Real Estate Investing Blog

When you’ve made the commitment to working as a real estate investor, one of the things that you are going to want to be sure of is that you understand the value of marketing. After all, whether you’re coming at real estate investing from the perspective of someone who wants to focus on foreclosures or as someone who hopes to attract business clients to their commercial buildings, it’s essential that you are able to reach out to those individuals who will help you to reach your goals.

If you’re going to be purchasing homes, it is essential that you are able to focus on reaching motivated sellers. You are going to need to be sure that you know what it’s going to take to get their attention - and that means that you’re going to want to have eye-catching signs (which means being aware of the big picture, including of which colors are most attractive) and that you’re going to have to focus on getting the wording “just so” in your print ads and on your web site.

Similarly, if you’re looking to lease out space, you’re going to want to be sure that business owners are aware that you have space available (after all, your investment isn’t going to pay off if all of the office space you have available is sitting empty).

Without knowing how to market yourself as a real estate investor, you’re going to find that it’s difficult to get your business off the ground. For something that seems as though it should be so simple, marketing proves to be the hurdle that some would be investors can’t get over; with the right tools and information, you can be sure that you’re able to market your business effectively.

When you’re working as a real estate investor - regardless of the types of deals that you’re looking into and the contacts that you have - the marketing that you do is going to have an impact on your success. When you find yourself marketing yourself as a real estate investor and marketing your business on the web, one of the things that you’re going to find is that there can be a fair amount of writing involved.

While you may find that it’s beneficial to hire someone who can create content for your web site - and, in some cases, to write ebooks, articles and even blog posts that you’re going to use to spread the word - you just might find that, with a little bit of effort, you can get the writing done yourself. Part of it, of course, just comes down to focusing on writing a bit differently and understanding your marketing goals.

Rather than trying to make everything perfect with your first draft, allow yourself to do some free writing when you are marketing your real estate business. Set a timer, and write out your draft, making sure that you’re including all of the key details; you can go back over it after to fix spelling ad grammar errors and to include the keywords and key phrases that you want to use in your marketing campaign. You’ll also find that you can focus more on the writing when you’ve already done your research (and closed out other distractions).

Your writing is going to have a great deal to do with your real estate investment marketing campaigns, but keep in mind that your real focus is on finding motivated sellers, on finding great properties, interested buyers or prospective tenants. In order to get more out of your writing and your marketing materials, you’ll want to be sure that you are addressing their needs.

Ultimately, whatever your real estate investment goals are, you’re going to find that two things are true. First, you need to be sure that you’re working with the right people and getting the right deals; second, you’ll find that marketing your business effectively will help you to attract the deals that will help you to reach your business goals.

When you are marketing yourself as a real estate investor, your goal is - in no uncertain terms - to grow your business. Whether your goals include attracting sellers or attracting buyers, it’s important to look at the big picture. Even before you focus on individual marketing campaigns, it’s important to look at your priorities.

For example, let’s take a quick look at internet marketing. Pay per click campaigns with the right keywords are a great way to get traffic to your website, but they are not something that you should be focusing on learning a great deal about before you even have a website for your real estate investment business. The same is true for video marketing, however there is an extent to which marketing with articles, particularly if you include a phone number and contact information in the resource box, could benefit you.

The same holds true for print marketing efforts: one of the things that you’re going to want to do is to get people to contact you; if you’re focused on the pitch more than the end result, you might find that you’re missing a key step - something like your phone number.

When you prioritize your marketing efforts, when you look at the different steps that need to be taken and you do things in order, you’ll find that marketing is more enjoyable, easier and - most importantly - more effective.

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One essential component of any business - including real estate investment - is getting the word out about what you have to offer. For real estate investors, marketing is about two different things. First, you need to market yourself as a buyer; then you’re going to have to market the homes that you’re selling (or units within your rental properties).

Many real estate investors don’t look as closely as they could at their marketing options because of the cost involved. The challenge, however, is that when you’re not making an effort to market yourself, your business and your services, it’s hard to be as successful as you can be.

Print advertising can be a great way of marketing your business, but if you find that it’s not that effective for your real estate investment business, you might want to consider promoting your properties and deals online. Whether you blog, maintain a website or focus on basic print marketing, one thing is absolutely true: it’s up to you to create the impression that those who read your ads have. It’s essential that you show stressed out sellers the advantage of working with you, and it’s equally important to show would be buyers a house or property at its best.

Of course, regardless of which methods you choose to market yourself as a real estate investor, you have to evaluate the results that you are getting. If you think that a particular marketing campaign isn’t helping you to attract clients, then it’s time to try something else; just keep in mind one great rule about marketing - focus on creating value for your prospective clients.

When it comes to marketing your real estate investment business with a blog, it’s important to look at the big picture and to decide, up front, who the audience for that blog is going to be.

If you’ve read a fair number of real estate investment blogs in the past, ask yourself why you read them. When you come here looking for information, hopefully you’ll find much of the information that you’re looking for. Of course, chances are good that, when you’re writing a real estate investment blog to market your business, your goals are going to be a bit different.

Simply put, when you read a blog on a regular basis, the key is that there’s information that you can put to work for you, information that’s geared towards you and your needs. If you’re writing a blog for your real estate investment business - if you want to be sure that you’re addressing why you buy homes and what types of sellers you’re going to be working with, you need to be sure that they are the audience that you’re writing for.

Ultimately, with blog marketing, your goal isn’t to attract readers who aren’t already looking for the products and services that you offer; you should be using your blog to market to those who are ready to take advantage of what you have to offer.

Knowing which people you want to market your services to is always going to make your real estate investment business marketing materials stronger and more effective; why would it be any different for marketing your business with a blog?

Online marketing is essential for getting ahead in business these days. So, of course, that begs the questions: what are you doing to market your real estate investment business online?

Marketing your business online is something that will take on many different shapes over time. On one hand, it involves setting up a website for your real estate investment business - and that means taking the time to plan out what your site will look like and what message you want to send. On the other, it means taking the time to learn more about what online marketing is going to take.

When you’re going to be marketing yourself as a real estate investor, you’re going to want to take a look at other investors’ sites to see what they do well. You’re going to want to take the time to shore up your business goals and to be sure that your site is addressing them. You’re also going to want to be sure that you’re aware of other forms of online marketing: pay per click campaigns, banner ads and even using email effectively.

Of course, even though there’s a lot to think about when it comes to marketing your real estate investment business online, there’s good news too: when you’re looking to grow your business, once you’re online you’ll find that transitioning into new areas is easier than you may have thought it would be.

Marketing is often the one thing that differentiates a successful real estate investor who builds genuine wealth from those who “dabble” in real estate investing.

Ultimately, when your work is real estate investing, you are not in a position that is altogether from that of any other company. You may offer a great service (in this case, saving homeowners from foreclosure), you may offer a great product (as an example, let’s say affordable rental properties), but if no one knows about what you do it’s going to be extremely challenging for you to succeed.

Because marketing is so essential, it’s important to recognize that there are a number of things that you can do to get the word out about your business:

• Take advantage of traditional marketing strategies. Make up business cards, be willing to take out newspaper ads maybe even billboards or TV or radio ads. All of those print marketing tools that are commonly used are going to be valuable to you.
• Network. Make a personal connection. Go to small business networking functions in your area, make personal connections with those at the bank so that you can start building relationships.
• Learn as much as you can about online marketing. You need to understand the value of blogging and what it takes to market a website so that those in your area who are looking for solutions will be able to see what you can do to provide them.

Marketing isn’t a one time effort that you put into your real estate investing business: marketing is an ongoing process. The sooner that you are able to develop a solid marketing plan, the more successful your business is likely to be.

Below is just an exerpt of the first assignment given to new ForeclosureMillionaireClub.com members.

I am using this particular one because I think this new real estate investor is starting off on the right foot - - with a very successful principle.

“It is not enough to do your best; You must know what to do, and THEN do your best.” - W. Edwards Deming.
_______________________________

Michelle, I’m turning in my first assignment. I’m new to real estate investing. Haven’t gotten my first deal yet, but I’m marketing to pre-foreclosures to get my first deal. Here are my answers to the assignment:
 
1. My goal over the next 6 months is to complete at least 6 profitable RE investment transactions. My goal over the next 12 months is to make at least $250,000 profit from my RE investment transactions. This will allow me to seriously look at quitting my full-time job and go full-time in real estate investing.
 
2. I have not closed my first real estate investment deal yet. I’m currently marketing to pre-foreclosures to fill my pipeline with potential RE investment deals.

3. I have not made any money in real estate investing yet. I’m actively working to change that everyday.
. . .
6. I’m currently generating my leads through a post card campaign to pre-foreclosures.
 
7. With one-on-one mentoring I’d like the mentor to give me the things I need to be doing on a daily basis to acquire my first RE investment deal and more deals after that. I’ve been in at least one mentoring program and realized I wasn’t being told about the things I needed to be doing everyday to land my first deal. I was being trained on stuff to do after I land a prospect. I’m learning though….

Alan,  Michelle here.  Wanted to let you know I have received, and read your homework.At first blush, I have to say, your ‘goals’ are very realistic.  Which means to say that you have come to them with some thought.While I realize that at this point you haven’t had the chance to digest all the information in the members area, I want to acknowledge you for getting out and prospecting already  - - -  even though you’re not sure of your step-by-step.

When you’re looking to generate wealth with real estate investment, one of the things that you’ll discover is that when you don’t have a great marketing plan, it’s a lot harder to accomplish your goals.

So just what should you include in your marketing strategy? What are the key components of a marketing plan when you wand to be sure that you are in a position in which you can succeed?

1. Be sure that your marketing materials target the person that you want to reach and grab his or her attention.
2. Keep it personal, explain in the text of your marketing why you want to work specifically with them, one on one.
3. Be clear within your marketing materials about the action that you want your prospects to take.
4. Make yourself accessible - particularly in the event that they have questions.
5. Be honest within your marketing materials.
6. Pay attention to the emotional - not just the rational needs - of those who you are trying to reach with your marketing.
7. Be sure that your marketing is focused around answering this one simple question: “What’s in it for me?”
8. While you are marketing your product or service, it’s important to consider that marketing should be about the recipient, not about you.

Those key elements will help you to do a great deal more with all of your business marketing; just be sure that you’re also taking the time to follow up and, if at first you don’t succeed, make a few changes and try again!

After all, marketing - just like real estate investing in general - is a practice, something that you get better at over time.