Free Stuff

Free Stuff:
Power Toys for Windows.
If you're still working with Windows XP I've got a deal for you, it's a picture resizer and it's from Microsoft. Besides that there are a whole bunch of tools available. See Power Toys for Windows. I downloaded it, no problems. When I right click on a photo I have a resize option. How cool is that?Vista users, well, we're not going to leave you out. You can Resize photos in Windows Live Photo Gallery. It makes changing the sizes of your pictures, quick & easy.

Please note: Never resize your original photo. Make a copy, save the original, and work with the copy.

Facebook | ActiveRain Real Estate Network: Real Estate Blogging - The Steps & Cycle For Success

Facebook ActiveRain Real Estate Network: Real Estate Blogging - The Steps & Cycle For Success

Navica Users Rejoice

Rutherford County MLS Members will receive a nice treat next month when their data feed is turned on. Real Estate Book advertisers will be connected to The Real Estate Book via a live full time, real time, data feed. What does this mean?

Ah, I am so glad you asked. It means, dear one, that your listings will automatically appear in our system in AMS without your having to lift a finger. Price changes, copy corrections... Correct it in the MLS and voila, it will appear online with us.

Listings will continue to be fed to our 30~ online partners!

Now, all you'll need to do is choose what properties you want to run in our book, draft your copy, select your pictures and away you go -- no more redundant data entry.

Thank you Rutherford County Multiple Listing Service Board Members from all of us, to all of you.

Free Stuff - Posterous

Gotta love those free tech toys and tools... This month's Free Stuff is brought to you by:
Dan McCarthy, CEO of NCI (Network Communications, Inc.) the corporation that owns The Real Estate Book, The Apartment Finder and more than 20 other brands, has been posting through Posterous. Hmmm.

You can email posterous virtually anything, text, video, mp3 files... virtually everywhere: facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Blogs, and more Much much more.

Post Once Publish Everywhere - One Click Publishing

Posterous.com
This platform integrates smoothly with Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and more.

July's Free Stuff

This month's Free Stuff section has to be divided between Townizen and Photobucket.
Townizen.com is a new free platform that gives real estate professionals super marketing tools, their press release says: Real estate professionals currently use multiple marketing tools from various vendors to get tasks done online (e.g. single property websites, realtor websites, listings platforms, property flyer generators, email campaigners, blogospheres, etc); Townizen provides all of these services under one platform...for free. You can check out the whole press release here.
Photobucket! Ah, I've had a ball playing with the Photobucket slideshow see: Ramblin' 'Round Rf'ton by scrolling down in this blog roll and it's free, too. Both platforms integrate smoothly with Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and more.
Next month: Posterous

Live MLS Feed

A MLS Data Feed and The Real Estate Book are together at last. Real Estate Book advertisers in Western North Carolina's Regional MLS are the first to go live with our streaming data feed. Starting today, with your permission, your listings can be automatically fed into our advertising management system and out to all of our 30 + web partners. Changes to your listings such as price changes will appear automatically, too. You wont have to lift a finger! Say yes to progress.

Boost your Traffic & Success Online with Social Media Optimization (SMO)

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Boost your Traffic & Success Online with Social Media Optimization (SMO)

View more presentations from beausensei.

It's A Very Good Thing

To be found online.

These days there's a trememdous amount of pressure to be blogging, to Twit or not to Twit, to get Linkedin, to be named on Naymz, get friended with facebook, and to hold court on My Space. Well I'm doing some of it.

facebook: Karen McCall
Twitter: KDMcCall
LinkedIn: Karen McCall
MySpace: Karen D McCall
Blogger: Karen's Corner
Website: KDMCCall.com
Active Rain: KDMcCall
Naymz: Karen McCall

Why? Well Goll - lee, that's a good question. And I don't have a good answer for you except that in all honesty, the only way you can learn this technology is to use it and the only way I can help my clients to use it is to use it myself. So, is this the next new thing in real estate? I have to say it just might be - social media marketing is growing in leaps and bounds.
Like I told a REALTOR this morning, I don't know if this is going to help you sell real estate or not, but it will help you to be found, and with all of the noise online these days, anything that helps someone who's looking for you to find you - well, for a REALTOR that would be a good thing. A very good thing.

7 Habits of Top Agents

In a 2009 study of more than 1,000 top agents it was discovered that the results could be boiled down to 7 things. We invite you to watch the full research video here, free. 2009 Video How Top Agents Maintain Success .

April Newsletter

Doublewide News You Can Use

If you ever had to look for a VIN number on a mobile home, and if you ever closed one with a VA or FHA loan, you have, write this down. The Institute For Building Technology And Safety here you'll find out how to get replacement VIN numbers, also known as HUD Labels, for mobile homes.

"IBTS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit service corporation formed by government organizations to provide unbiased professional building code compliance services directly to, or on behalf of, government agencies at all levels. These services include inspections, plan reviews, building department services, education and training, staff augmentation, policy and procedure development, cost evaluation, energy ratings, and auditing."

For a nominal fee -- about $75.00 - you can get verification of a HUD label: Dig out your credit card and make your request: Verification for Manufactured Home Certification Labels here.

This can be a real deal saver when someone's painted over the HUD label in the master bedroom closet, or replaced the kitchen cabinets....

Check out my Slide Show!

March Newsletter

Did you know? We publish the by design series? Call me for details.

Rainmaker Darrin Friedman

When it comes to web presence Active Rain Blogger Darrin Friedman's spread his net-web wide. He's got a Linked in profile, is blogging on Active Rain, is running a commentary on Twitter and has a facebook profile, too. Darrin is a branch vice president with Coldwell Banker Chevy Chase in Washington DC.
Darrin achieved Active Rain Rainmaker status in part for his syndicated post 5 Things Harry Potter has Taught Me About Real Estate shared here with his permission.

facebook
The idea that facebook could generate revenue from advertising by giving free access to the general public via facebook profile pages sounded good. Users of facebook could exchange photos, messages (public and private), and share personal interests. They could join groups, share links, and make new friends, all on line, all in real time. In return they would be exposed to constant marketing, and various advertising ploys including banner ads. At the same time, the site would systematically collect, analyze, and compile date to assist facebook management with marketing strategies. We joined facebook when my son, daughter-in-law, and 3 year-old granddaughter moved to Japan. Through this forum we're able to share day to day activities, pictures, instant messages, and even friends and family connections. To my surprise, this grew to a veritable, or should I say virtual, network of family and friend connections that's growing larger every week. facebook is growing by the minute and so is the revenue. By August of 2008 the company's value was estimated at between $3.75 and $5 billion. Investors are howling. They've got a winner on their hands. Interested? Got a few minutes? Sign up here, it's free anyone can join. I'll be your first friend!facebook

Enjoy a classic Facebook Song on YouTube and here's another that's just, well, you'll see it's the Facebook Song with Lyrics.

02/02/2009 Newsletter

Lowes Realtor Benefits

Have you signed up for your Lowes Benefits? You could be sending discount gift cards to clients to save them some real world dollars. By using your REALTOR discount you can save money, too. Here you'll find Free 10% off coupons, Free access to helpful videos, Free new homeowner direct mail, and coming soon, free E-Newsletters. You owe it to your clients to check this out.
Also, Coming Soon Lowes E-Coupons, these are coupons you email directly to your clients for immediate savings.


ctfmon.exe ... What Is It?
When you press control, alt, delete and open your Windows Task Manager it shows what programs are currently running on your computer, but what are they?
Click here for the Process Library, you can find out what the files actually do.
Simply type your file name into the search box at the top of the home page and follow the instructions. This can be particularly handy if you're trying to remove programs from your start up menu to speed up your computer.


Technology
For this month's "Best Tech Toy" I'd like to share Allstate Insurance's Know Your Stuff home inventory software. Your buyers and sellers will appreciate this free software download, and you might even want to try it out yourself. Do you keep a home inventory? It just got easier.

01/01/2009 Newsletter

Picture This

You've gone to great lengths to get the perfect picture of your client's property. You've been out in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon. The front is always in shadow. What's wrong?

If your seller's home faces north there's not a thing you can do about it, but you can plan to make pictures on an overcast day. You might even get lucky and snap a shot when a cloud momentarily obscures the sun. Otherwise, your choices are linited. You can use a photo editing utility. You could also use an inset photo for print advertising and run two pictures instead of one. We can set that up for you.
For more about real estate photography, visit Photography For Real Estate

Blog?
Seems like everyone's blogging and there's a lot of buzz about it. The word Blog actually originates from the term web-log, which would be a commentary, by anyone, about anything. Like a journal, dates run in chronological order. Not enough information? Click Blog for the WiKipaedia version.
There are several super real estate blogs, one of my favorites is Joeann's Blog, subtitled: Relaxed Real Estate for Magnificent Agents managed and written by Joeann Fossland.
And yes, I blog, not regularly, and not particularly well, but you've got to start somewhere. Visit me at:Karen'sCorner.
Have a go at it yourself. You can put up a free blog of your own at: Google's Blogger.

Technology

For this month's "Best Tech Toy" I'd like to share Constant Contact with you. This newsletter has been generated using a Constant Contact Template. User friendly, the site produces a professional and cohesive newsletter at a reasonable cost. This newsletter has been generated using a free trial version. What do you think? Could you use this in your business? Sign up for your free trial today.

It's Human Nature

What's your biggest problem? Buyers. I know, you need more buyers and you're out there trying to sell your listings, you're doing everything you can to drive web traffic to your site, personalizing yard signs with sign riders, setting up brochure boxes, posting your listings online with Trulia and REALTOR.com, and you're being told print is dead.
Duh -- it is and has always been rare for a client to phone in regarding a property he/she has seen online and make an offer on that property without visiting the area. And they don't always call when they come in for that first look around, do they? Yes, sometimes they call and say, "We're Here" and you call your dentist and cancel the cleaning appointment you waited three months to get -- why -- because you know if you don't drop everything and show them some property, they'll find someone who will.
When they leave the state to go back home, they'll have several real estate books in hand. Our little book will be on top of the stack - after all it's human nature to make piles and to put the smallest items on top. And if you look at our little book, you'll find there's no dateline, rather a volume and issue number - so they'll keep it around a while. If they saw a picture they liked on the way home they'll page to it again and again, fold the corner down, and perhaps call you for information asking you to send them a listing sheet. If they pick up books regularly, they'll get familiar with the companies who advertise, see their agents in print, and feel very comfortable working with you - after all, they feel like they know you.
And for sellers - they picking up books, too, to see what's for sale BEFORE they call a listing agent.
Technology is growing so fast it's downright overwhelming - that's why yard signs will never go out of style - people like to do a drive by to see a home and a neighborhood BEFORE they make an appointment to see a property. They'll pick up the local real estate books, sit down with their maps and call for addresses. Then sitting in the car with their real estate books in the floor and their map on the dash they'll call the listing firm and ask for more information about the house and perhaps an agent. Don't you want that agent to be you?

The Real Estate Book has been in business for more than 30 years, we have teams of people behind the scenes working for you. We syndicate to more than 20 online partners and distribute our local books to more than 500 locations in 4 counties.

On the first of October 2008, I began a new career in real estate advertising. I went to work with Steve Crowley, of Foothills Publishing producing the Southern Foothills & Mountains of NC Real Estate Book.

This left me feeling as confused as a chameleon on a paisley tablecloth.

My first challenge was to learn how to get around Rutherford County including Lake Lure. What an experience that was. I can get lost most anywhere. I’m grateful for all of the customers of The Real Estate Book [TREB] who welcomed me into their offices, offered hospitality drinks and bathroom breaks.

In mid-November, I faced another challenge when I had to attend training at our corporate offices for a week in Lawrenceville, GA near Atlanta. For a gal accustomed to the traffic in Golden Valley, driving was pretty stimulating, and I’m sorry all of my thrill-seeking friends were not with me in the Explorer as we headed down the interstate. You’d have gotten a real kick out of the ride; you might even have asked to drive. I might have let you!

The classes were full, from 8:00 until 5:00 with working lunches. It’s hard to believe it takes a full week to go through training, but it takes every minute of it, with homework to boot.

When I got home, we were soon collecting ad copy, back in production and following that - distribution. I won’t bore you with details, but suffice to say it’s a far cry from the practice of real estate. The learning curve is steep, so steep at times it feels more like a vertical wall than a curve, and it’s taken me weeks and weeks to get to the point where I can return to some of my favorite activities, like blogging.

I’ve been working on the site: KDMcCall.com, adding pages of content that will be appropriate and getting rid of those that aren’t. It’s a work in progress. It’s a handy spot to set up links to TREB sites, to stick links, to host material that might be useful to clients and potential clients, and to help me continue the journey into technology I’ve embarked on.

I expect to be successful in this new venture, but understand if I include a quote from the real estate guru David Knox who said, “If you can’t be good, you’ve got to be there.”

Look for me online!