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Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an Internet speaker, trainer, author, and consultant. You'll see his column on Realtormag.com
every month and in the magazine quarterly. Send your questions to help@askmrinternet.com
Related RealtorMag Online content (For registered users of REALTOR.org)
To learn more about high-tech listings, visit theListing Tool Kit at RealtorMag Online.
More Resources
Books in Brief: Terry Murphy’s E-Listing and E-Selling for the Technologically Clueless , Chris Leporini, February 2001
How to Switch from AOL to Direct Net Access , Michael Russer, Realtormag Online, August 2000
Masterful Listing Presentations , Michael Russer, Realtormag Online, July 1999
.Article Resources
TrueSwitch.com: A free online service that makes it easy to forward your AOL e-mails if you switch to another service provider.
| | Offline Web power
Better Listings Though Technology
Incorporating your Web site into your offline listing presentation can give you a powerful tool.
DEAR MR. INTERNET:
How do I copy my Web site into a PowerPoint presentation so I don't have to go online to show it during meetings with prospects and clients?
Roger Lundy
RE/MAX Real Estate Group
Indianapolis, Ind.
DEAR ROGER:
I have good news for you. You can easily turn your Web site, or any other site for that matter, into a powerful and fast offline presentation. You don't need to "copy" your Web site, buy any software, or even use PowerPoint. There is a much easier and way to demonstrate your site offline. And it’s free.
If you are using Microsoft Internet Explore 5.0 or greater as your Web browser, you already have all the tools you need to capture and play back any Web site offline. It's not much more difficult than saving your site as a bookmark. The great thing about this method is that it’s built right into your browser, and you can update your offline copy any time.
Saving a site offline is very straightforward process. First, navigate to the site you want to view offline and save it as a "favorite" under your "Favorites" menu.
Next, check the "Make available offline" in the Add Favorites dialog box, and click the "Customize" settings button to see how much of your site you want to save.
1. Click the "Yes" radio button (to store linked pages) and set the link depth to two pages. Don't go much deeper than that or it could take up an enormous amount of disk space. When you copy a link depth, you get not only the pages at the site, but all the pages linked to site; your page count can expand rapidly, if you have lots of links on your site.
2. Click the "Next" button to set the synchronization schedule, so that you only update manually when you're preparing for a presentation. Automatic updating could tie up your computer and would be pointless until you were ready to use the page.
3. Synchronization can take a while. Click "Okay" to complete the process and you're ready to go.If you would prefer to see how to do it, I've created a special " viewlet" which will give you a step-by-step demonstration on exactly how to save your entire site offline
Keep in mind that no matter how sophisticated or complex your site happens to be, this method will (almost always) be able to show off every feature, including Flash animations, Javascript, DHTML effects and the like--that appears on the Web, only much more quickly.
The only time you’ll have to do additional work is if you're trying to copy a database-driven template site. Before you save this kind of site as a "favorite," you must be sure to click on all the links that you plan to access during your offline demonstration. This puts a temporary copy of those pages in your browser cache and allows the offline synchronization process to properly store these pages when saved as a favorite.
When you are ready to show your site during a listing presentation, just go to the "File" menu of the browser menu, and select "Work Offline." Then go to the "Favorites" menu, and select the site you saved for offline viewing. It will instantly appear, complete with working links.
Once you tried this type of offline presentation for listings or presentations to buyers, you’ll find that it’s a much more dynamic and powerful way to demonstrate your site's benefits to a prospect than any series of slides you could ever hope to show in Power Point. The best part is that it didn't cost you a dime, and it was already put together for you.
Tip of the Month
Once America Online has you, it just doesn't want to let you go. Finally, there’s a service that will make moving over to the other Internet service providers a snap. Trueswitch.com has a free service that:
· Transfers e-mail and address book data from AOL to Outlook or Outlook Express. (Note that the program also works with Netscape.)
· Notifies everyone in your current address book of your new e-mail address automatically.
· Forwards e-mail originally sent to your AOL address to your new Internet address automatically.
· Allows you to set up an automatic response to senders telling them about your new address (i.e. change of address notice)
· Automatically will cancel your AOL account after a predetermined period of time, so you don't have to keep on paying for it after you have completed the switchover process.
This service was originally designed to help small to medium-sized ISPs switch customers over to their services. However, for the time being, Trueswitch is available free it to individual consumers.
I'm still amazed at how many real estate professionals continue to use AOL, despite its inherent limitations. Doing business online with AOL as your primary access is like going to battle with one arm tied behind your back. If you would rather switch than fight, now is the time to do it with Trueswitch.com. Welcome to the real Internet. | | |
