Many more people know me as a marketing guru rather than a real estate agent and most of the emails I get are usually asking for marketing ideas or advice. As you know from time to time, I like to share novel marketing ideas here to help people buy and sell homes.

Today, I want to share with you an idea that I bet you haven’t thought of to market the sale of your home. It’s the website called Flickr. Some of you may already know it as a place to share photographs, which it is; but did you know that you can also sell a home from it? The premise behind Flickr is sharing photos of your life with your friends, family, and the world. You can post pictures of your kids for grandma to see or for people in India to see. So why not share pictures of your home? After all, the number one thing that people ask for when searching for a home is, “What does it look like?” So we send them pictures.

Anyone can create a Flickr account for free and upload pictures of their home. Then you can send out invites to your friends and family, asking them to take a look at the album of photos. You can also ask them to forward your email and link to their friends who may be looking for a home. You could also join a group. Just type in the word “real estate” and 768 groups that you could join pop up. Then send information to your groups about the photo album of your home. Remember to always give people a URL or link to click back from Flickr for more information. If they like the pictures that they see, you need to send them back to a website to get more information or to contact you.

As an example of how to do this, check out my flickrpage at http://www.flickr.com/photos/35522179@N03/sets don’t get me wrong, this is not the be-all and end-all of marketing your home. It should just be another tool in your overall internet marketing plan.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost

Ok, for the last several years, you have been hearing about real estate being marketed via social media, blogging, video web portals, and syndication. You know it exists, you know people are doing it, but you’re unsure whether or not it produces results.

The answer is yes, it can produce results, but are there some rules for doing it right and doing it well?

1. Blogging – this is writing about a home, area, neighborhood, or agent services. Three simples rules for blogging with effectiveness:

a. You must do it at least three times a week, anything less will not produce results so don’t bother.

b. Its best if it is an original content not copied or linked from another site.

c. You must set up an effective network of places to post your information like other blogs, RSS feeds, and real estate web portals.

2. Social media – yes, you should talk about homes for sale on social networking sites. If you had a home for sale, you would tell all your friends about it. That’s called word of mouth. Putting this same information all over social networking sites is no different; it’s spreading the news to many more people much more quickly. Three simple rules here:

a. Be careful not to post the same information too much every week. Telling your friends three times a week you that need to sell your home will get you knocked off their friends list.

b. Make sure that you include a link back to a website where people can get more information.

c. Again, make sure that you have set up a network and are utilizing as many social sites as possible.

3. Syndication - this is a process of taking listing information and placing it all over internet real estate related websites. Two simple rules here:

a. Make sure that you know where that information is being placed.

b. Make sure that you check it often to ensure that it’s being displayed correctly.

Finally, it is imperative that if you decide to market on the internet, you stay married to the process. Trying this stuff for a month and hoping for results won’t work. You must be faithful to all of these practices day in and day out for at least a year to two years to see results.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost

Lately, we (realtors) have the unenviable task of being the bearers of bad news. It seems more than ever we are having conversations with people about what the market is telling us regarding the price of their home, or we are talking to sellers about lowering the price of their property. As expected and given the recession, rarely is it good or welcomed news. I know that a lot of home owners believe that there is a course in real estate school wherein the first thing an agent is taught is to recite the following sentence, “We need to lower the price.” Trust us, that is the last conversation we want to have with any client. It’s not fun for us and it’s not fun for you, but to use a cliché, “It is what it is!”

It’s important to keep in mind that one of our main jobs is to decipher and interpret the market data. These days, the data is fairly well encrypted and a good agent will be able to pinpoint where the buyers are, how many, what they are buying, why and how you can stay ahead of the curve. We find too many people who are trying to chase the market down. This is bad strategy and you know what I mean. “I’ll start a little higher than what the agent suggested because I can always come down.” That’s chasing the market down and a buyer can see that strategy from a mile away. Buyers today are so smart and savvy, it’s unlikely that you are going to outwit or out strategize them. They have done their home work, have seen dozens of properties, and know exactly what they can buy for their money. It means that they know the market better than you do.

The number one phrase of out every buyer’s mouth these days is “I want a deal.” Forget the days of “Does the home fit their needs or do they like it?” because that’s out the window. It’s all about the deal, so sellers get ahead of the curve. Be significantly better priced than all of your competition. Make it so that when a buyer walks in, the first words out their mouth is “Wow this is a value.”

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.CoDreamHouse.com