Disqus - Latest Comments for JoshuaFerris

Re: Top Lessons about Real Estate Professionals

Josh Ferris — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 20:57:12 -0000

You nailed it, very well said Michele. #8 and #10 were very thought provoking.

Re: How to Drive More Facebook Traffic to Your Website

Josh Ferris — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 16:39:41 -0000

I don't have the new Insights either but the first link worked for me @Jon Loomer. I really hope they don't take this away!

Re: Finally, You Can Hail A Yellow Cab With An App

Josh Ferris — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:55:44 -0000

I can see this being useful in the outer boroughs but I've never had a problem getting a cab within a few minutes in Manhattan.

Re: Guide To The Fifth Avenue Easter Parade

Josh Ferris — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:23:34 -0000

I love Gothamist but I come here for the comments.

Re: The 5 Best Bagel Joints In New York City

Josh Ferris — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:54:56 -0000

What about Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company? Awesome spelt bagels and they have a new cream cheese flavor each week.

Re: Should Summit Receive Transit Village Title?

Josh Ferris — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:19:49 -0000

Sue - From the comments in the cited article it looks like the opportunity came and went 12 years ago but I'd absolutely encourage Summit to do it now. When I relocated to NJ, I moved to Morristown specifically because its "transit village features" attracted me. There was a great new rental building right next door to the train station that would make it easy to get into the city if needed and the town itself is excellent (lots of nightlife, food and shopping.)

I love Morristown but would consider living in Summit if they built it up more around the train station. Transit village people like myself are good for the area too. I can already guarantee all food delivery services in the area would see a big boost from me! :)

Re: The Next Step

Josh Ferris — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:01:56 -0000

Thanks Sherry!

Re: The Next Step

Josh Ferris — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:25:13 -0000

Thanks Paulette! :)

Re: 6 Ways to Sell a Home to a Generation That Doesn’t Believe in Home Ownership

Josh Ferris — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:02:45 -0000

Thanks Becky, glad you liked it. :)

Re: Facebook Announces Video Calling – Will it Be Enough?

Josh Ferris — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:08:30 -0000

I've used Skype, GTalk video (not Google+ yet) and oovoo for video calls numerous times. Of the three, Skype was the best for video calls in my experience. The video quality was clearer with less lag. GTalk was a very close second though.

I wouldn't count Facebook out just yet but I'd be shocked if Google+ didn't take off and become FB's biggest competition. Facebook is a patchwork with a lot of stuff going on and no clear way (for the average user) to take advantage of all of the site's features. If Google+ can master that then they have nothing to worry about.

Re: Why LinkedIn (Not Facebook) Should Fear Google+

Josh Ferris — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 01:34:45 -0000

Phil - Right on, LinkedIn is at risk here. Should be great fun seeing how it all turns out.

Re: How to Build Landing Pages in WordPress

Josh Ferris — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:04:07 -0000

Hey Alejandro - Premise is a plugin as opposed to Optimize Press which is a theme. I imagine they would be able to integrate with each other but I haven't verified this personally. It's worth noting that Premise acts sort of as its own WordPress site by creating pages in a sub-directory with its own CSS and designs.

Re: 5 Ways iCloud Will Change How Real Estate Teams Run Their Businesses

Josh Ferris — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:58:44 -0000

Hi Kathryn - Because the MLS relies on ActiveX controls (available only through Internet Explorer) you can only use IE to access it. Good news though! You can install Windows on an Intel-based Mac using software like Parallels: http://www.parallels.com/

Once you have Windows installed on your Mac using software like Parallels, you can run Windows simultaneously and use it to access your MLS. Hope that helps!

Re: 5 Ways iCloud Will Change How Real Estate Teams Run Their Businesses

Josh Ferris — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:30:27 -0000

Hey Corri - Just saw the video, great job! Look forward to more

Re: 5 Ways iCloud Will Change How Real Estate Teams Run Their Businesses

Josh Ferris — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:08:14 -0000

Hmm... good question! I sync my work calendar (Exchange), Google Calendar and iCal (Mac calendar) using iCal which will sync it all with iCloud eventually. If you prefer to use Apple's email service (@me.com) I would encourage you to look into it as a replacement.

Most real estate transactions and business emails will find sufficient security/protection with Apple (@me.com) and Gmail (@gmail.com) accounts.

Google's gmail and calendar features seem to be more mature than Apple's though so if I had to choose I would heavily weigh the pros and cons of using Google and syncing your Google calendar to iCal and using that to sync it with iCloud.

Re: 5 Ways iCloud Will Change How Real Estate Teams Run Their Businesses

Josh Ferris — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:00:34 -0000

Hey John! I'm not sure it would be an ideal fit for VA progress and billing. I really like www.actionmethod.com for managing projects and delegating tasks to VAs. You can even send reminders and appreciation notes to your VA to check in on how things are going.

I'm not deeply familiar with time billing online but I imagine most VAs would use something like freshbooks.com to track and bill for their work. My brother uses it in his business and loves it!

I have yet to see data on how many Mac users are also in real estate but I'm sure it's growing. It looks like they captured over 4% of the PC market and are on the rise: http://www.guardian.co.uk/t...

I goofed on the RSS feed button. :) There is a sign up form in the upper right corner of the page to get email updates or you can subscribe via RSS at http://feeds.feedburner.com...

Re: 5 Ways iCloud Will Change How Real Estate Teams Run Their Businesses

Josh Ferris — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:14:58 -0000

Corri - Please post the link once it's ready, would love to read it!

Re: 5 Ways iCloud Will Change How Real Estate Teams Run Their Businesses

Josh Ferris — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 14:17:40 -0000

Dropbox is the best! It took about a year of using it before I hit my free space limit and I gladly paid for one of the larger space plans.

iCloud syncs all of your iOS devices, Macs and Windows computers so you don't necessarily need a Mac computer to take advantage of iCloud's features. I do love my Mac though. :)

Re: 5 Ways iCloud Will Change How Real Estate Teams Run Their Businesses

Josh Ferris — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 14:14:25 -0000

Agreed, the potential (beyond just whiz-bang) is enormous. One possible use I can already see is a more interactive virtual tour using tools like Uscapeit. Chris Smith over at Inman wrote a great piece on the value of Uscapeit in real estate: http://www.futureofrealesta...

Re: On Content Creation Strategies

Josh Ferris — Thu, 26 May 2011 13:36:37 -0000

Rob - Don't call me an expert. :P Experienced, sure, but expert seems ostentatious when the simple truth is we're all learning from each other.

Per my comment to Bill below, if you define "great content" as "brochureware" because it's about the local area then I agree that it should exist on any website or blog an agent is looking to build. It's still core content and valuable.

I don't think most agents (speaking about the majority) have the financial resources to hire a copywriter or videographer. The average agent makes $36,712 per year after all (http://www1.salary.com/Real...

I've offered my real estate site to numerous brokers and agents in the market it serves at half what it should be worth and there are no takers because the cost is deemed too high despite the fact that it generates 50+ leads per month. The cost issue will prevent most agents (and brokers) from taking the leap of getting core content professionally produced which is why they're tasked with creating it themselves.

I haven't disagreed with your point. I agree that agents and brokers would be wise to follow your advice but my point all along has been you need to have great core content (hyper-local or whatever it may be deemed) and creative pieces. One shouldn't exist without the other. Fair enough?

Re: On Content Creation Strategies

Josh Ferris — Thu, 26 May 2011 02:25:21 -0000

Bill - I don't think we've met in person but one thing I can tell you Rob and I share is our desire to debate topics to the most granular point. :) I get what you're saying though. We're essentially debating the definition of "great" content. What makes it great?

I agree with Rob that great content is unique, inspiring and passionate. From a practical, use it in the field everyday perspective though, I think "great" content is also information your clients and prospects who are researching will find useful including all the boring stuff. I'm all for passionate writing and thinking but I'd hate to see agents start building their web presence without creating content they can use in their business from day to day.

Re: On Content Creation Strategies

Josh Ferris — Thu, 26 May 2011 01:03:43 -0000

First, where did you get bold text option from? My Disqus menu doesn't afford these luxuries! :)

In all seriousness though, you make valid counterpoints that we should go deeper into.

========

1. "with that in mind, and assuming the agent is trustworthy, follows up as promised and works their ass off (something you don't really know until you meet/work with them or read reviews from third party services like Trulia/Zillow) then an agent's online focus should be to convey their local area expertise to prospective buyers and sellers reading their blog/Facebook/Twitter feeds"First, I think there's a real disconnect here between actual consumer behavior as it comes to realtors/service professionals and what realtors/service professionals think consumer behavior is. Consider: with all the blogging, with all the "content creating", with all the advice given out over the past 3-4 years...what is the #1 reason why a consumer chooses to work with a particular agent?The agent is the first to call them back. Research from REALTOR.com shows this to be true. Over 70% of homebuyers work with the FIRST realtor to respond.Realtors, meanwhile, think that some consumer is doing background checks on them, reading their blogs diligently, hanging on their every word, combing through their Facebook Page to ensure that the realtor is a local expert.I honestly believe that the percentage of consumers who do ANY research on the realtor is in single-digit percentages, and are likely to be pain-in-the-ass engineer types. Almost everyone else, I think, just works with the first person they either (a) get recommended from a friend, or (b) talk to on the phone.

####1

Allow me to clarify what I meant by "online focus" in my initial comment. I was referring to what an agent needs to do to build out their online presence which is required if you're looking to receive inquiries from a blog, Facebook or Twitter. Following up is an entirely different animal and promptness is key.

As an agent, I used to challenge myself to follow up with an online inquiry as quickly as possible. I almost always reached the person who inquired and was able to qualify them if I called within 5 minutes. This worked especially well because they were often still on my site browsing.

I wrote a blog post on the BHGRE blog about a 2009 lead follow up study that backs up the need to follow up as quickly as possible. Link to post: http://bhgrealestateblog.co...

####1

Second, I've read dozens of REALTOR blogs that do precisely what you recommend, before I finally stopped to save my sanity. Interpret market stats, talk about the neighborhood, and have posts about local restaurants, parks, things to do, etc. Let's be frank here: almost all of them bore me to tears. They read like a school assignment that some poor agent forced on herself because she heard from some expert at the last conference she went to that she had to do these things. It's realtor homework essays, on a "blog". And they could not possibly be more boring.It's rare when I find one that isn't boring, because the agent when he wrote it wasn't bored himself. Best example to me is Jim Duncan's blog, when he gets into local development issues. Maybe it's just me, but I find them readable, and from talking to Jim, I know that he's pretty passionate about local politics. That passion shines through. I don't think he regards the exercise as some sort of homework. (If you do, Jim, you're damn good at faking it.)You mentioned my former listing agent, Sue Adler. Very interesting. First, read this blogpost. Big yawn. After you wake up, read this one. Well, where the hell did all this sparkle and personality come from? Is this the same writer?I think Sue would be honest enough to admit that the first one was one of those "realtor homework" posts she felt obligated to do. Yawn. The second one is her passion: marketing, reaching consumers in a new and interesting way. And it shows.

####2

There are two types of content at play using Sue's examples: foundation and engaging. I agree that the train station post is staid but it serves value as foundational content for any real estate blog. It's not sexy or fun to write about but if you're going to build a local resource for people moving into your area, this is information they'll be looking for.

You could use that train station post as part of a larger "commuter" series of posts for people relocating from NYC to the suburbs of NJ. Taking it a step further, you could email it to clients after you've toured the area with them. By going that extra step, your client doesn't need to do the research and this is valuable information to the client on your blog.

I would even go further and create an eBook compilation of blog posts like this and offer it for download on my site as "How to Get to NYC in 30 Minutes or Less Using New Jersey's Train System."

All that said, I think Sue could improve that train post to make it more appealing. If I'm a commuter and one of Sue's clients, my questions about that train station are:

"How far away is the nearest deli/Dunkin Donuts/Starbucks so I can grab coffee and a bagel before getting on the train in the morning?"

"Where do the tracks run? Are they near any of the communities I'm looking to buy a home in?"

"What other services are nearby? Is there a four star Yelp-rated dry cleaner 2 minutes away from the train station that I can drop off my suits and pick them up without having to go out of my way before and after work?"

This brings us back to making it relevant to your audience's interest.

On to the second post, I noticed there hasn't been much response to it. It's great that Sue took to her blog to gauge feedback but I think she'd get significantly more feedback if she posed the same question on Facebook or Twitter where people are more conditioned to responding to updates.

Human behavior is human behavior whether you gauge it on a blog or social network. The big difference between the two platforms is response rate.

####2

Third, as to "innovators"... problem here is, Josh, that when people are recommending "content creation strategies", they're not talking about how to process a loan application. We're talking about doing things that are inherently creative. With products, with services, maybe innovation is rare and hard, but when it comes to creating content -- written, audio, video, or otherwise -- we're talking about something that is inherently creative. Otherwise, why bother? Just copy & paste, or pay a ghost writer to do it for you. Why think about it at all? And how the hell do you "strategize" creativity anyhow?Plus, as I point out, I admit that audience-centric content can be successful. But that requires near-perfect execution or unique talent, since the audience knows they're being pandered to. If a realtor had that kind of talent... why sell real estate? Go be in the movies, or start a band, dammit! Your talents are being wasted in real estate if you can manage to make boring formulaic crap interesting.

####3

Let's break this one down a bit. If everyone has some form of inherent creativity I wouldn't be so quick to assume that we have all explored that creativity to the extent that we're able to express our ideas through writing or are comfortable recording podcasts or video. There's a huge number of insecurities we all have with the way we write, spell, speak or make expressions with our bodies.

I'm not of the school of thought that every agent should blog, be on Facebook or on Twitter. Unfortunately for those agents who do not want to prospect online, the old ways of prospecting are quickly withering away. With the exception of agents who are well connected or have built up a strong referral base over the years, there don't seem to be many client prospecting opportunities that aren't internet based in some way.

So, all that taken into consideration, I'd like to reiterate the concept of foundational content from above. The reason you bother to create foundational (or "safe") content (commuter guides, town and subdivision profiles etc.) is to have it on your website showing you are knowledgeable of the local area and share it with clients in your business.

This type of content is lambasted because it's not easily made interesting. However, it's still valuable when a prospective buyer is seeking it out.

The future of real estate does favor the creatives because they'll be able to take uninspired ideas and enhance them with things like neighborhood photos, homeowner video interviews about why they love living in the neighborhood and similar media enhancements to make it more valuable to the person seeking it out.

####3

Finally, I think you missed my point from the Twitter conversation. You're suggesting that people tie their passions into real estate somehow. Talk about arts & crafts, but in your town! Write about cycling past the wonderful new development with modestly priced homes for sale! No. My point is that you shouldn't write about a town at all unless you're passionate about the damn town. You want to do a hyperlocal blog about Monroe, NY? Go right ahead, if you're passionate about and interested in Monroe, NY. That will shine through. See, e.g., Jim Duncan,Heather Elias or Lori Bee, all three are people who love their towns. But if you're just doing it as realtor homework, and Monroe, NY is just your market area... please for the love of all that is holy, stop. The world simply does not need another boring realtor hyperlocal blog produced by a realtor dutifully slogging through the 'homework'.

####4

Generally speaking, I would think most agents who are blogging about their market live there because they like it. I'll go on record as saying I hated living in upstate NY which is what eventually forced my hand to make the decision to leave the real estate sales part of our industry and to transition into real estate technology that I'm passionate about.

Even so, what do you say to the agent who is without the financial resources to move to a place they like but need to support themselves by trying to attract prospects online?

Does the world need another boring hyper-local real estate blog? Of course not. But if building said blog is going to help an agent build their business in a market, who are we to tell them not to? Those of us who have been in the industry for a while offer our guidance (write interesting content etc.) but it's up to the agent to listen and apply it to their online presence.

####4

Re: On Content Creation Strategies

Josh Ferris — Wed, 25 May 2011 15:54:30 -0000

Rob - First, per your usual, beautifully written and stated. After reviewing my comment it seems I managed to rival your blog posts in length but since we're not on Twitter... :)

You addressed most of my counterpoints towards the middle and end of your article so let me touch on three points from your post:

• The Audience Doesn't Know Jack• Industry Pioneers
• Passion and Authenticity

The Audience Doesn't Know Jack

Looking at blogging and social media from a real estate lead generation and business perspective, I disagree that the audience doesn't know what they want. I think we know what works today.

The audience of prospective buyers and sellers are looking for an agent who is trustworthy, knows the market they work in, follows up as promised and will work their ass off to make the buying or selling process as easy as possible for them (negotiation etc.) That's the value agents provide and that's what buyers and sellers are paying for.

So with that in mind, and assuming the agent is trustworthy, follows up as promised and works their ass off (something you don't really know until you meet/work with them or read reviews from third party services like Trulia/Zillow) then an agent's online focus should be to convey their local area expertise to prospective buyers and sellers reading their blog/Facebook/Twitter feeds.

Since this whole conversation grew from "what does great content really mean?" I'll share what I believe it to be. Feel free to add/correct:

To build a great blog, you should talk about what buyers (and sellers) like. Buyers like:

• Interpreted Market Statistics - This is probably the hardest type of content to provide for agents who aren't analytical but buyers want to know how the market is, backed by accurate data, and what it means for their potential purchase. I prefaced market statistics with "interpreted" because it's easier to just copy and paste what you receive. An agent's value isn't in providing the statistics, it's in interpreting it for their clients.

• *Real* Neighborhood Information - A lot of neighborhood information. If I'm exploring an area for the first time I'll go to a couple comfort zones (chain restaurants, stores like Target.) Along the way, I might see a neighborhood that I'm curious about and write down the neighborhood name (I did this as an agent with a community named "Meadow Glen at Monroe") to Google when I get home.

If an agent spent the time to build a page on their website (or better yet, a full blown website dedicated to that neighborhood) and I go home and Google the neighborhood name, I'm going to find that agent's website and by association, they'll become an authority on that neighborhood in my mind.

As a prospective buyer, there's a good chance that agent will have the opportunity to earn my business just by providing the information I'm interested in. So for agents, writing about specific subdivisions is a huge win because it's one of the fastest ways to attract prospective buyers and their competition is most likely too lazy/busy to write about it so the niche is there for the taking.

Taking it a step further, you'd be making a safe bet that sellers are also Googling their neighborhood and contacting the agents who seem to know it best based on their online presence.

• Recommendations From a "Local" - For someone who is just looking for the best hair salon or restaurant on the go, nothing an agent/agency could do will supersede a great resource like Yelp. However, if you're writing about your favorite restaurants, stores, commuter routes and things to do in the area, this will help reinforce your local expertise AND give you the opportunity to talk about something you like.

The above three points are by no means the only things you can write about but I'd argue that the audience an agent is trying to attract (prospective buyers and sellers) is most interested in those three things.

For Facebook, I'd say follow the in the steps of the venerable Sue Adler which is to use it as a connection tool. Friend all of your past and current clients and use it to connect new neighbors with existing residents who also happen to be past clients. Share what you're working on including photos of upcoming listings. Share things about the area that you like most. Sue's "Sue Adler Dot Combo" sandwich at the Millburn Deli was brilliant.

I see Twitter a little differently. I'd recommend using hashtags to engage with people talking about what's happening locally but I think the best return on your time with Twitter is getting to know other agents. I didn't (and still don't have) an agenda while using Twitter but I was fortunate enough to get a referral for a $499,900 listing in my market from Jolenta Averill in Madison, WI (@jolenta ).

Regarding what the audience of prospective buyers and sellers do NOT care about:

• Cheerleading your accomplishments
• Potentially skewed testimonials (written testimonials hand selected by the agent)

Industry Pioneers

In any industry you have the trailblazers like Sue Adler (@sueadler ), Kristy Owen (creator of "365 Things to Do in Austin, TX") and Marc Davison (@1000wattmarc ) who are pioneers. It's their innovation and creative thinking that changes industries. That said, the vast majority of agents (and people in general) are not early adopters or trailblazers. They want to know what works and then apply it to their business.

Expecting extreme innovation from every person trying to build their real estate business online is unrealistic. Some are more creative than others. It's just the way things are. Still, I love innovation and am always impressed by the immense creativity that resides in our industry.

Passion and Authenticity

The underlying theme of your post seems to be that agents need to be passionate about what they're writing otherwise they won't do it. I agree completely.

During our Twitter conversation I mentioned a fine line between your passions and tying it back into real estate. In the example, we talked about an agent who loves arts and crafts but is in real estate. If your intent is to build a real estate blog, by all means blog about arts and crafts but tie it into real estate/local lifestyle.

For example, you could write about upcoming arts and crafts fairs, interview local creators and talk about your passion for the pieces you discover. The fine line gets crossed if you dedicate your entire blog to arts and crafts without making it relevant to your blog's subject.

A blog about Monroe, NY real estate shouldn't be full of posts talking about just your arts and crafts or offering them for sale to your readers because then you're not serving the interest of your desired audience which is to learn more about the Monroe, NY area.

I'm a firm believer that anyone, small business owners like agents and brokers included, should always be passionate and authentic about what they're doing and writing about. Just be sure that you connect the dots with your intent for the blog (to receive inquiries from RWA buyers and sellers) otherwise it's a futile exercise.

Re: Old Spice Freshens Up Campaign With New Spokesman [VIDEO]

Josh Ferris — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:51:03 -0000

I appreciate that they're trying to keep it fresh but the original guy made the campaign. If they're not going to use him they shouldn't use the campaign anymore.

Re: How to Build Landing Pages in WordPress

Josh Ferris — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:36:12 -0000

Congrats on the book! I think Premise covers the bases for you except, according to the site FAQ, it only supports Aweber, MailChimp and Constant Contact so if you're using 1shoppingcart you may have to go with the alternative which is OptimizePress (http://www.wpsherpa.com/go/... [aff].)

OptimizePress does support 1shoppingcart but the downside is that it's a WordPress theme rather than plugin so you'll have to either change your entire site design or install it in a sub-directory on another WordPress install to make it work seamlessly on your site.

If 1shoppingcart is your only option, I would consider OptimizePress. If you can switch (I use Aweber, happy so far) then I can absolutely recommend Premise.