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Al Kernek - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
Al Kernek has thirty years of hands-on marketing experience in both Fortune 500 firms and entrepreneurial start-up companies. He has an extensive background in marketing, Internet marketing and the use of e-mail newsletters to promote products and services.
His credentials also include a master's degree in business management, numerous courses in high-tech marketing, plus many industry and company awards for outstanding achievement.
A licensed real estate broker, Al has also published a book for real ... [More]
[View Al Kernek's Extended Author Bio]
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- Make Your Real Estate Website Visible!
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] Putting up a real estate Website is only the first step. Now you have to fine tune your site's descriptors to boost its search engine ranking when prospective clients search the Internet. It does you little good to have a Website if no one can find it. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take that increase your odds of being noticed when buyers or sellers turn to the Web to find a real estate agent.
- A CRM Solution For Small Businesses
[Business:Small-Business] Managing customers, conducting marketing campaigns and achieving timely follow-up on sales leads is a vital process that can overwhelm a small business. Keeping promises, storing correspondence, managing sales and being able to quickly determine the status of accounts is crucial to success. Having a single, integrated solution to accomplish all this makes the lives of small business people so much easier and more productive. Here is the perfect customer relationship management (CRM) solution for start-ups and small businesses.
- Many Baby Boomers Must Overcome Loan Qualification Obstacles to Buy Retirement Home Bargains
[Real-Estate:Buying] There is a bonanza of attractive retirement homes available to Baby Boomers at bargain prices. Making "lemonade out of lemons," many Boomers are seeking to take advantage of the foreclosure market to purchase a retirement home that was unaffordable just a few years ago. But because of restrictions put into place to counter "buy and bail" abuses, they are finding it difficult to get a new loan when they intend to convert their current home to a rental property because they cannot sell it in this abysmal real estate market.
- Baby Boomers Must Implement a Different Investment Management Strategy - Right Now!
[Investing:Retirement-Planning] There is a lot of talk about what people should be doing with their investments during this deep recession. 401Ks and savings have dropped by one-third to one-half for the majority of people. Most advice centers around traditional "wait and hold" strategies, figuring that when the market goes back up, you will regain lost portfolio value. Sell now and you lock in your losses, according to conventional wisdom. THIS IS DANGEROUS ADVICE FOR BABY BOOMERS!
- Five Low-Cost Marketing Activities For Small Businesses During a Recession
[Business:Marketing] With the recession gathering steam, 2009 looks to be a tough year for small businesses. Belt-tightening on marketing budgets is a natural reflex in these situations. However, it would be a huge mistake for small businesses to shut down marketing in a recession because marketing is essential to surviving a downturn. And fortunately, there are effective marketing activities that can be conducted for little or no cost to help keep your sales alive.
- Baby Boomers - Time to Walk Away From Your Mortgage?
[Home-and-Family:Baby-Boomer] Many baby boomers have seen the equity in their homes evaporate in a matter of months. What was supposed to be a nice cushion for retirement has simply disappeared. Worse yet, many boomers now find themselves in a situation where they owe more on their property than it is worth. They can't sell their homes - there are no buyers, no refinancing and the lender won't take a short sale. Under these circumstances, does it make sense to put your house keys in the mail to the lender and just walk away?
- Parental Care Primer For Baby Boomers
[Home-and-Family:Baby-Boomer] Baby Boomers becoming caregivers for one or both of their parents face a challenging and rewarding responsibility. If you are in this group, you belong to a fast growing segment of the Baby Boomer population. Elder care is difficult, but giving back support and love to your parents can create a special time that brings you closer. Here is some sage wisdom gained through experience that will help Baby Boomers in this journey.
- Baby Boomer Migration Foreseen
[Home-and-Family:Baby-Boomer] According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, "The decline in home values has reduced the prospect of comfortable retirements for the majority of near retirees...This extraordinary destruction of wealth will have tremendous implications for millions of families as they enter retirement. Coupled with a very low personal savings rate, this means that many people will only have Social Security and Medicare to rely on in their retirement."
- Condominium Ownership Can be a Financial Money Pit - What You Don't Know Can Hurt You!
[Real-Estate:Condominiums] Whether you are a Realtor or a home buyer, it pays to investigate the financial condition of condominium home owners associations before taking a listing or making a purchase bid. Failure to do so can lead to a rude awaking with jolting financial consequences.
- Online Email Newsletter Preparation Service -- Constant Contact Product Review
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Email-Marketing] Constant Contact is a popular entry-level, Web-based service for the creation, distribution and management of email newsletters. It is optimized for non-techies who want a fast, easy answer for low-to-moderate volume email promotions. While not "hiccup" free, the service fulfills a market need. Just be aware of where it fits and its quirks.
- Internet Marketing – It Pays to Get a Sanity Check!
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] Many small businesses are not getting the results they expected from their Website and online marketing activities. Every small business person has at one time or another has said to himself, "I wish I could get someone knowledgeable to look at my site and tell me what to do." And following that intuitive thought is exactly what they should do. There are several ways to get an outside opinion of your Website marketing activities.
There are several ways to get an outside opinion of your Website marketing activities.
- Turn Your Small Business Website into a Marketing Machine!
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] It is surprising to see how many Websites are just informational in nature or seem to exist solely for company status. Some companies still view their Website as nothing more than an online brochure. If your company is one of these, you are foregoing an extraordinary marketing opportunity.
- Choose Your Website Cross-Links Wisely
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Traffic-Building] It pays to be careful when you decide to link with a site. Choosing the wrong Website will diminish your credibility and could result in being penalized by the search engines. Sticking to relevant sites that you have personally reviewed is the recommended way of building your Website traffic and search engine ranking.
- Your Website's Unique Selling Proposition
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Web-Development] In today’s online world, you have about ten seconds to capture the interest of a Website visitor. If the benefits you offer are enticing, you may gain a customer. If not, your Website visitors will quickly move on. That is why you must present a compelling sales argument, or "unique selling proposition," in the visible portion of your Home page.
- Boost Sales Through Inexpensive Press Release
[Business:Marketing] Inexpensive online press releases are a wonderful vehicle for getting your message out to the marketplace. They create visibility, enhance credibility and live on forever. What's more, implementing a sustained campaign of online and printed press releases is an economical means of driving qualified traffic to your Website. In short, press releases are one of the best sales tools a small business can embrace.
- Website Solutions for Realtors
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] When it comes to setting up a real estate agent Website, there are several options. They range from "do it yourself" to complete solutions where all you have to do is change some text and upload your listings. Some vendors even include marketing activities with their solutions. The price tag, of course, varies accordingly – the more you do yourself, the less it costs you.
- Realtors - How Will Zillow Impact Your Business?
[Shopping-and-Product-Reviews] Something new is happening in the online real estate arena...a new entry that will have far-reaching effects on your real estate business. In the future it is likely that a majority of Internet surfers will first visit a new site, "Zillow," to get an idea of property values. Zillow offers a free "do-it-yourself" comparable valuation report for both buyers and sellers. And while they are there, visitors are exposed to advertising by your competitors and (upcoming) services from affiliated Realtors. In other words, you will no longer have first shot at capturing prospective clients.
- How Real Estate Agents can Succeed in a Slower Market
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] Although the real estate market may not be a bubble about to burst, it definitely is slowing down. Now is the time for REALTORS to position themselves to be competitive in a market that has lower prices, fewer buyers and longer sales cycles.
- Local PPC Advertising Can Boost Small Business Sales
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:PPC-Advertising] Google and Yahoo both offer online promotion programs that are especially beneficial to small business people and real estate agents. Taking advantage of these inexpensive programs is an excellent means of promoting products and services to your local marketplace.
- It's Time for Google to Fire the Open Project Directory!
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] How many of you are as frustrated as I am with attempting to get listed in the Open Project Directory (OPD)? You submit and wait…and wait. But nothing happens. You try to find out if there is any problem, but your communications (if you can find a way to submit an inquiry) are never answered. Operating this way, the OPD would be out of business if it were a real company. In fact, the OPD would already be irrelevant if it weren't for the fact that Google and others draw upon its entries for their directories.
- Real Estate Rookies Need to Work Smarter, Not Harder!
[Real-Estate] The housing boom has attracted a flood of newcomers to the real estate profession. But they soon discover that the real estate profession is saturated and very competitive. It is difficult to break into the market and gain a clientele. Sadly, following the standard real estate formula for new agents usually leads to several years of long hours with low compensation. Most give up and drop out.
To be successful, new real estate agents need to work smarter than established colleagues by leveraging Internet marketing tactics to promote themselves, tap a broader market and to increase productivity.
- Internet Marketing Success Requires a Plan (Part I)
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] The days when you could just slap up a Website and wait for the money to roll in are long gone. Success today depends on knowing your target audience and having an effective strategy to reach them. Upfront planning is what separates winning Internet marketing endeavors from failures.
- Internet Marketing Success is a Cumulative Effect
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] Being successful at Internet marketing requires doing the right things, like search engine optimization and targeted online promotion. But assuming you are already doing these things, the real secret to success is to just do something…anything…everyday to push your website a little further along the road to growing your business.
- Internet Marketing Success Requires a Business Plan (Part II)
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] Launching an Internet business without first accomplishing upfront research and developing a realistic "go to market" plan is tantamount to playing the "Wheel of Fortune" in Las Vegas – you may get lucky but the odds are against it.
- Internet Marketing Requires Lots of Patience!
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] When you first make a decision to start an Internet business or to put your existing business online, it helps if you have a realistic appreciation of just how long it takes to break-even on your efforts. Usually, it takes several months!
Putting up a business Website is just the beginning. The real challenge is to achieve visibility in the crowded Internet marketplace.
- Real Estate Agents - What Type of Content Should You Include in Your Newsletter?
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Email-Marketing] One of the biggest concerns for Realtors who publish their own email newsletter is determining the type of content that will gain interest from their readership. After all, real estate agents who engage in this endeavor want prospective buyers and sellers to open their newsletter and thus be reminded that the agent is their local real estate expert. Ideally, readers should find the content so interesting that they will even forward the newsletter to their friends or relatives who might be prospective clients as well. This "viral marketing" often leads to a profitable source of income for agents.
- Why Real Estate Agents Need Their Own Website
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] It is difficult, if not impossible, for a real estate agent to be successful today without a Website. This article examines the reasons that Realtors require an online presence.
- Use Landing Pages to Boost Sales and Capture Metrics
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] Discusses the importance of using landing pages in conjunction with email newsletter promotions to guide the responder's actions. Landing pages also capture important data for refining email marketing campaigns.
- Viral Marketing - Your Key to Gaining New Clients
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Email-Marketing] Provides an overview of how to structure your email newsletter to create viral marketing as a means of capturing new clients.
- Realtors - Is Your Newsletter Increasing Sales?
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Email-Marketing] If your real estate newsletter is not producing the sales results expected, perhaps you need to make your content more compelling or use your newsletter in a more purposeful manner. Implementing these simple suggestions will significantly enhance your newsletter's marketing effectiveness.
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