In this recent post, I shared with you how to get clients from the internet even without your own website.  And I gave you a list of places to post your information (eight to be exact!) that are certain to get visitors.

Today, I want to reveal the ultimate place online to connect with local prospects without needing your own site.  This ONE online destination is now the “center” of my online marketing universe.  And I’ll show you how to quickly tap into this “non-stop party of prospects”…ready to spread the word about your services…

It’s getting a lot of buzz, but few know how to truly make money from this site…

How To Leverage The Money-Making Potential of

TWITTER To Bring You Business

You may already have a Twitter account.  But there’s a good chance you’ve missed one or more of the critical steps I’m about to explain on how to set up a Twitter profile to bring you clients.

If you don’t have a Twitter account, well it’s your lucky day, because this is your chance to jump in and start profiting within the next few minutes!  Let’s get started…

STEP 1:  How To Sign-Up For Twitter In Under 5 Minutes

STEP 2:  How To Set Up Your Account Like a “Twitter Twenius”

That’s Twitter-speak for “Genius”!

You need to optimize FIVE areas of your profile on Twitter…

A. Real Name and User Name

Invest some forethought into your Twitter username.  I needs to be 15 characters or less; so make it short, memorable, relevant, personable, and easy to spell.  You will also be able to associate a 20 character (max) REAL NAME with your username.  If you are a local business or if you use an 800 hotline service, it may be possible to incorporate that phone number in the real name.  You could also categorize what you do as part of your real name.  This is a very visible part of the Twitter system…choose wisely.

B. Location

Make sure you add your LOCATION, in other words, where on earth are you located? Unless you are intentionally hiding-out from the FBI or debt collectors, a Twitter location is highly recommended.  If you are using your account for a local business, adding a very specific location can be extremely beneficial.  People seek local connections…make it easy for them to find and follow you.

C. “One Line Bio”

Definitely optimize your 160 character BIO which appears on the upper right of your Twitter profile page.  It does not have to be a typical bio, it can be an interesting message or statement if you prefer.  In most cases the goal of the bio line is to get the reader to think you are “follow worthy.”  Make it real, make it fun, make it interesting, make it YOU.  Literally make your bio in to Twitter “follow bait.”  If you are fishing for followers, the better the bait, the more followers you’ll catch.

D. Picture

Make your personal picture (icon) a good one – in fact, make it great!  Twitter is driven by personalities, so use a picture that expresses the “personality message” you want to get across.  Logo’s, text, and images without humans or animals are often too business-like and restrain the driving social force that propels Twitter.

E. Background

Upload a really interesting BACKGROUND (Twitter wallpaper image) under the “Design” tab of your Twitter set-up admin area.  Here are 2 great places to look for backgrounds:

STEP 3:  How To Create a “Twitter Convincer Page” To Get Followers

Do not think that just because Twitter asks for your web address in the settings account area with the silly question, “Have a homepage or a blog?”, that this means you must put in your current web site or blog URL?  In fact, in many cases that is NOT a good idea.

To get started you can link to your web site or blog.  But what’s even better is to enter a URL to a dedicated page made specifically to greet, excite, or manifest interest from the people that will be investigating that link.  It’s literally like a landing page (what I call a “Twitter Convincer Page”) and in should be designed to get people to follow you.

STEP 4:  How To “Tweet” Interesting Topics To Get Listeners and Leads

What do you tweet about (post to Twitter)?  Ah, that’s the magical part.  Now granted, what you post depends largely on your goals and purpose with Twitter, but in general this is easy… post:  interesting stuff, preferably related in some way to what you do, who you are, and what you (and your followers) are interested in.

Spend some time exploring other Twitter tweets and personalities.  Listen to the conversations.  Observe and take notes.   What do you like, what don’t you like?  Try to ferment in your mind (and yes, a beer or glass of wine might actually help here) a “style” of Twittering that you like.  Maybe you find someone’s style you can mimic or perhaps you create a “mash-up” style that’s all you.

Congratulations!  Your Twitter account is set-up like a true Twitter “Twenius!”  Here’s an example of what your profile might look like… http://twitter.com/MSeiders

Set up your Twitter account today to get involved in the social media “cocktail party” going on right now in your local area to maximize your exposure and grow your income.

See you soon!

[Ed. note:  To get more money-making Twitter Tips... Follow Dan on Twitter @dhollings.  The above article is adapted from Dan's “100 Twitter Tips” e-book.  To get access to all 100 tips along with:  1) A 90-Minute “Twenius Starter Teleseminar”, 2) A Live 60-minute “Twitter Q & A Session” and 3) A 90-Minute Intensive “Twitter For Real Estate Professionals ”Specific Training Session... click here.]

Everyone these days is telling you to get a blog.  But is it right for you?  Or if you already have one…how do you avoid getting suckered in by the biggest lie involving real estate blogs?

In this article I’ll give you the skinny on how to use a blog for your real estate business…and quickly attract high-quality clients from the web.

A blog is nothing more than an easy place to post regular content on a focused topic.  Somewhat like keeping a journal, only publicly where others can see it.  And you’ll want to post more valuable stuff than just your thoughts (more on that in a minute).

Blogs have become popular for TWO primary reasons:  1) they are easy to set-up and maintain (even by non-techies), and 2) unlike a web site, a blog “talks” to various other sites and search engines in a way that creates automatic marketing and exposure for you.

Every time you make a new post to your blog, it will PING (techie-language for “talk to”) various other sites and search engines – thereby creating a “buzz” about what you are posting.

This is important because if you only have web site, you could be missing out on a lot of free traffic (and new clients) that search engines will give to regularly-updated blogs.

Search engines love the fresh content posted on blogs because it’s their job to serve up relevant and timely content to the searcher.  And if you keep you content focused on real estate in your local area, they’ll gladly reward you with a high search ranking…netting you more exposure and more business—that is, if you avoid…

What is the biggest lie you’ve been fed about using a blog?

That it should be about YOU!

Yes, a blog should be PERSONAL…it should give visitors a feel for your personality and uniqueness.  But its content should focus on your prospect…in this case your blog visitor.

What are they are looking for?  What real estate information did they click on your blog to find?  And how do you best help them with their real estate problems?

You become helpful to blog visitors by posting quality, local real estate information that gives them a flavor of what’s happening around them.  Especially by sharing updates on changing property values.

Keep these questions in mind to build a blog that gets noticed, gets repeat visitors, and makes you money.

Now that we’ve cleared up the confusion…can you save time by blogging or is it a waste of time?  And how do you get started – or know you’ve set up your blog to pull in clients?  I’ll show you how to get this done with the right tools in 4 simple steps…

STEP 1:  Choose A Blog Platform That Is Easy To Use

If I didn’t mention it yet, rest assured, blogs are FREE!  There are several blogging systems (or ‘platforms’) you might consider, but the quickest and easiest one is…

POSTEROUS (You can learn more by going to http://posterous.com/faq)

If you can write an email to yourself, then you can have a blog!  Posterous is by far the easiest platform to use a blog.  All you do is email them and their online system posts to your blog for you.  Their service is FREE and makes your blog look professional (with no web designer fees, and no programs to learn).

Here’s an example blog post I did so you can see how my blog looks:

http://danhollings.posterous.com/twitter-invented-in-1935-who-w

Real estate blog tip:  With Posterous, you can take a bunch of pictures of a new listing, email them to yourself as attachments, and Posterous will automatically put the images on your blog in a great looking “slide show”.  Talk about a huge time-saver.

Here are two other easy-to-use (and free!) blog platforms you could also investigate:

• Blogger  https://www.blogger.com/start
• Wordpress  http://wordpress.org/

STEP 2:  Set Up Your Blog To Attract  Local Prospects

What do you put on your blog before you start posting content?  As I mentioned…your blog should be about your site visitor (your prospect), but you do need to include a few tid-bits about yourself, what you do, where you do it, etc.

Here’s a checklist of initial items to add to your blog:

• Testimonials
• Reviews of local places
• Helpful resources area
• Your photo (perhaps a family photo)
• …and a BIO about yourself (should make you sound professional and knowledgeable, but not a know-it-all or uppity expert)

CRITICALLY IMPORTANT:  Add your LOCAL keywords, terms and phrases with your bio and services description, and in a natural way.  Especially your CITY and local area paired with real estate terms.

Above all, your blog should be a friendly and helpful place that visitors come for local real estate information.  You should have a way for visitors to contact you.  And also an easy-to-see OFFER to join a newsletter or get some valuable report in exchange for an email address.

Once you get a visitor’s email address… you can send them notices about updates to your blog or follow up with the information they requested, and start to build a relationship.  If you don’t offer something to visitors, they may never come back to your blog and you’ve missed out on business.

STEP 3:  Post Great Content To Convert Visitors To Clients

Here’s where blogs really save you time.  If you had to add a new page to your web site every time you wanted to post news about the local real estate market, you’d have to create the page, send it to a designer (or take the time to do it yourself if you know how), and then upload it to your site.  This can take days.

If you’re using the right blog platform, all you have to do is login, write up your content, and press “send” (or “publish”)…and it’s now live to the world.

What types of content do you post do your blog?  Here are a few ideas…

• Local (and some national) market news
• Local events
• Real estate tips and how-to articles

Remember to lightly pepper your posts with KEYWORDS, TAGS, and LOCATIONS with every blog post.  Yes, there are umpteen other “strategies” and things you should do to make it an “authority blog” – but you can get lost in that for weeks and my goal is to get you going.

How often should you post?  As a general rule, make a post at least once a week to maximize the full search engine benefits of blogs.

STEP 4:  Add TAGS to Your Blog For Maximum Visibility

You are likely familiar with Google (as a search engine), but blogs have their own search engines.  One great blog search engine is called Technorati and if you post to your blog, you’ll likely show up in numerous such blog related sites here.

To make sure your blog shows up in the right CATEGORIES in blog-specific search engines, you can add TAGS to every new post.  These clarify what a particular post is about   Instructions for using TAGS are at this link:  Technoriti Tags

At this point you may be asking, “So what do I do with my web site?  I say forget it.  Blogs are cheaper, faster, and work better at bringing you clients from the web.

If you already have a website – use it as another place to put your business profile and give you credibility.  If you don’t have a web site – get started online with a free blog service.  Either way, your blog should be your central “hub” where people learn about you and what you can do for them.

Start implementing the 4-steps in this article and you will quickly be “up-and-running”…dominating search results for your local area, connecting with more prospects, and harvesting more business from the web – while spending a fraction of the time money most spend on traditional web sites.

Happy blogging!

How would you like to get new business from the web WITHOUT having a web site?

Sounds impossible, I know.  But stay with me for a few minutes.  I’ll show you how to get clients from the internet by posting your information at eight FREE places online that are certain to get visitors.

If you’ve been following my internet strategies for real estate professionals, and did your homework, you’ll be ready to get found online by your prime prospects.

When we last left off, I explained how to round out your list of localized KEYWORDS, TAGS, and LOCATIONS.  And now it’s time to take those lists and set up some simple web pages in various spots that get found online.

The “operative“ word in the last sentence was “VARIOUS“ and the missing word was SITE.  You first need to set up several PAGES in specific locations (you’ll find out where below).  And you can save setting up a full-blown SITE for last – if you already have a site, that’s fine, we’ll address that later.

Worry not…setting up pages online is easy.  In fact, it’s as fun as a family fishing trip…

You’re about to go fishing on a big pond called the “Internet“ but you’re not going deep, you’re staying in the shallow local waters.  Think of your PAGES as your “bait and hook“ while your SITE (or even your blog or an 800 hotline) will be your boat.  You’ll use various forms of bait and most will have a line back to your boat.

GOOD NEWS

Unlike the early years of the internet when you needed to have a programmer, a designer, and a pot of money… today, with WEB 2.0 opportunities everywhere, you can set up web pages quickly and without paying a cent.

Web 2.0 is many things by definition, but at its core is the concept that YOU are a content creator and if given the ability to add or create content on someone else’s site or system, you will.  For our purposes, this is like being handed the keys to the back door of the internet’s “bait and tackle“ shop.  We can quickly and easily create all the bait (content) we want to attract schools of prospects.  I’ll show you how in 3 easy steps…

HOW TO SET UP WEB PAGES THAT GET FOUND

EVEN WITHOUT A WEB SITE

STEP 1:  Identify the TYPE of Focused Content Pages

You need to take the localized KEYWORDS, TAGS, and LOCATIONS you compiled earlier and create very focused content that you can place on several web pages.  The content you create doesn’t need to be professionally written or “scholarly“, rather it needs to be homespun, helpful, brief, in your voice and honest.

Testimonials from third party sources and clients are great to use and are very powerful.  Everything needs to be peppered with real estate related KEYWORDS and LOCATIONS.  And if the system where you are posting your information allows you to categorize your content, then you’ll use your TAGS.

Keep in mind, the content you create should be structured to FIT the type of site where you are posting it, which means it might be in a format like one of the following:

• A PARAGRAPH about what you do,
• an ARTICLE about your service benefits,
• a LIST of things you do for clients (or areas you cover, or things a homeowner might look out for),
• a REVIEW of your business
• a PHOTO of you performing your service,
• a MAP of areas you cover,
• an online “Consumer Awareness Guide,“ or
• a testimonial VIDEO you post on YouTube.

The types of content are limited only by your creativity.  The more the better, but even a little will do.  Now let’s open the back door of the internet’s “bait and tackle“ shop and start creating our bait…

STEP 2:  Create Your Focused Content Pages

The better your content the greater impact it will have on your overall strategy.  So post quality, helpful, informative stuff and not just “promotional“ material!  If appropriate, pepper in testimonials and photos.  These items will do the selling for you.

Each system will have its own rules and recommendations…it’s worth the effort to skim through tutorials, FAQs, and policy guides to assure you maximize the potential of your content.

You can search each system for other content that might be like yours (using the keywords you have on your lists)… sometimes it’ll give you ideas.  Weave everything together naturally with KEYWORDS, TAGS, and LOCATIONS.  Don’t try to ’stuff’ these terms into your content so it can’t be read by a human being.  That never works and can actually lower the search ranking of your content.

Important Tip:  Within your mix of content posts, you’ll want to create ONE central blog.  It will be the only place where it’s required to add additional content on a regular basis (this is covered more thoroughly in an upcoming article).  What we are seeking now are places where we can post ONCE (with perhaps only occasional updating required).

If your keyword list is larger, divide it into GROUPS (or what I call BUCKETS) and create separate content based on the focused/related keywords in each “bucket.“  Your content buckets could be information on your happy clients in the local area, why a person needs your services, or real estate how-to tips…

STEP 3:  Post Your Content Pages for Maximum Visibility

It’s time to set-up your pages and content in a few key locations.  The list below will get you started, but if you discover other prime spots (especially local spots) then merely add to this list.  Remember, the idea is to adjust or create your content to fit the environment where it will be placed.  Look around at each system that you find and add your content in the format, style or flavor of what you see on that site.

TWO GREAT PLACES TO START POSTING

YOUR CONTENT OR MEDIA

The examples below are not all real estate related on purpose…so as to expand your creativity

1. SQUIDOO
   http://www.squidoo.com/
   An example of a Squidoo LENS page for a Children’s Book:
   http://www.squidoo.com/ladybug-stuff/

2. HUBPAGES
   http://hubpages.com/
   An example of a HUB about Real Estate Ads:
   http://hubpages.com/hub/Real_Estate_Ads

   SIX MORE PLACES TO POST
   CONTENT OR MEDIA…

3. GOOGLE BASE
   http://base.google.com/
   An example of a GOOGLE BASE page – in this example a review of Dean Graziosi’s book:
   http://www.google.com/base/a/2575746/D4701930617138357370

4. GOOGLE PROFILE PAGE
   http://maps.google.com/help/maps/profile/index.html
   An example of a GOOGLE PROFILE page – in this example it’s me!
   http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=109843529767179534196&hl=en&gl=us

5. TUMBLR
   http://www.tumblr.com/
   An example of a TUMBLR for “to-do“ list generator:
   http://to-do-list.tumblr.com/

6. SWIKI
   http://www.eurekster.com/
   An example of a SWIKI for real estate:
   http://real-estate-foreclosures-state-by-state-swicki.eurekster.com/

7. FLICKR
   http://flickr.com/
   An example of MONTEL WILLIAMS using “bait“ for one of his “boats“:
   http://www.flickr.com/photos/8391553@N06/503947524/

8. YOUTUBE
   http://www.youtube.com/
   An example of a Rockin’ Cockatoo dancing to the Back Street Boys:
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utkb1nOJnD4

I’ve just given you eight places to post your content, get the word out about your real estate services, and harvest new business from the internet.

You can also set up a BLOG to post regular updates.  Search engines favor blogs over regular web sites, and you’ll find out why in my next article.

And boy will it be a treat for you…keep an eye out for my next article where I’ll reveal easy ways to set up a blog completely for free.  I’ll get you up and running in minutes…

See you soon!

In this article, we were brainstorming initial keywords your prospects search to find you on the web.

Today, we’ll talk about PLANTING and GROWING your keyword seeds and finalizing your preparation to get found online in 4 simple steps.  Most web designers don’t even know these insider strategies…

STEP 1:  Plant Your Seeds

The first step is to create a short list of 5 to 15 “seed” keywords. Your list might look like this one to the right:

STEP 2:  Grow Your Seeds

Next, visit the Keyword Tool below and expand your list to a solid 10 to 50 keywords and phrases that have a healthy number of searches actually occurring on a monthly basis.

Don’t assume the highest search volume keywords are the best, rather, pick the ones that truly might originate from the TYPE of customer you desire.

Explore the other tools and links all found on this page as you enter your “SEEDS” one at a time:

Click here to go to the Free Keyword Tool…

As you brainstorm keywords, keep in mind that because you will be focusing on a LOCAL market, you will most likely want to add your city, state, county, and/or zip code to the keyword phrases you compile (more on this in step 4).

What’s a “healthy” number of searches you might ask?  For now, shoot for adding keywords that have several search terms above zero.  You want to make web pages around keywords (and topics) people have an interest in and actually search to find.

STEP 3:  Add ‘TAGS’ To Your Keyword List

We do need to talk for a moment about ‘TAGS’.  Not like the ones on your clothes.  The internet variety that have become so BIG in so many ways these days.  To make it quick and easy to understand, you might think of a TAG as a one or two word keyword used to CATEGORIZE what you do or what your site or web page is about.

It’s another way that people might find your business, page, blog or site.  And here’s why it’s important…

Just as you need to know (or think about in advance) the keywords that a searcher might type into a search box, you also need to know what CATEGORY or set of TAGS best classify what you do.  These TAGS will be used more to categorize blog posts, photo’s, and other social media things you do – whereas, your keywords will be associated more with your web pages or sites.

Don’t get too hung-up thinking about why this works this way, rather let’s just move forward and while we have keywords on our mind, let’s pick a small highly focuses set of categorical TAGS so we have them ready for some blog posts and social media strategies I’ll discuss in future articles.

If you’ve just completed your keyword research, you can likely do this part off the top of your head.  Just think of 3 to 10 categories (one word to three words are best) that your service or site fits.

Your TAG LIST might resemble the one to the right (but please, create your own so you can be even more exacting… and localize as much as possible).

STEP 4:  Include Local Terms In Your Keywords

What are you in the middle of?

In other words, where the heck are you located?

What is your “service area”?  If you expect people to find you in a search engine or online, you have to PLANT the various “location” names, zips and spots directly into your listings and pages.

Only by doing this can the search engines know when and where to “deliver your page up” within the proper local SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

This step is critical and I have a couple of tools that will help make it very, very quick and easy.  What I want you to do now is create a list of every city, county, community, and ZIP code that is within a reasonable distance from your location.

Naturally, if it’s an area that you are NOT interested in getting calls or business from, you’ll exclude it.  Use the two tools below to create lists of areas you are most interested in (don’t stretch yourself too wide – focus in on your prime target areas):

1. The city and zip code part can be done with this tool:
   
   (You need only enter your ZIP and a radius in this tool – results will show at bottom)
   
   http://www.5minutesite.com/local_keywords.php

2. To help you with local county names, try this tool:
   
   http://www.naco.org/Content/NavigationMenu/About_Counties/
   Data_and_Demographics/Data_and_Demographics.htm

With our focused list of keywords, phrases, tags and locations in hand, we’re now ready to create web pages and blog pages that truly get found by our prime prospects.  Be on the lookout for my next article where I’ll show you how to create web pages with these local keywords, even WITHOUT a web site.

See you soon!