Tune in for more goodies
Talk radio stations often block out time on Saturdays and Sundays for local experts — lawyers, auto repair gurus and Realtors — to take calls from listeners and give advice. A radio show chatting about real estate can be an excellent way of building both visibility and clientele. Once you have a show, here are 10 simple ways to increase your audience.
Take to the airwaves and land sales
1. Talk about the show. Make sure that people you meet learn that you’re a real estate professional who hosts a radio show; after all, you’re a local “celebrity.”
2. Tag It. Cross-market on all your real estate promotions, direct mail, e-mail signature, answering machine and business cards by adding a line saying you’re the host of a radio show and giving the call sign and frequency of the station and the days and times of the show.
3. Link it. If the station offers you space on its Web site, take advantage of that by putting up transcripts of questions and answers with links to your real estate Web site. Consider putting audio clips of callers asking common questions and your answers on your Web site.
4. Advertise. Create a display ad (in formats for Web pages and print) that tells why, when and where people should tune in. Use it on your real estate Web site and in your newsletter. If you have a show partner, ask him or her to do the same. If your budget allows, buy ad space in local newspapers and magazines, especially during your first 13 weeks on the air.
5. Be There. Make sure your contract with the radio station allows you to go to radio promotions when the station attends events, such as fairs or grand openings.
6. Presentations. Make sure your prelisting and buyers’ presentation packages include information about your show and how it benefits your sellers and buyers. Consider adding sound clips, video or still pictures of you on the air.
7. Speak Up. Use your status as a local media personality to land speaking engagements within your real estate market, such as at civic and business clubs where you’ll be introduced as an expert.
8. Speak Out. Local television stations and newspapers know you have some accountability to the public through your show, so they may turn to you when real estate hits the news. Introduce yourself to them, stay current on the news and be available on short notice to comment on real estate issues in your local market.
9. Write. Your show research will make great subject matter for a locally focused real estate column for a daily or weekly newspaper. Just keep it short (under 300 words) and free of self-promotion. Ask the newspaper to run a tag promoting your show at the end of the column.
10. Blog. Write a Web log, or blog, to get a following. Cross-promote it on the air and on blog directories.