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2. How to Create
A Real Estate
Marketing Plan

3. Creating a real estate marketing
plan is of paramount importance for
any investor seeking to begin a career
in this industry. There is no ‘right’ or
‘perfect’ real estate marketing
plan as marketing is
always situational, flexible, and
fungible in nature.

4. So why would I write an article on
how to create a marketing plan for
your real estate business? Because I
want to provide for you several
options and let you pick which ones
will best work for you.

5. Before giving you actual items for
your real estate marketing plan, I
want to give you a couple of words of
caution to think about before
deciding what to implement:

6. Create a budget.
What will you spend every month on
marketing? This budget will dictate
what types of marketing you will use.

7. Create a ‘time’ budget.
Marketing can take time and
effort. For example, if you’re going to
place bandit signs on a weekly
basis, you are committing yourself to
early Saturday mornings every
weekend and late Sunday evenings to
pick up the signs again. Can you
commit to that time?

8. Pick at least 5.
Don’t put all of your eggs in one
marketing basket. I know many real
estate investors love the concept of
online marketing (as do
I). However, if you are just creating a
Facebook Page and expecting to get
leads, your business will fail. For best
success, pick at least 5 strategies
from the list below.

9. Create a Real Estate Marketing
Plan | Strategies
• Farming an Area- this tactic is the
simplest and least expensive way to
get started. You simply drive a series
of small neighborhoods in your target
area and look for homes that show
signs of distress.

10. These signs can be an unkempt
lawn, boarded up windows, piles of
newspapers in the
driveway, weeds, etc… Then get the
addresses, find the owner, and
contact them to make an offer. This
method is good because you become
an expert in an area and costs very
little money to do. The only drawback
is that it takes time to farm areas.

11. • Bandit Signs
Bandit signs are signs posted in busy
intersections. A sample bandit sign will
say “We Buy Houses, Cash, As-Is” with a
phone number as a call to action.

12. Bandit signs can be effective, but it costs
money to purchase the
signs, stakes, etc… and takes time to put
out and pick back up. Also, check with
the local ordinances on whether or not
bandit signs are illegal.

13. • Flyers
flyers are business size cards with the
same message as a bandit sign that you
place on the windshield of cars. For
flyers to work, you must use
large quantities (like 500+). The benefit
of flyers is that you can create 1000 for
about $15.

14. The downside is that it takes time to put
them out and you have a low conversion
rate. If you’re starting out and you have
plenty of time but not much money, then
spending a couple of hours a day with
this strategy could be a good way to
generate leads.

15. • Door Handle Signs
this is a sign that you hang on people’s
doors with your message and a call to
action. This is a great way for finding
buyers…going to apartment complexes
and hanging on their doors.

16. This is a relatively inexpensive form of
marketing, but as you’re finding out by
now, the lesser the expense of real
estate marketing, the greater the time
requirement.

17. • Post Cards
post cards are the most inexpensive way
to perform direct mail. As such, they
also have the lowest conversion. Post
cards allow you to display your message
in a manner that the homeowner will see
without having to open an envelope.

18. Post cards require quite a bit of
testing, not just on the post card
itself, but also on the mailing list
used. However, as is the case with
flyers, if you put enough out
consistently, then you will have success.

19. • Hand written letters
handwritten letters take time to write
out and costs money for the
paper, envelope, and stamps, but this
strategy also performs the best open and
has the highest conversion rate.

20. This is because they look more unique
and less like junk or spam mail. When
writing the letter, it’s best to use lined
yellow paper and blue ink. Keep the
message short and simple. For this
strategy to work, you must commit to
sending out letters consistently.

21. • Referrals
this strategy is effective and
inexpensive. You can develop referrals
from several sources: Realtors, mortgage
brokers, title agents, contractors, or even
people who work in hardware stores.

22. When making your pitch, consider the
WIIFM strategy; always make the pitch
more about how it is going to benefit
them to refer you business. And
also, make sure you return the favor and
send them some business as well.

23. • Networking events
real estate networking events are great
ways to meet other professionals to
obtain referrals. They’re also great ways
to meet and create relationships with
other real estate investors. This is
important because not every investor
uses the same strategy to buy and sell a
house.

24. Therefore, if you meet someone who
focuses on short sales and you focus on
subject-to, then you two can create a
nice little referral network. Also, these
events are great places to meet other
experts and learn from other, more
experienced investors.

25. • Social Media
social media is the electronic version of
networking or referral
marketing. However, when promoting
yourself on social media sites, like
Facebook, it’s important to make sure
your posts are providing value rather
than simply promoting yourself.

26. If you want to find home sellers, then
provide tips on how to sell your
house, how to stage a house, contract
tips, etc… Brand yourself as an expert.
Then people looking to sell their houses
will look for you.

27. • Video Marketing
video marketing is an excellent and
underutilized strategy. It’s inexpensive
and doesn’t take much time. Plus, video
is the media of choice- more people
would rather watch a video than read
text. You can use video to provide tips or
to give a walk through of a property you
are selling.

28. Then you can upload and promote
through YouTube as well as other social
sites, like Twitter, Facebook, and
Google+. As an additional bonus tip, I
highly recommend having a Google+
account for SEO purposes.

29. Obviously G+ is owned by Google, and if
you are using G+, your posts (and vidoes)
will show up higher in the search
rankings.

30. • Web sites
people love being able to search for
information online. Therefore, you want
to have a very informative website that
answers questions for those in need
while showcasing your expertise.

31. I strongly recommend having something
to give away
(ebook, video, checklist, etc…) in
exchange for their email
information. This way, you are able to
contact these potential customers
through newsletters and
autoresponders.

32. • Bird Dogs
bird dogs are people who aren’t exactly
in real estate yet come across real estate
opportunities. These are folks who work
in hardware stores, the Home Depot or
Lowes, landscapers, painters, etc… Thes
e are people who run into folks fixing to
sell their homes.

33. Give these potential bird dogs your
business card and pay them a
‘marketing’ fee for anyone who ends up
using your services. This method can be
the least expensive and least time
consuming way to find motivated sellers.

34. Creating and implementing your real
estate marketing plan will take some
time, money, and effort, but
understanding your options and
committing to a time and financial
budget before hand will allow you to
choose the methods that are best for
you and produce the best results
quickly.