The Internet gives you the means to increase your listing rate dramatically. Are you taking advantage of it?

Certainly, you should list your homes in a place like Realtor.com - the sheer volume of customers greatly improves your visibility to your targeted audiences.

You can get more listings even faster if you actively promarket yourself to your online community.

Think about it. The Internet is more than just a repository of information - friends, neighbors, special interest groups etc gather in thousands and thousands of locations. In other words, your soon-to-be customers.

You can promote yourself wonderfully by establishing yourself as a local authority in your community.

This is easy to do! Simply visit one of your community forums (you can find links to them at On-line City Guide, Yahoo!'s Get Local, or USA City Link Project.

Find your state and then your town - see what web sites have been created where folks can find community resources. Once there, check out the local bulletin boards or "Looking for realtor" ads - if questions arise that you can answer, offering free advice is a great way to compel customers to contact you further.

It doesn't end there, however. Are there any niches or hobbies in which you are extremely knowledgeable? If so, find out where associations or organizations relating to them exist on the Internet. Yahoo! contains a listing of hundreds of hobbies/special interests - if you join in a discussion and ensure your tagline as a REALTOR® follows every post, chances are participants will remember your name should they want to list or buy.

Is this a somewhat different approach? Certainly! Being the first with an idea means you'll be the first to be contacted. The more you get your name and your occupation out there in front of potential customers, the more you'll be remembered when the time comes to hire a REALTOR®. Hence, the more listings you'll receive.

There is no limit to what you can accomplish publicity-wise on the Internet. It just takes time and creativity.

Agent News Technology Advice

Published: April 7, 1999

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

Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Barbara Ling only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.

Barbara Ling, "The Internet Virtual Coach", is an Internet business and technology writer and trainer. She is the author of "The Real Estate Pro's Internet Edge." Contact Barbara at btl@virtual-coach.com.