Real estate investing has traditionally been a process of involving a lot of "face time". Investors would tend to stick to a specific local area to buy and sell their properties. As the Internet has grown and become more and more user-friendly, it has become the tool to use for real estate investing.

First, the internet allows investors to search virtually anywhere on the planet for real estate deals. It doesn't matter if you live in a tiny town in Kentucky, you can successfully compete with an investor living in Beverly Hills.

Once the property has been located and a deal has been struck, the investor can use the that same internet to find buyers for their property.

Sites that offer classified ads can be used to find prospects. Many of these sites are free to use with certain restrictions. Another technique is to use social sites like Facebook and Twitter to locate leads. Once a potential lead has been located, the investor can use a tool like an autoresponder to capture their contact information and to follow up with them.

Many tech-savvy investors will create their own websites to list their property's on. What's better then a virtual tour of the property to entice buyers? Again, these sites can be used to capture contact information. The prospect may not be interested in any current properties, but it's very possible that they'll like a property in the future. Following up with these prospects in an organized manner will allow the investor to keep a steady stream of leads interested in their properties. The more prospects, the more profit potential.