Saturday, June 3, 2023

Lisa Gray

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Lisa is an accomplished marketer with years of expertise in direct response marketing, digital marketing, data analytics and business development working with both B2C and B2B.

    Did you do a happy dance when you read the headlines about the FHA coming up with a 40-year mortgage? Me too.

    Until I actually read beyond the headlines.

    It’s not a new home loan product on offer, and the operative word in its name that people seem to be missing is “modification.”

    Let’s dive into what the FHA is actually offering because it’s not what the media are saying it is.

    It’s a mortgage MODIFICATION

    “As of May 8, homeowners straining to pay their Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages have another lifeline: the 40-year mortgage modification,” explains Natalie Campisi at Forbes.com.

    The program aims to reduce the borrower’s mortgage payment by at least 25%. But, with rising mortgage rates, financial experts caution their clients not to get too excited about the program.

    Even “… HUD acknowledges the effect is blunted as interest rates remain high,” according to Campisi.

    If you have clients interested in this loan modification, urge them to call their servicer. Their situation will then be evaluated for whichever program fits.

    Sadly, too many journalists missed the word “modification” when reading the press releases for HUD’s 40-year mortgage modification program. Homebuyers nationwide are now excited about getting a lower house payment if they can get an “FHA 40-year mortgage.”

    As usual, it’s up to real estate agents and loan folks to clean up the mess and set consumers straight.

    The best way to get the word out? Through your newsletter, blog posts, direct mail, and social media posts. 


    PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

    1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

    Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card!Click Here

    2. The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

    The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

    3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

    The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

    4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

    Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here


      A few weeks ago, we promised to update you on the latest social media demographics. We started with TikTok, and today we dive into Instagram.

      The criteria we used when choosing the “best” social media options is simple: Those in your target demographic should use the platform heavily. If that includes buyers and sellers, you’ll want to hang out where baby boomers do. 

      If, on the other hand, you are targeting millennial real estate consumers, we can show you where to spend your time.

      Remember, when it comes to marketing your real estate business, targeting is critical. Otherwise, you are wasting both your time and money.

      Let’s talk Instagram

      Although India leads the world in Instagram users, with more than 225 million active users, the U.S. comes in second, with “… at least 143.4 million active users,” according to DataReportal.com.

      Instagram tends to attract a young crowd in the U.S., with ages 18 to 24 accounting for its largest audience share (27.7). The second-largest share of audience is those aged 25-to-34 … to which 25.7% of Instagrammers belong,” according to data from Oberlo.com.

      Pay close attention to this statistic: “As of 2022, around 87% of Instagram’s 1.31 billion users who might potentially be targeted with ads are outside the United States.”

      If you’re selling international real estate, this statistic may not bother you. But that nearly 90% of the platform’s targeted users are outside the U.S. should be a deal breaker for real estate agents.

      Add to that the young age of the average user. There are platforms with far better demographics if you’re looking for potential homebuyers and sellers.

      Who you should be targeting

      Although we went over this in our last post about TikTok, in a nutshell, baby boomers are the ones buying and selling right now, making up 39% of buyers. According to the NAR, they have overtaken millennials’ share of the buyer pool (28%).

      Sellers? Baby boomers again, but Gen X is part of the pool as well. NAR says the typical seller is 60 years old.

      So, we’ve struck out with both TikTok and Instagram. But check back because soon we’ll have the winners of which the-social-media-platforms-are-best-for-real-estate- agents contest.


      PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

      1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

      Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card!Click Here

      2. The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

      The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

      3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

      The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

      4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

      This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

      Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here


        Michelle recently sent a Just Sold postcard, shown above. To see more, Click Here.

        Congratulations, Michelle Bachrach, on winning this week’s contest!

        Michelle had the following words to say about her success sending marketing out from ProspectsPLUS!,

        “I’ve been using ProspectsPLUS! for all of my marketing for 3 years. The products are professionally prepared, and the postcards are easy to order and send. There are so many postcards to order with many different messages for both new and seasoned agents!”

        -Michelle Bachrach

        Michelle, thank you for this wonderful feedback. We truly appreciate you and your support!


        Don’t Forget to Enter For Your Chance to Win a $125 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card! (see how below)*
        What Can You Do With a $125 ProspectsPLUS! Gift Card? Here are 4 Things:
        • Launch and pay for the first month of a Sphere or Farm Scheduled Campaign consisting of 130 jumbo postcards.
        • Send 130 jumbo Just Listed or Just Sold Postcards to a radius surrounding your listing.
        • Send 130 Jumbo Get More Listings postcards to an area where you want more listings.
        • Create a niche prospect list (empty nesters, move-up market, etc.) and mail 130 jumbo postcards.

        HOW TO ENTER: Just leave a review regarding how using marketing from ProspectsPLUS! has impacted your business, and you’re automatically entered into our next contest.

        Leave a review on Google HERE.
        Leave a review on Facebook, HERE.

        *If you’ve already entered our contest in the past and haven’t won, you don’t need to enter again. Your entry remains valid, and you still have a chance to win.

        Don’t forget to watch for next Friday’s email announcing the weekly winner!


        PLUS: When you have time…below are some helpful tools to support your success.

        1. The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

        The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments are included, niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

        2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

        The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closings, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

        3. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

        This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

        Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here


          Do you ever wonder why they don’t call you a “lead generator” instead of a real estate agent? After all, generating leads consumes a huge portion of the typical agent’s work week.

          If you’re new to the business, getting leads is a make-or-break proposition. Either you generate solid leads, or you go out of business.

          Yes, this is not the best time to hunt down real estate consumers. The media is doing a good job of scaring them away from the market. But there are buyers out there, and new data from Showing Time proves it.

          We asked several agents we know what they’re doing right now that is inexpensive, and they graciously allowed us to share their answers.

          1. Tweet 

          Although we don’t recommend Twitter for marketing your real estate business, we thought diehard Tweet fans might enjoy this tip.

          Anytime you have a free couple of minutes, hop on Twitter and type “moving to [name of the city]” in the search box. You can use variations of the search term as well. Try these:

          • Buy a house in [name of city or name of the neighborhood]
          • Best neighborhood in [name of city] to buy a house
          • Real estate agent in [name of market]

          These were off the top of our heads, and you’ll no doubt come up with more.

          This tip, by the way, comes from Bernice Ross at Inman.com.

          2. Content works if done right

          According to statistics at Placester.com, more than three-quarters of homebuyers who use the internet when house hunting say that they prefer reading articles over being blasted by ads or self-promotion when visiting an agent’s website.

          “Any old message or clever tagline isn’t going to pique their interest – what they crave now is useful, interesting content,” cautions Seth Price at Placester.com.

          Content marketing won’t give instant results, but when it starts working, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start long before.

          By the way, a brilliant way to increase your site’s visitors is by posting and sharing content about local businesses on social media. Be sure to send a copy to the business so they can share the free advertising with their readers.

          3. Use others’ listings

          No listings of your own? Ask your colleagues if you can share their listings on your blog and social media. Facebook is an especially good platform for sharing listings, as long as you don’t do it too often.

          Stick to listings taken within your brokerage, and talk it over with the listing agent first.

          Bonus tip: Spread the truth about what’s happening in the market. Nobody knows better than you that the market isn’t as bad as the media makes it out to be. People are looking at homes, this is an excellent sign that real estate is alive and kickin’!


          PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

          1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

          Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine with rich, full-color content and a sharp, professional aesthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts and engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you. Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and it costs less than sending a greeting card!Click Here

          2. The Free 12-Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

          The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do and when. Four key market segments include niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

          3. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

          The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

          4. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

          This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

          Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here