Realty Times: Maximize The Power of Your Magazine Ads

August 8, 2000

Maximize The Power of Your Magazine Ads
by Allen F. Hainge

NAR's 1999 Member Survey reported some rather surprising statistics, given how all-pervasive the Web is these days. When asked if they have "home pages for business use," only 25% of the sales associates responding said yes. In response to another question, "what percentage of business is generated (by sales associates) from on-line sources," the survey found::

45% reported no business
42% said that only 1-5% of their business was generated online
8% said that 6-10% came from online sources
3% said they got 11-20% of their business from online sources
1% said that 20% or more of their business came this way

Statistics like this continue to surprise me, probably since I'm associated with the CyberStars(tm), who use technology as an integral part of their business. When I surveyed them in January of this year, for example, I found that they earned from $20,000 to $330,000 from their Web sites alone!

There is a direct correlation, of course, between the number of sales associates who have good Web sites and the business they generate. One place that a good Web site pays off is by featuring it in your local real estate magazine. Very few sales associates have a Web site address in their ads. Far fewer of them include a personal Web site address by their name. Even fewer FEATURE their site on a page. I see this again and again as I look at magazines I pick up in my travels. For example, I got one from the Big Island of Hawaii recently. A quick count showed 128 individual agents advertising in the magazine: 68 of them had an email address by their name, while ONLY 8 had a personal Web site address in their ad. That's 54.6% displaying an email address and ONLY 6.25% showing a personal site address! None featured their site in the ad itself.

You can start generating more business from your real estate magazine ads by doing the following:

Put your email address by EVERY property you advertise. A large percentage of today's consumers would rather communicate with you via email first than by phone.

Cut down on the number of homes you advertise and use the extra space to put something like "Multimedia Tour Of This Home Featured At http://.......". Include the page address where the listing is to be found.

Better yet, feature your Web site in your ad. Instead of a "standard" page showing 12 small photos of homes with the "usual" text ("Get away from it all and live in the country on 1 beautifully manicured acre. Charming & spacious 3 br., 2 ba. plus office in quiet rural setting, etc....."), get them to your Web site so that you can show them everything about the listing! Show them the beautifully manicured acre with a panoramic photo on your site. Show them the charm of the property and the "quiet rural setting" with a PhotoShare multimedia tour. Show them the spacious rooms, again with panoramic photos. This, much more than a tiny photo in an ad with accompanying text, convinces the home buyer to contact you!

Try this: instead of all those small photos, take the top 2/3 of the page and feature a photo of the first page of your Web site, followed by a bit of text describing the benefit to the reader of visiting your site. Include just 3 photos at the bottom of the page. The Web is the most dynamic, powerful marketing tool we (or any other industry) have ever had. Major corporations know this, which is why they promote their Web sites so heavily. Follow their lead and promote yours in your next real estate magazine ad!

With an award winning staff of writers providing up to the minute real estate news and advice, thousands of REALTORS^® in North America reporting daily market conditions, and a nationally broadcast television news program, Realty Times is the one-stop shop for real estate information. That's why over 10,000 real estate professionals have turned to us for their publicity needs.