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Mortgage Blogging, Mortgage SEO, Mortgage Social Media

Mortgage Marketing Tip: 3 Ways to Turn Old Blog Posts Into New Business

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by Jackie

By JC Kiadii, Internet Marketing for Mortgage Professionals

Mortgage Marketing Tip – 3 Ways to Turn Old Blog Posts into New Business

Effective blogging (the kind that leads to new business) takes work and a time commitment. If someone says otherwise, they are not being truthful.

The beauty of blogging, however, is that once you’ve written a blog post there are at least a dozen ways to continue to use that content.

Here are just 3 ways to use your blog posts to convert your mortgage leads.

1. Use your tags as a subtle way to follow up with leads.

Did you know that once you’ve tagged blog posts, you can share that link? Here’s an example of a link to all of my mortgage marketing blog posts.

Imagine this. Someone contacts you about financing their property. Or better still, you are trying to convert a CPA to a referral source. In a follow up email, you send them a link with a note. “Here are a few articles I’ve written about jumbo mortgages. Feel free to share this with anyone you think will benefit.” The CPA clicks the link and sees over 25 articles you’ve written about jumbo mortgages. Do you think this makes a convincing argument that you are the subject matter expert?

2. Rephrase & Reuse.

Here’s what most people do: write a blog post, and automate the process of syndicating the post to their social media sites. That’s good, but not great.

Instead:

Generate a short link to the blog post.
Come up with 3 or more short statements to describe the post.
Use hootsuite or another scheduling service to send these out every 60 days or so.
BONUS Tip: Don’t just post the article on your LinkedIn status update, share it with appropriate LinkedIn groups. If you have a Google toolbar, all you have to do is click on the LinkedIn icon.

Here’s an example of ways I rephrased one article:

Struggling to keep your mortgage marketing consistent? Implementing this step will help. http://ow.ly/5PCwL
Have the best intentions but can’t seem to stick with your marketing plan? Answer this question. http://ow.ly/5PCwL
Lackluster motivation blocking your mortgage marketing mojo? Try asking this. http://ow.ly/5PCwL
Answer this 1 question to keep your mortgage marketing consistent. http://ow.ly/5PCwL

3. Repackage several blog posts as a training course.

Do you have several blog posts that fit nicely into a series? Use an autoresponder to convert the series into an e-course, a series of emails that your prospect receives over a 2 to 3 week period.

This tactic leverages the following benefits.

Transforms you from a salesperson into a resource.
Provides a subtle way to stay in front of your prospect.
Engages and impresses serious mortgage prospects.

Writing is time consuming work. Maximize your blogging ROI by finding as many ways to share your blog posts as possible.

How do you use your blog posts to create new business?

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Mortgage Business Tip – Are you Suffocating your Mortgage Business?

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Mortgage Marketing

by Jackie

Mortgage Business Tip – Are you Suffocating your Mortgage Business?

By JC Kiadii, Internet Marketing for Mortgage Professionals

We all reach that point sooner or later – the point where we hit the limit of what we can accomplish on our own. Frankly, the sooner you reach this point, the better it is for your bottom line.

Trying to do it all yourself is a surefire way to suffocate your business. Determining what to delegate, however, can be a difficult decision.

That’s why this article by Client Attraction Mentor Fabienne Fredrickson helps. It offers 3 questions to help you quickly and easily determine what you need to outsource in order to propel your business to the next level.

How to Delegate

by Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor

When you reach a certain level in your business, you must go from doing everything to doing only the work that is your unique brilliance. Why? Because as your business continues to grow, you have less time. There’s only one of you to go around so you must focus your time and effort on money generating activities only and delegate everything else!

Your Daily Tasks Fall Into 4 Categories

Everything that needs to get done on any given day falls into four categories:

things you’re uniquely brilliant at,

things you’re excellent at,

things you’re competent at, and

things you’re incompetent at.

It’s time to take a close look at how you’re spending your time and delegate everything other than your unique brilliance…

Your Assignment - 3 Questions

Your assignment this week is simple and straightforward. I want you to ask yourself the following three questions. Give your answers some thought. Then write them down.

What is the most important thing that you are doing in your business right now that someone else could do better? You want to focus on letting go of all the stuff you are not uniquely positioned to do.

What is the single most important thing you are lacking in your business that can be supplied by someone else? What’s currently not getting done that someone could come in and do for you?

What is the single most important thing that your business provides that other people are incompetent at doing? Here’s where you really hone in on your unique ability.

Get specific with the answers to the above 3 questions. Once you do, take action. Get the support you need to allow you to only work in your unique brilliance.

Once you do, you’ll throw open that door to grow, multiply and scale your business to that next BIG level. Wooohooo!
© 2011 Client Attraction LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Mentor, is founder of the Client Attraction System®, the proven step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to attract more clients, in record time…guaranteed. To get your FREE Audio CD by mail and receive her weekly marketing & success mindset articles on attracting more high-paying clients and dramatically increasing your income, visit www.attractclients.com.

How did you answer these questions?

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Think That Quote is Way Too High? Read This

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Mortgage Marketing

by Jackie

Why I Outsource to High Fee Professionals

Before you respond to a quote with the phrase “That’s way too much!” read this article.

Most articles I read on outsourcing have it all wrong. They recommend outsourcing low value activities to low cost providers. While it does make sense to outsource tedious, low value activities, may I suggest thinking outside of the box?

Want your outsourcing to really impact your business? Consider.

(a) outsourcing high value activities that directly impact your bottom line, and
(b) outsourcing to someone who may make more than you do.

Here are 2 reasons why I routinely outsource to professionals who charge higher fees.

All hours are not equal. When screening professionals, it makes sense to not only compare their hourly rate, but also take into account how much time it takes someone to complete a task. Let’s say I hire someone who charges $149 an hour. At first glance, it may seem like a lot of money. If she, however, can complete in 15 minutes a task it takes me 3 hours to muddle through, my decision makes perfect sense.
Expertise is worth its weight in gold. An expert can complete a task right the first time, and can often bring additional skills, resources and input I wouldn’t have access to otherwise. I, on the other hand, may struggle for hours and not complete the task properly. There’s relief in knowing I can assign the task and forget it, moving on to something else that’s in line with my unique brilliance.

So the next time you are surprised by the fees someone quotes you, don’t forget to factor the time it takes her to complete the task, as well as the expertise she brings to the table.

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JC
Kiadii, Mortgage Internet Marketing
Services . 770-469-7385. Are
you reaching out to the 87% of
new buyers who start their search online? Our team provides results-driven
mortgage Internet marketing services.
Visit our website and sign up
for the More Closings email newsletter to receive our Mortgage List Building Course.

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2 Quick Productivity Tips for Google Reader

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by Jackie

By JC Kiadii, Internet Marketing for Mortgage Professionals

Mortgage Productivity Tip – Organizing RSS Feeds

One of my clients loves to read and share articles about his niche market. I suggested he start using Google Reader so that all of his Internet news filters to one place.

Those of you who use Google Reader already know that it is an incredibly valuable tool. Once you have a ton of feeds in there, however, you can face the program of information overload.

Here are two quick ways to organize the RSS feeds in your Google Reader.

Tip 1 – Create Folders.

Create folders to organize your feeds. You can organize them by content type, by action step, or any other convention that makes sense. Try to stick to no more than 7 folders.

Here are few of my folders.

Comment
When I have a few minutes, I check my comment folder for interesting blog posts where I can place comments.
Clients
This folder is for content I can bring to clients’ attention.
Study
For the never-ending process of studying and staying current in my field (Information Technology).
PABL
Blogs that upbeat, and contain articles about pursuing a balanced life. (By the way, #PABL is also a twitter hashtag).

Instructions – Creating a Folder in Google Reader.

To create a folder in Google Reader, simply click the Feed Settings button and select New Folder.

Instructions – Filing a Feed

Click the Feed Settings button and select the folder. You can also create a new folder, or file one feed in multiple folders.

Tip 2 – Give your Feeds Meaningful Names

As you subscribe to more and more feeds, you may find yourself, once again, facing information overload. Consider renaming the feeds.

What I do is add a prefix to the feed’s name that offers a clue on (a) why I subscribed in the first place or (b) any action items. I prefer to add a prefix rather than renaming the entire subscription because the feed name often provides clues to the origin or owner.

To rename a feed, click Feed Settings, then Rename Subscription.

Bonus Tip – Set Aside Reading Time

Scheduling 15 minutes a day to check your subscriptions will enable you to stay on top of your reading.

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3 Surefire Ways to Sabotage Referrals

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by Jackie

By JC
Kiadii, Internet Marketing for Mortgage Professionals

I had an interesting experience recently, which reinforced the importance of referrals. I recently landed a training contract.The process was so easy, I feel a little guilty. Had I approached this organization on my own, it would have taken months to establish a relationship and get through the screening process. Instead, they contacted me, provided an unbelievable opportunity, and agreed to my price without quibbling. What made the difference? A colleague who already has a good relationship with this organization referred me.

Everyone (including me) offers tips on ways to grow your referral business. I decided to take a tongue in cheek position, by sharing 4 surefire ways to sabotage your referral generation.

Tip # 1 – Don’t Say Thank You

When someone goes to the lengths of tying their reputation to yours, do not say thank you. In fact, if you happen to speak to the person, do not even mention the referral.

Tip # 2 – Do Not Follow Up

By all means, do not follow up with the referral. Better yet, respond once, set up an appointment to meet with them, and then miss the appointment.

Tip # 3 – Do A Terrible Job

If you happen to land the client, do the worst job ever. Do not keep him or her informed, and when you do ask for documents, request them 30 minutes before they need to be submitted to the underwriter.

Tip # 4 – Do Not Keep the Referrer Informed

Chances are, your referral will talk to your referrer. When they do, they will probably mention the status of your relationship (ex., “Jackie and I started working together 2 weeks ago, and it looks like she’ll get my loan closed in a couple of weeks.”). Humiliate your referrer by not keeping him or her informed of the status of the deal.

Of course, if you really want to increase your referrals and make generating business easy, simply do the reverse of these 4 tips.

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JC Kiadii, Mortgage Internet Marketing Services . 770-469-7385. Are you reaching out to the 87% of new buyers who start their search online? Our team provides results-driven mortgage Internet marketing services.
Visit our website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.

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Struggling with Goals? Answer These 4 Questions.

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by Jackie

Struggling with Goals? Answer These 4 Questions.

By JC
Kiadii, Internet Marketing for
Mortgage
Professionals

So, we’re halfway through the second month of the year, and if those
New Years’ resolutions are a distant memory, you are not alone.

If you are struggling with your goals, here are 4 questions to help you
get back on track.

Is my list too long?
Perhaps, like most of us, you’ve been a little ambitious in your goal
setting. Consider paring down your list of goals so that you can focus
on the ones that are truly important.
What is the pain associated with this
goal?
In many cases, there is some pain attached to an unaccomplished goal.
Think about it – what are you not able to do because you haven’t
accomplished the goal? “Get real” with yourself and write down every
single painful thing that comes to mind. This list is for no-one but
yourself.
Visualize the future – how will it be
different?
What will you be able to do when this goal is accomplished? Make a list
of all of the ways your life will be different once your goal is
accomlished.
What is my plan for dealing with
roadblocks?
As you work on your goals, you will have roadblocks. Perhaps you eat
more than you should when you are nervous, or allow yourself to get
famished. Maybe you have a runaway sweet tooth. Now that you’ve
identified the roadblocks, how will you deal with them? Make sure you
eat frequent, small meals, so that you don’t get famished? Keep a
supply of yogurt, fruit and other healthful snacks to feed your sweet
tooth?

Answering these questions may help you
stay on track to accomplish your most important goals.

So, how do you stay on track?

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JC
Kiadii, Mortgage Internet Marketing
Services . 770-469-7385. Are
you reaching out to the 87% of
new buyers who start their search online?
Our team provides results-driven
mortgage Internet marketing services.
Visit our website and sign up
for the More Closings
email newsletter to receive the report 6
Steps to More Referrals.

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Is It “Old School” To Expect A Mailing Address?

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by Jackie

Is It “Old School” To Expect A Physical Address?

By JC Kiadii, Internet Marketing for Mortgage Professionals

I’ve noticed a trend over the past several years – people who have business cards or websites without a physical or mailing address.

I often send “nice to meet you” cards to new networking contacts, and so not having a physical address sometimes hampers my efforts to reconnect. In addition, I have a hard time trusting a business that doesn’t have a address on their website, even if it’s a post office box.

So, what do you think? Does your business card have your address? If not, why not?

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Coworking – Viable Alternative to a Home-Based Office

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by Jackie

By JC Kiadii, Internet Marketing for Mortgage Professionals

Coworking - alternative to virtual home office Are you ready to take your home-based business to the next level? Consider getting out of the house and using a coworking space.

What is coworking? Here’s a description, courtesy of wikipedia.org.

Coworking is a style of work which involves a shared working environment, sometimes an office, yet independent activity. Unlike in a typical office environment, those coworking are usually not employed by the same organization. Typically it is attractive to work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, or people who travel frequently who end up working in relative isolation.

Whether you tele-commute or operate your business from home, here are a few reasons I have become a big fan of coworking spaces.

An Affordable Alternative.
Many of the traditional office suite packages start at $200 a month and include an initiation fee. For about $100 a month, I get unlimited access to any cubicle on a first-come first-serve basis, and there are no initiation fees or long-term contracts. Plugging in at a coffee shop is not really free, because there’s an expectation that you should purchase something. The library isn’t an option either because you cannot use your phone.
The Freedom to Focus.
Everyone I know who works at home complains about distractions. From food that needs to be cooked, to laundry that should be washed, to the television – there’s a lot going on! I find that working at a coworking location can increase my productivity by at least 33%.
They Think of Everything.
Would you like to work outside, while looking at nature? No problem. The back porch area has WIFI and a place to work. Would you like to save money by bringing in your lunch? Most of these spaces have a kitchen with state-of-the art microwave machines.
Beat the Feeling of Isolation.
I must confess, as a card carrying introvert, isolation is not a problem. I also have several friends that I touch base with daily. If spending all day alone is driving you mad, consider coworking.
A Professional Space to Meet Clients.
I’ve never met clients at my home office – it blurs the lines of work vs. home space and it can be risky. The package I chose includes 2 hours a month of conference room use, and the option to rent a meeting space at a discount.

Coworking - alternative to virtual home office Finding a coworking space.
If you are intrigued by the concept, try searching online for the term “coworking” and your city (ex., coworking Atlanta).

Photo credits:
hillary h on flickr
khawkins04 on flickr

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Tags: Home-based Mortgage Business

If you insist on working this weekend, don’t shoot yourself in the foot.

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by Jackie

If you insist on working this weekend, don’t shoot yourself in the foot.

By JC Kiadii, Internet Marketing for Mortgage Professionals

Mortgage Virtual Assistant and Internet Marketing It’s a beautiful Saturday. People are enjoying themselves going to games, picking pumpkins, doing whatever it is that sane people do on the weekends. And where are you? Stuck in your mortgage office.

Fast forward to Monday. You’ve spent all weekend trying your best to get “caught up” to no avail. Not only do you feel as if nothing is accomplished, now you have to deal with Monday morning madness. You sacrificed your precious weekend for nothing.

Familiar?

If it does, my first piece of advice is to hire a virtual assistant to help you with your mortgage business. This one step will free you up to focus on your high value, high payoff tasks.

Here’s my other piece of advice. If you must work, focus on one, and only one, task this weekend. Once you’ve completed that task, give yourself permission to get out of the office! If you are finding it hard to pick one task, remember that working on the weekend isn’t working for you anyway. By completing one task, you will put yourself ahead of the curve on Monday morning.

Here’s an example.

I, too, am working today (despite the fact that this is my favorite time of the year and there are so many fun things to do in Atlanta).

I am working on keyword rich and persuasive content for a client’s mortgage website. My one task is to outline the content for all of his pages and send it to my content writer so that she can have it first thing Monday morning. It’s a win, win situation. I can be creative on a Saturday, while things are quiet, and have the draft pages back from her on Wednesday to review and edit. I will not work on Sunday, so I start the week rested and refreshed.

Do you work on the weekends? How’s that workin’ for ya?

Picture Credit: Anna Gutermuth Flickr

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