Category: Celebrating Successes

Highlighting best practices.

Taking Marketing Offline for Impact

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Guest Post by Karen Wenner Cooper, Founder of Empowering Women In Real Estate

When I think of all of the things I do in my life … running my businesses, managing my home, schooling with my children, education and training, self-care … nearly all of it has been impacted (and positively, I might add) by taking elements of it online.

During COVID my team has survived and thrived thanks to Zoom and other online meeting platforms. I order groceries for my family each week using an app. My children do school 100% online. When I look for courses or training for myself to improve my skills or complete my continue education, I do it online. Every morning I go to YouTube for yoga classes, and I read on my Kindle or on my iPad using an app.

I know I’m not alone in this, most of my family and friends do the same. So it only makes sense that when it comes to reaching our clients and new customers we should be doing all of our marketing online too, right?

Wrong! Offline marketing has value for today’s businesses.

Online or Offline Marketing?

As more and more aspects of our lives go online, I’ve seen a resurgence in the popularity (and effectiveness!) of offline marketing methods. In makes sense, really. Remember when email was new? It was SO EXCITING and fun to get an email. Now, it’s drudgery.

Our email boxes are overflowing and overloaded. We have become oversaturated and overstimulated with the online world, which makes offline all the more appealing … and noticeable.

In my experience (and my team served 525 families last year with their real estate needs!), the best marketing approach right now is a balance between online and offline methods. The two can and should support and complement each other

The Right Mix

Here’s what we’ve found to be most effective:

  • Social Media. Facebook and Instagram can be great places to connect with your ideal clients and to stay engaged with your current and past clients. People want to work with people they know, like and trust and these platforms can help to support those feelings.
  • Snail Mail. Yes, you read that right. Good old-fashioned mailers. We use a combination of general postcard mailers to share market and sales data and to promote our services, and personal handwritten notes to thank and connect with those we work with. Efficient, effective, economical. Who doesn’t love that?!
  • Email. Feels old school now, what with the fancy websites and apps at our fingertips, yet just about everyone spends at least part of their day going through their email inbox. A well-crafted, periodic (we do monthly), message can really do the trick.
  • Gifting. In the real estate industry, we call these “pop bys”. A little something with a catchy slogan on a tag dropped off on our client’s or customer’s doorstep. Who doesn’t want to be remembered and acknowledged with a little something?

Consistency Is Key

Here’s what we’ve found … when employing a strategy that combines online and offline methods CONSISTENTLY your audience has that feeling of “seeing you everywhere” which keeps you top of mind when they (or their friends or family) need your services.

The best marketing strategies are the ones that utilize a variety of forms of media to achieve their objective. Be sure that yours includes a mix of online and offline methods and you will be well on your way to increased success in your business.

About the Author

Karen Wenner Cooper is the founder of Empowering Women In Real Estate, and principle behind Empower Coaching by Karen Cooper, providing coaching and marketing systems for women in the real estate industry, and owner of the Platinum Group Real Estate team at Pearson Smith Realty. A 19+ year industry veteran, having served many hundreds of clients, her greatest accomplishments and biggest joy are the three boys who call her “mom”. You can connect with Karen online on Instagram @karen.w.cooper, or offline by calling or texting 703-999-3601 for top notch real estate services throughout the Northern Virginia and DC Metro Area.

Apply Recycling Concepts to Your Online Content

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Today I wrote a guest post at the Young Design blog. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Content Marketing Edition ” looks at how to get the most for every piece of content you create.

Lessons from Dad

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Right after Thanksgiving this year, my dad died. It was one of those expected yet unexpected events. He was 90 and had cognitive issues.

I haven’t truly begun to grieve the loss. I have started to think about the many things I learned from my dad. The lessons weren’t all positive or amazing, but the impact on who I am is indelible.

Here I  share some of the greatest impacts on my professional life.

Show up – on time and ready to work.

Dad was the middle class work ethic personified. He never missed a day unless there was good reason. He was always early and put in his best effort every day.

I have taken this approach in every job I have done. I trust that if I am present and give a job my all, the results will be rewarding.

I don’t look for automation to take over, to hand things off to someone else, or to find shortcuts. I do each job with my best skills.

Embrace reality.

This one is bittersweet because dad lost all touch with reality in the end. In a way, he often distanced himself from things in his life, and that was not healthy.

Dad was the only son of his immigrant parents to be born in the US. Despite being raised in a Spanish-only household, he never spoke the language unless he was talking with his parents. Even then, their Spanish was often answered in English.

Dad’s goal was to be as American as hot dogs and apple pie (two food favorites of his, by the way.) I wonder about the rich culture that is fully half of my heritage that I know absolutely nothing about.

My mom died at age 52 and dad never got the time with her he’d planned. He went on to retire to the place they had picked and tried to do the things mom had wanted to do. Alone, it did not work. He was never happy.

So, I try to live in closer connection to the reality before me. I embrace who I am and what I can and cannot do well.

I approach each client individually to hopefully not miss the opportunities that are possible. When something doesn’t work, I set it aside and try another way.

Sometimes, the greatest satisfaction comes from counting pennies.

Dad loved collecting coins. He spent hours pouring over coins to develop a complete collection from years spanning from before he was born until his death. Pennies were a treasure to dad, and none was ever lost or left behind.

I too treasure the small things. And, I believe that focusing on little things that matter can add up to big things with a solid foundation.

I bought my husband’s wedding ring with pennies I collected. In my work life, I pay attention to the details that help clients reach their goals. I will happily pursue progress in small increments.

A life well lived.

My goal is for the people that I connect with during the course of my life to be positively impacted. I want them to know that I did my best for them. That’s dad’s legacy, and I’d like it to be mine, too.

Dedicated to Gilbert Julian Andia, July 12, 1930 – November 29, 2020.