Images have a big impact on your website and sometimes you need to give them a little love to get the look just right. But before you start paying photographers to shoot and edit your photos, take a peek at the options already available to you on the World Wide Web. I talked to several marketing experts and graphic designers at REW to find out what their favorite no-cost imagery tools are. Without further ado, let's talk about our top 9 free imagery tools you can use to take your site to the next level! Stock photography resources As a busy real estate agent, you probably don't have a lot of time to take photos. Luckily, there are myriad stock photo sites out there, and some of them don't cost a thing. (These sites tend to make their money through…

We're moving in a direction where big data is not only a big advantage but also a requirement to stay competitive. The companies that find smart ways to apply and intermingle data are going to be the most successful moving forward, because one of the best ways to improve user experience is to take complex information from numerous sources and present it in a way that's quick and easy to understand. You've already seen countless examples of this in action. Zillow is one obvious example, where the site has managed to source data from third-party companies, listing agents and property owners to create tools--like Zestimates--that consumers want to use. But that's only just the beginning. Sites like Trivago and Kanetix mine numerous sources of data to become…

For those of you who don't know, one of REW's smaller competitors in the enterprise space, Booj, has just recently been announced as acquired by RE/MAX.   I've actually known about this deal for quite a while, but I didn't want to publish as, honestly, the founder of Booj, Ido, is someone I actually think is a good guy and he deserves his exit.   Now that it's out there though, I think it's time to talk about it.   I mean, it's an obvious win for Real Estate Webmasters as we are their much larger competitor, and they have literally just sold a platform that was promised to be 100% market exclusive to independent brokerages (one per area) to the largest, most capable competitor they have.   It was their most important…

Actions Plans are an awesome way to get organized and stay on top of lead follow up. They are essentially quick reminders to get in touch or perform a specific action, and can keep Realtors connected even when things get busy. In today's post, we're going to outline some example campaigns based on marketing and sales best practices. But it's absolutely critical that you test and revise these campaigns as needed. What works for one business won't resonate with another, so it's important you use these Action Plans as a starting point to build your own tried and true strategies. An Action Plan should mimic the overall lead follow up strategy you've defined for your agents or yourself, and serve as a series of reminders. If you've already put together a…

Disclaimer: Real Estate Webmasters is sharing these opinions based on our interpretation of website compliance for the American Disabilities Act. This does not constitute legal advice of any manner. Companies or individuals who have questions or concerns about ADA compliance should contact a lawyer directly. ADA's Role in Website Compliance The American Disabilities Act (ADA) has been around since the 1990's, but it's been revised a few times throughout history and proposals for change are frequently submitted to the House of Representatives. As the world moves online and people rely on technology for information and connection, it makes sense that many of these new proposals focus on websites and technology. The spirit of the ADA is simple: everyone…

Aayaam was nominated for our career spotlight because of his excellent work ethic, strong project management capabilities, and ability to keep our teams (and clients) organized and on track! Plus, he's just a cool dude. Check out the video below, which talks about Aayaam's role as a project manager, and then read on for our traditional career spotlight Q&A.   What made you decide to join the team at REW? I first got to know about REW back in 2014 when I saw the episode of REW featured on Dragon's Den. I was particularly impressed by how Morgan Carey (CEO at Real Estate Webmasters) handled the questions by the dragons and held his ground. At that time, I didn't know that three years later I would be working for the same company!   Before applying…

If you've received a new subdomain from your broker or franchise, congratulations! This is an exciting opportunity to make your mark on the digital world and stand apart from the crowd. The first thing you need to know about subdomains is that they're separate from the main domain. Subdomains are independent websites that build their own authority, share their own information, and require their own digital marketing campaigns. If you want to get all the awesome benefits that come along with a new website, you'll need to make a few updates to your subdomain. You get to decide exactly how much effort you want to put into your subdomain and your reward will be a reflection of that effort. In this post, we'll start with recommendations for setting up a basic…

A brand new website is exciting, especially when you have big plans for how it will make your team more efficient. But motivating teams to use new technology can be a challenge and that's why we're here to help! In this post, we'll share a few ideas you can use to help improve adoption of your new real estate site. 1. Start small with quick wins We all love quick wins because they're motivating. One of the best ways to inspire your team is to help them make a small amount of progress on their own, so they're motivated to keep doing more. When it comes to adopting new technology, like the REW website or CRM, the best way to get your team started is to show them how simple steps will improve their work. For the website, ask your team members to supply a…

REW launched our new REW CRM last year and we were excited to bring a real estate CRM to market that makes lead management faster and easier. Since then, we've received feedback and suggestions from our clients on ways to make REW CRM even better. We took those ideas, combined them with some of our own, and created a new update to REW CRM. Without further ado, we are delighted to share some of the new features and improvements you can now find in REW CRM: Responsive saved search emails A few months ago, several clients mentioned their desire to have responsive saved search emails. It was a great idea and we got to work! We researched existing saved search emails on the market, prototyped an even better version, shared it with several clients for their…

We've worked directly with thousands of Realtors over the past decade, and our business is built alongside top-producing real estate agents who see a positive ROI and improved GCI from our real estate technology. As a result, we've become experts in lead generation and conversion, and we know what it takes to find new buyers and sellers online, and then convert them into actual clients. The details of each successful strategy vary a bit, but not as much as you may think. In fact, almost every powerful lead gen and conversion strategy starts with the same two tech tools: a website and a CRM. In today's post, we're going to talk a bit about these two tools, and why every Realtor needs them if they want to improve their GCI. Without further ado, let's get…