Branded Local Area Guides for Estate And Lettings Agents
How do You Promote an Estate Agent?
If this was a perfect world and all your estate agency marketing ideas worked as you thought they would, you would win instructions and sell houses simply by listing all the good stuff about your agency and your properties on your website, blog and social media platforms.
You know the type of thing I’m talking about:
- You offer free valuations
- You produce a brochure with a floorplan and photographs
- You show prospective buyers around
- You deal with offers
- You progress the sale
- You’ve got a database of waiting buyers
And so on.
Estate Agents: Are You Giving Homeowners What They Are Asking For?
Did you know that most online searches are for information?
For example, did you realise that there are more than 1,900 searches per month in the UK for the term ‘moving house with cats’?
Or that last month alone there were 2,400 UK searches for a ‘home movers checklist.’
Estate Agents: Can You Afford a Content Writer?
As an estate or lettings agent the chances are that you’re probably not much of a writer. I appreciate that’s quite a sweeping statement and it’s not meant as an insult, it’s just that your skills probably lie elsewhere. That’s why you have chosen to be an estate agent, rather than a journalist, copywriter or any other role in the creative industry!
Nine out of 10 of you will have sat down to write a blog post, news piece or local area guide at some point during your estate agency career and found yourself still looking at a blank screen two hours later. And as you curse and get more frustrated, the harder it is to make the words flow!
Finally, after writing a few paragraphs, deleting them and re-writing, you lose patience, give up and settle on something that will just ‘suffice’ because quite frankly, you’re relieved to be able to get back to what you do best – dealing with clients and running your business.
Estate Agents: How has business been for you this year?
Well, 2020 is almost over – and what a year it’s been so far!
Who would have thought back in January when we had a whole bright new year to look forward to, that we would find ourselves dealing with a global coronavirus pandemic that has affected every one of us in some way or another.
I have spoken with so many people this year who on the stroke of midnight vowed that 2020 would be their year.
Don’t Let the Night Demons Bite!
Although I’m a light sleeper, I usually manage to fall asleep fairly quickly. But last night my mind was racing. So many thoughts were running through my head that although I dropped off easily, I awoke in the early hours, my brain whizzing, working overtime.
I awoke at around 3.30am and it took me over two hours before I finally got back to sleep. When my alarm clock went off at 7am, I felt like I had only shut my eyes for a couple of minutes!
I was thinking about my work, which I adore, but a long list of things to do was forming, swirling around in my mind, and before I knew it, I felt a sense of crippling uncertainty overwhelm me that I just couldn’t shake.
3 Reasons Why Estate Agents Should Publish Blog Content
Did you know that a fruit fly only lives for between 40 and 50 days? Imagine!
And did you know that for most estate and lettings agencies who start writing a blog, the lifespan of that blog is similar?
Let’s put this into perspective. That’s just over 7 weeks at best.
5 Ways to Repurpose Your Blog Content
If you already create your own blog content, you’ll know that it’s not a task which can be completed in 10 minutes flat.
- You need to decide on a topic
- Do your research
- Fire up your creative juices
- Write your piece
- Edit and upload
And this can quite easily take at least several hours out of your day.
But your estate agency will really benefit from you publishing consistent, informative and educational content. It’s truly an incredible marketing strategy. So, here’s a big tip for you:
Content Marketing for Estate Agents: Trust the Process!
The best piece of advice I have ever received was from someone I really looked up to many years ago when my children were small. I was juggling full-time employment and a part-time job alongside all the usual parental and household responsibilities!
This insightful piece of advice helped me leave my job, start my own business and over the past 15 years or so has stopped me wasting countless hours of my life going around in circles.
Looking back, it’s amazing how this piece of advice positively affected me. But it really did!
Content for Estate Agents: Prop Media Podcast with Ebs Turner
Estate Agents: Make Your Content Marketing a Mighty Tool
The biggest business risk I took was when I ditched the direction my business had been going in for almost 15 years and chose to start a completely new business, from scratch.
It was either I choose to take the risk or choose to stay safe. Two reasonably straightforward options on the surface, I suppose. But staying safe would have involved winding up my original business and going to work for someone else.
That scenario filled me so much horror, I can’t even tell you!
The Three Biggest Mistakes Estate Agents Make
Following on from last weeks blog post, I want to share with you three of the biggest marketing mistakes you absolutely must avoid if you want your estate agency to succeed. Becoming the go-to estate agent in your area is crucial and winning more instructions is within your reach!
I have helped hundreds of estate agents understand why content is key and in the process of doing so I have noticed that the SAME three mistakes crop up time and again.
So, the best thing you can do now is save yourself from wasting another minute by learning from the past mistakes of those other estate agents!
Estate Agents: Avoid this at all costs!
I wanted to bring to light a mistake that many estate agents have been making, despite trying their best not to!
I see so many estate agents running into problems when it comes to creating and publishing content because of this one grave mistake.
I know that you read my blog posts because you are interested in learning how to get organic leads and win more instructions, so I felt that I had to write this to ensure that you do not do this at all costs.
Estate Agents: Should You Spend Money to Make Money?
As you will know if you follow me on social media, I spent £1,209 on a new MacBook Pro last week!
I know it’s ridiculously expensive for what is essentially just a laptop, but let me say first of all, I don’t usually go around wasting my money on just anything.
However, when it came to this, I had to purchase it… and I have zero regrets!
The Truth About Content for Estate Agents
From my frequent conversations with property professionals, I know you may be one of many estate agents who have issues creating content for your blog, newsletter or social media that actually engages with your target audience and makes you stand out as an expert.
The truth is, it’s just not as easy as it looks!
I was thinking about this over the weekend and so I thought I would help you out by giving you my seven best tips for creating genuinely engaging and interesting content for your target audience – home movers!
So, brace yourself! Help is at hand so that you can get your creative juices flowing and start attracting more clients.
Estate Agents: How Controversial are You?
I lost five subscribers last week. Here’s why.
I send my weekly newsletter ➡️ to my list every Tuesday. It always contains a helpful tip, a relevant little story or some piece of information that I feel will benefit subscribers in some way. There’s never a huge amount of waffle. It’s always an important message written to make the reader sit up, take notice and make them think. Sometimes, I hope my emails may even provide a little entertainment on a dull day!
I have been sending out newsletters like this for 15 years in one form or another, so from experience, I know what type of content works and what doesn’t!
Are Estate Agents Lazy…or Just Uneducated?
Estate Agents: That Shocking Mistake (Part Two!)
I recently regaled you with the sorry saga of my recent encounter with a local estate agent during our quest to purchase a buy to let property.
Firstly, thank you to everyone who responded with insights, ideas, thoughts and suitable properties for our consideration – what great reactive and pro-active work from you – thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Secondly, I am genuinely sad to report that the whole buy to let debacle continued to unfold (and not in a good way) when the estate agent in question finally got in touch by email.
Estate Agents: Don’t Make This Shocking Mistake!
My husband and I (oooh I sound like the Queen!) are currently looking to purchase a property in our local area which we intend to rent out.
We’ve been keeping a keen eye on what’s coming to market, and I must say, it’s fantastic that there are so many potential properties around at the moment. Pretty much every estate agent I have spoken to recently tells me they are flat out, and I am genuinely delighted for the industry after what has been a pretty hairy few months!
Please do make that hay while the sun shines. But don’t forget to sow the seeds for future harvests too! I’ve said this many times over, and it should be your mantra… but look, that’s not something I want to talk about today.
4 Things Every Estate Agent Needs to Know About Content Marketing
As you can imagine, my inbox is pretty busy with questions and requests from estate agents. Creating content for estate agents is my niche, and I like to stick to giving help and advice on what I’m good at!
Since Covid-19 rampaged through our lives, a considerable number of estate agents have woken up to the power of marketing their agency through online content, in fact, I would go so far as to say that Covid-19 has actually dragged a few estate agents into the 21st century at last. Not without some kicking and screaming though.
So, because I get loads of questions on familiar themes, I’ve picked the four questions I get asked most frequently and will answer them here.
Estate Agents: What is the Value of Blog Content?
I was chatting with an estate agent based in the North of England last week about his blog which, in fairness, he does publish posts on…sporadically…when he has time…and when he can think of something to write about!
So, we were talking about the value of blog content and he said:
“But I published an article a couple of days ago, and no-one has commented on it, or even mentioned that they’ve seen it yet. People haven’t got time to read stuff.”
Estate Agents: Is This a Touchy Subject?
Last week I received an email from an estate agent which contained a very important question.
The agent simply asked me why I send emails to him, but never explain in those emails what my services are or how much I charge?
The emails he refers to are my newsletter which I send weekly on a Tuesday to agents who have expressed an interest in or have signed up to my content for estate agents service.
Estate Agents: Woo-Hoo! Stamp Duty Holiday 🏡 ⛱
At last, there has been some good news for the estate agency industry, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak announcing a Stamp Duty holiday on residential purchases of £500,000 or less in England and Northern Ireland until March 2021.
So, being in the property industry, how do you feel about this?
Is it enough to keep the property market buoyant for the next eight months?
When the time comes next Spring for the Stamp Duty holiday to draw to a close will there be a massive frenzy during the final days followed by a market collapse?
Estate Agents: 7 Things Your Customers Want to Know Right Now
If lockdown has done one thing, it has highlighted the necessity for estate agents to increase their online presence. In fact, this has been underlined not just for estate agents, but for every business that until these last few strange months may have been lacking somewhat when it came to their digital arsenal.
I’m not just talking about having a website though. Any estate agency can have a website.
Actually, I’ll rephrase that. Any estate agency can have a pretty website.