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Sending Mother’s Day Cards to Your Sphere? A Glimpse at How the Holiday Got Started

Apr 25, 2022

On Sunday, May 8, 2022, we celebrate Mother’s Day.

Women comprise 64% of the population of real estate agents in the U.S., according to the NAR, and 60% of licensed brokers.

With 57 as the median age of a real estate agent, it’s safe to say that among the ranks, there are lots of moms.

So, to all of the mothers out there, I wish you an early Happy Mother’s Day!

How the holiday got its start

Although it’s easy to assume that Hallmark created this holiday, it did not. In fact, this annual celebration of motherhood has an interesting path.

It was the brainchild of Anna Jarvis who was seeking a way to pay tribute to her mother as well as mothers across the globe.

A tireless campaign

Jarvis’ mother, who gave birth to 11 children had a dream that someone someday would found a memorial to mothers commemorating them for their service.

Jarvis, along with her supporters, started a letter-writing campaign to city officials. She also spoke frequently on the topic at her church.

However, nobody was interested in Mother’s Day. But, she kept at it and, in fact, was able to get assistance from John Wanamaker, a Philadelphia philanthropist.

It took them two more years to make West Virginia, Jarvis’ home state, the first in the nation to set aside a day to honor mothers.

Four years later President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day an official national holiday and set aside the second Sunday in May just for moms.

Retail hijacks another holiday

What should have been a happy ending for Jarvis turned to frustration when retailers jumped on the holiday as a way to increase their profits. From florists to chocolatiers to gift card retailers, Mother’s Day became a retail holiday.

An ironic twist

Anna Jarvis felt that her mother’s idea had been hijacked, so she decided to throw her energy into a campaign to have the holiday rescinded. She organized boycotts and spent the rest of her life campaigning to have Mother’s Day repealed.

Regardless, of how the story ended for Anna, I truly enjoy celebrating Mother’s Day and honoring the mothers in my life.

If you’re interested in sending out a celebratory greeting to the mothers in your sphere, there’s still time. Send Mother’s Day postcards out first-class mail by April 29th to ensure they arrive in time.

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 esthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts, combined with 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 when. Four key market segments are included, niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks all of these boxes, but it is a business building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. – Click Here

4. 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

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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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

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Ready to Level-Up? Add One or More 2022 Real Estate Conferences to Your TO-DO List

Mar 22, 2022

The list of real estate conferences and conventions is, as usual, long this year. Not surprisingly, this year you’ll be able to attend most of them in person.

We urge you to attend at least one. There are so many benefits to networking, attending the sessions, and socializing with your colleagues.

The people you meet, the information you attain, and the resources you discover will result in a level of business growth well worth the time spent.

Learning new techniques, becoming inspired by speakers, and making new contacts is the name of the game. So, let’s dive into some of the more popular 2022 offerings, listed by date.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals® National Convention

March 14–16, 2022

NAHREP’s 2022 event is being held at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington DC.

Organizers promise that over the course of the three-day event, you’ll be able to attend “… professional development workshops, [get] key insights from policymakers and top industry professionals.”

You can still register online until March 11 and pay $399 if you’re a NAHREP member and $549 if you aren’t.

On-site registration will be available during the event and the cost is $499 for members and $699 for non-members.

Find additional details online at nahrep.org.

The Real Estate Times Postcards are shown above. To see more, Click Here.

Inman Connect New York

April 19-21, 2022

Circle the date so that you don’t miss Inman Connect, New York, held at the Hilton New York Midtown.

The speaker lineup is impressive and includes Zillow’s president, Susan Daimler; Ryan Serhant; Spencer Razcoff, and other real estate notables.

Tickets at this writing cost $1,299 with a note on the website stating that “This price will go up.” There are less expensive virtual tickets on sale as well, for $199.

Learn more online at inman.com.

Inman Luxury Connect

Aug. 2-3, 2022

Luxury agents won’t want to miss Inman’s annual lead-in to the Vegas Connect. Held at the center-Strip located Aria Resort and Casino, you can network, attend workshops and enjoy speakers on topics of interest to luxury agents.

Tickets are marked down, for now, and you can pick them up for $899. Register online at inman.com.

Inman Connect Las Vegas

Aug. 3-5, 2022

Inman’s main event happens on the heels of the luxury conference and also at the Aria. Organizers promise “… a 3-day exploration and celebration of the glorious, complicated, rapidly evolving real estate marketplace.

The in-person tickets are selling for $899 or you can participate virtually for $199. Get registration and ticket information online at inman.com.

Asian Real Estate Association of America National Convention

October 20 – 22, 2022

AREAA’s national convention will be held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. There is currently not a lot of information on the group’s website, but keep checking in as the date draws near. Visit them at areaa.org.

2022 REALTORS® Conference & Expo

November 11-14, in Orlando, FL. What better way to escape the fall’s chill than schmoozing in sunny Orlando, Florida? Again, the agenda has yet to be posted to the website. You can check for updates online at conference.realtor.

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 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

3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

Will the REAL Neighborhood Expert Please Stand Up?

Dec 23, 2021

It takes more than a statement on your website or business card to truly be considered a neighborhood expert.

There are many agents using this title as a marketing tool, while not doing the necessary work to make the title a reality.

Let’s consider some ways to prove to potential clients that you are what you say you are.

1. Prove it in your marketing materials

True neighborhood experts, by and large, market to farm areas.

Whether that is a condo community, a specific zip code, or by subdivision, focusing on a smaller pool of homeowners is a brilliant way to become known as the expert in a community.

The best way to reach these homeowners or tenants or whomever you are targeting is via direct mail. It’s quick, it’s inexpensive and it works.

Shown above, FARM, Get More Listings postcard campaign. Learn more, **HERE**

Geographic Farm marketing

Here’s an idea of what to send to your chosen neighborhood: the Get More Listings postcard campaign.

Be sure to include on the back of the postcards an offer for a free “local market stats” report, that details home listings and sales in that area.

It shows them that you know your stuff and are on top of what’s happening in their area.

And, when homeowners reach out for this report, ensure that your explanation is in plain English. Unless you explain the meaning, avoid insider jargon, such as:

“absorption rate”
“months’ supply of real estate inventory” (what does months’ supply and “inventory” mean?),
“the median price range” (explain median vs. average)
“time on market” or “days on market” (why is this important to the average homeowner thinking of selling?)

We found lots of other examples online of what to AVOID in your Market Stats or CMA reports, such as:

“During this quarter, sales dollar volume increased year over year by 3% to $599,080,374. New listings rose 22% to 2,820, active listings increased 21% to 5,840 and pending sales increased 11% to 2,452. Monthly housing inventory increased by 0.4 months to 2.3 months.”

“Sales dollar volume” is meaningless to a homeowner. We would reword the paragraph to read more like a narrative than a dry list of statistics:

During this quarter, 22 percent more homeowners put their homes on the market here in Any town than in October. As quickly as they’re listed, however, buyers snap them up. One indication of that is the increase in pending sales, which were up 11 percent more than pending sales during the previous quarter of 2021.”

Since potential home sellers are your primary audience when farming, leave out the increase in inventory unless it’s significant (0.4 months isn’t). And, if you must express inventory in “months,” do the readers a solid and explain what that means.

Additional effective farming pieces include:

Just listed and just sold postcards (even if you haven’t sold or listed the property, if the agent in question has chosen not to announce this news, use their loss as your gain and send these postcards out).
A Just Sold Follow Up Campaign
The Market Dominator, an automated mega-newsletter that’s sent to an exclusive carrier route monthly through the use of EDDM.

2. Prove your neighborhood expertise on your website

Your website provides the ideal platform to strut your neighborhood expertise. Start by ensuring it’s localized.

So many agents pay the big bucks for a professional website and fail to remove or change the template text that comes with it.

Add your market area everywhere possible, starting with the above-the-fold area on your home page. Don’t make visitors wonder where on earth you sell real estate.

Create a neighborhoods section on your site and fill it with valuable, hyper-local content. In-depth neighborhood descriptions, quotes from folks who live in the neighborhood about why they love it, links to listings, and lots of photos are the bare necessities for neighborhood pages.

Finally, if you don’t have a blog, start one. It’s the ideal place to post local content and, if promoted across your social media platforms, it will help drive traffic back to your site.

3. Prove it in person

Get your face known around your chosen neighborhood(s). There are many ways to accomplish creating visibility. Here are a few:

Hold home seller seminars in the area.
Join the PTA.
Sponsor a community sports team and, in exchange, ask that your banner be displayed at games. And, do attend the games.
Join the neighborhood YMCA or gym.
Attend the HOA meetings.
Host a monthly coffee-and-pastry or happy hour event at the neighborhood café or watering hole.
Patronize neighborhood merchants and introduce yourself. Become a repeat customer.

Your aim is for people to think that they see you everywhere they go. Talk to folks, hand out your business card.

If you are truly the neighborhood expert, you need to prove it. It’s a brilliant way to stand out among the pretenders.

Ready to prove You’re the REAL DEAL When it Comes to Neighborhood Expertise?

Get Started by Creating Your Geographic Farm Prospects List While They’re on Sale 15% 0ff!

Why Build Your Geographic Farm List Now?

Because You Want The Following Things to Happen in 2022?

Strategic focus – Centralized sales in one area. No more driving across town for a listing.
To become a neighborhood expert – You’re committed to a specific neighborhood where you will become known as the expert.
Increased growth – You’re building toward the future instead of “just getting by” working on whatever comes your way.
A branded business – You’re branding yourself and your business within a community and building relationships over time with the people who live there.
Increased demand for your service – Sellers and buyers want to work with real estate agents who are experts in the community where they are buying and selling, and that’s YOU.

Build a geographic farm list (from a desktop or laptop computer) using the MapMyMail tool.

Hit the “CLICK HERE” link, below (from a desktop or laptop computer) and choose the MapMyMail listing building tool.

USE PROMO CODE: FARM15 to get 15% off of your geographic farm list.

Get started building your geographic farm list now, CLICK HERE!

For Help Creating Your Geographic Farm List, Watch This Video Below.

This sale expires on 12/25/21. Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.

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

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. The Automated Way to Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

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Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

While you’re online scheduling your Holiday postcards to go out, consider launching an annual Holiday scheduled campaign.

Two Important Factors to Consider When Choosing a Geographic Farm

Dec 16, 2021

One area of real estate marketing that can’t be ignored if you intend to enjoy long-term growth in your real estate business is Geographic Farming.

Why? Because it alleviates the ongoing frustration of constantly chasing new commissions.

You’re working strategically with a focus that will benefit you now and well into your future, ensuring you don’t end up like 85% of agents who continue to struggle.

The secret to choosing the right geographic farm

Adequate research is the key to locating the right farm for you and your business.

Even if you find a geographic farm that you think works for you based on location and number of homes your research isn’t done yet. There are two more crucial factors that can’t be missed.

Two Important Factors:

Turn-Over Rate – Ideally you want a location with at least a 10-15% turnover rate. You can easily determine the turnover rate by dividing the number of homes in the farm by the number of homes that have sold.
Competition – If you choose a farm that already has an agent who appears to have achieved penetration in that market, you will find yourself working much harder and longer to see any positive results. It’s preferable to find an area where an agent has less than 10% of market share. Or an area where a previously aggressive agent has slowed or stopped marketing.

Time to Take Action

Once you’ve chosen the perfect farm it’s time to take action.

Get out and meet the people in this location (weather and restrictions permitting) It’s time to make your name, face, and brand as visible as possible, to begin the process of becoming identified as the neighborhood expert.

Canvassing a neighborhood may be old school, but it also makes you highly competitive.

In a market where so many agents are relying on email and social media to spread the word, walking your farm gives you a definitive advantage.

Shown above, Holiday postcards. Mail first class by December 18th to arrive on time for Christmas. See more, **HERE**

Your goal is to help people get to know you, like you, and trust you enough to do business with you.

You can’t do that sitting in your office. In fact, statistically, it takes 27 contacts to create effective branding of who you are and what you do.

In addition, to walking your farm, send out direct mail marketing at least once a month and call them at least once a quarter.

A great marketing piece to send this time of year is a holiday postcard.

Work Smart – Automate

So, how do you free up the extra time your farm will need from you? By automating your marketing wherever you can.

The perfect place to begin your automation is with a postcard campaign. This ensures you are in front of your homeowners consistently no matter how busy you get.

More importantly, as the people in your farm become familiar with your face, they will begin to identify you as the real estate expert in their neighborhood.

And, people choose real estate agents who:

Know their neighborhood
And, know how to get results in their neighborhood

The Top 7% of Agents

The top 7% of agents in the country have one thing in common – they have strategic, focused long-term marketing in place.

They aren’t leaving things to fall through the cracks or living commission to commission. They’re following a solid, systematic plan to generate business utilizing a farm as one of their main areas of focus.

So, join the 7% by getting started choosing your geographic farm. Then launch a Get More Listings postcard campaign and begin the process of branding yourself as their neighborhood expert!

Right now, Geographic Farm Campaigns are on sale 10% off the first month!

Shown above: Get More Listings postcard campaign, available in the FARM Campaign section. Learn More, **HERE**.

To Launch a Farm Campaign,

Hit the “CLICK HERE” link, below (from a desktop or laptop computer).

USE PROMO CODE: FARM10 to get 10% off the first month of a FARM Campaign.

Start now, CLICK HERE!

Details: Take 10% off the first month of a FARM Campaign for a limited time (excluding tax, postage, data, EDDM. Sale ends at midnight Saturday, 12/18/21).

Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.