ASK MR. INTERNET

Online design
Marketing Made Easy

If you need a cost-effective way to produce high-quality marketing materials, look no further.

Dear Mr. Internet:
Can you suggest a simple, low-cost way to create a consistent, high quality look for both my online and offline marketing materials?

Ann Weber
Shorewest REALTORS®
Waukesha, Wis.

Dear Ann:
There seems to be an infinite number of vendors that promise the “ ultimate” in marketing materials. The only problem is that vendors’ capabilities and prices vary all over the map. Ideally, you want a marketing solution that’s affordable and easy to use, creates professional materials with the same consistent “look” both in print and online, and is easily customizable so you can give your marketing materials your own personalized identity.

Fortunately, I’ve found one solution that meets—or even exceeds— these criteria. When I demonstrate it during my seminars, audiences are invariably left with their mouths hanging open.

Marketing Materials on Steroids
Imprev is a unique Web-based multimedia solution that enables you to easily, and quickly, create print and online marketing pieces with a consistent look that reflects your brand and the properties you sell. If you can point, click, and use a Web browser, you or your assistant can use the Online Design Center to create professional looking marketing materials.

Imprev is a subscription-based service that lets you create an unlimited number of materials for one annual fee—currently $199. After you’ve registered online and paid for the first year by credit card, you can immediately start designing your marketing materials. Begin by entering your contact information and using your Web browser to upload your photo and logo. Since these files are stored on Imprev’s server, you’ll only have to upload them once to place them in all your online and offline materials. In fact, the templates have predesignated spots for your contact info, logo, and photo and will add them automatically to each new piece you create. Using this info consistently will help you create the strong branding that soon will have customers calling you.

Now you’re ready to create some awesome marketing materials. To give you an idea of what’s possible, I’ve used Imprev to create some sample print and online pieces for my friend, top online marketer Judy McCutchin ( DallasHomes.com ). After choosing a theme that best fits the property (in this case “ Creekside,” for fairly obvious reasons when you view the flyers below), I just logged onto my Imprev account and then entered the promotional text (or copied it from Microsoft Word). Next I uploaded photos into my Web browser that I’d transferred to my computer’s hard drive from my digital camera. Incidentally, once you’ve designed the first one or two marketing materials, you can speed up the process by reusing a previous design. Imprev lets you store the text, photos, and design of all your marketing materials on its triple-bandwidth server, then access earlier efforts with a simple click of a mouse.

A Gallery of Marketing Options
Following are examples of the print and online marketing materials that I created using the Imprev application. Just click on the links below to view the marketing series. (Note: You will need the free Adobe Reader to view the PDF documents and the free Macromedia Flash Player for the multimedia pieces. Click on the links provided above to download a free copy of the software.)

• PDF Flyer #1 : I used one of the themed templates available on Imprev to create this first themed flyer. I copied the text and property photos from Judy’s Web site for this particular listing. The template creates a full-color, full-bleed PDF that can be printed, sent by e-mail, or hosted on your Web site. You also can post it on Imprev’s site and then access through a link on your own site.
  
• PDF Flyer #2 : This is another style of flyer using the same consistent “Creekside” ; theme and the same property photos.
  
• Postcard : Here’s the same “Creekside” theme in postcard format (laid out for printing). This took very little time since all the text was previously entered for the flyers. Another great feature of Imprev is that each PDF document you create can be sent instantly to Expresscopy.com. This company will print your flyers overnight and ship them to you for free the next day. Expresscopy.com also will merge contact addresses from your or a third-party’s database in formats that include ASCII comma separated, tab delineated, database format (DBT), ACT, or Excel, and print names and addresses directly on the back of your postcards. You can even use the company’s bulk-mail permit to mail each piece at a lower cost per piece than first-class mail. I’ve found the price of this service to be very competitive on a per-piece basis, averaging about 40 cents.
  
• Property Cards : This is one of my favorites template options. In just a few minutes, I created this themed, two-sided property card. These fold over to form a very attractive marketing piece you can give to your sellers, hand out at open houses, or give to cooperating salespeople. You also can encourage your sellers to distribute these attractive cards to their friends and associates, effectively turning your seller into a “virtual marketing assistant” who helps to promote the property and you!
  
• Flash Movies : Flash is a very powerful and versatile multimedia option that allows you to add new audiovisual excitement to your marketing presentations. Typically, Flash is time consuming and expensive to use, but not with Imprev. This “ movie” about the Creekside listing took me only about five minutes to create. Yet as you will see and hear—be sure to have your speakers turned on—its impact is stunning. Some practitioners use Flash movies to market their services, deliver powerful testimonials, or highlight a neighborhood. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Like the PDF materials I created, this Flash movie can be sent via e-mail, burned onto a CD, or hosted on either your own Web site or Imprev’s.
  
• Flash Virtual Tours : Who says virtual tours have to cost a lot? With Imprev, you can use Flash to create awesome virtual tours in just minutes using static photos or stitching several together for a “wraparound” effect. These tours also can be e-mailed, burned onto a CD, or added to your Web site. You also can link your listings on other sites to the virtual tours you store at Imprev.
  
  While there are dozens of themed templates like the Creekside one I used available on Imprev, you also can create your own “themes” by uploading custom background images of your area or a particular listing. Imagine your prospective sellers seeing a whole spectrum of marketing materials using background images of their beautiful house or garden.
  
  The possibilities are endless. Even better, because Imprev is a Web-based application service provider, you’ll get the benefits of new features and upgrades as they’re added, rather than waiting until you can justify the expense of buying new off-the-shelf design software.
  
  Standing out in today's hyper-competitive real estate sales marketplace is not easy. Imprev is a very powerful, yet easy and affordable, way to make you and your services to look like a million bucks—without spending that much to get there.

Editor’s note: If you want to donate money and have $25 contributed to Children's Miracle Network, just go to the e-Bate Program section of my Web site, and discover the special code that will save you $34 on a one-year subscription. Note that neither Michael Russer nor his company receive any compensation from Imprev.

Tip of the Month
Using a branded domain name is clearly an indispensable part of any successful online marketing strategy. In fact, it’s not uncommon for real estate professionals to own and use dozens of domains.

Yet it still amazes me that some otherwise very smart people are paying $30 to $35 per year for each domain name. What a waste, especially when you can now purchase domain names for only $6.95 at Hostway.com.

I’ve made a habit of keeping an eye out for the least expensive domain registrars, and $6.95 represents a 22-percent savings over another low-cost Web registration site, Go Daddy .

While you may be concerned that using a lower priced provider might mean less service, don’t be. High-volume registrars like Hostway and Go Daddy have the same services as more expensive vendors. They’re just more efficient at providing them.
P.T. Barnum had a great way of describing people who pay way too much— “There’s a sucker born every minute.” I don’t know about you, but it’s a classification in which I definitely don’t want to be included.

________________
Article Resources
Imprev : An online design site for the real estate professional that offers options for developing both print and multimedia marketing materials.

More Resources
Learn more about improving your direct mail at the Personal Marketing Tool Kit.
Painless Print Production , Michael Antoniak, September 2002
Personal Brochures: As Standout First Step , January 2000

Previously by Ask Mr. Internet:
Honesty is the Best Policy
Attachments Made Easy
Expand Internet Usage by Making Users Special
Raising Your VA Comfort Level

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