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Blogs have now become an industry standard in the real estate business. In fact, blogs are common not just in real estate but practically in every industry existing. This is due to the fact that online presence is given so much premium by customers and clients.

Business owners and other professionals are now investing on blogs because it can help a business or an enterprise. Blogs do more than what websites offer-websites, after all, often directly sell the property or the service; on the other hand, blogs are “soft sell,” or they sell something without the potential customer realizing it. This makes blogs great marketing tools.

But what makes blogs efficient in marketing? Remember that many experts claim that common marketing and advertising methods are losing their edge because of the saturation of similar materials in the market. Remember, too, that the people or the real estate agent’s market, to be exact, is usually adverse to hard sell or direct advertising.

Blogs address these two weaknesses in marketing. Real estate websites that serve as blogs are not direct hard sell. This is because a good and effective real estate website should be content-based rather than advertising-based. Instead of listing down the agent’s good traits and why he or she is equipped to address a customer’s needs, the blog should contain useful information about real estate, with the ‘selling” part a secondary concern. In a way, it’s advertising-but not quite. This is because the website’s primary purpose is as a repository of information. The more visitors it generates, the higher the chance the blog will be of use to the realtor. And it will only attract visitors if the content is good, among other factors.

It is also proven that consumers, before they buy a product (or in this case, a property), first look for information. Therefore, an agent should be at the forefront. Also, an agent has every interest to maintain high Internet visibility-and blogs are great for that purpose, too. Blogs can easily be optimized to appear as one of the top search engine results, depending on the keywords used by the blog’s author. This, combined with the fact that people often turn to the Internet when they want to know something or clarify something, bodes well for the real estate agent. People who seek information and found it on the agent’s blog are more likely to do business with the agent who maintains the blog.

However, what potential client’s like most about real estate websites such as these blogs is the interactivity and its function to connect client and agent instantly. Blogs can make both parties instantly engage. At the same time, the content of the blog can make a visitor feel compelled to participate. At its very core, blogs are good for agents because they can become a venue for clients to contact the agent.

Of course, for such a blog to do all these things listed here, it has to be done properly. But just the same, blogs are among the online tools agents can use to their advantage.

When starting an online or web-based business, it is integral to any plan to advertise in any way possible. The trick is, how do you do it? I have scoured the internet, learning the best ways to market your business on the web and with the knowledge gained I provide you with my Top 10 Strategies to Marketing Online:

1. Creating an Attractive Website

Regardless of how many people you can get to visit your website, it won’t matter if they cannot bear the thought of looking at it for more than two seconds. Make sure your website doesn’t turn people off right away. This includes eliminating the unnecessary elements of your site, creating an easy to navigate page, and inspiring return visits. If someone wouldn’t want to come back to your site, they most likely won’t buy anything or point anyone else in your direction. Without an attractive website, the rest of the strategies provided here won’t do you much good.

2. Word of Mouth

Obviously, this method comes first because it is not relegated to the Internet, but provides the means and suddenly customers who enjoy your product are working for you. Offer referral coupons and you are off to the races. Any person who receives information on a product from a trusted friend is infinitely more likely to follow up on it than something they were to be sent by you or another unknown source. Take that to the next level, and have YOUR friends market for you. Networking online is incredibly important. If you have a solid base of “friendly” websites linking to your site (This is generally easy to do if you offer the same service for them) you will create more traffic to your website than any other method.

3. E-mail Marketing

Email marketing usually done in one of three ways: 1) emailing current customers to encourage loyalty and repeat business by the way of repeat customer coupon, or member coupons. 2) Sending emails with the intent of gaining new customers with direct emails. This method requires gaining lists of email addresses which can be tricky to get. Generally the least effective of all email methods due to spam filters. 3) Adding advertisements to other businesses emails. This method would require spending some money to get businesses to let you do this, but if you create it correctly it can either appear to be sponsored by the business the customer is (Hopefully) familiar with, or you can use the space to create the best banner ad possible, which would gain the attention of the person emailed and link them back to you.

4. Search Engine Optimization

This method of advertisement is probably the sneakiest kind, because it doesn’t appear to your customer that you did anything to create the effect. Search engines use crawlers to find web pages for their algorithmic searches. These crawlers index specific pages on your website, but please note that if you have a blog, or a website attached to another site(Such as this blog, as it’s attached to BlogSpot), it’s unlikely you’re going to get ANY traffic without submitting your site directly to the search engines. For sites like yahoo, this can be a pricey endeavor without much gain, but it does allow you to select which keywords bring up your website.

5. Banner Ads

This type of marketing covers web banners, animated gifs or static images that wouldn’t be described as a “banner” such as the rectangular ads often seen on MySpace and online newspaper articles, and “Pop-Up” advertisements. These ads are mildly effective, and are usually rather costly. You’re looking at a cost to create the advertisement, and a cost to run the ad on someone else’s website unless you can get a “Banner swap” deal. A banner swap deal would allow you run an advertisement for someone else while they do the same for you, at no cost to one another (Other than the space on your website). The space on your website is a resource in this sense, because it cuts down the available area on the screen at any one time for text. Banner ads can either run at the top or bottom of a page, or along the sides. The ads along the side can either be static, in that they don’t move when you scroll down the page (Often revealing more ads), or they can be constant, scrolling down the page with the visitor. Usually, if you are going to run these ads they should announce to the world how great your product is. Often I see the mistake of people using a banner ad saying “Visit [http://momsinternetmarketingandlifetips.blogspot.com/!]” or whatever your site may be, rather than showing people what they will get if they DO visit. You want people coming to your site to buy your product (or read your blog) not just too idly travel to your website to quell their boredom. It is important your ads are proactive in this sense.

6. Social Networking

Websites such as Facebook, Myspace, and most recently Twitter have begun to allow everyone to get in touch with everyone they know and provide them with updates on their daily lives. Why can’t you use this to increase business? You can do it both on your personal Facebook or twitter, and more importantly on one set up specifically for your business. With a network of past and future customers, it can be instrumental in keeping your former customers informed and spreading that knowledge on to future customers.

7. Create a Newsletter

By creating a newsletter you are allowing customers who want to keep up with new developments on your website and new products you produce informed. This optional service is a strong base of customers for future products, because nearly all who sign up to be informed of products to be developed will likely at least check out anything new you create. You can also use these dedicated customers as a strong base to bounce ideas off of, which would allow for cheap feedback on ideas.

8. Online Press Releases

Using an inexpensive service to get the word out is never a bad idea. This ranks below a newsletter because it doesn’t have the personal touch that allows it to reach customers from a trusted source, and it costs more than just your time. These releases are often about 20 dollars and get the word out to thousands at a time. Release an article on your product (make sure it’s favorable) and watch the results. Be sure there is a link back to your website on the article.

9. Pay-per-click Advertising.

Pay per click advertising is very similar to search engine optimization, except that it costs you a set amount per click on the link you are providing. The price usually varies depending on the keywords you use (for example: hotel is a very expensive one) and could cost you hundreds to thousands of dollars a month for no guaranteed sales. I generally don’t recommend this method, but it could feasibly create sales for your website. Those possible sales push Pay-per-click ads just above pop ups on this list.

10. Pop Up Ads

Marketing via pop-ups is becoming a gamble. With pop-up blockers reigning supreme in the web browser wars, it is generally unwise to spend a lot of time, effort, or funds on pop ups. Most of the time they are either quickly closed by those proficient with the internet, or they are blocked by specialized pop up blockers. That being said, the better ads can produce some motivated traffic and that alone warrants the last spot on my countdown. In all, I don’t think they can produce enough for their cost in this new internet, and are a dinosaur of the infancy of the World Wide Web.

When referring to a target market it means that there a specific group of people your business or services will attract specifically. This can include people that are directly impacted by your website and/or marketing campaign and of course for people who stumble upon the site as a potential customer.

Keying in on your target market is one of the oldest marketing tactics widely used. Once you identify your target group then you have a better chance of providing them with necessary services and products they need and want. In multiple instances referring to the target market as an action verb best describes the general public who are all potential customers. This way an advertiser can segment the market based on specific factors as listed:

sexual category
Age
earnings
Social status
For the most part these four categories assist the advertiser with targeting their audience. Often this can be interactive. Take for example the gaming industry, which may appear to target younger generation of adults. However given the fact that the older a person is the more likely the income is greater, therefore focusing the target between both age ranges can narrow down a specific type of customer and status. Beside the age marketer may also include social status to build up a more complex uniqueness and identify focus on a specific group. For example; inquiring of their career interest and/or martial status can help you identify a closer niche group of people you want to direct to your site.

Ideally no matter what the end result may be. The first step to achieving this is identifying with the business and what it has to offer. At this point you can easily spot the target group and customize your services to that groups’ specific needs’. When selecting a target market you want to choose a market audience that is great in size and spending capabilities. Then you can better create content and products services that target their need. For example; if your researching the vast number of internet users looking for porn, pornographic novels, stories and/or artwork and their willing to pay. You can create an interactive porn site and discussion forum tailored to specific fetishes of young males. This could prove profitable in the long run.

In this case having how to pick up women, how to satisfy women sexually in e books on this site would be more advantageous for the target marketing your directing your site too. You wouldn’t putt these types of books on a women forum site that specifically for romance, finding a mate or poetry.

People think that getting traffic to a website is a difficult thing. It really is not, but it could be expensive unless you use tactical strategies. Driving traffic to a website really is simple. There are many ways to accomplish this from an online perspective.

Online you can do several things like writing articles like this one. You can also generate traffic by doing press releases, creating content rich blogs and getting link partners and the like to back link to your website. And of course we have all heard about the quickest and easiest way to drive traffic to our website being the all infamous joint venture partner to send out an email to their list. Last but not least online you can always use pay per click advertisements for getting not only traffic but instant traffic.

I am not covering any of these online techniques in this article. I am covering a simple and inexpensive technique any one in any niche can use to drive targeted traffic to their website.

First you need a widget. This can be obtained from many different sources. It can be a private label right product pertaining to the niche market you are trying to reach. Believe me there are tons of private label rights on many different topics. Just do a search on any of the major search engines and you’ll see what I mean. You can also get valuable and little known information from free government sources. There is also a ton of information on the public domain that can be obtained on a number of topics. And of course you can use articles from article directories like this one you are reading this article from. This widget can be distributed in the form of a report sheet, or e-book that can be downloaded for free on your website in Adobe PDF format. This is important; make sure that this PDF has back links to your website since this will make your widget viral.

Now go to your local print or copy shop and get a set of simple business cards with only the website address on it in a 14 point or larger font. If you can get them printed on a bright yellow paper with black ink, this I’ve found works best for curiosity. Hand this card out to as many of your likely prospects as possible. This method will just about guarantee you will get targeted traffic going to your website. If you want to get really good traffic and you have good copywriting skills write a good headline such as “Want to Get To The Heart of Valuable Information on Yourtopic At No Cost Instantly?” If your answer is “YES,” then please visit: YourDomainName.com

Even without using the headline in your business cards the curiosity factor will get people to visit your website. I know this because I have used this technique for several customers of my marketing and printing business and they have reported excellent results in driving traffic to their websites.

When you have determined who your targeted audience is all you need to do is conjugate where this target audience may be located. Here is an example, if you are targeting dog lovers. Find out where the dog shows may be in your town and attend. Go to dog parks and mingle, be friendly. When you are a pet shop this should be your target market heaven. Hand out the cards to just about everyone at the pet shop. On your way out at the check out the person in front on you on the line and the one behind you should get a business card. Now hand out those business cards to them with only the website address or the headline and website address and watch the traffic being driven to the website being more specific to who you want going to your website in the first place.

In summary, driving traffic to your website is just a matter of thinking creatively and not just sticking to online tactics which in many cases will limit the type of traffic to unqualified prospects.

It’s been said and written many times that this recession is the worst economic period since the Great Depression. Economists may quibble with the finer points, but the fact remains that our economy has been in tough shape for more than a year. One can argue that the downturn actually started in March 2000, when the tech bubble burst.

It’s been a tough decade if you’re in marketing or advertising. Many firms have reduced their marketing budgets, which is a double whammy: Cutting back on marketing means that you’re even less likely to get the customers who are out spending. (Calling on a firm in the Milwaukee area one day I learned that they had also cut their sales staff to one person. Wow. How do they expect to survive?)

Most business people understand the need to continue marketing. Just how to do that becomes the challenge in light of tight budgets. Fortunately, opportunities exist that allow businesses to keep promoting at little or no cost. By combining some new processes with a few of the traditional methods, you can continue marketing your business while you ride out the recession. Social media methods, initially designed for personal use, are increasingly being used to promote business activity. They include:

LinkedIn – Although many people use LinkedIn to network for jobs, it also can be used to get out the word for your business. A lot of self-employed folks, including me, use this popular site to let the world know they are open to new projects.

Facebook – Perhaps not as valuable for networking as LinkedIn, Facebook still offers you the chance to create another presence on the Web. Hey, if McDonald’s, Microsoft, and GE see the value in a Facebook page, perhaps you would as well.

Twitter – Stay in touch with your followers with micro-messages. For more personal contact, send a direct message.

Blog column – If you don’t have a Web site, consider starting a blog on one of the common sites such as blogstream.com or blogger.com. Remember to post frequently. Visitors prefer to see new content, and may not stick with you if you’re an infrequent blogger.

In all cases, be sure to promote your activities via e-mails and other communications. Include links whenever possible so readers can go directly to your pages.

Speaking of e-mails, produce and send a newsletter or e-zine on a regular basis. They give you the chance to showcase your skills and stay in front of your prospects. Give them good information with only a moderate sales pitch.

The newsletter need not be fancy. Mine is a single-page document produced in Word and then converted to PDF. Eventually I’ll upgrade to an HTML format. The results are more professional looking, and because you’re not sending an attachment, there’s less of a problem with company firewalls.

Even though you may be more comfortable using social media, you can’t ignore traditional methods of marketing. Some include:

Networking – Every community has networking opportunities, usually organized by the chamber of commerce. There may be a nominal fee–$20 to $40 is common–but if you can land one client, you’ll be repaid many times over. Be patient, however. Making a sale is all about relationship building. Attend those functions regularly so you have the chance to develop some relationships.

Give presentations, seminars – A great way to become known for your expertise. Many times you’ll have to speak for free, but the exposure can be invaluable. Kiwanis, Rotary, and Lions clubs need speakers on a regular basis. Your speech must be informative, however. Minimize the sales pitch and maximize the value to the audience.

Join a non-profit organization and/or service club – Depending on which organization you join, there could be a membership fee. But, by joining and participating, you will meet and talk with other business professionals on a regular basis. You can gain through direct business and referrals. Just remember that sales is a two-way street: Help those who help you. (Actually, it’s a three-way street if you count the most important person in the mix, the client.)

As you can see, there are numerous ways to market your skills that don’t cost a lot of money. They do entail commitment, however. Choose several from above, and then commit the time and energy to building your business while you help others in a similar situation.

Yes, we all probably know by now that article marketing is a great way to generate traffic and earn money online. But do you know that adding Twitter to the marketing equation will make this technique an even more powerful one?

I’ll bet that I couldn’t stop the flow of visitors even if I wanted to. Not that I want to, of course. You can never have too much of a good thing.

Here’s how you, too, can turn Twitter into a powerful tool for an even more powerful article marketing campaign:

Auto-Tweeting – Set up a Twitter account, and set it so that people who follow you on Twitter will automatically receive a message every time you have a new article submitted and published on EzineArticles.com or whichever other article directory you are using. Readers will be notified of your new content, and this will give you even more back links. Do not simply stop there, though…

Following Auto-Tweets Up – Like sports, the follow-up is also important in this strategy. Automatic messages can only do so much, so you have to personally direct readers to your articles too. A simple “For a guide to… check this out”, plus the URL of your article, will suffice.

Having Others Re-Tweet Your Articles – Re-Tweeting is an important factor that makes Twitter a “social” network. If your articles are good, people will do spread your articles to their own networks without you asking them to do so. Always remember to return the favor by re-Tweeting their Tweets.

Directing People to Your Opt-In Page – You should also bring readers from your resource box directly to your account’s opt-in page, if you are not doing so already. Placing a “Get free access to…” in exchange for their email address is the simplest, yet most effective way to do this.

Direct sales training is enhanced with sell words and inspiration phrases to build prospect fervor. Sell words are a sales closing technique boost, inserted to compel inspiration to buy now. This listing of sell words provides the energy and vigor to lead your prospect into a sale close.

Sell words work to reinforce your product and highlight the benefits you are presenting. They add force to emphasize an inducement to take action. Most direct sales training involves learning how to fight off objections and handle resistance in closing sales. The techniques of inspirational phrases automatically work in holding back your client from giving objections and resistance.

Directly use or modify the inspirational words and phases shown to work into your sales closing techniques. After awhile you notice sell phrases that become a regular part of sales closing. Forget what your sales manager said, that the prospect buys because of you not the company you represent. That is why inspiring potential customers first provides force to closing the sale.

Here is a listing of some direct sales words to encourage prospects to increase interest. These inspiration phrases and action words include: dare to compare, deluxe, demanding attention, daring innovation, deep burning desire, definitely affordable, desirable, discover how, described as outstanding, deluxe edition, develop the best strategy, dynamic, difference of impossible and possible, discover the mystery, do your finances embarrass you?, don’t be a fried chicken, double your profits, and dramatic breakthrough.

An additional listing of direct sales words includes: earth shattering, enjoy the independence, exploding volcano, expressway to success, enter a new galaxy, extras at no charge, everything you expect, eye opening advice, economically sound, effective immediately, exchange pennies for dollars, electrifying results, extensive product research, enchanting, enormous savings, essential ingredients, expert market timing, and eyeball popping.

As you see all the inspirational phrases and sell words start with the letters “D” and “E”. This could be a reflection of dollars and earnings heading your way.

Well published author, Donald Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don’t already know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is. Read Don’s author bio.

Watch for his new paperback book debuting on Amazon this fall. It is loaded with great insurance marketing, brokerage, sales, and recruiting information and facts.

While hoards of early retirees have already or are considering re-entering the work force, a select group of them are entering the entrepreneurial avenues offered by direct sales companies.

Why so many retiree employment searches? The recent economic meltdown hit retired professionals and retired entrepreneurs the hardest. A February ’09 article in US News & World report reported that, “retirement account losses in 2008 disproportionately affected wealthy savers. Those with more than $200,000 lost more than a quarter of their savings, on average, according to an Employee Benefit Research’s Institute analysis of 22 million participants in more than 55,000 employer-sponsored 401(k) plans.”

These companies appeal to retirees that need to augment their fixed incomes, top up their nest eggs, or both due to the relative low cost of entry, ability to run the business from home, the comparative advantage in leverage over the MLM opportunities, and the automation lent by some of the leading internet-based direct sales companies.

While MLM companies used to serve as supplemental incomes for many retirees, they are not producing the increased income some are seeking for their retiree jobs subsequent to the economic downturn. Many retiree jobs are now expected to top up the nest egg in addition to supplementing the day to day living expense of the retirees.

Internet marketing expert, Aaron Parkinson contrasted MLM vs. Direct Sales companies as follows: “If you are looking to start an online business and you are debating MLM versus Direct Sales you must weigh these statistics. The average MLM customer buys products for 60 days. How much money does that pay you? The minimum commission in Direct Sales is usually $1000. How many months of MLM purchases would that take? The average MLM associate makes less than $40 per month. The average Direct Sales rep makes about $30,000 per year. It is a fairly dramatic difference.” (Aaron Parkinson)

When entering the market for any new opportunity be sure to do your research, find a good track record, and, most importantly, assure yourself that you are dedicated to the success of the business prior to taking the plunge.

Four Real Estate Marketing Tools You Should Be Using

The economy is recovering, but it is still not in as good of a condition as it was before the recession reared its ugly head. The real estate market has not yet stalled, but it is very slow. It is important that you learn about, and use, every possible tool that you can find in order to ensure your success. Every seasoned real estate agent knows that there are many different tools to use, but those who are just starting out do not have the benefit of many years worth of experience. In this article, you will learn about four basic marketing tools that you should be using.

Direct Mail
Direct mailing is an important aspect of your real estate marketing efforts. You are simply using newsletters and postcards to advertise your services as a real estate agent, as well as your agency’s services. It is vital that these direct mailings be sent about once a month. The goal is to make sure that the customers that you have on the mailing list get familiar with you. The hope is that by knowing you are there, when they consider buying real estate, you are the first person that pops into their head. Research has shown that regular mailings have helped to make you look more credible and professional.

Listed and Sold Mailings
Similar in structure and purpose are the listed and sold mailings. Basically, you are compiling a mailing of a property that has just been listed for sale, or a property that has just been sold. You then mail these to the people within the vicinity of the property. This lets them know that you are around the area, ready to do business at a moment’s notice. You can use these mailings as postcards or as newsletters. The postcards do well when it is just one property in a neighborhood. The newsletters are better when you have multiple homes within the same area, like a subdivision.

Door Hangers
Canvassing your neighborhoods is a normal part of the job. When you are canvassing, you will most likely come across a few homes who have residents that are not home. Instead of simply walking away and making a mental note of the home, leave a door hanger. Your door hanger should include your agency affiliation and contact information. The door hanger will be the first thing the homeowner sees when they get home.

Real Estate Calendars
Real estate calendars are absolutely amazing tools for marketing. People will take them because they are free and they are calendars. Usually they will get hung on fridges or around desks where they gain a large level of visibility. The calendar is used tons of times when someone needs to keep track of dates. If you are using these tools, you know that your information is visible on the bottom of the calendar at all times, and it is viewed by anyone who looks at the calendar.

Successful marketing takes some patience and effort during normal economic circumstances. When you add the problems with the current economy and the real estate market conditions, you need marketing tools even more now than ever before.

Say you’re just an average person with a website, a blog and maybe an idea for a product you want to develop. You really haven’t gotten it all together to get a business up and running but you are really interested in making some money using your website while you get your business plan together. Affiliate marketing might be the solution you’re looking for.

Affiliate marketing is a simple concept. A business with a product or a service to sell will “hire” affiliates. These affiliates may or may not have their own service to sell, but what they will do is offer to provide a service to the original business. This can be anything from providing a link on a webpage to direct customers to the business’s website to guaranteeing 500 unique hits for the business website each month. In truth, the agreement between the business and the affiliate can be for any service they agree on. The payment is usually some percentage of the business’s profits from sales generated by the affiliate.

Businesses love affiliate marketing because for a small price, the affiliates help drive customers to their website. These are potential customers who might not have stumbled on the website without the direction of the affiliate. With proper planning, businesses can usually agree to work with affiliates for less than traditional marketing methods would cost. So for less money and only the work of hiring and paying the affiliate, the business has expanded its customer base and its marketing capabilities.

The affiliates make money directly from the payments from the business. The structure of these payments can be as simple as a penny per click through to as complex as a percentage of a specific sale. A lot of this depends on the product being sold and the nature of the business. Affiliates need to choose a business to affiliate with, which involves making some choices. In order to make money as an affiliate marketer, you’ll either have to choose a lucrative business to affiliate with or form an affiliation with many different businesses. There is middle ground in here as well, where you can be an affiliate for several businesses, not several hundred.

One of the largest affiliate programs available is Google’s AdSense. You give information to Google and Google then places ads on your website from businesses looking for affiliates who have some relevance to your website. From then on, it depends on the traffic your website generates as to how much money you make from these affiliations.

Take some time to assess your goals for affiliate marketing. If you are looking to be an affiliate for a business, how much money do you want to be generating each month? Will your website guarantee that for you or do you need to make some improvements to increase your web presence? Just as in any business, you will need to create your goals and your business plan designed to help you achieve those goals as quickly as possible.