Real estate marketing on a shoestring

Wallet a bit squeaky? Hey, the holidays can put a dent in even the best budget. But there’s still your real estate business to think about and, without marketing, there isn’t enough oil in the world to cure that squeak in the pocketbook.

So, today, we’ve decided to provide you with a list of free-to-low-cost real estate marketing strategies. Some are old school, but tried-and-true. A few you may have considered in the past and now may be the perfect time to implement them – even on a small scale.

Yes, there is, and rightfully so, a dollar value for your time. Those real estate marketing strategies listed below as “free” refer to the fact that they involve no out-of-pocket expense.

Free real estate marketing: Reach out to past clients

The holidays offer the perfect excuse to get in touch with past clients. We’ve suggested in the past that you skip the Christmas greeting and send a New Year’s wish instead. This way, yours doesn’t get buried in the avalanche of holiday greetings most folks receive in December.

Wait until the week after January first to make your phone call, send your email or text or pop a card in the mail. Keep the greeting focused on them, not you, but do request that they pass on your contact information to anyone that expresses an interest in buying or selling real estate.

Don’t let up on these contacts when you get busy. You’ll thank yourself when referrals start rolling in.

Free real estate marketing: Beef up your blogging strategy

While this one won’t pay off immediately, over time, if done consistently as part of your real estate marketing plan, it will help your organic search engine ranking.

Plus, it gives you social media fodder. If the content is compelling enough, it’ll drive visitors to your website.

A blogging strategy should include different forms of content, such as infographics. The more local the posts, the higher the likelihood they’ll be shared.

Aim for one new post each week, if possible, and take a deep dive into your topic.

Free real estate marketing: Lean more heavily on social media

Social media marketing is one of the most cost-effective strategies you can use when you’re on a tight budget. And, no, we aren’t talking ads.

Being social – engaging with your followers – is a cheap and easy strategy to keep you top-of-mind and to find new prospects.

From running quizzes and contests to posting hyper-hyper local content, Facebook, especially, is worth your time and effort.

We give you tips on the type of content to share, here and ways to beef up your presence, here. If you’re stuck for topics, we help you out, here.

Free real estate marketing: Knock on doors

Oh, come on, poo-poo door knocking all you want – but, when done consistently, it works.

We like Bryan Casella’s video The Complete Guide to Door Knocking for Real Estate Agents. If you can get beyond the super-poor audio, it’s worth a watch. If you can’t, check out his other door knocking videos here.

If you depend on scripts for strategies such as cold calling and door-knocking, check out this one from Rachel Adams, CEO of The Rachel Adams Group in Sacramento, California.

She, by the way, used door knocking to propel her from rookie status to being listed among Keller Williams’ top 1000 real estate agents in the country within her first three years in the business

Free real estate marketing: Revisit email marketing

Because it’s free, email marketing has lost a lot of its “oomph” over the past few years. It was bound to happen, with emails cluttering our inboxes hawking everything from guaranteed ways to stay young to website makeovers and more.

Even the government crackdown on unsolicited commercial emails hasn’t slowed the volume we receive on a daily basis.

So, the chances of generating numerous new leads from an email campaign are slimmer than for the previous strategies mentioned, but, hey, it’s free.

Email can be an effective way to keep in touch with past clients. We offer some tips here, and a list of blunders to avoid, here.

Low cost to free: Get out and schmooze

If you aren’t yet a member of your local Chamber of Commerce, get on that one right now. The number of mixers and other networking events they hold are worth their weight in lead-generation gold.

You’ll need to wade through some pretty ugly ads to get to the list, but you’ll find the Chamber in your town here.

Then, there are the various Meetup.com groups across the country. Choose a group that is geared toward something you are genuinely interested in. In my area, for instance, there are meetup groups for everything from learning how to trade stock options to the law of attraction, English country dance, running, walking and more.

Consider volunteering your time to an organization you feel passionate about. This is an amazing way to meet like-minded people, get to know them on a one-to-one basis and build trust.

Find volunteer opportunities in your area online at VolunteerMatch.org or search for “volunteer opportunities in [name of your town].”

While none of these real estate marketing ideas are in any way new or original, any of them can be used as a low-cost real estate marketing strategy to help you through the down time.