Community advertisers have always found RetireNet.com to be one of the most productive sites on the Internet to list their homes for sale, displaying these homes in both their Community Showcases as well as the Home Search sections of the site. Visitors can virtually explore each home with unlimited photos, full descriptions and detailed information, and can request additional information or a call back directly from the home listing.

Now we have expanded this to allow our advertisers to display their rental homes in the same fashion, list the monthly rental fees, and have them show on their own dedicated “Rentals” tab on the Community Showcase. As with Homes for Sale, this can also translate to a dedicated Home Search for Rentals on the advertisers’ website as well.

Because the Rental Homes use the same listing setup as Homes for Sale, advertisers can promote their rentals with the same unlimited pictures, detailed descriptions, etc., as with homes listed for sale.

To list a home for rent, log into your RetireNet.com Showcase Admin account and open the editor. Click on the homes section and add a home just as you would to list a home for sale. The very first option you will see when listing this new home is a pulldown menu that allows you to list this new home as for sale, for rent, or both. This third option will cause the home to show up under your Homes for Sale tab and your Rentals tab, offering exposure to for both rental and purchase prospects alike.

Log in to your admin and add your rentals today!

Parker’s thesis was this: a name and a phone number, by themselves, don’t constitute a lead. It’s not a lead until you have some clue that tells you a person is interested in the product or service you’re selling. And the best leads, of course, occur when the customer himself initiates the contact and tells you exactly what he’s after:

 According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, one of the meanings of “lead” is as “an indication, or clue.” A lead is an indication of interest and a clue as to how to sell an inquirer—that’s how I would define it. All too often, it appears that agents and brokers have lost sight of what constitutes a lead and instead waste their precious time and money attempting to respond to “junk” being called “leads.”

Parker related an email he got from a real estate agent in Illinois, who boasted of having the highest internet conversion rate in his office despite that fact that “less than half of 1% of all leads will (even) answer their phones.” The kind of “leads” this man was working with resemble stopped clocks–accurate for 2 minutes out of every day. Selling to people who haven’t expressed the slightest interest in you or your business IS possible, but it’s not anywhere close to being the best use of your time.

If your leads are 30% obviously false phone numbers; if less than half of 1% of your leads will answer the phone, you are not receiving “leads,” you are receiving cruel hoaxes masquerading as leads. The practice of calling such items “leads” should be discontinued.

We believe Parker is essentially correct–and when you’re correct about something as important as lead generation, you’re really correct. Good sales leads are probably the most important business property any salesman can have, in any field. Why is it, then, that so much online marketing directed toward lead generation does it the wrong way?

It has become common, for instance, to require website visitors to create accounts and sign in before they can view the information they want. Often, what they want is just the information: they aren’t really in the market to buy, and have no intention of listening to any kind of sales pitch. So they provide false information, or simply refuse to respond. Even when relying upon automated systems, dealing with huge numbers of bad “leads” taxes resources beyond profitability.

A lead occurs when someone gives some clue not only as to what he wants to buy, but that he wants to buy. It’s for this very reason that all information on RetireNet.com has always been public. Yes, it’s important to get people to view your Showcase; but looking at it doesn’t constitute intent (let alone ability) to buy, and so we don’t require visitors to sign up in order to do so. A lead from RetireNet happens when someone fills out a form indicating interest in the community, and not before. That way, leads coming from RetireNet.com are real leads, and not just hoaxes.

What’s the best way to get through a down market like the present one? Make your marketing work smarter. Having a listing on RetireNet.com can help in a number of ways. First, of course, are the leads that come your way with a Premier or Top Showcase listing. But did you know that more often than not, a web search for your community will turn up your RetireNet listing before your own website? That’s because RetireNet is carefully optimized for web searches, and has been a trusted source of information since the 1990s. Having a RetireNet listing is like putting in another road to your front door.

Another solution, for those with only basic listings, is to increase your exposure by upgrading to a Premier Showcase . Doing so gives you access to a number of features that can dramatically improve your marketing results.

With a basic listing, you get a short descriptive paragraph, a single photo, and contact information. Not bad for free, but you can do better. With a Premier Showcase, there are no length restrictions on your descriptive text. Similarly, there are no restrictions on the number of photos: add as many as you want, including floorplans and elevations, and organize into dynamic photo galleries with sophisticated user controls. You can also quickly and easily create pages for listings, for a models center, or for your sales staff…and create text and photo galleries for each of those pages, as well.

Most important, though–now and always–you get a contact form that allows you to harvest sales leads directly. Each basic listing can list contact information such as address and phone number, but does not include a web form. Having a Premier Showcase is a way to quickly and directly collect information from prospective buyers.

Premier Showcases typically have better than a 500% improvement in visits over Basic listings. Along with that, you get all the tools you need to make a better impression on visitors, plus sales leads…plus the enhanced search presence on sites like Google and Yahoo that RetireNet listings provide. And the price hasn’t changed: it’s still only $79 a month.
]]> http://retirenet.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/smart-marketing-in-a-tight-market/feed/ 0 Adam Brooks http://retirenet.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/are-you-a-featured-community/ http://retirenet.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/are-you-a-featured-community/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:24:38 +0000 Adam Brooks http://retirenet.wordpress.com/?p=183 ]]> A good way to get more views for your community’s RetireNet.com Showcase is to become a Featured Community. These special “advertorial” positions are found on – page on RetireNet.com, and our packages allow you to choose the state, region or lifestyle pages best suited to your target audience.

Featured Community listings are functionally similar to our banner and cube ads, but cost less. As with our graphical ads, Featured Community ads serve to give you a visible position in more pages on RetireNet.com than you may have with just a Showcase one. More visibility means more exposure, and a higher response rate to your marketing message.

For more information on adding the surprisingly affordable Featured Community position or other premium upgrade to your account, contact your account representative today, or request more information here.

Before we file another winter away, we need to remind ourselves that the time is now to begin thinking about looking for that perfect, maintenance-free home – perhaps in one of our southern states that is not affected by cold, snowy weather. Or perhaps in a community close by that offers a full slate of services, like lawn care, snow removal, etc. Before you know it, we will be lamenting the passing of another Fall and the onset of Winter.

Why wait? Take a look at RetireNet.com and use our comprehensive search, or take the VIP profile test to find the perfect location for you!

Your Community Showcase on RetireNet.com offers you the opportunity to put before the public exactly the message you want, and need, for them to hear. And that message is a constant feature of the Showcase: wherever a visitor may navigate to, whether to your photo gallery or your homes for sale or your contact form, the description and amenities remain visible at all times.

The technical process of creating both is simple. After logging in and choosing which Showcase to edit (for most users, there will be only one Showcase name shown), click on the “Edit” link for your Description. Adding, or editing, your Description simply requires that you type your text into the labeled textbox. There is no limit on the number of characters or words you can type…you can make your Description as long, or as brief, as you wish.

Editing your Amenities is a separate process, and it works a little differently, but is still easy. After clicking on the “Edit” link under Amenities, you’ll see a screen that lists all the pre-defined amenities available under the RetireNet system. To add your amenities, simply select which ones you offer by clicking on the checkbox beside each one. But you can do more than that, and here’s where taking full advantage of your Showcase comes in: beside each listed amenity is a text box, in which you can provide a full description. So rather than just checking “Pools/Spas,” for instance, you can check the box and then write a full description. For instance: “There are two swimming pools, including an outdoor pool open to residents and their families and guests, and a heated, Olympic-size indoor pool open to residents only. The indoor pool is used for casual swimming, lap swimming, and planned water exercise groups.”Having a full description gives you a distinct advantage over a competing community that doesn’t utilize this feature.

Now that you know how to edit your Showcase, the question becomes: what should you say? In general, it’s best to remember that people have reached your Showcase because it fits the parameters of their search: they’re already nibbling, but what will hook them is facts. Soothing or provocative language counts for less than answering their questions: is it an age-restricted community? Is it gated? Does it offer landscaping services? Is it within easy traveling distance of shopping and medical care? Is there a golf course?

Also, try to keep your descriptions brief, to the point, and accurate. Visitors to RetireNet have big questions, and they have to sift through a lot of information before signing on the dotted line. If you do a better job than others of giving them precisely the answers they need, you gain an advantage. Florid language and unsubstantiated claims may work well in other forms of marketing; but in the context of a search for answers, relying on the same kind of ad copy in your glossy brochure may result in an impatient and frustrated visitor clicking away to the next Showcase on their list, and no sales lead being generated for your community.

The process is identical in each case, although you will have to first navigate to the appropriate screen (for instance, to create a gallery for a home for sale, you have to be on that home’s edit page). To demonstrate, we’ll go through the process to create a main community gallery. First, on RetireNet.com, click on “MyRetireNet” and sign in; then choose the name of the Showcase you wish to edit (for most users, there will be only one Showcase available). This takes you to your “Manage Showcase” screen.

In the right-hand column you should see a space for “Image Gallery.” You may not have any photos added yet; that’s okay–the feature is still active. It doesn’t need to be turned on–you can simply start to create your gallery by clicking “Add.”

Adding images works in just the same way as adding an attachment to an email. Just click the “Choose File” button and navigate to the image you want to add; then click “Save.” That’s all there is to it. (Please note that you can only upload images in .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, or .png formats, and there is a 1mb limit for each image).
You can add as many images as you like to your gallery. As each is uploaded, a thumbnail view of it will be added to the Image Gallery box on your “Manage Showcase” page. To reorder the images, click on the “Reorder” icon to the right of any image. When you do so, all the other Reorder icons will disappear…but moving your cursor over any row you will see a pair of new icons, one for “Insert above” and one for “Insert below.” If you wish, for example, to move photo #4 to the #2 position, click on its “Reorder” icon, move your cursor to the second row, and click on the “Insert above” icon. (Alternatively, you could move your cursor to the first row and click on the “Insert below” icon. Both methods accomplish the same thing: inserting a photo into a new position.) It’s as simple as that.

To create an image gallery for a model home, click on “Models,” then on the model for which you wish to add a gallery. When you do so, you’ll notice the same image gallery box. To create a gallery for an inventory home, click on “Homes,” and choose the home for sale.

All galleries are displayed the same way: a large photo in the main display area, accompanied by a horizontally scrolling collection of thumbnail images. The top image in your image gallery editor is by default the initial image displayed large; clicking any of the thumbnails changes the photo in the main display. There is also a “Slideshow” button; clicking this starts an automated display of the entire gallery.

First of all: why should you list your homes on RetireNet? Doing so gives your market more chances to find your community and your inventory. RetireNet has two different search paradigms, which work independently: visitors can search for communities, or for homes. Because your directory listing on RetireNet.com is tied to your community, you don’t have to do anything further to be found through a community search. But visitors can only find yourhomes if you take advantage of this feature. If you don’t list your homes, those same visitors may find the listings of your competitor across the street or down the road…but they won’t find you. What it comes down to is simply this: listing your homes can result in more and better sales leads for you than not doing so.

Taking advantage of this feature is easy. Even if you don’t currently list your homes for sale, that feature is still built into your Showcase…you don’t have to bother turning it on. Just start adding content, and a link for “Homes for Sale” will show up on your Showcase automatically. The process for adding content is simple and straightforward: click on “MyRetireNet” and sign in, then choose the name of the Showcase you wish to edit. This takes you to your “Edit Showcase” screen.

From here, click on “Homes” in the blue bar above “Manage Showcase.” Doing so will take you to your current listings (if you have none, you’ll simply see the message,”No homes”). Click the red button labeled “Add Homes,” and you’re ready to go.

The Add Home screen is as easy as filling out a form. Giving the home a name and listing its location is required, but there are many optional fields that should be taken advantage of as well. You can list the home’s price, square footage, number of beds and baths, year built, and so on. You can give a full description of the property (there is no limit on number of words), and separately list the property’s features. You can assign the home to a particular sales rep (to do so, you must create a sales rep identity separately, under the “People” link at top), and provide contact information. Finally, click the box marked “Published” at the bottom, save the new home, and it will automatically show up in your new lists of homes.

Once you’re created a listing, you can create an image gallery attached to that listing. In your main Homes for Sale list, click on the listing you wish to edit; the image gallery tool is in the upper right column. After clicking “Add,” the process of attaching an image is virtually identical to the process of adding an attachment to an email: you just click “Choose File,” navigate to the proper image file, and choose “Save.” Do this as many times as you like to add as many images as you wish. The images can be photos, floorplans, elevations… anything you like, so long as they are saved in an image format such as .jpg, .gif, or .png.

A basic listing entitles a member to a short descriptive paragraph, a single photo, and contact information. That’s not bad for a free service…but it could be better, and a Premier listing is worlds better. There are no restrictions on the size of your descriptive text. You can add as many photos as you want, and they’re organized into a dynamic photo gallery with sophisticated user controls. You can easily and quickly create separate pages that show listings for your home models, your available inventory, even your sales staff…and create text and photo galleries for each of those listings, as well.

But most important: you get a contact form that allows you to harvest sales leads directly. Each basic listing can list contact information such as address and phone number, but does not include a web form. Having a Premier Showcase is a way to quickly and directly collect information from prospective buyers.

Does it work? There are a lot of variables…and your mileage, as they say, may vary. But we have found that Premier Showcases get visited more than five times as often as Basic Listings. Plus: they get leads which Basic Listings never see.