Re: Business legal structure - Posted by Jim FL
Posted by Jim FL on November 06, 2002 at 14:05:03:
Hank,
It was Legrand, he said that to a ton of people that night.
But, rather than feel deflated, I simply changed my business card.
As for my website, have I gotten any good leads from it?
Yes, but really not enough to make it a bigger part of my overall marketing campaign.
I try to leave my website URL off of most marketing materials, except for flyers for houses for sale and my business cards.
I learned that lesson the hard way.
My bill boards used to have the website address on them, and we saw a HUGE increase in web traffic, but no real increase in calls.
It seemed that people went to the website out of curiosity and then did not call.
Since I feel more confident in my ability to talk to sellers on the phone, compared to enticing them to call me from my website, I now leave the URL off most items.
I get quite a few leads from out of my area, and I usually pass them along to an investor in that area.
Personally, I’ve bought probably 10 houses over the last few years from leads generated on my current website and last one.
The house I live in came to me via e-mail.
As for the URL, drop me an e-mail for that.
Last time I posted it here, I noticed a few weeks later a few websites popping up that mysteriously looked and sounded an awful lot like mine, regardless of the copyright on my website.
Even some stolen graphics, which I personally designed.
So I am reluctant to share it here again for that reason.
I can be found in web search engines though, so it is not hard to find.
I am usually listed in the top 5-10 sites is you search.
I included meta tags in my html, and also submit my website periodically to the major search engines like google.com and others.
When I talk to seller on the phone intially, I do ask them how they found me.
This helps me track my marketing and see what is working.
I will also often tell sellers who are on the fence that they can read my website and reach me via e-mail thru that for any further questions they may have.
This seems to get people who have seen the website already to say so.
I don’t get a TON of hits to my website, such as places like this (CRE), but enough to justify paying the $10/month to keep it.
I built it myself with a little help from a friend, but the upkeep is all me, and only takes a few minutes every once in a while, thanks to WYSIWYG software. (What You See Is What You Get)
Like MS Frontpage.
My website is nothing fancy and only dangles some info for everyone, forcing them to call for more.
I use my website more for distributing info on the houses I have for sale than anything.
As you know, being here in Florida yourself, there are a TON of people “Up north” who would love to live here.
So I get a lot of calls and e-mails from out of state people looking to buy, because they see my website.
Bottom line, if you are going to make a website, keep a few things in mind:
1.It should not be the main focus of your marketing, simply an augmentation.
2. It should look professional.
3. It shoiuld be simple, easy to navigate and read.
4. It should NOT be graphics intensive, so it loeads faster and can be viewed by several different browsers out there. You want the guy with WebTV and those running something more complex to all be able to read your website.
5. You want to have a few “Explanations” of how certain things work, but leave enough detail out to force the seller/buyers to call for more.
HTH,
Jim FL