Mike Blaney, Author at Limelight Marketing

Oct 05

Are Realtors Still Using Fridge Magnets?

By Mike Blaney Collateral, Design, Marketing Strategy, Prospecting

Over the years the interest in fridge magnets has waned due to the rise in popularity of stainless steel fridges, but I have always thought they were once one of the best tools for “top of the mind awareness”. A client asked us to design one so I did a little research into the sticktoitnessof stainless steel and learned the following:

Some stainless steel fridges will, in fact, work for fridge magnets — especially if the magnet is fairly strong. The most magnet-friendly appliances have a thin sheet of stainless steel as a decorative face over a metal core that’s more ferromagnetic — meaning a metal that magnets will stick to. Many “stainless steel” refrigerators are made differently on the front than they are on the sides. If your fridge magnets won’t stick to the door, try the side of it — if your kitchen arrangement allows easy access to it, of course. And to get really technical there are several different types of stainless steels. The two main types are austenitic and ferritic, each of which exhibits a different atomic arrangement. Due to this difference, ferritic stainless steels are generally magnetic while austenitic stainless steels usually are not.

Where can you get them printed? Vistaprint.ca advertisies 100 for $92.61 (5.5″ x 4″). MagnetsUSA advertises a 4″ x 6″ magnet at qty 100 for $104.00 (USD)

Sep 25

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Single Property Listing Real Estate Website

By Mike Blaney Responsive Websites, Single Property Listing Site, Website Design, Wordpress

When you have a unique property to sell consider a Limelight Single Property Listing website. This one is for Campbell River Realtor Chris Quinn featuring a spectacular waterfront property at 6030 Mine Road in Port McNeill, BC on Vancouver Island. We used a WordPress theme. Learn more about our single listing websites by clicking here.

Sep 15

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Realtor Buyer’s Guide and E-Book By Limelight Marketing

By Mike Blaney Branding, Collateral, Design, Listing Presentations, Marketing Strategy, Realtor Marketing

Are you looking for a marketing tool to attract buyers? We have created a ready to go buyer’s guide that covers many of the important questions, but we can add your branding and customize it to your needs. While we like the black and white look, we can change it to any colour you desire. We supply it in a pdf you can email, a printable pdf you can provide a printer and indiviual pages that you can print yourself.

Further customization is available on an hourly fee.

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Sep 15

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Realtor Seller’s Guide and E-Book By Limelight Marketing

By Mike Blaney Branding, Collateral, Design, Listing Presentations, Marketing Strategy, Promotional Item, Prospecting, Realtor Marketing

Are you looking for a marketing tool to attract sellers and get more listings? We have created a seller’s guide template that covers many of the important questions, but we can add your branding and customize it to your needs. While we like the black and white look, we can change it to any colour you desire. We supply it in a pdf you can email, a printable pdf you can provide a printer and individual pages that you can print yourself.

Further customization is available on an hourly fee.

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Sep 15

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Realtor Listing Presentation By Limelight Marketing

By Mike Blaney Branding, Collateral, Design, Listing Presentations, Marketing Strategy, Realtor Marketing

Do you need to add a professional listing presentation to land more listings? We have created a Listing Presentation template that we can customize for you, add your branding and any additional pages you require. Designed for a 1/2″ ring binder, PUR or coil binding with 8 to 12 tabs and a Table of Contents at the front so you can flip from tab to tab. Cover pages for Actives, Solds, Expireds, contracts and the actual Opinion of Value. You can choose a different binding method, but the tabbed approach let’s you prepare 3 or 4 in advance and have them ready to go.

The final version can only be edited in Adobe InDesign, but you can have us make changes down the road or give the document to the designer of your choice. Some of the variable data pages can be created in Word so you can make your own changes.

Further customization is available on an hourly fee. Click here for pricing and order form.

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Aug 24

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You Have An Idea For Signage? We Can Do That!

By Mike Blaney Realtor Marketing

Sometimes our clients know what they want so there’s nothing better than creating a simple drawing for us to get the look you want. And they we take some artistic license.

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Aug 09

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Are You Still Sending SPAM Without Knowing It?

By Mike Blaney Prospecting

Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) came into effect July 1, 2014. It is in place to protect Canadians while ensuring that businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace.

If you use electronic channels to promote or market your organization, products or services, Canada’s new anti-spam law may affect you. Many people think that the rules only apply to an organization’s bulk email – the stuff marketing sends on a semi-regular basis. This can’t be true, but it is! CASL requires proof of consent for every commercial email sent from an organization, whether it comes from the marketing department, admin or the sales team. So those “one-off” emails the sale people use to cold call are now considered spam in Canada. No proof of consent. No email. No Kidding.

On July 1, 2017, proof of consent became black or white. You can prove it or you cannot. If you cannot, you should remove those names from your email list. Even if it only leaves you with a few names you can prove consent for.

STOP emailing people without proof of consent. You are breaking the law and worse – you are spending money to tick your prospect off! If they did not give you permission, they do not expect to hear from you via email. You can use the phone, write letters, produce direct mail campaigns, advertise on TV or radio or even hire a plane to do some sky-writing, but STOP sending stuff they are not interested in to their inbox.

If you cannot prove:
1. How someone came to be on your email list
2. When that happened (date & time stamped)
3. What your consent relationship is with that individual right now.

Read more about this in an article written by Derek A. Lackey.

Read also about Government of Canada suspending lawsuit provision in anti-spam legislation. The provisions, known as private right of action, would have allowed lawsuits to be filed against individuals and organizations for alleged violations of the legislation.

The provisions were scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2017, but have now been suspended. Click here.

Aug 01

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Real Estate Seller’s Guide

By Mike Blaney Collateral, Listing Presentations

Check out this Seller’s Guide for Realtors Sandra Nanavaty and Jag Chohal.

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Jul 17

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10 Reasons To Choose Limelight Marketing To Build Your WordPress Real Estate Website

By Mike Blaney Realtor Marketing, Responsive Websites, Website Design, Wordpress

Did you know that there is no certification or professional association overseeing WordPress website developers? Your only defense against a future issue is to choose a company that has experience, a track record, client testimonials and fair policies that will ensure you are not left “holding the bag”.

The barrier to entry is so low that Limelight has put together this Client WordPress Manifesto that lays out clearly what we will deliver. In particular we would like to reassure Realtors® that Limelight Marketing is the right choice. Download a pdf version by clicking here.

#1 – We Build Real Estate Websites For Realtors®…Almost exclusively

Over the past 15 years we have designed more than 500 websites using the Ubertor and WordPress CMS platforms. We know your business inside and out and we know what your buyers and sellers are looking for when they visit your website. Our designs continually evolve as clients expect new user experiences.

#2 – We Build On The WordPress Platform…The Most Flexible Platform

We actually give our clients the option of using the WordPress or Ubertor Content Management Systems based on your budget and specific needs, but our most amazing real estate websites are built on WordPress. Check out three templates we have designed that we can customize for you at a reasonable cost.

#3 – We Build Real Estate Websites That Are Modern…Because That Is What Separates Your Website From the Others

Just like car models and fashion designs are always changing, website designs change all the time too. Some of this is driven by the upsurge in the use of mobile devices and iPads, sometimes it is a new technique introduced like Parallax or the increase in the use of video. We keep on top of what is “in” and add new techniques as we learn about them or even innovate them. Check out a slide show of some of our recent sites by clicking here or visit our Pinterest page.

#4 – We Add An IDX Feed…So You Can Capture Leads

If you are looking to generate leads from your website you need to provide access to all of the MLS listings in your area. Often we add hundreds of pages for each of the sub-areas and price ranges to improve your search engine results. We use IDX providers like IDXBroker, iHomeFinder, MRP and Clicksold, but can work with any other you choose.

#5 – We Include A Blog…So You Can Get Ranked In Google

This may seem obvious as WordPress sites are technically blog sites, but we make sure there is an actual blog page so you can add content and improve your search engine results. We teach you how to blog effectively or we will blog for you.

#6 -We Develop Mobile Friendly Websites…So People Will Love Your Website on Their iPhone

We have watched the use of mobile devices rise dramatically over the past few years with younger Realtors often getting up to 70% of their visits from mobile devices. We have observed that iPhones and handhelds are often use to find your phone number or email address and iPad users seem to be looking at your listings or looking for a home.

#7 – We Provide Training…So You Don’t Get Lost

To be honest, WordPress sites are marketed as user-friendly and easy to use, but the reality is you want to sell real estate and find homes for buyers and adding “website expert” to your repertoire is a stretch when you are busy. Realistically you will always need help from Limelight or another WordPress Developer as there are going to be some things that are above your pay grade, but we will make sure you know how to edit pages, add pages, add listings and blog posts and if you want to learn more we are only a phone call away.

#8 – We Allow You To Add Or Change Elements…Without Nickel And Diming You

One thing we have learned in 15 years of website designing for Realtors® is our clients often don’t know what they want, but they can definitely tell us what they don’t want after they see it. We price our sites to allow you the flexibility to make changes, move things around and add elements that you might not have thought of originally.

#9 – Our Websites Are Affordable…Because No One Needs A $10,000 Website

Our websites start with a WordPress theme that we purchase for $39.00 to $79.00 and then the fun begins. We choose the theme that is best for the type of website you want to end up with. These themes come out of the box with more bells and whistles and page layout options than you can shake a stick at so it is our responsibility to pare down the options to create the end result. Along the way we do a lot of custom programming to ensure your website is unique. As an option to keep the cost down we have designed three unique templates that are modern, well designed and optimized for search engines. Look like a million bucks for only $1,999.00 and we will customize the site to be unique to you. This package includes a mini-branding package and is the perfect combination to jump start a career or add new life to an established one.

#10 – If You Leave, You Keep Your Content…So You Aren’t Our Hostage

Everything we add to your website is owned by you. If you choose to work with a different company or want to take over control of the content we will work with you to ensure a seamless transition. We will never hold back any assets including content, custom code and photos.

Jul 17

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Book Cover Design

By Mike Blaney Branding, Design

We designed a website and recently T-Shirts for our client Austiage Soleimani who founded Star Individuality Foundation dedicated to helping the upcoming generation tackle the everyday heard statement of “Just be yourself” with the question that automatically comes after it which is “Who am I?”. The Star Individuality Foundation assists, supports, and motivates the upcoming generation to live a passionate creative and motion-filled lifestyle in order to find their individuality. Austiage has written a book titled “The Mirror Says You’re Be-Yoo-Tiful” and asked Limelight to come up with a simple cover design. See the concepts below. The book will soon be available on Amazon.