Charlie Allred
By Charlie Allred
With more than 90 percent of home buyers searching online for their new home, how are you capturing these online buyers?
Here are my seven absolute must-know tips for becoming a killer online real estate agent.
1. A Vibrant Blog: Having a vibrant blog means you post consistently, which is once a month at minimum, but I suggest between two and four posts per month with posts that address your real estate specialty or niche neighborhoods. The key is to make sure you are consistent.
2. Answer FAQs: You know your niche, so you know they ask similar questions all the time. Answer these questions on your blog/website. You already tell your clients these things individually, so why not share it on the Internet and let your expertise work for you? 
3. Share Your Content: If you want your blog and articles addressing your niche to be found, you must share them. Choose your social media platforms and be consistent. Share every blog post, you can even share an older blog post with a new graphic or put into a new context.
4. Nichify: Make sure you are always talking to one niche market or audience at a time. Don’t try to write an article including every neighborhood you specialize. Write a separate article for each neighborhood. Make your niche feel understood; be the expert of your neighborhoods! Here’s an example of a new article I wrote about moving to Chandler, Arizona. This area is a new niche for me, so my first article is broad but the next articles will touch on topics that are more and more narrow.
5. Offer Something: You need to offer something on your website or blog to gain opt-in e-mail addresses. This list of leads is a great source for potential clients. You can offer something as simple as “a list of homes in Scottsdale 85250.” I also offer an MLS search for free on my site. The goal is to offer something that will entice people enough to sign up with their contact information.
6. Your List: Once a potential client opts in for your free resource, you need to have systems in place to keep in touch with this buyer. Auto-responders are perfect. You can create an e-mail drip campaign with small offers throughout the series. Here are some simple examples:
- A welcome e-mail
- A tutorial on the MLS search
- An offer for a personalized search
- Your latest blog post
You can send e-mails to your list as often as you like, but I suggest no more than once a week and make sure you are sending good information.
7. Detailed Resources: Once you start talking to the prospects on your list through your automated drip campaign, you can then reach out by sending more detailed resources. This could be a buyer’s checklist (or a seller’s checklist for your list of seller leads), neighborhood statistics and market reports, or whatever you think is most important to your niche.
Keeping things simple and think about the big picture. Always be useful when you talk to your potential clients, focus on one niche at time, and be yourself.
I have this information in presentation form as well. For a more detailed version of this article, head to www.charlieallred.com.
Charlie Allred is a Phoenix-based designated broker for Secure Real Estate and author of the book “Pinnable Real Estate: Pinterest for Real Estate Agents.” She leads the Killer Online Mastermind for real estate agents; you can learn more at charlieallred.com. She is a Pinterest expert who coaches agents on how to gain more leads, followers, and clients by using Pinterest. Learn more at her blog: www.PinnableRealEstate.com.