Most people who use Microsoft productivity software recognize the name of Microsoft Publisher, which is an easy-to-use desktop publishing program. What you may not know is that the program is more Realtor-friendly than ever.

Realtors are among Publisher's primary users, so the company knows that anytime you are sitting in front of a computer, you'd rather be selling real estate. Here's how Publisher helps you design and create professional-looking marketing materials so you can go back to doing what you do best - working with people.

"Publisher has really been targeted to small business in general because they are typically not designers," explains Katie Jordan, senior product manager for Microsoft Publisher, "so they want a tool that creates professional output. It's designed so you can be productive immediately."

If you've haven't tried the new 2002 version, Publisher is offering a free 30-day trial especially for Realtors.

Pop in your CD, and open the product to over 8,500 customizable templates or wizards so that you can begin to create flyers, brochures, postcards and newsletters in a snap.

Editor's note: Content is a problem for any newsletter. Unlimited use of Realty Times content is available to any subscriber of iMarketing or The Real Estate Update e-newsletter. e-Mail for details.

"If you pick the postcard wizard, it gives you a choice of several design templates," explains Jordan, "then you have text boxes to enter your information. The wizard pane lets you add a place on the back of the postcard pane that can customize the postcard, like add a customer address. Within that same task pane, you have options for color schemes, like Coldwell Banker blue and white, and you can use the fonts that the designer has put together. We try to build in design expertise to help users that want to create a professional-looking document. You have a placeholder, so you can go back and use the same card that you printed as Just Listed, and print it out as Just Sold instead."

You can even import pictures and your logo. "A dialog box pops up to enter your name, company color scheme, address and logo, and when I close that, every publication will include that information automatically," continues Jordan. "We prepopulate with your personal information. Now you have a postcard with graphics and text and personal information, and then you are ready to print to postcard paper from your desktop, or you can e-mail the file to a printing company."

Publisher staff know quite a bit about how Realtors work and plan to incorporate their knowledge for future upgrades of the product, and perhaps, one day, a Realtor-centric Publisher.

"One-third start with templates and add their information and they are done," says Jordan, "another 1/3 use templates and add information and customize a little, and the last third start from scratch. So we have blank postcards for them."

"Some Realtors are more sophisticated, but the program is not a complicated one that a professional graphics designer would be using," notes Jordan. "One thing that makes it easy is its consistency with office applications. Ninety percent of Publisher users also use Word. Because of that, Word or Outlook are products people use everyday, we are consistent with our toolbars, similar to the way you work in other applications, we can easily share information. If you have text in Word, you can insert from Word to publisher so there is a lot of integration and feeling of familiarity."

What Publisher does not do is try to compete with real estate-specific software like Top Producer which includes extensive customer relationship management software.

"We are a full desktop publishing program," explains Jordan, "and we do let users bring in mail merge from your database into Publisher where you can easily do a mail merge."

"We are just getting started in what we need to do to make Publisher more appropriate starting with a focus on design," says Jordan, "so we're looking at a real estate-specific template gallery on the next version. With the current version we are talking about some ways to make these templates today."

In terms of the immediate benefits to brokers and larger franchise organizations which spend billions building a brand, Publisher can reinforce those identity standards at the local level.

Realtors have been using several versions of Publisher since 1991, and the new 2002 version made its debut at the NAR convention in November, 2002. If you don't have a new computer with Publisher installed (it comes free with the XP business edition), the program reassuringly still comes shrink-wrapped, so you can either buy it online or from your local software store, and pop a CD into your computer for a cost of about $129. If you are upgrading from a previous version, you may qualify for a $50 rebate, which may be worth your while.

At any rate, be sure to try the free 30-day trial first.

Published: April 15, 2003

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

Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.