Dear Mr. Internet: What's the best way of adding links to high-value content on my Web site without losing visitors when they click on them? S.E. "Cher" Culpepper CENTURY 21 Aware Realty Mesa, AZ

Dear Cher:

What if someone came to you and said "I'm going to create content for your Web site that your visitors will flip over, where you look great because it will appear like you did it, and in most cases won't cost you dime!"?  Now the cynic in us might say "What's the catch?", but frankly I would say "WOW! - when can I have it?!"

All these promises come true when you know how to look for appropriate"co-branded" content.  Co-branded content is created by a third party (often at great initial expense) but "branded" with your site and/or personal information in a manner that it appears as an integral part of your Web presence.   The beauty of using co-branded content is that your site visitors receive valuable information or services that would otherwise be too expensive for you to create yourself.  And just as importantly, it is displayed in a manner that makes it look like they never left your site --which keeps them around and more likely to do business with you.  This is a powerful way to leverage your Web site with little or no cost to you.

Here are some examples of co-branded content and how you can use them...

Example 1 - Your Very Own Online Newsletter: (Free)

A lot of professionals in the industry use newsletters to stay in touch with clients and prospects.  While this is a proven and powerful marketing tool, the cost of producing and distributing the paper kind is at least $1.00 each (with many of them unfortunately ending up in the "round file").  Realty Times, a respected consumer and real estate agent news publisher has developed a terrific monthly online newsletter that they will brand with your photo and contact information for free.   You can see an example of this great tool in use here.   It is easy to incorporate this into your Web site and/or use it for an ongoing outbound e-mail marketing campaign.

In addition to not costing you anything, they will send you regular reports showing how many hits it has generated for you!  Now all this begs the question "Why are they willing to do this for free?".  While they do likely generate some advertising income, the bulk of their return on investment will come from those agents willing to shell out $200/yr to supply the "printer-friendly" version of the newsletter to their clients.  Pretty clever, but I never fault anyone for trying to make a buck providing real value.

Example 2 - The Ultimate Mortgage Information Resource:  (free)

Many agent sites contain mortgage information of some kind.  Typically however, there is little in the way of real solid content and information that most visitors would want and need.  The good folks at Mortgage101 have created an incredibly rich mortgage information resource site, co-branded with your identity for free!  It is filled with timely articles, calculators, as well as current quotes from many different lenders.  You can see another Peg Bryant* example of this by going to Peg Bryant's Mortgage Info.

Mortgage101 does a great job, however there are some caveats to using this particular co-branded content (see cautionary note below).

Example 3 - Relocation Tools That Make You Look Like A Genius:   (there is a fee for this one)

Homefair.com is a very comprehensive relocation resource that will allow you to co-brand their powerful tools with your site information for a fee.  Their Relocation Wizard is particularly impressive and you can see it in action for yourself by going to Peg Bryant's Power Tools For Relocation

While Homefair.com does allow you to link to their tools for no charge, branding them with your picture and contact information will cost you a fee.  However, if you mention you heard about them from "Mr. Internet!" you will receive a 33% discount** on the current fee schedule!

In addition to the three examples above, you will find other sources of co-branded content as well if you keep your eyes open and stay current on the Net.  You can also count on the infinite innovation of the Internet to produce even more such opportunities in the future. 

When you come upon any source of co-branded content, it is good to know how to evaluate it for your purposes.  First, the content should be professional looking, credible, and appropriate for your site's targeted market.   Secondly, you are advised to make sure that its content will not get you into to trouble!  Use the following cautionary note below as your guide...

Keep in mind that co-branded content will appear to visitors as part of your Web site.  Therefore it is important that all pages of co-branded content show complete disclosure and affiliation information as required by your licensing jurisdiction or state.  Also, any content with calculators should include appropriate disclaimers (as reviewed by your attorney) as to their reliability and appropriate use.  Lastly, any mortgage information, co-branded or otherwise, needs to include the proper disclosures (REG-Z, etc.).

Co-branding is a great way to extend your online professional presence,serve your site visitors, and have it cost you little or nothing to implement.  Good luck and have fun as you "co-brand" away!

Article Resources:

* Peg Bryant is a"mythical" real estate professional that Mr. Internet uses to demonstrate various ways to effectively market yourself online.  You can visit and explore her site by going to http://www.vrealproperties.com

** Mr. Internet, RUSSER Communications or any of its staff receive no compensation of any kind from 3rd party vendors for mentioning their products or services.  Any incentives that would have been earned are given back to you, the real estate professional.

Imagine having a fax machine that is smaller than a head of a pin, lighter than a feather, one you can take everywhere, and receive faxes from anywhere, and by the way --its free!!

Well, thanks to the folks at e-fax you can have your own free fax number within 24 hours!  Here's how it works:  when someone sends a fax to your e-fax fax number, it gets converted to a compressed image and sent to you as an attached e-mail.  When you pick up your e-mail and click on the attachment, the free fax viewer that comes with the service will instantly display the fax allowing you to view it or print it.

Not only that, you can forward the fax to anyone else who has an Internet e-mail account.  If they don't have the viewer, it will only take them about a minute or so to download the free viewer (192k) from the link on the e-mail, enabling them to also read this and all future e-faxes.  What's more, the e-fax images appear to be about 60% smaller than competing services, which means much faster download times.  Free faxing--what will they think of next!?

Published: April 23, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Michael J. Russer (a.k.a. Mr. Internet®) is an internationally acclaimed speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry and small business. He is also the exclusive Internet columnist for REALTOR® Magazine, the architect of the revolutionary e-ProductivityTM system and leading voice for the use of Virtual Assistants in small business. You can subscribe to his free monthly leading-edge newsletter ePOWER NEWS by going to ePowerNews.com.