#5. 7 Steps For Writing Effective Ad Copy
In today’s market, it can be difficult to attract qualified buyers. Print advertising is an effective way to generate leads—if you give buyers the information they are looking for.

#4. What is a QR Code Anyway?
There is a lot of buzz in the real estate industry about QR codes. But what is a QR code and how does it work? And – how should you use them to better connect with prospects?
This short video explains.

#3. Ad Design Challenge: To Starburst Or Not To Starburst
Starbursts are one of those graphic elements included in ads to call attention to specific qualities about a home. They do the job – but they’re overused. Nothing clutters an ad (or screams “used-cars”) more than a page full of starbursts and small photos.
There is another way. Lots of them in fact.

#2. Choose Your Words Wisely
That’s what a study at the University of Guelph in Ontario found from analyzing the wording of more than 20,000 listings. According to the research, a listing’s phrasing affected sales price and the length of time it was on the market.

#1. Coke vs. Pepsi – A Marketing Case Study
The Cola Wars are fierce. Coke, the perennial leader in beverage sales, is still at the top of the class. And Diet Coke just passed Pepsi to take the number two spot. Pepsi has held that number two spot for many years – so what happened?
Pepsi has been closely watched by marketers because of the innovative social media strategy it rolled out at the beginning of 2010.

We look forward to bringing you even more insight and inspiration in 2012.
Happy New Year from Homes & Land!

P.S. The top posts from 2010 are also worth reading.

Meredith Liemohn,
Smoky Mountain Recreation Properties

-Jeff Dieffenbach,
Dieffenbach & Kusmierz, Exit Diamond Realty
Wyomissing, PA

~Janet Cox, Charlotte, NC
Top 100% Club Re/Max
Top Listing Agent in Lincoln County 2010
Top Selling Agent in Lincoln County 2010
Top Sales Agent Re/Max Crossroads 2010

• Three Things Warren Buffet Believes About the Market
1. The housing market will recover in 2011, once supply and demand level out
2. Because of excess building during the boom years, the market was already full of inventory before record foreclosures saturated it further
3. The problems caused by this supply overage “should largely be behind us”
• This Video Can Help You Win Listings

Let’s face it, every Realtor competing for a listing is going to throw out some websites as part of their marketing solution. That’s because for an agent, establishing an Internet presence is easy and inexpensive to do. The problem is, if that’s all you do, you’ll sound just like everybody else to home sellers.

• 7 Steps For Writing Effective Ad Copy

In today’s market, it can be difficult to attract qualified buyers. Print advertising is an effective way to generate leads—if you give buyers the information they are looking for.

• Looking for Leads? Direct Mail Could be the Key

The buzz these days is all about social media—and it is an interesting phenomenon. However, one of the best ways to generate qualified leads is a more traditional form of marketing: direct mail. Why is direct mail still an important prospecting tool for today’s real estate professionals? Because direct mail is one of the best ways to reach a target audience.

• How Bad Is It?

Many markets are still devastated by the bursting of the real estate bubble—but not all of them. I spent last week in the medium-sized city of Greenville, SC, and I was struck by the diversity of perception. Some agents told me that “nothing is moving” while other agents were doing quite nicely. I spoke with one agent that generated 500 inquiries in May and a small developer that recently had five closings in a week.

We’re looking forward to bringing you more great marketing and advertising information in 2011. Happy New Year!

We have a two page spread on the inside front cover. I want buyers to see our listings FIRST! We sold 714 homes last year and Homes & Land definitely helps keep our name in the forefront of people’s minds.”

~Creig Northrop, Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. www.northropteam.com
President, The Creig Northrop Team, #1 Team in Maryland
Advertises in Homes & Land of Howard & Carroll Counties