Most REALTORS® have at least one designation after their names. Proudly posted on business cards and print ads, Realtors want all the world to know if they are an ABR, or a CRS, or a combination of several designees. Trouble is, the consumer has no idea what those letters all mean. They're not impressed unless they know how those letters can benefit them.

I wanted to get some free publicity, so I asked all my local newspapers if they would print an article on all these different designations, as well as explaining the difference between a Sales Representative, a Broker Associate, and a Broker/Owner. Knowing how starved for editorial content the smaller, community-type newspapers are, I figured this would be a great service to them, as well as providing free publicity to me. Not one of the 11papers I approached turned me down!

So, off I went, and looked through the real estate ads, making a list of every designation held by all the advertisers. I then wrote a brief blurb on what the designation is, included the URL of the organization's web site, and a few lines of copy from their site about the benefits of working with an ABR / CRS / CEI, etc. I also visited the site of the organization that deals with real estate licensing, and used some of their copy to explain the difference licenses that Realtors® can hold.

In my very small marketplace of 120 Realtors®, the information was enough to fill more than one full page of a tabloid-style newspaper, so they actually split the article into two parts, giving me free exposure for two weeks! Even better is that they've re-run the article every 6 months for the last 2 years, after asking me if it needs to be updated.

What else can you do to get free promotion? Well, I know that Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Service has a series of 50 pre-written columns that are free to their salespeople. They are already laid out, camera-ready, and you simply have to create your by-line, and then give the entire book to the newspaper.

Not with BH&G? Write a short piece every week / month on different things that you see a need for when it comes to real estate in the area you work. Perhaps you notice that the houses in your farm area are all approaching the 15-year age, and will all start to need new roofs in the next couple of years. Get some information together on roofing, and give the names of some local roofing companies. These roofing companies would love the exposure, and will be glad to give you all kinds of information. Same thing can be done in the Fall, with an article about 'Getting Your Garden Ready For Winter'. Again, you're building incredible goodwill in the community, and who do you think those businesspeople will think of when someone mentions they are thinking of selling?

As another way to get free exposure, I offered to write a small column for my local Chamber of Commerce newsletter every month. These organizations are also usually starved for good content, so they will likely say PLEASE!! I write every month about conducting business online, and why businesses don't go online. My articles are 1.5 pages long, and go out to over 2000 businesses - even more free exposure.

Every month, I interview, via email, a business that is online, and being successful at it. That part of the article is simply a cut-&-paste after editing for typos. Those business owners are so happy to see their name in print, not only for their egos, but it gives them great, free exposure too. The other part of the article is something about using search engines, or web security, choosing a domain name, etc. - all easy-to-find information.

Three pieces of advice:

1. If you are going to use someone else's material, even if it is from the CRS website, for example, make sure you email them for their permission, and keep the response email in case of future concerns.

2. Don't worry if you think you can't write well enough; Newspapers have editors; Chamber of Commerce will have a marketing committee that will edit your work for grammatical and spelling errors.

3. JUST DO IT!

Published: July 27, 2000

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