Second Self Virtual Assistance

Don’t you love it when you can get expert advice from an expert, especially when the advice is free?  If your answer is yes, then you are just like millions of other people.  Included among those millions are people seeking real estate advice.  I believe when people have questions, they want to come to a real estate professional.  But (and it’s a big one) they are afraid of you.  The fear of being “SOLD” keeps them away.  So, how do you combat that fear?  By becoming an expert in their eyes, an expert that only wants to provide them with helpful information and advice for free.
 
Here are ways that you can establish yourself as an expert while giving the public what they want:

* Website

~ Allow website visitors to ask questions via a no obligation and free information “ASK ME” page.
~ Allow website visitors to ask questions via a “CHAT WITH ME” widget.

* Email Campaigns

~ Create a Buyer Tips email campaign with just one tip in each mailing.
~ Create a Seller Tips email campaign with just one tip in each mailing.
~ Create a Hot News email campaign and send your contacts the hottest and newest real estate news (just one per email).
~ Remember to ask at the end of each email if they have a particular real estate question or problem that you can help them with.
~ Remind them that you are always available by email and always respond within 24 hours.  The sooner, the better.

* Blogs

~ End your blog with an invitation for users to submit questions regarding the subject of the blog or anything else that may be of importance to them.
~ Create an “ASK ME” page on your blog site (many sites allow you to create and customize pages).
~ Create a link from your blog site to your website “ASK ME” page.

* Articles and eBooks

~ Experts write articles.  It is only a little more detailed than a blog, after all.
~ Experts write books.  Create an eBooklet in a PDF format and place it on your website as a free download.

* Authority Sites

~ Posting on authority sites establishes you as an expert in your field and in the community you serve.
~ Posting on authority sites maximizes exposure.
~ Sites such as RealtyTimes.com need and want Realtors to post the current market conditions in their area.
   * RealtyTimes allows several Realtors to represent an area.
   * RealtyTimes allows you to post as often or as little as you like.
~ Sites such as Trulia and Zillow allow you to answer questions posted by their users.
   * Trulia introduces you as an expert. (Trulia quote: “Browse answers and get advice by thousands of locals and experts”)
   * Just answer one question and you are established as an expert.
   * The more you respond, the more you are viewed as an expert.
   * The more you are viewed, the more likelihood that you will generate leads from your expert opinions.
   * A response to a question can result in hundreds of views and all those viewers view you as an expert. This question “Buying an as-is foreclosed home, needs repairs.  FHA?  What’s the best negotiation method?” received 5 responses, only one of which was a real estate agent.  The question received 101 views in less than 24 hours.

Answering questions and giving real estate advice comes naturally to real estate professionals.  They are asked questions on a daily basis by their peers and by the public in their offline world, so it is only natural that a real estate professional should establish themselves as an expert online as well.

Ask me how you can become an expert in your field and I’ll show you how I became an expert in mine.

Pamela Cendejas – Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn’t Enough of You to Go Around!