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Top Agent Shares Internet Success Secret

I have spent a lot of time and money learning what works and what doesn't work for REALTORS with Internet advertising, and I am now recognized as one of the leading authorities on this method of lead generation in our industry. I regularly give Internet Marketing seminars and conduct private counseling sessions for those agents who want to improve their Internet marketing skills.

Last year, my third full year of marketing myself on the Internet, I had Internet based sale of 8.6 million dollars (40 transactions).  Combined with my other traditional sources of business, I generated enough income to place me in THE TOP 1% of ALL REALTORS in the country.

I believe there are 5 essential questions every agent needs to
understand before he/she can successfully market real estate on the Web.  In coming articles I will be describing my experiences and relating to you my successes.   Hopefully with this information you will be able to avoid the losses that many REALTORS have experienced as they tried to build business from the Web.

I will be answering thewse questions....
1. How can I be found on the web?
      Search engines, directories, linking
2. How can I provide value to consumers at my web site?
     Information, services, guidance
3. How can I give appropriate "hi-tech" service?
      Special software programs and services
4. How can I develop an Electronic database?
     Mail lists
5. How can I follow up on leads with the new technology?
      Using E-Mail, Auto Responders, Automated News Letters
     

Recently, I discovered one of the BEST tools I have ever seen for making a web site work effectively for you. This inexpensive but very powerful tool turns an ordinary web site into a lead-generating machine!

If you are new to the Web, using this tool will help you, more than anything else, jump-start your Internet business. Called SiteGuest, this
easy-to-use product captures the names and e-mail addresses of visitors to your web site.

Think about it. If you had the contact information for your web visitors,
you could discover when they are ready to make a move, provide them with more information, and keep in touch until they are prepared to buy or sell.  You could reach consumers before the competition does. In short, you could produce more leads, and more sales from your web site.

I have been using this service for only a short while, and the results have been incredible! Before instituting this service on my web sites, I
received a ton of hits, but a very large percentage of these hits did not
leave me the information necessary to follow up. Now, with this service, I am rapidly building my "electronic farm".

A real estate web site should help generate business. However, all too
often a web site just sits idle, failing to produce the contacts necessary
to make sales. SiteGuest will provide you with high quality leads-- people who have already taken an active interest in your company by looking at your web site.

How does it work?

All you need to do is add the SiteGuest code to your web site. When your home page loads, SiteGuest checks to see if your site is authorized to use the program. You can become authorized by filling out the secure installation form. Once your site is authorized, SiteGuest will send your visitor's name and Email to your inbox. For some this process is completely transparent. For visitors who have checked off certain security options in their Netscape or Internet Explorer preferences a box will pop up notifying them that they are revealing their address. SiteGuest has tested compatible with modern versions of Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, America Online 4.0 and their companion mail programs.

To find out more about SiteGuest, visit http://www.netifieds.com/siteguest/

Hear the School Bells Ring....Septembers Article

As the kids breathe a sigh of sadness, the 'moms' breath a sigh of
relief.... and both for the same reason... school is about to begin !

What better time to take advantage of the newest service offered by the
National School Reporting Service. NSRS has recently introduced a new
lead generating program in alliance with Yahoo.

Moving Families on the Internet look to The School Report for information
they need to help decide where to relocate. They also look to The School
Report to identify real estate professionals who can assist them throughout
the moving process. In fact The School Report refers thousands of moving
families to real estate professionals each month. What does this have to
do with Yahoo!?

Yahoo!, the world's most popular Internet site, has just launched:
"Yahoo! Real Estate" And "The National School Reporting Service" is providing the school information... now... you too, can be a part of it. From Yahoo Real
Estate:School Reports, visitors click through to The School Report web
site to create their FREE in-depth online school report .... Which Is
Sponsored By Top Real Estate Professionals , such as yourself. Take a look
at what The School Report and Yahoo! are doing with real estate
professionals.

http://www.theschoolreport.com/coupons/judiwolfson/yahoo_jwolfson.html

How do you like my online coupon?

This program is bringing me leads for both listings and buyers.

The School Report also has agreed to build a free private room for those
who join the network through September 31st ($100 value) but you have to
mention my name. They will tell me who joins and I will contact you to
share ideas on ways we can work together).

Look at the private room they will build for you FREE when you join (this
is ours) http://www.theschoolreport.com/as_jwolfson

The attached flyer
(http://www.theschoolreport.com/coupons/judiwolfson/yahoo_jwolfson.html)
has a direct email to The School Report. Send your phone number and they
will call to take your through a tour of the sites and answer your
questions, or, to join and get a quicker response call The School Report
at 1-800-229-4992 Ext. 3

REMEMBER to mention "Judi's Place Newsletter" to get your special "private
room" bonus.
*******************************************************************
COMING NEXT MONTH: The Answer to a Realtor's Prayers... " Caller ID for
your WebSite " ---> check it out at http://www.netifieds.com/siteguest/
10 LEADS in 48 hours !!
********************************************************************
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT "MAKING MONEY ON THE INTERNET"... visit the info center
for Judi Wolfson's seminars at http://www.gawassoc.com/news/judi2.html

Judi's August Article.....

OH HOW TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN !!!!

It seems impossible that it was only a little over a year ago when I didn't know the difference between a search engine, a browser, and a server, ... when I was constantly asking: "Now what is this www, and URL stuff ???… isn't a URL something you find in the men's room??? … And why on earth do I need E-MAIL ???… Isn't a FAX fast enough ???"

And so my story begins in October of 1995 when I went on vacation and took with me a book, a REALLY thick book, on the Internet. ! I read it on the plane, and I read it on the beach… I read and read and read some more. Then I re-read what I had already read before, and highlighted the important parts. At one point I said to myself.... THIS IS CRAZY! AM I NUTS? I hadn't worked so hard since I was in college, not in 20 years (OK, make that 25 years.... OK, so who's counting, anyway) ...and back then I was FORCED to read, and highlight and study and learn... and I hated it !! So why was I now doing this and doing it voluntarily ??? And on my vacation, no less !

Well folks..... as BOB DYLAN, said... "The times they are a-changin".

Our times were changing so rapidly, and I knew I wanted to be a part of the Technological Revolution I saw coming right around the corner. I wanted to be there, and I knew that the time had to be NOW !! I wanted to be the real estate agent who was ABOVE THE CROWD. That’s REMAX’s slogan, and as a RE/MAX Agent, I wanted to uphold the tradition. No one can deny that the INTERNET is THE PLACE to be in this ever-growing world of technology.

I viewed the Internet as the largest newsstand in the world.... the
newsstand of the world, with every publication from every country, all available to the public anywhere… any time. Just as I would never limit myself to marketing listings to one newspaper or one homes' magazine, neither would I limit myself to one place on the NET.

REMAX stands for real estate maximum, and as a RE/MAX Agent, I had learned that maximum exposure = maximum results... and the same holds true on the Internet. One of my main objectives in publishing my web page was to obtain as much exposure as possible within the WEB itself..... and so I came up with a new motto:

"YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO THIN, TOO RICH, or
HAVE TOO MUCH EXPOSURE ON THE INTERNET !"

In order to MAXIMIZE my exposure on the Internet, I developed three web sites. While each is accessible from the other, and the pages within each interweave within the others, they have three different "home pages" and can be started from any of three spots. Thus, I was able to register three different URLs ,which in turn look at real estate from three different viewpoints.

One starts out offering free software, the other begins by viewing listings, and the third offers a "buyers' warning", which introduces Buyer Agency.

One of the beauties of the Internet is that it is an "interactive" form of media. The consumer can participate in the process. I am reminded of greeting cards.... I know that I have fun just opening the little flaps on cards, to see what they say inside... and I do this even when I’m not in the market for a card! And... how many times has someone purchased one appliance over another.... just because it had MORE BUTTONS, so it had to
be better !!!

Well the WEB allows the "surfer" to push lots of buttons, which creates links to other web sites, giving them even more information.... and providing FUN and excitement, as well as knowledge!! Consumers are now INVOLVED in the process, and become motivated by curiosity. They like the idea that they can control what they want to learn, and how much they want
to know. The more value you provide on your Web site, the more likely you are to turn a "surfer" into a customer or client.

You do have to be careful, though, not to let your consumer get lost in the WEB as they surf through your site and onto various links. Be sure that there is always a link back to your home page.... or they may never return!!!

Often when I am surfing the net, going from one linked page to the next, I suddenly find that I can’t remember where I originally started from. It is very easy to lose sight of your original goal when you get caught up surfing the Web!! So, when you are "surfing" for your own research and knowledge, or just for fun...don't forget to "bookmark" the pages of interest. Even more importantly, DON"T FORGET TO PUT REMINDERS ON YOUR PAGE FOR YOUR "VIEWERS" TO "BOOKMARK" YOUR PAGE!

When creating your home page keep in mind the INTERNET was never meant to be a "worldwide" billboard, but rather a place of resources and information. Isn't that why they call it the "INFORMATION SUPER HIGHWAY"?  So be sure to provide "service" and "information" on your web site. Free software and free school reports are two of the items that I offer and the general public response to this has been overwhelmingly favorable.

Ok, so now that you are convinced of the importance of the Internet ... how do you raise the level of awareness of Internet marketing to your buyers and sellers? How do you let them know that you are one of the VERY BEST AGENTS because YOU can market their home on the Internet.

Here are a number of things you can do to publicize your Internet presence :

1) Print your URL # and e-mail address on all business cards,
mini-brochures and all other printed materials.

2) Create a rubber stamp that says "NO snail mail" with your URL # and email address and stamp the envelope of every piece of mail sent via "snail mail".

3) Send out "custom printed" postcards to farm areas. These cards emphasize the effectiveness of having a home marketed on the Internet.  They are "full-color" postcards in a series of 12 different "famous & unique" homes from around the world (all marked "SOLD"), again reiterating the effect of marketing on the Worldwide Internet.

4) Call the local newspapers to see if they are interested in interviewing you regarding your success in "marketing of real estate on the Internet".  (I called 4 and 3 said YES !!)

This concludes the account of my first year ‘s activities on the NET . For my efforts, I found that I earned in excess of l $50,000 income for my FIRST year on the WEB in 1996. This income I can trace DIRECTLY to Internet business. And to think…it all started with a bit of "reading & highlighting" while on vacation in Marco Island, Florida.

[For Information on Judi Wolfson's Seminars ]

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