how to create a real estate marketing plan

How to Create A Real Estate

Marketing Plan

Creating a real estate marketing plan is of paramount importance for

any investor seeking to begin a career in this industry. There is no ‘right’ or

‘perfect’ real estate marketing plan as marketing is

always situational, flexible, and fungible in nature.

So why would I write an article on how to create a marketing plan for

your real estate business? Because I want to provide for you several

options and let you pick which ones will best work for you.

Before giving you actual items for your real estate marketing plan, I

want to give you a couple of words of caution to think about before deciding what to implement:

Create a budget.

What will you spend every month on marketing? This budget will dictate

what types of marketing you will use.

Create a ‘time’ budget.

Marketing can take time and effort. For example, if you’re going to place bandit signs on a weekly basis, you

are committing yourself to early Saturday mornings every weekend

and late Sunday evenings to pick up the signs again. Can you commit to

that time?

Pick at least 5.

Don’t put all of your eggs in one marketing basket. I know many real estate investors love the concept of online marketing (as do I). However,

if you are just creating a Facebook Page and expecting to get leads, your

business will fail. For best success, pick at least 5 strategies from the list

below.

Create a Real Estate Marketing Plan | Strategies • Farming an Area- this tactic is the simplest and least expensive way to

get started. You simply drive a series of small neighborhoods in your target

area and look for homes that show signs of distress.

These signs can be an unkempt lawn, boarded up windows, piles of

newspapers in the driveway, weeds, etc… Then get the addresses, find the owner, and contact them to make an offer. This method is good because

you become an expert in an area and costs very little money to do. The only drawback is that it takes time to farm

areas.

• Bandit Signs

Bandit signs are signs posted in busy intersections. A sample bandit sign will say “We Buy Houses, Cash, As-Is” with a

phone number as a call to action.

Bandit signs can be effective, but it costs money to purchase the signs, stakes,

etc… and takes time to put out and pick back up. Also, check with the local

ordinances on whether or not bandit signs are illegal.

• Flyers

flyers are business size cards with the same message as a bandit sign that you

place on the windshield of cars. For flyers to work, you must use

large quantities (like 500+). The benefit of flyers is that you can create 1000 for

about $15.

The downside is that it takes time to put them out and you have a low conversion rate. If you’re starting out and you have

plenty of time but not much money, then spending a couple of hours a day with this strategy could be a good way to

generate leads.

• Door Handle Signs

this is a sign that you hang on people’s doors with your message and a call to action. This is a great way for finding

buyers…going to apartment complexes and hanging on their doors.

This is a relatively inexpensive form of marketing, but as you’re finding out by

now, the lesser the expense of real estate marketing, the greater the time

requirement.

• Post Cards

post cards are the most inexpensive way to perform direct mail. As such, they also have the lowest conversion. Post

cards allow you to display your message in a manner that the homeowner will see

without having to open an envelope.

Post cards require quite a bit of testing, not just on the post card itself, but also on the mailing list used. However, as is the case with flyers, if you put enough

out consistently, then you will have success.

• Hand written letters

handwritten letters take time to write out and costs money for the paper,

envelope, and stamps, but this strategy also performs the best open and has the

highest conversion rate.

This is because they look more unique and less like junk or spam mail. When writing the letter, it’s best to use lined yellow paper and blue ink. Keep the message short and simple. For this

strategy to work, you must commit to sending out letters consistently.

• Referrals

this strategy is effective and inexpensive. You can develop referrals from several

sources: Realtors, mortgage brokers, title agents, contractors, or even people who

work in hardware stores.

When making your pitch, consider the WIIFM strategy; always make the pitch more about how it is going to benefit them to refer you business. And also,

make sure you return the favor and send them some business as well.

• Networking events

real estate networking events are great ways to meet other professionals to

obtain referrals. They’re also great ways to meet and create relationships with

other real estate investors. This is important because not every investor

uses the same strategy to buy and sell a house.

Therefore, if you meet someone who focuses on short sales and you focus on

subject-to, then you two can create a nice little referral network. Also, these events are great places to meet other

experts and learn from other, more experienced investors.

• Social Media

social media is the electronic version of networking or referral marketing.

However, when promoting yourself on social media sites, like Facebook, it’s

important to make sure your posts are providing value rather than simply

promoting yourself.

If you want to find home sellers, then provide tips on how to sell your house,

how to stage a house, contract tips, etc… Brand yourself as an expert. Then

people looking to sell their houses will look for you.

• Video Marketing

video marketing is an excellent and underutilized strategy. It’s inexpensive

and doesn’t take much time. Plus, video is the media of choice- more people

would rather watch a video than read text. You can use video to provide tips or to give a walk through of a property you

are selling.

Then you can upload and promote through YouTube as well as other social

sites, like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. As an additional bonus tip, I highly recommend having a Google+

account for SEO purposes.

Obviously G+ is owned by Google, and if you are using G+, your posts (and vidoes)

will show up higher in the search rankings.

• Web sites

people love being able to search for information online. Therefore, you want to have a very informative website that

answers questions for those in need while showcasing your expertise.

I strongly recommend having something to give away (ebook, video, checklist,

etc…) in exchange for their email information. This way, you are able to

contact these potential customers through newsletters and autoresponders.

• Bird Dogs

bird dogs are people who aren’t exactly in real estate yet come across real estate opportunities. These are folks who work in hardware stores, the Home Depot or

Lowes, landscapers, painters, etc… These are people who run into folks

fixing to sell their homes.

Give these potential bird dogs your business card and pay them a

‘marketing’ fee for anyone who ends up using your services. This method can be

the least expensive and least time consuming way to find motivated sellers.

Creating and implementing your real estate marketing plan will take some

time, money, and effort, but understanding your options and

committing to a time and financial budget before hand will allow you to choose the methods that are best for

you and produce the best results quickly.