Top brokerages hire public relations and advertising firms to help them create and promote their corporate image. While you may not be in that league, you can still hire good writers and photographers on a free-lance basis. Many would love a steady independent contractor gig with your firm. Ask your newspaper editor, advertising representative, local colleges, and local vendors for help. Post an ad on the Web at www.NAREE.org.

Just make it clear that what you are hiring them for is not their art, but their service. That service is the ability to save you aggravation. You expect same-day or next day photos of new listings. Advertorials should be turned around in a couple of days. In short, you are paying for on-call loyalty and responsiveness, so shop for professionals that have the tools to be responsive -- e-mail, pagers, cell phones, etc.

At the least, every agent should have a digital camera, or access to one, that allows them to take photos at the listing, so at least there is a placeholder until the professional photo is ready. The agents can use these photos to e-mail to prospects and other agents in their networks.

Most newspapers want stories at least a week in advance, and for a color page or a front page, they may want the advertorial as early as 10 days in advance of the run date (publication date.) On holiday weekends, they may want the stories as much as two weeks in advance. So before you can write your schedule, you need a schedule of your free stories from the newspaper. Ask for due dates, run dates, and positioning (front or inside.)

You may have to decide weeks in advance which homes, agents, or company news you are going to promote on which date. So make it easy on yourself.

First, don't allow any agent to promise an advertorial in exchange for a listing. Although it is done all the time, it is a shoot-yourself-in-the-foot move. If the ad makes that much difference, then what is the seller paying 6 or 7 percent commission for? Don't let them go down that road.

Also, you are trying to reduce stress and disorder. Think how much easier it is to schedule a home for a story when you know the agent already has the photo, a virtual tour, and enough remarks to build a story. In fact, make that part of your scheduling criteria. The quicker an agent gets a listing market-ready, the faster the home goes into the "story" pool. But no promises!

Everyone in the brokerage is associated with you for a reason. Make sure that reason is because you run a tight organization. Just like children need reasonable discipline to feel safe, independent contractors need rules and boundaries to help them stay on task within their own hectic schedules.

Every office has its superstars, many of whom are too busy to attend to mundane stuff. You know the ones -- the ones whose voice mailboxes are always full. But don't let these superstars give you more grey hair.

All agents, regardless of how "special" they are, must meet their advertorial deadlines or the story slot will go to another agent. Period.

Don't fall for whining. They will stall you by telling you that they are waiting for a price reduction. They will promise their story to an "important" seller, but the seller drags his feet in signing the listing. They want the seller to "approve" the story. There are all kinds of reasons why good agents may cut it too close to deadline or go past deadline. And the more times this happens, the more favors you use up with the newspaper. So don't let it happen.

Set your own deadline. Advertorials will be assigned X days before run date. Draft for approval is due X days before newspaper due date. If draft isn't ready, agent forfeits date, and another agent is assigned.

Because the stories will be coming from numerous sources, keeping a consistent corporate image will be challenging, but it can be done.

Create a standard format for advertorials so the stories protect the company image and have a consistent tone.

For example, while all newspapers reserve the right to write the headline, you can suggest one, but make sure it always includes the brokerage's name in the title. Also, if your paper allows it, put your Website address. If allowed, include the agent's Website, but yours must prevail if there is only one choice. Use this as an opportunity to promote your site -- View this home at www.yourcompany.com.

Cutlines (text that accompanies the photos) should always include the most pertinent information: company name, agent's name, the address and price of the home, time and date of open house or other function, and correct identification of all persons pictured. This information should be repeated in the copy (body of the story.) The reason for repetition is many people look at either photo without reading the story and vice-versa.

Keep in mind that while the advertorials benefit the agents and clients, the stories aren't really for them. They are for the brokerage which has spent the advertising dollars to get the advertorials. Make sure you get credit where credit is due.