Image via Wikipedia

In real estate photography, there are three ways to go about showcasing listings.

• Hire a professional photographer to capture the images
• Do it yourself
• Skip that whole thing and list it without pictures

In this series, we’ll be talking mostly about doing it yourself.  However, in many cases, it would be advantageous to hire a photographer.  If you are so busy with other parts of your business that you don’t have time to do it right, get a pro.  If you don’t have the skills (and/or you aren’t willing to take the time to learn them), get a pro.  If you don’t want to dedicate the time to get it right, get a pro.  These aren’t meant to be mean… but to let you know that the pictures on a listing are one of, if not THE most important marketing tool you have.

There is no shame in hiring a pro… I have better than a decade in professional advertising photography behind me, and I have hired photographers to shoot some of my listings.  I did, however, go back and shoot more supporting images.  And that is a GREAT way to transition from hiring out the photography to handling it in-house.  Bring in a pro to shoot the major scenes, then shoot the details yourself.  It will save a little money, and not compromise the marketing of the listing.

Image via Wikipedia

There are a few things that you need to know in order to get started in handling your own photography for your real estate listings.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll be covering them in more detail, individually…

• Cameras (you don’t NEED to have a big, expensive camera to shoot great pictures, but it doesn’t hurt)
• Lighting (this is where the action is)
• Aperture and Shutter speed combinations (the mechanics of taking pictures)
• Composition (framing it up to make it work)
• Tricky Details (those little things that catch us off-guard)

Photography isn’t hard, but it does require attention to detail.  The techniques are all pretty basic, but stacking things on top of each other is where things can get a little tricky… for example, combining flash and ambient lighting, or balancing inside and outside light.  And one of the greatest aspects of modern digital photography is the ability to see immediately the results… in time to correct the images BEFORE breaking down and going back to the office.

I will try to get specific as often as I can, and the tips will be related to shooting real estate.  Of course, some of them might also jump over into your vacation shots and family pictures.

Stay tuned…

Related articles

• Unusual Sunset Shoot: Indoor Photography (dashamones.wordpress.com)
• Top real estate photographer of 2011 awarded (agbeat.com)
• Take More Photos – Keep Less (digital-photography-school.com)
• Lighting Guidelines For Photography (tfollowers.com)
• Photography 101- Aperture (stoneandrose.com)
• Photography: Just Like Flying (captainkathymccullough.wordpress.com)
• A Basic Look at the Basics of Exposure (nikonusa.com)
• Zoom Lens Maximum Aperture: Fixed and Variable Apertures (nikonusa.com)

Image via Wikipedia

The tough part of exceeding a customer or client’s expectations is that the next time their expectations will be higher… and they will be looking for you to exceed those higher expectations.  In effect, you raise your own bar higher and higher until it becomes VERY difficult to jump over your newly raised bar.

One might think that after more than 10 years for my wife and I, 2 cruises and at least half a dozen trips to WDW, they would have a hard time going above and beyond what we expect.

But they seem to be continually looking for new ways to surprise us.

Do you do that for your clients?  Do you look for new technologies and new presentations to wow your clients?  What about new ways to showcase your listings?

One this most recent trip, we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Officially, since we were renting points from a Disney Vacation Club member, and so we were staying in the Villas.  As we drove up to the gate, they asked for ID (as they always do) and pulled out a pre-printed parking pass.  When my wife went into the lobby to finish the check-in process (which had been started online before we left on the trip… meaning most of the paperwork was already done), she was greeted at the door by name, and welcomed.  She was ushered to a comfortable chair and everything was ready for review.  In just a few minutes, we were unloading the van onto a cart to give to Bell Services.  Our room wasn’t ready yet (it was still only 10:30 in the morning), so Bell Services was going to store our luggage.  We hopped on a bus to the Magic Kingdom and began our day.

Image via Wikipedia

At the end of the day, with two tired little boys in tow, we arrived back at the resort.  We told Bell Services we were ready to have our luggage sent up.  The Bellman said he was right behind us… and he almost beat us to the room.  My wife’s fear that we would have to wait for the luggage before being able to put the boys in bed were gone.

That isn’t the most magical portion of the stay there… but it shows the attention to detail that Disney gives their guests.  There were “towel creatures” in the room, super-fun activities for the kids and immaculate appointments all around, as well.

Disney actually has classes that they offer to businesses about how to do business the “Disney Way”.  Many large companies pay HUGE amounts of money to learn how Disney treats people.

As a contrast, there is a retail store nearby that is closing soon.  The chain isn’t going away, but the location is.  It is LONG overdue.  Walking through the store, it is evident that the staff and management gave up long ago.  The merchandise isn’t orderly.  The floors are dirty.  The aisles are blocked with poorly placed display.

Image via Wikipedia

When I go to that store (rarely), I have VERY low expectations, and I am still always disappointed.  At Disney, I have very HIGH expectations, and they always find a way to surpass them.

That doesn’t mean they are perfect… I think they need to hire me as a consultant to teach their PhotoPass Photographers some basic composition… but if they WERE perfect, there would be no room for growth.

Whether it is looking for better ways to showcase a client’s property, or looking for better solutions to help clients search for a new home, maybe WE need to grab a little Disney Magic to exceed our client’s expectations… every time.

Related articles

• How to pick the right WDW Resort (livinginagrownupworld.wordpress.com)
• Raising the next generation of Disney Fans (thedisneymoms.com)
• WDW Trip Planning: Sailin’ the Disney Seas (mouzekateerz.com)
• Is Disney’s Growth for Real? (fool.com)
• An Anniversary To Remember-Part One (grumpymickey.com)
• Walt Disney World (campbellgirlies.wordpress.com)
• Disney World in 2012 (thedisneymoms.com)
• My Favorite Disney Resort: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (disney4less.wordpress.com)
• Disney World Photo Tips: How to Fix a Rotten Picture (thedisneymoms.com)
• The Photographic Allure of Walt Disney World (mouzekateerz.com)
• Our First Walt Disney World Resort (mouzekateerz.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Both Houses of Congress are looking at legislation aimed at curtailing online piracy… copyright violations.  This movement is largely backed by the photography community and the music and movie industries… as well as many professional sports leagues.

But all isn’t well.  The current legislation is VERY poorly written.  In fact, they are written so loosely as to allow the government to shut down a website because of a comment.  Not after any sort of warning… but instead of a warning.  A website owner’s income could be cut off without warning or proof, and then he would have to engage in a protracted legal battle to regain access to their own website.  And it wouldn’t have to be from content generated by the owner of the site.

But, I think that the largest part of the problem is that property (a website/domain) could be seized without due process.  Possibly even at the behest of a competitor… since a violation could be recorded because of something placed on the site by a commentor.

The goal is appropriate.  The method of trying to achieve the goal is SERIOUSLY flawed.  Call your Congressmen and Senators.

***UPDATE*** After writing and scheduling the post, but before publication, Congress dropped the legislation from consideration… for now.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that they won’t pick it up again when they think nobody is paying attention.  “We’ve got to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.”  Nancy Pelosi, referring to ObamaCare…

Related articles

• On SOPA and PIPA (leiterreports.typepad.com)
• What are SOPA and PIPA? (programmingpalace.wordpress.com)
• Rand Paul Vows To Block Internet Censorship Bills (mountainrepublic.net)
• Sopa & Pipa (eclecticedibles.wordpress.com)
• How SOPA and PIPA would Censor the Internet (connectwithyourteens.net)
• Stop SOPA and PIPA (kelleyeskridge.com)
• Sign the petition to Stop SOPA & PIPA (radiopd.wordpress.com)
• A day against SOPA/PIPA (lifemash.wordpress.com)
• BlackoutSOPA.org – Change your profile picture to protest SOPA! (darioalvarez.net)
• Stop the Internet Blacklist Legislation – Stop #SOPA #PIPA (adafruit.com)

It wasn’t fancy…

But, what did you think… It took a total of about 3 minutes to shoot the video with the tablet, set it to upload and then grab the embed code from YouTube.  When I do these videos for real, I tend to have better lighting and to worry a little more about how I look.  But the point is that video has become VERY easy to do.  And while it is nice to have a full production, it isn’t always required.

Related articles

• Revamp… Out of the Starting Blocks (lanebailey.info)
• Help Us Help You Improve Your Blog: ProBlogger Census 2012 (problogger.net)
• 3 Ways to Freshen Up Your Social Media Strategy in 2012 (lauraleewalker.com)
• How To Embed YouTube Videos and Podcasts To Keep Readers on Your Blog (bizsugar.com)

I will be making the changes as I write the posts (not as they are published… I usually write posts a little ahead of time).

The first part included adding a newsletter/email subscription form.  Over at Problogger, it was their first step in revitalizing you blog for 2012.

I already had a MailChimp (affiliate link) account, so I didn’t spend any time doing that.  I spent about 15 minutes creating a list on MailChimp for this site, installing the MailChimp Plug-in for WordPress and getting all of the settings right.

Image via CrunchBase

At MailChimp:

• After creating a MailChimp account, go to “Lists” on the menu at the top of the page.
• Click the big red “Create List” button.
• Don’t worry too much about the sign-up form… you aren’t really going to be using it, just make sure you have the info boxes on it that you want.
• Mouse-over “Account” on the top menu.
• Move down and click on “API Keys & Authorized Apps”
• Push that blue button that says “Add A Key”

Image via Wikipedia

In another tab, open your WordPress blog…

• Go to Plug-ins > Add New
• Search “MailChimp”
• Install the MailChimp plug-in.
• Under settings, the first thing it will want is the API Key… copy/paste it from MailChimp.
• Select the right mail list from the drop-down.
• Edit the settings so that you have the text you want and the widget looks the way you want it to look.
• Go to Appearance > Widgets to install the widget in the location you desire.
• Open up your site in a new tab… adjust the widget and settings as needed.

Like I said, it only took about 15 minutes for me to do all of that.  It might take you a little longer, or you might be able to knock it out a little faster… I hadn’t done it for a while, and had to stumble around and take a few bad turns.

Good luck kicking off your email list… and while you are here, why don’t you sign up for mine.

Related articles

• New Guides for a New Year (mailchimp.com)
• MailChimp Doubles Forever Free Program – Send up to 12,000 emails per month for free (prweb.com)
• New MailChimp features: video-friendly RSS emails, discount for AlterEgo users, static segments (mailchimp.com)

Image via Wikipedia

My pal Mike Mueller is a FaceBook Whiz.  He has been all over the new Timeline feature from FaceBook… even though most people don’t even have a clue what it is yet.

Whether you are a fan of it or not, the new Timeline is coming.  You might as well get used to it and use it to its best advantage.  Mike has a few tips on his blog, AreWeConnected.com, and I’m sure there will be more coming in the future as he delves deeper into its capabilities.

Mike has a lot of other great takes on the Social Media sphere… as well as a great portfolio of FaceBook Pages he has designed for clients.  He’s also a huge hockey fan and a great guy.

One of the things I whole-heartedly agree with agree with Mike about is the use (on non-use) of FaceBook Profiles as a sales tool.  FaceBook’s Terms of Service specifically address using profiles as a marketing tool.  In a word, don’t.  That is the reason that they offer FREE FaceBook Pages for businesses.  In surfing around through a few profiles, it didn’t take long for me to run across a few that were basically real estate agent billboards.

So, check out Mike’s post… check out the new Timeline Profile feature and dive into the future.

Related articles

• Expanding Your Sphere: The Timeline (areweconnected.com)
• Facebook Timeline is Here… and it’s Coming for Businesses (progressivemediaconcepts.com)
• FaceBook Timeline: Just a Question of Time (bayintegratedmarketing.wordpress.com)

Have a “Content Bank” with pre-written posts!

If you have blogged for a while, you’ve been there.  Deadline approaching, the well seems dry.  There should be 100 things to write about, but none of them seem to be working… you feel all blocked up.

Of course, when you don’t NEED a post, ideas flow freely.  So, the trick is to capture that free flowing creativity.  Write when you don’t need to write, and make withdrawals from your bank when the well seems dry.  When I have been on top of this with my blogs, I have had a month of posts banked and ready to publish.

The danger is getting too comfortable with the bank and not making enough deposits.

Another danger is content that can go stale.  Some blogs don’t have issues with the timeliness of content.  Other blogs only have a shelf life of a few days on a topic.  Most are in between, with some topics that can sit on the sidelines until they are needed and others needing to get out as quick as possible.

My real estate blog is like that… market reports need to get out on schedule, but other posts are timely even a few years after being written.  Occasionally, a topic pops up that HAS to go out right away.  Using my Editorial Calendar, I can track and schedule posts.  I can rearrange them if a timely topic comes up.

So, my New year’s Resolution for my blogs is to re-build my Post Banks.  I will try to build up a month’s worth of posts for each blog.  For me that means that I will have a total of about 60-75 posts across all of my blogs.

In order to accomplish that, I will need to do a few things…

• Series Posts.  They are often easier to write since the subject is partially pre-set.
• Video Posts.  Frankly, they can be a little quicker for me to produce.
• Formula Posts.  My Market Report posts are pretty quick to write.  Of course, the problem is that I can’t write them until the data comes out.  But since I have 8 market areas to post about, I can dribble them out for a few weeks.
• Guest Posts.  I haven’t leveraged these much yet, but would love to bring in some other writers from time to time.

We’ll see how I do…

Related articles

• 12 Business Blogging Shortcuts for Time-Crunched Marketers (hubspot.com)
• How to Build a Blog Editorial Calendar Even If You Don’t Know Where to Start (pushingsocial.com)
• Creating an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog (internetmarketingformommies.com)
• Five Goals to Build a Better Blog in 2012 (thewritersrefuge.wordpress.com)

Image by Brian Sawyer via Flickr

Did you get any cool new tech for Christmas?  I didn’t…  But, one family member got a new Kindle Fire.  I had the opportunity to play with it a bit and do the set-up.  But this isn’t a review.

It is a two part post.

Part I… I’d love to hear what sort of cool tech you got, and what you think of it so far. 

Part II… Let’s talk about getting to know that new tech so that it does more for you than just provide entertainment or hold down piles of paper on the desk.

Part I is easy…  Post up here or over on our FaceBook Page and we can talk about your cool toys productivity enhancement tools.

Part II is a little more complicated.  But, if we break it down a little more, we can make it manageable.

First, don’t go nuts.  I know a lot of folks that want to get every new device that comes down the pike.  It just isn’t feasible.  Aside from the fact that it is terribly expensive, you’d end up being too scattered.  By the time you approach comfort with a device, there are three more to get.  In the end, you have only succeeded in making the store in which you buy your technology quite happy. Don’t be too reluctant to get new technology, but don’t be too eager, either.  Instead, see if you have a valid business use, and then don’t move on to the next thing until the current thing is getting the attention it deserves.

Image via Wikipedia

Next, spend a little time with the User’s Guide.  Most of the devices out there are easy enough for us to power up and start playing with in just a few minutes.  It’s entirely too easy to just dive in and forget that there is probably a LOT of hidden potential waiting to be unlocked.  A great example is that my 7 year old figured out that he could zoom on my tablet by double tapping.  I missed that while speeding through the User Guide.  If I took my own advice, I would have known that…

Third, Google is your friend.  It is hard to find an even semi-popular piece of technology that doesn’t have a bunch of user generated tips and tricks published somewhere.  Some of the tutorials and videos out there are almost as good as taking a class.  There are some serious nerds (using that term with loads of respect) that are VERY good at figuring out how to squeak the last bit of utility from a device.  And they love to share.

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help.  Maybe it is your tech-savvy friend, maybe your teenager or even a class.  Reaching out for help can be a really good option.  Instead of wasting 40 unpaid hours trying to figure out a piece of technology or letting a $500 device sit unused, spending $50 on a class might be WAY more efficient.

So… whad’ja get?

Related articles

• 12 Tech Days of Christmas (brighthand.com)
• Open Thread: Show Us Your Favorite Tech Gifts! (mashable.com)
• Amazon’s Kindle Fire Fits in with Other Mobile Tech – Quick Take (biztechmagazine.com)

Humor, shock and amazement are the ingredients… but the exact recipe is pretty tough to figure out.

Click the pic to go to Voltier Digital's post on Going Viral.

I don’t have a relationship with Voltier Digital… I just saw the graphic and thought it would be a cool share.

Image via Wikipedia

There are a couple of ways to deal with those issues… to begin with, using a tool like WP Editorial Calendar (If it weren’t free, I’d have an affiliate link… but you can find it through your Add New Plug-in Menu on your WordPress Control Panel.  Using the editorial calendar makes scheduling future posts a snap.  When I’m on top of my game, I have a few weeks of posts scheduled.  That also means that as I run across an idea for a post, I can write it and schedule it for the future… on MY schedule, instead of on the blog’s schedule.

Another way I have thought of to do this is a little more radical…

Posterous makes it REALLY easy to be an editor rather than a writer.  Instead of writing and researching to create blog posts, Posterous (through browser plug-ins) makes it a snap to share articles from the web.  After running across an appropriate article, just click the share button in the browser and write a few notes. Of course, you still have the ability to knock out a more traditional post, as well.

Image via Wikipedia

While it is REALLY easy to do, maintaining a schedule like I do on all of my blogs is pretty tough.  This blog, for example, should be updated every 4 days… at 8:00am (when I am keeping up).  Posterous doesn’t have an editorial calendar built in, nor the ability (yet) to plug one in.

If you are wondering what that looks like, here is my CoolCaroftheDay.mobi site.  It is a companion site to CoolCaroftheDay.com (which is a WordPress based site).

The bottom line is that there are a few ways to keep the blog flowing…  And honestly, I’m seriously considering porting this blog over to Posterous and becoming more of an editor rather than an author.

Related articles

• 5 Reasons You’ll Love the WordPress Editorial Calendar (dailyblogtips.com)
• Blog Better with an Editorial Calendar and Style Bank (hubspot.com)
• Three Reasons Bloggers Need an Editorial Calendar (blogherald.com)
• Q&A Friday: How To Manage Multiple Websites (Video) (newbizblogger.com)
• A Simple Sample Editorial Calendar to Keep Your Blogging on Schedule (smallbusinesssem.com)
• Four ways to make blogging a sustainable part of your life (kleenexmums.com.au)
• Blogger’s block (caramieandtheboyz.wordpress.com)
• Editorial Calendars 101 (ereleases.com)