You may have jumped into real estate investing with one eye on your dreams and the other on your potential to become fabulously wealthy in no time. While it is true that it is possible to become the richest person you know, the reality is that it will probably take time to happen. Another reality that you may not have considered is that as a real estate investor, you also wear another hat: professional marketer. If you can’t have a winning online and offline marketing effort as your motto, your dreams will go largely unrealized and your destiny will be held hostage to unrealized potential.

There are a number of offline marketing strategies you can employ to encourage prospective buyers and sellers of residential real estate to contact you. Some of the most common are:

o Signs of bandits

o Radio and television commercials

o Brochures, flyers and billboards

However, to put a twist on your marketing, you can really boost your offline marketing strategies by establishing yourself as a leading real estate expert within your local community. There are three great strategies for doing this:

o Interviews with local media: The best way to get your name out there to news directors and program directors is by issuing relevant press releases. They must be well written and must discuss newsworthy topics of importance to your viewers. Once you’ve started to establish yourself as an expert in your field, your phone will ring more frequently. These media appearances can increase your exposure and improve your name recognition, which can result in higher investment deals due to your perceived status as an expert. Many people with whom you will try to buy or sell property will know your name, and be more willing to trust you, as a result of your prominence within your local community.

o Seminars – Giving free seminars in a real estate related niche can increase the size of your portfolio. As a residential real estate investor, you could give a free seminar on topics as varied as “How to Sell Your Home for Price in a Falling Market” or “How to Buy a Home with Bad Credit.” The key here is not to directly promote yourself. Your goal is to look a lot like a financial planner. Show your customers what you know, and how you can help them, and they’ll gladly show you their money later.

o Public speaking – This may not seem like a natural offline marketing strategy, but it has potential you may not have considered. Most people are not natural public speakers; If this identifies you, do not despair. Join your local Toastmasters club and learn the fine art of public speaking. As you learn, you’ll be exposed to business and community leaders (many with cash) who would be prime candidates as potential investment partners or sources of private cash for long-term investments or down payments and rehabilitation funds.

Online marketing strategies are like gifts that keep on being given because overhead costs are reduced. This allows you to cast a wider net and increase the area in which you invest. Plus, you’ll be able to create buyer lists and pre-qualify prospects without investing time, which is one of your most precious assets.

Reaching potential customers effectively with online strategies increasingly requires having your own website, to prescreen prospects, build buyer lists, and gather other vital information. None of these efforts means anything if you can’t figure out how to drive internet traffic to your website. Your online efforts will generally revolve around two basic strategies:

o PPC – Pay per click campaigns are a good way to attract visitors to your real estate investment website. However, if you don’t take a hard look at your target demographic and are clear on the words and phrases you want to bid on, your spend could explode and you’ll have nothing to show for it. Google and Yahoo have useful analytics tools that can help you determine which words and phrases make the most sense for driving paid traffic to your website. In addition, they also offer the ability to target traffic based on the geographic location of potential customers, so your ads will only be seen by those most likely to be good targets.

o Organic placement – ​​This form of marketing won’t cost you a penny, but the competition for top ranking can be fierce. The key to achieving top rankings is to have content on your website that is relevant to the needs of your site visitors. While SEO can play a role in your search engine ranking, you will have greater success if you ensure your website has great content. Resources related to real estate investing – articles and eBooks on wholesale, short sales, rent-to-own, or whatever area you focus on – can improve your search engine rankings. Focus on high-quality, relevant written content and you will be rewarded with traffic. The higher volume of traffic will mean you’ll get more leads, which typically translates to more buyers and sellers for your residential properties.

While your online and offline marketing efforts will be different, in many cases you can tie them together for maximum effect. For example, any offline marketing materials will have physical contact information. If you can include a catchy and memorable web address, you’ll increase your exposure to potential customers and reduce the legwork required to pre-sell them into doing business with you.

Marketing your real estate investing business may seem like a waste of time and effort, but by paying close attention to these efforts, you can gain leads, increase the size of your portfolio, and get closer to realizing your dreams. If you are not familiar with the marketing strategies you want to employ or are not comfortable with your knowledge of specific real estate investing techniques, you should consider finding a good mentor who specializes in the type of investment you are most interested in. Your experience and guidance can put your mind at ease, and their sage advice can help you on your way.