Yes, even Real Estate Agents have useful information that prospects would be interested in!

Think about the credibility and rapport you can create with prospects, and how you can connect with them in a non-threatening way, to gain their email address and start building a relationship so you will be the obvious choice when they are ready to buy their next home!

Writing a book these days isn’t any where near as hard as it use to be, and this weekend you can have the opportunity to find out exactly how easy it can be, with FREE access to the “Black Friday Book Camp”!

At the end of this long weekend, if you’ve followed this FREE  plan, you’ll have your first Kindle book outlined and maybe even DONE and ready for launch.

Here is a link to the FREE workbook:

Black Friday Book Camp

And if you’re interested in finding out more about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), then be sure to download MY BOOK, “Agent Blueprint – SEO Basics for Real Estate Professionals”

Lead generation seems to be an evasive subject for many Realtors.  You know that you need leads, but the old fashioned, traditional ways of getting leads really don’t work the way they use to.

You know you should be blogging and doing other things online, but knowing what to do is not always easy.   Here’s a list of ideas to help you get traffic to your site, and generate leads for your Real Estate business.

• • Post recommendation lists on your blog: “Top 10…” or “Best of…” or “10 Tips to…”  These types of lists attract inbound links from other sites as well.
  • Create a directory of experts, and service providers, in your area that relate to your industry.  With luck, they will link to your site’s complimentary references.
  • Offer to speak at events (Kiwanis, Rotary, Small Business clubs, etc).  This has a few benefits as far as generating potential leads.  Some of the event attendees may have blogs where they will write about you.  Also, you can post slides, notes, and podcasts from the event on your site and encourage event attendees to visit.
  • List your website on DMOZ, a directory used by Google to support page rankings.  Be aware that DMOZ is a human-edited directory that is tough to get into
  • Be sure you are listed on main internet directories (most of them are free).
  • Think of something you can advertise on Craigslist to give away for their email address, for example “For free buyer’s guide, go to www.yoursite.com” and send them to a lead capture page.
  • Ask and answer questions on Yahoo! Answers, Trulia’s Q&A’s, or ActiveRain.  In your answers, you can point people to online resources, including your own website.
  • Create a page on Squidoo or HubPages.  Make it about your local market, with links to different resources (including your own site, or blogs that you have about neighborhoods or properties).  This will help you build a reputation as an industry expert.
  • Participate in forums and be sure to include your domain name in your signature (where possible) like ActiveRain.com
  • Add comments to related blogs and reference your website, but be sure to make relevant contributions.
  • Ask your friends to Digg a particular article.  If you write a great article, ask your friends to vote for it on Digg.  If you get a front page listing, it can drive thousands of visitors to your site, some of whom may create direct links to the article
  • See if your local chamber of commerce or other business support group has a website where you can get listed.
  • Establish relationships with complimentary, non-competing businesses in your sector and come to an agreement about recommending each other’s services via links on your sites.  Examples could be a local Carpeting Store, Home Builder, Title Company.
  • Write reviews about neighborhoods, local vendors, etc.
  • Post comments on other blogs and link to your blog.  You want to attract the attention of the blogger and the readers, so make sure your posts are thought-provoking and relevant.
  • Make sure you have your domain name on all of your marketing materials.
  • When you go to conferences or events, take photos and notes and post them on your site.
  • Offer a free podcast about a topic that is interesting to your audience.
  • Have a competition on your site that requires no entry fee, and make the prize worthwhile to generate a good number of leads.  Be sure to direct all of that traffic (whether it is in a mail out or online) to a lead capture page so you can build a list of prospects and develop a relationship with them over time.

  Secret Agent Blueprint

Article writing can be a really daunting task, because it brings back haunting nightmares of research papers and reports from our High School days.  But Article Writing is one of the most important aspects of getting content for your sites, and being about to drive SEO traffic in.

Ed Dale from “The Challenge” shares a wonderful tip about how to create content for your sites. I really like this tip because it gives you right to just create, and fix it later.  This is a great tip for your kids with their school papers as well!

Real Estate Article Topics

Don’t know what to write articles about?  Here are some topics to get your creative juices flowing:

• How to Sell Your Home Fast In (yourtown USA)
• How to Sell Your Home Fast In This Market
• Top 10 Things To Do When Selling Your Home
• What Fees Are There When Selling Your Home?
• How to Pick a Realtor to Sell Your Home in (yourtown USA)
• Top 5 Effective Renovations That Will Help Sell Your Home Faster
• Now Is Not The Time To Sell Your Home
• What to Expect From a Home Inspection
• What Does A Home Inspector Do?
• Why Should a Seller Have A Home Inspection Done Before Selling?
• Why Have A Home Inspection Done?
• Top 10 Home Selling Tips
• Need To Sell Your Home Fast?
• How to Price a Home To Sell Quickly
• What is a Home Warranty?
• Can Offering a Home Warranty Help the Sale of My House?
• What Do Appraisers Look For When Evaluating A Home?
• How to Get A High Home Appraisal
• What Do Appraisers Look For?
• What’s the Difference Between a Conventional and FHA Appraisal?
• Top 5 Things To Look For When Buying A Home
• Closing Costs When Buying A House
• Top 5 Ways to Get the Best Deal on A Home
• Buying A Home – What You Need To Know
• Top 5 Mistakes Buyers Make
• Don’t Let Buying A Home Become A Nightmare
• Selling Your Home During The Holidays
• Selling Your Home – Top 10 Ways to Make It More Appealing
• Selling Your Home – Top 5 Deal Killers
• Selling Your Home – Getting An Offer is Just The Beginning

One of the most effective ways you’ll ever discover for bringing more traffic to your website is simply by writing highly targeted, informative articles that can be freely distributed throughout the Internet.

The Internet is the “Information Highway”.  Folks are logging onto the Internet to look for information — plain and simple.

It’s your job to provide them with this information if you’re going to have any success online.  I just cannot stress enough the importance and the overall benefits you’ll receive from being able to create some quality, informative articles (and content) on your own.
First — How To Write A Great Article:
Forget Everything You Were Taught In English Class.  Writing Articles Is “Meatball Writing”.  You Want To Write In Your Own Style And At An 8th Grade Reader Level.

• Don’t try to impress your readers with your sheer intelligence.
• Don’t use big words when you can use much simpler, shorter words that have the same meaning.
• Don’t bore your readers!  Add some sizzle and spice.
• Be unique and show your personality!  Don’t be afraid to be yourself.

Each Article You Write Should Be Approximately 700-1000 Words

• Always keep your articles short, sweet, concise… and to the point.
• When adding articles (as content) to your website, you can make your article as long as you’d like, however when submitting these articles to article directories to promote your website you want to follow their strict guidelines which usually involve a specific maximum word count and format.
• Use bulleted points and break up lines of text with transitional effects like this… and this — or use (parenthesis like this) to make it easier on your reader’s eyes. A well written article should consist of short sentences and short paragraphs, bulleted points and sub-headings, each addressing a specific point of topic in your article.
• Stay Focused On Your Topic and Provide Useful Information
• Quality is most important!  Do your research and write your articles to educate your readers.
• Folks like it when you’re specific… so give them specifics.  Offer links to additional resources if needed.
• Use popular search engines like Google and Yahoo to read over similar articles and find websites focused on your subject to research your topic.

Every article you write can include a “resource box” at the end of the article.  A resource box is basically a few lines of text that provides a little “snapshot” about the author of the article.  This resource box also allows you to include a subtle “PLUG” about you, your website, your newsletter, etc.

It’s extremely important not to abuse your resource box with blatant plugs and sales pitches.  It’s also extremely important that you NOT try to sell anything directly from your article content.  Just write a quality, informative article and that’s it!

Start by submitting your articles to article directories.  Article directories are – by far – the very best FREE resource to gain quality links and traffic back to your website, and to increase your standings in the Search Engines.