The Internet is a wonderful place.
It’s like Wal-Mart on steroids for your business, packed full of resources that can help you find the right tools and training to grow your business.
But it can be pretty overwhelming.
How-to guides, articles, vendors and videos. You could spend hours just trying to sort through it all.
That’s where I come in.
I’ve put together this list to help you find those tools. I’ve spent hours looking for the best tips, training, services and software so that you, dear reader, can get the information you need to work smarter and love larger.
Ready to jump in? Let’s go. . .
A/B Testing
A/B, or split-testing, is a process that allows you to test various components of your marketing and lead generation to identify which ad will produce the best results.
How to Perform A/B Testing on Headlines, Tweets, Traffic and More
The Beginner’s Guide to A/B Testing
The Ultimate Guide to A/B Testing
Analytics
Sure, you have a website; but is it converting visitors to leads? What actions are visitors taking when the visit your site? Understanding analytics will help you tweak your message and website layout for the best possible results.
A Beginner’s Dictionary of Google Analytics
HotJar – All-in-One Analytics and Feedback
Want to Learn Marketing Analytics? Start With These 9 Great Resources
Ad Networks
Ad networks enable you to promote your website, or landing page, by displaying your ads on popular websites that accept advertising. Learn about the various types of ad networks, when your ads would run and how to target your audience.
A Beginner’s Guide to Paid Online Advertising
Branding
One of the most important components of your business is your brand. But branding is much more than your logo or tagline – it represents the promise of future value a homeowner can expect to receive by working with you. Here’s how you can create a powerful brand;
Branding for Real Estate Agents
Developing a Powerful Brand Purpose
23 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand
5 Things Your Brand Must Have (Besides a Logo)
Business Planning
Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” A concise business plan, including how much you need to earn, how your business model works, what market you’ll pursue and how you’ll stand out from the competition, is critical to your success.
7 Steps to Creating a Real Estate Business Plan
Business Planning Tool for Real Estate Agents
Buyer Tools
Help your buyer client’s understand the buying process, manage their homes search and more with these online and mobile tools.
Content Marketing
Whether you cal it content marketing, or blogging, you can’t underestimate it’s power for educating and informing your existing and potential clients. It helps you get found online through building your SEO value, establishes your credibility as an agent and helps you generate and nurture leads.
How to Use Content Marketing for Real Estate Lead Generation
How to Launch a Successful Business Blog
36 Tried and True Ways to Promote Your Blog Posts
The Essential Guide to Generating Leads with Business Blogging
Sniply – Content sharing tool that enables you to share others content while driving traffic your website.
PrintFriendly – App that enables you to convert your blog posts to .pdf files and share them on sites such as Slideshare
Copywriting
I’ve heard it stated that copywriting is “salesmanship on paper”. If you can’t get homeowners to read your message, you’ll have a difficult time generating consistent leads. Learn how to craft a powerful headline, draw the reader in and then serve up an irresistible call-to-action.
The Definitive Guide to Copywriting
The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Copywriting
21 Tips for Writing Great Ad Headlines
Copywriting Formulas for Better Ads
Headline Analyzer – Powerful, and free, headline checker that scores your headline, or other copy, on proven Emotional Marketing Values.
CRM’s
If your contact list is the largest asset for your business, then a CRM is the wealth manager. Having the right tool to manage your contacts, your communications and your schedule is essential. Here’s a list of some to consider;
All Things Real Estate CRM – David Gary Hall is a tremendous resource when evaluating a CRM for your business.
Direct Mail
No, direct mail is not dead. Done correctly, it can be one of the most productive lead generation tactics you can use. The last year or so before I retired, I had over $20 million in listings. 100% of those came from direct mail.
25 Direct Mail Ideas From the Pro’s
5 Benefits of Direct Mail Marketing for Real Estate
EDDM – (Every Door Direct Mail) USPS web site
Direct Mail – Printing & Mailing
55 Printing – Regular and EDDM services
EDDM To Go – EDDM Printing and mailing services
Print For Less – EDDM and regular printing and mailing services
PrintPlace – EDDM and regular printing and mailing services
PSPrint – regular postcard printing and mailing
VistaPrint – regular postcard printing and mailing
Document and Transaction Management
Hoping to become a paperless agent? The emergence of online document and transaction management tools means you can literally carry what used to fill a file cabinet in your smartphone. This is a huge timesaver as you can access important dates, terms and more without stepping foot into your office.
Email Marketing
You’ve probably heard me say it before, but here it goes again; Email marketing absolutely crushes social media marketing for lead generation and nurturing. Learn how you can build a huge email list of homeowners and how to use email marketing to build your credibility and stay top of mind.
21 Ways to Grow Your Email Marketing List
A Beginners Guide to Successful Email Marketing
Bloom – An email capture plug-in for WordPress sites
Constant Contact – Email marketing provider
EMailStationary – Custom Email Stationary
MailChimp – Email marketing provider
Outbound Engine – Managed email marketing services
The Complete Guide to Optimizing Email for Conversions
The Complete Guide to Email Marketing
Financial Calculators
Why financial calculators? Have you thought about retiring someday? Would you like to know how much money you need to live comfortably? Want to know how much you need to save to get there? What about sending the kids to college – what’s that going to cost? Now you can know.
Graphics and Graphic Design
From logos to brochures, blog posts to social media and websites, we rely heavily on images for our businesses. Here’s where you can find the perfect image – or someone to help you create it.
53 Free Sources of Images for Your Blog and Social Media Posts
IDX Providers
Want to add listings to your website? Here’s a list of some of the most popular providers;
Internet Hosting
If you have your own website or blog, you’ll need someone to host it. There’s a lot more to it than you might think.
How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Company
WPEngine – High-end WordPress hosting and management
Landing Pages
The popularity of landing pages to facilitate lead generation is exploding. A landing page is a single page, stand-alone website with one function; to provide visitors with enough information about your offer that they can make a decision to swap their contact information for your free e-book, video, checklist or other lead magnet.
5 Second Test – Get user feedback of the design of your landing page.
The Beginners Guide to Landing Pages
The Landing Page Optimization Guide You Wish You’d Always Had
Leadpages – Landing page provider
Unbounce – Landing page provider
Lead Generation
To build a consistent income, you need to have consistent leads. While I’m a huge believer in building your own lead generation system (where you’ll have control over every aspect), there are services available that can help you find potential clients. If you can negotiate a trial membership that gives you an opportunity to evaluate the service, and the quality of the leads, prior to making a larger financial commitment, I would encourage you to do so.
How to Write an Ebook for Real Estate Lead Generation
SmartLeads – Learn to build your own lead generation system.
Market Data & Reports
Want to add market reports to your website? Here are a few of the leaders in that space. . .
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is the use of software to automate, streamline and measure the various marketing tasks for your business. It can become quite sophisticated, including customer segmentation (so you don’t send empty-nester articles to first-time homebuyers), scheduling email campaigns based on behavior and more.
A Beginner’s Guide to Marketing Automation
Hubspot – Inbound sales and marketing software
Infusionsoft – Automated marketing software
Marketo – Automated marketing software
The Definitive Guide to Marketing Automation
Turn Your Website Into a Lead Generation Engine with Marketing Automation
Mobile Apps
In 2014, the number of mobile users caught up to, and surpassed, the number of desktop users in the world. Now ad spending is close behind. From 2014 to 2015, ad spend on mobile grew by 50%. With more users relying on mobile to access information, mobile should have a place on your marketing plan. Here’s several providers who can help you;
DreamPro – Social media collaboration with your clients
Photography Equipment & Software
The software, and online tools, you need to make your photos look great.
Adobe Lightroom – photo editing software
Adorama – online camera store
B&H Photo – online camera store
Photography Training
Tired of paying a few hundred dollars for mediocre photography for your listings? With a basic set of equipment and skills, you can take great photos of your listings, as well as for your website or blog. Here are some great resources to help you know the difference between an f-stop and ISO.
Ken Rockwell – Camera reviews, free training
Lighting Interiors – Book and Online Course for Using Flash Photography
The Ultimate Guide to iPhone Photography
Tips for Real Estate Photography
Podcasting
Podcasting is growing, but still represents an opportunity to be a pioneer. While there’s 227 million blogs (as of April 2015), there’s only about 250,000 podcasts and the number of listeners is growing. You could create a podcast for busy homeowners that includes tips for home ownership, buying or selling, interview area experts on topics of interest to homeowners and more. Here’s how to get started. . .
An In-Depth Guide to Launching Your Own Podcast
The Beginner’s Guide to Podcasting
Remarketing
Have you ever visited a website and then, as you visit other websites, you see ads for the first website? That’s remarketing, or retargeting. Whatever you want to call it, it enables you target visitors to your website with offers. That first website uses a tracking pixel, or cookie, to create a record of your visit. Then, as you visit other sites, you are presented with an appropriate ad. The power of retargeting is that because the person seeing the ad has already been to your website, the opportunity for conversion is much higher than attempting to convert a person who has no knowledge of you or your services. Here’s what you need to know;
How to Double Your Facebook Retargeting Results
How to Remarket Twitter Users With Tailored Audiences
Introduction to The World of Remarketing
The Beginner’s Guide to Retargeting Campaigns
SEO
If there was ever a part of the Internet world that changes more than search engine optimization, I haven’t found it. Over the years, SEO has gotten both harder and easier. Harder because it has always been the domain of computer geeks who claimed to have the “secret sauce” to get you to page one of Google, and a lot of “malpractice” occurred. Promises made without the results. Now, Google has peeled back the curtain and presented best practices most anyone can follow.
45 Best Free Tools for On-Page and Off-Page Optimization
Optimizing Your Website for Local Searches
SEO Checklist – 15 Steps to Optimize Your Website
The Beginner’s Guide to WordPress SEO
Showing Automation
If you’re a high-volume agent or team with lots of listings, you may want to consider using a automated scheduler to streamline your showings. Here’s how. . .
Social Media
OK, I’ll admit, social media is pretty overwhelming. Which platform do you use? How do you use it best? How often should you post? What should you post? While I’m not convinced there’s a hard and fast, right or wrong answer, there are clearly some best practices you can implement to harness the power of social media for your business.
24 Must-Have Social Media Tools
Everything You Need to Know About LinkedIn Marketing
How to Optimize Your Social Channels for Lead Generation
How to Set Up a Facebook Page for Business
How to Set Up Facebook, Twitter and Every Other Major Social Media Profile
How to Use Facebook Ads to Generate Website Traffic
The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
The Definitive Guide to Social Marketing
Surveys
Many years ago, when I was a lowly apartment developer, I suggested to my partners that instead of spending money of amenity improvements willy-nilly, perhaps we should survey our residents – you know, ask them what they want. Pretty heady stuff back then. But I still do it. The best way to tailor your services and your advertising message is to ask. Find out what theythink is important. It may be, and often is, radically different from what you may have thought.
12 Steps for Creating an Effective Customer Survey
How to Write a Customer Survey
Video Email
Take two great technologies; video and email. Add them together. The results can be pretty cool. Here’s how. . .
Wistia’s Guide to Using Video in Email
Video Equipment
Over the years, I’ve bought a lot of video equipment. Aside from eBay, here are the places I find the best deals and service.
Adorama – Online camera equipment store
B&H Photo – Online camera equipment store
Video Hosting
OK, you’ve created your masterpieces. Now you need somewhere to host them. I use Wistia because of the advanced tools they provide, including lead capture, but take a look at all of these providers. You’ll find one that works perfectly for you.
Video Marketing
People are lazy. They’ll watch a 2 minute video before they’ll read a long article (like this one?). Because of that, video marketing represents a powerful way to communicate your message while giving viewers a chance to “get to know you”. If you haven’t added video to your marketing toolbox, I suggest you make it a priority. Here’s how you can get started;
7 Tips for Launching a Video Marketing Strategy
Fundamentals of Video Marketing
How to Create Video Facebook Ads
The Beginner’s Guide to Using Online Video Marketing
The Distilled Guide to Online Video Marketing
Video Blogging: How to Become a Video Personality
Video Production & Editing
Want to channel your inner Steven Spielberg? Here’s a list of tools that can help you make your videos look professional!
4 Tools to Easily Create Videos to Diversify Your Content Marketing
Audacity – free audio editing software for PC and Mac
Corel Video Pro8 – Video editor for PC
CyberLink PowerEditor Ultimate – Video editor for PC
Final Cut Pro – Video editor for Mac
Screenflow – Screen capture for Mac
Video Training
OK, I never said video was going to be super easy. Anything that powerful and cool is likely to take some effort. Here’s some fantastic resources for learning the basics – and beyond.
Virtual Assistants
Need a “Mini Me” to help you get more done in a day? While it’s difficult to turn the reins over to someone else, once you do so you’ll find you have more free time without sacrificing quality.
Virtual Tours
Virtual tours can be used to capture and hold the interest of potential buyers for your listings. Here are a few companies who lead the pack in providing tours.
Webinars
Like content marketing, webinars are a great strategy for getting your name out, establishing your credibility and generating new leads. The topics are almost endless, from first-time homebuyers to how to select a custom homebuilder or how to challenge your property taxes, you have the ability to provide valuable information, build your email list and position yourself as the local expert. Here’s how you can get started. . .
How I Generated 518,399 Visitors and 16,394 Leads from 77 Webinars
The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Webinars
Using Webinars for Lead Generation
Webinar Providers
Websites
OK, every agent has a website. (I think that’s a pretty safe assumption)
But do they generate leads? Is your value proposition clearly defined? Does your website have a clear focus or does it include everything but the kitchen sink? There are as many bad websites as there are bad website developers (most of them I’ve used). Here’s what you need to know to design a website that helps promote your business. You’ll also learn a lot that will help you identify a website developer who knows what they are talking about!
How to Build Websites That Sell (Book)
How to Optimize Your Website for Lead Generation
The Guide to Building High-Converting Websites
The Ingredients of a Successful Website
The Most Important Page on Your Real Estate Website
What The Highest Converting Websites Do Differently
Website Developers
Did we miss your favorite real estate agent resource? If so, let us know in the comments below and we’ll add them to the list.