Category: Real Estate Investor Web Design

  • Wholesaling in Multiple Markets: Strategies for Explosive Growth

    Wholesaling in Multiple Markets: Strategies for Explosive Growth

    Wholesaling across multiple real estate markets doesn’t require a complex website system but rather a strategic approach where your website serves as a central hub to establish credibility, showcase local expertise, and generate leads in each target area.

    Key Takeaways

    • Create location-specific landing pages for each market you serve with targeted keywords, local imagery, and content that demonstrates your understanding of local market conditions.
    • Build trust through transparency by including testimonials from each market, clear contact information, and educational resources that establish your expertise as a wholesaler.
    • Customize your messaging with location-specific calls to action and visual branding elements that resonate with each target market while maintaining consistent overall brand identity.

    By implementing these strategic website approaches, you can transform your online presence from a static brochure into a dynamic hub that speaks directly to each market you serve, overcoming the challenges of appearing relevant and trustworthy in multiple locations.

    Table of Contents

    1. Challenges of Wholesaling in Multiple Markets
    2. Website as Your Central Hub
    3. Website Strategy for Multi-Market Wholesalers
    4. Additional Tips & Considerations
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    Imagine Sarah, a young and ambitious real estate investor. Starting in her hometown, she quickly mastered the art of wholesaling – finding undervalued properties, securing them under contract, and assigning those contracts to rehab specialists at a profit. Success came quickly, but Sarah craved more. Limited by her local market, she knew she needed to expand her horizons. Undeterred, Sarah took a calculated leap, targeting several neighboring cities with similar demographics. By leveraging a strategic online presence, she built trust with sellers in these new markets, uncovered a wider pool of deals, and ultimately scaled her wholesaling business to new heights.

    Wholesaling, the process of acquiring properties under contract and then assigning those contracts to a buyer for a fee, is a powerful strategy for generating profits in the real estate market. While success is certainly achievable by focusing on a single market, venturing into new territories offers several advantages. Diversification across economic climates reduces risk, and a wider pool of deals provides more opportunities to find hidden gems. However, expanding your reach comes with its own set of challenges. Building trust with new sellers and buyers, demonstrating local market knowledge, and appearing relevant in each area all require a strategic approach.

    This is where your website steps in as your secret weapon. By crafting a website that speaks directly to each market you serve, you can overcome these hurdles and propel your wholesaling business to new heights. Let’s dive into the specific strategies you need to implement to transform your website from a static brochure into a dynamic hub that fuels your multi-market success.

    Watch this video for deeper insights into wholesaling in multiple markets:

    How to Grow Into Multiple Markets as a Real Estate Investor

    Challenges of Wholesaling in Multiple Markets

    The potential rewards of expanding your wholesaling business to multiple markets are undeniable. Access to a wider pool of deals, diversification across economic climates, and scaling your profits are all exciting possibilities. However, venturing into new territories also presents unique challenges that require a strategic approach. Here are the key hurdles you’ll need to overcome when marketing yourself as a wholesaler across multiple locations:

    • Local Knowledge and Market Nuances: Every market has its own rhythm. Understanding local trends, pricing structures, and even legalities specific to each area is crucial for success. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. Without in-depth knowledge of, for example, average renovation costs in a particular market, you risk miscalculating your profit margins or underestimating the rehab potential of a property. This can lead to missed deals or, worse, deals that fall apart during due diligence.
    • Building Trust with Potential Buyers and Sellers in Different Areas: In the wholesaling game, trust is your currency. Sellers need to feel confident that you can deliver a qualified buyer quickly and at a fair price. Buyers need to know you have access to good deals and the expertise to navigate the closing process. Building this trust takes time and effort, especially when you’re new to a market. Without a proven track record and established relationships with local players, convincing sellers you’re the right partner can be an uphill battle.
    • Appearing Relevant and Engaged in Each Market: Wholesaling is a competitive business, and potential clients are bombarded with marketing messages. To stand out, you need to demonstrate that you’re not just a fly-by-night operator. In a new market, convincing sellers you’re genuinely interested in their area and not just here for a quick buck requires a different approach. Simply plastering your generic wholesaling website across new territories won’t cut it.

    Website as Your Central Hub

    The challenges of wholesaling across multiple markets might seem daunting, but fear not! Your website can be the key to overcoming these hurdles and transforming into a central hub for your multi-market wholesaling business. Here’s how:

    • Conquer Local Knowledge with Targeted Content:

    While you can’t be an expert on every market overnight, your website can bridge the gap. Create location-specific landing pages or blog posts dedicated to each market you operate in. These pages can showcase your understanding of the area by highlighting: * Local market trends and data (average sales prices, days on market) * Success stories of past deals you’ve closed in that specific city * Testimonials from satisfied sellers in the area * Information on local resources and programs relevant to wholesalers (investor groups, lenders)

    By providing valuable, localized content, you demonstrate a genuine interest in each market and establish yourself as a knowledgeable resource for potential clients.

    • Build Trust Through Authority and Transparency:

    Your website can be a powerful tool for building trust with potential buyers and sellers. Here’s how:

    Showcase Your Expertise: Dedicate sections of your website to educating visitors on the wholesaling process and the benefits you offer as a wholesaler. Include clear explanations of what you do, the types of properties you work with, and your typical timeline for closing deals. Consider incorporating videos or case studies to showcase your past successes and expertise.
    Testimonials and Social Proof: Positive testimonials from satisfied sellers and buyers in each market you serve are gold. Include these prominently on your website, ideally linked to the specific location pages. Social proof builds trust and demonstrates your track record of success in different territories.
    Transparency is Key: Be upfront about your contact information, service areas, and fees. Having a dedicated “Contact Us” page for each market allows potential clients to easily reach you and fosters a sense of accessibility and local presence.

    • Appear Relevant and Engaged with Tailored Messaging:

    A generic wholesaling website won’t resonate with potential clients in different markets. Here’s how to use your website to appear relevant and engaged:

    Location-Specific Calls to Action: Instead of a generic “Contact Us” form, create targeted calls to action on each landing page that speak directly to the needs of that market. For example, “Get Your Free Seller’s Report – ” or “Find Your Cash Buyer in ” will resonate more than a generic “Sell Your House Fast” option.
    Visual Branding with a Local Touch: Maintain a consistent brand identity across your website but with the flexibility to incorporate subtle visuals that resonate with each target market. This could include using local cityscapes as background images or color palettes that reflect the local aesthetic.

    By implementing these strategies, your website transforms from a static brochure into a dynamic hub that speaks directly to each market you serve. This targeted approach builds trust, showcases your expertise, and positions you as a relevant and engaged player in each area you operate.

    Website Strategy for Multi-Market Wholesalers

    Your website is the cornerstone of your multi-market wholesaling operation. Here’s how to leverage its power to attract sellers and buyers in each of your target areas:

    Content Strategy: Speak the Local Language

    • Location-Specific Landing Pages: Ditch the one-size-fits-all approach. Create dedicated landing pages or blog posts for each market you serve. Titles like “Wholesaling Houses in ” immediately grab attention and demonstrate your local presence.
    • Targeted Keywords: People searching for wholesaling services use location-specific keywords. Research and incorporate relevant keywords for each market throughout your website content. This improves your search engine ranking in each area, ensuring potential clients easily find you.
    • SEO Optimization: Don’t underestimate the power of SEO. Optimize each landing page for its specific location by incorporating local keywords naturally into the content, meta descriptions, and image alt tags. Consider exploring local SEO tools to further boost your visibility in each market.

    Visual Branding: Consistency with a Local Flair

    Maintain a consistent brand identity across your entire website. This builds recognition and trust. However, infuse your website with subtle visual elements that resonate with each target market. Think about incorporating:

    • Cityscapes or Local Landmarks: Use high-quality images of cityscapes or iconic landmarks in the background of your landing pages for each market. This creates a sense of local connection and demonstrates familiarity with the area.
    • Color Palettes: Consider using color palettes that reflect the local aesthetic. This could be a vibrant beach scene theme for a coastal market or a more muted, historical theme for a city steeped in tradition. A subtle shift in color scheme can go a long way in creating a sense of local relevance.

    Calls to Action: Make it Clear What You Want

    Don’t leave visitors guessing about what to do next. Implement clear and targeted calls to action (CTAs) on each landing page. These CTAs should speak directly to the needs of that specific market. For example, instead of a generic “Contact Us” button, use CTAs like:

    • “Get Your Free Seller’s Report – “ – This provides immediate value and positions you as a resource for motivated sellers.
    • “Find Your Cash Buyer in “ – This speaks directly to a seller’s pain point and clearly conveys your value proposition.

    Lead Capture Forms: Segment Your Audience for Tailored Communication

    Utilize separate lead capture forms on each location-specific landing page. This allows you to segment your audience by market, ensuring your communication is relevant and targeted. By capturing location data, you can personalize future emails and marketing messages, building stronger relationships with potential clients in each area.

    Additional Tips & Considerations

    Conquering the digital landscape is just one piece of the puzzle. Here are some additional strategies to solidify your presence as a multi-market wholesaler:

    • Social Media Savvy: Don’t underestimate the power of social media platforms for targeted marketing. Create separate social media profiles or pages for each market you serve. Share location-specific content, engage with local groups and influencers, and run targeted social media ad campaigns to reach motivated sellers and potential buyers in each area.
    • Building Local Relationships: While your website is a powerful tool, there’s no substitute for building relationships with local players. Network with real estate agents, attend local investor meetings, and connect with other wholesalers in each market. These connections can be a valuable source of referrals and provide valuable insights into the local market nuances.

    Conclusion: Your Website – The Hub of Your Multi-Market Success

    The challenges of wholesaling across multiple markets are real, but you can overcome them with a well-crafted website as your central hub. By implementing the strategies outlined above, you’ll create a website that speaks directly to each market you serve, showcasing your expertise, building trust, and attracting a steady stream of motivated sellers and eager buyers.

    Remember, your website is a dynamic tool, not a static brochure. Continuously update it with fresh content, analyze your website traffic for each market, and refine your approach based on the data. You can turn your multi-market wholesaling dream into a thriving reality with dedication and a strategic online presence.

  • How Many Websites Are Ideal For A Real Estate Wholesaler or Flipper?

    How Many Websites Are Ideal For A Real Estate Wholesaler or Flipper?

    house wholesaling marketing

    “Mark” tried to cram everything into one website. A page for motivated sellers, a section for buyers, private lenders… even rent to own. He said he was trying to “simplify” and save some money. But little did he know he was actually losing money every year by confusing his motivated house sellers on a website that was also pitching “discount properties”.

    Sound familiar? 

    So what should you do on your website as a real estate wholesaler or flipper?

    And this is a great question.

    We’ll dive into that in a clear and simple way in today’s blog post and answer that question based on data with the answer to this… “Whatever makes it easier and gets your ideal prospects to their desired result as quickly and as smoothly as possible in as few steps required to make the sale.”

    So, You’re Flipping Houses Or Wholesaling? What Types Of Leads Do You Need Right Now?

    You might be wondering how having more than one real estate investing website would even help.

    And that is a really valid question!

    Because, for instance, if you own a plumbing business in your local town… one website for your company is all that you need.  Right?

    So, the main thing to remember with your online marketing efforts when it comes to your website strategy is this…

    … the more focused you can make the message to the target prospect you’re going after, the better the results you’ll get.

    As the famous copywriter, Robert Collier once said…

    robert-collier-quote

    If you’re not joining that conversation in your prospect’s mind immediately… and you’re cluttering the message with things on your website not related to their problem and how you can help them… your results WILL go down.

    So going back to the local plumber scenario… if you did plumbing services and you were also an electrician and did electrical work… you have two totally different services that require a completely different marketing message to effectively sell them your services (and ideally two separate websites).

    ——————————

    Learn more about the differences between credibility websites vs. target market websites and why you need both.

    Real Estate Website Design: Credibility Sites Vs. Targeted Sites

    —————————–

    You wouldn’t want to have the person looking for electrical work to have to wade through tons of content on your site about plumbing (a service that they don’t need).

    Make sense? 

    To say it again… the more focused you can make the message on the website specific to your target prospect (and what they need), the more engaged the visitor will be on your website and the more leads you’ll convert.

    Why Is A Targeted Website Message Important?

    Now that we understand that targeting your message on your website as much to your primary prospect as possible is important… let’s dive into why having that targeted message is important and works.

    In short, we humans get distracted easily (especially online), and removing any chance of guiding your website visitor on the wrong path always improves your chances of making sure the website visitor gets your message and hopefully engages in it by becoming a lead for you.

    According to a study, 55% of visitors spend 15 seconds or less on your website.  The more you can engage them and speak to them and their specific problems and needs… the longer you can keep them.

    But our targeted websites at InvestorCarrot show a different story… 

    how long real estate visitors are on site

    Why is that? 

    Because we’re not sending a motivated seller to a website filled with content that doesn’t help them a darn bit… like stuff about your cash buyer program, or rent to own houses, or private lender program. That kind of stuff doesn’t matter to them and it just serves as a distraction to knock them off of the path of engaging them and converting them as a lead.

    We’ll get into the “why” below here in a sec.

    How Many Websites Do I Need If I’m A Real Estate Wholesaler Or Flipper?

    The general rule once again is this: How many completely different services are you offering and completely different prospects are you going after?

    If you are a local house buyer (going after motivated house sellers) and you also wholesale those properties to cash buyers… those are two completely different prospects for two completely different services you offer.

    If you have lease option houses available and are looking for tenant buyers… and are also looking for private lenders… those are completely different services and different prospects.

    In both of those cases, we’ve found that it’s much more effective to split those messages into separate websites.

    So, if you’re a wholesaler and are looking for properties and looking for cash buyers, those websites should be separate websites.

    So a minimum of two websites as a wholesaler in my opinion. 

    How many real estate wholesaler websites do I need

    You would for sure want a website dedicated to helping motivated house sellers… then your second website could pull double duty as your cash buyer website and main company credibility website (which our “Main Company” websites in Carrot do quite well).

    I know there are lots of people out there who will argue with this and will say “You can put it all on one website for sure!“.

    And they’re 100% correct.

    You can.

    But if on every page, the prospect is 1 click away from content that has nothing to do with them… and can even throw them off from the actual message on how you can help them… why would you want to take the chance of muddying the water?

    If a motivated seller saw a link that says “Investment Properties 30-50% Discounts”… what do you think will pop up in their mind?

    “Wow, if they can sell properties that cheap… I can’t imagine what they’re going to offer me. Darn bottom feeders”

    Haha, maybe not those exact words… but even presenting a motivated seller with that content definitely doesn’t help your sale.

    The “Across The Table” Test

    Real estate website test

    One simple test I always run through mentally with my marketing messages is this…

    … I imagine myself sitting across the table from my ideal prospect and run through in my mind what I’d say to that prospect.

    How I’d find out what their main problem is, their motivations, and what they really need help with.

    And then mentally run through how I can help them reach those goals.

    In the case of a motivated seller… if you use this “Across The Table” test… would you hand them a brochure that talked about buying their property on one page and on the very next page it tried to sell them a discount property?

    Or would you ever in the process of talking with a seller fit in… “Oh, and by the way… if you’re looking for an investment property you can get on our cash buyers list!”.

    Of course not.

    Why?

    Because it has nothing to do with how you can help them in their situation and the only thing doing that does is potentially throw off your actual message of how you can help them with THEIR CURRENT situation… selling their house.

    If it doesn’t pass the “Across The Table” test… my rule of thumb is that I try to separate those messages in my marketing as well.

    On the other hand… if I’m talking to a potential cash buyer… it is very believable that I may find a way to mention our private lender program, because they may also be interested in being an investor with us as well. So those could work very well on the same website.

    Make sense?

    With that said, in no way am I saying that you can’t pull in online leads with an “all-in-one” site that is for motivated sellers, cash buyers, lenders, tenants, etc.

    I’m just making the case for how much more effective it can be to target your messaging to eliminate the chance that a prospect would choose to not work with you because of a muddied message.

    If you lost just 1 deal over a 5 year period because your website spoke to too many different prospects at once… that would cost you a minimum $10,000.

    With how easy it is to launch a  real estate investor website on Carrot… why take that risk?

    So How Many Websites Do You Need If You Do You Need?

    If you’re a real estate wholesaler or house flipper… 

    … we suggest 2.

    One for motivated sellers and one that pulls double duty for cash buyers/main company credibility (even helps out with private lenders).

    Then if you want to attract other types of leads like rent to own or note sellers… those may be great as separate sites.

    The one rule of thumb is definitely don’t cram all of those “focuses” onto one site. It’ll kill your performance and confuse your motivated house sellers.

    If you are a note buyer/seller… 

    … we suggest just 1.

    A person selling a note tends to be a person experienced in the process. So sellers expect to go to a “broker” and won’t be confused by seeing notes for sale on the site.

    If you’re a buy and hold investor or multi-family investor… 

    … one total website for all of your properties works great. Your focusing on attracting tenants. But if you want to attract private lenders as well to partner on your deals… then set up a 2nd website that is a main company credibility site.

    Keep it simple. As few sites as possible without confusing the message on your important prospects.

    And as always… shoot any questions our way!

    See Carrot in Action

    Grow Your Real Estate Website’s 
    Traffic, Leads, & Results With Carrot’s Online Marketing Software

    Take a Demo of Carrot Today

  • The Most Overlooked But Important Page On Your Website (Backed By Science)

    The Most Overlooked But Important Page On Your Website (Backed By Science)

    Did you know there’s a spot on your website that 8 out of 10 real estate investors and agents neglect that may be causing your best prospects to leave your website every day?

    The page that is often the 2nd most visited page on your website. The page can push someone over the edge to work with you or push them away from you only to work with your competition.

    What is that page that carries so darn much weight in the overall trust and credibility of your website?

    It’s your “About Page.”

    Yep, that page you fly through and say, “I’ll come back to and finish later,” is possibly causing people to distrust your site and your company.

    And maybe… just maybe… you may have already lost a deal because of it. 

    How Much Does A Lost Deal Cost You? $5k? $10k? $20k+? 

    This blog post will show you how to make sure you stop letting deals and leads slip through your fingers and lay out why that about page is so darn important (backed by science).

    Ready? Awesome, let’s go!

    The Science Behind The Way We Look At Websites (YES, you do this too…)

    about page optimization test

    Building a real estate website that performs is part are art and a lot of science.

    Over the past 3 years, as we’ve grown Carrot, we’ve run hundreds and hundreds of split tests on real estate investing websites in markets all across the country for all types of leads to hundreds of thousands of leads for our members…

    … and one thing we’ve found that is the same across every test we’ve run is this.

    The about page has always been one of the top 5 most visited pages on every site…

    … and it’s one of the most engaged pages on every site.

    Every site. This Google Analytics screenshot proves it.

    our company page google analytics

    Not one. Not a few. Every site we’ve run tests on has shown us that a significant portion of the visitors flow through to the about page to learn more about that company and see if they’re a credible solution to their problem.

    Below are a few heatmaps from split tests we ran on motivated seller sites from Carrot members across the country.

    Plus, we’ve thrown in a heatmap from our own carrot.com website just to show you it’s not a real estate specific phenomenon.

    See How It’s Baked Into Our Human Psychology

    Below you’ll find these heat maps that show the click pattern of the motivated house sellers on these websites. The bigger the “hotspot” and the redder, the more engagement on that link.

    The cool thing is that we chose sites where their About Pages are in different locations and say different things (some say “About Us” and others “Our Company), so you know it’s not just because of the placement of the link on the site.

    “Our Company” Link In The Top Navigation On The Right

    our company page hotspot on heatmap

    Notice the motivated sellers engaging heavily on the “About Us” page. The strong heatmap glow validates their trust or lack of trust in the company before they choose to work with them.

    “Meet Our Team” Link In The Top Navigation

    Similar results in a link called “Meet Our Team” at the top of the site and similar engagement on the Testimonials link. Again, this shows the visitor is working on learning more about the company behind the site to make sure they’re legit and can honestly and ethically solve their house problem.

    writing an effective about page for conversion boost

    Same Result For This Site With An “About Us” Link In The Main Navigation

    Florida Cash Home Buyers have been utilizing Carrot well, and you see a similar result. People are diving deeper to learn about and build trust in the website before they decide to work with them to sell their house.

    Carrot member website about page

    The Carrot “About” Link Is Burning A Hole In Our HeatMap

    how to write a good about page for your real estate website

    Again, even before our members decide to work with us, they seek out information about us as a company to ensure that our values match theirs and that we’re real people behind this company.

    4 Keys To Creating An Amazing About Page For Your Real Estate Site

    We could show you dozens and dozens more heat maps showing the same thing, but in the end… your about page is crazy important.

    So now that you know that you either need to get real with building out a GREAT about page or risk losing leads and deals let’s get to making an epic about page for your real estate investing website!

    Using our Carrot about page as an example, here are 4 simple but powerful website about page ideas and examples. Hence, it’s an asset for your business rather than another forgotten “throwaway” page.

    The first step, head over and open up our About page so you can follow along.

    1. Let your values shine through

    People want to work with people that believe in and stand for things similar to them. Don’t be shy about sharing your core values on your about page as we do here at Carrot. I can tell you firsthand that I know for a fact that some customers have joined InvestorCarrot because of our Core Values.

    Display what you stand for loud and proud on your about page. Don’t hide it.

    Here’s How We Did It (and you can too):

    • A short list of our Carrot Core Values and what we believe in. What do you believe in?
    • Our mission with this business… something that excites us at our core. Why are you in business?
    • Make them feel important on the page… don’t just mention them in passing. Make them stand out.
    Carrot Core Values

    2. Don’t just stick to stuff directly about real estate on your about page

    I read so many real estate websites about pages that are just a bunch of real estate jargon and stuff that the investor thinks “validates” them in their prospect’s mind. Their 20 years of experience, 7 licenses, and just how much they “want to serve you ” may be true, but you’re not connecting with your prospects at a human level with that kind of speak.

    Tell your story, what drives you, how you got started, and why you even care about helping them in the first place. Make it fun.

    Here’s How We Did It (and you can too):

    • What’s your story, and how did it lead you to help the people your company best helps? It matters.
    • Talk about what you love about your business and how it relates to you being their best viable option.
    • Make it fun. Add a picture of your team and connect with people on a human level. No glamour shots here.
    • Introduce your team. Your team is important to the prospect because you’re the actual people behind the company. We added a picture of part of our team in a laid-back setting… then at the bottom of the site, you’ll see simple profiles of our whole team. It builds real connections, and they can picture themselves talking with these real people.
    building story into your about page

    … then at the bottom of the page are our full team profiles.

    carrot-team

    3. Write conversationally, not in 3rd person like a robot

    Robots are fun, but I don’t know anyone who trusts a robot. Do you?

    All kidding aside, write the way you would talk to your prospects. If you are laid back and easygoing, write that way on your website. If you are analytical and fact-based, write that way on your website… but do it conversationally. I always like to imagine myself sitting across the table from my best prospects; what would I say if they asked about us? That’s how I’d write it.

    Write in the first person. If you talk in the 3rd person when you’re in front of a prospect, you’d sound like a goofball… you better believe you sound the same way if you talk in the 3rd person on your about page.

    Here’s How We Did It (and you can too):

    • Write like you talk in real life. If a 5th grader can’t read it you shouldn’t write it.
    • Don’t use paragraphs that are too long. Keep things short and punchy.
    • Use “I”, “we”, “my”, and “our” rather than 3rd person speak. (unless you talk in 3rd person in real life that is…)
    carrot story conversational

    4. Add a call to action on your website “about page”

    Here’s another great idea we tested that boosts performance… every darn page on your website should end with a clear call to action. Never let your website visitors get to the bottom of a page without guiding them on where to go next. This is especially true on mobile devices, where we tend not to want to scroll back up to the top of the site on our cell phones after reading a page with a good amount of content.

    Put a “fast offer” form at the bottom of your about page and your phone number for them to call you to work with you. This is already built into all of our Carrot websites, by the way :-) 

    Here’s How We Did It (and you can too):

    • What is the main action you want them to take? Add a button or simple link to fill out a form (or the actual form) and even a phone number at the bottom.
    website about page ideas and example

    So What Should You Do This Week?

    Real estate is a people business; often, these transactions are among your client’s most significant financial decisions. When people are making financial decisions, they tend to research them online…

    That almost always leads to the about page once a prospect gets close to working with you, and they just need a bit more verification before they do.

    As you’ve seen, science has shown that your about page is a hot button, and you’ve seen some website about page ideas… have you focused enough time and energy on it?

    I’d challenge everyone to take the tidbits from this blog post this week and implement at least 2 of the 4 tips. Beef up that about page and attract more of your website visitors to work with you… your wallet will thank you for it.

    How many of the four “About Page” keys do you already have on your real estate investing website? Let me know in the comments section below!

    For more actionable marketing tactics, check out our marketing plan strategy guide!

  • Carrot Websites Already In Your Market? 6 Ways To Stand Out

    Carrot Websites Already In Your Market? 6 Ways To Stand Out

    InvestorCarrot Sites

    Carrot websites now control more page 1 Google rankings for motivated seller and cash buyer search phrases that matter than any other real estate investor website platform. So, if Carrot members are already ranking well and pulling in leads in your market…

    … can you get the same (or better) results and tap into that flow of leads as well?

    seo rankings for InvestorCarrot websites
    InvestorCarrot members control 3 of the 4 top spots for this phase in California… But they’re all getting more leads than they would have been without InvestorCarrot. Read this article to see why… and how you can leverage Carrot for better results even if your market has Carrot members doing well.

    We’ll dive into the strategy that the most successful investors are implementing to go into markets that look “crowded” to most people… but end up being very profitable for those who choose to leverage Carrot and personalize it to stand out.

    The #1 Question You Want To First Ask Yourself

    So the #1 question you should ask yourself isn’t “Will InvestorCarrot still be effective for me if other people are using it?”…

    … it should be “If I don’t go with InvestorCarrot, what will I implement instead to generate leads online as effectively as my competitors using Carrot in my market?”

    Will your other options, even though they look different visually, perform as well and provide you the long-term return on investment that InvestorCarrot can provide? Some may. Most won’t.

    At Carrot we, of course, focus on performance as the #1 metric… and making it as easy as possible to tap into our proven framework… personalize it to build in your credibility elements… and launch your website quickly so you can start driving traffic to it.

    Which is why our members are pulling in so many leads and starting to dominate the online markets across the country… and not having to wait weeks or months and pay thousands of dollars to have a custom site built that you hope will perform well once it’s launched that still has ongoing maintenance costs and will have to be redesigned in 2 years again anyhow.

    Another way to look at it is if a platform and system are proven to work well in your market for your competitors… does that mean you shouldn’t also use that platform that is working well in your market?

    Consider the sport of automotive racing

    All of the competitors are in very fast cars…
    they often start with the same foundation.

    Phoenix_International_Raceway_1997_NASCAR_Photography_By_Darryl_Moran___Flickr_-_Photo_Sharing_

    They start with that same foundation because it’s been proven to work many times over.

    Then to edge out the other guys, they tweak it, improve it, and get better over time.

    There’s no long-term advantage for the car that has been winning in the past vs. the new one just entering the league. The guy entering the league today can dominate the circuit 8 months from now.

    It’s not an “all or nothing” game in car racing.

    The same goes for online marketing as a real estate investor. 

    If you start with a solid proven foundation, the small tweaks plus the driver’s skill and desire determine the outcome of a race.

    You wouldn’t show up to a Nascar race in a Mini Cooper just because everyone else is using “the same” looking Nascar race car, right?

    That’s what the InvestorCarrot platform is all about. 

    Building a proven and very effective foundation for you to build your business on so you can save time, save money, earn a higher ROI, and always be ahead of the technology curve.

    Then, you can leverage our training and experienced team to help you edge out your competition.

    Here are some things you can do today to separate yourself from other Carrot members in your market, so everyone wins (including you).

    6 Ways To Separate Yourself From Other Investors Leveraging InvestorCarrot Websites

    1. Use all the advantages you can get (lazy = fewer results)

    Time To Complete: 20 – 90 mins depending on the level of personalization. Or have us do it for you!

    If you want to start with a leg up on the majority of your competition, one of the best ways you can do that is by building your online presence on the Carrot platform.

    Yeah, we’re plugging ourselves, but for a good reason:

    We recognize that your focus should be on doing deals, which is why we focus on building a platform to send you leads and continually improving that platform every month to help you stay ahead of the technology curve.

    But don’t just launch your InvestorCarrot website, slap on a domain, and walk away if you expect to stand out from others using Carrot in your market.

    Leverage the tools built into your Carrot platform to personalize your branding, content, credibility, and even design.

    You can make your website look a LOT different and really separate yourself visually from the pack while still leveraging what makes InvestorCarrot so darn effective.

    Less Than 30 Minutes Of Personalization Work On An InvestorCarrot Site

    custom real estate investor website design
    See the transformation with a bit of professionalization? At your fingertips, you have the ability to make your website look quite a bit different. And these personalization are only the tip of the iceberg on what you can do.

    2. Adjust your content (especially if there are other Carrot members in the search results)

    Time To Complete: 30 mins – 2 hours depending on the level of content tweaks. Or have us do it all for you!

    custom real estate investing website content
    If you’re serious about your business long-term… Spend a little bit of time to put in more specific information about your market and your business on your pages. Or have us write custom content for you!

    Sometimes you will be competing in a market where there are already a ton of investors, and perhaps even several InvestorCarrot investors, too!

    How do you appear in search results if other folks are already rocking it? Adjust your content to add your flair.

    This will help you avoid duplicate content penalties in your market while retaining the Carrot platform’s ranking power.

    You don’t have to change the content a lot, but you should change it a bit (aim for changing about 30-50% of the content): make sure you keep the value of the content, and don’t forget to incorporate search engine optimization like appropriate keyword usage.

    And the beauty is, just use our current content as your framework for what to write where.

    If a part of your home page talks about the different situations sellers may be going through… just rewrite that paragraph in your own words.

    This alone saves you dozens of hours and lost money and results vs. having to write all of the content for a custom website you build elsewhere.

    Overall, even with multiple Carrot members ranking crazy well on page 1 for the same keywords in the same market, we’re seeing that it’s a non-issue if people tweak their content a bit, follow our training, and leverage our help to get your rankings higher. There are many markets where Carrot members control 3+ of the first page results, and all of them are generating more leads than they ever were with their non-Carrot sites because they’re ranking higher with Carrot… and their website is converting more visitors into leads than their non-Carrot site.

    3. Adjust your SEO title to stand out in the Google search results

    Time To Complete: 3-5 mins per page.

    When your prospective leads search on Google, they will get a page of results. Like this…

    search-results-bham

    From that search result, they will decide to click on one site or to search for a different term.

    They will base this decision on what they see and what stands out to their eye: The title of your website, a brief two-line (approximately 125 characters) description, and your website URL.

    Did you know you can control what Google shows here?

    Yep, you can!

    So let’s use this flexibility that Google gives us and liven up that search listing to stand out from the others on the page and get more people to click through to your website.

    Check out this “Sell my Memphis home” search result in the picture below.

    Notice that the top spot is held by a Carrot customer. Not only do they have the top spot because of the SEO power of the Carrot platform, but they also have the most compelling and enticing title (“Get A Cash Offer Today”) – that’s the power of copywriting!  Their Google search listing stands out more than the rest and shows the searcher how they can help in clear terms.

    InvestorCarrot Websites-Memphis

    Even if they were slightly farther down in the list, their powerfully written title would still attract people to click them over their competition.

    Let’s adjust that search listing right now! 

    If you’re already a Carrot member, just head into your Page Editor, scroll down to the Carrot SEO Tool, and update your SEO Title and description to stand out and separate yourself from the crowd.

    Just Edit The SEO Title And Description To Change How Your Site Shows In Google’s Search Results!

    edit seo title for search results

    It’ll take you less than 5 minutes to get this done on InvestorCarrot! And reach out to us if you need any help or insights :-)

    4. Build in some credibility elements

    Time To Complete: 20 – 60 mins. Or have us do it for you!

    Credibility is key when a motivated house seller or cash investment property buyer is looking to make a big financial decision.  We’ve already given our InvestorCarrot websites a head start on building credibility with the way our websites are structured out of the box. But, from there you can boost that credibility by adding in your own flair.

    The main thing that you can use to separate yourself from others in your market is… well… YOU.

    Your personality.

    Your experience.

    Your credibility.

    How you can help them.

    You will want to personalize your site so people will see you as not only THE best solution for their problem… but also that they just plain connect with you and your company and feel that you’re the one they can trust to help them out.

    How can you do that? 

    Take These Small Credibility Tweaks As An Example…

    website credibility
    1. Update your “Hero Image”: The Hero is the big picture behind your opt-in form. We’ve found it’s helped to improve performance on our websites, especially when you add a picture that is unique to you and shows your local area.
    2. Add in credibility badges: BBB logos, awards, and even badges showing you’re a member of respected groups can help improve credibility and boost performance!
    3. Testimonials: Add in some customer testimonials. These could be things your clients have said about how you helped them… or if you’re just starting out… character-based testimonials from colleagues, your banker, etc that show you’re a trustworthy and competent person.
    4. Simple and clean branding: The first thing people usually see is the upper left side of your website. So make sure it looks inviting and trustworthy. You don’t have to have a fancy logo… but an ugly logo or bad company name could reduce your credibility.

    People have to feel like you can help them and trust that you can do what you say. Make them feel that comfort and connection on the site.

    Bottom line: Highlight how you can help your audience and show them how your services are best suited to solve their problem the best.

    5. Consider other keywords ignored by your competitors

    Time To Complete: 15-30 mins per week + we’re here for help!

    There are hundreds of phrases motivated house sellers in your market are typing into Google… go after some of those that are less crowded while you build your rankings on the competitive search phrases.

    The beauty with online marketing is there are so darn many keyword phrases that motivated sellers, cash buyers, note sellers, and rent to own tenants are typing into Google.

    We usually focus on the main handful of keyword phrases when we use examples… like your “sell my house fast” type keywords.

    But for motivated sellers, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of keyword phrases your prospects are typing into Google each month.

    If one keyword phrase is flooded and crazy competitive, go after other keyword phrases as well that your competition isn’t yet focusing on.

    As an example…

    Here Is A Report On The Number Of PPC Keywords This Particular Investor Is Advertising For In Google

    ppc keyword research

    Almost 900!

    Wow.

    I bet your competition is only going after 1 or 2 keywords when it comes to SEO.

    If they are, spin up some pages

    Cast a wider net and create content on your website that goes after those phrases your competitors are too lazy to go after.

    And while you’re doing that… keep working on ranking higher for those competitive phrases that your competitors are ranking for… and overtake them over the long-run because your website is more content rich.

    Bam, you win the internet :-)

    You might be wonder what types of keywords are the ones your competition likely isn’t focusing on?

    Well… phrases targeted to specific situations and specific areas is a good place to start.

    Selling a house in divorce [in your area]

    Selling a house in probate [in your area]

    Selling a house I inherited [in your area]

    Selling my house without a broker [in your area]

    [your area] cash home buyers

    You get the idea.

    Cast a wider net.

    That’s what the big boys do.

    There are literally hundreds of phrases you can go after with your SEO, PPC, and YouTube video marketing that your competitors likely aren’t paying much attention to.

    If “Sell my Columbus house” is too competitive, what about… “Sell my Columbus house quickly” or “avoiding real estate agent fees in Columbus“?

    The traffic to these may be less (it depends on the market) but when you start to rank well for a bunch of these less competitive phrases that your prospects are searching… over time those start to add up. Plus, these types of leads will be much more targeted and turn into deals at a much higher rate.

    6. Leverage other media too! Video and SlideShare

    Time To Complete: 30-60 mins per video.

    If there’s a ton of competition and you’re struggling to show up on the first page, or if you’re just starting out and want to get the first-page status fast, or if you really want to bump your online marketing up a notch or two, this is a very powerful strategy:

    YouTube is the second largest search engine the world (right after Google) and it’s owned by Google.

    Google pulls search results from YouTube and embeds those results inside their normal (text-based) results.

    So with the right optimization, you can put your video on YouTube and have them show up in Google results even if your website doesn’t yet show up there! That’s exactly what’s happening when you look at a search like “Sell my Phoenix house”…

    InvestorCarrot Websites PHX

    Notice that the videos are in the top position… above the websites!

    Google is always tweaking this; sometimes the videos appear below the first, second, or third website result, but still very high in search results.

    If you’re not sure how to do this, check out our post here on tips to optimize your YouTube videos. Also, for Carrot members check out our 3LeadPerDay training for a full in-depth training on the entire process.

    Focus On Your Results And Stop Worrying About Your Competition

    Competition… it’s part of the biz! You have a choice: you can avoid the competition altogether, or, you can put in a ton of hours and work to try to compete on your own, or, you can get into the race with Carrot’s version of a Nascar race car and use these 6 strategies to help you refine your online presence and raise your website even in competitive search terms.

    Take a demo today!

  • [Compare] Carrot vs. Cheap & Low Cost Mass Website Builders

    [Compare] Carrot vs. Cheap & Low Cost Mass Website Builders

    There are a ton of options when it comes to launching a website for your real estate investing business. From cheap and low-cost mass template builders like Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, GoDaddy, LeadPages, and others… to high-end custom websites that may run $6,000 or more.

    So, what are the differences between the different website types and what we offer here at Carrot? Well, I shot a video to answer that very question!

    Before you dive into the video, I want to introduce the four main things you should consider when launching a website for your real estate investing (house flipping, wholesaling, rent-to-own, note buying, anything). They’re right under the video.

    Check out those 4 crazy important things to consider before you launch your website… then I’ll expand on that a bit and show examples in the video below.

    Low-Cost Generic Website Builders vs. Specialized Website Solutions Like Carrot

    Wholesaling Websites: Carrot vs. Wix vs. WordPress, Etc. | Real Estate Sites for Agents & Investors

    The 4 Most Important Things You Need To Look At With Your Real Estate Website

    The first is… your website’s #1 priority should be performance.

    Not how fancy it looks. Not whether you think it looks pretty. Not how fancy the CRM is. And not whether you think it looks different from others in your market. It’s…

    “If I send 100 qualified people to this website with SEO, PPC, Craigslist, or direct mail… is it going to convert as many of those into qualified leads so my website isn’t a leaky bucket?”

    Because every lost lead is a lost potential at a deal.

    And as we always like to say…

    If you lose 1 deal that would have netted you $10,000 because you were trying to reinvent the wheel or save a few bucks a month and your website isn’t performing like it should… that $10,000 is real money lost out of your pocket.

    Before you go out to build a real estate investing website on Wix, Weebly, or Godaddy… focus on making sure what you build your website with is focused on performance (conversion rate optimization) as its main priority because a high performing website means more visitors converted into qualified leads (and in turn, more deals closed).

    The second is… ease of use.

    There’s got to be some way to ensure you’re using the system well.

    We’ve taken 80% of that off your lap and built it into our platform.

    Many of our Carrot members don’t even use our system. They hire us to do some of the build-outs through our services, or they might hire some other people or they have their friend use the system, and they just go be the agent or be the investor. So you get to choose how much of the system you will use yourself versus just wanting to pay people to do that for you, so you can do the parts you enjoy and love.

    The third is… aesthetic

    We want to make sure that number one, you should be proud of the website that represents your business.

    Aesthetic is number three in my eyes because aesthetics only matters to you from that perspective. The aesthetic is what you think about your website. Performance is what your prospects think about your website.

    The aesthetic is “I think it looks pretty.” Performance is your prospects say it solved their problem and got them to opt-in and become a lead.

    So that’s why aesthetic is number three. Many agents and investors put aesthetics as number one. They lower performance and end up having so many lost leads and deals because they think prettiness and aesthetics are more important than performance.

    Fourth is… cost.

    And then last here is cost. I put the cost as last, where many of you guys might be thinking, “Oh my gosh, the cost is number one for me. I don’t have a big budget.” Because a lot of us look at cost differently than we should. Many of us look at the cost as what’s the monthly payment that I will be paying for that tool, or how much am I going to have to pay my buddy down the street to develop my website for me.

    But the actual ultimate cost is not the monthly payment you will pay. The ultimate cost is how much money this website makes or does not make for you. So if you use a website like Wix and it’s going to be low cost, but let’s say it loses you one or two deals every year because it’s not set up for performance. It’s not set up to convert well, for page speed, or to rank well in Google. And if you lose one deal every year, let’s say your average profit per deal is $10,000. That cheap website just costs you $10,000 bucks.

    It’s often easy to go with the website solution that looks at the lowest cost monthly.

    After all, a $10/mo website with one of those low-cost generic website builders is only $120/yr versus what our average investors pay of $99/mo (for 3 websites, our weekly Coaching Calls, our content marketing system, and high-performance built-in).

    But when you look at the return, you get for those dollars and your time… the story changes drastically.

    1 extra (or 1 lost) deal because of website performance is a big deal when dealing with real estate.

    1 extra deal pays for a Carrot membership for 10+ years.

    So focus on performance and the return on investment your real estate investing website system can provide you over the long run.

    Ongoing expert guidance and help from those who have done what you want to do.

    An often forgotten thing critical to your success in generating consistent leads online today and next year (over the long-term) is the support team behind you.

    If you go with one of those low-cost website builders, you can better believe that their pricing model doesn’t allow them to invest a lot into building the team and support structure to make your life easier and more successful over the years.

    If you’re paying $6/mo for hosting… you may be able to reach out to them for help with basic technical things… but most of the time, the questions that you need to be answered most are the strategy-related questions that can take you from no or mediocre results… to crushing it.

    With Carrot, we have amazing support (just ask around)… industry-leading training to show you exactly what our most successful members are doing to drive leads… and our full-time staff is among the industry’s most experienced online lead generation experts (specific to real estate investors). So if you have questions about your strategy… or your PPC marketing isn’t getting the results you need… or you’re ranked at the top of page 2 for your #1 keyword… who are you going to turn to at those cheap and low-cost website builders for the strategy help to get you over that hump?

    Weekly Live Coaching Calls, 1 on 1 Strategy Sessions, Industry Leading Training, We’re Here For You

    With Carrot, our weekly LIVE Carrot Coaching Calls, complimentary 1-on-1 Strategy Sessions with us, and fast strategy help are all included as a Content Pro member.

    It’s like having the most experienced lead generation expert on call… and it’s included in your Carrot membership at only $99/mo.

    The difference between amazing and no results is often the strategy help and expert guidance.

    If you want to try to save a few bucks and go it alone… how much extra time and money will you invest? For only $99/mo, it’s a no-brainer for high-level investors who recognize the value of their time and expert guidance.

    Getting The Right Tools In Place To Grow Your Real Estate Business (and have less hassle with tech issues)

    These days your website is one of those tools that is a really important part of your credibility, lead generation efforts, and the future of your marketing.

    More and more people are going online to find solutions to their problems (especially on cell phones)… so getting your web presence right is a pretty darn important thing these days.

    Just like you get the right direct mail before you spend that money to send out those letters… take the time to make sure your website is dialed in and will convert a high percentage of your visitors you’re working so hard to get… into qualified leads.

    We can help you here with Carrot, and we’d love to review your website and give you honest, candid feedback on what you can improve with your current site if it’s at one of those low-cost generic website builders.

    Just leave your website URL in the comments section below and we’ll shoot quick videos walking through changes you can make to your current site to make them more effective.

    And as always, we’re here if you feel Carrot is a great fit. Just take a demo or check out our pricing and plans.

  • Annoucing New Property Listing Features & Improved Social Share Buttons

    Annoucing New Property Listing Features & Improved Social Share Buttons

    2015.03.26-properties--main

    We’re on a roll over here at InvestorCarrot and, just like in farming… we’re making this spring a time renewal, refreshing, and improving the Carrot platform each and every week.

    With that said, we’ve rolled out several pretty cool and important updates over the last 2 weeks, with more to come over the next 2 weeks.

    Today we’re going to focus on 2 updates to the platform and your real estate investor websites.

    One is a pretty major update to our property listing engine based on feedback from members and the other is an improvement on the way your social media sharing buttons work on your websites.

    We are really excited about these changes and we know you will be too. If you are a new customer and haven’t used the property feature before you might not appreciate the awesome redesign these Carrot features have undergone. But we won’t leave you out. You can check out the screenshots below to see the changes we have made.

    Update #1: The New Beautiful Property Listing Website Engine. Simpler. Sexier.

    This major update isn’t one that’ll help you get more leads, but it is a major improvement on how you get your deals in front of your cash buyers, your rent to own tenants, and turnkey investors. Lots of our members were looking for a more modern and simpler way to launch a property listing website for their real estate investing or real estate agent business.

    So we set out to make your property listings beautiful, more useful and intuitive, and more powerful in this first update of several planned updates to the Property Listing Engine.

    property listing wordpress template
    The New And Improved Property Listing Page... help your buyers see more properties without scrolling (plus they look sharp!)

     

    So What’s Different About The Look Of Your Property Listing Sites?

    We made tons of updates to the Property Listing Engine on your websites, but here are a few of the biggest.

    A Simpler, Easier To Read “Grid” View Of All Of Your Properties

    This helps your cash buyers, rent to own tenants, and turnkey buyers see more properties without scrolling down. Plus they look great!

    property listing wordpress template

    Mark Your Property Status And Type With A Click Of A Mouse

    A simple click helps you indicate if a property is sold or rented, plus our system will tag your properties whether they’re a “Home For Sale”, Duplex, Apartment… you get the idea.

    property listing website for wordpress sold sign

    Improved Image Gallery That Looks Great On Every Device (especially mobile!)

    We moved the image gallery from the bottom of your property listing sites to the top and made the gallery crisp, clean, and easy to use on all devices. We’ve found buyers want to see the visual of the property above all else, so they’re now front and center.

    mobile responsive property listing websites

    Simpler And Cleaner Google Maps And Street View Display With Clear Call To Action

    google streetview and maps for property listings wordpress

    No Properties To Upload Yet? We’ll Still Make You Look Professional!

    In the past, website visitors were faced with a blank page if there weren’t any properties uploaded to the website. Now, our system is helping you build credibility and your cash buyer list even if you have no properties to upload on your website yet.

    property page

    Nearly 30% Of Your Traffic Is Mobile:
    These Property Listings Look Great On All Devices

    responsive property listing website

    A New, Simpler Process To Create Your Property Listings

    We’ve rethought how listing your properties through your InvestorCarrot real estate investing websites should work, and we’ve simplified it.

    Now we walk you through a very simple and intuitive “wizard” to get the property details in place, upload your pictures, and optimize the posting for SEO.

    websites to list properties as an agent or investor

    Hop in and try the new Property Listing Engine in your InvestorCarrot account!

    Update #2: Faster, Sleeker Social Media Sharing Buttons

    In our never-ending quest to always improve the performance of your websites we often will pinpoint very simple changes that we can make that help make your websites even faster than they already are.

    In one of our tests, we discovered that there was room to improve the website load time by streamlining the Social Media Share buttons on your websites.

    How Did We Improve The Social Media Buttons?

    New social media share buttons

    First of all, the new look is much more modern and clean on your website.

    But that’s not the main reason we made the change.

    Typical social media share buttons have their own separate styling and count of the number of “Likes” or “G 1+’s” made on that page. But every time someone landed on the website, their web browser would contact each of those networks like Google or Facebook to see the current “count” and render the share button on the site.

    It’s not a huge deal, but it does decrease the page load speed and can make your site feel sluggish when it is really just waiting on those separate networks.

    So these new social media share buttons load insanely fast, look great, and still do the same thing as before in helping you spread the word about your website and boost your social media sharing signals for SEO.

    Does This Mean I Lose My Facebook and G 1+ Shares? 

    Nope! Your shares always follow your domain name… not the buttons. So whatever shares you had on your web page before, they’re still there!

    We’d Love Your Feedback Below!
    Give These New Features A Try!

    This is the first of several property listing updates we have planned and we’d love your feedback.

    What do you love about the new property listings on your website?

    What would you love to see done to help you market your properties even easier and more effectively?

    We’re all ears!

    If you’re not an InvestorCarrot member yet, head on over and take our demo or see our pricing and plans. Be a part of the 48,000+ leads per month our Carrot members are pulling into their real estate investing websites with Inbound Marketing each and every month.
  • The #1 Skill Your Real Estate Marketing Should Include Right Now

    The #1 Skill Your Real Estate Marketing Should Include Right Now

    Your real estate marketing plan should be based on a powerful story. Our trainings can help you learn how.
    Your real estate marketing plan should be based on a powerful story – like the ones told by Windell Campbell, a great teacher, and puppeteer. Our trainings can help you learn how. Don’t worry, you don’t need to like kids or puppets… we do, but it’s not a requirement. ;) You’ve just gotta be willing to learn with us.

    Does your real estate marketing tell a story, or are you just advertising?

    After all, stories are the most powerful tool of communication, in business and in life.

    Humans communicate best through stories. How good are your storytelling skills?

    Besides reading this post, what are you doing to develop those skills?

    If you’re like most of our members, you’re constantly learning and developing your skills. Most of our members joined because they knew we’d give ’em a website that converted way higher than the typical real estate investor website, but they didn’t really understand our highest value: teaching skills.

    Storytelling is one of the most powerful skills you can possess.

    You already know that marketing is an insanely valuable skill. Marketing brings leads, and leads bring revenue. That’s obvious.

    But here’s the thing that most people don’t get about marketing: it’s all about telling a great story.

    STOP! Before going further, take some time to listen to how Max Maxwell Leverages Online Real Estate Marketing and Inspirational Storytelling to Close 1 in 4 Leads

    Closing 25% of His Leads: How Max Maxwell Leverages Online Marketing to Close 1 in 4 Leads

    Behind every great brand is a powerful story that most consumers never see. Companies like Nike, Apple, and Coca-Cola didn’t become household names because of their relentless pursuit of quality or their fantastic products – although those factors were certainly critical to their success.

    building conversation around your brand

    Companies become known for their stories. A great brand story is behind every powerful piece of marketing you’ve ever seen. Every great ad, every flawless logo, every iconic image was all carefully planned to contribute to the way that consumers view that brand.

    A powerful story actually creates the company’s identity, building up like thin coats of plaster, brushed on slowly, layer by layer to form a wall.

    Think about how many times you’ve heard of Nike, Apple, or Coca-Cola – way too many to count, right?

    Every time you heard that company’s name mentioned, it contributed to the story in your mind about that company.

    Your brand’s story can be that powerful.

    Sure, I know – you don’t have Coca-Cola’s marketing budget. But a powerful story travels, and it takes on a life of its own. A truly powerful story is one that can transform the lives of the people who hear it.

    But think about it…

    • Doesn’t it transform someone’s life to get rid of a property that has been plaguing them with problems?
    • What’s it like for someone to finally get the burden of a pending foreclosure off of their back?
    • What’s it like for someone to finally get through probate?

    It’s a huge relief. It’s a life-changing experience. It is transformative.

    Tell that story. Make your story connect people with your business.

    Sure, we’ve done a lot of the hard work for you. When you launch one of our sites for Motivated Sellers, Cash Buyers and Private Lenders, or Rent to Own Tenants, you’re fully loaded with a ton of key components that help you tell visitors to your site a great story about your business.

    But if you want to tell a truly powerful story, you’ve gotta get personal.

    Here are some questions you should ask yourself when preparing to tell your most powerful story:

    • What are the toughest problems facing people who are looking for help from my business?
    • How can my business change people’s lives?
    • How can my business impact my communities?
    • Why am I the exact right person to help?
    • What experience do I have that allows me to relate to the person I’m trying to reach?

    Those are really tough questions, no doubt. We’ve wrestled with them ourselves while building this business.

    There’s a whole lot of benefit to be had in crafting a true story-based content marketing strategy around your Carrot site.

    We’re here to help you learn how to tell your best story. We have powerful tools and trainings that help you hone your skills and grow your business… like our weekly Live Coaching Call.

    We weave in all kinds of powerful tricks, tips, and techniques into an interactive, lively discussion with some of the top real estate minds in the country.

    Some of the top real estate investors in the country are Carrot members, too – they show up on those calls each week because they’re here with us to learn and improve – just like you.

    Storytelling is the most important skill that you can learn with us. It’s one of those skills that is considered to be a “mastery” skill – like leadership, music, or golf. You never really “master” those skills – you just keep improving, practicing, and developing them.

    Sports legends like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan (when he was still pro) never stopped working to improve their top skill. If you’re dead set on success in real estate, you need to tell great stories.

    After all, every negotiation is kinda like a story, isn’t it?

    Think about it… you’re trying to convince the person on the other side of the table to tip things in your favor, aren’t you?

    You want to get the best possible price when you’re buying or selling, right?

    That’s the story you’ve gotta know how to tell.

    But that’s a little later in the process.

    When someone is first visiting your website, they are trying to find reasons not to trust you.

    conversation marketing discovery

    You have to give them reasons to believe that you know what you’re doing, and that you can help them with their problem.

    If they don’t see that you can solve their problem, they won’t turn into a lead. They’ll leave the page, and call your competitor.

    Even if they are trying to solve the wrong problem, they have to see the solution they believe will work.

    That’s the secret to our high conversion rates, folks… they establish credibility, and they build trust.

    They tell a powerful story.

    But if you want the best results out of your business, the skill you have to improve is your storytelling.

    Use your Carrot real estate website as a platform to tell your most powerful story.

    We’re here to help.

    Join up on Wednesday for our weekly Live Coaching Call.

    Or if you’re not already a member, get on board – join us now.

     

  • How to Create Custom Real Estate Reports for Lead Generation

    How to Create Custom Real Estate Reports for Lead Generation

    InvestorCarrot websites include some pretty cool Free Reports that will help you generate leads, plus you can create unlimited reports of your own to offer, too! Click the picture to sign up for Carrot right now, or keep reading to find out more about how to get great results from your Report Opt-Ins.

    Real estate marketing: should it be based on data or stories?

    The answer: Both.

    Reports are a great example. A good report is full of credible data, but it also tells a story. A great report builds credibility that helps you get better results in your future negotiations.

    So how do you use data to tell a great story that helps you improve your credibility?

    Just keep reading. ;)

    This post will tell you about the awesome Free Reports that are included with our sites to help you generate leads and conversions, plus I’ll let you know a few awesome tricks and tips to get even better results in your local market.

    First off, here’s what’s included in our sites:

    Motivated Seller Free Reports In Your System

    • Selling To A Real Estate Investor (already inside of our motivated seller websites)
    • 5 Ways To Stop or Avoid Foreclosure (already inside of our motivated seller websites)

    Free Investor Reports In Your System

    • Passive Income Investing Report (already inside of our main company and cash buyer websites)
    • Private Lending Report  (already inside of our main company and cash buyer websites)

    If you’re already an InvestorCarrot Member, you can:

    Brand and Customize Your Free Reports

    If you want to edit / brand these free reports you can click here to gain access to the Microsoft Word document versions of these reports.

    COPYRIGHT NOTICE: These reports are the property of Carrot and are only for the use of active / paying InvestorCarrot members. As long as you’re an active InvestorCarrot member you can use these all you want! If you’re not an active InvestorCarrot member and would like to use our free reports, see our pricing and plans and sign up for a plan that’s right for you. All Copyright violators will be pursued.

    Once you brand them…

    1. “Save As PDF” to save them as a pdf
    2. Upload them to your website(s) via the Media tab in your website dashboard
    3. Update the download link on the download page on your website to point to this new PDF file
    4. Save, and you’re done!

    If you need help just hit us up on support or LIVE chat! We’re here for ya!

    If you’re looking for an innovative way to stand out in your market, you should:

    Create High-Value Free Reports for Your Market

    You don’t even have to write these reports yourself.

    Most of the time you can find a decent blogger in your local marketplace who is willing to work for cheap… plus, they might even be a good partner to help you drive traffic and build your lists. You never know til you look, right?

    But what kind of Free Reports should you create?

    I’ll let you know a few ideas for content that will help you reach your target audience.

    Start with the end in mind. Who are you trying to reach?

    1. Motivated Sellers.

    What types of situations can you help solve?

    There are countless examples of reports out there on what folks facing foreclosure, divorce, probate can do… so create one that’s specific to your market!

    Localize it… check out the rules and regs in your market. Interview a couple of brokers, attorneys, title company reps, folks from local non-profits… shoot, interview anyone who might be able to add a few great local tips and resources for folks with distressed properties and make sure to cite ’em as a source. It will help boost your credibility (and grow your referral network) to include other local experts as sources in your report.

    What does someone in your area need to know about the difficulties of selling in your market? Show sellers what you do for them in a transaction. If you can eliminate their hassles, you’ll earn their business.

    Make sure your report has a compelling title, like “What _______ Area Sellers MUST Know Before Selling Property in 2014” that reflects the value you’re offering within that report.

    If your report has a lot of great value within it, you’ll just have to list out the contents on a Lead Page and you’ll get great conversions from it. Just focus on creating high value with information that Motivated Sellers in your market should know, and you’ll end up with a great Free Report that will generate good leads for your business when you market it (more on that in a second).

    2. Real Estate Buyers, Investors, and Lenders.

    Can you provide deep insight and analysis for folks in your market who are investing in real estate?

    (Or can you hire a good writer and analyst?)

    If you can compile local market data, broken down by property type, from a few sources and show the different rates of return that local investors and real estate owners have been able to earn, chances are good you’re well on the way to delivering a very valuable report for your local real estate market.

    Investors love data – and a Free Report is a great way to judge a potential partner for future business. After all, opting into a form is a pretty low-risk proposition… so if you can deliver even a decent basic overview of the past 5 years within your market, and perhaps some quotes from local media, brokers, and other sources of information… you’ll have high-quality content to offer.

    And that’s the big goal here, folks… it’s all about high-quality content.

    Our sites deliver some great Free Reports that you can customize and brand with your information, plus easy-to-implement Lead Pages to accompany each report. That’s included with every plan we offer.

    But the best part – you can create unlimited amounts of Free Reports and Lead Pages on each site.

    So get out there and start writing!

    Or get ready to hire someone who can help you deliver a great Local Market Report.

    Use Great Data and Tell Powerful Stories

    If you can use data and stories to show folks how you’ll solve their real estate problems, you will win.

    In this week’s Coaching Call, I’m going to let you show you exactly how easy this is to do… plus, I’ll show you some easy and free sources of data on your local market that you can use to start building an awesome, totally unique Free Report for your market…. and you’ll get a ton of great ideas that you can start implementing for your business right away.

    I’ll even tell you how to turn your reports into Press Releases that get picked up by the local media… I’ve done it before for clients, and it’s the same techniques that have gotten me and my clients interviewed on the radio, by newspaper reporters, and filmed on television.

    There is simply no better advertisement for your business than getting covered by the local media… the best part is that it’s totally free!

    Much like our weekly Coaching calls… they’re free for our Members, at least.

    So sign up for that call right now – I’m looking forward to telling you all about how to add some serious value to your business (and bottom line).

    And if you’re not already a member… sign up now!

  • Video Marketing For Real Estate Investor Websites: Good Idea or Bad?

    Video Marketing For Real Estate Investor Websites: Good Idea or Bad?

    Video marketing can generate huge traffic and great conversions, or… it can suck the life right out of your message.

    Welcome to another edition of the Carrot Test Kitchen… where we break down our recipes and show you how to create insanely great lead generation sites for your real estate business.

    Today’s post will tell you how to set up a great, low-cost video marketing campaign that (if it’s done right) can really help move your business forward.

    Fortunately, it’s really easy to add video to your InvestorCarrot site… and to get some great benefits from Google’s traffic at the same time.

    In this post I’ll show you how to add video to your InvestorCarrot sites, plus give you a great example of a video to watch right now… and tell you what *not* to do.

    First, why does video marketing matter to real estate investors?

    Video marketing is particularly important for real estate investors, because when you use it properly, it can really help to grow your business.

    Think of your video like an automated salesperson for your business… once you record that video, it can be played again and again to anyone who is looking for your services, day or night, on weekends and holidays… without the bother of an interrupting phone call, while eliminating the hassle of having to say the same thing again and again.

    A great video is more than just a commercial for your business – it builds trust for a great beginning to your relationship with a new client.

    A great YouTube marketing video sets the stage for negotiations by showing off your credibility and describing how you do business.

    A truly great marketing video helps the viewer to trust you, like you, and want to do business with you.

    On the flip side, a bad video can really turn people off.

    If you’re showing your potential clients a cheesy video that’s heavily scripted with obvious sales language, loaded with stock photography and drowning in clip art, what are they supposed to think about you and your business?

    To put it another way…

    If you never show someone your own voice and use your own face, how are they supposed to trust you?

    See, here’s where real estate investment is very different from a household product that’s advertised on the television.

    If you’re selling something like shampoo or root beer, you don’t have to convince the consumer that you’re trustworthy or credible… just that the shampoo will bring you that silky, luxurious hair you’ve been wanting, or that this root beer will deliver more delicious flavor than any root beer they’ve ever had.

    When you’re selling products, trust can really help… but it’s not essential.

    But when you’re trying to convince someone to let you buy their property or sell them an investment, trust is utterly critical. It’s everything. Without trust, you don’t have a deal.

    And yet I see so many real estate investment companies using these terrible little $5 videos they bought online, probably late at night after a few drinks… and now they’re probably wondering why no one is watching and why their business isn’t growing.

    Would you want a $5 salesperson to represent your business?

    In most big companies, the top salesperson is the second-highest-paid in the company… right after the CEO.

    Sales is the life blood of businesses. Without sales, there is no revenue, and without revenue, your company will die.

    Exactly why would you trust a $5 sales video with the life blood of your business?

    Don’t get me wrong… I don’t think you need to spend a ton of money on making a video in order for it to be effective.

    In fact, we’ve found that most real estate customers are turned off by flashy marketing loaded with gimmicks. They really are just looking for a credible, trustworthy person to help them take care of business.

    You really don’t need to do more than just talk into a webcam to make a decent sales video.

    These few things will help you to make a great video marketing piece:

    • High quality audio (i.e. a great microphone)
    • High quality video (i.e. a decent camera)
    • Good lighting
    • Nice setting
    • Clean editing

    You can find someone in most cities who already has the equipment and pay them for a few hours of help… generally under $500 can get you a handful of pretty good short videos.

    If you’ve got the budget you should definitely be hiring great people to make your videos even better.

    Want to see an example of a decent low-cost marketing video?

    Check this out:

    Sell House Fast in Portland Oregon: 4 Easy Steps

    They’ve got almost 10,000 views on that video, wow!

    Their other video has a more reasonable view count – 352.

    What I like about this couple is that they’re showing off themselves – sure, they’ve dressed up to film the video and put on their best smiles, but it’s genuine and authentic.

    Side note – I checked out their site, and there are a lot of reasons their site won’t get very many conversions… it’s got good credibility, but it makes it hard for folks to sign up for the offer… those folks need to Watch the InvestorCarrot Demo and make the switch! Any of our affiliates know these folks and want to sign them up? :~)

    But they did the smart thing of actually using the description on YouTube to pull traffic over to their site by using links and a lot of the most commonly used search terms. Since Google owns YouTube, the videos will show up at the top of the search (even if their site isn’t ranked that high), so this can be a great way to get traffic to your site

    Plus, it looks like they got a few of their friends to comment and share the video (which helps to boost credibility/

    Those are all really great video marketing practices!

    Now let me show you how easy it is to add a video to your InvestorCarrot site from YouTube.

    First, get the video up on YouTube and copy the link to the video.

    In another window, open up the post or page where you want to embed the video.

    Then click the snazzy little “Embed Video” button.

    This nifty little window will pop up, and just paste the YouTube (or Vimeo) link into the form.

    That’s it! How simple was that?

    If you’ve got any questions: A full tutorial is available for Carrot Members here.

    And if you’re not already a Carrot Member, check out the reasons you should be!  Watch our Demo Video right now!