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Thank you for previewing The Eastern Shore Real Estate News.  This ezine is a FREE newsletter offering information on current Real Estate Internet marketing trends to Real Estate professionals on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia.

This ezine contains ideas on new marketing techniques, statistics on current Internet marketing trends in Real Estate and helpful information on how to boost your current marketing plan.  It includes articles from Real Estate professionals and local agents.

1. New Listings added to House for Sale Eastern Shore website.
2. Lowershorehome.com is launched - new Real Estate Site
3. Internet Marketing vs. Print Advertising by Mindie Burgoyne
4. The Sorry State of Internet Listings - by Blanche Evans of Realty Times
5. New Real Estate Agent and Agency websites launched
6. Are You Taking Care of Your Golden Geese? - by Wanda Loskot
7. Inspiration

New listings added to House For Sale Eastern Shore website.

House for Sale Eastern Shore is a web directory that features properties for sale on the Eastern Shore.  Each property has a 5 page website highlighting the building, lot, area, special features and contact information of Listing agent and Brokerage. Listing agents use this directory as a supplement to advertising.  The following three properties were added this week.

1. Snow Hill Inn Bed and Breakfast - Snow Hill, MD
   Listing Agent - Walt Taraila - Weichert Realty; Buyers Choice, Ocean City, MD

2. Crisfield Victorian - Crisfield, MD
   Listing Agent Bobbi Tawes - Wilson Realty, Crisfield, MD

3. John Walter Smith House - Snow Hill, MD
   Listing Agent - Hursey Porter - Long and Foster, Salisbury, MD

All listings for  House for Sale Eastern Shore website can be viewed at:
http://www.houseforsaleeasternshore.com/alllistings.htm

Lower Shore Homes - A sister site to HouseForSaleEasternShore.com has been launched.  It includes the same properties but the new domain name allows for a shorter Web Address and more opportunities to be found in the major search engines.

Agents and owners who purchase a House For Sale Website will have their property listed under BOTH domains.

Lower Shore Homes can be viewed at http://www.lowershorehomes.com.

===============advertisement========================================

INTERESTED IN LISTING YOUR PROPERTY ON THE HOUSE FOR SALE
EASTERN SHORE WEBSITE?  Your listing will have its own 5 page website
with images, room specifications, detailed description of special features
and more.

Cost is $299.  Name and photo of listing agent along with broker's logo will also be pictured. 
See House For Sales Websites  for more info.

================advertisement========================================

ARTICLE BY MINDIE BURGOYNE - Marketing Consultant and Owner of Lowershore.net, and Internet Marketing Company in rural Maryland.

This article compares the cost and results of space advertising and Internet marketing for Real Estate Professionals.

A recent study profiled INTERNET USERS and produced the following demographics:
Average income is $52,500
Income exceeding $50,000 = 42%
Income less than $25,000 = 18%
Users 40 years old and older = 36%
Percentage with college degrees = 50%
Percentage married = 41%
Percentage using the Internet daily = 88%

Combine these statistics with those of the recent study on home buyers done by National Association of Realtors.

96% of all home buyers in America will use the Internet to look for property
18% will use the internet to find a real estate agent.

Even though these statistics compel a person to believe that the majority of a Realtor's marketing efforts should be through the Internet, real estate agents still don't get it. They will dump hundreds of dollars into space advertising (print media) that show one to ten properties (with no web or email address) that produce little results.
Nine out of ten real estate agents when asked why they continue to invest in this type of marketing that produces a small return will reply, "We do it for the client."
 
Do "what" for the client?

Many home sellers are getting smarter about the Internet and will wonder what you as an agent provide in the way of internet marketing. What if you could provide printed material to every client that stated the following:

ABC Realty markets your property on the Internet in the following ways

What would the cost be to you – the agent – in providing ALL the above mentioned Internet marketing?
Local MLS and Realtor.com – your membership fee and agent package
Real Estate Website - $599 - $799 (from lowershore.net)
Email marketing – FREE
Dedicated website on listed property $299, FREE hosting, unlimited tenure
Virtual Tour - $200 one time fee. $29 per month for unlimited tours and NO extra equipment needed.
House for Sale Flyer – FREE

Total cost (if you have none of the above in place already) $1027 plus membership to the MLS group and Realtor.com. The Real Estate website, Virtual Tour and MLS listing fees are one time fees that are used for multiple purposes and multiple clients. The House For Sale website is the only additional – per property – fee.

Marketing Real Estate on the Internet
an affordable investment with exponential results.

Internet marketing is relatively inexpensive in the world of Real Estate with exponential return when done properly. The POWER lies in using ALL the Internet resources together with a specific strategy, not picking one or two.

When considering that property on the Eastern Shore is especially desirable to "out-of-town" buyers, Internet marketing is CRUCIAL. Space advertising in outside metropolitan areas is extremely expensive and still only targets one outside area per ad. The Internet spans the entire globe, gives more information, costs less and targets a buying audience that is hungry to buy what you are selling.

Internet marketing also makes your current print advertising MORE powerful. Imagine potential buyers looking at your one inch property picture with four line description in a miniscule font size. Their interest is piqued. At the end of the ad is a web address where they can find out more details on that property. It's a natural progression to encourage them to look for more info... and they will. You will increase the power of your print advertising and return on your marketing investment ten times over.

================advertisement========================================

Websites for Realtors and individual agents custom designed to draw traffic, build relationships and gain top placement in search engines.  Agent sites start at $299.  Call Lowershore.net for more information  410.623.2193, or visit us on the web to learn more.

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ARTICLE BY BLANCHE EVANS - Publisher of Agent News and the Associate Editor of Realty Times

In this article, Blanche reveals the lack of successful Internet marketing practices by Real Estate Professionals, and the opportunities available through Internet marketing.

"It's obvious that homebuyers are using the Internet to preview homes. Buyers told the NAR that the two features they look for in a real estate Web site are photos and property information. Seventy-eight percent found photos useful, and 77 percent found property information useful. Forty-seven percent of buyers found virtual tours to be useful. So useful in fact, that the buyers took action - 72 percent actually drove by or looked at a home they found online, 46 percent walked through the home, and 18 percent found an agent online. While it isn't spelled out in the survey, it is safe to say that most or at least a large percentage of those lucky agents were found because of online listings.

And how is the real estate industry responding? By putting up lousy-looking listings with as little information to move the sale along as possible. ..."    more

For full article go to:
http://realtytimes.com/rtapages/20030805_listings.htm

Wilson Realty  in Crisfield, Maryland is a woman owned, full service real estate brokerage in Crisfield.  Broker, Cindy Stevens has over 25 years experience in real estate and is a licensed appraiser.  Wilson Realty's services include home sales, commercial property sales, condominium sales, waterfront property and waterfront home sales as well as rental management.  Call Wilson Realty if you're looking for property or homes for sale in Somerset County, MD.  Visit the Wilson Realty website at http://www.wilsonrealty.com.

Cindy Freeman® of Weichert Realtors in Crisfield can offer full service on listing property or being your buyer's agent.  Cindy has numerous listings for single family homes, historic homes, waterfront houses and property as well as condominiums on Crisfield's waterfront.  Call Cindy today for information on buying or selling property on the Eastern Shore.  Visit the Cindy Freeman website at http://www.EasternShoreLiving.net

Agency website to be launched  ...  Hall Realty - Pocomoke City, MD

For more on Real Estate websites, visit Lowershore.net's Real Estate page.

ARTICLE BY WANDA LOSKOT - former Top Real Estate Broker turned business
developer and trainer; owner of SaneMarketing.com

In this article Wanda discusses "Growing your business by REFERRALS" and expanding your referral base by building trust through affirming those who give you leads.

"I'm sure you agree that "by referrals" is one of the best ways of growing business - no money thrown away on advertising that doesn't work and no time wasted to convince strangers to do business with you. The referred leads are presold - because trust and confidence exist, at least to some degree. It boils down to getting more of that good thing - leads, right?

One of the best ways to get more leads is to focus on those who send you referrals already and to encourage them to do it more often. So, how are you doing in the department of rewarding your sources for referring you in the first place?

Most business people provide a referral reward or even some kind of fee to people helping them to obtain a lead that ends with a sale. Additionally some make it a standard practice to refer the source to their own potential clients when the opportunity arises. Some people have even different rewards for different types of leads. One thing is to mention your name - another is to insist that prospect contacts you. And another thing is to assist during the process of servicing...

Makes sense, doesn't it?

Probably the most common -- and the biggest -- mistake business people do in this area is rewarding contacts only for leads that result in closed sales. ...."  more

For full article go to:
http://sanemarketing.com/articles/goldengeese.html 

"To us, our house was not unsentient matter - it had a heart, and a soul .. it was of us, and we were in its confidence and lived in its grace and in the peace of its benediction.  We never came from an absence that its face did not light up and speak out its eloquent welcome - and we could not enter unmoved."

Mark Twain, 1897

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Got a question or comment?  We welcome your feedback.  Please
direct all comments and questions to Mindie at contactus@lowershore.net.
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Eastern Shore Real Estate - Tips and Trends is designed and distributed by lowershore.net, a Maryland Business Development Company specializing in web design, internet marketing, promotion and public relations.

PRIVACY - All email addresses submitted for this newsletter distribution will be used solely for the purpose of e-mailing the newsletter.  Lowershore.net does not share email addresses submitted for this ezine with anyone - ever.

This newsletter is copyrighted © by lowershore.net 2004, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Text from Wanda Loskot article copyrighted by Wanda Loskot
and Sources Connection, 2003.