We Agents need to understand the current and emerging market trends. We need to understand the economic influences of our region and how that will influence the market place in the future. The skill to evaluate the present against the past in order to forecast the future can separate us from others in the marketplace.
Evaluate the total sales volume and number of sales on a year-to-date basis and against the previous year. This will allow you to see where you have been and where the marketplace is trending.
· Is the number of homes sold going up or down?
· Is the total volume increasing or decreasing?
Evaluate the number of listings taken. Remember that real estate is supply and demand influenced. The amount of inventory is the supply segment of the equation.
· Is the number of homes for sale up or down?
· Do buyers have a greater selection than this time last year?
· Is the number of homes for sale rising or falling compared to this time last year?
· Is the mix of inventory for sale the same in town homes, condos, and single-family residences? Is it the same percentage of the overall market as this time last year?
· Is there more inventory in certain geographic areas than this time last year?
If you track the inventory of homes for sale and sold homes, you will have a great wealth of information.
An example is when; earlier this year I led a coaching call with a client in San Diego who is a Champion Agent in that marketplace. The inventory levels have changed rapidly in that area; the marketplace in San Diego has seen rapid increase in inventory of homes for sale in the last year. That has caused the media, consumers, and even Agents to portray gloom and doom across the marketplace. While the days of the home selling within twenty-four hours of listing, with multiple offers, over-asking price, and with escalator clauses is gone, the marketplace is still a great one.
Champion Rule: When inventory of active listings increases, most people panic.
The average Agent will have a fit when the inventory increases. The reason is that it signals a change in the marketplace. The media will pick up on the inventory increase and start broadcasting the change as gloom and doom or the "bubble bursting." This further increases the consumer's negatively against the real estate marketplace.
When my client and I compared the current numbers against the previous year's numbers, there were some startling facts that were contrary to the gloom and doom prognosticators. Inventory had increased by 68% in his service area. Certainly, the increase in inventory would influence the marketplace. At the current rate of growth of the inventory, the marketplace would eventually have price and value corrections.
The list price to sales price in the marketplace, however, was still solid and respectable against historical standards at 96%. Now, against a marketplace where everything was selling above asking price, it was a change, but against the long-term view, 96% is a good number.
The days on the market average for homes that sold was sixty-one days. What that told me is that a home priced competitively would sell in a reasonable period of time. The truth is sixty-one days is not a long days on the market number.
The sold properties monthly is what really clarified the picture. The sold properties were within a few homes either way each month for the last eighteen months. When the marketplace was explosive, there were about the same amount of sold properties per month as there were right now. The sales had not dropped in his market area.
The net result was that homes were still selling. The sellers were still getting close to their asking price in a reasonable period of time. The key is that the seller could only achieve a sale through being competitive on their price. With the high inventory levels, compared to a year ago, there is more competition but the competition that is there has not position itself competitively via price to win the game. The truth is most of the Agents are doing their Eeyore impression. The media and most consumers are wrong about the marketplace. My client is one of the few in the marketplace who has the correct view of the overall picture.
Evaluate average sales price this year versus last year.
· Is it going up or down?
· Is the marketplace depreciating or appreciating in value? Don't waste your time tracking that on a monthly basis. It is too short a period of time to detect a trend. Calculate this statistic on a quarterly basis.
· Is the inventory aligned with the demands? We need to know if we are experiencing a net gain per month or net loss in the inventory levels.
Evaluate the percentage of appreciation for average sales price last year versus this year.
· Is the appreciating percentage decreasing or increasing compared to the same time last year?
· Is the marketplace gaining or losing strength?
To be a Champion Agent, you must have greater marketplace knowledge. I find that, through marketplace knowledge, an Agent can increase their credibility and trust with a prospect and client.
Dirk Zeller is a sought out speaker, celebrated author and CEO of Real Estate Champions. His company trains more than 350,000 Agents worldwide each year through live events, online training, self-study programs, and newsletters. The Real Estate community has embraced and praised his six best-selling books; Your First Year in Real Estate, Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®, The Champion Real Estate Agent, The Champion Real Estate Team, Telephone Sales for Dummies®, Successful Time Management for Dummies®, and over 300 articles in print.
Real Estate Champions is a premier coaching company. Training covers a wide spectrum from new agents, to seasoned, as well as those interested in real estate marketing or real estate investing.
You can get more information at Tough Market Domination, Scripts & Dialogues
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dirk_Zeller
It's Your Career - I'm here to Support YOU!
Constantine Isslamow
Broker of Record
Century 21United Realty Inc. Brokerage
Independently Owned and Operated
Friends, followers, and connections are the way of the future.
Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Hiring An Experienced Buyer's Agent - The Proof Is In The Pudding
Many Lead Agents are too trusting when it comes to hiring experienced Agents to be their Buyer's Agents. They frequently take too much at face value, rather than checking. In hiring a Buyer's Agent who has experience, you want to ask them about their previous production. You want to know the units sold and sales volume in the last few years. You also must know the sources the business came from. Were all the sales handed to them from the Lead Agent, or did they create their own? Were they effective in converting ad calls, sign calls, and open houses to sales? How did they do with the Internet leads they were given? Were there sales that came from Internet leads? Getting the units sold by sources will provide you with the facts of their skills today.
You could potentially go to the MLS to see their production in the last twelve months. Some companies and Lead Agents, however, want all the production under their name exclusively. Require them to provide a transaction record from their Broker. You might even want the Broker to certify the results. There are a number of organizations that need a transaction record from the Broker that is certified when applying for membership or attainment of awards.
If they are unable to furnish some type of transaction record, ask them for a 1099. There are many of you who are thinking, "I couldn't do that"... Why not? They are asking you for a position with your team that is a highly valuable and prized position. They are trying to negotiate the best commission split possible for themselves. Based on that, they are a player and will bring income to you and the team that you don't currently have now. They should be willing to prove that they earned what they say they earned; that they are worth what they claim; that there isn't any puffing of numbers to make themselves look better to either negotiate a better deal or even just secure the position you have offered.
Champion Team Rule - There won't be a miraculous improvement of their sales performance in the first thirty days because they are with you.
Their sales performance, in the short run, will be about what it had been. You must see what they have actually done in the past because that's what you should expect from them for the next forty to ninety days. There might be a few exceptions to this rule, but they are infrequent. Tell them the proof is in the pudding.
Lastly, ask them for their conversion rates. Typically, what are the ratios from an ad call, sign call, or open house? How often do they get the client to come to the office for a buyer interview? When they have that interview, how often are they able to secure an Exclusive Right to Represent Agreement? Most of the experienced Agents you are going to consider will not be able to respond to any of these questions. This give you an opening to set the standard with them that you track everything; that you would expect them to embrace your system of tracking activities and results to be on the team. You also want to be clear that, because of the tracking, you will be able to help them be a far better Buyer's Agent and make more money. All of these are true. Also, because of the tracking, there is no place to hide. Their effort and results will be out in the open. You and they will know, without a shadow of a doubt, how they are really doing. They won't be able to hide or cover their tracks if they are off on their activities and production.
½ Theory - cut everything they say in ½
If you are considering an experienced Buyer's Agent who cannot or will not provide a reasonable level of proof of their previous production, you will need to apply the ½ Theory. The ½ Theory states that no matter what they tell you they did in production, you cut the number in half. I am not saying that all Buyer's Agents use fuzzy numbers. I am saying if you cut their production numbers in half, you won't get burned. They will probably have done at least that much in production.
If they are worth hiring based on half of the undocumented numbers, you probably have someone who is really worth having on the team. You will want to act quickly to sign them up. You can't make the mistake of taking everything at face value.
Dirk Zeller is a sought out speaker, celebrated author and CEO of Real Estate Champions. His company trains more than 350,000 Agents worldwide each year through live events, online training, self-study programs, and newsletters. The Real Estate community has embraced and praised his six best-selling books; Your First Year in Real Estate, Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®, The Champion Real Estate Agent, The Champion Real Estate Team, Telephone Sales for Dummies®, Successful Time Management for Dummies®, and over 300 articles in print.
Real Estate Champions is a premier coaching company. Training covers a wide spectrum from new agents, to seasoned, as well as those interested in real estate marketing or real estate investing.
You can get more information at Realtor's Ultimate Business Planning Kit, Real Estate Team Building
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dirk_Zeller
You could potentially go to the MLS to see their production in the last twelve months. Some companies and Lead Agents, however, want all the production under their name exclusively. Require them to provide a transaction record from their Broker. You might even want the Broker to certify the results. There are a number of organizations that need a transaction record from the Broker that is certified when applying for membership or attainment of awards.
If they are unable to furnish some type of transaction record, ask them for a 1099. There are many of you who are thinking, "I couldn't do that"... Why not? They are asking you for a position with your team that is a highly valuable and prized position. They are trying to negotiate the best commission split possible for themselves. Based on that, they are a player and will bring income to you and the team that you don't currently have now. They should be willing to prove that they earned what they say they earned; that they are worth what they claim; that there isn't any puffing of numbers to make themselves look better to either negotiate a better deal or even just secure the position you have offered.
Champion Team Rule - There won't be a miraculous improvement of their sales performance in the first thirty days because they are with you.
Their sales performance, in the short run, will be about what it had been. You must see what they have actually done in the past because that's what you should expect from them for the next forty to ninety days. There might be a few exceptions to this rule, but they are infrequent. Tell them the proof is in the pudding.
Lastly, ask them for their conversion rates. Typically, what are the ratios from an ad call, sign call, or open house? How often do they get the client to come to the office for a buyer interview? When they have that interview, how often are they able to secure an Exclusive Right to Represent Agreement? Most of the experienced Agents you are going to consider will not be able to respond to any of these questions. This give you an opening to set the standard with them that you track everything; that you would expect them to embrace your system of tracking activities and results to be on the team. You also want to be clear that, because of the tracking, you will be able to help them be a far better Buyer's Agent and make more money. All of these are true. Also, because of the tracking, there is no place to hide. Their effort and results will be out in the open. You and they will know, without a shadow of a doubt, how they are really doing. They won't be able to hide or cover their tracks if they are off on their activities and production.
½ Theory - cut everything they say in ½
If you are considering an experienced Buyer's Agent who cannot or will not provide a reasonable level of proof of their previous production, you will need to apply the ½ Theory. The ½ Theory states that no matter what they tell you they did in production, you cut the number in half. I am not saying that all Buyer's Agents use fuzzy numbers. I am saying if you cut their production numbers in half, you won't get burned. They will probably have done at least that much in production.
If they are worth hiring based on half of the undocumented numbers, you probably have someone who is really worth having on the team. You will want to act quickly to sign them up. You can't make the mistake of taking everything at face value.
Dirk Zeller is a sought out speaker, celebrated author and CEO of Real Estate Champions. His company trains more than 350,000 Agents worldwide each year through live events, online training, self-study programs, and newsletters. The Real Estate community has embraced and praised his six best-selling books; Your First Year in Real Estate, Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®, The Champion Real Estate Agent, The Champion Real Estate Team, Telephone Sales for Dummies®, Successful Time Management for Dummies®, and over 300 articles in print.
Real Estate Champions is a premier coaching company. Training covers a wide spectrum from new agents, to seasoned, as well as those interested in real estate marketing or real estate investing.
You can get more information at Realtor's Ultimate Business Planning Kit, Real Estate Team Building
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dirk_Zeller
Friday, March 26, 2010
Canada’s Economic Action Plan Creates Jobs and Improves Social Housing in Ontario
ORANGEVILLE, ON, March 26, 2010 — The Government of Canada announced today that a housing co-operative located in Orangeville will receive more than $187,000 through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, as part of the social housing renovation and retrofit investments.
The announcement was made by David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin – Caledon, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
“Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, our government is taking action to help ensure our economic recovery and create the conditions for long-term growth," said MP Tilson. “Funding renovation and retrofit projects, like this one, will not only improve the quality of life of its residents by keeping their homes safe and affordable, but it will also help stimulate the local economy and create local jobs.”
The Government of Canada, through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, announced $1 billion for social housing renovation and retrofit. Of the $1 billion, $850 million is being delivered by provinces and territories on a cost-matched basis for existing federally assisted social housing projects which they administer on behalf of the partnership. The remaining $150 million is being delivered by CMHC for existing federally assisted off-reserve housing which it directly administers. Eligible repairs include general improvements, energy efficiency upgrades or conversions, and modifications in support of persons with disabilities.
The housing co-operative that will receive a contribution from the Government of Canada being announced today is Shaw’s Creek Co-operative Homes Inc.
“We congratulate and thank the federal government, MP Tilson and CMHC for making a sound investment to help ensure that this affordable community is preserved as a legacy for the long-term benefit of its residents,“ said Ken Elliott, President of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. “Today’s announcement is an excellent example of stimulus funding that works towards preserving jobs, assisting the local economy, and protecting valuable affordable housing assets for Canadians.”
“We are delighted that our co-operative will benefit from the federal government’s renovation and retrofit initiative delivered by CMHC,” said Robert Dicks, Vice-President of Shaw’s Creek Co-operative Homes Inc. in Orangeville. “Not only will this funding make our co-op more energy efficient, but it will ensure that the homes at Shaw’s Creek Co-operative Homes Inc. are available to meet the needs of future generations.”
More information on this and other measures in Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government’s plan to stimulate the economy and protect those hit hardest by the global recession, can be found at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.
To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit: www.cmhc.ca/housingactionplan.
The announcement was made by David Tilson, Member of Parliament for Dufferin – Caledon, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
“Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, our government is taking action to help ensure our economic recovery and create the conditions for long-term growth," said MP Tilson. “Funding renovation and retrofit projects, like this one, will not only improve the quality of life of its residents by keeping their homes safe and affordable, but it will also help stimulate the local economy and create local jobs.”
The Government of Canada, through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, announced $1 billion for social housing renovation and retrofit. Of the $1 billion, $850 million is being delivered by provinces and territories on a cost-matched basis for existing federally assisted social housing projects which they administer on behalf of the partnership. The remaining $150 million is being delivered by CMHC for existing federally assisted off-reserve housing which it directly administers. Eligible repairs include general improvements, energy efficiency upgrades or conversions, and modifications in support of persons with disabilities.
The housing co-operative that will receive a contribution from the Government of Canada being announced today is Shaw’s Creek Co-operative Homes Inc.
“We congratulate and thank the federal government, MP Tilson and CMHC for making a sound investment to help ensure that this affordable community is preserved as a legacy for the long-term benefit of its residents,“ said Ken Elliott, President of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada. “Today’s announcement is an excellent example of stimulus funding that works towards preserving jobs, assisting the local economy, and protecting valuable affordable housing assets for Canadians.”
“We are delighted that our co-operative will benefit from the federal government’s renovation and retrofit initiative delivered by CMHC,” said Robert Dicks, Vice-President of Shaw’s Creek Co-operative Homes Inc. in Orangeville. “Not only will this funding make our co-op more energy efficient, but it will ensure that the homes at Shaw’s Creek Co-operative Homes Inc. are available to meet the needs of future generations.”
More information on this and other measures in Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the federal government’s plan to stimulate the economy and protect those hit hardest by the global recession, can be found at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.
To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit: www.cmhc.ca/housingactionplan.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Listing Descriptions - 5 Strategies to Improve Your Quality
Are you still writing the same enthusiastic listing descriptions as when you first started in the business, or are they starting to look a little stale? Poorly written listing descriptions will cost you buyers as surely as poorly taken pictures will. Below are some tips to make your descriptions more effective.
1. Pull out a thesaurus. Don't write beautiful and gorgeous for every listing you take. They are not all beautiful and gorgeous. If you think they are, use different words for the same meaning to break up the monotony of your text.
2. Make sure you are listing some of the best features into the description as teasers, but leave some room for imagination. You don't want to give it all away. If you do, the buyers have no reason to contact you.
3. Be creative when describing a home, but also be truthful. If a living room is small, use cozy. If the windows are older, just comment on how much light they let in. No need to stress the negatives. The buyers will do enough of that when deciding on the offer they will make.
4. Be enthusiastic and passionate about your work. People love working with people that love what they are doing. If you convey that enthusiasm and passion in your listing descriptions it will show your sellers how much you love your job, and bring you more buyers as well!
5. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Nothing shows a lack of professionalism or lack of effort more than misspelled words. Start at the bottom and read it right to left, bottom to top. When proofreading it helps if the words are out of order. If you read in the normal manner then you will usually see only what you expect to see, not the errors in your description.
Writing effectively, even if it is just a paragraph for a listing description, is part of what makes you a great agent. Buyers and sellers want the best agent they can find to list and sell their homes. Don't let poor writing hold you back.
Serita Diana has 5 years experience in the real estate industry. She was also fortunate enough to participate in the Mike Ferry assistant training program, and is now the owner of Executive @ssist, specializing in real estate virtual assistance and assistance to the small business owner. In addition to her real estate experience, Serita also has an AA in Business Management. Serita is also an instructor for Academy of Virtual Entrepreneurs, where she instructs other aspiring REVAs how to be great real estate virtual assistants. For more information about Serita visit http://list2closeassistant.com, or if you are interested in classes please visit http://www.aove.org/courses.html.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Serita_Diana
It's Your Career - I'm here to Support YOU!
Constantine Isslamow Real Estate Broker / Mortgage Broker
Century 21United Realty Inc. Brokerage / CENTUM Core Financial Inc.
Independently Owned and Operated
Friends, followers, and connections are the way of the future.
Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn
CENTUM Core Financial Inc. Brokerage License #: 10642
Constantine Isslamow License#: M08005391
1. Pull out a thesaurus. Don't write beautiful and gorgeous for every listing you take. They are not all beautiful and gorgeous. If you think they are, use different words for the same meaning to break up the monotony of your text.
2. Make sure you are listing some of the best features into the description as teasers, but leave some room for imagination. You don't want to give it all away. If you do, the buyers have no reason to contact you.
3. Be creative when describing a home, but also be truthful. If a living room is small, use cozy. If the windows are older, just comment on how much light they let in. No need to stress the negatives. The buyers will do enough of that when deciding on the offer they will make.
4. Be enthusiastic and passionate about your work. People love working with people that love what they are doing. If you convey that enthusiasm and passion in your listing descriptions it will show your sellers how much you love your job, and bring you more buyers as well!
5. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Nothing shows a lack of professionalism or lack of effort more than misspelled words. Start at the bottom and read it right to left, bottom to top. When proofreading it helps if the words are out of order. If you read in the normal manner then you will usually see only what you expect to see, not the errors in your description.
Writing effectively, even if it is just a paragraph for a listing description, is part of what makes you a great agent. Buyers and sellers want the best agent they can find to list and sell their homes. Don't let poor writing hold you back.
Serita Diana has 5 years experience in the real estate industry. She was also fortunate enough to participate in the Mike Ferry assistant training program, and is now the owner of Executive @ssist, specializing in real estate virtual assistance and assistance to the small business owner. In addition to her real estate experience, Serita also has an AA in Business Management. Serita is also an instructor for Academy of Virtual Entrepreneurs, where she instructs other aspiring REVAs how to be great real estate virtual assistants. For more information about Serita visit http://list2closeassistant.com, or if you are interested in classes please visit http://www.aove.org/courses.html.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Serita_Diana
It's Your Career - I'm here to Support YOU!
Constantine Isslamow Real Estate Broker / Mortgage Broker
Century 21United Realty Inc. Brokerage / CENTUM Core Financial Inc.
Independently Owned and Operated
Friends, followers, and connections are the way of the future.
Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn
CENTUM Core Financial Inc. Brokerage License #: 10642
Constantine Isslamow License#: M08005391
Friday, March 12, 2010
How to Use Twitter As Part of You Internet Marketing Strategy
Social media marketing has become an almost essential part of any internet marketing strategy. It is free and can have really great results if done properly.
If you are marketing on the Internet then you should be using Twitter as one of your free marketing methods. Here is a brief overview of how to do it.
First, you must have a Twitter account. When you create your Twitter account, do so using your name and a photo, not some cartoon or icon. It's not only about building relationships here, but branding yourself and building your presence. Your Twitter page will appear on a Google search of your name. Mine appears on the first page of Google search for my name.
Once you have an account you need to get some followers. When people follow you your tweets (mini posts) will appear on their wall when they are viewing their Twitter page.
To get followers first you must follow others. Start by doing a search within Twitter. Search for someone related to the topic you are involved with. For instance, if you are involved with a company that uses attraction marketing you may want to search for Mike Dillard. Once you get to his page you will click on the word 'Following". It will be on the right side of his page. This will bring up a list of people who follow Mike Dillard on Twitter. Then you go through this list and choose people to follow. Some of those people will automatically follow you back. You will also have people start following you simply because you active on Twitter.
There are also use free tools like Twello.com and Twollo.com also make building a following pretty simple (the latter lets you set up auto-following based on keywords).
Do not follow more than 100 to 150 people per day. Twitter considers this too aggressive. They may close your account. Also, you must keep your ratio of followers to following within 10%.
If you are a Twitter newbie remember that as with any social network, it's about relationships. If you are too aggressive in promoting your business people will simply stop following you.
Twitter Tips Tweet (post) at least once or twice a day. As you build a large following you will want to increase this, as only a small portion will be likely to see your Tweet at the time you Tweet it.
Provide value (content) primarily, not spam! Give Them Something to Tweet About! Your Tweets should be pleasant, consistent, uplifting, entertaining and/or educational. Adding tweets directly related to your product or opt-in page is fine, after all that's why you are doing this, right?. You should keep this at about a 1/3 ratio. One promotional tweet for every 3 content tweets.
ReTweet (RT) content that you like! If you are getting lots of RTs on your content then you know you are on the right track! You can use Twitter's 'Retweet' link, or to add a short comment, just click the 'Reply' link (you have to float your mouse over the right side of the post to see the 'Retweet' and 'Reply' links appear), and type 'RT' prior to the @username.
Thank your followers who RT'ed your Tweets. This is very important especially for content that you have written or even RTs of your products or opt-in Tweets! And, be SURE you are following them! This is done by the @Reply. This is a great way to build relationships.
Reply to your @Replies - Your @Replies view (found in your @Replies view which is on your 'Home' page right above your 'Direct Messages' ink on the right sidebar, where you will see @YourUserId) shows messages that are directed personally to you as well as recommendations for you. Reply to as many of these as you can! You can combine multiple replies with a short 'Thnx 4 RTs & Shouts' or similar if you get a lot of them.
Watch your DMs for any personal messages. This may mean sifting through lots of spam. DO NOT follow links here, this is where many Twitter viruses have been and still are spread.
There is a service called SocialOoomph.com it does a lot for free, allowing you to auto-follow-back and schedule Tweets ahead of time. This is a great tool as it allows to leverage your time by scheduling Tweets for the whole day.
Now you that you have the basic idea go and get tweeting!
By the way, I learned all of this from the education provided at Carbo Copy Pro. You can read more helpful internet marketing tips on my blog.
Hi I'm Terrie Taylor, an Internet Marketer working with a company called Carbon Copy Pro. I also have a blog where I help other marketers get started or improve their skills. You can learn more about me at http://www.TerrieTaylor.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terrie_Taylor
It's Your Career - I'm here to Support YOU!
Constantine Isslamow
Real Estate Broker / Mortgage Broker
Century 21United Realty Inc. Brokerage / CENTUM Core Financial Inc.
Independently Owned and Operated
Friends, followers, and connections are the way of the future.
Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn
CENTUM Core Financial Inc. Brokerage License #: 10642 Constantine Isslamow License#: M08005391
If you are marketing on the Internet then you should be using Twitter as one of your free marketing methods. Here is a brief overview of how to do it.
First, you must have a Twitter account. When you create your Twitter account, do so using your name and a photo, not some cartoon or icon. It's not only about building relationships here, but branding yourself and building your presence. Your Twitter page will appear on a Google search of your name. Mine appears on the first page of Google search for my name.
Once you have an account you need to get some followers. When people follow you your tweets (mini posts) will appear on their wall when they are viewing their Twitter page.
To get followers first you must follow others. Start by doing a search within Twitter. Search for someone related to the topic you are involved with. For instance, if you are involved with a company that uses attraction marketing you may want to search for Mike Dillard. Once you get to his page you will click on the word 'Following". It will be on the right side of his page. This will bring up a list of people who follow Mike Dillard on Twitter. Then you go through this list and choose people to follow. Some of those people will automatically follow you back. You will also have people start following you simply because you active on Twitter.
There are also use free tools like Twello.com and Twollo.com also make building a following pretty simple (the latter lets you set up auto-following based on keywords).
Do not follow more than 100 to 150 people per day. Twitter considers this too aggressive. They may close your account. Also, you must keep your ratio of followers to following within 10%.
If you are a Twitter newbie remember that as with any social network, it's about relationships. If you are too aggressive in promoting your business people will simply stop following you.
Twitter Tips Tweet (post) at least once or twice a day. As you build a large following you will want to increase this, as only a small portion will be likely to see your Tweet at the time you Tweet it.
Provide value (content) primarily, not spam! Give Them Something to Tweet About! Your Tweets should be pleasant, consistent, uplifting, entertaining and/or educational. Adding tweets directly related to your product or opt-in page is fine, after all that's why you are doing this, right?. You should keep this at about a 1/3 ratio. One promotional tweet for every 3 content tweets.
ReTweet (RT) content that you like! If you are getting lots of RTs on your content then you know you are on the right track! You can use Twitter's 'Retweet' link, or to add a short comment, just click the 'Reply' link (you have to float your mouse over the right side of the post to see the 'Retweet' and 'Reply' links appear), and type 'RT' prior to the @username.
Thank your followers who RT'ed your Tweets. This is very important especially for content that you have written or even RTs of your products or opt-in Tweets! And, be SURE you are following them! This is done by the @Reply. This is a great way to build relationships.
Reply to your @Replies - Your @Replies view (found in your @Replies view which is on your 'Home' page right above your 'Direct Messages' ink on the right sidebar, where you will see @YourUserId) shows messages that are directed personally to you as well as recommendations for you. Reply to as many of these as you can! You can combine multiple replies with a short 'Thnx 4 RTs & Shouts' or similar if you get a lot of them.
Watch your DMs for any personal messages. This may mean sifting through lots of spam. DO NOT follow links here, this is where many Twitter viruses have been and still are spread.
There is a service called SocialOoomph.com it does a lot for free, allowing you to auto-follow-back and schedule Tweets ahead of time. This is a great tool as it allows to leverage your time by scheduling Tweets for the whole day.
Now you that you have the basic idea go and get tweeting!
By the way, I learned all of this from the education provided at Carbo Copy Pro. You can read more helpful internet marketing tips on my blog.
Hi I'm Terrie Taylor, an Internet Marketer working with a company called Carbon Copy Pro. I also have a blog where I help other marketers get started or improve their skills. You can learn more about me at http://www.TerrieTaylor.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terrie_Taylor
It's Your Career - I'm here to Support YOU!
Constantine Isslamow
Real Estate Broker / Mortgage Broker
Century 21United Realty Inc. Brokerage / CENTUM Core Financial Inc.
Independently Owned and Operated
Friends, followers, and connections are the way of the future.
Twitter / Facebook / LinkedIn
CENTUM Core Financial Inc. Brokerage License #: 10642 Constantine Isslamow License#: M08005391
Thursday, March 11, 2010
5 Tips For Attracting Great Traffic to Your Website Regardless of Your Small Budget
Online business owners need to drive traffic to their websites. But many people have financial constraints to pay for advertising. Even though there are many strategies for driving traffic to a website, the final strategy depends on the time available as well as your budget to grow your online business.
This article outlines the most cost effective strategies for generating visitors to your website.
1. Give free reports and articles
People like freebies. So offering them with your website URL included, the freebies become an effective and cheap way to increase traffic to your website.You can write short and useful reports containing your website link and offer them for free. You can put these reports in a website where the visitors can leave their email address before downloading the articles or reports. This can help you build a list easily.
2. Blogging
This is also an effective strategy for increasing traffic to your website. You can describe the products and services you offer in your website through blogging. Add some links on your blog to your website. Regular blogging with fresh content will result in indexed website by search engines. Your website will rank high on the search engines and this increases visitors.
3. Publish your own newsletter
A better place to regularly offer free content and tips is your own newsletter. This will help you build traffic. Your newsletter should contain links to your website so that many people who read the newsletter can visit it.
4. Start your forum related to products and services offered in your website
You establish yourself as an authority in your topic if you have your own forum on your niche. If you assist people in your niche by giving answers to their questions in the forum, traffic is drawn to your website. This will be a result of your website URL in your signature in forum posts.
5. Trade links with websites with high popularity ranking
Search for websites related to what you offer on your website and exchange links with them. This works effectively if the sites rank high in the search engines. After you have done that, some visitors will come as a result of the websites with which you exchanged links.
http://www.WealthCreationEmpowerment.ws
http://www.CreateWealthNow.co.za
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elphas_Mdluli
It's Your Career - I'm here to Support YOU!
Constantine Isslamow
Real Estate Broker / Mortgage Broker
Century 21United Realty Inc. Brokerage / CENTUM Core Financial Inc.
Independently Owned and Operated
Friends, followers, and connections are the way of the future.
CENTUM Core Financial Inc. Brokerage License #: 10642 Constantine Isslamow License#: M08005391
This article outlines the most cost effective strategies for generating visitors to your website.
1. Give free reports and articles
People like freebies. So offering them with your website URL included, the freebies become an effective and cheap way to increase traffic to your website.You can write short and useful reports containing your website link and offer them for free. You can put these reports in a website where the visitors can leave their email address before downloading the articles or reports. This can help you build a list easily.
2. Blogging
This is also an effective strategy for increasing traffic to your website. You can describe the products and services you offer in your website through blogging. Add some links on your blog to your website. Regular blogging with fresh content will result in indexed website by search engines. Your website will rank high on the search engines and this increases visitors.
3. Publish your own newsletter
A better place to regularly offer free content and tips is your own newsletter. This will help you build traffic. Your newsletter should contain links to your website so that many people who read the newsletter can visit it.
4. Start your forum related to products and services offered in your website
You establish yourself as an authority in your topic if you have your own forum on your niche. If you assist people in your niche by giving answers to their questions in the forum, traffic is drawn to your website. This will be a result of your website URL in your signature in forum posts.
5. Trade links with websites with high popularity ranking
Search for websites related to what you offer on your website and exchange links with them. This works effectively if the sites rank high in the search engines. After you have done that, some visitors will come as a result of the websites with which you exchanged links.
http://www.WealthCreationEmpowerment.ws
http://www.CreateWealthNow.co.za
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elphas_Mdluli
It's Your Career - I'm here to Support YOU!
Constantine Isslamow
Real Estate Broker / Mortgage Broker
Century 21United Realty Inc. Brokerage / CENTUM Core Financial Inc.
Independently Owned and Operated
Friends, followers, and connections are the way of the future.
CENTUM Core Financial Inc. Brokerage License #: 10642 Constantine Isslamow License#: M08005391
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