There are many ways to develop your real estate investing brand. With so many investors constantly coming in and out of the business, you need to stand out from the crowd. The best way to do this is to take whatever aspect of the business you enjoy the most and make it your own. If you like investing in tax liens, make them your specialty. If you have a passion for buying mobile home properties, focus on them. It really doesn’t matter what your niche is as long as you truly enjoy it, see upward potential in it and are willing to soak up as much knowledge about it as possible. If you can do this, it won’t be long before you get recognized for your capacity to carry out tasks within your niche.
Becoming a master means knowing more than everyone else about a particular field. This has to be the first step you take with your particular niche. Since this is an area that you truly enjoy, finding motivation should not be a problem. You need to take the time to constantly stay up to date with your niche. When people approach you about your niche, you need to be ready to educate them on every step of the process. If you aren’t up to date or only know some of the process, you won’t last very long. Every day you should be searching for some education that can help you be more successful and find better ways to master your niche. If you want to be a leader in your area, you need to spend the time and money to know more than everyone else.
Once you feel that you have a good grasp on your niche, you need to prove that you are capable of delivering within it. Social media has made marketing and advertising easier than ever before. Your promotions should start with your website. Every day, you need to be posting either a video or a written blog about your niche and your market. You can keep these videos as short as 45 seconds and your blogs under 500 words. These should be shared on as many social media platforms as you are a part of. The more you can promote yourself as an expert and give the viewer the reassurance that you know your niche, the more likely they will want to work with you in the future. These videos and blogs probably won’t take you more than a few minutes each day to complete, but they will have a huge impact.
After a few months of saturating the market and expanding your profile online, you can take the next step. If you feel that you have enough information that you want to share with the public, you can consider writing an eBook. You don’t need to be a full-fledged author to compose something like this. Put down as many ideas as you have on paper and just start writing. There are many templates and websites that can take a word document and spread it out over an eBook. This should be predominately placed on your website, blasted out through email to all the contacts you have and even shared on social media. A simple 12-20 page book explaining some aspect of your niche will cement you as an expert in your area.
There are also many minor things you can do that will further your image as a leader in your niche. Having a tagline on your business card or on your website will leave no doubt as to the kind of investor you are. You can also network yourself at investment club meetings or referral clubs as an investor in your niche. Instead of getting lost in the crowd and saying you are a real estate investor, you can promote yourself as the short sale specialist or the condo king. The next time that someone in your contact list has a deal that fits your niche you should get the first crack.
When you do get some opportunities regarding your niche, you need to be ready to act. This means constantly staying up to date with any changes and treating your referrals like gold. If you claim to be a tax lien expert, you need to know specific local town and state guidelines and any recent changes. The same goes if you are a rehab expert, wholesale guru or farm area specialist. Your reputation as an expert is only as good as the knowledge you have in your area and how well you take care of people. All it takes is dropping the ball on one deal to have your reputation spoiled.
Growing your niche can happen quicker than ever before with all of the increased technology that is currently available. That being said, it will only happen if you let it. It is not easy taking the plunge and dedicating you to only one area. There will be times that you second guess yourself, but if you look at the big picture and are willing to put yourself out there it will all be worth it. Mastering your niche and developing your brand takes work and commitment, but if you can pull it off you will have access to more deals than you know what to do with. Instead of being a jack of all investing trades, you can be a master of one.
