Property ManagementHow To Co-Brand Your Way To Web Success!
Dear Mr. Internet:What"s the best way
of adding links to high-value content on my Web site without losing visitors
when they click on them?
S.E. "Cher" Culpepper
CENTURY 21 Aware Realty
Mesa, AZ
Dear Cher:
What if someone came to you and said "I"m going to create content for
your Web site that your visitors will
flip over, where you look great because it will appear like you did it, and in
most cases won"t cost you dime!"? Now the cynic in us might say
"What"s the catch?", but frankly I would say "WOW! - when can I
have it?!"
All these promises come true when you know how to look for
appropriate"co-branded" content. Co-branded content is created
by a third party (often at great initial expense) but "branded" with
your site and/or personal information in a manner that it appears as an
integral part of your Web presence. The beauty of using co-branded
content is that your site visitors receive valuable information or services
that would otherwise be too expensive for you to create yourself. And
just as importantly, it is displayed in a manner that makes it look like they
never left your site --which keeps them around and more likely to do business
with you. This is a powerful way to leverage your Web site with little or
no cost to you.
Here are some examples of co-branded content and how you can use them...
Example 1 - Your Very Own Online Newsletter:
(Free)
A lot of professionals in the industry use newsletters to stay in touch with
clients and prospects. While this is a proven and powerful marketing
tool, the cost of producing and distributing the paper kind is at least $1.00
each (with many of them unfortunately ending up in the "round
file"). Realty Times, a respected consumer and real
estate agent news publisher has developed a terrific monthly online newsletter
that they will brand with your photo and contact information for free.
You can see an example of this great tool in use
here. It is easy to incorporate this
into your Web site and/or use it for an ongoing outbound e-mail marketing
campaign.
In addition to not costing you anything, they will send you regular reports
showing how many hits it has generated for you! Now all this begs the
question "Why are they willing to do this for free?". While
they do likely generate some advertising income, the bulk of their return on
investment will come from those agents willing to shell out $200/yr to supply
the "printer-friendly" version of the newsletter to their
clients. Pretty clever, but I never fault anyone for trying to make a
buck providing real value.
Example 2 - The Ultimate Mortgage
Information Resource:
(free)
Many agent sites contain mortgage information of some kind. Typically
however, there is little in the way of real solid content and information that
most visitors would want and need. The good folks at
Mortgage101 have created an incredibly rich mortgage
information resource site, co-branded with your identity for free!
It is filled with timely articles, calculators, as well as current quotes from
many different lenders. You can see another Peg Bryant* example of this by going to Peg
Bryant"s Mortgage Info.
Mortgage101 does a great job, however there are some
caveats to using this particular co-branded content (see cautionary note
below).
Example 3 - Relocation Tools That Make You
Look Like A Genius: (there is a fee
for this one)
Homefair.com is a very comprehensive relocation resource
that will allow you to co-brand their powerful tools with your site information
for a fee. Their Relocation Wizard is particularly impressive
and you can see it in action for yourself by going to Peg
Bryant"s Power Tools For Relocation
While Homefair.com does allow you to link to their tools
for no charge, branding them with your picture and contact information will
cost you a fee. However, if you mention you heard about them from
"Mr. Internet!" you will receive a 33% discount** on the current fee schedule!
In addition to the three examples above, you will find other sources of
co-branded content as well if you keep your eyes open and stay current on the
Net. You can also count on the infinite innovation of the Internet to
produce
even more such opportunities in the future.
When you come upon any source of co-branded content, it is good to know how
to evaluate it for your purposes. First, the content should be
professional looking, credible, and appropriate for your site"s targeted
market. Secondly, you are advised to make sure that its content
will not get you into to trouble! Use the following cautionary note below
as your guide...
Keep in mind that co-branded content will appear to visitors
as part of your Web site. Therefore it is important that all
pages of co-branded content show complete disclosure and
affiliation information as required by your licensing jurisdiction or
state. Also, any content with calculators should include appropriate
disclaimers (as reviewed by your attorney) as to their reliability and
appropriate use. Lastly, any mortgage information, co-branded or
otherwise, needs to include the proper disclosures (REG-Z, etc.).
Co-branding is a great way to extend your online professional presence,serve
your site visitors, and have it cost you little or nothing to implement.
Good luck and have fun as you "co-brand" away!
Article Resources:
Real
Times - this is where you go to sign up for your free online newsletter
that is branded with your information and updated monthly for
FREE!
Mortgage101 - an incredible mortgage
information co-branded resource for your site - if they will include
all your disclosure and affiliation information on each page that is! (see
cautionary note above)
HomeFair.com -
great source for co-branded relocation tools that your clients will love.
Be sure to mention you heard about it from Mr. Internet to get your discount
**
RESICOM - a banner
linked content source that can provide valuable neighborhood demographic
information to your site visitors. You can set it up so that you receive
the lead information on anyone requesting these reports. Some content is
free and others have a fee associated with it
* Peg Bryant is
a"mythical" real estate professional that Mr. Internet uses to
demonstrate various ways to effectively market yourself online. You can
visit and explore her site by going to http://www.vrealproperties.com
** Mr. Internet, RUSSER Communications or any of
its staff receive no compensation of any kind from 3rd party vendors for
mentioning their products or services. Any incentives that would have
been earned are given back to you, the real estate professional.
Imagine having a fax machine that is smaller than a head of a pin, lighter
than a feather, one you can take everywhere, and receive faxes from anywhere,
and by the way --its free!!
Well, thanks to the folks at e-fax you can have your own
free fax number within 24 hours! Here"s how it
works: when someone sends a fax to your e-fax fax
number, it gets converted to a compressed image and sent to you as an attached
e-mail. When you pick up your e-mail and click on the attachment, the
free fax viewer that comes with the service will instantly display the fax
allowing you to view it or print it.
Not only that, you can forward the fax to anyone else who has an Internet
e-mail account. If they don"t have the viewer, it will only take them
about a minute or so to download the free viewer (192k) from the link on the
e-mail, enabling them to also read this and all future e-faxes. What"s
more, the e-fax images appear to be about 60% smaller than competing services,
which means much faster download times. Free faxing--what will they
think of next!?