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5 Ways To Add A Membership Area To A Wordpress Website

Jul 9

Moving beyond its blogging platform roots, Wordpress is gaining in popularity as a content management system (CMS). With this shift in utilization, the system is being asked to host more complex websites. One such example is that of a membership site.

In real estate, there are numerous uses for a membership site:

Real Estate Brokerage Intranet – Share news, make documents and forms available for download, and post company meetings and events on the calendar (using one of our recommended Wordpress calendar solutions).

Preferred Client Area – Add an area to your real estate website to share special information and services to clients who register. Can you say, “lead generation” or “client retention”?

Paid Content Site - Are you the next Brian Buffini? Have a sales strategy that is worth selling? Create a membership site with paid subscriptions.

There are several plugins and scripts that can be added to a Wordpress website to provide membership capabilities. Each solution is very different in its execution, so it is important to identify your website needs before making a selection.

Paid subscriptions? If you will be charging for site access, it is imperative to have shopping cart integration to automate the payment process.
Is the entire site for members only? Some solutions lockdown the entire site, others allow for pages or posts to be protected individually, while others allow everything before the “Read more” to be public.
Need membership levels? Create “Silver”, “Gold” and “Platinum” membership levels and provide different access to each type of member.
Gradual content delivery? Concerned that someone will join for a month, download all of your content and cancel? Trickle content to them to keep them subscribed.
Content Theft Tracing? Don’t want your content stolen and posted on another website? Use a system that added a digital watermark to all of your files.

Once you have identified your needs, it’s time to select your membership solution:

Wishlist Member ($97)

This highly customizable Wordpress plugin is loaded with functionality. Create membership levels, process payment through the most popular shopping cart systems and trickle content to members. A great solution for paid content sites.

MemberWing (Free)

A surprisingly powerful plugin for being free. MemberWing provides multiple membership levels, content theft tracking, and gradual content delivery. While payment integration is possible, set-up isn’t as clean as Wishlist Member or aMember Pro.

Member Access (Free)

Very limited on features, but the simplicity makes it a good fit for basic projects. Plus, you can’t beat the price.

WP-Membership ($29.97)

A very clean Wordpress plugin that allows for multiple membership levels and limited payment options. Pages and posts can be given different access levels to make some areas public, while protecting others. For preferred client areas and company intranets, this would be my first choice.

aMember Pro ($199.95 plus $40 for Wordpress plugin)

Definitely the most powerful solution of the list with the most refined member management systems. aMember Pro is actually a PHP script with an optional Wordpress plugin. This system is for those looking to build a large paid content site.

MyTechOpinion
You have grown to love the flexibility and ease of use of Wordpress for your blogging. Extend that wonderful functionality to your real estate brokerage intranet or take your real estate website to the next level with preferred client content.

As for a paid website, the debate continues as to whether people will pay for content. Look at your business model to determine if there are other ways to generate revenue by building a strong registered membership. Your content will have to be amazing to get people to pull out their credit card for it.

Balancing Your Social Capital, One Interaction at a Time!

Jun 29

Real Estate

Have you’ve embraced social media as a means of marketing your real estate business, but have experienced little in terms of “pay off”? If your answer to this is “yes”….then I ask you to consider the way in which you’ve implemented your social media marketing strategies.

Let’ start with the basic understanding of what social media marketing allots us. Creating profiles on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and the like offers you a unique connecting experience, otherwise referred to as “ambient awareness”. This is not a new term. In fact, social scientists have been talking about this online phenomenon steadily since 2006. Ambient awareness is the feeling we infer and relate to from what is being shared by those connected to us via online networks.

Thanks to Twitter, we can learn that our friends are wine tasting in the Napa Valley the moment the wine touches their lips! Thanks to Flickr, we can see the wine as it’s being poured , favorite bottles being purchased, or the lunch accompanying the tasting. Thanks to Facebook, you can instantly connect with new friends who have joined existing friends on their wine tasting adventure. And you can do all this from the comfort of your own home using social media tools.

The social media tools that create ambient awareness are also creating an opportunity for you as a business professional. By better understanding what your network is doing, feeling, making, and essentially how they are living and interacting with others….you can better assess their needs, wants, and desires. So as a real estate professional, the more you listen, the easier it will be for you to anticipate needs and predict what your network requires from you. And if you become your network’s trusted advisor by providing helpful resources and relevant information, you can build more relationships that may translate into business….improving your bottom line.

However, social media is not about transactions…it’s about interactions. Every connection you build through community interaction affects your social capital in one way or another. Your social capital is similar to the concept of karma. Basically, you get what you give. Participating in communities is a lot like balancing your checkbook. When you share resources with your network that others benefit from, help others promote their endeavors, solve collective issues, and befriend others authentically….you create positive social capital, or a deposit in your favor. If you are only interested in what you do, promote only yourself, and ask for favors from others without giving back, you negatively affect your social capital. Selfish community interactions translate into withdrawals.

In order to build and maintain positive social capital you must carefully balance your social interactions with give and take. To do this, you can start by listening in the communities you participate. Learn about others as they cross you path. If you notice someone asking a question relevant to your expertise, by all means, answer and create dialogue. When someone friends or follows you, take time to view their profile and respond with a brief welcoming message. Regularly share helpful resources, but also promote others’ resources by commenting or giving them a “like” on Facebook, retweeting them on Twitter, and/or linking back to them via your own blog. You can take this concept further by cultivating your own authenticity. Take what you know, and pay it forward. For an example, I love to dance so I create dance gram videos when I have a little extra time. Sometimes I do this for people I know, but I also make a point to create dance grams for those I want to get to know. I don’t make money from creating dance grams, but I build new relationships one wacky interaction at a time.

MyTechOpinion

This may all seem overwhelming and irrelevant to your business marketing plan, but the same could be said for forking out a wad of hard earned cash to send thousands of mailers in hopes that business will come knocking. Instead, take it slow and steady, foster the connections you create within online communities one interaction at a time. Listen and connect with people as the person you are, with the expertise you know….and you will experience the real “pay off” that social media offers: a large prospering network of people that trust you as their advisor and turn to you when the time is right to make one of the biggest descisions they will ever make, buying or selling their home.

TinyChat: Don’t let the name fool you, it’s all muscle

Jun 18

Real Estate

If you’ve been unimpressed with the available chat applications for your blog, you’ll be excited to learn about TinyChat.

TinyChat recently delivered version 2 of their chat product and I’m really impressed. The application is extremely intuitive, which starts with a large text field prompting for a chat room name. Within seconds your new room is created. But not before you’re given the chance to sign in using Twitter and invite other participants. If you’re not using Twitter don’t fret; just enter your name to continue.

At this point the chat room has been created, now set a chat topic and select your privacy option. By private it really means not listed on the TinyChat website. If you need password protection, you’ll have to upgrade to the professional plan. With that plan, you’ll also own up to 5 rooms, and broadcast in HQ video.

A TinyChat session can host up to 200 concurrent chat participants, and 12 simultaneous audio, video broadcasts. The audio and video is really easy to operate. Click the big message the reads “Add live audio and video to this room” then approve the use of Tiny Chat to access your camera and microphone. In our testing, we had multiple users streaming audio and video and I found the quality was equal to what I experience from Skype.

Other TinyChat features worth noting include:

Share files via Flyupload
Save chat transcripts
Ban annoying users
Embed the chat on your website or blog
Share the chat room via Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace (or via any network by sharing the URL).

MyTechOpinion

I’m really impressed with the user interface of TinyChat. I like that I wasn’t forced to install cumbersome software to initiate a chat session. I appreciate the “ignore” link that moderators see next to each user’s update. If an unruly visitor joins the chat, use this feature to block them from participating. It’s also comforting to know that TinyChat works on Windows, Mac and Linux; using Firefox, IE, Safari, and Chrome browsers.

Real estate agents using this tool on a regular basis for online chat or webinars sessions may want to consider subscribing to the professional plan. As mentioned you’ll gain the ability to save room names-to protect your brand or keyword.

Get Smart with Any Mobile Phone

Jun 15

Real Estate

If you own an iPhone then you’re probably appreciative of the thousands of apps to choose from that can assist you with your daily work tasks. However, if you own a Blackberry or other mobile device you may be frustrated with the fact that many of the real estate specific apps are NOT available to you, or have limited functionality.

ENTER: Smarter Agent, a real estate marketing company that has solved the fragmentation of mobile with a listing search application that is now available on virtually every cell phone.

Smarter Agent works with all major wireless carriers and mobile devices. It uses GPS to locate a user’s location and find real estate listings in their area. Search results include: price, square footage, estimated mortgage, taxes, features, interactive map, beds/baths, pictures. Consumers can also search by address, community name, city or zip code.

The Smarter Agent application can be downloaded from SmarterAgent.com, a consumer’s cell phone via the carrier’s application store, or from application stores maintained by iPhone, Android (July 2009), and BlackBerry.

Once downloaded, the following options are available from the Main Menu:

(1) Quick Search GPS: Receive a list of properties that are closest to your location.

(2) Advanced / Refine Search: Receive a list of properties that are closest to your location and fit your specific search criteria.

(3) Map Me & Homes/ Apartments: See your location and the ten properties that are closest to you on an interactive map.

(4) Address Search: Enter your desired location and receive a list of properties that are closest to that location.

(5) Saved Favorites: Search favorite locations you have saved.

(6) Find A Realtor: Speak to a qualified real estate agent about your specified area.

(7) Get a Mortgage: Speak to a qualified mortgage specialist to see what you can afford.

(8) Hot Picks: Receive a list of featured properties in the neighborhood.

(9) Coupons: See offers from local retailers.

The Smarter Agent app can also be branded for an agent or broker, displaying their logo and picture. The app can be distributed directly from the agent/broker blog as well. And when a client using the branded app is interested in a listing, he/she can simply select the “call to see” button and the agent/broker is notified (regardless of who listed the property). Thousands of real estate agents across the country are already using Smarter Agent, including major brands: Prudential, Keller Williams, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate and Realty Executives. Smarter Agent is also an Inman Innovator Finalist in the Most Innovative Web Technology category.

Pricing for customizing your own Smarter Agent application varies depending upon your device and your contract. Generally, there is a one time setup fee of $250, and a monthly fee of $39.95-$49.95. However, MTO is working with Smarter Agent to bring you special pricing that will reduce the setup fee to $50 as well as the monthly fee, saving you 40%. To learn more, contact Denise Boyer (Smarter Agent Sales) at 925.584.4249 and mention this article. If you call or email Smarter Agent from their Website, be sure to mention MTO and the promo code: DIS0409-02.

Bluehost For Your Web Hosting Needs

Jun 12

Real Estate

Through building and maintaining websites for many years, we at MyTechOpinion have worked with a slew of web hosting companies. Each with their own collection of quirks and idiosyncrasies. While no hosting service is perfect, there are several companies that rise above the competition.

One of the web hosting companies that we have grown very fond of over the last 2 years is Bluehost.com. This straight forward hosting service provides a level of service and low price that is hard to find. Here are the key reasons we use Bluehost and recommend it to our clients.

Cost

With monthly rates as low as $6.95 and no set-up fee, Bluehost is very economical. There is 1 hosting plan offered, so registration is simple. Pricing is based on how many months you pay in advance. Go with a year or more for discounted rates, you can cancel at any time and will receive a refund for unused time.

The hosting plan includes unlimited space and bandwidth, 2500 email accounts and a domain name (which you can take with you if you leave).

Support

Customer support is something you don’t think about until you need it. Bluehost offers 24/7 phone support and a live chat service. The live chat is wonderful for quick questions, but the phone wait isn’t bad, either.

Speed

Not talking about how fast a page loads, rather the speed at which actions take place on your hosting account. Many web hosting companies can take hours, if not days, to create your account and point your domain name to it. With Bluehost, this takes minutes. Installing Wordpress is a few clicks away and available for use immediately. Want to change email service to an Outlook Exchange host or Gmail? MX record changes are easy and take effect in minutes.

Flexibility

There are few things more frustrating than working on a feature for your site, only to find out that it won’t work on your web server. Right behind that in the frustration department is having to troubleshoot a website problem caused by server settings.

Bluehost has configured their servers to accommodate the open source trend that has brought us web solutions like Wordpress, Drupal, BuddyPress and more. It would be hard to find an easier platform to run Wordpress on.

With the ability to have 999 sub-domains, parked domains and add-on domains, you can run multiple websites from a single account. This is handy for the real estate agent whose has been collecting domain names over the years. Now they can all lead somewhere.

We here at MTO recommend Bluehost web hosting. If you use our Bluehost affiliate link, MyTechOpinion gets credit for referring you to their company.

Overcoming the Wordpress “Fatal Error: Allowed Memory Size” Error

Jun 3

Real Estate

If you are like me, you love Wordpress for it’s extendability. Through the use of plugins, new features and functionality can be easily added. Because of this, Wordpress is one of the best platforms to build a real estate agent website on.

While plugins can be a blessing, they also can cause problems with a website. This can come in the way of slow website performance or error messages.

One common error message experienced by those getting a bit “plugin happy” (activating a lot of plugins on a single Wordpress installation) is that of the “Fatal Error: Allowed memory size…” error.

This error message is a result of Wordpress exceeding it’s predetermined memory limit. Activating several large, high-functionality plugins can easily cause this problem.

Luckily, there is an easy fix.

Wordpress sets its memory limits within the wp-settings.php file. All that has to be done is change the memory limit from “32M” to “64M”.

Here are the step by step instructions:

Open wp-settings.php in your favorite code editor. This file is in the root directory of your Wordpress installation
Go to line #13 of wp-settings.php and locate ‘32M’
Change the “32″ to “64″
Save the file and FTP it to your server

Once this is complete, you should have no problems activating those large plugins. Keep in mind that too many plugins can negatively affect website performance, so choose your plugins wisely and only add those that add value to the visitor experience.

For assistance with this or any other Wordpress website related issue or need, contact MyTechOpinion and our MTO Sites design team.

TheClozing: The Real Estate News Aggregator

Jun 2

Real Estate

I remember just 3 or 4 years ago I could count all of my favorite blogs on one hand. It was easy to keep up with all the useful content. But obviously with the growing popularity of blogs and other online content all that’s changed. While this evolution took place, many of us turned to websites that aggregate useful information like TechMeme. Although if you find yourself in the real estate niche you’ve noticed that we’re often forgotten, so that mainstream content can take center stage. That is, until I ran into www.theclozing.com

TheClozing is based off the TechMeme format, but is classified as a real estate and business news aggregator. This is done by gathering and organizing real estate news from major U.S. newspapers, magazines and publications with related articles from the social media world. That’s where the real value comes in. Viewers can read the mainstream stories, and then review related blogs for the back-story. The site refreshes every hour, to provide new content.

You’ll notice high to the right side, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is a top-level sponsor. By sponsoring, they get their most recent post highlighted. TheClozing still has room for additional sponsors, if you’re interested visit the about page for more info.

All in all, I like what Joe Ferrara (aka J.F. Sellsius) and Anthony Barba have done with the site. They’ve created an easy to read interface that links out to original posts. You can bet I’ll be following this news source closely.

Where is Your Real Estate Market Going? Cyberhomes Market Forecast Can Help!

Jun 1

Real Estate

Market Forecast Report by Cyberhomes.com How well can you predict what’s going to happen in your real estate market? Being a real estate professional, you probably get asked this very question almost daily. And your expertise and experience assist you greatly in answering with authority and credibility. But what if you had access to over 40 million loans, in conjunction with 100 million property, ownership, and sales records nationwide? Well, then you would be Cyberhomes Market Forecast!

You don’t really require all that data to forecast where your local market is going. But now you do have access to the crucial data that affects and shapes where your real estate market is headed.

Cyberhomes Real Estate Market Forecast, the first report that gives you a comprehensive tool to help predict future real estate trends in a local market by analyzing key information – including credit information, loan repayment data, delinquencies and foreclosures.

Market Forecast is available for millions of properties and thousands of neighborhoods around the United States. Anyone can simply search for a property address or neighborhood on the Cyberhomes Web site, and Cyberhomes will show them whether their market is expected to increase in value, decline in value or remain neutral over the next year, based on the data used.

This type of predictory report can help YOU (the real estate pro) by providing you with information about bank discount rates, loan performance over time, and future inventory. It can also help you to better assist your clients, as well as guide you in making crucial business decisions.

To get started, visit Cyberhomes and enter the property address that you’d like a Market Forecast for. There are 2 types of Market Forecast Reports available:

(1) Summary Report for a special introductory price of only $3.99, and includes:

Overview of the local market direction
Historical and future projections of distressed, foreclosure and REO properties in the area
Estimated change in value for the neighborhood and the subject property over 12 months
Detailed loan and assessment information, including assessor market value, the loan-to-value ratio, tax delinquency status and more

(2) Full Report for those seeking professional-level, rich analysis, a full-scale report showing all of the details will be available for an introductory price of $9.99, and includes:

A 24-month value forecast
Local foreclosure trends and timelines
Mortgage delinquency and loan deterioration trends
Historical median sales price vs. volume trends
Neighborhood lending and sales statistics
Average area credit scores
Local percentages of distressed homes compared to state and national levels
Average local discounts on bank-owned properties
Risk from exotic loan types in the neighborhood and more

For more information about this report, Marty Frame provides an overview in this video tutorial.

Why TweetLister, When You Can Just Twitter

May 21

Real Estate

What is TweetLister?

TweetLister is a new Twitter tool specifically created for real estate agents. Signing up for the free service allows you to post, schedule and manage real estate listings on Twitter. Track clicks received on your listings, as well as collect and download contacts you get through those listings (available via an Excel Report).

While I see the benefit of scheduling resourceful tweets to share with your network (aka “drip tweets”) throughout the day, I don’t recognize the benefit of ONLY twittering your listings. As a real estate professional on Twitter, your goal should be to become your network’s trusted advisor. This means you should be sharing what makes you a great source of related information. Yes, listing information is important to your local network (for those planning to transact now or in the near future). But what about the vast majority who are not transacting. Surely you want to maintain your connections and provide resourceful and local information so that when those in the majority are ready to transact, they call you!

Why TweetLister needs a NEW attitude…ooh, ooh…ooh, ooh…ooh?

TweetLister mentions that you don’t need to understand Twitter to use their site. In fact, the “about page” goes on to profess that there’s really no need to go back to your Twitter Profile, just use TweetLister. Contrary to TweetLister, this is NOT “good news” to you or me!

If you are just using Tweetlister to ONLY post listings then you don’t really understand why and how Twitter benefits you and your network. You are missing the point!

According to TweetLister, it is ONLY for real estate listings and spammers will be blocked. Hmmm, the very nature by which listings are shared on TweetLister seems pretty spammy to me! For example, the “Add New Listing” form only allows for select information about the property (location, bedrooms, baths, features, etc.). See below:

You cannot change or modify the listing information provided within the tweet. The automated portion is helpful and fast, but there’s no room for customization. My suggestion would be to make the text modifiable. As RE pros, you know how important verbiage is on your listing flyers…and with only 140 characters, you need to make them count! I would also be extremely beneficial to have the ability to share various media….pictures, video, blog, single property site, etc.

MyTechOpinion

The way I see it, you could just as easily create your own “tweetlisting” directly from your Twitter.com profile (or Tweetdeck, Twhirl, Tweetlater, Twuffer, etc.), and do so in a more creative and professional way. At least then you can have complete control over what you can do with those 140 characters. You can simply add links to whatever related media (virtual tour, images, interesting info, etc) you have for that property. Better yet, you could share something special about the neighborhood, helpful maps, and/or other local specifics….and then provide a trackable link (like BudURL) to your listing site or blog. Include your own hashtag and call it a tweet! That’s MyTechOpinion, but feel free to share yours!

Next-Gen iPhone Details Revealed?

May 20

Real Estate

Today when I checked my reader I was excited to see rumored details of the next-gen iPhone from the Wired Gadget Lab. The article claims the latest iPhone will be released on July 17th and will include many hot upgrades, such as:

* 32GB and 16GB storage ($199 and $299 price points to be maintained)
* 3.2-megapixel camera (up from the current 2-megapixel camera)
* Video-recording and editing capabilities
* Ability to send a picture & video via MMS
* OLED screen
* 1.5 times the battery life of the current models
* Double the RAM and processing power
* Built-in FM transmitter
* Apple logo on back will glow
* Rubber-tread backing
* Sleeker design
* Built-in compass
* Turn-by-turn directions

It’s easy to see how these new features are great for iPhone users, but how will they affect the average real estate agent? Many non-iPhone users will argue features like mobile video and MMS have been on other mobile devices for some time now. But the reality is that other devices are missing the slick yet extremely powerful interface of the iPhone combined with the flourishing iTunes app store.

Now video to the iPhone is not revolutionary. Obviously people have been jailbreaking their iPhones for some time now to setup services like QIK to stream video from their iPhone. But as I said, they had to jailbreak the phone which is not sanctioned by Apple and equates to hacking the device. Now, if this news is correct, all new iPhone owners will be able to capture and share video using the device they’re already using for leading social networking applications, GPS, mobile email, internet activities, etc.

My mind starts racing at all the possibilities for real estate professionals. Imagine harnessing the power of a lifestream to aggregate all your shared video, pictures, and content shared from this one device. (See my lifestream here.) Let me give you an example, you drive to your first appointment of the day and you arrive a few minutes early. You realize the sunrise is exceptionally beautiful so you take a few minutes of video highlighting the entrance to the neighborhood and sports park. You tag and share the video. Now it’s immediately available for your network to see and archived on your blog/website via the lifestream. Later the same morning you learn of a new downtown project that will be affecting local homeowners so you break out the iPhone and open your favorite Twitter application and share the news. That too, has been broadcast to your network and archived on you lifestream. I think you get my point!

A Real Estate Presentation in the Palm of Your Hand

May 9

Real Estate

Real estate agents are some of the most mobile professionals on Earth. Always on the go from house to house and appointment to appointment.

This mobility has led to an army of real estate agents carrying small laptops. These lightweight devices are wonderful, until you need to present to a client.

Having 2 or 3 people huddled around a 13″ screen to view a listing presentation or homes for sale can be difficult, especially if anyone has a personal space issue. Even the best of presentations will lose some effectiveness given in this uncomfortable manner.

Thankfully, new technology has arrived to make you a mobile real estate titan.

The development of LED lighting technology has ushered in a new class of projector, the “mini-projector”. These tiny devices fit in the palm of your hand and weigh mere ounces. Unlike traditional projectors, LED lit models require no warm-up time and can last for over 10,000 hours.

Connectivity options for mini-projectors can include iPhone and iPod adapters. Can you imagine the impact of a client telling their friends, “My real estate agent pulled out his iPhone and a tiny projector from a pant pocket and showed me a short movie on why I should hire him”? Talk about a way to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Now, these projectors won’t win awards for picture quality. Due to their small size, you will need a fairly dark room and some distortion should be expected. But a 60 inch image out of device the size of a smart phone deserves a bit of slack on picture quality.

Here are a few mini-projectors to consider. They vary in size, price, connectivity options and functionality, so no one projector is best for every real estate agent.

Dell M109S – One of the largest mini-projectors at nearly 1 pound, the Dell M109S is also the most like a traditional projector in form, connectivity and performance.
3M MPro110 – This tiny, battery-operated projector is truly a go anywhere mobile device.
Optoma PK101 (Pico Pocket Projector) – The optional iPod adapter makes this mini-projector a must consider for the real estate agent addicted to their iPhone or iPod Touch.

For an investment of around $400, a mini-projector just may be what your mobile real estate presentation is missing.

Twitter Rolls Out “Saved Searches” to the Twitmasses!

May 4

Real Estate

Twitter has been integrating Search.Twitter (formerly Summize) for some time now. I first noticed the search tool and “Saved Searches” features about a month ago. However, it seemed like Twitter was taking it’s time rolling this new search tool out to all it’s users. You may have already observed the trending topics and search bar that have taken up residency on your Twitter Profile. But now you can search a topic or specific keywords, and then add each search to your sidebar as a “Saved Search”.

Other applications like Tweetdeck and Tweetie have integrated various search and sorting tools already, but now you can search and monitor directly from your Twitter Web Profile. And the experience seems to be fast and easy thus far!

If you are currently monitoring specific keywords (i.e. your business name, your name, expertise, local interests, etc) with alerting services like Twilert and Tweetbeep, then you’ll quickly identify the benefit of this new Twitter feature! If not, this is the perfect introductory tool to keep you in the “know” when it comes to what Tweeps & Twits are saying about you and your business.

You may want to consider saving searches for topics you blog about or share as resources via Twitter & Facebook. If you’re goal is to become your network’s trusted advisor, then you’ll want easy (easier) access to resources for whatever it is your clients turn to you for (short sales, investing, local tips, homeowner advice, etc). For example, I saved searches for lifestreaming, Cyberhomes, #twitterqueens, etc.). These are items that reflect my personality, profession, and passion. Twitter users are who are creating and sharing hashtags, are providing us with keyword driven channels of content. Woohoo!

Another fabulous use of hashtags (ex: #REBCSF) and saved searches are for events. REBarCamps are popping up across the country. Don’t sit home and sulk if you can’t go, just hook yourself up with a saved search of the event hashtag and you can tune in wherever you are! I know I’m looking forward to rallying friends and colleagues this summer at the Inman Connect SF, which offers numerous learning and networking opportunities. These saved searches will definitely come in handy when trying to locate others during and after the event.

To get started creating your own saved searches, login to your Twitter Profile. Next enter your topic, keywords or hashtag into the search field on the right. Your results will be displayed and you can choose to save your search by selecting the green button next to “save this search”.

If you’d like to learn more about specific Twitter tools, how to become your network’s trusted advisor, make a Tweet Plan, or how to best share and display your Twitter status….join me (@nik_nik) and @Cyberhomes for the “Get REAL on Twitter” Webinar this Thursday, May 7th (10am pacific). It’s free, and you can RSVP here.

MyMarketWare Unleashes Even More Market Power!

Apr 27

Real Estate

We don’t do much in the way of self promotion here on MTO. But we do think you should be aware of an extremely affordable marketing tool that has our stamp of approval. MyMarketWare is product offering from Effektive Solutions. It’s a single property Website solution that offers a myriad of features that can assist you attaining maximum online exposure for your listings. And at only $39 a pop ($32 with coupon code: mtoagent), MarketSites are an obvious choice to increase your online listing visibility, impress your sellers, and market real estate more effectively! We are happy to announce a significant upgrade, bringing you even more market power for the same low price!

New features include:

(1) MarketSites to go! Download any single property Website created by MyMarketWare for offline use. Showcase your online listings during a listing presentation or copy any of your MarketSites to a CD for a thoughtful closing gift.

(2) Enhanced sign riders made from corrugated plastic provide increased durability for all type of weather conditions. Sign riders cost $22 with reduced shipping time at no extra cost!

(3) FREE SMS texting service! I’m not naming names….but some SPS solutions will charge you as much as $25 per listing per month for this service. But MyMarketWare will provide you with unlimited SMS texting service free to go hand and hand with each and every sign rider! Incoming leads are circulated in real time to the listing agent’s mobile phone as well as via the “Activity Center”.

(4) New custom site design center! Create your own MarketSite design within minutes using our new design tool. You don’t need to be programmer, just have an eye for design and personal branding!

(5) Got Feedback? You’ll get it with our new feedback mechanism. Interested buyers can provide their thoughts (anonymously if so inclined) via each MarketSite providing the agent with specific and valuable information.

(6) New “My Leads” tool keeps track of messages delivered by your MarketSite (via the contact forms).

(7) Increased agent branding & contact information! Add contact info and branding for up to 3 agents on a MarketSite! Brand your team or co-brand with your favorite lender(s)!

(7) Enhanced slideshow! Showcase your listing with a full screen slide show!

(8) Monitor your site with not only MarketSites Statistics, but also Google Analytics!

(9) New syndication partners and valuation tools! MarketSites currently syndicates to: Trulia, Google Base, Oodle, Propsmart, Local.com, Homescape, Vast, Zillow, Homes.com, and Frontdoor.

What do agents like about MyMarketWare?

(1) MarketSites cost only $39 each for an entire year! AND if you use the MTO coupon code “mtoagent“, you can try out the service for only $32 a site for the next 30 days!

(2) Huge bank of professional non-branded, franchise, commercial and customizable designs! Current franchise designs include: Advance Realty, Alain Pinel, Better Homes, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Crye Leike, Empire, Envirian, ERA, Frank Howard Allen, GMAC, Intero, Keller Williams, Long & Foster, Lyon, Pac Union, Prudential, REMAX, Real Living, Realty USA, Realty World, Royal LePage, Soreno, Sotheby’s, Weichert, and Windermere.

(3) Add up to 100 high quality photos, video, unlimited property details, and even 50 related documents!

(4) MyMarketWare auto-populates census and community info, school info, maps, and links to over 70 area amenities based on the property address provided.

(5) Add your blog, RSS feed, and even change the automatic SEO settings if you wish.

(6) Sign up and create your site for free, pay only when you publish online.

MORE TO COME!

More exciting features are already under development! We’ll be integrating the Cyberhomes API to bring you even more stats and valuation tools. We’re also working on increased share controls in order to bookmark and share your MarketSites on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The next release will include a voice over feature and language translation tools. We’ll keep you posted! And in the meantime, feel free to ask questions or leave your comments or suggestions below.

12 Facebook Marketing Strategies Webinar

Apr 20

Real Estate

As we’ve become increasingly social online, new opportunities to interact and grow our sphere have emerged. Once such opportunity is Facebook-the largest social network in the world. Neilson recently reported that 3 out of every 10 people online in the world were using Facebook. And Facebook themselves stated that over 100 million users login to the site at least once a day, further positioning the social networking giant as a trusted communication channel.

Those real estate agents that authentically engage with their network will succeed in creating new and flourishing relationships across the Internet. Some members of your network may help your business in terms of promotion, referrals or even through a transaction. I can’t tell you which, that depends on you and your actions. Although we can help you by sharing strategies you can implement into your business immediately!

If you’re interested in learning more about marketing your business in Facebook, and you’re free tomorrow (April 21st, 2009) at 10am (pacific) please join us for a free webinar hosted by Cyberhomes.com. The session will be led by @Nik_Nik and me @Cyberhomes.

Resources:

Here are some fun promo videos for the event. Please let us know what you think!
Facebook Strategy #17 – Authentic Messages

Facebook Strategy #24 – Business Pages

Get Your Own Real Estate iPhone App….for FREE!

Apr 15

Real Estate

MobileAppLoader is a new service providing businesses with customized apps for the iPhone. You can take advantage of the fact that it’s still in Beta, and make your own real estate iPhone app for free! The “Real Esate – Real Easy” iphone app provides quick contact buttons (call, Web, email), the ability to search your listings, a neighborhood locater, property feedback, and a loan calculator.

This app is only going to be free for a couple more weeks as beta comes to a close. Upon official launch of MobileAppLoader, the service will include a $99 setup fee (including Q&A and iTunes/Apple approval process) as well as a $9.99 monthly maintenance charge.

To learn more about the “Real Estate – Real Easy” application, watch this.

To browse the iPhone apps created by MobileAppLoader, go here.

MyTechOpinion: For a template app solution, this is a great option. Especially if you take the time to carefully select your images and content. Free is always good, and the price point for after launch seems about right. Completely custom app solutions run about $1,000 an app. See MotherApp

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