There’s probably an agent in your area whose face seems to be plastered everywhere you look. You’re driving down the road and, boom, you see them on a billboard. A little further down the road and there’s an ad for them on the radio. You get home and flip through your mail…there’s a postcard with their face and name staring at you. You go out to eat, and they have an ad on the placemat.

It’s so aggravating and disheartening to see the agents with the big budgets doing a ton of business, simply because they’re the first agent who comes to mind when someone thinks about buying or selling a house. How are you supposed to compete with someone who has a big enough budget to be seemingly everywhere and staying top-of-mind with not only you, but every other person in the area?

Here’s the good news: Most agents don’t have that kind of budget (or time) to spend on orchestrating such an elaborate campaign. So, you’re not alone. Here’s the better news: You can separate yourself from all those other agents (and the agents with billboards) by doing some top-of-mind marketing of your own.

A top-of-mind marketing approach is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You just need to be consistently in front of your prospects’, leads’ and past clients’ eyes. Luckily that doesn’t have to entail spending tons of money on billboards, newspaper ads, or mailings. It used to be necessary to spend a ton of money on various types of marketing in order to create top-of-mind awareness, but with today’s technology, it can take very little money or time to be seemingly everywhere yourself now. The only real trick is to make sure that you connect with as many of your prospects, leads, and past clients as possible on social media!

While there are tons of different types of content you can share on social media to stay top-of-mind, real estate related memes are an incredibly effective way to leave a quick impression on your followers, without feeling like you’re intruding on their feed. People can digest a meme — even if they’re quickly scrolling — and you’re not interrupting their day any more than a billboard they pass, or an ad they hear on the radio.

You can always throw in real estate related articles, or other content, but using memes as the backbone of your top-of-mind approach works super well. Here, check out a few comments our Inner Circle members receive from their followers:

It can literally be that simple to stay top-of-mind with people. You do have to be consistent, and it may take time to see results, but that’s the same case with an elaborate, costly top-of-mind campaign. Agents who spend a ton of money on billboards and other advertising don’t get huge results immediately, or without consistently staying in front of people. So don’t post a few memes and give up thinking it doesn’t work because nobody has called you to buy or sell a house. Commit to doing it for the long-term.

Check out our Facebook page and use it as a starter pack of memes to share! Those won’t cost you a dime, and there are tons of memes you can share that we’ve posted over the years.

Pro tip: To truly stay top-of-mind, try sharing at least a meme per day, if not a couple of times per day.

Simply sharing real estate memes will be memorable and enjoyable enough for people to remember you as the go-to agent when the time comes to buy or sell a house. But if you want to amp your marketing up a bit, and be able to share memes with your face and branding on them with just a few clicks (and even schedule them to be posted), you should check out our Inner Circle membership. You ‘ll have access to way more memes that are exclusive to our members, and tons of other types of content too, like articles, booklets, and email templates, to name a few!

Either way, stop worrying about the billboard agents and start making them wonder and worry about how you managed to become top-of-mind with so many people in the area…without spending money on billboards!

The post How to Compete with “Billboard Agents” in Your Area (on a Budget) appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

As a real estate agent in the “people business”, I doubt you’d disagree.

So what DO people think about you? (Particularly on social media).

Are you funny? Interesting? Relatable?

Or are you the opposite of that?

Trust me, it matters.

It matters because as an agent, you’ve been commoditized.

Reality check: Most people think that all agents pretty much do the same thing. In the same way. And for the same price.

That’s why you’ve GOT to stand out from all the rest.

And when you know exactly how to CONNECT with potential buyers and sellers on a personal, relational and emotional level…

… you’ll see twice the results than agents who are just trying to sell themselves based on the SAME BORING talking points of “what you do” and “how you help”.

Funny or boring… choose wisely

If you’re not familiar with me and my story, here’s the short version:

My name is Mike Bell.

I used to be a boring agent who couldn’t get any traction on social media. I’d stay up til 2 a.m. trying to figure out how to get people to engage with me online. I was sharing stuff from boring real estate websites that was technical and dry, wasn’t fun or interesting and made people want to take a nap.

This could not go on.

Something had to change.

So, I made a decision.

I gave myself permission to be fun and interesting. And wouldn’t ya’ know, that led to the creation of The Lighter Side of Real Estate which is my full-time business where I get to make a living helping real estate agents lighten up.

After I made the change from dull to delightful, the content I was creating went crazy viral. I started getting shares, likes, and comments in the tens of thousands. Our website even crashed (a lot) in the beginning because we started getting MILLIONS of hits per month, and still do.

Fast forward to 2016, and now we get more shares, on average, than freakin’ CNN for the articles we publish:

And the only thing I did is make a simple change. I did what you can start doing today. I did what I knew would work in real estate… because it works everywhere else.

What was it?

I decided to be funny.

That’s it.

The science behind the funniez

Ok, so think about your personal life. You like to laugh. So does everybody else. Not a shocker is it? And I bet that if I paid someone to do a stalk you and do a study of the stuff you share and engage with online, most of it is pretty dang hilarious.

Like this:

A kid picks a flower and falls on his bum = funny
(I’ll be here all night folks).

Why does funny work in real estate marketing? Because people like, comment, and share stuff that makes them lol (as the kids say). This isn’t difficult to grasp right?

But most agents over-think their marketing strategy instead of just going with what works. Most agents (including my former agent self) are hesitant when it comes to being edgy, funny, or really… just being themselves.

They just are.

Maybe you are.

Bottom line: if you want to get noticed and stand out, you HAVE TO change. You have to utilize humor. You have to be witty. You have to meet them where they’re at and give them what they want.

“But Mike, that will never work with my business! It’s too much of a risk. People won’t take me seriously. I could lose business” sayeth you.

I object. Here’s why:

1. It’s working for myself and lots of other agents right now
2. If what you’re currently doing isn’t working, what do you have to lose anyways?

Need proof that funny works? Here ya go:

In a study on why content goes viral, Carson Ward says:

“Most obviously, content that is truly and broadly viral is almost always funny. One study interestingly titled “From subservient chickens to brawny men” found that despite 62% of ads being aired by Fortune 500 companies, 60% of viral ads were being generated by the smaller companies.”

The discussion continues:

“Humor was employed at near unanimous levels for all viral advertisements. Consequently, this study identified humor as the universal appeal for making content viral.”

UNANIMOUS LEVELS!?

Wow.

That’s why Lighter Side content is so popular. I mean, check out the engagement on this stuff (and these aren’t even our most shared stuff; this is just me scrolling through our Facebook page a few minutes ago):


Wow.

I’m still blown away everytime I see how popular our content is. And the cool part is that you’re 100% capable of doing the same thing.

More proof say you? Okay.

According to a study from the Mayo Clinic, laughter can:

• Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response and increases your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
• Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.
• Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers. Laughter may also break the pain-spasm cycle common to some muscle disorders.
• Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.
• Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your depression and anxiety and make you feel happier.

So being funny isn’t only good for business, it’s good for your health too. Now, I could list study after study and article after article on the benefits of being funny and using humor in marketing, but I think you get the point right?

1. To be get noticed, you have to do something worth noticing.
2. To be relevant to your market, you have to post and share stuff they want to see.
3. To stand out from the crowd when everyone and their mother knows 27 real estate agents, you need to do something nobody else in your sphere is doing.

Got your attention?

I hope so.

Because I want to share something with you that will solve all of your marketing mishaps and help you unleash the funny-lol-inducing real estate agent that you’ve been hiding in the basement for all these years.

Ready to stand out?

Tired of pulling your hair out because you can’t figure out how to get traction on social media? If you want to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes and take your real estate marketing to the next level…

…click here

Mike Bell
Chief Chuckler in Charge
Lighter Side of Real Estate

The post Why Witty Agents Get More Business appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

I know. Stick with me, though. I promise this isn’t some sort of “clickbait.” There’s a powerful message if you read it to the end.

Actually, this was never intended to be read outside of my small Facebook group of less than 3,000 members. This “article” you’re reading was just something I randomly posted one night in an attempt to bring some value to the other members.

The response to my post was so overwhelming that I figured it might inspire you, too.

Btw, my name is Mike Bell. I run the Lighter Side of Real Estate. Maybe you’re one of the 680,000+ followers on my Facebook page? If not, no biggie. If you’re a real estate agent, then this message is for you.

Onto the story…

I recently saw an agent complaining about how her Facebook posts weren’t fetching much engagement.

Her post conjured up a memory about a breakup I had with an ex-girlfriend.

(And yes, there’s a connection here. A strong one. So stick with me here.)

See, I wasn’t a particularly good boyfriend in my twenties.

Granted, I feel I was a good guy and all, but I was a rough around the edges when it came to understanding women.

I guess all men are to varying degrees.

My biggest malfunction? I hadn’t learned one massively important thing about women:

Women. Crave. Compliments. Compliments to a woman are like water and sunlight to a seed.

DUH! Right?!

But I hadn’t realized this yet back on July 27, 1996. I was dating a young lady named Brandy.

That day is etched into my memory because it was supposed to be the most romantic night of our 9 month relationship… her birthday dinner. We’d been looking forward to this for weeks.

Brandy was a football-lovin’, flip-flops-wearin’, cussin’-like-a-sailor southern gal. Beautiful as the day is long, but also the type who could easily fit in with the guys.

She was feminine but not what you’d call a girly girl. You know the type.

Oh, and speaking of type… she was also the type to run late.

In fact, we were dangerously close to missing our reservation, which was making me antsy since I wasn’t quite sure how swanky restaurants worked. (Would it matter if we were late? Would they turn us away?)

So there I was sitting on her couch, not-so-patiently waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom from doing who-knows-what for the last god-knows-how-long.

As I glanced at my watch for the millionth time, I heard the bathroom door swing open and then…

*Clank*
*Clank*
*Clank*

…the sound of heels striking the hardwood floors as she sauntered down the hallway.

“Heels? Really? Her?” I thought.

When she appeared in my view, I was mesmerized. From head to toe she was almost unrecognizable (in the best of ways).

New dress? Check
New hairstyle? Check
New stilettos? Double check! I love a woman in stilettos!

I must’ve looked like a six-year-old boy gazing at an ant farm for the first time because she looked uhh-mazing.

It was the first time I’d ever seen her dressed to the nines. I felt like I was falling in love with her all over again.

So yeah, that’s what I was thinking… but what did my 21 year-old, knuckle-headed self SAY?

Something to the effect of, “C’mon, we gotta go. Like, now! We’re late!”

She didn’t peep a word on the drive there, but I didn’t think much of it since I had the radio up.

But moments after arriving and being seated, I noticed a tear rolling down her cheek.

I was puzzled, but she didn’t want to talk about it. I did, but I didn’t press the issue since we were in public.

Later in the car, she revealed the reason to me: she didn’t “feel pretty.” More specifically, she didn’t think I felt she was pretty.

I apologized profusely and expressed how beautiful she looked to me.

But it was too late. I missed an opportunity. An important one it would turn out. And it wasn’t my first time.

Soon afterwards she broke up with me. Not solely because of that incident, but it was certainly a domino in the chain reaction of our demise.

That experience taught me a valuable lesson about relationships…

… and twenty-one years later I’m still learning from it.

Oddly enough I’m learning things from her perspective of that night.

This is where personal branding on social media comes in

See, all real estate agents have a bit of Brandy in them. All agents want what she wanted:

To look your best.
To stand out from the crowd.
To be freakin’ N-O-T-I-C-E-D!

So here’s my advice…

Always brand in stilettos

Translated: Present yourself “to the nines” by posting the most useful / entertaining / valuable content you can muster up…

…EVEN IF (and this is huge)… even if nobody acknowledges you for it through likes, shares, and comments.

Sure, you want and need validation from others just like Brandy needed from me. We’re all wired this way.

But here’s the unfortunate truth…

People WILL do you like I did Brandy. In other words…

They WILL notice you.

They WILL appreciate you…

…but then not say anything because they’re running late for a dinner reservation like I was (or a bazillion other reasons).

And that’s okay.

Not everybody who enjoys your content is inclined to go the extra mile and tap the like button. Or the share button. Or, heaven forbid, string together multiple letters to form an actual comment.

Yes, we humans are that freakin’ lazy and/or sidetracked. And this laziness can skew your perception of how effective social media is for building your brand.

Don’t let that happen!

Just know that people are watching and appreciating your content (just like I silently appreciated Brandy’s beauty that night).

Some people will speak up. Some won’t. But at the end of the day it doesn’t matter because when people notice you, they’ll remember you.

And when they remember you, you stay top of mind.

And as a real estate agent who’s competing with tons of other agents…

… top of mind ain’t a bad place to be.

And do you wanna know the fastest way to become top of mind?

Again, it’s all about posting great content. But “great” is so vague, isn’t it? So let’s define it. Rather, let’s define what great content is not.

Contrary to what you might normally associate with “stilettos” and “dressing to the nines,” great content is NOT:

Formal.
Or pretentious.
Or pretty-on-the-outside-but-lacking-depth.

It’s not content that makes you — and only you — feel great.

No. Great content is content that makes you relatable to others. It’s authentic. It’s clever. It’s witty. It’s outside-the-box.

It genuinely stands out to people who consume it.

So…

My “stilettos” metaphor is about doing your best and not getting down on yourself… even if you feel nobody recognizes you. So please don’t walk away with the impression that great content should be pretty to look at and that’s it.

Prettiness by itself doesn’t stand out anymore. “Meaningfulness” is where it’s at. Not to mention, pretty is already expected from agents. And most times, it’s severely lacking in any real value for your audience.

Your brand deserves better than that.

And speaking of your brand…

You might not know this, but your brand is not your logo (which is just a bunch of pixels).

Your brand is not your color scheme.
Your brand is not your headshot.
Your brand is not something physical or tangible.

Instead, your brand is what people feel when they think about you…

… it’s a perception — not a tangible thing you can hold.
… it’s your stand out-factor — what makes you unique and authentic.
… it only exists in the minds of others (it’s a feeling).

And great content is what creates your brand.

Another thing about great content is that it shouldn’t be as painful to create as stilettos are to wear. (Not that I have first-hand knowledge lol. I’ve just been told.)

They are painful though, right?

After running the Lighter Side of Real Estate for years, and seeing the severe lack of quality content out there, I decided to build something never seen before in the real estate industry…

…I call it my “Inner Circle.”

It’s my treasure trove of content that’s “dressed to the nines” for agents who want to brand themselves in a more personable and meaningful way…

…all waiting for you. With your branding on it.

There’s zero pain for you. The work has been done FOR you. It’s the perfect way to wear stilettos (metaphorically, of course) when marketing & branding yourself.

So go on, give it a peek right here. (Members say it’s “like Netflix for real estate marketing & branding.”)

Maybe it suits your style. If so, I’d sure love you to join us. If not, thanks for reading this and I hope you never look at stilettos the same way again.

Mike Bell
Chief Chuckler in Charge
Lighter Side of Real Estate

The post Why Real Estate Agents Should Always Brand In Stilettos appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

And some advice is just plain terrible, like this:

“No one respects an agent who shares funny memes. You should only represent yourself with professional content.”

Easy there, Negative Nancy! Geez.

This is terrible advice, ladies and gents, and it comes from what’s commonly known as a hater.
Haters can’t be avoided. They’re everywhere! And sometimes they mean well, but that doesn’t mean you should take their terrible advice to heart. Instead of giving helpful information, they dole out criticism without substance or useless comments with prejudice.

Enter the Kardashians. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they know alllll about succeeding in the face of haters.

Sure, they’re not in real estate (YET… just wait, I bet Khloe will be getting her license any day now), but they know exactly how to grab and keep attention—haters or no haters.

You see, instead of worrying about negative comments and changing their approach to fit every Harry McHaterson that comes down the pike, the Kardashian clan use a very simple method for staying top-of-mind in the public eye.

Are you ready? Their method is…

Find out what most people want… and give it to them.

Think about it. When you plop down on the sofa, kick off your shoes, and reach for the remote at the end of the day, are you looking for a bash-you-over-the-head serious dose of information?

Maybe. But I’ll bet most of the time you just want to be entertained. Chances are good you’re not looking to be challenged or enlightened. This is true for the vast majority of people—especially when they’re scrolling through social media sites like Facebook.

When you want to relax or take a break, you just want some good old-fashioned brain candy. Kim and Co. know this. That’s why when their audience keeps tuning in to their show. They expect crazy-rich people in weird situations giving over the top reactions. And the Kardashians always deliver. They stick to their method, make their fans happy, and rake in big bucks—year after year.

So now that we understand their method, we’ve still got two questions…

Question #1: Mama Kardashian ain’t no fool; they try something out, then they look at the ratings. People want more of Kylie? Poof! Kylie gets more press and more screen time… and here’s a couple kajillion dollars’ worth of lipgloss to go with it.

You can easily apply this on your own Facebook page and profile to see what content has worked well in the past, as well as what content bombed. Facebook provides easy-to-use tools for this. But if you don’t want to dig into the nitty gritty, just pay attention to the likes and comments (or lack thereof) your posts get. That’s a sure-fire way to know if you’re givin’ ‘em what they want.

Here are some examples of comments you want to see (obviously).
Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Exhibit D:

On a side note, you’re probably wondering… exactly WHAT are these agents posting that have audiences going crazy?

Are you ready for this?

It’s memes! Simple, witty, fun, memorable memes like

This brings us to…

Question #2: Now that you know how to determine what type of content works best, how do you go about creating it? And once you figure that out, how do you keep it flowing consistently like the Kardashians do?

Do you have a production crew? Do you have a kajillion dollar budget? Do you have 14 assistants freeing up time so you can focus on your next piece of clever content?

I mean, sure, you can think of a funny topic or saying, dig around for a great image to portray that thought, and spend a couple hours in Canva trying to make it all look right together…

… but that’s a huge chunk of time out of your day—time that’s supposed to be spent on your real job (a.k.a. real estate)! Oh, and it’s not just a one time thing; you’ve got to keep this content flowing regularly so people remember you all year round.

The answer to this problem is obvious: Find a proven, affordable service that creates the type of content that your prospects love. (Yes, a service like this exists—wink wink. Keep reading.)
Here’s the bottom line: When you post the right type of content (versus the yawn-inducing stuff most agents post), you might just see results like this:

We see screenshots like this all the time. Why? Because these agents are posting memes that we (The Lighter Side of Real Estate) created. With over 415k fans on Facebook alone, suffice to say we know a thing or two about staying top-of-mind.

There’s actually another secret these agents use that goes a little deeper than just sharing good content.

You see, anyone can stumble across our Facebook page and hit the share button. That approach may get you a giggle or two, but YOU aren’t credited as the clever one who came up with it. The secret that the agents from the screenshots above have is they were able to personalize these memes—each one had the agent’s branding right there front and center!

It’s as if they created the meme. So they get all the love.

Think of it this way: it’s one thing to be thought of as the guy (or gal!) who shares funny stuff from time to time…

But it’s quite another to be perceived as the person who loves real estate so much they come up with these ideas themselves. It creates an instant affinity with everyone who sees, likes, and comments. And best of all? When folks are motivated to SHARE your funny memes, guess whose branding gets seen by even more people?

That’s the kind of branding magic you want working for you!

So when Harry McHaterson says, “No one respects an agent who shares funny memes,” you know he’s not living in 2019. Here’s the proof…BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

One question remains: Do you have the time and talent to create awesome content yourself? OR… would you benefit from riding our coat-tails?

With Lighter Side’s Inner Circle, you’ll get unlimited access to all the memes (plus many other types of marketing content) you’ll ever need. Best thing of all? When you join, you can personalize everything with your OWN branding.

We want all your prospects to think you’re the clever and witty one, so you’ll stay top of mind effortlessly.

This is what we do, this is our passion.

Sounds pretty good, right? OF COURSE RIGHT. Just remember, forget the haters, go with what works (and what’s FUN!), and you, too, can build a lovable brand.

Click here and let’s get started

Mike Bell

Mike has asked repeatedly to be called “His Royal Awesomeness”, but no one listens. So, he settles for “Chief Chuckler in Charge” of Lighter Side of Real Estate. He enjoys writing bios in third person and hopes you don’t think any less of him because his headshot was shot in a bar.

The post The Secret Kardashian Formula Every Real Estate Agent Needs To Learn appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

As the Chief Chuckler in Charge of the Lighter Side, I believe I have the coolest job in the world. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

That said, the bigger picture of what I do isn’t known by a lot of folks… and if you’re just a casual Facebook follower of the Lighter Side, you’re probably not taking advantage of everything you could be.

So let’s get this sorted out right now.

Look…

Am I here to make you laugh? Yes.
Am I here to help lessen stress? Yes.
Am I here to help you escape your daily real estate grind? Absolutely.

BUT…

That’s only 20% of what I do.

These posts are designed to tell your story when you share it. Whether it’s “I love what I do,” or “I’m here to serve you,” or “this is what my life is like as an agent”.

It’s real. It’s relatable. But most of all, it represents you in a positive light to buyers and sellers.

It’s content that when you share it, lets you come across as:

• Entertaining
• Resourceful
• Non-salesy
• Human!

And keeps you ‘top of mind’ to boot.

But don’t just take my word for it…

Here are some real comments from real prospects that were the result of agents sharing some of my content. (This is just a few, I have literally dozens of examples.)

And another:

And another:

Here’s the bottom line. Think of social media like a cocktail party, not a monologue. Using it as a megaphone to blast boring, rehashed industry news doesn’t get the job done.

The name of the game is starting conversations.

If done correctly, you’ll establish a reputation as a “real” human being who’s both resourceful and entertaining.

Winning at social media is simple: Build strong relationships and an environment where people can become comfortable doing business with you.

But fair warning…

Don’t go wasting your time scouring the Lighter Side Facebook page for this type of content. For the most part, you won’t find it. It’s mostly reserved for my (much smaller) group of marketing savvy agents. I call this my Inner Circle…

Wanna learn more?

Click here.

The post Something You Need To Know About The Lighter Side, From The Guy Behind It… appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

You feel your company is the greatest, and everyone else should join too. Am I right?

You guys are “the fastest growing company”, everyone loves each other, and you have the best this, that, or another thing. Right?

Ok so you “drank the Kool-Aid.”

No harm, no foul!

But the thing is, when you’re in a company that other agents joke like that about, it makes it harder to actually recruit people into your company.

Starting almost any conversation about recruiting goes over about as subtle as that big red pitcher crashing through walls in the Kool-Aid commercials back in the day.

The minute you even hint at trying to recruit someone, it’s like other agents put up a wall—a wall big and strong enough to keep you and the Kool-Aid guy from getting through!

So what’re you supposed to do? Not boast about your company? Let people just label you? Not even try to recruit people, and just chalk it up to it being “their loss”?!

Nahhhhh, you just gotta…

Own the Kool-Aid narrative!

I’ve got a lot of fans that drink the so-called “Kool-Aid” with my brand, the Lighter Side of Real Estate. In my line of work, I get to interact with a broad spectrum of agents day in and day out. And I’ve always felt your pain when it comes to recruiting.

Many agents tell me how hard they’re trying. Maybe you’re one of them. And like them, you also get shut down too quickly. You’re often misunderstood, and you get a bad rap for trying to recruit people. But hey, you genuinely got a good thing. You should be bragging about it and inviting people to see how cool it is for themselves.

So here’s a little something for you: a recruiting letter / email template I whipped up to get your juices flowing. Just a small ‘thank you’ for being a fan of The Lighter Side! (If you’re not a fan of The Lighter Side, please close your eyes or stop reading…LOL. JK.)

Btw, I’m totally cool with you swiping this and giving it a whirl!

Instead of just trying to avoid the “Kool-Aid” label, own it.

And in my experience with the Lighter Side, a little levity is one of the best ways to:

• Get someone’s attention
• Keep it
• Nurture the relationship over time

So I hope that letter helps you get (and keep) the attention of the next person you try to recruit!

You should also consider other fun angles!

I think part of the reason so many agents who get labelled as Kool-Aid drinkers and pushers is because they always tend to lead with, and focus on, their company. (With good reason, of course.)

But just because your company is great, doesn’t mean that’s what’s gonna get and keep someone’s attention.

So if you’re actively trying to recruit into your company, and you liked the letter I gave you to use, you’ll love the 20 other recruiting letters I created.

I’ll give them all to you if you decide to join my exclusive Inner Circle membership. Check ‘em out:

They’re all unique approaches you can use depending on the agent you’re trying to convert ahem, I mean, recruit (LOL). Each one has its own fun, funny, or witty angle, and a call to action.

And they’re not just good as letters or emails. I wrote these in a way that you can use them as scripts that roll right off your tongue (with a little practice of course), since they’re short and to the point.

Get all these templates and soooo much more

Here’s the deal.

If you haven’t heard, the Lighter Side of Real Estate has an exclusive group of agents known as our Inner Circle. It’s a monthly membership consisting of marketing savvy agents like yourself.

When you join you’ll have full license use any or all of these templates (plus all future ones I create).

And get THIS: These templates are just one teeny-tiny part of what you’ll get as a member. Just wait til you see what all’s included!

Click here to join our Inner Circle and get access to all these templates and much more.

What members are saying

I could tell you the Inner Circle is the best thing since the invention of the MLS… but fortunately I don’t have to. My members are doing the talking for me:

Click here to join our Inner Circle and get access to all these templates and much more.

Happy recruiting!!!

The post How To Get Other Agents To Drink Your “Kool-Aid” appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

Fair Warning: This story isn’t exactly short. BUT… if you stick with me til the end, AND you’re a real estate agent, you’ll receive a nice payoff.
– Mike Bell, “Chief Chuckler in Charge”

I crouched over my tattered, brown couch as I searched the cracks for loose change. I was hungry and needed to eat, and so did my dog, Cubby. I was 39 years old and in the “prime” of my life.

It was 2013, around March or April as best I can recall. I was down to $13 in the bank, plus almost two bucks in change I scored from my couch.

The plan? Go down to the Food Lion (local grocery) and walk out with as many cans of tuna as $15 could buy. Which is exactly what I did.

Cubby and I were set for the next few days.

(Btw, I’ll never forget the shame of having to combine two forms of payment—a debit card and a fistful of change—for a $15 transaction.)

Such was my life back then. Some people live paycheck to paycheck. I was living meal to meal. I was broke and deflated, but not yet defeated.

Let me stop you here.

This isn’t some bullshit “rags to riches” story. Nor am I seeking your sympathy. Rather, this is the true story of a “perfect storm” which led me to create the Lighter Side of Real Estate brand. I simply believe in giving full context when telling a story.

Now, based on what I’ve told you, you might assume I was a crackhead or something. And I wouldn’t blame you. I was practically living on my couch—it doubled as both my bed and “office.”

I wasn’t a crackhead at all, though. Drugs were never my deal. See, I was actually a different kind of crackhead. Instead of searching for my next high, I was searching for that elusive lil’ booger called “happiness within.”

Little did I realize, happiness comes from making others happy. Give value to others, and it will boomerang back to you. Looking back, I hadn’t doled out much value at that point in my life.

Life was pretty gloomy then.

Most people have built a nice life for themselves by their late 30’s. But me? I was a grown-ass man who could barely feed himself, let alone provide value to anybody.

My biggest fear, which has always been “wasted talent”, was becoming more of a reality. I hadn’t found my calling in life yet, and it was eating me to the core—financially and emotionally.

I knew I was a bright person, but I still hadn’t figured out exactly what my talent was. Or how I could use it to give value to others.

Ultimately I found it, which you’ll learn in a minute. But before I tell you, I want you to know how I’d fallen so low (and how I got back up).

I cut my teeth on real estate fresh out of college in 1997 when a buddy introduced me to the world of appraising. He was a successful mortgage broker, and I was a floundering graduate trying to figure things out. He introduced me to his appraiser friend who agreed to take me on as an apprentice.

Early into my appraisal career I began investing in real estate, so getting my sales license seemed only natural. In 2004 I became licensed to sell. I sold and appraised until I put both licenses on inactive status in 2008. They’re probably caked with dust by now.

I’d like to say that leaving real estate was by choice… that I was some “rock star” agent who just “wanted more of a challenge” or some nonsense. But I won’t. I’m more transparent than that.

When the real estate bubble popped, I hadn’t built up enough of a client base to survive. Stepping away from my appraisal career, on the other hand, was completely voluntary. Newly-imposed regulations on appraisers had strangled my love for the profession.

My post-real estate career consisted of random writing gigs, local marketing services, and a slew of big ideas which flopped massively…

…which led to that disgusting brown couch—pretty much my sole possession at the time.

Here it is, btw. (Yeah, it had seen better days.)

Literally the spot where the Lighter Side of Real Estate was conceived.

I wondered if my “big ideas” kept flopping because I couldn’t get the word out to enough people…

So I turned to social media.

I figured I’d build a brand by putting out content on Facebook, then figure out the money part later. Maybe create witty t-shirts and sell them to agents or something.

It was at that moment I hedged my bets and went all in. I mean, what did I have to lose? My couch was already PAID FOR, baby!

I named my first Facebook page, Real Estate News & Trends. I shared the same real estate stuff everyone else was sharing (yawn). They were the type of posts everyone scrolled right past. This was mid-2013.

In hindsight I realize how naive I was. I mean, it was interesting content to people like me and you (real estate folks)…

…but to people we actually want to reach (potential buyers & sellers)? Total freakin’ snoozefest.

It was data.
It was boring.
It was… oatmeal (not bacon).

Which brings me to a point in this story where I think you can REALLY relate…

See, I was just winging it, like maybe you’re doing. It was as if I couldn’t even pay somebody to like a post I made.

I was clueless about how to build a likable brand online.
I was irrelevant to the few followers I actually had.
I was wasting time making “noise” on social media that lacked any value.

Because let’s face it, real estate isn’t exactly the sexiest thing to talk about on social media.

But I wanted so badly to build an unforgettable brand.
To reach lots of people.
To have influence.

Sound familiar? I wanted everything from social media that you probably want as an agent. But I failed.

I failed because I was building a brand without a soul.

I was just posting more of the same ol’ crap with a fancy logo slapped on it. My “brand” was lost in a sea of sameness.

Day after day I’d make posts… and crickets.

No likes.*
No comments.
No shares.

*Except for that handful of friends who like EVERYTHING you post. Gotta love true friends!

This went on for months. How the heck was I gonna build a popular brand if I couldn’t even reach anybody… or post anything interesting? And then one day it hit me harder than a lowball appraisal…

Call it luck, fate, or even divine intervention if you want. I remember it vividly. The date was December 29, 2013.

After moping around all weekend, wondering if I should throw in the towel, I stumbled onto a podcast that changed everything for me.

With one simple word, this random podcast dude shifted my entire mindset.

I FINALLY knew what I had to do.

That one word?

“Info-tainment”

The fusion of information and entertainment. Brilliant!

Truth is, we humans crave entertainment. It’s hard-wired into us all!

And if you can find a way to post real estate related stuff that’s actually interesting (and not desperate-sounding or boring), you’ll grab people’s attention…

… and they’ll like you. And more importantly, remember you!

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this…

Attracting clients has less to do with your “credentials”… and everything to do with how people feel about you!

So after hearing this podcast, I scrapped my old Facebook page and started a new page called the Lighter Side of Real Estate…

… with a fresh new strategy.

I began posting about topics on the fringes of real estate. In other words, NOT listings or boring real estate news. Instead, I posted fun content that had broad appeal (but always with a real estate angle woven in).

I started showing the plight of agents through lighthearted humor. In doing so, I demonstrated that real estate people are fun and interesting, not self-promoting robots like much of the public thinks.

Basically, I tried (and still try) to give real estate the makeover I feel it needs.

And boy did it take off!

My content was finally getting shared by agents AS WELL AS regular, non real estate folks (i.e. potential buyers & sellers)!

And wouldn’t you know it…

In no time at all, my posts were getting more attention than the “top dogs” of real estate!

I started outperforming brands I’ve always respected!

Yep. Me. A “nobody” with zero industry connections—and my engagement stats were blowing right past theirs.

Via Buzzsumo, 2016

Heck, at one point, Lighter Side’s articles, on average, were getting shared more than CNN’s!. What?!

Via Buzzsumo, 2016

After months of failing to get noticed online, messages started pouring in.

Agents were telling me they were using my content to promote themselves…

…and also that their followers LOVED the content they were sharing.

Take Renee, for example:

And I started getting posts and messages like that on a daily basis:

The messages just wouldn’t stop pouring in (and I loved it!):

Fact is, they were staying top of mind and getting REAL results!

As it turned out, this kind of content was making THEM (the agents) look like rock stars. This feedback blew me away!

Agents flooded my inbox, asking permission to use my stuff with their own branding on it.

So I reached out to my email list and asked if I should create some sort of “content club”.

And boy did I learn a lot from that email! I uncovered a HUGE need.

Now here’s where YOU enter this story…

Fast forward to today.

See, although the Lighter Side of Real Estate started out as a way to give real estate the makeover I mentioned earlier…

… it’s grown into a content marketing platform that agents like you can use to build your personal brand.

Wouldn’t it be freakin’ awesome if people were pre-sold on YOU as their agent?

If people loved the crap out of you even prior to reaching out to you?

If they respected you not only as someone who’s professional… but who’s also fun, relatable, and personable?

Of course that’d be freakin’ awesome!

And that’s exactly why I started the Lighter Side “Inner Circle”.

Click here and I’ll show it to you.

The post How I Built The Most Viral Real Estate Brand On Facebook (From My Couch) appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

Glad you could make it today. What I want to do here is simple – convince you to be yourself.

“But I already am myself silly!” you say mockingly.

Well, are you letting yourself be seen? If so great. But if not, keep reading because in my experience, a lot of real estate agents aren’t. There it is.

My up-front all encompassing singular goal in writing this is to shake you to your core. I want you to snap out of it because if you’re like a lot of agents out there (and you’re being honest with yourself), you’ve needed someone to tell you this for a long time right?

* Don’t get offended (you need to hear this)
* Don’t take it personally (I’m here to help)
* But please I implore you- DO take it seriously (because it’s affecting your business)

Ready for it?

Here’s what you have to realize if you’re still doing business the old fashioned way…

…you’re boring your prospects to death.

*Caveat: if you’re an agent who isn’t boring… awesome.

If you’re doing an excellent job at wooing prospective buyers and sellers and can’t find enough time to return all the phone calls from people begging to work with you or reply to all the inbound emails you’re getting – bravo.

I salute you. This isn’t really for you because you don’t need any help at all.

But if you’re like a lot of real estate agents out there, you’re struggling to get noticed.

In today’s market when there are more agents than houses, it seems impossible to stand out in the sea of sameness doesn’t it? Sure you have a “nice” website, a Facebook page, those really thick business cards that cost like $20 a piece, and you even had someone make you a logo for $5 that you use on all your letters.

But guess what?

EVERY. OTHER. AGENT. HAS. ALL. THAT. STUFF. TOO.

You’re doing everything you know how to do and it’s not working. It’s just not. You go to all the Chamber of Commerce meetings, pass out cards, eat cheese and crackers, and hangout with the 27 other agents and 32 mortgage guys and gals at ribbon cuttings but your phone still isn’t ringing.

You buy ads, send out letters, put up signs, post stuff Facebook but still…crickets.

You want to just throw in the towel and settle for status quo – but don’t do it.

You don’t have to settle for sameness.

… I have a solution.

The cure for what ails you

So, your personal brand. Sounds really cool to say doesn’t it? But do you know what it really means? Like, really? Most agents are clueless about building a personal brand. They’re poster children for the “my logo is my brand” mentality.

Heck, maybe you are too. Maybe you think your brand is your logo, font, and color.

Or maybe you’re still using that glamour shot from 1992 on all of your “stationery.” If you are, I’m here to tell you to stop. People expect more from you. Things have changed and people want a lot more (plus, most people don’t even know what a glamour shot is anymore anyways).

• You might not know this but your brand is not your logo – it’s just a bunch of pixels
• Your brand is not your color scheme
• Your brand is not your headshot
• Your brand is not something physical or tangible

If this is what you’ve been taught, you’ve been misled.

Ok hotshot, what is a brand?

Now branding is nothing that’s new but it’s definitely something that’s seeing a lot more attention lately. You hear people talk about “branding,” “building a personal brand,” and the importance of “brand management,” “brand positioning,” and “brand strategy”…

…but what does it all mean?

Let’s look at some definitions-

Brand defined:

A lot of folks have written on branding before. I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but what I am doing is bringing all of the wheels together in one place. Understanding the value of building YOUR OWN personal brand is critical if you want to succeed as a real estate agent (and I know you do).

So here you go. Some of the best definitions of branding/brand I’ve ever seen:

1. “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.” ~Seth Godin
2. “The intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it’s advertised.” ~David Ogilvy, On Advertising
3. “Your brand is the output of your values as they’re experienced by others” ~Justin Foster, Author, Oatmeal v. Bacon
4. “Your personal brand is what separates you from everyone else in the world. The first step to creating your personal brand is to organize your thoughts and create your personal brand vision. This is the way you want yourself to be perceived by others and also how you want to live your professional and personal life.” ~Neil Patel

So boiled down to its most simplest form, your brand is what people think about when they think about you…

…it’s a perception – not a tangible thing you can hold
…it’s your stand out factor – what makes you unique
…it only exists in the minds of others (it’s a feeling)

EVERY business, title gal, entrepreneur, house flipper, agent, loan officer, ice cream stand business, and banana stand operator has a brand. Including you. Even the people who never thought about their brand have a brand.

Here’s a quick exercise to help you think through it more clearly:

WHAT do you think of when you think of these brands. Answer out loud or write it down:

• Apple
• Tim Tebow
• Starbucks
• Nike
• Home Depot
• Lego
• Gordon Ramsay
• Target
• Southwest Airlines

Here are my answers, just for fun, right off the top of my head:

• Apple –
  cool, cutting edge, leaders in technology
• Tim Tebow –
  different, unique, spiritually driven, good role model
• Starbucks –
  the best 3rd Place on earth, great place to relax and enjoy the company of friends
• Nike –
  helping people achieve their dreams and unleashing their inner hero
• Home Depot –
  giving you everything you need to make your project a good one
• Lego –
  master storytellers, enabling playful creativity and helping people dream big
• Gordon Ramsay –
  the most badass cook I know, culinary genius, creative expert and businessman
• Target –
  better than Walmart and cheaper than Nordstroms. Making life affordable
• Southwest Airlines –
  making travel fun again, happy, quirky, funny travel at a decent rate

Notice that the first thing I thought of with each brand above WASN’T their product, per se. It was who they are and my general thoughts about them. You do this, your neighbors do it, you clients do it – everyone does.

So like you, your prospects do business with the brands they enjoy and have an emotional connection with. A stick of deodorant at Target costs the same as it does at Wal-Mart but I’ll choose Target over Wal-Mart every time.

Why?

Because I like Target. Wal-Mart…not so much.

So when you think or hear the term “brand,” now you know that it’s not a logo. It’s a subjective perception. Not a product, name, or magnet on the side of your Escalade…

…it’s a feeling.

You on a plate

Now a lot of agents get this and try to be everything to everyone everywhere. They’re known as “nice.” That’s right – “Oh Ashley- my Realtor? She’s nice.” But nice doesn’t get noticed does it? You don’t want to just be known as “nice,” because “nice” isn’t different.

Nice is just… meh.

Everyone in the real estate game is nice.

Nice is boring.

You need to be interesting, not nice. Interesting always gets you noticed but being “nice” just gets you, well, not much.

Branding expert Ash Ambirge has this to say about being “nice”:

“Being described as nice isn’t a personality problem: It’s a personal branding problem. You might not think of it that way, but that’s what it is. If your entire presence conjures up nothing more than the most generic word of all mankind, then either your personality is really that unremarkable (doubtful) or, more likely: You’re not really yourself around other people.”

So if your brand is the perception of your values as people see/experience them in the marketplace… your brand has to be you. On a plate. Ready for the world to consume (from a marketing perspective). You’re not just some boring status quo real estate agent, you’re…you.

It’s really simple right?
Nobody knows you better than you.

…This is about integrity (really being who you really are)
…This is about values (really letting your values shine through for others to see and adopt)
…This is about passion (doing what you KNOW you are “called” to do, and DOING IT)
…This is about being perpetually interesting (publishing and sharing stuff that people like)

What drives you? What things are most important to you? What has to exist for you to say “yes” to something, and where would you draw the line if you had to say “no” to something? What keeps you up at night? What do you spend most of your time doing and thinking about?

I use the following 11 questions when I’m helping somebody try to figure out what makes them tick and I encourage you to ask yourself each one of these and write down the answers:

1. Who are you and what’s your story? How’d you get where you are?
2. What problem(s) are you solving for people? Why do you do what you do?
3. What are you awesome at that you do better than any of your competitors?
4. Who needs what you have to offer?
5. What are you doing to get people to notice you, talk about you, share your stuff?
6. What do customers think of when they think about you (i.e. your brand)?
7. How will you get stories from your customers and broadcast them to the world?
8. Why should ANYONE do business with YOU instead of your competitor?
9. What are you doing to create a culture that makes people want to stick around and hang out with you (online and/or offline)?
10. How are you being disruptive, intrusive, and different? What are you doing to upset the status quo and get noticed?
11. What are people saying about you online, offline, and to your face?

Now take the answers and whittle them into one cohesive narrative.

There’s your brand.

Ok. This is all good. But… what do I do now?

Now that you know it’s okay to be yourself, you have to go do it. And the best way to do it? Content (i.e. blogs, images, polls, articles, video, all of it). Good content helps mold the way people (i.e. potential buyers and sellers) perceive you.

So the stuff you share has to be interesting, funny, and of course – relevant. The typical Linkedin-ish, boring, status quo, professional, proper stuff is what everyone is already doing right? So do something different.

Stand out.

If you want people to notice you, do something worth noticing. If you want them to talk about you, give them something to talk about. now if we’re both being honest, I think we’d both agree (if we were sitting across from each other chatting over a venti vanilla bean frappuccino) that a lot of agents aren’t “hip” and internet savvy.

If that’s you and you don’t get it, it’s okay, (that’s why you’re reading this). You’re an agent, not an online marketer after all.

So maybe after reading all of this, you agree with me 100%. Yes, you need to stand out. Yes you need to be different and interesting. Yes you’re sick of seeing zero engagement on your social media accounts.

But you don’t have the bandwidth or skill to do it properly.

Maybe you’re relying on your company’s branding? While this is good to some extent, think about this – so are all of the other agents you work with. Big mistake. You’re missing a huge opportunity by not cultivating your personal brand.

Yeah but (there’s always a but)…

…I Just. Don’t. Have. Time
…I suck at writing
…I’m technologically challenged
…

Well let not your heart be troubled.

I get it because I used to be there myself.

So that’s why I decided to put something together to help you. I have a solution that will crush all of your woes, cremate your excuses, and empower you to be the best version of yourself with an insanely small learning curve.

It’s built exclusively for real estate agents who want to break out of the “boring mold” and get noticed. It’s for agents who know they need to do something different, but just need…help.

Intrigued?
You should be.

This just may be the thing you’ve been looking for. This may be the most valuable tool you’ve EVER added to your real estate ninja arsenal. This could be THE ONE THING that finally helps you break free from the herd of agents who are all doing the same thing and get noticed.

But the sign up window won’t be open forever because I’m limiting the number of agents I’m letting in (and this isn’t just a gimmick)…

… so check it out here while you still can.

Mike Bell
Chief Chuckler in Charge
Lighter Side of Real Estate

The post Are You An Agent Whose Entire Brand Feels… Bleh? appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

Oh, and if you’ve moved more than 20 minutes away, even after you’ve unpacked, you’ve got to find a new grocery store, school, park, favorite restaurant, etc. etc. etc….

So yeah, we all know…

Moving is a seemingly endless stress buffet.

When someone you love is going through it, how can you help to alleviate that stress? Well, outside of paying for their movers (PS SO WORTH IT), you can give them one of these moving/housewarming gifts. Some are gifts of time, some are thoughtful treats, and some are available on Amazon so even if your friend is moving to a new town, you can send Prime to the rescue! Best of all, you don’t have to get cutesy or craftsy; you can send any of these goodies as-is.

Check ‘em out and you, too, can be the most thoughtful friend/family member ever when you send housewarming gifts people actually want…

1. FOOD

At the end of a long day of taking all their worldly possessions off of a truck, your friends are going to be HUNGRY. And this isn’t any run of the mill hunger; it’s more like an I-just-ran-a-marathon hunger. The really bad part of this is that they won’t have food in the house and will probably be too tired to hit the ol’ grocery store. Solve this problem by sending them dinner. If you’re in town, you can bring it by (but don’t stay a long time), and if you’re not, you can send DoorDash or UberEats to feed these hungry folks for you.

2. COFFEE

Ahh, the first morning in a new house. So calm, so quiet, so… WAIT, where the heck did we pack the Keurig? And what box are the K-pods in?! Doing a Starbucks run (or, again, sending a delivery driver to do it for you) will have your tired pals crying happy, caffeinated tears faster than you can say Cinnamon Dolce Latte.

3. WINE / BEER / COCKTAILS IN A CAN

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by the canned wine connoisseur (@thecannedwineconnoisseur) on Jun 6, 2019 at 10:18pm PDT

When your friend is done bringing in boxes, they probably want to relax with a frosty adult beverage. Let them know you’re thinking of them with booze in a can. Canned bevvies are all the rage right now and so easy to enjoy. No need to locate the bottle opener, corkscrew, or bar accessories; they can just pop the top and sip away.

4. YOUR ELBOW GREASE

While this is the least fun option, it’s also probably the most appreciated. Whether it’s running to buy more boxes and tape, helping to load that absurdly heavy table, or sitting and chatting while you both unpack the kitchen, your friend will appreciate you for pitching in on their hardest days. Also, they’ll owe you one heck of a big favor.

5. CLEANING SUPPLIES

Running out of paper towels and Windex when you’ve got to clean out the fridge in the place you’re leaving is just about enough to make a person cry. Same thing when you get to the new place and it’s… less than spotless. Coming by with a box of essentials will elevate you to a godlike status… and if they don’t end up using them right now, you know they’ll get used in the future.

6. BATHROOM ESSENTIALS

Just like the paper towels, there are other paper products that you absolutely, positively HATE to run out of. Bring a package of TP — the GOOD stuff, not the kind that feels like tree bark… and some premium hand soap. Again, you know they’ll appreciate it mucho and it’s definitely not going to go to waste. (Err, no pun intended.)

7. A CLEANING SERVICE

If you owe your friend-on-the-move big time, or you’re just #ballerstatus, send them a cleaning service. Having someone do the work for you is a beautiful thing, and walking into a sparkling clean home when you’re still trying to get everything in your life back to normal brings such a sense of relief. It might not even be as expensive as you think. Depending on the size of the house and the location they’re in, you might be able to get this great gift for less than $100.

8. A CUTE DOORMAT

Via Amazon

There’s nothing like a fresh, new start at a fresh, new house, and nothing says, “Welcome!” quite like a fresh, new doormat. There are so many neat ones available on Amazon or at your local Target. No matter what their taste is, you’ll be able to find something that applies.

9. PLANTS

Houseplants lend a homey vibe no matter what the season. Bring over a few potted plants and know that you’re enriching your friend’s new home environment — both with a pretty plant AND with life-giving oxygen. Not sure if your friend is a plant-y person? Bring a succulent or two; they’re notoriously hard to kill.

10. A LIST OF FAVES

If your friend is moving into your area, save them a ton of time by bringing them a list of neighborhood favorites. Add things like restaurants, things to do, and local services they might need. Big ol’ bonus points if you have a trustworthy babysitting reference — that alone is worth its weight in gold.

11. POOL FLOATS

Did they get a new pool along with the new digs? Pool owners LOVE getting goodies for swim time. Ride on floats, beverage floats, remote-controlled boats — it’s all good! Also, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll secure an invite to go swimming when summer hits.

No pool? No problem. Get them something to help them enjoy their new garden or patio… whatever form of the great outdoors they have. After all, no matter how nice the house is inside, sometimes it’s nice to hang out outside, too!

12. KITCHEN TOWELS

When you’ve got a sparkly new kitchen, putting your dingy old towels on the counter is kind of a downer. Gift your pal some spiffy, clean kitchen towels and they’ll think of you every time they walk into the kitchen.

13. A SUBSCRIPTION CRATE

From candy to coffee, dog treats to dinners, there’s a subscription crate for just about anything your friend is into. If they’ve moved away, let them know you’re thinking of them on the regular with a monthly crate. It might not get there on moving day, but it will relieve some stress and make them feel loved all the same!

14. NOTHING PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE

This should go without saying, but sometimes well-meaning people think that just about any time is a good time for “advice.” Moving time is NOT the time to gift a Dave Ramsey book (even if the house is on the pricey side), nor is it a time to ask why they have so darn much stuff and then offer a trip to Goodwill. Your friends are already under enough stress, so no matter how much you “wonder if you ought to say something,” the answer is NO — or at least, not right now.

The post 14 Housewarming Gifts People Actually WANT appeared first on Lighter Side of Real Estate.

Via Crystal Hethcote

If you’re wondering how much this project would cost, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of the required items which can be purchased at a Michael’s or most local craft stores:

• A piece of wood similar to the one used in the video costs $7.99 – $14.99, depending on the size.
• “Mod Podge® Matte” sells for about $3.49
• “Liquitex® String Gel Medium” is only about $15.99
• A brush is about $2.99 at any hardware store
• A photo of your choice

Total cost? About thirty bucks. Amazing.

However, this “photo transfer” process isn’t limited to just wood.

In the video below, by Momasaurus, canvas is the material used. It’s not even really a transfer; it’s taking a pic and making it look like it’s printed on canvas. It’s fun and easy and looks amazing in the end. The best thing is that it only takes a few minutes to do, and it’s super affordable. The best tutorials show you what to do in detail and that’s exactly what this one does.

You’ll just need to pick up a blank canvas, a picture, some modge podge, acrylic paint, and sponge-ey brushes to make one of these for yourself.

Via HeyKayl

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