RISMedia

<p> <a href="http://socialmediasystems.com/"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; MARGIN: 10px; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1381" alt="Too many cooks spoil the broth" width="281" height="300" vspace="10" hspace="10" border="1" align="left" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2009/11/hotpotato-281x300.gif" /></a> If you are even thinking about using Elance, Rent-a-Coder, Freelancer.com or any other online freelancing site, get ready for some Brain Damage! These sites are terrible for both the clients and the freelancers and here are just some reasons why: </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> For Clients: </p> <ol> <li>What if I don&#39;t know exactly what I want? Too bad! These sites want a piece of the transaction so they control your freedom to work directly with the client to help define the project to meet your business goals! </li> <li>Who is actually doing the development? Because you cannot work with the freelancers directly, you may THINK you are working with a qualified freelancer but they just hand the project and a programing book off to a high school student! </li> <li>These prices are too good to be true! They are! The freelancers are forced into a competitive bidding process so early in the project that is so heavily weighted against them that they are forced to underbid poorly defined projects. In fact, these projects are typically a miserable experience for the freelancers and you are likely to get crap back! </li> <li>Why can&#39;t I find top-notch professionals? On these sites, the freelances are incented to do quick and dirty jobs to meet hard deadlines. Scope can and should change as you learn more about the project. It is nearly impossible to do Agile or intelligent development in this way! </li> </ol> <p> For Freelancers: </p> <p> </p> <ol> <li>What is up with these project descriptions!? Very few clients can spec the projects properly because they are NOT experts. That is why they are on the site in the first place! </li> <li>What are you even bidding on!? Freelancers are expected to Bid on projects that are so loosely defined that they are taking on enormous risk, stress, and risking their integrity by bidding on these projects. </li> <li>Why can&#39;t I just contact the client or freelancer and work with them!? These sites are so afraid that you will get around them and that they won&#39;t make their ridiculous margins that they don&#39;t let you contact the client directly and work with them on your own terms. </li> <li>What is up with these expert guarantees!? Rent-a-Coder has projects that require the freelancer to put up 10% or more of the total project payment in case you are LATE. As if the poorly defined projects and bidding process weren&#39;t risky and stressful enough, they want to stick to the freelancer again! </li> <li>Why are they so expensive!? Elance and Rent-a-Coder are bloated software that try to do way too much and charge way too much. Because of their fear of losing their enormous margins, they get in the way of communication and progress. They charge 10+% of the revenue for adding little or no value other than a simple bulletin board with search capabilities (a prettier craigslist). </li> <li>Are these projects even profitable?! - online bidding drives the prices down and pushes the prices so low that few qualified freelancers can actually afford to do them. </li> </ol> <p> Conclusions: </p> <ol> <li>Although there is a better solution on it&#39;s way by early next year (<a title="3net Social Media Marketing Blog Feedburner feed" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/Social-Media-Systems">subscribe here to be notified</a>), we strongly recommend that we all just avoid these sites and let them die; they are spammy misrepresented garbage messing up the marketplace. </li> <li>Like other for- profit lead generation machines in the Auto, Real estate, Finance and many industries, these sites are parasites: they add no value to anything: they are noise and they clutter the market they pretend to serve. </li> <li>When you choose to hire out work from freelancers (a very smart and recommended thing to do), you should start by evaluating and choosing an expert vendor on the highest level first, then, in the process of hiring that project manager, seek advice before specking-out anything. For instance: <a title="free advice by phone or email" href="mailto:freeadvice@socialmediasystems.com">we offer a free consultation to anybody, anytime</a>: for anybody planning any kind of marketing program of any kind, from the first logo to the website to the video to the market research, to viral advertising, technology, hosting, radio and TV Advertising, agency services: as do most qualified professionals. </li> <li>Choose the most qualified, highest level vendor possible, and spec and project manage with them, so that the planning process includes the benefit of their advice as part of the contract: you should have the final word, but you should solicit their advice and input every step of the way to achieve the best result! </li> <li>Always check credentials and references before buying anything from anybody anywhere, search for negative press on the Internet, ask for credible references, and <strong><a title="Best internet advertising consultants in the world by definition" href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;rlz=1R2GGLL_en&amp;q=internet+advertising+consultant&amp;btnG=Search&amp;aq=f&amp;oq=&amp;aqi=">recent proof of performance: this technology changes constantly, and only the best of the best can perform here consistently!</a></strong> </li> </ol> <p> <a href="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2009/11/brianbento.jpg"><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px solid; MARGIN: 10px; BORDER-TOP: black 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px solid" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1383" alt="Brian Bento" width="120" height="118" vspace="10" hspace="10" align="left" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2009/11/brianbento.jpg" /></a> </p> <p> <em><strong>Why believe me? I am Brian Bentow:</strong></em> (<a title="Brian Bentow CTO Reputation" href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;rlz=1R2GGLL_en&amp;q=Brian+Bentow&amp;btnG=Search&amp;aq=f&amp;oq=&amp;aqi=">Google me</a>!) </p> <p> CTO for SocialMediaSystems.com LLC, and MoviePals.org Entertainment LLC </p> <p> If you want the answer to a question or a free consultation, call or email our business development department: </p> <p> 805-827-2450 <a title="mailto link free advice address" href="mailto:freeadvice@socialmediasystems.com">freeadvice@socialmediasystems.com</a> </p>

<p> <strong>Google Business Directory Listings - Another way to get FREE Traffic and Rankings in Google</strong><br /> <br /> As time goes by most people realize that the &quot;Yellow Pages&quot; business model is becoming outdated and a vast majority of people are using Google to find things that 5 years ago and more would have come from a phone book.<br /> <br /> Google too has also realized this and they have created a Google Business Directory to list professional services in including doctors, dentists and real estate agents and brokers.<br /> <br /> It is essential for real estate agents, brokers and mortgage lenders to take advantage of this new resource and use it as a way to not only build more inbound links to your website but also as a way to bring in more phone calls and business.<br /> <br /> The part which makes this even more compelling is the fact that Google brings up the directory listings in the top of the search results page and most times the Google business directory listings come up above the organic search results.<br /> <br /> No longer do you have to spend thousands of dollars to optimize a website when you can submit yourself into the Google business directory and get top search engine rankings.<br /> <br /> There are some tricks to knowing how to do it so that you come up on the top of the list, but if you can be listed in the top 10 you are going to get some great traffic and leads from clients who need the help of a real estate agent and broker. Even if you do not come up on the top 10 you are still building inbound links to your website, being listed on Google Maps and helping yourself get more exposure.<br /> <br /> As someone who has set up thousands of Google Adwords pay-per-click search engine accounts I can tell you that between 10-15% of real estate related searches being done are people actually looking to make contact with an agent or broker. If you can be listed on the top of the page your chances of being the person they contact is much greater. </p> <p> Google brings up the Local Business Directory Listings when someone types in &quot;san diego rael estate agent&quot; &quot;austin real estate broker&quot; &quot;la jolla real estate agent&quot; etc.... basically whenever soneone is looking for an agent or broker for the name of the city. This means that the traffic is very targeted and the scope of the listings is now also starting to come up under &quot;real estate for sale&quot; type searches in some markets which means even more FREE traffic and exposure.<br /> <br /> Google also provides free traffic statistics and information on how many views and visits your Google Directory Listing is getting so you can see the results first hand. I have personally generated thousands of visitors and lots of business from being listed in the Google Directory for &quot;vacation rentals&quot; here in San Diego which has been absolutely free.<br /> <br /> After setting up hundreds of these listings the average real estate agent will generate about 300-500 impressions and up to 75-200 free website visits per month. The Local Google Directory Listings bring up the agent / broker phone number in the top of the page so clients can call you direct and do not have to visit your website to get contact information.<br /> <br /> There are many ways to get listed in Google and get traffic from Google and the Business Directory Listings are one of the fastest and cheapest ways to do so.<br /> <br /> The Google Business Directory Listings are free to set up although if you wish to hire a consultant the costs normally range from $150 - $200 to guarantee a top 10 ranking. Many SEO experts are now seeing the power of these listings and offering the set up services to their clients. Knowing a few optimization secrets always helps keep you ahead of the pack. One of those secrets is to add as much content as possible and include videos in the set up since they allow space for up to 5 videos. (another reason to set up and get going on Youtube.com)<br /> <br /> The Google Business Directory Listings can be set up and activated within 24 hours and once acitivated it normally takes 3-4 weeks for top placement.<br /> <br /> If you have questions or need help setting up listings in the Google Local Business Directory you can email me at <a href="mailto:getinfo@san.rr.com"><font color="#1C4D90">getinfo@san.rr.com</font></a><br /> <br /> By getting yourself indexed in as many places possible in Google you can not only get more phone calls and visitors but also help your own websites rank much higher in the search results.<br /> <br /> Using the free resources that Google provides such as Google Business Directory Listings, Profile Pages and websites are all resources that agents should be taking advantage of to stay ahead of the pack to increase exposure, website rankings and traffic.<br /> <br /> So go set up a Google account (if you do not already have one) and get started using this extremely valuable free resource and start bringing in more traffic, leads and phone calls to your business.<br /> <br /> The fact is that buyers and sellers know the Internet is extremely important for getting exposure for a listing and if you can show them you are using it effectively it will help you bring in more business, and sell more homes. </p> <p> Google is the &quot;yellow pages&quot; of the 21st century and the sooner you take advantage of this program the better! </p> <p> Best wishes to your success! </p> <p> Sean Callahan<br /> (858) 731-7278<br /> <a href="mailto:getinfo@san.rr.com">getinfo@san.rr.com</a> </p> <p> <a href="http://www.realestatemarketingnerds.com"><font color="#1C4D90">www.realestatemarketingnerds.com</font></a><br /> <a href="http://www.realestatemarketingnerds.info">www.realestatemarketingnerds.info</a><br /> <a href="http://www.recessionproofhomebiz.com">www.recessionproofhomebiz.com</a><br /> <a href="http://www.socalbeachmag.net">www.socalbeachmag.net</a> </p> <p> </p>

<p> Internet start-up offers two $50,000 prizes for Beta Testers: we did this elaborate site in 60 days! </p> <p> It was an Idea who&#39;s time had come. I was so impressed with our first Bloblive we attended in Los Angeles. </p> <p> <a href="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2010/01/littlegreenmen.png"><img height="230" width="452" alt="littlegreenmen" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2010/01/littlegreenmen.png" title="littlegreenmen" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2752" /></a> </p> <p> But let me back up: I should start by giving you a little back round on myself: My name is Israel Rothman: I am a serial Entrepreneur, who has made, then lost over $8000,000.00 in the last ten years; but this is not about me, it is about the birth of the Internet, the development of a good idea, and about the beginning of a new era in human history: </p> <p> It has been my honor to be part of this story, to lose everything twice in that time, and to be able to start all over again so soon. </p> <p> This story is about cyberspace, and the Internet, and the future of the human race: it is about the technological changes that are changing the world completely, and so quickly that almost nobody sees where it is going, yet we all must try to jump in before it passes us by. </p> <p> But more than anything else, this is ta story about change: the story of the evolution of an inspiration into a thought, then an idea into a reality, and then a website, and then a business, and then a convention. It is about users, and content, and websites, and humans, and machines. It is about collaboration, in person, remotely, and from across the world. This is the true story of Ideapals.org, and Moviepals.org, and many companies with many names. This is our story, and your story, and the story of what is to come: and, only because I am alive during this time too with you, parts of it are also my story. </p> <p> I hope you enjoy this story, that you are inspired by the possibilities that have never existed before: I hope you participate, and innovate, and grow with us as you read it. But most of all I hope that it makes you think: because that is where everything begins, with a thought (what we call a spark), then an idea, then action, then collaboration…. </p> <p> This is the story of how Goerge Orwell&#39;s vision of a future with the technology that we already have was exactly backwards: of how it is the least among us who have been empowered the most, of how there is no Big Brother, only us users, and playing on a more and more level playing field every day: where everyone, regardless of race, religion, or even location will have an equal chance to participate, and to communicate, and to learn, and to grow, and to build. </p> <p> Living in what seemed to me like a frat house after the end of my 28 year marriage was very uncomfortable for me: so I wanted to use every opportunity possible to get out and to meet some new clients: having had mostly Realtor and Real Estate as clients had backfired terribly: I had made the most common mistake ever: under-capitalization: with no office, no employees, and almost no overhead at all I had thought I could do it without investors this time: then this bad economy hit, and all my Real estate clients stopped buying, and stopped paying: my son and I went from first year revenues of $779 in 2007 to almost nothing at all. The ex could not take it again, so here I was in Ventura, where I had no contacts, no clients, and almost no money, in the worst economy since the 1980&#39;s. </p> <p> So I looked online and found the &#39;open mic&#39; meeting at Bloblive.com on Meetup.com (a social networking website), was taking place in Santa Monica that evening. </p> <p> I convinced my son, Solomon to come with me, and we hopped in the $800 &#39;beater&#39; car I had bought on Ebay when I had to give my Hemmy back, and off we went to Santa Monica for free food and an opportunity to get up in front of a small audience and speak about our business. </p> <p> Interesting venue: while we were waiting for the show, we were given some blue silly putty and were told the best figurines would win a t-shirt. </p> <p> We also had a drink, and met Brian Bentow, a young, very entrepreneurial software engineer form a good Jewish family in Ventura, of all places, who by some miracle had also showed up to promote his book about computer related injuries. We did not know it at the time, but Brian would become a client, then a partner. </p> <p> </p> <p> Back to Bloblive, interesting: apparently the company had stated as ideablob.com, a rudimentary (by current standards) social networking site, basically a blog for business ideas. Apparently the founders had found a sponsor in the form of a bank back east that wanted to issue credit cards to entrepreneurs and small businesses, so Bloblive was born, with cameras, live feeds, local media representatives, and apparently an uncanny ability to get on the front page of Twitter every time. The idea was that the press and other online and media exposure would cause ideas to get funded. </p> <p> Unfortunately, the bank ended up failing but not before we went to several Bloblive open-mic events, and developed quite an affinity for the venue. </p> <p> When the backer went into bankruptcy, the very popular Bloblive could not adjust to a user-paid revenue model quickly enough, and it failed. </p> <p> Like Bloblive, our company, Socialmediasystems.com was barely alive at this time. We knew that our window (Search Engine Optimization) would soon be outdated, had known it for months, due to advances in Internet software: we knew that eventually, with WordPress and now it&#39;s offspring : Drupal, and other modern content managements systems would be so sophisticated, and that Google&#39;s algorithms would eventually evolve sufficiently that our core business would be outdated, and were well on our way to preparing a complete shift into higher end website development; I wanted to be a new kind of advertising agency without the inherent conflict of interest built into the pre-Internet models. Solomon had during this time all but invented an open-source type model for film-making, utilizing advances in band width and storage technology, and the complete shift to digital media to make it possible for novices and professional all over the world to collaborate and make films. </p> <p> I moved into an apartment in Ventura, and Solomon (an amateur filmmaker who had already made movies on almost no budget that have been seen millions of times from viral marketing) and Brian founded Moviepals Entertainment - based on the press and notoriety Solomon had gained with his low-cost film-making ventures and the extensive press and buzz created for that aspect of the business by Bloblive, including write-ups in the Los Angeles times, and a host of others including National Public Radio (NPR), and with a very small investment form Brian; he moved into an industrial loft with all his green screens, cameras, boom mics, and other film-making paraphernalia, with is new wife, Honey. MOVIEPALS.ORG NOW HAS A SUBSTANTIAL INCOME OF IT&#39;S OWN FROM GOOGLE ADSENSE REVENUE ALONE, AND GETS OVER 1,000 UNIQUE VISITORS PER DAY: AND THEY ARE JUST WRITING THE SCREENPLAYS NOW: </p> <p> <a href="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2010/01/virus.jpg"><img height="144" width="393" alt="the press in spreading accross the internet like a virus image" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2010/01/virus.jpg" title="the press in spreading accross the internet like a virus image" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2729" /></a> </p> <p> They have been able t0 continue all year in 2009 with revenues from freelance Drupal web design, and I have continued to do website design work in order to survive. </p> <p> I should stop here to tell you that none of this up-to now is unusual for Internet entrepreneurs: the market changes too quickly, the technology changes too quickly, nobody can keep up. In order to survive, we have been in a constant state of research and development since 2001, when I invented a way to create organic search engine placement by giving away free ads,which evolved into our current methods, with RSS feeds and blogs, and that is constantly changing too: it is like a race, with trade secrets outliving their usefulness so quickly as to have the value of milk stored at room temperature on an open shelf. </p> <p> So with them moving forward with Moviepals.org without me, and my business (what was left of it) struggling, I needed to do something, and the idea of creating a marketplace evolved: like e-lance or Renta-coder without getting in the way of the transactions with a more free user opt-up revenue model like meetup.com, with over 1,000,000 Meetup groups, with the organizers paying $20 per month for this very robust facilitation and RSVP system with revenue model built in. </p> <p> If you are wondering about where this is all going, consider that most of these events took place in under 6 months in 2009 in the worst economy since the great depression! </p> <p> Think about how quickly things change, how volatile it all is, but also how quickly modern technology adapts, and how much less expensive this stuff all is than it used to be, and you will start to understand the big big idea that we came up with while we were all three collaborating and studying e-lance, Rent-a-Coder, linked-in and several other sites while we prepared the build the new software with all the new, modern options in one place: ideapals.org is the big big idea: and it has just gone live in Beta: built in only three weeks in spare time by the collective efforts basically of two programmers: <strong><em>what would have cost millions a few months ago!</em></strong> </p> <p> Whew! If this is making you head spin, you are not alone! Now get used to it! Welcome to my world, and yours now! </p> <p> Enter: Ideapals.org, social networking and free project management, with the moviepals.org collaborative video platform on steroids! </p> <p> Imagine only needing one profile with one database, where all your functions, HR, Buying, selling, groups, meet-ups..AND ALL FREE, BUT WAIT: NOW ADD THAT YOU CAN MAKE MONEY DOING WHATEVER YOU LOVE, LIKE US: INTERESTED? YOU SHOULD BE! </p> <p> <a href="http://ideapals.org/"><img height="92" width="151" alt="IDEAPALS LOGO" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2009/12/idealogo.png" title="IDEAPALS LOGO" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2640" /></a> </p> <p> <strong>The best features of Linked-in.com, Meetup.com, Basecamp.com, Ning.com, Facebook.com, digg.com, Associatedcontent.com, Activerain.com, E-Lance, Rent-a-Coder</strong>: </p> <p style="text-align: left;"> And now some stuff you have never seen before: <strong>enter the first social network where everything including the data-flow is built around ideas</strong> instead of posts, pages, and/or profiles: and it is <strong>ALL FREE</strong>: project management, matchmaking, HR, buying and selling, collaboration, market testing…but that is not all: you can <strong>work doing whatever you are passionate about, and get paid!</strong> </p> <h3> We have invented the currency of NOD&#39;s: </h3> <p> <a href="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2009/12/idealogo.png"><img height="92" width="151" alt="idealogo" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/files/2009/12/idealogo.png" title="idealogo" /></a> </p> <blockquote> <p> <strong>Bringing passionate people together to collaborate, innovate, and make money doing what they love!</strong> <a href="http://ideapals.org/" title="WORK YOUR PASSIONA ND GET PAID AT IDEAPALS.ORG"><strong>ENTER: IDEAPALS.ORG!</strong></a> </p> <p> Everything you do around here earns <strong>NODs (Natural Overtures Of Distinction)</strong> and we have placed a value on the currency of <strong>NODs</strong>: Whenever you have an idea, an opinion, a comment, a friend, or what we call a &#39;spark&#39;, and you share it: you get paid in <strong>NODs!</strong> </p> <h2> Not only can yo make real money, even a full time income for sharing what you know about what you love with like-minded people, and collaborating on projects together for free: we are going to give away over $100,000.00 in cash and prizes: </h2> <p> <em><strong>You could win a $50,000 marketing campaign and Modern Social Website for your business for just for signing up here for free!</strong></em> </p> <p> Here is what we will give away in less than one year: (you can see the clock ticking down at the left of every page at Ideapals.org!) </p> <p> <strong>There two ways to win this $50,000 Website and Marketing Campaign:</strong> </p> <p> • Absolutely FREE Acquia Drupal elaborate, custom website: </p> <p> • Comes Complete with Branding, Graphics, Custom Functions, </p> <p> • A Viral, Guerilla Marketing Public Relations Campaign </p> <p> • A Video in HD and Web-ready formats to promote the project, distributed to the world on multiple video sharing sites </p> <p> • SEO (search engine optimization) SEM (search engine marketing) </p> <p> • Premium, Dedicated, Unlimited Usage Hosting for one year on our server </p> <p> • Link building and other advertising including: </p> <p> • A premium video advertisement added at the end of every episode the 56 week Crowd Driven Series we are about to Release (Mob-Mentality Logo) in it&#39;s second calendar year, to bring traffic to the site forever! </p> <p> • A banner and add showing your progress as the first year winner on Ideapals.org for the next year! </p> <p> <strong>1st WAY TO WIN: BE one of the FIRST 5000 people to sign up here: <a href="http://ideapals.org/" title="WORK YOUR PASSIONA ND GET PAID AT IDEAPALS.ORG">ideapals.org</a> :</strong> </p> <p> <strong>SHOW UP AND BE LUCKY!</strong> </p> <p> <strong>2ND WAY TO WIN: PARTICIPATION: (Merit)</strong> Whoever has the most *NODs wins an additional $50,000 Campaign identical to the one above! </p> <p> You will ALSO have chances to win the Grand Prize and other prizes by signing up for FREE: For everything you do at IdeaPals, you will also be compensated in NODs: </p> <p> *What is a NOD? It is our currency of participation and innovation: Everything you do at Ideapals.org or Moviepals.org earns Natural Overtures of Distinction: NODs for short: </p> <p> Actions you get NODs for: </p> <p> 1. Authoring the best reply - 5 NODs </p> <p> 2. Commenting on Sparks (ideas), IdeaPals groups, - 5 NODs </p> <p> 3. Invite other people - 5 NODs each </p> <p> 4. When invited user registers - 50 NODs each </p> <p> 5. When you register if you were invited - 50 NODs </p> <p> 6. Moderation - Approve - 1 NOD </p> <p> 7. Moderation - Delete - 1 NOD </p> <p> 8. Moderation Response -5 NODs </p> <p> 9. Viewing IdeaPals Group, Spark - 1 NOD 1 </p> <p> 10. Registering - 25 NODs </p> <p> 11. Posting an IdeaPals Free Group - 50 NODs </p> <p> 12. Posting a Spark (idea) - 10 NODs </p> <p> 13. Moderating a comment - 1 NOD </p> <p> 14. Posting a picture - 10 NODs </p> <p> 15. Voting up or down - 1 NOD </p> <p> 16. Flagging - 1 NOD </p> <p> Please rate the following features of Ideapals.org 1-10 (10 is best) for 25 pre-nods and a chance to win the prizes above: </p> <p> <a href="mailto:info@socialmediasystems.com" title="give us your opinion and win">1. Graphics</a> </p> <p> <a href="mailto:info@socialmediasystems.com" title="give us your opinion and win">2. Concept</a> </p> <p> <a href="mailto:info@socialmediasystems.com" title="give us your opinion and win">3. Copy</a> </p> <p> <a href="mailto:info@socialmediasystems.com" title="give us your opinion and win">4. Anything else that you would like to add</a> </p> <p> <a href="mailto:info@socialmediasystems.com" title="give us your opinion and win">5. Role, if any, that you would play in our launch (IE: Beta Tester, Partner, Vendor, Reseller, User, Buyer, Seller)</a> </p> <p> <a href="mailto:info@socialmediasystems.com" title="give us your opinion and win">You will also have the chance to win may other prizes and upgrades that we will give away weekly and monthly to winners of our NODs contests including:</a> </p> <p> • Free websites </p> <p> • Free hosting </p> <p> • Free upgrades </p> <p> • Free advertising </p> <p> • Free video production </p> <p> • Free project management </p> <p> • Free CRM </p> <p> • Free mass email campaign And many other incentives just for participating, collaborating, even soliciting: </p> <p> BE ONE OF THE FIRST 5000 TO SIGN UP: AND GET DOUBLE NODS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO YOUR FIRST DAY: </p> <h2> Visit <a href="http://ideapals.org/" title="work your passion and get paid at ideaqpals.org"><img height="92" width="151" alt="idealogo" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/blog/files/2009/12/idealogo.png" title="idealogo" style="margin: 5px 10px;" /></a>now! </h2> </blockquote>

<p> Check out Gary&#39;s site at http://cincinnatirealtor.info/: </p> <p> <a href="http://cincinnatirealtor.info"><img hspace="10" height="290" border="1" align="middle" width="632" vspace="5" alt="" src="http://www.realtown.com/members/Israel/files/Rock-n-RollRealtor.jpg" /></a> </p> <p> This is a great example of a great strategy combined with a beautiful site that will rank on the search engines and convert leads: his only cost: $479 for one year of hosting and the whole design setup, training, ranking, What we sell here: http://socialmediasystems.com </p> <p> This is a wonderful way of using what Gary loves (he has a Rock-n-Roll band in Cincinnati Ohio) with what he does for a living. </p> <p> When we review a questionnaire in preparation for doing a setup, we always ask: &quot;Who is your target market?&quot; </p> <p> Often Realtors say: </p> <p> &quot;What do you mean, I am Realtor Stupid!&quot; </p> <p> Yes, I get that: but consider that everyone who listens to Gary&#39;s Band is baby boomer, and that is his target market. Think about that! </p>

<h2 style="margin-top: 2px;"> <span style="font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><img height="224" width="300" style="vertical-align: top;" alt="Blogging listings" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/rothmanguide/files/2009/11/blog.jpg" title="Blogging real estate listings" /> </h2> <p> Once again I am confronted with integrating antiquated IDX solutions inot a clients website: as you can see here, Lisa Chan&#39;s listings are in an Iframe, which means that they are not getting indexed as part of her website: </p> <p> <a title="Riverside California Real Estate Listings are made available to search" href="http://riversidecommunity.info/">http://riversidecommunity.info/</a> </p> <p> <img height="245" width="532" alt="riverside-california-real-estate-listings" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/0/8/4/9/ar126408513794804.jpg" title="riverside-california-real-estate-listings" /> </p> <p> Her <a title="Riverside California Real Estate listings" href="http://riversidecommunity.info/search-mls-listings/">Riverside California Real Estate Listings are made available to search</a> without leaving her new blog website, but she will need to blog them also, as posts to get the addresses, zip codes, and all the other good location and key words indexed as part of her dynamic, growing website. </p> <p> I here you, wouldn&#39;t it be nice if it were easier. Yes! Way easier for me! When are the MLS&#39;s going to realize that doong a good job for you (and your clients) is not about controlling the market, it is about getting the information indexed and out there?! </p> <p> More from <a title="should your website include a blog" href="http://socialmediasystems.com/rothmanguide/should-your-new-website-include-a-blog/">The Rothman Guide to building successful websites:</a> </p> <ol> <li>A blog automates the process of updating your site and neatly organizes everything by date and category. It&#39;s great; You log in, write a post and blast it out to the world. </li> <li>It empowers website owners and their employees to edit and create their own content without an extra step, thus encouraging direct participation. </li> <li>Currently, search engines prefer content, hence the expression &quot;content is king&quot;. The more content you produce, the more you will drive visitors to your site. An added benefit is that your SEO firm or consultant has more to work with. </li> <li>It facilitates a conversation with your website visitors. Instead of just a one way feed of data, they can read and respond via comments. This can add valuable content to your site that can increase your web traffic through organic google search and repeat visitors who enjoy reading your blog posts. </li> <li>It automatically gives you a way to connect long-term with your visitors. They can subscribe to your RSS feed, allowing them to be notified of updates to your blog via e-mail, a start page (like at Google) or through a feed reader; </li> <li>They&#39;ve become extremely inexpensive and accessible to individuals and businesses of any size. </li> <li>The blog can also manage updating and SEO for the static webpages, eliminating all other on-site SEO (search engine optimization) tasks. </li> <li>A blog can create a knowledge base, reducing the time spent by employees on the phone answering the same old questions. </li> <li>A blog can capture content and feedback from your visitors. Every website should have and/or be a blog. (Blog is short for Weblog, and it means well-automated website with content) </li> </ol> <p> <a title="Free blogs, rankings, blogging" href="http://socialmediasystems.com/rothmanguide/should-you-use-a-free-blog/">&gt;&gt;Should you use a free blog?&gt;&gt;</a> </p>

<p> Hi everyone - Just wanted to let you know that we have moved the Real Estate Leadership Conference to June 9-10 2010 in beautiful Rye, New York, just outside of New York City!<br /> <br /> The 2010 Leadership Conference-dubbed &#39;The Real Estate Social Media Summit&#39;-promises more sessions, more speakers and more time for you to network and connect-and/or reconnect-with real estate&#39;s top decision makers, visionaries, brokers and, of course, Top 5 Members!<br /> <br /> The 2010 Conference will take the form of a Summit on real estate Social Media and Mobile Strategies for both brokers and sales associates to help these professionals best meet the demands of today&#39;s home buyers and sellers.<br /> <br /> Register Now! http://events.rismedia.com<br /> <br /> Who Will Attend? Leaders of the real estate community, including Top 5 Members, other leading real estate sales associates, team leaders, leading brokerage owners, economists and a host of related industry visionaries from around the United States.<br /> <br /> Interested in Sponsoring and/or Exhibiting? Contact your Account Representative or e-mail advertising@rismedia.com.<br /> <br /> Questions on the Conference? Contact me at stephanie@rismedia.com or 203-855-1234 x141. </p>

<p> There are major changes underway int eh Real Estate industry: I have been hearing more and more about my clients opting out of the local MLS because of outdated modes of doing business, outdated software, and anti-competitive practices in the industry: so I decided to do a Little research this morning, and five minutes yielded this: </p> <p> <a href="http://toreal.blogs.com/toronto/2009/11/competition-bureau-acts-to-cut-mls-fees.html">From this article in Toronto Real Estate Intelligence:</a> </p> <p> &quot;Details of a settlement have yet to be decided, but the bureau&#39;s findings are expected to have a profound impact on the real estate industry - by permitting more innovative discount brokers into the market while allowing sellers to list their properties less expensively on the Multiple Listing Service. </p> <p> With a membership of more than 96,000, Ottawa-based CREA is the largest real estate organization in Canada and represents the majority of the nation&#39;s Realtors. </p> <p> &quot;The Bureau is concerned that CREA&#39;s rules have restricted consumer choice and limited the scope of alternative business models,&quot; says an internal memo by CREA president Dale Ripplinger. &quot;Unfortunately, the Bureau seems to believe that CREA&#39;s rules ... create restrictions and barriers.&quot; </p> <p> The bureau launched its investigation in 2007. Consumers have complained in the past about high realty fees and the need for more affordable services. The vendor of an average-priced $400,000 home in Toronto can pay a commission of as much as 5 per cent, or $20,000. </p> <p> &quot;This is absolute, total vindication,&quot; says Lawrence Dale, an owner of now-defunct Realtysellers, a Toronto-based discount broker that closed in 2006. &quot;Once they&#39;ve reached their settlement it means that the average guy on the street will be able to choose their real estate services and pay less for them.&quot;&quot; </p> <p> There is much more, but let me skip to the chase: i have been beating this drum for ten years: that the MLS&#39;s for the most part are doing an absolutely terrible job for their members: if you have a progressive MLS, or have opted out, here is a blueprint for successfully getting your listings out there, then using them as tombstone style ads forever bringing you traffic when they are sold: </p> <ul> <li>Have a blog and RSS feed that originate from your website, available in every possible format to cater to overseas as well as US clientele </li> <li>Blog your listings, and/or other peoples listings you want to sell </li> <li>Digg.com your blog posts (do not over-due the bookmarking sites, it can hurt you: digg.com is safe) </li> <li>Digg.com can sync with your Facebook and twitter accounts, be your own subscriber and Facebook and tweet your diggs </li> <li>Tweeting will put your stuff instantly on top of Google organic search for that day, so be thoughtful about timing, and the title of your posts, diggs (IE: location, location, location, new real estate listing) </li> <li>When it is sold, mark it sold, and leave it there to be a tombstone ad documenting your effectiveness. </li> </ul> <p> There you have it, the down and dirty skinny from yours truly! This will be very good from a trafffic building and search engine freindly point of view - and possible very unpopular with your local MLS! </p>

<p> <!-- google_ad_section_start(name=default) --> </p> <h2 class="date-header"> January 1, 2010 </h2> <p> <a name="7601494160062586268"></a> </p> <h3 class="post-title entry-title"> <a href="http://wwwyourpropertypath.blogspot.com/2010/01/housing-weak-recovery-lets-follow-money.html">Housings Weak Recovery: Lets Follow The Money</a> </h3> <p> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N17Ne7uVoXU/Sz61IARVRgI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/OFGgRLkIjuE/s1600-h/Case+Shiller+composite+01.01.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421970150516934146" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N17Ne7uVoXU/Sz61IARVRgI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/OFGgRLkIjuE/s320/Case+Shiller+composite+01.01.png" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 211px;" name="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421970150516934146" /></a><br /> </p> <p> Quarterly reports are out. NAR, Case Shiller, Consumer Confidence reports all indicate that the housing recovery is faltering to flat. Much of the Govt supports will be slowly exiting as the Fed tests the normal functions of an economy replace Federal aid. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">Residential</span> </div> <p> Case Shiller and NAR reports show continued weakness and everyone is wondering whether the recovery is waning. Case Shiller notes that the rate of decline in home prices slowed in October from the previous month, and prices remain flat after the spring and summer gains. Home price Indices of its its 10-city and 20-city composite indices declined 6.4% and 7.3%, putting home prices at 2003 levels. A flat report is not as bad as much of the last two years, but some Govt programs are being phased out. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> NAR site points out that on a month-to -month basis,only seven of the 20 cities </p> <p> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N17Ne7uVoXU/Sz601eMzG9I/AAAAAAAAA6Q/vIN34KszcP8/s1600-h/1+case+shiller3HOME-PRICES-122909.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421969832133467090" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N17Ne7uVoXU/Sz601eMzG9I/AAAAAAAAA6Q/vIN34KszcP8/s320/1+case+shiller3HOME-PRICES-122909.gif" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 320px;" name="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421969832133467090" /></a> </p> <p> showed improvement. NARs data for November showed prices down 4.3% year-over-year. Foreclosures continue to be the problem, making up 30% of the third quarter&#39;s home purchase. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> Moodys points out that there are 3 million more homes in the pipe and that another 3 million are 30-60 days late. These homes are in a foreclosure pattern. </p> <p> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">New Home Sales:</span> </p> <p> The government reported that sales of new homes dropped a sharp 11.3 percent, an indication that supply is still greater than demand. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">Apartments</span> </div> <p> The apartment market is showing signs of improvement, according to the National Multi Housing Council&#39;s latest Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions. Although the survey still indicates higher vacancies and lower rents, we see increased sales activity and greater availability of debt and equity capital compared with three months ago. </p> <p> <a href="http://yourpropertypath.com/artman2/publish/Current_Market_Conditions/Apartment_Buildings_as_Investment_Property.shtml">Apartments have long been considered the better investment</a> </p> <p> , partly because there is financing available and they didnt participate in the building boom of single family homes </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">Follow The Money</span> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009</span> </div> <p> Will pump more economic stimulus money into federally subsidized apartment units, while HUD&#39;s budget proposal for next year seeks another $1.8 billion for construction of rental housing. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">Green</span> </div> <p> HUD and the U.S. Department of Energy are working together to offer more financial incentives for owners to retrofit properties for energy efficiency. Another economic stimulus plan enacted earlier this year provided funds for green retrofits. Larger property owners of commercial buildings including apartment complexes where </p> <p> <br /> </p> <p> conservation of energy had the greatest impact. Hopefully, some of this money will trickle down to smaller owners. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">Fannie and Freddie</span> </div> </div> <p> Congress had placed a cap on spending of $200 billion dollars on each. On Christmas eve, Obama lifted the cap through 2012, giving the two quasi public institutions a blank check. I think this points very clearly to the next big wave of foreclosure that will stem from the Alt A and commercial mortgage recasts that will be coming due between now and 2012. A blank check (read big money problems) is whats next. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">The Stock Market</span> </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">REITS</span> </div> <p> The Dow Jones Equity All REIT Total Return Index is up 31% this year, reversing a 38% decline in 2008, beating the S&amp;P 500 by 25%. Given all the flat to downright ugly news still coming out it seems counter intuitive that </p> <p> <a href="http://yourpropertypath.com/artman2/publish/Current_Market_Conditions/REITS_Alternatives_To_Buying_Real_Estate.shtml">real estate funds</a> </p> <p> would be doing so well. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> They have been raising money issuing new shares and selling property whenever they can. In short, they have been raising money for whats expected to be a generational opportunity in good properties coming on the market at great prices. The ishares industrial/office and retail REITS are up 10.7% and 11.2% respectively in November/December alone. Even mortgage REITS are up 3.8% for the same period. Heres what they are looking at... </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 0);">Real Estate Rubble</span> </div> <p> Bloomberg reports that commercial property prices have fallen by 30 percent to 50 percent wiping out the equity in most debt financed real estate deals since 2005. This equals as much as 54 percent of the $1.4 trillion in loans that will come due in four years, according to Randall Zisler, chief executive officer of Zisler Capital Partners LLC (via Bloomberg News). </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> Mr. Zisler goes on to say that much of the debt is likely worth about 50 percent of par. Many banks will end up insolvent as they reduce the value of their holdings, he wrote, adding that regional and community lenders are especially vulnerable. </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> Stock markets are forward looking mechanisms and the REITS are looking passed the problem to great future buying opportunities. If the banks are holding so much bad paper, then it will be taxpayer money (those blank checks) and private investment money (REITs) likely final owners of all this real estate rubble. I know that investors will cherry pick and to drive hard deals to profit. I wonder if that leaves us, the taxpayers, to buy whats left.... Its all in the oversight </p> <p> <br /> <br /> </p> <p> Thanks for Reading </p> <p> <br /> <a href="http://www.yourpropertypath.com/">www.yourpropertypath.com</a><br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Related Articles</span><br /> </p> <ul> <li style="padding-bottom: 3px;"> <span class="general_text"><a href="http://yourpropertypath.com/artman2/publish/Current_Market_Conditions/NAR_Existing_Home_Sales_Report.shtml">NAR: Existing Home Sales Report</a></span> </li> <li style="padding-bottom: 3px;"> <span class="general_text"><a href="http://yourpropertypath.com/artman2/publish/Current_Market_Conditions/Should_You_Stop_Paying_Your_Mortgage.shtml">Should You Stop Paying Your Mortgage</a></span> </li> <li style="padding-bottom: 3px;"> <span class="general_text"><a href="http://yourpropertypath.com/artman2/publish/Current_Market_Conditions/Stock_Market_Views_On_The_Housing_Recovey.shtml">Stock Market Views On The Housing Recovery</a></span> </li> <li style="padding-bottom: 3px;"> <span class="general_text"><a href="http://yourpropertypath.com/artman2/publish/Current_Market_Conditions/Mortgage_Debt_Reductions.shtml">The Coming Mortgage Debt Reduction Programs</a></span> </li> </ul><!-- /templateDebugMode: end template: articleLists/relatedArticles.html - templateCell: articleRow --><!-- templateDebugMode: start template: articleLists/relatedArticles.html - templateCell: articleRow --><!-- /templateDebugMode: end template: articleLists/relatedArticles.html - templateCell: articleRow --><!-- templateDebugMode: start template: articleLists/relatedArticles.html - templateCell: articleRow --><!-- /templateDebugMode: end template: articleLists/relatedArticles.html - templateCell: articleRow --><!-- templateDebugMode: start template: articleLists/relatedArticles.html - templateCell: articleRow -->

<p> <a href="http://socialmediasystems.com/innovation/" title="innovation using social media" target="_blank"><img height="92" border="0" align="top" width="151" alt="" src="http://www.realtown.com/members/Israel/files/idealogo.png" /><img height="230" border="0" width="452" alt="" src="http://www.realtown.com/members/Israel/files/littlegreenmen(1).png" /><br /></a> </p> <p> It does not take a rocket scientist to understand the value, for instance, of Twitter for instant feedback on a product, service, or copy. </p> <p> But most people do not realize the value of a group like this one for market testing: case in point: we are about to launch a replacement for e-Lance and Rent-a-Coder for the buying and sell of digital media products and services of all kinds including websites, video, and marketing - all free, with nothing standing in the way of the transactions (sort of like a free dating site for business, with the best features of Linked-in, Facebook, Meetup.com. </p> <p> What Bette place to get some feedback about the initial copy and branding: your opinion please: </p> <p> <strong>Welcome to Ideapals: Bringing passionate people together to collaborate, innovate, and make money doing what they love:</strong> </p> <p> <strong>We have created the &#39;currency&#39; of &quot;NODS&quot;: work your passion here and get paid! Everything you do around here earns NODs (Natural Overtures Of Distinction) and we have placed a value on the currency of NODs: Whenever you have an idea, an opinion, a comment, a friend, or what we call a &#39;spark&#39;, and you share it: you get paid in NODs!</strong> </p> <p> Innovation and acknowledgment are the bricks and motor, the raw materials with which an idea, a group, or a community are formed. </p> <p> Buy bringing together in the simplest way possible the best features from top social media sites, using the hottest, newest &#39;open source&#39; (free) software (LAMP+AD, or LAMPAD: Linux,Apache,My Sequal,PHP,Aquia,Drupal &#39;the new stack&#39;) we bring to you in one free, online application, the best features of: </p> <ul> <li>Linkedin (HR) </li> <li>Twitter (Global Chat) </li> <li>Facebook (Friends) </li> <li>Basecamp (Project management) </li> <li>Meetup(Social Networking in person) </li> <li>ActiveRain (Niche Community Affinity Blog) </li> </ul> <p> <strong>You could win a $50,000 marketing campaign and Modern Social Website for your business for just for signing up here for free! Here is what we will give away:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Absolutely FREE Aquia Drupal elaborate, custom website: </li> <li>Complete with Branding, Grapics, custom Functions, </li> <li>Public Realations </li> <li>Video in HD and Web-ready formats distributed to the world on multiple video sharing sites </li> <li>SEO (search engine optimization) * SEM (search engine marketing) </li> <li>Premium, dedicated, unlimited Hosting for one year </li> <li>Link building and other advertising including </li> <li>A premium video advertisement added at the end of the 56 week Crowd Driven Series we are about to Release (mob-Mentality Logo) You will also have the chance to win may other prizes and upgrades including: </li> <li>Free websites </li> <li>Free hosting </li> <li>Free upgrades </li> <li>Free advertising </li> <li>Free video production </li> <li>Free project management </li> <li>Free CRM </li> <li>Free mass email campaign And many other incentives just for participating, collaborating, even soliciting: </li> </ul> <p> You will automatically have chances to win the Grand Prize and other prizes without doing anything but signing up: but you will also be compensated here for: Actions <strong>you get NODs for</strong>: </p> <ol> <li>Authoring the best reply - 5 NODs </li> <li>Commenting on Sparks (ideas), IdeaPals groups, - 5 NODs </li> <li>Invite other people - 5 NODs each </li> <li>When invited user registers - 50 NODs each </li> <li>When you register if you were invited - 50 NODs </li> <li>Moderation - Approve - 1 NOD </li> <li>Moderation - Delete - 1 NOD </li> <li>Moderation Response -5 NODs </li> <li>Viewing IdeaPals Group, Spark - 1 NOD 1 </li> <li>Registering - 25 NODs </li> <li>Posting an IdeaPals Free Group - 50 NODs </li> <li>Posting a Spark (idea) - 10 NODs </li> <li>Moderating a comment - 1 NOD </li> <li>Posting a picture - 10 NODs </li> <li>Voting up or down - 1 NOD </li> <li>Flagging - 1 NOD </li> </ol> <address> <strong>Please rate the following features 1-10 (10 is best) for 25 pre-nods and a chance to win the prizes above:</strong> </address> <address> </address> <ol> <li> <address> Graphics </address> </li> <li> <address> Concept </address> </li> <li>Copy </li> <li>Anything else that you would like to add </li> <li>Role, if any, that you would play in our launch (IE: Beta Tester, Partner, Vendor, Reseller, User, Buyer, Seller) </li> </ol> <address> </address> <address> </address>

<p> <br /> I was inactive on Networking since last Saturday so I can prepare going to Las Vegas for a real estate seminar/training. I am finally done and feel supercharged to get a ton of leads and business from now until the end of next year.<br /> <br /> While I was doing prospecting during the training, I got leads that have properties in Ohio, Georgia, New York, and other states, but since I am only licensed in California, I can&#39;t sell those properties or help those buyers. I would rather trade them for some referrals in my area in California or get a referral fee and I believe agents from other states would like the same.<br /> <br /> Even though I have more than 2500 agents, buyers, sellers, and investors in my network that would not be enough to cover all over US. Therefore I want to see if any individual would like to join my LinkedIn group by sending me an invite. My linkedin account is http://www.linkedin.com/in/songsan. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/songsan2000<br /> <br /> I have created my agent website at http://www.a2zproperties.net where I have been getting buyers and sellers all over the US inquiring about properties. We can connect there as well.<br /> <br /> I am putting a final touch to my overall real estate website and will have it live in about a week and could send a link to everyone on my LinkedIn group so we can all start networking and getting leads and referrals. These would be much easier to convert to clients than from cold calls or door-knocking.<br /> </p>

<p> <a href="http://socialmediasystems.com/rothmanguide/files/2009/11/laddersteps.jpg"><img width="177" height="244" alt="laddersteps" src="http://socialmediasystems.com/rothmanguide/files/2009/11/laddersteps.jpg" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-351" title="laddersteps" /></a> </p> <p> Once somebody has found your website by way of a search or a link, and they have clicked on your URL, they have already approved the Name of your blog: The most important aspect of Internet marketing is crafting the message your blog as a whole tells a first time visitor; sometimes even before they read past the first line. This message comes from the title of your blog, the individual post title, the graphics, and the name. Marketing has many steps, but the most important is determining what message to send and to whom. </p> <ul> <li>What is your story? </li> <li>What does your blog title say and mean? </li> <li>What does your post title say? </li> <li>What do your graphics and message all say together when someone sees them for the very first time? </li> <li>What does your blog message say to it&#39;s reader? </li> </ul> <p> I&#39;m going to give some very specific examples, but before I go into some real life and hypothetical examples, I&#39;m going to clarify something: I&#39;m not just talking about making your website look pretty; <strong>in fact, you can have a very successful website that is ugly or plain and still have beautiful marketing, but that look will have to play into your message, and different looks, different ideas, and different trust factors can add strength to, or kill your ability to market your blog.</strong> Let&#39;s illustrate this with some hard examples: If all the websites could all contain the same article, which one gets read, which one gets put on the social networks, gets bookmarked, gets voted for on digg.com and stumbleupon.com, and gets all the attention online? Now I will give you a specific example of that paradox in context to bring together the overall connection between post, blog, and what message the reader will put together from the combination of thereof. Note that all the examples involve generalization; however, I think you&#39;ll understand exactly what I&#39;m talking about with these hypothetical situations: with the question above (which one gets the attention online): </p> <p> <a target="_blank" title="The Rothman Guide to building successful websites" href="http://socialmediasystems.com/rothmanguide/internet-marketing-crafting-the-message-part-1/">&gt;&gt;Read more here at The Rothman Guide Free E-book&gt;&gt;</a> </p>

<p> I hope you have all heard about VirtualReBarCamp where 28 different speakers will be presenting 45minute presentation about technologies that can benefit real estate agents. Go to <a style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(28, 77, 144); text-decoration: none;" href="http://virtualbarcamp.com/register/">http://virtualbarcamp.com</a> to find out more and register. You do not want to miss out on this. It is being held on January 4th and it&#39;s an online conference. Over 3000agents are estimated to be attending the event and there is no reason why you should not be one of them. Please pass this on to your brokers and colleagues and let&#39;s go for 4000agents. </p> <p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0.7em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px;"> Twitter: @ListingMoves for any questions </p> <p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0.7em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px;"> Matt Johnson </p> <p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0.7em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.7em; margin-left: 0px;"> Warm wishes </p> <p> <br /> </p>

<p> Sweet lies: it never ceases to amaze me: </p> <p> Lies like &quot;just use your website as a billboard, it does not need real content&quot; are sooo easy to sell to agent! </p> <p> Crazy business, with many vendors who fund these publications by selling to the nearly 90 of you every year who will not make it in business, but will drop a bundle while you are here. </p> <p> I, and certain others around here on the other side, are living proof that nobody ever got rich by telling the truth. </p> <p> At this time of Christmas, it is good to remember how we treat the truth around here! </p> <p> If you are buying from someone who wants you to pay $300 per month for a dead website with almost no functionality where all the visitors will bounce: consider that you can have a full featured site for free, that will rank on top of the search engines and generate leads for you, instead of having to pay per lead or per click. </p> <p> Yes it will take some effort on your part: do you really want the truth? </p> <p> It is here: </p> <p> <a href="http://socialmediasystems.com/rothmanguide/">How to build and market a website from start to finish</a>.. Oh yea, it is free. </p> <p> But even when it is free, some of you do not want to hear the truth. </p> <div style="border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" id="TixyyLink"> Comments? I can promise you that if it is the truth, it will be very un-popular with some. But it is still the truth. </div> <p> </p>

<p> <strong><span class="mceItemHidden">Using the Power of <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace.</span>com and Social Media to Get More Online Traffic and Home Sales</span><br /> <br /> <br /></strong>There is no question at this point as we reach the year of 2010 that social media websites are fast becoming a source for getting large amounts of traffic and also generating home sales.<br /> <br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">I have seen some great articles on ActiveRain, <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Realtown</span> and other real estate portals showcasing the benefits of using social media websites and since I use them as well I want to point out some things to do in this article with <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com.</span><br /> <br /> <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com may well be known as an &quot;old school&quot; social media platform but they are also one of the most powerful. In Sept 2009 they were still ranked as the top website in the world for getting traffic and they are fast trying to improve their business model to keep up with Facebook and Twitter.</span><br /> <br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">I have been using <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com to get traffic and leads for my vacation rental and hotel business and have great success using it in a host of different ways.</span><br /> <br /> I have provided a video link at the bottom of this article which will also provide this information<br /> in more detail. </p> <p> <strong><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com Tips for Success</span></strong>!<br /> <br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">1. When setting up a <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com profile page make sure you take all the links from your existing website and place them on your profile. This is essential for success since it provides the same functionality as if they came on your real estate website meaning they can do a home search, sign up for auto email, do a <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">CMA</span> request or get some local information and photos for the local area you service.</span><br /> <br /> 2. When setting up a profile page set it up to feature the area you live as the primary point of Interest.<br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">This means that if you are an agent who works in San Diego focus the profile page on &quot;Pacific Beach&quot; or &quot;La <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Jolla</span>&quot; and not on yourself personally. This will bring in much more traffic and leads since community based web pages are ones that people use to associate with where they live, or want to live and you will be added into &quot;Top Friends&quot; sections much faster. You are best off setting up a second profile page for yourself as an agent and then cross linking the 2 profile pages together.</span><br /> <br /> 3. Anytime you get a &quot;new friend&quot; post a comment on their website saying thank you with a nice photo of the local area and a link back to your real estate website. The text should read &quot;For More Information on Pacific Beach including over 2,500 homes for sale visit &quot;My website.com&quot;.<br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">Remember that social media works on a viral marketing concept and this is very important for getting traffic to your website and also your <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com profile page.</span><br /> <br /> 4. Post all listings and local news articles on the Myspace.com blog section<br /> I cannot stress how important this is an even if you do not have a ton of friends you can still get great value out of your profile page by using the free blogging platform. I did an experiment a while back and yanked out all of my Pacific Beach articles out of my <a href="http://www.socalbeachesblog.com/"><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">www</span>.<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">socalbeachesblog</span>.com</span></a> and posted them on my <a href="http://www.myspace.com/pacificbeachonline"><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">www</span>.<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">myspace</span>.com/<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">pacificbeachonline</span></span></a><span class="mceItemHidden"> profile page and found that in one week I got an extra 600+ visitors. Not bad for one weeks worth of traffic and a great way to increase my exposure with articles I have already written. The <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com blogs get <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">spidered</span> quick by Google and the more content you drop in these blogs the better - Also make sure you put links back to your other real estate websites as this will help you build inbound links and help with the <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">SEO</span> of your other websites.</span><br /> <br /> 5. Put a ton of photos into your profile page<br /> I am not sure how many times I have said this or what I need to say to get the point across that this is super important for a success profile page and also helping your real estate website get more traffic.<br /> Good photo content of the local area is what makes the profile page take off with visitors and it also helps get more visitors into your main real estate website. Use the photo content to sell your area as a great place to live and include photos of beaches, golf courses, downtown settings, parks, flowers, scenic views, local events, birds and animals, historic buildings, etc........You must have good photo content to get people wanting to come to and network in with your website.<br /> <br /> 6. Index as much video content into your profile as well. Myspace.com will deliver a ton of traffic and friend requests to your profile page if you have video content on your profile. Include videos of listings, parks, downtown areas, shopping etc.... anything that is part of your area.<br /> <br /> 7. Start &quot;Adding friends&quot; and build up your profile page to 500 friends in 30 days<br /> <span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com allows you to add friends based on demographics for your area so you can add people in a certain age group, zip code, profession - by using the search profiles section, etc.....you need about 500 friends to get the ball rolling and start getting exposure. Once done you will start getting people coming to you and you can minimize or quit doing this altogether as I have.</span><br /> <br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">8. Set <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">up </span>&quot;Top Friend&quot; alliances</span><br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">The top friends section is where people can showcase their favorite friends and getting added in here can get your profile to take off with minimal effort. <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">This</span> is why photo content is so important and why you need to focus your first profile page on an area and not yourself - it will increase your ability to get added in these spots. Community profile pages are in high demand and there are not many good ones online.</span><br /> <br /> Make sure your personal info is on the page but showcase good photos of the area first.<br /> <br /> Email profiles of local restaurants, events, community organizations etc and ask them to do a &quot;Top Friend&quot; exchange and this will greatly help you in getting traffic.<br /> <br /> I did a top friend exchange with MAXIM Magazine for my <a href="http://www.myspace.com/socalbeachesmagazine"><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">www</span>.<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">myspace</span>.com/<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">socalbeachesmagazine</span></span></a><br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">profile page and now I get an extra 25 friend requests per day plus I picked up 2 paid photo shoot gigs from it - just one of many connections I have made for a group of online business models I market with <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com in addition to getting hotel and vacation rental business.</span> </p> <p> <strong><span class="mceItemHidden">Summary and video link</span></strong> <br /> <br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">I have gotten great results from using <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com and have 12 profile pages built - one for each beach city in Southern California that I do vacation rentals or hotel reservations in. To date I have gotten over 800,000 FREE page views and many of my <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com profile pages rank in Google along with the blog posts etc.....</span><br /> <br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">Social Media websites like <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com are extremely powerful to use but you need a game plan and an outline on what to do to get them working so you spend as little time as possible having to &quot;add friends&quot;.</span><br /> <br /> For more information you can check out a video I did on Myspace.com for a friend at Dig Marketing<br /> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1thIPi8ios"><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">http</span>://<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">www</span>.<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">youtube</span>.com/watch?v=u1thIPi8<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">ios</span></span></a> </p> <p> <strong>For more free marketing tips and information<br /> sign up for my free newsletter at</strong><br /> <a href="http://www.milliondollarhomesellingsystem.com/"><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">www</span>.<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">milliondollarhomesellingsystem</span>.com</span></a> </p> <p> If you need help marketing your real estate business online<br /> <span class="mceItemHidden">including setting up a <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Myspace</span>.com <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">webpage</span> / account</span><br /> feel free to contact me at <a href="mailto:getinfo@san.rr.com"><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">getinfo</span>@<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">san</span>.<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">rr</span>.com</span></a><br /> <br /> Best wishes to your success!<br /> <br /> Sean Callahan<br /> <a href="http://www.realestatemarketingnerds.com/"><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">www</span>.<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">realestatemarketingnerds</span>.com</span></a><br /> <a href="http://www.milliondollarhomesellingsystem.com/"><span class="mceItemHidden"><span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">www</span>.<span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">milliondollarhomesellingsystem</span>.com</span></a><br /> <br /> </p>

<p> <strong>Fixing up and Updating Your Website - Tips for Better Results!</strong> </p> <p> There are a lot of things a person can do to get better results<br /> from online marketing but one thing which is essential before even<br /> looking at marketing techniques is to make sure the website will do a good job capturing leads when traffic is sent to it. </p> <p> A vast majority of websites still do a poor job capturing contact information and this makes selling a homes online very difficult if your website does not convert traffic into leads. </p> <p> When looking at things to do when fixing up a real estate website there are a few key things that need to be looked at to evaluate how good your website captures elads and ranks in search engines. </p> <p> Here are a few things to look at to see if your website is formatted for lead capture. </p> <p> <strong>1. Make sure your home search feature comes up on the top of the website landing page</strong> and immediately identifies the markets you service. </p> <p> Example: &quot;Welcome to Texas Homes Website - Search the MLS for homes in the Dallas area including Flower Mound, Lewisville, Carrolton, Grapevine, Highland Village and the North Dallas Texas area.<br /> <br /> You also want to advertise the fact that your website is a one stop shop to find listings so saying something like &quot;MLS home search&quot; or &quot;Search over 5,000 home listings&quot; etc... is also very imporatant. </p> <p> <strong>2. Make sure you identify and get keywords out for the types of properties you sell<br /></strong>I am in San Diego that would be something like this: Find new construction homes, oceanfront real estate, beach homes, condos, vacation homes, forclosure listings, investment property and luxury real estate </p> <p> - You must include in text the words you want to rank in Google under so make sure you identify the type of real estate you sell....it is a little different in each market....... </p> <p> <strong>3. Advertise Free Lists for Foreclosure Listings<br /></strong>This is important because although many people think they want a foreclosure many will still end up buying a resale home because of the great prices now available.<br /> &quot;Foreclosures&quot; are an important buzzword right now so prompt people to email or call you for a list of foreclosure properties. This is something many buyers are looking for so let them know you can help them. </p> <p> <strong>4. Get an auto email sign up link on the top of the home page</strong> and give people the chance to get new listings by email. </p> <p> <strong>5. Get your CMA request formatted at the top of the home page</strong> and<br /> describe it an explain the benefits since many people have no idea<br /> what a &quot;CMA request&quot; is. </p> <p> Example:<br /> Attention Home Sellers - Find out what your San Diego area home is worth....go in and explain the service and provide a link. </p> <p> <strong>6. Make sure the title lines and headlines have keywords in them</strong> and NOT THE NAME of the agent. If you want a website to rank in the search engines then you need keywords in the title lines and headlines. Ranking in Google under your personal name is easy to do so do not waste precious space on the website title lines for personal names or slogans. </p> <p> <strong>7. Make sure you only have 4 - 6 keyword phrases max in the &quot;keywords / metatag&quot; section</strong> of the website. This is perhaps the most abused section of the website since most sites have at least 10-15+ keywords in them and many are generic and not useful like &quot;Realtor&quot; real estate&quot; &quot;homes&quot; etc....you want to have keywords like &quot;san diego ca home for sale&quot; &quot;real estate for sale san diego&quot; etc....... </p> <p> <strong>8. Put some good local information, links and photos on the home page</strong><br /> The more local information and resources you put on the home page the better it ranks in search engines and the more reasons people have to come back and visit the website.<br /> Remember many people will be relocating so provide them with some helpful links and information on places to visit, parks and recreation, relocation links etc...... </p> <p> <br /> Here are some things you do not want your site to do: </p> <p> <strong>1. You don&#39;t want a Flash presentation on the 1st landing page with an &quot;ENTER&quot; button</strong> to get to the main real estate resources. This was big a few years ago but more webmasters and real estate website companies realize this is not conducive for capturing leads. </p> <p> <strong>2. You don&#39;t want a website template that has huge generic images at the top that push the main lead capturing tools to the middle or bottom of the website</strong>. If the website tools are so low people have to scroll down to get themyou are going to have problems converting traffic into leads! This is one of the biggest problems with real estate websites is that many of the templates sacrifice the lead capturing tools for over sized images that push the main lead capturing tools to the middle or the bottom of the page. If people have to scroll to get to your home search feature or find the markets you service you are fighting an uphill battle getting leads. </p> <p> <strong>3. You do not want to rely on a button that says &quot;Home Search&quot; to sell the benefits and features of your website.</strong> If you do not mention &quot;search the MLS&quot; find over 10,000 homes&quot; etc....you are really hurting the conversion rate of your website. </p> <p> You have to remember that people need to see the keywords they typed in within 5-8 seconds to keep them on the landing page. </p> <p> So if they type in &quot;Pacific Beach condo for sale&quot; they should see right away that you have Pacific Beach inventory and that there are condo listings available. </p> <p> Much of this information comes from Google since they know if you do not get results from Google Adwords and their pay-per-click service you will not be a customer with them for long. Pay per click search engine marketing works great if you have a website<br /> that captures leads. </p> <p> If you have what I call a &quot;fluff and puff&quot; website that is all geared on flash or generic images and does not get the main information people want formatted and explained then pay-per-click search engine marketing is a negative experience. </p> <p> If you can fix up your website and follow some of these basic marketing tips then you can start getting much better results from all the marketing you are doing. </p> <p> <strong>The bottom line is that if your website is not formatted correctly and does a poor job capturing leads there is not any marketing programs that will help you get consistant results or sell a home a month+ online.</strong> </p> <p> Since I started off doing pay-per-click marketing 10 years ago and fell flat on my face I know all the wrong things to do and I know that after setting up thousands of Google Adwords and Yahoo Search Marketing accounts these tips I have provided will greatly help you capture more leads and get much better results! </p> <p> REMEMBER The goal of the website is to convert traffic into contact information. Most real estate websites capture 1% of the traffic that comes in and that is not good. You need 40 leads on average to sell a home. With a 1% capture rate you will need 4,000 visitors on average to get the leads you need to sell a home and that is why most agents sell 2-4 homes per year online.<br /> <br /> The sites I work with and fix up and work with capture around 10% of their traffic and these real estate agents only need about 400 targeted visitors (not 4,000) to get the same results.<br /> <br /> BIG DIFFERENCE and the reason why formatting a website for conversion is so important! </p> <p> <strong>For more free marketing tips, videos and advice sign up for my free marketing newsletter at</strong><br /> <span><span><a href="http://www.milliondollarhomesellingsystem.com/"><font color="#1E77B9">www</font></a><span><span><a href="http://www.milliondollarhomesellingsystem.com/"><font color="#1E77B9">.milliondollarhomesellingsystem.com</font></a></span></span></span></span> </p> <p> If you want a free consultation on your real estate website email me at <span><span><a href="mailto:getinfo@san.rr.com"><font color="#1E77B9">getinfo</font></a><span><span><a href="mailto:getinfo@san.rr.com"><font color="#1E77B9">@san.rr.com</font></a> and I can set up a time to go over that with you by phone.</span></span></span></span> </p> <p> If you want your website fixed up and dialed in for lead capture and SEO help email or call me at 858-731-7278 858-731-7278 and I can provide a quote - the rates for a real estate website overhaul / update are normally between $197-$247. </p> <p> Best wishes to your success! </p> <p> Sean Callahan<br /> <span><span><a href="http://www.realestatemarketingnerds.com/"><font color="#1E77B9">www</font></a><span><span><a href="http://www.realestatemarketingnerds.com/"><font color="#1E77B9">.realestatemarketingnerds.com</font></a> <br /> <span><span><a href="http://www.milliondollarhomesellingsystem.com/"><font color="#1E77B9">www</font></a><span><span><a href="http://www.milliondollarhomesellingsystem.com/"><font color="#1E77B9">.milliondollarhomesellingsystem.com</font></a><br /> <span><span><a href="http://www.recessionproofhomebiz.com/"><font color="#1E77B9">www</font></a><span><span><a href="http://www.recessionproofhomebiz.com/"><font color="#1E77B9">.recessionproofhomebiz.com</font></a><br /> <span><a href="http://www.socalbeachmag.net/"><font color="#1E77B9">www</font></a><a href="http://www.socalbeachmag.net/"><font color="#1E77B9">.socalbeachmag.net</font></a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </p> <p> (858) 731-7278 <br /> <a href="mailto:getinfo@san.rr.com"><font color="#1E77B9">getinfo@san.rr.com</font></a> </p>