news & tips — posted May 11, 2005

More XSite tools to help you convert more site traffic into customers

Did you know that you can get qualified visitors sent directly to your XSite with just a few clicks?  That's because back in November, we entered into an agreement with HomeGain Inc., the Internet's largest consumer-to-agent matching service, allowing Agent XSite owners to utilize HomeGain's BuyerLink™ platform.

Every month, more than 4.5 million unique visitors — potential home buyers and sellers — come to HomeGain looking for an agent referral, for a comparative market analysis, or for a website providing local listings in towns where they want to buy a home.  BuyerLink's pay-per-visitor program has agreements with leading search engines including Google™, MSN, AOL and Yahoo, as well as relationships with more than 300 partner real estate sites to find active buyers looking for listings in your market area.  With BuyerLink, these searches could be going directly to your XSite!

With HomeGain's BuyerLink, consumers shopping for a home can connect in just seconds with your Agent XSite — whether they're moving across town or across country.  When potential buyers search for a home on any of HomeGain's partner sites, they select the market where they are interested, then are directed to the MLS/IDX search page for the Agent XSite user.  After registering at the user's IDX site, the agent can then follow up with the visitor to more directly service their real estate needs.

Jim Horwitz of RE/MAX Preferred Group in Cincinnati has been using BuyerLink in conjunction with his Agent XSite for several months.  "It's more effective and more affordable than Google AdWords or Overture.  The combination of BuyerLink and my XSite make it easy to acquire and follow up on leads.  Together, they're really productive tools for bringing in new business."

Web tools they can really use
Horwitz knows that while Homegain may help him get visitors to his XSite, it's ultimately up to him to convert them to customers. That's why he includes lead generation forms on his content pages, especially the ones new visitors are likely to click on first, such as his "Why Choose Us To Sell?" and "First-Time Homebuyers."

In addition to lead generation forms, you can also use tools such as our Home Price Index and Request Industry Info pages to capture visitors. The Home Price Index uses information from Freddie Mac to estimate the value of a home based on its original purchase price. This can be a useful tool for sellers who need some help setting a realistic sales price for their home. With this tool, the seller can also opt-in to receive quarterly updates, which your XSite (through XSellerate) will send to them automatically, allowing you to use your XSite/XSellerate solution to stay in front of your customers.

The Request Industry Info page provides visitors the ability to get access to the industry information they would like to see. You simply select the pre-built content pages you would like to make available from your content inventory and your visitors can check the reports of interest and fill out their basic information. At that time, your XSite delivers the reports to them and the lead flows into your Contact Manager for you to follow up on. What's more, by providing your customers with information they need, you reinforce your image as a true industry expert!

You can access the Home Price Index and Request Industry Info pages as well as sign up for HomeGain by going to the My Office section of your XSite and clicking on Lead Capture Tools.  If you have XSellerate, you can also sign up for BuyerLink by clicking on Lead Generation tools. 

You can purchase as many visitors as you need through BuyerLink and for as many geographic areas as you choose with no long-term commitment.  Plus, as an Agent XSite owner, you get $75 off your first full month's invoice. To learn more about BuyerLink, click here.

When should you send your e-mail campaigns?

Many marketers even say they never have their e-mails delivered on an empty stomach — meaning they aim to get their e-mails into their customers' inboxes after lunch.  The reason?  Their customers have likely dealt with their morning e-mails and are refreshed and ready to get back into work.

There are other factors that influence e-mail open rates that you may want to consider when sending e-mail to your customers, such as:

The type of e-mail address.  If you are sending e-mail to a customer's business address, they're more likely to open their
e-mail during their workday.  And although many people check their personal e-mail accounts during the day, many do not, and so sending in the evening or on the weekends is not out of the question.

Your customers' occupation.  Many of your customers may work in areas where their e-mail is either unavailable (i.e., construction, factory and restaurant workers) or difficult to access during normal business hours (i.e. doctors, nurses, teachers).

Gender.  Many analysts have found that a higher percentage of males versus females are online during the prime evening television viewing hours (8-10 p.m.).

While these are good guidelines to follow, most marketing firms will advise you to test various times of the day and week to truly find out what works best for your market niche.  Eventually, you'll learn the best time to send your campaigns and you'll garner better response rates!

And now that you know when to send your e-mail campaigns, let XSellerate help you with the rest! Send automated e-mail marketing campaigns, create professional print ads and manage your clients easier and much more with our XSellerate marketing suite.  Buy it today for $399 (save $100) by clicking here or call 1-800-ALAMODE.