Home Staging Marketing:

Anchor Text Variations

In past blog posts here and on several articles I’ve shared on Active Rain I have explained the value and use of anchor text.

Everything I have said about anchor text as a major asset for home staging marketing results remains true.  However a recent change in Google’s algorithm may have negatively affected some of you in highly competitive markets.

While this is probably relatively few of you, I wanted to share some insights into the recent “Penguin Update,” that has thrown the SEO world into a bit of a tumult this past week.

First let me remind you what I mean by anchor text, then I will tell you what Google seems to want and why, and finally suggest the obvious steps you may need to take in case your home staging marketing efforts were negatively affected.

The key to effective home staging marketing from an online perspective is getting your business to show up on the first page of results when a prospective customer does a search for your services online.

You have four options as I explain on another web site of mine addressed to dentists but worth a quick look if you want to understand all four.  Click here.

For most home staging marketing that means getting your web site ranked by Google higher than that of your competitors. There are two major aspects to winning this battle. On page factors and off page factors.

The off page factors center around the quantity and quality of backlinks to your website.  In my discussions of anchor text I instructed you to use your main keyword, “home staging ________” with the blank filled it to be your home town, or other geographical name you want to do business in.

Thus if you posted an article on Active Rain, did article marketing, or blog posting on other people’s sites you would include the anchor text phrase in your posting and then hyperlink that phrase back to your web site.

This process told Google that your site was about “Home staging Minneapolis” or what ever city you are in.  This is still true and still powerful.

However, as more and more people learned of the importance of the technique, people began in the larger internet marketing circles to over do it.  So much so that Google has now started to penalize sites that have most if not all of their backlinks specifically linked to the same keyword(s).

It is far more natural in Google’s eyes to see people link with ‘naked’ urls such as http://minneapolisseweranddraincleaning.com used by a local vendor in my area.

And we have all seen a lot of  “Click here’s” in our internet experiences.

Turns out that if you have followed my advice too well and created a ton of backlinks to your site that all use the same anchor text, Google will see that as unnatural.

They would expect to see more “Click here’s,” and naked URL’s and at least a reasonable number of “Minneapolis Home Staging” versus “Home Staging Minneapolis,” etc.

So if this past week, you have all of a sudden seen your web site drop from neat the top of Google in your local area to the bottom or worse yet on a second page or worse, you need to take action. You need to restore some more natural balance to your backlinks.

What is the right balance? Lots of speculation on that. But the preponderant thinking is that you want 40-60% of your anchor text to be for your primary keyword phrase. Do another 20% or so on major variations. And then mix up some naked url’s and click here’s and lesser keywords that are clearly related for the balance.

Such efforts should help restore your balance in Google eyes and help you regain your top position faster than you may have otherwise.

In the long run, the best course of action for home staging marketing is to build backlinks anchored to your site by doing blog commenting on other home staging sites, writing articles for article directories and posting on relevant sites like Active Rain.

Home Staging Marketing Consultation

Feel free to contact me, if you would like a professional assessment of your web site and of your competition within your marketplace. I work with a wide variety of locally based businesses throughout the US and Canada.

I enjoy working with home stagers who are serious about building a real business via online home staging marketing.  It’s where I first started my local business consulting practice some years ago.

enetwal @ gmail.com  Put “Home Staging Marketing Consultation” in the subject line

Technorati Tags: Home Staging Marketing, Marketing Home Staging, Home Staging Business tips, Marketing online

Technorati Tags: Home Staging business tips, home staging marketing, Marketing Home Staging, Marketing online

Stage Right Design’s Home Staging Tips Video is toward the bottom of this post… First let’s look at some practical tips on attracting new customers to your home staging business.

 Building Your Business:  Home Staging Tips

Would you like to have your video seen every time someone searches for “Home Staging” in your town?  Now you can!   I personally guarantee your success with my YouTube Visibility program.  It works. You will get more new customers.

Google Tip for Home Stagers

Most of your home staging prospects search for you on Google. Those businesses who have a listing on the first page of the results will get 93-97% of the calls. Only 3-7% or so of prospects ever get to the second page of results.

It’s possible to show up more than once on the first page of Google. If you do, you basically double your chances of getting those calls.

When you get a Youtube video showing up on the first page of Google, Google displays a thumbnail of your video. This draws people’s eyes, and is at least 157% more likely to be clicked on.

Properly Optimized Google Local Pages

Next to properly optimizing your Google Local Pages, these are my number one home staging tips for for an effective online marketing campaign. Implement these and you will attract new clients.

About Earl Netwal

Earl Netwal

I am an internet marketing consultant.  I have been working with home stagers and publishing this blog for about three or more years now.

I initially did a survey of about 300 home stagers that discovered that many home stagers needed help getting their websites seen by more people, and then to get more of those who did to take action and call them.  I have since learned how to do both.

I  am active in my neighborhood business setting, and throughout the Minnepaolis – St Paul Twin Cities metro with a number of national and even international clients engaged in a wide array of businesses.   I call myself the micro business specialist.  Sometimes even the internet marketing magician.

I’d be happy to provide you with a no obligation assessment of your current and potential online home staging marketing campaign.

With the exception of out of pocket start up fees, I work on a performance basis. You get results or I don’t get paid.  No long term contracts, you can quit at any time, but you won’t. Cause either I am making you money, or you let me know and we part ways.

I can’t handle everybody, so I may have to say no.  I prefer to deal with one person in each market. That way we are free to dominate the market using multiple strategies.

You can call me at 612-724-4392 during business hours, Central time zone.

Technorati Tags: home staging tips, home staging tip, home staging business tips, home staging business tip, youtube, youtube visibility

Home Staging Tips

Here are a couple of good Home Staging Tips from Ryan Dressel, the owner of Stage Right Design in Sacramento, CA.

Among the home staging tips shared is how to create a greater sense of depth in a room by placement of the sofa away from the wall.

He also shares a tip on how to keep the flap on a pillow sham from folding over on your bed dressings.

Then he shares a couple of tips on the proper hanging of artwork, including a general rule for all artwork that he adapts from the standards of most art galleries, and a specific guideline for artwork over a sofa.

Home Staging Tips For Attracting Clients

Home Stagers, would you like to have your video featured on a future post? Email me with details. I would like to include more videos of this sort on this blog.

My email address is enetwal “at” gmail.com

Home Staging Tips

Here are a couple of good Home Staging Tips from Ryan Dressel, the owner of  Stage Right Design in Sacramento, CA.

Among the home staging tips shared is how to create a grater sense of depth in a room by placement of the sofa away from the wall.

He also shares a tip on how to keep the flap on a pillow sham from folding over on your bed dressings.

Then he shares a couple of tips on the proper hanging of artwork, including a general rule for all artwork that he adapts from the standards of most art galleries, and a specific guideline for artwork over a sofa.

Home Staging Tip for Home Staging Businesses

Home stagers, I would like to include more videos of this sort on this blog.  If you have created a video with general tips on home staging, drop me an email with a link to your video and I will consider posting it here.

My email address is enetwal “at” gmail.com

By the way, if you have created a video and would like to get it to rank on the first page of Google results in your marketplace, let me know that as well.  I have a risk free YouTube Visibility program that could get you more new customers.

Most of your home staging prospects search for you on Google. Those businesses who have a listing on the first page of the results will get 93-97% of the calls. Only 3-7% or so of prospects ever get to the second page of results.

It’s possible to show up more than once on the first page of Google. If you do, you basically double your chances of getting those calls.

If you get a Youtube video showing up on the first page of Google, Google displays a thumbnail of your video.  This draws peoples eyes, and is at least 150% more likely to be clicked on.

Next to getting set up on Google Local Pages, these are my number one home staging tips for home stagers who want to grow their business and attract new clients.

Technorati Tags: home staging tips, home staging tip, home staging business tips, home staging business tip, youtube, youtube visibility

Small Business Survival: Going Online

The small business sector is extremely competitive and anything you can do to add presence is a great way to boost sales and expand your customer base. If you an entrepreneur and want to transform your business, increase your profit margin and introduce your goods or services to markets beyond what you could otherwise reach, an online store could be just what your business needs.

Going Online: What it Takes

Going online does not need to be an overwhelming or difficult process. If you break it down to small manageable steps, you will have your e-commerce site ready for business in no time at all. To begin the process of starting an e-commerce business, a business owner should consider three important elements.

The first one is the planning stage, write up a business plan just as you did with your brick and mortar store. This can serve as your guidelines and blueprint as you tackle the rest. It is also important to analyze your competition to see what they are doing as well.

The second element is to develop a good, solid and effective marketing strategy. Consider who your target audience would be and which type of customer would be most attracted to your goods or services. You should determine not only how to get word out you are in business, but a way to maintain a satisfying relationship with your customers.

The last element is knowing the tools of the trade. Many people are intimidated by computers and the thought of running their own online store, but if you take the time to learn the industry, you can make it all happen easily and efficiently. There are many online tutorials and videos that can teach you everything you need to know about opening your own online store.

Going Online in Five Easy Steps

You can have the basics of your e-commerce site set up in five easy steps.

Step one is find a web host and decide on a domain name. There are countless web hosting sites available online, look for one with excellent technical support, especially if you are unfamiliar with this process and one that charges a fair market fee.

Step two is selecting a shopping cart. Shopping cart software can range from free to a couple thousand dollars. There are many suitable free shopping cart programs, however you will want to find one that is easy for you to use and easy for your customer to navigate.

Step three would be to obtain a merchant account and payment gateway if you do not have one already. A merchant account allows you to accept credit or debit cards as payment. A payment gateway processes the payment in real time and acts as a facilitator between your merchant account and the payment method account. You can also get an account that would allow you to accept and process mobile money as well.

Step four can be as fun as you make it. The next step is to design your online store. The default option of your shopping cart software is plain and boring. If you are tech savvy enough with HTML and CSS, you can design your own template from scratch or you can choose one of the already made templates and install it in a few easy steps.

Step five is adding your inventory. If you are selling goods, make sure to include high quality pictures and detailed descriptions to tempt your customers. Make sure your site is easy to navigate and all your products are easy to find.

Your business has the chance to expand its reach far beyond a brick and mortar store by going online, the Internet has no boundaries.

Do you use LinkedIn?

If not you should. It’s free to set up a profile and a great way to network with key people in your community. Unlike Facebook where most people are interested in socializing and sharing photos, Linked in is about business.

And being in business, that’s just where you want to be.

The typical Linked In member is older and more affluent than the Facebook friend as a result far more likely to appreciate your home staging services. More importantly, they are far more likely to be used to the idea of paying for professional services.

LinkedIn is also a great way for you to network with other allied business professionals and build your referral resources.

I have just created a five part crash course highlighting the key things you need to know to put LinkedIn to work for your business.

Linked IN Crash Course

Technorati Tags: LinkedIn, linked in, internet marketing, crash course, linked in crash course

Technorati Tags: crash course, Internet marketing, linked in, linked in crash course, linkedin

What ever business you are in, it helps to have a crystal clear conception of your marketing purpose. For me, that has required a bit of reconsideration of late.

For a long time I have and continue to refer to myself as the Micro Business Specialist. This was fine as far as it went, however, what is it that I actually specialize in?

On one of my recent walks, (I have become an avid walker this past year – which has helped me lose 70+ pounds) I finally was able to crystalize just what it is I do.

I develop Online Media Customer Acquisition Strategies for both online and offline businesses.

The internet has blossomed and warped into dozens of key media that go well beyond the original web site that used to be the primary vehicle for home stagers and others to get found by their prospects.

Today, social media from Twitter, to Linked In, to Facebook and several dozen other venues are demanding attention.

Not all are equally valuable for every business. And all require more know-how than the typical business person is able to devote.  Heck, it’s hard enough for those of us who work in in the field 40-80 hours a week to keep up.

So that is what I do. I work with businesses to identify where they should strategically place their emphasis, to maximize their ability to attract customers.

Now there are some basics, that continue to start with your main web site. Most small business web sites still stink as my first eBook from several years ago stated.  But the fix, is usually not that difficult to accomplish.

What I am seeing today that is front and center and still not effectively implemented by most homestagers is their listings on Google Places Pages, and the appearance of their sites on mobile devices such as smart phones, ipods, and other such tablet devices.  Both of these are important today and increasingly important as each day passes.

Like most business people, I note that most home stagers are far more expert in their main business and tend to not pay much attention to their online marketing. Unfortunately, this is costing you potential business in your market, IF you are in a competitive one.

If you are the only homestager in 50 miles it doesn’t matter.  If on the other hand you have two or three or more friendly rivals it matters a lot.

Let me suggest that you need to focus on what your key business mantra is, and if you need more customers consider hiring me or someone like me to be your online marketing assistant. That way you can do what you do best, and I or someone like me can focus on devising effective strategies that will help keep you busy doing it.

Currently I am offering a $150 marketing review of your site, and a look see at your competition in your specific market and a proposed course of action.  If you decide to hire me to implement a particular  set of strategies I will credit the $150 toward the cost of implementation.

I also offer a 100% money back guarantee on the marketing review. If you are unhappy with what I have to offer for any reason, I will immediately refund your $150 and we will part company with no hard will whatsoever. So there is virtually no risk on your part.

To take advantage of this limited time offer, email me at enetwal@gmail.com or call me at 612-724-4392 to discuss details and timing.

Blatant commercial here for a new lens I produced using Squidoo on Top 10 Women’s Halloween costumes for 2011. Thought it might be of interest to you.

In the process I have created a backlink to the site from this blog. That will assist the site with both traffic from this site (if you go to see it) and a better ranking in Google when the google bots come around because they will go and see that the site is about Women’s Halloween costumes. It will remember that and give that site a bit of a boost because of the anchor text in the first paragraph saying so.

Thus I’ve turned this purely self promotional post into a mini lesson on anchor text, and backlinking. Hope you enjoyed it.

Technorati Tags: anchor text, backlinking, seo

Technorati Tags: anchor text, backlinking, SEO

Here’s a nice post put together by Signature Furniture rental. They asked me to post it and may well be willing to let you post in in your blogs as well. Great way to point out the benefits of home staging.

If  interested you may want to contact

Created by Signature Furniture Rental

I have on many occasions stressed here how important it is for Home Stagers and frankly any locally based business to learn how to get on Google Maps.

It’s actually easy, if you know what you are doing.

I am pleased to announce that my newest eBook, How to Get On Google Maps has been accepted for sale as a Kindle eBook by Amazon.

I am thrilled to have Amazon as a marketing partner. In addition to my work being available there for use by Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android devices, PC, and Mac users.

In addition you can buy and download a pdf copy directly from How to Get On Google Maps.

Product Description
Every Business Needs New Customers.

This Kindle book describes the easiest and most effective way to get new customers for main street businesses serving a local area or region. The tools and insights provided are applicable to single establishments and chains with multiple locations.

In this book you will learn how to get your business “Found” by prospective customers by ranking high on the Google Places Pages, which are today’s answer to the now obsolete yellow pages of the last century.

Not only will you learn how to claim and set up your Google Places pages properly, you will gain insights into some of the best online marketing tactics of the day.

You will learn how to do effective keyword search using free tools. Tools that will not only allow you to better understand your own customer demands, but also to spy on your competitors and discover their secrets.

You will understand the three main ways to get of top of the search results on Google.

The specific step by step instructions to make sure your Google Places Information is complete, and what is important and what isn’t so that you show up on the favored 7 pack that Google Displays on its Map.

You will discover why you need to and how to create videos and learn about a free service you can use to create animated videos with special effects that will wow your viewers.

You will discover which other directories in addition to Google Places you want to get listed in, including Bing and Yahoo and nine others.

You will also learn of an inexpensive short cut you can take to minimize the time and effort required to complete these listings and gain valuable “citation” support for your listing.

As importantly, you will learn what not to buy.

You will also learn about a free Google service you can use to monitor your own reputation and to keep an eye on your competitors so you know what they are up to.

And finally, you will get a quick glimpse at the significant change that will render many of your competitors web pages obsolete. This same change will work to your advantage when you apply the lessons of this powerful “how to” book.

Technorati Tags: how to get on google maps, google places page, how to get found online, home staging, mareting home staging businesses, How to attract customers

Technorati Tags: google places page, Home Staging, How to attract customers, how to get found online, how to get on google maps, mareting home staging businesses

Today I have a guest blog post by Douglas Elliman Realty.  He is active in the New York City Condo market, which features a large number of vacant condos.  He uses Virtual Staging to assist in his efforts. Below he discusses the merits of virtual staging.

If you are interested in posting a guest blog post on this site, email me at enetwal@gmail.com and I will try to accommodate you.  If nothing else, you can get some back links to your web site that will help its ranking in the search engines.

 Virtually Staging a Home

Staging a home can be difficult, especially for those properties that are already vacant. Let’s face it; a vacant condo can appear quite atrocious if there’s nobody to maintain it. Similarly, the fact that it’s empty doesn’t help the clientele envision what it could look like, or the possibilities of redesign.

Ultimately, staging a home through a virtual service provider may be the way to go, particularly for large New York City Apartments or Condos, where there’s a ton of space, but nothing but bare walls and floors.

Here are some of the advantages to staging a home online:

• Computer generated furnishings make the home look elegant and filling.

• CGF (Computer generated furnishings) prepare the home flawlessly, leaving no room for mistake or mishap.

• Not only can the interior be redesigned, but the exterior as well.

• 3d panoramic views.

• The process also allows for items to be removed, if the seller wishes to view the home empty.

• Most importantly, everybody likes visuals, especially those that can constantly be revisited.

• In return for staging your home online through a certified professional, you’re able to sell much quicker than those with simple photographs.

It’s quite clear why virtually staging a home online would benefit the buyer/seller, and most real estate companies have already bought into the practice. In fact, the process of staging a home online through a virtual expert has become common practice, predominantly through luxury real estate brokers.

The photos generated through virtual staging can be used for brochures, cards, websites and much more. In the next few years, real estate professionals in the NYC area will probably be the first to jump at this opportunity to really make their properties shine.

Courtesy of Douglas Elliman Realty, New York Condos.

Technorati Tags: Douglas Elliman, Virtual staging, New York Condos, home staging, staging a home

Technorati Tags: Douglass Elliman, Home Staging, New York Condos, staging a home, virtual staging

As always, things constantly are changing. That has especially been true of the internet which itself has caused so much change in our lives and the way we do business.  While the following free report may not be central to your home staging business, it is a good idea for all of us to stay up to date on the major changes that are happening to the world wide web.  The report below is free although you will need to opt in to get your copy. I highly recommend you do that and then read it.

Like I said, it may not be central to your home staging business today, but you will be better prepared for some of the dramatic changes coming in the next year or two if you read this.

Based on alarming new data, Ryan Deiss is predicting the World Wide Web as we know it, as independent direct marketers, will be dead in 18 to 24 months.

Ryan’s outlined his findings in a shocking new report he’s calling: The “End of The Web?” Report

You can get a complimentary copy right now by clicking the link below:

http://microbusinessspecialist.com/blog/dealthofweb

Inside the report Ryan will reveal…

* The 3 giant companies who are KILLING online “mom and pops”
(like YOU!) using an old Walmart strategy…and how you can PARTNER
with them. (Yep, if you can’t beat ‘em it’s best just to join ‘em…)

* Why cheap, easy traffic (i.e. Google AdWords) has all but dried up, and the “Brute Force” traffic strategy that is more reliable and less expensive than Google…

* The “5 Phases of Technology” and why the transition from Phase 4 to Phase 5 will render most online businesses impotent over the next 12 – 18 months…

* The $200,000 “bet” I make every 30 days, and how you can follow my lead and cash-in on the largest wealth transfer the web has ever known…

* How the most common gadget in the world is killing traditional eCommerce, and why tactics like upsells and continuity may be gone forever. (There is a solution to this mess, but you have to read the report to see what it is…)

and much, much more…

Claim your free copy of his 24 page report NOW before he’s forced to remove it from the web.

Click the link below to claim your free copy now:

http://microbusinessspecialist.com/blog/dealthofweb

Ryan realizes that he’s making some very bold statements that could come back to haunt him, but he’s willing to risk his reputation to make sure that you don’t get blindsided by these massive shifts in the marketplace.

That alone just move this report to the top of my reading list!

Listen, I know this must sound like a very doom and gloom message, but Ryan assures me there is a rainbow, if you know where to look, and pot of gold too.

He believes that he’s figured out a way for few of us to profit from the coming changes. The report outlines the entire process, along with Ryan’s research data and proof points to inside the report.

Go grab your complimentary copy now Click Here =>

http://microbusinessspecialist.com/blog/dealthofweb

I’m sure that some people will say that Ryan’s being over dramatic or that he’s gotten too emotionally attached to his ideas, but I think that you’ll see: the facts back him up 100%.

Grab a copy of the End of the Web report now for FREE:

http://microbusinessspecialist.com/blog/dealthofweb

Technorati Tags: End of the Web, Ryan Deiss, internet marketing, internet marketers, internet guru, Free reports, future internet, internet future, Is the web dying?

Technorati Tags: End of the Web, Free reports, future internet, internet future, internet guru, internet marketers, Internet marketing, Is the web dying?, Ryan Deiss

I wrote about this in a prior post, but there needs to be a clarification and the product I recommended last time has been upgraded so I am posting this again.  It’s important to your business – if you want your prospective customers to find you online.

10-15% of all online searches today are done on cell phones and other smaller screened devices.  Your businesses web page will not show, or if it does, will not be easy to view on most of these devices.

What that means to you is that you are loosing out on potential business when a prospect cannot find you and your home staging services when they do a search unless you take steps to make your sites, “mobile ready.”

There are inexpensive solutions that have recently been brought to market if you are even the least bit tech savvy.  You will need to know how to access your server and upload items to it if you have a web page.  If you have a wordpress blog, which is my top recommendation for most home stagers, you will simply need to acquire, upload and activate a plug in.

Alternatively, if you are dependent on a third person web master you want to have a discussion with them sooner rather than later about making your web or blog site, “Mobile Ready.”

Costs for setting up a site so it is mobile ready will vary by provider. I have heard rates ranging up to $300 and more.  On the other hand, if you are or know someone who is tech savvy you can get one or the other of the following tools for much much less.  One reason why I encourage business people to learn the basics of web management so they can save themselves some of these costs. One tool is for web sites. The other for blogs.

For Web Sites
Mobi Connects for Web Sites

For Blogs:
Mobi Connect Plug In for Blogs

In the coming months and year of two the number of people searching online via their cell phones is going to mushroom. If you are mobile ready, you will have a distinct advantage over your local competitors who are not.

Make the move now, and be ahead of the curve.

Have you tried to look up your website on your cell phone?

Probably not nearly as classy a site as when seen on your laptop is it?

As soon as possible you need to convert your site so it looks good on phones, after all almost half of all searches to Facebook for example are now made by cell phone and most other sites are nearly that high as well.

Things keep changing, don’t they.

Click on the image below and you will be taken to a great new very inexpensive tool that will help you create mobile phone ready sites. Your site will then be visible on iphones, android phones, ipad and widows mobile devices and more.

Look for the video area and watch the four videos.  It really is easy to use, but then I play with this techie stuff all day every day. That said, it’s not very techie at all, and you could double your sites exposure in your market place. And since most other homestagers in your area are probably not mobile ready, you may find yourself one of the few your prospects can even find.

Mobile is growing rapidly, and if you want to capture more than your share of that market, this is you quickest and easiest way to lean the ropes and give yourself an advantage.

Or you can click this link: http://webtrafficdominator.net/links/2732

-

Technorati Tags: mobile marketing

Home Stagers – Don’t Undervalue Your Services!
By Debra Gould

Home staging is an extremely lucrative career if you know how to properly charge for your services.

It makes me cringe when I hear figures as low as $31.45 per hour being touted as ‘great income’ for a home stager. That is an impossibly low rate for any independent professional to charge, but an expert home stager should actually be making at least double if not four or five times that amount.

Home sellers stand to profit anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 after employing the services of a home stager, so they are willing to pay a premium for that expertise. The cheapest stager in town will only attract clients who don’t really value what a home stager does. After all, if you save a few hundred dollars on staging advice but you don’t get the results you hoped for, what was the point?

The knowledge of an expert home stager is extremely valuable because of the effect it can have on how long a home takes to sell and its final selling price. A two hour home staging consultation should cost anywhere from $250-$800. After the initial consultation, a home stager can make at least $1,000 if the client wants the stager to complete the home staging project for them. This figure can go as high as $5,000 to $10,000 depending on the needs for that property, the home stager’s expertise and where they live. Typically costs will be higher in major urban centers where house prices are also higher. If the home stager has to furnish and/or accessorize the home, that price can creep even higher.

Now back to why I object to anyone advertising $31.45 as a good income for a home stager. It completely devalues what we do and the difference our work makes to a client. Not only that, it misleads aspiring stagers into believing that this is a good income.

Even bumping that pay from $31.45 up to $40 per hour, if you do three two-hour staging consultation each week, that works out to $240 per week or roughly $960 per month. If you also do three “full-blown” staging projects each month which each take you five hours, you can make an additional $600. That’s an unimpressive $1,560 per month or about $18,700 per year.

Depending on where you live, that amount would classify you as part of the “working poor,” and comes out to around what you’d make answering phones or asking “would you like fries with that?”

When you’re self employed, you have lots to do that you don’t get paid for. For example, talking to prospective customers, standing in line at the bank, doing your paperwork, etc. So when you are working on a client’s behalf, you need to make sure you are well paid for it.

If you charge a rate of $300 per two-hour home staging consultation which is still at the lower end of the industry standard, those same three staging consultations a week will give you $900 per week or $3,600 per month. Those three “full-blown” staging projects per month will give you another $2,250 per month. That’s a total of $5,850 per month or $70,200 per year.

That’s $70,200 per year versus the $18,700 you would make earning $40 per hour.

If you want to grow a profitable home staging business rather than dabble in home staging as a hobby, you have to charge a fair rate for your services.

I can’t fathom a home stager charging anything close to $30 or even $40 per hour unless they are working full time for another company who will be reselling their services at the more appropriate rate. Advertising a home staging hourly rate of $31.45 does nothing but de-value the service. As a home stager, you’re operating a business. Can you possibly sustain (let alone grow) a successful business of any kind at such a low hourly rate? When you’re operating a service-based business, time is your product and we are all only given so much of that each day!

Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is president of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program with 900+ Graduates worldwide. Debra is the author of two home staging guides and offers a Directory of Home Stagers to help homeowners and real estate agents locate home stagers who will decorate homes to sell for top dollar.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Debra_Gould
http://EzineArticles.com/?Home-Stagers—Dont-Undervalue-Your-Services!&id=1401025

Technorati Tags: Debra Gould, home staging, stager, home stager, Staging diva,

Technorati Tags: Debra Gould, home stager, Home Staging, stager, Staging div

Home Staging to Sell – You Can’t Afford Not To In This Flooded Real Estate Market!

By Pamela Mac

Home Staging is a proven vital tool in today’s flooded real estate market. With well over 90% of all prospective buyers searching the web before touring homes with an agent, and mere seconds to make that first impression, MLS or FSBO photos on-line had better WOW! Having an abundance of homes to choose from has left the buyer’s market very particular and demanding. Builders too, who have been hit by the recession, are slashing prices on new homes. So, the competition is tough!

Although every home should be staged prior to listing, it’s never too late. The Real Estate Staging Association polls 2000 active real estate agents annually for their current home staging statistics. Once again, consistently since 2007, despite the market being down, homes that are staged to sell, do sell faster; saving sellers thousands in monthly expenses. Just one of the impressive statistics in their 2010 report is for Occupied Homes that were listed without staging first. The average DOM (Days on Market) was 233 days–that’s almost 8 months! After those same homes were staged to sell, the average DOM was 53. That’s 78% less time on the market!

Today, home sellers have options. A professional home stager can be brought in to make the needed changes, or for the Do-It-Yourself generation, who’d like to save some money, many staging ideas can be done by the home seller. And for the very design-challenged seller, who has difficulty knowing where to begin, personalized advice and guidance can now be obtained by submitting photos of the home (interior and exterior) to be reviewed by an expert with a critical buyer’s eye. Sellers are then provided with a detailed report, including budget friendly suggestions and recommendation for the home to make it appeal to the maximum number of buyers. This can save a seller lots of time on the market and thousands in price reductions.

Maybe you’re an agent, who has listings that don’t show very well. After sitting on the market for awhile, your client is asking (or badgering) you for why the home hasn’t sold. You know why, but hesitate to be brutally honest about their home. Before suggesting that it may be overpriced and deducting 10, 15 or even $20,000, suggest that a professional home stager determine what’s prohibiting the offers. That fee would be a fraction of the price reduction and is tax deductible upon the sale of the home as an advertising expense; paying for itself!

The Home Staging industry has risen to the needs of sellers today; and while this country’s major cities have embraced the new standard, much of the country needs to be enlightened and realize that what was once their home, is now a product they are marketing. Too often, sellers can’t detach themselves from their home, it’s distinctive style and it’s memories. A professional home stager can guide you on how to let go of personal tastes and appeal to the maximum number of prospective buyers.

Tough times call for creative measures, because the 21st Century demands excellence in real estate presentation. Does your listing draw buyers in or send them right to the competition? If it’s the latter, you can’t afford not to seek the advise of an expert, to get to the root of the problem. Have your photos analyzed and learn how to draw the buyers to your property and get what it’s worth!

Pamela Mac
http://thecyberstager.com/
Email: Pam@TheCyberStager.com
(910) 730-2386

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pamela_Mac
http://EzineArticles.com/?Home-Staging-to-Sell—You-Cant-Afford-Not-To-In-This-Flooded-Real-Estate-Market!&id=6205644

Technorati Tags: home staging, creative real estate marketing

Technorati Tags: creative real estate marketing, Home Staging

Home Staging – Curb Appeal

You’ve got only a few seconds to make a good first impression when selling your home and it starts at the curb. If you’re putting your house up for sale, curb appeal can increase the value of your home and help it sell more quickly. Follow these tips…

Technorati Tags: home staging, curb appeal, Increase value of your home

1. Professionally staged homes stand out from the crowd.

A professional stager will examine the property with an objective eye and make recommendations to give the home that “wow” factor necessary to entice potential buyers. Did you know that only 10% of people can look past the clutter and unsightly decor in a home and see the potential of a property? First impressions mean everything in the real estate market, having a home professionally staged will ensure that those critical first 10 seconds of a showing are a deal maker, not a deal breaker.

2. Real Estate agents often make suggestions for improvements needed, but they aren’t as detailed as a professional home stager.

Many realtors feel they provide adequate suggestions on repairs and changes needed to get a property sold, but usually these suggestions don’t cover all the elements a home stager would. As a real estate agent you know most homes are purchased based on emotions, professional stagers will advise making all the obvious repairs and improvements needed, but they also help provide the emotional connection points throughout the home that make potential buyers fall in love. Most real estate agents don’t have the design expertise to help their clients carry out a masterful home staging, and most homeowners don’t have the knowledge, objectivity, or time to carry out the changes suggested.

3. Just because you recommend home staging for a listing does not mean you have to pay for it.

Although some real estate agents are opting to provide home staging for their clients as part of their fees and services, it is not the norm for agents to pay for staging. Recommending a professional home stager is just like recommending a home inspector. Your clients don’t expect you to pay for the home inspection services, so why should they expect you to pay for home staging services? In the end, staging doesn’t cost the homeowner a dime either, a 2007 Home Gain Survey of over 200 realtors reported that sellers who spent typically $500 on staging services for their home recovered over 343% of the cost in the sale of their home.

4. Home staging has been proven to help properties sell faster and for more money.

This is a clear win-win situation because turning the property quickly means less hassle for you and your client. Also, a higher sales price brings you more commission and benefits your clients’ pocket book as well. Professionally staged homes sell over 50% faster than non-staged homes and on average for 6-10% more.

5. Your listings will show better if they are professionally staged and this will reflect well on your professionalism.

If you become known for always having properties that show well, other agents are more likely to show your homes, and homeowners will seek to have you as their listing agent. You will gain a reputation for turning homes fast when people notice your name on the lawn signs of all the “sold” homes in their neighborhood.

6. Stagers are experts in tackling sensitive topics in a diplomatic manner.

Stagers can relieve your anxiety of offending your clients by taking over the responsibility of discussing sensitive subjects like odor and unattractive decor. Home stagers will explain to your clients that they aren’t there to put down their design choices or cleanliness; they just want to help their home appeal to the greatest number of potential buyers. While the décor may suit their tastes, properties need to be neutralized before they are put on the market to attract as many buyers as possible. Professional home stagers will explain that the way you live in a home is very different from the way you present a house for sale.

7. Home Stagers free up your time to focus on what you do best.

Professional home stagers will take over the daunting task of preparing your listings for the market. This way you don’t have to waste your time and efforts on something outside of your realm of expertise. Stagers will take your weak listings and turn them into “model homes” so that you can focus your efforts on your real estate skills. Having a property staged can help make the entire selling process easier because homes that are organized and free of clutter are seen as being well taken care of. This makes all aspects of selling a home go more smoothly from showing to inspection.

8. Having a home professionally staged provides you with eye-catching photography for your MLS and marketing materials.

According to the NAR Profile of Home buyers and Sellers 2008, “87% of all home buyers and 94% of buyers aged 25-44 used the internet to search for homes”, this is why you need to have the strongest marketing photos possible. Many home buyers are eliminating properties from their viewing list based solely on the photos they see online. Having a home professionally staged will arm you with valuable marketing photos that will draw in the buyers.

9. Professional Stagers can prepare a home for sale more quickly than an agent or homeowner.

Some real estate agents and homeowners do have an eye for design, but home staging is not their profession. Professional home stagers prepare homes for sale day in and day out. They know the right contacts and have the knowledge and skills needed to achieve the most bang for your buck in the least amount of time.

10. Home staging is becoming the standard in the real estate market.

Home staging is growing more and more prevalent, especially in today’s saturated real estate market. By not informing your clients about the benefits of home staging you are putting them at an immediate disadvantage. Leaving a property in “as is” condition will only help sell the competition, especially when the competition is already using home staging as a marketing tool. With the tough real estate market sellers are facing today, it’s critical that you help your client put their best foot forward by recommending staging. Be sure to inform your sellers about the benefits of home staging, your clients will appreciate your suggestion to utilize one of the most innovative and successful marketing techniques in real estate today!

Krysta Lawver is a professional home stager, licensed interior designer, and the owner of Krysta L Interiors. As a member of the Real Estate Staging Association, she is dedicated to educating real estate agents and homeowners on the benefits of home staging. Krysta L Interiors is a full service staging company in Texas serving Dallas, Fort Worth, Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, North Richland Hills, Grapevine, and surrounding areas. Krysta L Interiors makes it their mission to help relieve the stress of the selling process while using their expertise in staging and passion for design to sell your listings fast and for top dollar! Visit their website today to set up a complimentary staging consultation, http://www.krysta-l-interiors.com

Technorati Tags: home staging, home stagers, real estate, real estate agents, Realtors,

Technorati Tags: home stagers, Home Staging, real estate, real estate agents, Realtors

Home Seller Basics: What is staging?

What is home staging and how do you do it?

Technorati Tags: Home staging, home staging basics, what is home staging, home staging videos

Technorati Tags: Home Staging, home staging basics, home staging videos, what is home staging

In this video professional Home Stager Kym Hough, working with Zip Realty provides a great intro into home staging that they in turn put on YouTube.

Creating such a video is not difficult, and the results can be astounding. While you won’t necessarily be swamped for autographs at the shopping mall, you will be perceived as an expert by most of the people who see the video. this in turn will give you a distinct competitive advantage in your market.

ZipTV Home Staging

Zip TV whats new in real estate, right now In todays market, many homes are taking a longer time to sell than they probably would have a few years ago, or they arent selling at all. ZipTV has the scoop: we tell you the top two ways you can turn your …

Technorati Tags: Kym Hough, Zip TV, Home Staging Video, Home Staging, Home Staging business tips

Technorati Tags: Home Staging, Home Staging business tips, home staging video, Kym Hough, Zip TV

I’ve been doing a series of blog posts across several of my blogs on the basics of internet marketing.  There are two key tools you need to really be in business online. The first is an autoresponder.  I shared my opinions on them on a blog post on my Micro Business specialist blog: http://microbusinessspecialist.com/blog/autoresponder/internet-marketing-the-basics-where-to-start/

In addition I posted my recommendation as to which web hosting service to use on my Minneapolis Internet Marketing Consultant blog on the following post: http://minneapolisinternetmarketingconsultant.com/web-hosting-2/my-favorite-low-cost-web-hosts/

Today, I am going to revisit one of my favorite themes and one of my criteria for web hosting, the use of and presence of a c-panel to manage your web hosting.

I like cpanel for a lot of reasons, the most important one being that it is relatively easy to use and you can find a lot of help using it.  The majority of Web hosting firms use the cpanel, which means that a lot of people use it and it is thus easy to find people who can help you when you have an issue.

While my first sites and web hosting were on a proprietary system, I was locked in to them for life, and needed to learn their specific system and its quirks to manage my web site.  I did. It took a while and was hard at first to figure out and despite their best efforts to have a peer supported help desk and forum, I found it difficult to get answers to my questions just when I needed them.  Maybe an hour or two later, when I had already gone on to something else.  It was frustrating and limiting.

Once I learned the need and discovered Host Gator which I moved to for cost and support reasons, I was still faced with learning their system. In this case the cpanel.  It has a ton of icons on it, and while I tout it as easy to use, it can be daunting at first.

The advantage of Cpanel is that a lot of people have written about cpanel and you can find a lot of resources online to support you when you have an issue.

I like it, because I have help my clients as well much easier when I know how the guts of their system works.  Its probably this second factor that accounts for the success cpanel has had. Because it is popular, it has support and is easier to help others. Because of this, it gets recommended more.  That’s the good type of viral working for them. The good news is the the cpanel comes with the hosting package at no extra cost.  You just need a web host like Host Gator that uses it as their control panel.

But you do need to learn it. So where. Their are lots of free videos on You Tube and elsewhere on the web.  I learned from Bob the Teacher on his Discover Cpanel video series.  It was a major break through for me.

Since then, I have been recommending that set of videos to all my newbie marketers. It’s inexpensive and a critical bit of essential knowledge for those who have a cpanel on their hosting.

If you don’t have cpanel, you don’t need this. If you do, you really do owe it to yourself to learn at least the basics.  Then you can farm it all out to your computer person if you want. The advantage is you will realize how trully simple some tasks can be, and avoid being overcharged for five seconds of work.

Now again, I like Cpanel, because I can do the five seconds of work and not have to wait two or three days to get it done. Which is what I hate about letting someone else manage my sites.

Anyway, my goal here today is to introduce you to my favorite cpanel training course.  It’s called, Discover Cpanel.

This course was a critical help to me, and could be the same for you.  Now that I have this training, I am able to set up new sites and blogs easily, I can add new domains. I can control my own website email and much more easily.

Now I recognize that most home stagers are more interested in doing home staging than they are at learning the mechanics of their web site. Still for those of you who do want to take charge of your online life, I highly recommend that you get this course if you have cpanel on your web site.

How do you tell. Just type your url with a /cpanel on the end.  If your host uses cpanel you will see a log in.  If you don’t know your log in info you should be able to get it from your computer guy or the help desk at your web hosting site. IE www.abc.com/cpanel

Technorati Tags: cpanel, discover cpanel, web hosting, host gator, control panel, cpanel howto, cpanel web host manager, web host with cpanel

Technorati Tags: control panel, Cpanel, cpanel howto, cpanel web host manager, discover cpanel, host gator, web host with cpanel, web hosting