1. No Intention
You wouldn't hire an employee without having a task for them to do, so why would you buy advertising without a mission for it to accomplish? Sorry, but "creating awareness" is NOT mission. "Have people call me," "send people to the form on my website," or "increase attendance at my open house" are missions. If you don't know what specific mission you want your advertising to accomplish, donate the money to your favorite charity instead. At least there it will do something worthwhile!
2. No Message
"Hi, I'm a realtor" is not much of a message. The audience thinks, "well, that's nice for you... but what's in it for me, the client?" You want to tell home buyers the benefits of choosing you as their realtor.
3. No Brand
Your brand is your promise, communicated in "1,000 small gestures." The message, style, imagery, and language are all elements of your brand as a real estate agent. Combining your brand with a call to action will double effectiveness.Start working on your own authentic, profitable brand here.
4. Wrong Medium
Ads, especially audio ones, require repetition for audiences to remember them. So, for example, if your budget only allows for one radio ad, then save your money. Another example would be an add for luxury cars in a high school yearbook. Do high school students usually buy luxury cars? Yes, it's great to support the local high school. But, think of it as charity, not advertising.
5. Not Integrated
Do your business cards, website, brochures, and ads all communicate the same message? If the look and feel shows that some pieces aren't up to date, your message gets confused. By contract, integrated messages act like echoes, except they get stronger and stronger.
6. No Call to Action
"Give me a call today." "Get your free report at my website." In point no. 1, you decided what you wanted the ad to do. Now, ask your audience to do it!
7. No Intended Audience
We've talked before about the importance of limiting your intended audience. You also don't want to be everyone's real estate agent. If you prefer to work with commercial properties, then don't advertise in the "Living" section of the newspaper. We walk you through discerning your intended audience in the Enlightened Marketing Branding Roadmap.
8. Boring
I think this one speaks for itself. A good ad agency should be able to make a compelling, professionally designed ad.
9. No Testing
Porsche, IKEA, etc. can afford to test their ads before scientifically controlled focus groups. Now, real estate agents don't have to go that far. What you can do is simply ask friends and colleagues in your intended audience what they think. Show them the ad your agency has proposed and ask: "What message does this ad convey to you? Does it look like you'd expect from me?"
10. No Tracking
Marketing yourself as a realtor is a process. You can't just do it (successfully) in one shot. If you want to learn from what you do and improve, then you've got to track your results.
I often hear, "oh, I tried that once, but it didn't work." Well, why not? Was the message wrong? Was it in the wrong medium? Was the ad not shown often enough?
But how to track the ads, you ask? One typical approach is "mention this ad and get an additional 5% off." That's how retailers track adds. When a new client calls, you can simply ask them how they heard about you. It is even possible to set up a special phone number. Think creatively, and the possibilities are endless.
To learn how to create marketing messages that get clients to say, "OMG, I need to work with you!" get your complimentary ticket to the webcast on Jaw-Dropping, Client-Getting Messages.
http://jawdroppingmarketing.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Riegler_Andrewshttp://jawdroppingmarketing.com
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