Real Estate is a very hands-on and personal career. As a realtor, you are with your clients from the start all the way to the finish. From dealing with renting, buying, or selling properties for clients to drawing up contracts, you create business relationships that can help you immensely. These relationships contribute to your professional reputation. But what if you could take your reputation into your own hands? Talk to the Press By talking to the press, you’re able to take control of your reputation. Here are two more reasons why sharing your real estate stories with the press is beneficial:
  1. Referrals! With your name in the news, people will be interested in working with you.
  2. It’s awesome for your SEO. Online articles are a great way to get links back to your website.
Now that you know some good reasons to talk to the press let’s figure out what type of news outlet you want to contact and what type of real estate stories you want to share. Research, Research, Research! You can’t just send messages all willy-nilly to reporters and expect them to publish your information. You need to do your research and figure out which reporters and which outlets actually want to share your stories. Here are a few things to consider:
  • The relevance of the news outlet and reporter – you need to take into account who will actually write about you. For example, don’t send real estate stories to a wildlife journalist.
  • Local versus global – local is where your prospective clients are! Typically, famous outlets like The New York Times won’t be interested in your stories.
  • Be organized – this will save you trouble. Keep track of the outlet, the journalist, their email, their social media links, and anything else you need to make sure you’re on top of the game.
Now What? Once you’ve found the perfect journalist who caters to your audience, build a relationship with them. Follow them on social media, read their articles, and comment a few times here and there. Time to Write First off, you need to create a pitch. It needs to be short, interesting, and fuel curiosity. Next, you need to create a press release. This is a public relations announcement that lets the public know about your developments. Make sure that you tell the journalist what the story is about and what the added value for their audience is. If you’re able to do this with any of your real estate stories, you’re on track to getting the journalist to write about you. Remember, your stories need to be interesting. Here are some tips for what you should be writing about. Here is a great resource that helps you write a pitch and press release. Follow Up It’s normal for journalists to not get back to you for a while. So make sure to follow up with phone calls (if you have their number) or emails (but also make sure you’re not harassing them). By pitching your real estate stories to news outlets, you’re improving your reputation and increasing your business. What are you waiting for? Get your name out there!