You know the stat. Everyone knows the stat. These days, 80 percent of consumers begin their search for real estate information online, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Is it any surprise then that tech-savvy (and success-minded) real estate professionals are increasingly switching their marketing dollars from traditional methods (such as newspapers and printed brochures) to online?

Are you one of these wise agents? If you take else away nothing from this column today, I hope you take this: Marketing online is not scary; it is not difficult, and it does not have to be pricey. Honest. All you have to do is put in place a few smart and easy strategies. Read on to see just how easy and sensible they are.

1. Make sure your email and website addresses are prominently visible on ALL of your marketing materials. And I do mean all: fliers, business cards, postcards, you name it.

2. Ask callers to provide their email addresses when they leave you a message. And when you leave them a message, ask them to do the same should they call and miss you. This way, you can quickly and conveniently provide information via email that they can read at their convenience: e-newsletters and targeted drip email campaigns, among other info. Doing so is a snap with a good customer relationship management (CRM) system. Some robust CRM tools, like HouseValues' Market Leader, automate this function once a drip campaign is assigned.

3. For every listing and sale, send your entire database a Just Listed or Just Sold e-postcard. People love photos, so be sure to include digital ones showing the properties in their best light. You can even send a Market Report or Market Update to your entire database with a couple of clicks. And no postage is required!

4. Market your listings 24/7 on free sites such as craigslist.org. and Postlets.com. Many agents post their open houses on some of these sites as well.

5. If you feel comfortable, participate in some real estate-related blog discussions; provide an expert answer to questions from consumers. It's a great way to establish credibility and market yourself as your market's expert. A good real estate networking site is ActiveRain.com.

6. Use multiple photos online. According to NAR, homes featuring multiple photos were viewed 299% more. Give consumers the information they seek. The days of withholding information is long gone. Provide them with address and price. If you don't provide the information, they will go to an agent or a site who will.

7. Make sure your email address matches your Web URL. That provides double exposure, branding of your Web URL and name, and is easy for consumers to remember, i.e. www.bellevueproperties.com and claudia@bellevueproperties.com. Consistently add content to your website. The more content you add, the more credibility your site will have with search engines, thus ultimately increasing your ranking via organic search.

8. Place your website address on your email signature. It is an easy way to advertise yourself. Think about how many emails you send everyday!

These steps are easy to implement and, even better, are very cost effective. And one final tip: Remember to always track the response you're getting. That allows you to monitor for effectiveness and "tweak" things where necessary.

Published: January 9, 2008

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Claudia Wicks is Director of Real Estate Training and Content for HouseValues Inc. Her blog, AgentCEO.com, offers agents and brokers tips gleaned from her decades of real estate industry experience. Claudia is a licensed real estate broker in the state of Washington, where she has worked for the last 28 years as an agent, broker/manager and Director of Training for Coldwell Banker and John L. Scott. Learn more about HouseValues at AgentSuccessNetwork.com or call toll-free 866-952-5042.