When you’re new to the field of real estate investing it can be quite overwhelming, not to mention humbling, to realize how much you don’t know about the business. And that’s doubly true when it comes to good, old marketing.
But real estate marketing for beginners doesn’t have to be a chaotic whirlwind, and simply another way to squander valuable capital on business strategies that don’t work. With the right systems, and a comprehensive strategy for how you’ll execute each aspect of your real estate marketing strategies, you’ll turn the arduous task of starting a real estate career from an impossible dream to a manageable set of steps.
So, here are seven key strategies, that though fall under the real estate marketing for beginners banner, will have you looking (and performing) like a pro in no time.
Real Estate Marketing for Beginners Demystified
1. Create a Marketing Budget
No matter how much or little capital you have to start marketing with, it’s essential to have a budget and a plan for how you’ll best use that budget. No one learning how to start a real estate investing business can succeed without watching the numbers, and without a real budget you may burn through valuable capital before you get started.
You may spread out your initial expenditure over the first 12 to 18 months to ensure you have enough fuel to see some of your REM techniques, such as email marketing or direct mail marketing, come to fruition. Or you may weight your efforts upfront, and go hard in the first three months, then use profits to expand. Whether you’ve got $300 or $300,000; it’s vital you create a marketing budget and stick with it. (Discipline is one of the first differentiators between professionals and amateurs.)
2. Tell Everyone You Know
More often than not, new investors find their first deals tend to come from friends and family, and the referrals they can provide. All the unique real estate marketing ideas in the world can’t make up for a solid social network that might point you toward your initial acquisition.
However, theses deals that fall into your lap won’t materialize unless people know you are in the business. Tell people, even before you’ve made the leap, and prep them to work with you even before you start. Word of mouth is a great tool, perhaps one of the best real estate marketing tools. You just have to start telling people what you’re about; you never know where that elusive first deal might come from.
3. New Contacts
Real estate investing, for beginners and veterans, largely depends on how many new contacts you’re able to make. I suggest setting a daily goal for yourself, such as giving out 10 business cards a day.
It may sound simple, but it could end up being one of the most powerful real estate marketing strategies you employ as an investor. Put 10 business cards in your pocket or on the front seat of your car each morning and don’t go home until you’ve given them out. All it takes is 30 seconds to introduce yourself and offer your services. You never know how big an impact the smallest moves can have.
4. Get Busy on Facebook
Build up your network and get your inner circle excited about real estate. Use Facebook to grow your circle of influence and let people know who you are, and that you can be taken seriously.
Update your occupation, post house pictures and tips, have real conversations with people about what you’ve learned…and where you hope your career will go. There’s a good chance you will “like” the results, even if only having invested just a few minutes each day.
5. Mail Personal Letters
While most of us are digital natives in today’s real estate landscape, you can’t replace certain forms of interaction. Personal, handwritten letters and cards are a great way to stand out, get people’s attention, and leverage your personal relationships.
Identify key people you’d like to add to your network — real estate agents, contractors, title agents, etc. — and mail to them right away. Notify them you are now in the real estate business, ask for their business, and let them know how you can help them. Put all of these contacts in a database and schedule regular mailers. The fortune is in the follow up, and oftentimes it’s the entrepreneur who followed up longer than others that succeeds.
6. Blog
Real estate blogging is an affordable, fast, and easy way to spread the word about your company. One of the great things about this tool is you can start blogging about the local community and properties well before you begin flipping houses.
Best of all, a thriving content-rich blog can offer you other forms of passive income, such as affiliate sales and banner ads. There’s no better way to build a tribe and build your digital footprint — not to mention make a few dollars in the process — than having a frequently updated blog.
7. Local Networking
It’s vital you get out and connect with private lenders, vendors, Realtors, and other investors that may be able to help you in one way or another. Not only is it a great way to build your mastermind group, bolster your deal flow, and find better service providers for about the cost of lunch…but it will give the much-needed confidence to handle whatever the entrepreneurial waters may throw your way.
One Step at a Time
It can be scary when developing a real estate marketing for beginners plan that you hope will take your business to the next (and successful) level. But it’s important to remember that we often exaggerate what we don’t know.
And by demystifying certain aspects of the real estate marketing process you can shine light on those areas of your business that create fear and dread, and instead use them as a galvanizing force to make your biggest professional, and personal, gains.
