWER IT! That will be me... not a phone rep.  

I will explain the program to you.  If you like it (and you will) we'll get started.   I will ask you what your monthly marketing budget is.  Have a number ready for me...  it will impact how large of a farm area you can successfully cover.

Once we get underway, you will begin receiving calls within a couple of weeks.   It will take a bit longer  to actually lock your area up.  But then, all things worthwhile take some time.

If you don't leave your phone number, you will not get my method.  Sorry.  But it's my method and I want to get to know the people that use it.


Sunday

How To Overcome Camera Shyness - Start Making Videos and Watch Your Income Soar

Public speaking.   Heights.  Flying.  Camera shyness.  All four fears can hurt your career.  This article will cure your camera shyness so that you can get started making videos.

Let's face it... we're becoming a video based society.  People don't want to read anymore.  They want to listen. And to watch.  And if you're not using video in your marketing, well, let's just say that you're missing the boat.  You still have the opportunity to hop on but you better get moving because the boat is leaving the dock.  But my guess is that you already know you should be creating videos to promote your business, right?  

But what if you're shy in front of the camera?    

I'm going to give the secrets to make great videos and overcome your fears once and for all.

If you get one major takeaway from this, let it be this... Practice.   It's the single best way to overcome your fear.  But let's cover some of the other little known techniques that will make this process easier for you.

1. Try this - instead of speaking directly to the camera, try some of these other methods.  The first method is to have the camera film you not directly from the front but from an angle as if you are speaking to someone in the room with you.  Let me give you an excellent example of this technique.  I came across this video a few years ago and I had no problem remembering who it was.  Now that's GREAT marketing.  If 3 or 4 years pass and you still remember watching a video, go watch it again!  Because there are lessons to be learned there.  That's the key after all, isn't it?  To make a memorable video?

Take a look at this video from the CEO of Exit Realty, Steve Morris.  You will see him use this method of not looking directly at the camera.  Now, he has some awesome production in the video... stills and action shots.  But he never speaks directly to the camera.  Tell me if you don't think this is a very  POWERFUL video. 


This is just a short clip so that you get the idea. If you want to watch the rest of this extremely well made video, it;s right here - http://www.exitrealty.com/upclose.aspx

Another key advantage of this technique is that by not looking at the camera directly, you don't have to memorize any lines!  And you won't look as if you are reading off cue cards.  You can feel free to read your lines and your viewers will never know it. 

2. Another great way to overcome camera shyness is by interviewing.  Who should you interview?  How about a satisfied customer?  Or what if you interviewed local business owners in your market area and recorded them?  Think about it... wouldn't that make a phenomenal marketing campaign?  The viewer's attention is focused on the person you are interviewing rather than on yourself.  So that makes it easier to be in front of the camera.   But what a promotional opportunity!  You would be meeting business owners, you would be helping to promote their businesses and you would be giving potential customers an opportunity to get to know you all at the same time.  If you decide to pursue this strategy, please contact me and let me know how things are going for you.

3.  Whether you are looking directly at the camera or not, or if you are interviewing, remember to speak  clearly and most importantly don't move your head a lot.  I have a problem with this, probably my New York upbringing but if your head moves around a lot in a video it's very distracting to the viewer.  I'm always having to remind myself to keep my head still.   Also, don't interrupt your interviewee.  Look at them while he/she is speaking and while asking a question but remember that you also need to occasionally glance at the camera. This helps to maintain viewer attention. 

4. Don't over-analyze how you look or sound!  Remember the first time you heard yourself on a recording?  Remember thinking how awful you sounded?  But if you kept making sound recordings you got used to it.  Because after all... you do sound like that.  You only sound different inside your head.  So if you act natural in front of the camera, your personality will come through. And you want that.  (Hopefully, you have a good personality!)  When you're interviewing just focus on having an interesting conversation - the rest will fall into place.

5. Get someone to film you.  There are so many videos on the web where the person is in front of a webcam or a mounted camera and most of them are utterly forgettable. If you want to create a series of tips filmed in short clips, its fine to use a webcam.  But if you're going to speak for more than a minute, don't do a talking head video.  People want to see action, or at the very least some varying camera angles.   A live cameraman is key.  You'll also find it more natural talking to the cameraman rather than trying to talk to a camera.  You'll wind up making better eye contact with your audience and your facial expressions will look more natural. 

6.  Start off by making short videos.  Here's what usually happens to people that start creating videos. They initially don't think they have all that much to say, that they don’t have a lot of material.  But once they start talking, they tend to ramble on thinking that the more they say, the better. But longer videos are more difficult to make because you need to remain poised for much longer, plus you'll have to remember a lot more.  Creating short, to the point videos is not only much easier, its what viewers want.  If your subject matter can't be said in less than a few minutes, figure out a way to break the video up into segments. 

7.  Don't forget... there's always editing!  When you create your first video you'll make mistakes.  Don't stop!  Just keep talking.  Ideally, try to restart from the point where you made the mistake and just start speaking from that point, the mistake can be edited out and you won't lose anything.  You'll also be able to add transition slides to fill in any spots that seem awkward. 

8.  Practice makes 'almost' perfect. I say 'almost' because in video, there is no perfection. You do the best you can do and that will be better than what you're doing now. Just keep trying. You will get better with practice, I promise you. And the sooner you get started, the sooner you will overcome your camera shyness.  Video marketing is without a doubt, the most important form of media today. You have potential customers browsing around the web looking for answers to problems. The sooner they find you, the better for them and for you.

Here's a little story that should help you get started. One day I came a across a video of a guy that I won't name because I don't want to embarrass him.  I began watching a video of his and started laughing.  This guy was comical.  But the thing is, he wasn't trying to be funny!  He just looked and acted so ridiculously that it made me laugh.  I remember thinking... who would ever do business with this guy?  Well, fast forward a few months.  Turns out a great friend of mine knows this guy personally.  I made a comment about how ridiculous his videos are.  Guess what?  My friend told me the dude brings in over $200,000 a  year promoting products on the web!  With nothing but videos!  Over $200,000.  And here I thought the guy was an idiot!

Don’t let camera shyness get in the way of the biggest business opportunities you have.

Wednesday

Great Photos Get Appointments! How Top Agents Post Such Great Shots

Today's home buyers begin their search online.   As a real estate agent competing for buyers & sellers, the photos you upload to the web say a lot about you - your professionalism, your marketing ability, and it's all on the line with every photo you post to the web.  Making sure your photographs stand out from the crowd is absolutely critical!


Here are the Steps to Take to Guarantee Photo Success


1.  Get the Right Camera

To get the very best shots, especially for interior room shots, you need a camera with a wide angle lens, a strong flash and 10 mega pixels.  No more, no less.  People get all caught up in the whole mega pixel thing but it's important to note that more pixels DOES NOT mean better quality!  Actually 14 and 16 mp cameras will often give you lower quality.  Why?  

Because every time a camera manufacturer adds megapixels onto a sensor, all the pixel have to be smaller to fit the sensor.  This means less light for each pixel.  Get it?

People ask me if there's something wrong with their camera because the pictures look "foggy".  Most of those people are using 14 mp cameras.  More does NOT equal better. The reason manufacturers release these high megapixel cameras is simply due to people's ignorance.  Forget all the high megapixel marketing and just get a decent 10 mp camera like this one -  Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

If you don't want to spend over $300, for just under $200 I recommend this one - Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1.

You can also save money by searching online for a used one.  Check ebay and Craigslist.  On a side note, when you search on Craigslist, you end up just searching in your own city.  That can be annoying when trying to find a particular product.  But now you can search all of Craigslist instead of city by city, I posted this listing of helpful websites: Search All of Craigslist.

Okay.  So besides the camera, you should also have a tripod, at least a 1 Gigabit Memory card.  But for less than $20, get this Kingston 8 GB Memory Card.  Also, you should have a back up battery.  Watch the battery indicator - if its running low and you don't have a backup, turn off the flash to save your battery power.


2.  Always Use Your Flash

When photos don't come out looking great, its almost always because a flash was not used.  Non-professionals do not use their flash often enough.  If you're not sure whether you should use your flash or not, take 3 photos like this:

1) No Flash  (Self Timer mode to remove shake, or long exposure (use with a tripod or monopod)

2) Forced Flash (Look for the lightening bolt, not Auto)

3) Fill Flash (Look for the man and a star or sun behind him) 

3. Turn On The Lights

Not only in the room you are shooting but also in the adjoining rooms as that additional light will spill in.  Typically, the more light the better.

4. Take More Pictures

Take at least 30 photos for a normal sized home... more for McMansions.   Think that's a lot?  It's not.  Try more close ups - countertops, appliances, trim details, wood floors, etc.  Shoot the laundry room, the garage, the attic, down the street, a few neighborhood shots, nearby parks.  Get creative.  Hey... its digital!  Just snap away and choose the best ones to upload.

Here's a few more tips (no matter what camera you use)

-Try holding the camera over your head (unless there are low ceilings or beams).
 
-Try shooting either 3 shots at a time.

-Try to cut off the photo at the beginning of the next wall.

-Make room for your photo by moving some furniture   around.   For example, if you don't need the backside of a couch in your shot, remove it.  Think like this - if it doesn't help the shot, remove it... clutter looks bad in photos.
-The best time of day is twilight, colors seem more vibrant.

-Don’t use a flash if there is something in the foreground.
Do these little tips and your photos will come out vibrant and professional looking.

Now Get Those Great Shots Online!  Here's How to  Create One Page Websites for your Listings  

There are a number of companies that offer Property Websites.  These are companies that allow anyone to create really nice websites for each property they have to sell or to list.  I will show you what I have found to be the best one in just a moment.

When you create a website for your property or listing, get a domain name for your site.  This is the ".com", ".net", ".info" or other domain extension that people will enter in their browser to view your site.  When you use these property website creators, they will give you some crazy name for it like www.website name.com/9485760.  That's ugly and it's forgettable.  You don't want that.  Some website companies will offer you domain names but they'll charge you around $10 or more.  I've got a better idea.  By the way, this whole process is known as registering a domain name.

Here are two recommendations:

1. Register the actual property address as the domain.  They'll always be available and you'll always be able to remember what the website name is.  If the house number and street are already registered (doubtful) just add the City/Town name... that will definitely be available.  

Also, if someone searches for the address at Google or Yahoo, your site will come up first!  So it'll be www.1767JacksonSt.com.  Or 1767JacksonStPleasantville.com.  You get the idea.

2. I started a domain website for real estate professionals because too many agents overpay for their domains.  At MyRealtyDomains.com, you'll find the lowest prices on the net - only $7.49 for a .com and right now, we are running a special - only $1.99 for any available ".info".  

Everyone thinks they have to have a ".com" extension but truthfully, for this purpose a ".info" is fine... maybe even better.  After all, the website is providing information so what better name could you have than 123MainSt.info?

After you create your listing or property website, you'll come back to your MyRealtyDomains.com account and you will then "point" or "forward" your domain to the new site "URL" (another term for domain name) which you will be given by the property website service.
  
Okay, so how do you create this "Property Website"? 

There are a number of companies that provide this service but the one that I recommend is: http://www.SimplePropertySites.com.  I found it to be the most user friendly and the one of the least expensive.

Create an account.  Upload your photos, enter the property description and all the features, the price, etc.  You will be provided URL - something like www.simplepropertysites.com/897hdkjh.  Copy that domain.  Now, go back to your MyRealtyDomains.com account.  You will now go to the domain you registered, you'll click on "Forward" and you will then paste the domain name provided by SimplePropertySites.com into the Forward field.  Simple, right?

So now, not only do you know how to create super nice photographs, you know how to register a domain and to create a property website .  If you want to take the next step, that would be to learn how to edit.  It's easier than you think.  There are 2 websites which can help you.  Free PC software - www.Picasa.com.  

Free Photoshop style software -www.Gimp.com (more advanced)

Creating a Property Photo Album 

You know how you felt when you first got into the business and went out looking at listing after listing?  Remember how difficult it was to remember which house was which and what house had what?  Now put yourself into the buyers position... some buyers will look at 30 - 40 homes before making an offer!

Give your home buyers a way to remember all the homes they've seen by creating an album of the days previews.  Here some websites that make it easy to do this:



Here's a few tips when creating these preview albums: 
    • Start your album with a photo of the street sign.
    • Then have a picture of the house number.
    • Then show a picture of the front of the house
    • Then you have your 20 - 30 photos.
    • Do the same for each property you looked at.
    • Send your potential buyers a link at the end of the day

Happy Shooting!

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