Mortgage Marketing & Lead Generation Blog

By JC Kadii, MortgageVirtualAssistant.com^SM

Windows XP / Office 2003

When you run spell check, does your dictionary keep checking for words that you know are spelled correctly?

Here are some examples:
Your last name

Blog

LinkedIn

Facebook

When you run spellcheck within any Microsoft Office 2003 program (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.) you have the option of adding mis-spelled words to your custom dictionary.

Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if you could just add all of the words to the custom dictionary at once?

Here are the steps.

• Find the Custom.dic file.
  In Windows XP, Type CTRL + ESC, then S.
  Click All files and folders.
  In the box called “All or part of the file name” type custom.dic.
  
  Run the search, and Windows should find the file (Custom.dic) in your Proof subdirectory.

• Open Custom.dic (use the Notepad program).
• Copy and paste (or type) all of the words you’d like to add to your custom dictionary. Make sure there is one word to a line.
• Save and close Custom.dic.

Now, any Office 2003 program (Word, Outlook, etc.) will recognize the words you’ve added to your Custom Dictionary.

Remember, as you add words to your custom dictionary, don’t forget to add the word “blog.”

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JC Kadii, Mortgage Virtual Assistant^SM . 770-469-7385. Through http://www.close-more-loans.com/, JC leads a team providing top notch administrative, internet marketing, and technology services to mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.

By JC Kadii, MortgageVirtualAssistant.com^SM

If you aren’t using email newsletters in your mortgage marketing arsenal, you are missing a golden opportunity. According to the Direct Marketing Association research, each dollar spent on email marketing in 2008 is projected to have a ROI of $48.56.

The opportunities to profit from mortgage email marketing are wide open. So few businesses consistently send out good e-newsletters, by launching an effective campaign you will automatically set your business apart from the competition.

One of my “4 Rules of Profitable Mortgage Email Newsletters” is: Profitable email newsletters provide useful and appropriate content.

This is an extremely important rule. Your readers don’t have a lot of time. They are focused on their own needs, concerns and interests. There’s little point in sending an email newsletter that doesn’t appeal to your target audience.

While actually writing the articles may take time, coming up with article ideas does not have to be difficult.

So, where do you find useful and appropriate content? Here are 3 ideas for mortgage email newsletter articles your readers will love.

1. Frequently asked questions.
   Do you find yourself answering the same borrower questions over and over? Write them down. Those questions and answers can form the basis of a series of articles. One client, for example, noticed she kept answering the same questions from first time homeowners. We put together a series of articles for first time homebuyers based on those questions.
2. “Small” talk.
   Successful salespeople know small talk is anything but. When you chitchat with your clients, what do they talk about? More importantly, what are their complaints? So-called small talk provides a treasure trove of article content ideas.

   Here are some examples:

   • Do your clients complain about high taxes? Provide a series of tax tips.
   • Are your clients worried about the high cost of college tuition? Tell them about grant and scholarship opportunities.
   • Do your clients talk about “hitting the town” each weekend? Add an “out and about” section to your newsletter.
3. Address misconceptions.
   Do you get calls from potential borrowers expecting to get the interest rate announced on the morning news? Put together an article explaining what determines mortgage interest rates.

Properly created newsletters increase repeat and referral business. You don’t have to struggle to find articles your clients will love. Listen and observe — great article ideas are everywhere.

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JC Kadii, MortgageEzines.com . 770-469-7385. Through http://www.close-more-loans.com/, JC leads a team providing top notch administrative, internet marketing, and technology services to mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle, one of my
favorite periodicals, recently ran an article
profiling a landscaping company that has used
its “nearly recession proof business model”
to beat the odds.

Despite two housing downturns and one of the
worst droughts in Georgia history, Piedmont
Landscape Contractors, Inc. not only survives
but thrives. Its revenues have risen from
$2.7 million in 2000 to $30 million in 2007.
(How do you like those numbers?)

Reading the article provided many AHA! moments.
I couldn’t help noticing how closely the
company’s actions matched the habits of
some of my most financially successful
clients.

Lessons Learned

Here are some of the components of Piedmont
Landscape Contractors’ nearly recession proof
business model.

• Pay close attention to the cost of
  doing business.

• Keep your prices competitive by lowering
  costs without affecting your customer service.

• Price your services in order to have a
  healthy, sustainable profit margin.

• Put your customer service staff in place
  before you need them.

• Look into diversifying your income streams, so that all of
  your eggs are not in one basket.

Read the entire article here.

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JC Kadii, Mortgage Virtual Assistant^SM . 770-469-7385. Through http://www.close-more-loans.com/, JC leads a team providing top notch administrative, internet marketing, and technology services to mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.

By JC Kadii, Mortgage Website Makeovers

As a virtual assistant to mortgage professionals, I offer Mortgage Website Makeovers.

I have found that there is a staggering amount of mis-information in the mortgage industry about what effective search engine optimization (SEO) involves.

A lot of the advice leaves out an important point: the robots that crawl sites cannot purchase homes.

When optimizing your mortgage website so that it ranks higher in search engines, don’t forget that the entire point of this exercise is to get the humans who visit your website to contact you and close a loan.

Here are few questions to consider:

• Do your keywords and content mesh?

• Is your website easy to navigate?
• Do you have a way to collect leads?
• Do you have persuasive content that shortens the sales cycle?

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JC Kadii, Mortgage Virtual Assistant^SM . 770-469-7385. Through http://www.close-more-loans.com/, JC leads a team providing top notch internet marketing and technology services to mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.

 

I really like Julie’s approach to twitter.

My favorites:

• Build a relationship *first*,
• Stand out by reaching out, and
• Never discount or disqualify anyone unless they’re a spammer (It always amuses me when people have this complex criteria for following someone. Relax, people!)

She also has great advice on ways to find people to follow.

So, if you are wondering how to use twitter for business, you’d do well to (1) follow Julie’s advice, and (2) follow her on twitter.

BTW, my twitter ID is @mortgageva

 

 

When I read the title, I had to read the post. Eric does a great job of “tying it all together.”

 

By JC Kadii, MortgageVirtualAssistant.com^SM

While talking to a colleague not too long ago, she needed to log onto an account to retrieve some information. I could hear her muttering in the background because she couldn’t remember her password. Has this happened to you? I know it has to me.

I am not a fan of saving passwords on websites, for obvious reasons.

So, here’s the suggestion I made to her for an easy way to keep her passwords.

• Buy a pocket-sized address book (it usually costs a dollar).

• Put all of your passwords in the address book.
• Keep the address book in a safe place, or use codes so that no one will be able to guess.

This is a lot better, in my opinion, than what most people do which is post the passwords on post-it notes on their desk.

What do you think?

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JC Kadii, Mortgage Virtual Assistant^SM . 770-469-7385. Through http://www.close-more-loans.com/, JC leads a team providing top notch administrative, internet marketing, and technology services to mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.

By JC Kadii, MortgageVirtualAssistant.com^SM

Stymied for blog topic ideas? Try this one.

Research places in your target markets that recycle Christmas trees, and blog with the list. Include all of the information someone would need in order to contact the recycler (web address, phone number, rules, etc.).

In metro Atlanta, for example, each county has a list of recycling areas. If you target several counties, write a blog post for each.

Here’s are a couple of bonus ideas – blog about what to do with Christmas decorations or greeting cards.

Don’t miss the next post – Subscribe to this blog

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JC Kadii, Mortgage Virtual Assistant^SM . 770-469-7385. Through http://www.close-more-loans.com/, JC leads a team providing top notch administrative, internet marketing, and technology services to mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.

By JC Kadii, MortgageVirtualAssistant.com^SM

If you’ve taken any productivity training, you’ve been taught the importance of writing down your goals and tasks. You’ve probably also heard of the study taken at an Ivy League university, where after 20 years, the 3% of the graduating class who had written goals were worth more than the 97% of the rest of the class combined.

I have found one simple action makes my lists exponentially more effective. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, but it works almost like magic. Resources, ideas, and people suddenly appear to help me accomplish my tasks or complete my goals.

This magical action is to simply read the list. Don’t skim it, take the time to read it. Read it out loud if you must. I do not know how it works (Law of Attraction perhaps?) but I find myself accomplishing much more than I ever expected.

Anything I think about doing goes onto my master task list (in MS Outlook). I try to read that a couple of times a week. Outlook’s reminders help me keep track of things I need to accomplish within the next couple of days. I read that list daily. I also take a look at my list of 90-day goals at least once every other day. Reading these lists don’t take that much time, but I find it makes me more productive with less effort.

What works for you? Do share.

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JC Kadii, Mortgage Virtual Assistant^SM . 770-469-7385. Through http://www.close-more-loans.com/, JC leads a team providing top notch administrative, internet marketing, and technology services to mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.

By JC Kadii, MortgageVirtualAssistant.com^SM

In the 10 plus years I’ve worked with mortgage clients, one of the things I have done is help them create and edit their marketing newsletters.

One of the first things I do with new clients is convince them to remove the date from their mortgage newsletters. This one step makes their newsletter evergreen, transforming it into a long-term marketing tool.

Some information, such as how to raise your credit score, rarely changes. Unfortunately, people will view a newsletter that is more than 6 months old as having dated information, when some of the information may well be valid.

Here is an example of how you can use your evergreen mortgage newsletter.

You receive a call from a prospect inquiring about interest rates. It just so happens that your mortgage print newsletter from 12 months ago featured an article on lowering your interest rate.

By offering to send that particular issue of the newsletter, at the very least:

• You easily gather additional contact information from that prospect

• You have an invitation to follow up with the prospect to make sure they received your newsletter.

By making your print newsletter “evergreen,” you extend its reach and effectiveness.

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JC Kadii, Mortgage Virtual Assistant^SM . 770-469-7385. Through http://www.close-more-loans.com/, JC leads a team providing top notch administrative, internet marketing, and technology services to mortgage professionals. Mortgage professionals are encouraged to visit the website and sign up for the More Closings email newsletter to receive the report 6 Steps to More Referrals.