Download one or all of these free holiday postcard templates for your seasonal real estate direct mail marketing.

All you have to do is right click on the postcard image, choose Save As and indicate where you want to save it.

They are in .jpg format, 300 dpi, CMYK colors, sized at 4.25″ x 6.25″ for a net 4″ x 6″ full bleed 4 color postcard.

Tip: If you tend to lose your downloads on your computer, make a new folder on your desktop and name it Downloads. That way you be able to find them every time, and you can always move your downloads afterwards to the file you want to save them in.

How to Get Your Postcards Printed

When you’re ready to have your postcards printed, it’s very easy to upload the template to Overnight Prints. They explain everything, so it’s actually hard to make a mistake. I’ve used their services with great results, and they have very good customer service.

Free shipping on orders over $75

You’ll want to add the glossy UV coating to the front of the card, but not the back.

Postcard Back

The easiest way to personalize the back of your card is to download Overnight Prints‘ 4×6 postcard template. It opens in right your Microsoft Word program. The instructions are simple (modified for this article):

1. Type in your name, address, phone number, web site URL, email address, etc in the upper left.
2. Add your photo and/or logo if you wish.
3. Below that add any personal message you’d like. Make certain you don’t go past the center of the card, since the right side is for the mailing address and stamp.
4. Save the .doc file and email with title “Word Conversion” to service@overnightprints.com to have it converted to an accepted file format for submission.

If you have any questions, leave a  comment below and I’ll respond.

How can you get names and email addresses without buying a list?

The five suggestions below should help you get started.

1. Direct mail - promote email subscriptions on all real estate print ads and open house flyers.
2. Include message & link in your email signature - add “Subscribe to My Newsletter” to your email signature.
3. Ask for email addresses over the phone – whenever you’re talking to a client or prospective home buyer / seller on the phone, ask if they’d like to receive your newsletter.
4. Send postcards encouraging clients to subscribe to email - If you have physical addresses but not email addresses, send a post card with an opt-in signup offer and include the URL to the signup form.
5. Promote your newsletter in presentations and handouts. Hand out signup forms at speaking engagements and seminars.

Sending out a newsletter provides many benefits in terms of sending traffic to your web site, in addition to increasing your home sales. This is a marketing strategy that is not only relatively inexpensive but doesn’t involve a huge amount of time if you use a newsletter email service.

With a newsletter, you can:

• tell existing and potential clients about your experience
• keep them current about what’s going on with the real estate market
• let them know about featured homes you have listed

Help Them Understand the Real Estate Market

Home buyers and sellers are confused about the current real estate market. They don’t know if they should try to sell a home now, or if it’s wise to buy a home in the current economic crisis. They’re eager to learn more from a trusted Realtor about the wisest steps to take in their real estate business dealings.

Newsletters give you the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge about real estate and the current housing market. Readers may develop into potential clients, and if they’re not interested in buying or selling a home right now, may pass your newsletter on to interested friends and family.

5 Newsletter Tips

1. Make certain that your newsletter content is related to the type of real estate you specialize in. If you sell luxury homes then make the tone of your newsletter reflect that. If you are more into condo sales, target the people who are into that lifestyle. Your newsletter should provide for the needs of the recipient as well as their interests.
2. Make sure your content is well written and informative. Your articles will be the main part of your newsletter and you want them to engage your readers as well as provide information. Every article must be carefully checked for spelling and grammatical errors so it looks professional and credible.
3. Fact-check your information. Ensure that you present accurate facts and figures so your status as an expert stands. Otherwise you could lose potential clients and sales.
4. Use new and original content that offer up-to-the-minute information. If you use standardized articles you’ve picked up off the Internet or someone else’s newsletter, there’s always the possibility that the recipients have already read them.
5. Do not use copyrighted photos and articles. You can lose your business and get sued over copyright infringement. If you don’t have the time to write your own newsletter content, there are plenty of qualified article writers that write copy for you for a reasonable price.

Your newsletter investment in will be well worth it with the sale of just one house.

Because Google gets approximately 70% of all web searches, it’s the search engine that optimization specialists shoot for. The principles and techniques are simple enough, yet getting good search engine rankings can be difficult to achieve, especially in a competitive market like real estate.

The choice keywords are limited, too - how many ways can you say “home for sale” - “real estate” - and the few other search phrases that are the most used by potential home buyers and sellers?

Add to that the fact that prime search engine real estate is the first 5 listings on the first page of a search, we all have our work cut out for us!

My blog, SEO Diva, is written to help guide you through the confusion of search engine optimization. As a member of Active Rain, many of my posts are on that site also and are, as a result, targeted to the real estate market.

If you need help and guidance in getting your real estate business web site ranking on Google, be sure to subscribe to SEO Diva.

Here’s the ad and link - just click on it:

Printing For Less has a very good reputation and has been around for years. I haven’t used them but am planning check out their products.

They have the usual options - glossy front coating, heavier paper stock, choice of print time and shipping. As with most online printers, there’s lots of help available to get your printing order just right.

You may want to give them a try for your next real estate printing job - whether it’s for marketing postcards, letterhead, or flyers - that’s a great discount!

Recipe postcards and newsletters containing recipes are great favorites, especially around the holidays.

This is the most beautiful holiday bread and is actually reasonably easy to make. It’s a bit long for a recipe postcard but would work well in a Realtor’s holiday newsletter.

I discovered this lovely sweet bread on deliciousdays.com and have converted the European measurements for American kitchens.

Muesli Bread

Recipe source: Petra Holzapfel, adapted
Prep time: about 20 minutes, rising: 1.5 hours, baking: 25-30min.
Ingredients (yield: two small breads):

1/2 cup water
2/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cups 5-grain rolled cereal mix
2 tsp honey
1/3 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup water
1 pkg dried yeast
3 cups flour (type 1050)
2 tsp salt
1 egg

topping: rolled oats or nuts

Directions:

Add the 5-grain rolled cereal mix, the milk, 1/2 cup water and honey to the bowl of your food processor, stir and let soak for about 30 minutes.

Coarsely chop the dried apricots, then mix with the cranberries, the hazelnuts and the pistachios.

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup water per package directions, then add to the soaked grains, together with the flour. Knead slowly for 2 or 3 minutes, then sprinkle over the salt and knead again until the dough comes off the sides of the bowl cleanly.

Spread the dough on a floured surface, sprinkle over the fruits and nuts, then fold the dough like a letter. Knead until fruits and nuts are evenly worked in. Form a ball and put in a slightly oiled bowl, where the dough should double its volume in about one hour (covered with cloth in a warm and draft free spot).

Divide into two equally sized pieces and form to nice little longish breads, taking care that the surface stays as intact as possible. Brush with the beat egg and sprinkle with either rolled oats or chopped nuts. Cover with foil and let rest one last time for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425°F with either a baking stone or a baking sheet on the middle shelf.

Cover the hot baking stone or sheet with parchment paper and place the breads on it. Spray some water on the oven walls to create steam (enhances the crust) and quickly close the oven door again. Discard the parchment paper after 20 minutes and bake 5 to 10 more minutes (cover with aluminum foil if the bread or the nuts get too dark too quickly).

Take out of the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

You can simply upload it to Overnight Prints (I’ve used them a lot with great results).

The template for the back of the postcard is in .psd format, which is Photoshop. You can also open it in Paint Shop Pro, which is what I use - it’s much less expensive program ($99) with a much easier learning curve than Photoshop. If you’re interested you can get a free 30 day trial:

Using one of these graphics programs, you can change the text on back, adding your name, real estate business address, etc. as well as your photo. It is also sized properly so you won’t have to make any changes. Make sure you use the same margins I have so you won’t your text won’t get cut off!

Your other option for the back of the card, if you don’t have or want to use a graphics program, is to use Overnight Prints‘ Ready-to-Design Start File for Word.

Be sure to indicate you want the free glossy coating added to the the front of the postcard - it looks really nice and adds a lot of polish to your marketing postcard. I suggest a matte coating for the back. You can get the corners rounded for an extra $2 per hundred, which is kind of fun and different from the usual.

If you use this template, please leave a comment below. I’d like to hear about how you’re using them and if you like the template. I’ll be offering more downloadable real estate marketing templates in the future.

You’ve taken care to send your email blast or newsletter to subscribers who opted in to your real estate marketing campaigns. To your dismay you discover a major ISP has blocked your emails because of spam complaints.

You’ve dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s carefully, making sure you’ve sent your emails to opt-in only subscribers in order to avoid the accusation of spamming - now what do you do?

As much as you may not want to, start trimming your list - perhaps you included everyone who ever signed in on your site to look at homes for sale. Try cutting it down to those who have signed in only during the past 6 months to view real estate or get your newsletter.

Limiting your list may make the difference between being blocked and generating a return on investment from your email marketing blast.

In today’s landscape of email marketing, you may have to make the choice between reaching some real estate customers—and reaching no customers at all.

They have a program called eWorks!XL that sounds like a good option. You’ll get a web site that’s semi-custom, and they promise lots of support from not only techs but designers too. The price is reasonable at $94.95 per month, with no set-up fee and no contract.

Build you own website with just 3 steps at Web.com

The DIY SiteBuilder starts at $11.95, again no set-up and no contract. I wanted to try out the wizard, but couldn’t do that from just visiting the site. However, since there’s no set-up fee or contract, it would be worth the $12 to check it out.

You will also get a Google Adwords credit of $50 and Yahoo search marketing credit of $50 - free PPC advertising is always great to get, especially for the competitive market real estate has become.

One cool feature I really like is that Web.com includes a trackable phone number which forwards to your number, which will enable you to know how many people call you specifically after looking at the site. This is a metric that too many businesses don’t think to check.

They also offer a lead generation program, some basic SEO training, and have an e-commerce program if you need one.

Click on this link for a special discount good through 12/31/2008: Save 20% on Web.com web creation/web hosting products using code TWC287

There are a plethora (I love that word) of totally free and beautiful WordPress themes on the Internet. One client told me he was close to having a nervous breakdown over choosing just the right one from such a huge number of themes available! To help you out I have a list of wonderful WordPress themes - you’re bound to find the one.

Once you’ve chosen the theme that speaks to who you are, or what you want your blog to be, you need to get a domain name if you don’t already have one.

Then comes the issue of a hosting company. There are a lot of them out there, some quite good. My personal favorite is Hostgator, and this is why:

1. You can have as many domains as you want on one account, which costs about $10/month
2. Once you get used to the cpanel it’s a dream to use
3. The most AWESOME customer support I have encountered

In fact, I’d like to elaborate on Hostgator’s terrific customer service. Talk about having a nervous breakdown - I had been working on a site for weeks that just would not cooperate. I had enlisted the help of developer friends, but it still wasn’t working right.

A light bulb finally clicked on in my brain and I contacted Hostgator through their Live Chat. The tech that helped me was so great - she checked everything out, verified some things with her supervisor, and they ended up making the correction for me that made the site work right.

That kind of help is major, and I’ve been a dedicated fan of theirs from then on.

The most popular plan is the “Baby Croc” which runs $7.95 - $9.95, depending upon how long you sign up for - it should be all you’ll ever need. They also offer a “free site builder” and 4500 free templates. Order Page.

Sometimes the hardest part of starting your real estate blog is deciding on the theme. Here’s a starter list of free WordPress themes.

There’s a longer list on SEO Diva if you don’t find the perfect theme from among the sites listed below.

WordPress Themes — TopTut.com - Top Tutorials

Free WordPress Themes » WPDesigner

83 Beautiful Wordpress Themes

40 Resources for WordPress Theme Designers

11 Free Magazine Style WordPress Themes | Epic …

My Top 15 Wordpress Themes | Susan Suarez

Free WordPress Themes Download WordPress Templates

WP Themes | milo

3oneseven Wordpress Themes

That’s a big question! These days you almost have to put a hyphen or two in your domain name unless you come up with something totally off the wall.

The real estate market is glutted with web sites, many of them old, but they managed to grab the best names in the real estate market, so hyphens often are the only way to go.

I have my own personal theories about hyphenated domain names:

1. 2 hyphens at the most, 1 is preferable
2. Don’t make the domain name just a hyphenated list of keywords (been there, done that, not good)
3. Check the un-hyphenated version of the name to see if you’d be in direct competition with a site that has an already great search engine standing (not a good thing)

You can also buy an existing domain name to fit your real estate market, but that’s another article entirely!

If you’ve decided to start a real estate blog, where do you begin?

You’ll need to get a domain name if you don’t already have one. And unless you are a well known real estate brand like Keller Williams or Realty Executives, you need to have at least one of your keywords in your domain name.

This is not necessarily as easy as it sounds, since it seems like all the good ones are taken (I complain about that in my dating adventures too).

Real estate agents are usually S.O.L. when it comes to using the keywords real estate, homes for sale, realtor, real estate agency, and so on in domain names.

There are a couple of sites that will help you formulate a name. I like using Bust a Name because they make it easy for you to combine different words and then find out if they’re actually available. If you find one you like, you’ll get a discount by going through their service, too.

The other site I like for domain names is nameboy. You type in 2 words you want to use, and they will show you a large selection of available names.

I avoid going to the registrar sites to check to see if a domain name is available. Rumor has it they sometimes grab the name if you don’t register it right away.

When you’re holding an open house, your flyer is your feature presentation. Will buyers remember the house when they look it over later?

What about the flyers you put in the box below your For Sale sign for all those drive-bys that you hope will call you about your listing? They’re your first contact with potential buyers, and the first chance you have to make an impression as a real estate professional.

When potential home buyers get back home to look their flyers over, you want yours to stand out. You want the photo of the house to look great, you want the flyer to have a complete listing of all the features of the home, and most especially, you want it to stand out from all the others they’ve collected.

You Want to Be Their Realtor

You want to be the real estate agent they call to show them not only that home, but other homes for sale that they’re interested in.

Too often, unfortunately, real estate flyers are obviously quickly printed sheets on cheap printer paper, with a so-so, kind of dark photo of the house, a few features, and not much else. Entirely forgettable. Throw aways…the once chance you have with that prospective buyer, tossed in the garbage.

The thing is, custom printed real estate and open house flyers on quality paper can get expensive. So what are your options?

Spend some time designing an attractive flyer that contains all the important info about the house you’re selling. Use color, bulleted lists, and an attractive photo of the home that’s for sale.

Use Our Free Open House Flyer Template Designs

You’re welcome to use our professionally designed open house flyers as examples. If you don’t want to use as much colored ink as they have, take it down a notch by making a wide border of color around the sheet of paper. This will have almost the same effect.

If you’re not good with computer graphics programs, draw it out on paper with colored pencils, markers, or borrow some crayons from the kids. Have some fun and make it look cool.

You can take a hand-drawn flyer to a printer like Kinko’s, where for a nominal fee they’ll have one of their designers take your original creation and Photoshop it into something to be proud of. Then pay the few cents extra to have it printed on bright white, quality paper.

In this economy, you need every edge you can get in real estate. Your time and the small amount of extra expense will sure be worth if it makes the sale!

Did you know that 80% of home buyers look on the Internet for their next home? If you are a Realtor and  don’t have a web site representing your real estate business, you need one fast!

Web sites should be professional, attractive, user-friendly and informative, complemented with quality photos and graphics. Content should be well written and web sites should be optimized for high search engine rankings.

If you’re on a budget, the least expensive way to build your real estate web site is to use a template rather than pay for custom design work. You can find many resources for free web site templates online.

You can also find fairly cheap, more professionally designed web templates, which is sometimes a better option in the long run, especially if you’re a new real estate agent just getting started.

Buy a Web Site Template - Save Money

Professionally designed web site templates for Realtors and real estate agencies do not need to be complicated or expensive. You can buy a well designed web site template and have it personalized at a reasonable cost.

A few options:

Template Monster has a huge selection of ready-made templates to choose from and are the most popular place on the Internet to buy web site designs and templates. If you have some coding experience you can use the templates to design your own site; if not, you can hire a designer to personalize it for you.

You can also use one of the relatively inexpensive online web site template services that let you choose a template and your customization. Prices start low and increase depending upon how much you want to add to the site, for instance a flash banner. Template.Tuning is one of these template services.

Inverse Logic has a web site design package that starts at $500 (a steal) and includes:

• Any website design package
• Domain registration
• Hosting set-up ( 1 year of free hosting included!)
• Corporate Identity
• Online Marketing
• Free website maintenance during 1 month upon project completion
• Your satisfaction!

Design It Yourself

You can also choose to design your web site yourself, using online tools. Site2You.com is a user-friendly advanced website builder that lets nearly anyone create and handle a successful website quickly, at a very low price.

Whatever method you choose, get that web site up!