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What People are
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"Mr. Postcard made the end-to-end
process of sending out my marketing mailing easy and
always maintained the highest level of professionalism.
They worked with me to ensure that I was maximizing
the value of each of my mailings by recommending mail
strategies appropriate to my marketing message, goals
and my budget!"
- Teresa Blanco, Realtor
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Fundamentals Of Real Estate Marketing
By Brandon Cornett
Your personal marketing program needs certain ingredients in order
to succeed. Chief among them — research, focus, testing, honesty and
enthusiasm.
Fundamentals of research
Effective marketing demands thorough research, the more of it the
better. In fact, I would rank research in the top-three factors of
successful marketing.
Before you can write a brochure to inform your audience ... before
you can write an advertisement to persuade your audience ... before
you can write Web content to educate your audience ... you have to
know everything about your audience.
You have to know what their days are like, how they define success,
what they worry about. Everything. Only then can you begin to communicate
to them effectively.
Fundamentals of focus
In marketing and communications, seduction lurks around every corner.
New ideas emerge during a prolonged campaign. Distractions and side
doors present themselves. “This is old,” you might think. “I need
to shake things up a little.”
Focus and consistency bring benefits over the long haul, but it takes
patience. An ad-testing program, for example, could take several months
to start producing valuable insight. It takes steady measurement.
It takes long-term vision. It takes focus.
Fundamentals of testing
Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising, said it best:
“There are no answers in direct mail except test answers. You don’t
know whether something will work until you test it. And you cannot
predict test results based on past experience.”
What he meant was, you can take an offer that has worked for somebody
else in your industry, apply it to your audience, and have it flop.
Sure, there are “best practices” you can start with. And you can learn
a lot from the successes and failures of other marketers. But to get
the best possible ROI on your marketing investment, there is no substitute
for testing.
Think of it this way. Best practices will put you ahead of 75% of
your competition. Testing will help you surpass the other 25%.
Fundamentals of honesty
If you say “free,” it better be free — with no strings attached. If
you say “number one real estate company on the east coast” ... you
better be number one in some legitimate way.
Deceit and trickery only work the first time around.
Fundamentals of enthusiasm
Have you ever read an ad, article or website and found yourself thinking,
“Boy, this writer doesn't even care.”?
If your designer, copywriter, webmaster — or anyone else involved
with your marketing — lacks enthusiasm for a particular project, the
project has already failed.
A wise marketing manager knows this and will take the necessary steps
to inspire his or her team. All this being said, it always helps to
have a superior or service. But that's another topic entirely.
About the Author: Brandon Cornett has worked as a copywriter,
web writer and advertising manager within the direct mail industry.
He now dedicates much of his time to helping real estate professionals
market themselves effectively. His "Modern Guide to Real Estate Marketing"
and his free newsletter are both available through his website: http://www.ArmingYourFarming.com
Source: www.isnare.com
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