March 2004 COVER FEATURE
All You Need to Succeed:Technology
8 e-mail essentials
Be reachable, permanently
5 ways to cut back on spam
4 inexpensive Web technologies
Help from REALTOR VIP® Program partners
Buying cellular service: 9 steps
8 e-mail essentials
1. Spell it right. E-mail may be less formal than printed correspondence, but that doesn’t excuse sloppiness. If your e-mail software has a spelling checker, use it. If not, write important client e-mail in a word processor, which also typically offers a grammar checker. Then copy and paste memos into your e-mail software.
2. Organize by importance. Create separate mailboxes within your e-mail software for active clients and customers based on their e-mail address. Then have your system automatically filter mail from these people into those boxes. You’ll always be able to find your most important e-mail quickly.
3. Include complete URL links. So that recipients can click into Web site addresses you’ve included in e-mail, use formal conventions. For instance, http://www.canale.com will allow most readers to click on the address as a hyperlink; www.canale.com won’t.
4. Use signatures. Make sure your e-mail software automatically attaches a prewritten identification message (signature) to each outgoing e-mail. Keep the message short, no more than four lines. Include your preferred e-mail address and a link to your Web site.
5. Create prewritten messages. Much of the e-mail you send, such as responses to listing inquiries, will be repetitive. When you write a message that’s likely to be used more than once, save a copy so that you can resend it with minimal editing. This will give you the time to compose even better e-mail.
6. Use autoresponders. Create a few good autoresponses with information that prospects are likely to ask for on a regular basis. Set up special e-mail addresses (for example, an address for an individual listing might be 123ElmSt@yourname.com), then create an autoresponse containing the information people are most likely looking for when they e-mail each address.
7. Plan for multiple systems. If you download your e-mail to multiple systems—a notebook and desktop PC, for example—be sure to configure your e-mail software to leave e-mail on the server for at least 72 hours. That way, if you download an e-mail to your PDA and later want to download that same e-mail to your notebook, it won’t have been deleted from the server, as is typical with noncorporate accounts.
8. Save time with portable devices. If you intend to use a SmartPhone or PDA to review e-mail on the road, be sure to configure the device to first download only a few lines of each e-mail. This will allow you to decide which new messages are important enough to download in their entirety. With slower portable connections, this will save you both time and cellular connection costs.
—Stephen M. Canale, trainer and speaker, Ypsilanti, Mich.
Be reachable, permanently
Obtain a permanent domain for your e-mail address, such as yourfirstname@yourlastname.com, so you can change Internet service providers without changing your address. Try www.GoDaddy.com or www.BigFoot.com. Or purchase an e-mail account from a provider, such as www.Vanity.com or REALTOR VIP® partner www.InternetCrusade.com.
5 ways to cut back on spam
1. Professional filtering. The tricks used by today’s sophisticated spammers have outpaced users’ ability to simply and effectively filter junk e-mail themselves. To fight back, use a professional antispam service that removes spam without blocking legitimate messages or delaying delivery. OnlyMyEmail.com offers professional-grade filtering that won’t interfere with legitimate e-mail for as little as $3 per month.
2. Limit your exposure. Addresses displayed on Web sites attract the highest volume of spam, because spammers search sites for them. Consider removing your e-mail address from online membership directories, for instance, or limit how many sites, such as directories, display your e-mail address. Share just one address publicly. Provide other e-mail addresses only to customers and clients.
3. Don’t unsubscribe. Never unsubscribe from unsolicited e-mail sent by companies you haven’t done business with. Doing so will simply verify that your account is active, which will result in more spam.
4. Curb your curiosity. Most spam messages include hyperlinks, which are bugged with codes that identify you to the spammer if you click them. And clicking these links will brand you as someone willing to respond to spam, guaranteeing you more junk e-mail—much more.
5. Don’t rat out your friends. Never provide other people’s e-mail addresses to e-marketers or Web sites. Come-ons, such as a free greeting card, a cute joke, or help in forwarding an interesting article, are often ways to collect addresses for spamming purposes. When you want to share something with friends, simply copy the Web page’s address and e-mail that instead.
—Stephen M. Canale, trainerand speaker, Ypsilanti, Mich.
4 inexpensive Web technologies
Cost may no longer impede you from investing in technologies that will help build your business and let you compete with the big players. “Today, real estate practitioners, like other small business professionals, can take advantage of the declining cost of good technology,” says Lauren Freedman, president of The e-tailing Group Inc., a Chicago-based consultancy. Consider some tools you can now get for a song:
1. On-site search applications. Making content at your site easy to find is one of the greatest services you can give visitors. Try FreeFind (www.freefind.com), which lets you add a search function to your site. The personal version’s cost: $5 to $19 monthly.
2. Common search-word applications. It pays to know which words people search to get to your site. Ask Gary Woods. The Santa Barbara, Calif.-based salesperson found that incorporating the words “Santa Barbara real estate” in his site produced up to 10 times the hits of other phrases. Search “popular search terms” at www.yahoo.com or www.google.com. But beware: Some of the sites that track such terms include words you may find obscene. Besides tracking where visitors go and what they do once they arrive at your site, ClickTracks’ Analyzer software
(www.clicktracks.com) also identifies which key words bring visitors to your site from search engines. Cost: software, $495; Web-based version, $49 per month.
3. Pay-per-click services. Move to the top of search engine rankings by being featured in a pay-per-click ad. These ads appear in search results when users type in specific key words. You set a maximum amount you’ll pay for each clickthrough to your site and a daily budget, such as 50 cents per click and up to $10 per day. After you reach that limit, search engines, such as Overture
(www.overture.com) and Google Adwords (https://adwords.google.com), stop sending people to your site. Experiment with different phrases to see what works best. Costs start at a few pennies per click; you’ll also generally pay an activation fee.
4. E-mail marketing services. Several services help you conduct e-mail campaigns. Web-based GravityMail (www.gravitymail.com) rates your pitch according to how likely it is to be perceived as spam, and, thus, bounced. Then, it gives you the opportunity to change it. Topica’s E-mail Publisher (www.email-publisher.com) and GravityMail let you segment your audience. For instance, send one message to prospects looking for houses (with their permission), and one to those who just purchased a home through you.
Topica starts at $25 per month for up to 10,000 addresses. GravityMail charges a $1,000 set-up fee; each e-mail sent costs between 10 cents and .015 cents, depending on the number sent and level of personalization. Per e-mail costs are lower with the purchase of a 12-month package.
—Karen Kroll
Prices are the manufacturers’ suggested retail prices and are subject to change. This list isn’t comprehensive; NAR doesn’t evaluate or endorse these products and isn’t responsible for changes in company info.
Help from REALTOR VIP® Program partners
Develop Internet skills through NAR’s e-PRO® certification. More info: www.epronar.com. Read about offerings from other NAR technology partners, including wireless provider Nextel, at www.REALTOR.org/realtorVIP.
CHECKLIST
Buying cellular service: 9 steps
Now that you can keep your cell phone number when switching service providers, it’s a good idea to reevaluate your calling plan. Use this checklist as you wade through the maze of products and plans.
1. Ask about the cost of switching. Most cellular providers impose a fee for early termination of a contract. Find out how much.
2. Know your service needs. They’ll determine your choice in phones and total cost.
(Check all that apply.)
- Basic voice calling
- E-mail
- Caller ID
- Instant callback
- Call forwarding
- Voice messaging
- Wireless Web access
- Text messaging/paging
- Photo send/receive capability
3. Work up a usage profile.
- Anticipated voice minutes each month:
- Hours of the day you make most calls:
- Primary calling area:
- How far outside this area you roam and make or receive calls:
- How often you roam beyond your primary calling area:
4. Use the Internet to conduct a preliminary comparison of service options.
5. Talk to subscribers.
- Are they satisfied with the service?
- How reliable is it?
- How is the customer support?
6. Evaluate the carrier’s phone selection.
- Which model supports all the services you require?
- Length of battery life
- Talk time
- Is the model comfortable to hold and use?
- Can you easily and intuitively navigate features?
- Is the screen large and bright enough?
- Is the keypad large enough for you to enter text accurately?
- Does the phone seem fragile?
- (Some phones, especially folding phones, are
- prone to damage if dropped or banged around.)
7. Determine the real cost of service.
- Activation fee
Cost of the phone
- Bundled with service
- Leased
- Purchased
- Extended warranty
Calling plan
- Basic minutes
- Additional minutes
Features
- Voice mail
- Caller ID
- Call forwarding
- Instant callback
- Text messages (beyond basic plan)
- E-mail messages (beyond basic plan)
- Wireless Internet service
- Transferring photos via wireless connection (beyond basic plan)
- Unlimited voice and data services
- Termination fee for early cancellation
8. Scrutinize the service contract. It should define:
- Contract length
- All applicable fees
- Basic service fee and what’s covered
- Fees for additional services
- Options to upgrade or
- change service plan and fees
- Product cost, warranty, and replacement costs
- Grace or trial period
- Fee for early termination of contract
9. Use the grace period to make sure the service provider delivers as promised.
