You’ve got to see this… Here are the exact steps for an internet campaign that immediately got my client’s instant results and leads from data they had been sitting on for a long time.

You probably have information like this in your system, too.  What could you do if you could drill down and find the needles in the haystack?

Creative Commons Licensephoto credit: Alex Leonard

A carefully crafted newsletter strategy will build trust in your customers and prospects and make them want to do business with you.  Here are 9 easy tips and newsletter ideas to make your newsletters more interesting, and easier to assemble and send out.

1. Build Your List – Everybody you meet should be given the option to join your newsletter.  Several of my clients just finished the Austin Home and Garden show.  They took in hundreds of contacts.  I hope they don’t  make the mistake of thinking all these people are ready to be their customer, RIGHT NOW.  But there’s a good chance that many of them are looking for valuable information that will help them make their buying decision when they are ready.  If you do these types of shows, make your first post show contact an invitation to receive your newsletter… with no obligation.  Also send out a Free Case Study featuring a customer testimonial and interview.  They will appreciate the valuable information.

2. Keep On Schedule – Give yourself deadlines and stick to them.  Schedule time to do your research and write your articles.  Develop a reserve of content so that you can easily find womething to include instead of having to constantly write under the pressure of a deadline.

3. Use Digg and Google Reader – These are great services for finding content.  Mark your favorite articles so that you can always come back to them.  You can include links in your articles to those articles or you can use the information to write your own. Here’s a great article: “How To: Use Google Reader Like A Rockstar”

4. Summarize Your Blog Posts- Keep your newsletters short.  Post your long articles, with details, pictures and links on your blog for everybody to see, and summarize those posts in your newsletter.  Use trackable links in your newsletter so that you can see which posts are most popular.

5. Automate – I use Aweber to manage my newsletters because they have automated the entire process and made it a no-brainer for me.  You can choose whatever look and feel you want from their templates.  They create the summary posts from your blog entries, and they provide the subscription forms for you to capture contact information.  Plus they have all the trackable links and reporting that I need to analyze each mailing.  There are many services out there to choose from, but Aweber is a recognized industry leader.  That’s why I have used them for the past 5 years.

6. Write Case Studies about your Customers – Talk about a Win. Win, Win!  Your readers love success stories.  They want to know how others have solved the problems they are facing.  Who better to tell the story than your satisfied customers?  Third party testimonials are very powerful… when they are authentic.  Your readers will love the stories.  Your customers will appreciate the recognition, and you will get the benefit of the great press!

7.  Sell by Teaching – People don’t like to be sold.  But they do like to be educated, and they will buy from the experts they trust.  Make at least 75% of your content informational and educational, and no more than 25% of your content should be “Salesy”.

8.  Include Resourceful Links – People love to find good new resources, articles and videos.  Share your favorite places with you list.  They will appreciate you for it.  By the way, have you bookmarked my $1,000,000 Rolodex”? There’s tons of goodies for you here!

9.  Pay Attention to Your Numbers – You want to keep track of each mailing and track its performance.  Pay attention to how many were sent, how many bounced, how many were opened, which links were clicked, what time of day and what day of week the mailing was sent.  Track different subject lines and content.  You will soon learn what is most effective for your readers.  Once again, Aweber is a great service that makes this easy for you.

Remember, building trust is a function of time, frequency and quality.  Use your newsletter to keep in front of your audience on a consistent basis, and they will turn to you to solve their problems and do business with you.

Here is the first of the “Show Me Your Back End” videos tying into my presentation Monday at Virtual Real Estate BarCamp. (Register now for VREBC if you have not done so already).

Make sure to also subscribe to this blog using the form at right or below, because on Sunday, I am going to send out a study guide to help you tie it all together.  Only subscribers will get the study guide, plus they will be the first to know about each new video.

What do you think of my back end?  Please share your comments and questions below?

JVPress is a new wordpress theme that makes Kajabi style launches dead simple.  Many of you asked how I put up this very successful campaign that has earned nearly 100 comments on Facebook, as well as over a thousand video views and countless shares via Twitter and other social networks.  This video case study shows you exactly how JVPress ties it all together.

Best of all, unlike Kajabi, JVPress does not charge a monthly fee.  Plus, you maintain control of your own domain instead of handing over the hosting to an unknown 3rd party.  JVPress is a very affordable theme that will deliver you powerful results.

Full disclosure: I highly recommend JV Press because of the great results it gives me, and therefore participate in their affiliate program which are tied to the links in this post and my rolodex.  Should you think that I’m not deserving of a referral fee, simply search for their website and visit it directly.  Either way, give JVPress strong consideration for your social media promotional strategy.

Austin’s very own Krisstina Wise and The GoodLife Team walked away with top honors, winning Inman News’ prestigious Most Innovative Brokerage Award.

Each year, Inman News announces the launch of the Inman News Innovator Awards process with a call for nominations several months prior to the Real Estate Connect conference.

Nominations are open to all and are submitted online. An Inman News review team considers the nominations and selects a list of finalists, and the finalists are drawn from the nominees and a list of other prospects suggested by the Inman News editorial team. The review team selects the winners from the list of finalists.

Congratulations to Krisstina and The GoodLife Team!

Krisstina Wise and The GoodLife Team occupy some rare space amongst Realtors.  Their savvy marketing and mastery of social media help them sell real estate fast in Austin, Texas.

And the rest of the country is paying attention, too!

You, can share the spotlight with The GoodLife Team, and also help them win a big award in 2 ways:

First, HGTV has contacted The GoodLife Team to participate on their hit TV show “My First Place”. The GoodLife Team wants to know:
Are you or someone you know:

• Just beginning your search & looking to purchase by the Fall 2010
• Fun, interesting & excited to be on TV
• Willing to share your experience with viewers

If so, The GoodLife Team would  like to help you find your perfect first home AND help make you a star!!! Please email experience@goodlifeteam.com for more information.
If you know of any first-time homebuyers who would be interested, please share this post with them.

Secondly, The GoodLife Team has been nominated as one of ten finalist’s for Inman News’ prestigious Innovator of the Year award.

The voting is open to the public.  All you have to do to vote is visit Inman and “Click on the Blue Button” to vote for The GoodLife Team (Listed under “Brokerage or Franchise”.

Good Luck to Krisstina Wise and The GoodLife Team!

You know how I love to share my experiences at great Austin businesses.  Well I have to tell you about a new restaurant that I’m very excited about:  It’s called Newk’s Express Cafe and it’s located in the Arboretum Market shopping center on the NW corner of Jolleyville and Great Hills Trail.

You can read all about my experience on Yelp! But better yet, why don’t you join me tomorrow, June 5 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM for their Grand Opening.  Newk’s has agreed to let me offer you a special treat for coming! (Make sure you print this out and bring it with you).

See you there!

Steve

WOW! Over 4000 people registered to watch our webinars today, and I had the honor of leading it off!

I had a blast today introducing you to my new automated LEAC Proof Sales System at Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.  If you missed it, you’ll find a replay video below.

But before you watch, can I ask you a couple favors…

Please subscribe to my blog at the top right sidebar because I’m going to have some follow up videos coming up very soon.

Please let me know how you liked the presentation by commenting below.

Finally, please help me help more people by sharing links, retweeting, posting on Facebook and all that other fancy social media stuff!  I sure do appreciate it!

And now… the encore presentation of the LEAC Proof Sales System!

Just one day to go until Virtual Real Estate BarCamp 3.  Here are 12 things I can’t wait to learn tomorrow
(p.s. my apologies to those not on my list… I wish I could be at all of the sessions!)
(p.s.s. What presentations you are looking forward to? Please comment.)

1. Stacey Harmon – How to use Facebook for business development without compromising personal info.
2. Scott Sambucci – How to answer the question: “How’s the market?”
3. Ross Hair – How to build local neighborhood  Facebook communities
4. Steve Schwartz – Using full motion video for Real Estate (this is one of my personal favorite things to do see “My Neighbors are a Bunch of Asses!”)
5. Bob Stewart and Brad Andersohn – What to blog about in your local market.
6. Mike Bowler – How to differentiate yourself (a big, big, big thing that most people just don’t get).
7. Jay Thompson – What wordpress plugins should you use.  If Jay Thompson talks about blogging… I will listen.
8. Bernice Ross – 10 strategies to convert more leads… ah yes… conversion is what it’s all about!  Right on, Bernice!
9. Joel Burslem – The best web based apps to make you more productive online.  I love to find new apps and tools to keep me at the leading edge!
10. Pat Kitano – Why is “Checking in” so important.  Can’t wait for this one!  It think Geolocation is one of the most important developments in social media today.
11. Brian Tercero – WordPress is awesome.  If you don’t use it, start now!
12. Mike Mueller – I feel the same way about Mike that I do Jay Thompson.  Just want to soak it all in!

Alright, I guess I have to give my own shameless self promotion plug, here… I’ve been waiting for this Virtual Real Estate BarCamp to unveil my brand new LEAC Proof Sales System™ .  Find out how to build your own round-the-clock lead generating, client converting machine that never sleeps or drops the ball.

I’ve systematized, automatized, and simplifytized the sales process that has kept me at the leading edge of customer development and sales growth for over 25 years (yes… I’m really that old!), But, you know me, I love to leverage the
newest and latest technology to make these tried, true and timeless techniques even more powerful.  WARNING: If you miss this session, be prepared for second place (or worse!) in your market!

SEE ME PRESENT LIVE at Austin Board of Realtors.  Never before attempted before a live audience… I will be presenting live without a net from ABOR tomorrow.  It you’re an Austinite, come to Abor and let’s take in VREBC
together.

The Austin Board of Realtors (ABOR) will be hosting VREBC April 6 and I may do my presentation live at ABOR as well!. Com Join us! Here is the information from their website:

Virtual Real Estate BarCamp: Learn like you’ve never learned before!

Open to a unique learning experience? Consider the upcoming Virtual Real Estate BarCamp (VREBC) on Tuesday, April 6 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. The typical BarCamp, similar to an unconference, is an ad hoc gathering that allows those with similar interests to learn in an open environment. Event attendees may volunteer to lead discussions, where the overall event schedule and format of each session is determined by participants.

As the upcoming Real Estate BarCamp is a virtual event, attendance is not limited to those in a particular city. Thousands of real estate professionals are expected to tune in to sessions broadcasted by presenters from across the nation. VREBC attendees are encouraged to register online for this free event.

Those interested in watching and discussing VREBC presentations with fellow colleagues are invited to visit ABoR. Presentations will be broadcasted live in ABoR’s Auditorium C and Blanco Room, and refreshments will be provided. While the views expressed in VREBC presentations will not necessarily be those of our Association, ABoR recognizes this event as a valuable learning experience for members looking to explore the integration of technology and real estate. For more information, contact the ABoR Marketing Department at 512-454-7636.