All Forum Posts by: Melissa Ward

Most property management systems offer a free trial so you can get a feel for the software and its functionality.  I would test out a few programs to see if it meets your needs without being overkill.  If price is a factor, some start as low as $10 a month and still offer fairly robust features.  

Some systems are viable for both owners and property managers.  Shop around and be sure to take advantage of any free trials so get a feel for the software.

Trello, Google Calendar, Slack if you have a team are all good options.  Some property management software systems offer the option as well.

We use Verifirst.  They integrate with our other software and offer a great price point. 

For PPC to be effective you need to have a good web site with a clear call to action.  Your landing page has to capture the attention and create the desire to cough up a name and email address (or whatever info you're collecting). 

If you are new and do not have other online profiles (Facebook, LinkedIn, no Google Business Page / Reviews) this can be a bit risky as the savvy internet user is not going to just toss up info.   Having said that - Facebook lead ads work well.  The information doesn't even need to be typed in, a person can just click a button and poof, their info is filled into the form.  I've done a number of lead ad campaigns with success.  The cost is usually a fraction of google PPC.

Direct mail has a longer turn around time, does not really have the "spontaneous-ness" of PPC, but when someone does reach out they are typically more qualified and tend to take action. 

For my 2 cents - depending on the size of the market you want to mail to, I'd do both.  The advantage to digital marketing is you can measure success quickly. 

I just googled sell my house fast and with the exception of 2 - all results were blog posts.  Content is HUGE!  The other thing I noticed was one listing had 5 stars because they claimed their google business listing pay attention to those reviews.  Local SEO has become increasingly important in rankings and driving qualified traffic.  

Sounds like you saved yourself a lot of trouble by taking the time to check them properly.  Great lesson for all of us.

Sounds like you saved yourself a lot of trouble by taking the time to check them properly.  Great lesson for all of us.

A couple of things:  From all the answers above you can see marketing, particularly digital marketing can be a big hairy beast.  There are a few key things you want to look at:

- Who are you marketing to and why should they care about you / your business?  People get a lot of messages thrown at them daily.  Find a pain point and offer them a solution - you win. 

- You must have a good clean web site, a lead magnet (a form to get info from people in exchange for something cool), Facebook pixel and Google analytics at minimum.  Blog and mail list are a bonus.

- Do you really want to manage this yourself?  For $2000 a month, there are smaller firms that can do the leg work for you.  Pick a fixed amount of time, ie: 3 months and set specific goals.  Make sure you are getting regular reports.  There are a couple of firms above that are worth contacting, and I'd be happy to chat with you too.

Good luck!  Have fun - it's a great adventure. 

We use a lesser known system.  What was the deciding factor for you?