Chapter 5. Online Marketing Techniques

Issues Covered

In This Chapter

• How do you get people to come to your site?

• How should you advertise over the Web?

• How can you use newsletters and other electronic outreach methods?

• What legal and privacy issues exist in electronic outreach?

From the breezy stories you see on the local news to the pitches you get from various providers, you'd think simply having a Web site would make you the center of the real estate universe. Just hang your shingle and clients will beat down your door. Please don't believe that rosy scenario for one minute.

Don't get me wrong, having a Web site is very important. People don't like being "sold," so a Web site provides a safe place for them to explore you before they're ready for direct communication. Many clients, especially buyers, start their research for properties and agents on the Web, so having a site is a critical facet of your marketing strategy. Today's clients also want to check you out after meeting you or being referred to you, and a Web site provides a way for them to do that.

But the Web is awash in sites that no one knows about. There are millions of Web sites, and no easy way for people to find you.

That Web site you learned to create in Chapter 4, "Effective Web Sites," is a tool to show off your stuff to potential clients who do find you, but in and of itself, it does not bring you business.