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by Mike Carraway

It happens almost daily in this great country of ours. A new real estate agent gets thier license. Then, they set off on a journey to learn how to get customers and how to do business.

Unfortunately for most of them, they try for about 3 to 6 months, don't get any business, and quit. Why?

Well, look at it this way - if you opened up a new business and had no customers in your first 6 months - what would you do? I know that I would be questioning my own abilities at getting cusomters, wouldn't you?

Having seen this happen so many times with new agents, I knew that there had to be a way to give new agents the tools and techniques they needed to succeed quickly. Over a 5 year period, I deveoped what I call our proprietary "Fast Start" program.

This program takes someone with zero sales experience, with no knowledge of marketing and teaches them the basics of response generating advertising and marketing. Most real estate agents have no idea why people call on an ad. When the students in Fast Start complete their training, they not only know why, but they can accurately track their ad performance and cost per call. They can also measure conversion rates. All of these things are a must for any business.

The second big part of this program is how to manage those leads that are generated and follow up with them so that they actually become customers or clients. The students are taught to set up a simple follow-up system and several different "action plans". Combining this foolow-up system with the lead generation is the cornerstone of the Fast Start program.

Most of the students who apply what they learn in the real world ususally have a real estate transaction pending within their first 30 days. That's how good the program works. Not everyone who goes through the program is successfull. Some students learn the information and then do not apply it. Why? Hard to say. I think one of the biggest reasons is fear of success.

They know that if they are successfull, they'll have to work. They also know that if they are successfull, most of their problems will go away and they won't have any excuses any more. Of course, it's just my opinion.

If you are in the real estate business and actually WANT success - you should take our next Fast Start training class and get on the fast track to success.

by Mike Carraway, Access Realty, Birmingham, AL

A LOT of sellers want to price their home above the market value and they do it for a variety of reasons...

Some say they want to have "negotiating room". Some say, "we can always come down later". And others say, "we just want to see what we can get - you know - test the market."

Theses are all good reasons from a seller's point of view. They aren't, however, from a property marketing standpoint. When you put a property on the market, you want to generate the highest traffic and demand in the shortest time possible and all of these so called reasons to overprice just hinder and impede the marketing process.

Danger #1

Pricing a home above the market value usually results in people going elsewhere and buying. They may love your home but if you have a similar product in your market for a lower price, they'll buy it - not yours. In effect, you have missed your buyer and now you will have to wait and attract another one at a later date.

Danger #2

Traffic and lots of it is what sells a home. Without human bodies walking through your home, it doesn't matter if it's the best deal around or the most beautiful in your neighborhood - it still won't sell. In order to get the most traffic possible in the shortest time, the price must be right from the very beginning. If the home is priced very near what you actually think it will sell for, you will get the most traffic - and offers.

Danger #3

Your home will sit on the market while YOUR buyers go buy other homes. You will have lower traffic due to the higher price and fewer people will be exposed to it. What happens when you finally decide to lower the price? People see the price reduction and it causes a couple of thoughts...

1) I wonder how much further down they will come?
2) I wonder if something is wrong with it?
3) I wonder how long it's been for sale?

Just these three will cause you more suffering from low offers and constant questions about whether you will carry part of the financing or not. You will soon grow tired of it.

The best way to avoid ALL of these problems, especially in a buyers market as we are in right now, is to price your home AT the market. Not a little over but right at the market value.

Want a secret? Price your home slightly UNDER the market value. You will have people fighting over it and will probably receive multiple offers. When you do - you can actually start a bidding war of sorts over your home and may even realize MORE than the market value.

by Mike Carraway, Broker, Access Realty, Birmingham, AL 800-840-0165

The internet is all the rage when it comes to real estate. According to the National Association of Realtors, when a buyer starts thinking of buying, the first place they turn is the internet. Just 10 years ago - it was getting in the car and driving around.

With gasoline prices approaching $3 a gallon, more and more people will search online first before they do any driving.

So - if you are an agent or a seller, how do you get your property noticed online?

Let's talk about being an agent first. If you are with a national franchise and/or your company is affiliated with the local board of Realtors, there is a good chance that your listings will get streamed to Realtor.com. Relator.com is the #1 property search engine in the world and just keeps getting bigger and better. The site is ranked by Alexa.com as the #8 site - in the WORLD. That's pretty big. Real estate agents already have this site in their favor.

As a home seller, you do not have such an advantage. You can either buy into one of the FSBO (For Sale By Owner) products out there that will put your home on the internet for you, or you can put up your own site and sales page for your home. Of course, if someone is searching for a home in your area, and your site doesn't come up on the first page or two of the major search engines, no one will ever see it.

With people shopping more online and doing less driving around, it puts todays home sellers (those selling without an agent) at a pretty big disadvantage. If they would list their home with an agent whose company has a popular internet presence, their home would sell a lot faster because of the increased exposure.

Our company site is such a site. If you go to Google and search on "Birmingham Alabama Homes for Sale", you will see that the Access Realty site comes in at #3 or #4 on the first page. That's a huge advantage for anyone who wants to sell a home in Birmingham.

One other way to sell a home is to generate a large roster of interested buyers. This can be accomplished online by setting up what are called mini-sites designed to capture llists of people who are currently in the market for a home. This works great for real estate agents but may not work so well with a seller of just one home. You can get more information on these mini-sites and how to accomplish this HERE. As I said before, this type of buyer generation works extremely well these days because almost everyone shops online before getting in the car and driving around looking for homes.

I guess it's now official. The real estate bubble has burst. When the inventory figures for homes show they are going up nationwide AND it's in the national media, you can be sure that it's already been happening for a few months now. The NY Times and Jouranl and just about every other news outlet decided today that it was a story - so I guess it's official.

Those of us in the real estate business have known it for the last 3 months and we could have told you so. We have sales figures and "time on market" statistics that can back up our claims. We have been telling successful sellers what's happening and how to price their homes accordingly. Now - 3 months later, the media is catching on.

The story is that the supply of homes on the market is rising and the number of buyers isn't. What that means to you is that your home will sit on the market longer without selling. In fact, two of the articles I've read state simply that it would take over 6 months to sell all the homes currently for sale. What they leave out is that more homes come on the market every day, further increasing the glut.

As the number of homes on the market increases, it takes further price reductions to get some of those homes to sell quicker, which, in turn, lowers the reflected market price of all homes. Sellers will wait and wait and then lower their price - too late. What they don't realize is that they are chasing the market down.

The market price of their home goes down and then they lower their price just above the market price and wait. While they wait, the market price goes down further, putting them farther and farther away from the market value, until they lower the price again.

So, as a seller, what should you do right now?

Simple, lower your price to a point that is BELOW the current market value. Ask your agent to take some time and do a good market analysis to get a feel for what your home is worth right now. Then, price it below that number. If you do this, you will have hungry and willing buyers lining up to make offers on your home... but only for a short time in a falling market. If you wait too long, and the market coninues to drop, then you will be priced above the market again and have to reassess the situation.

The smart thing to do is price your home low and let the market come to you, rather than chasing the market down. One strategy results in buyers, the other results in foreclosures. But you have to decide which strategy to persue.

New listings coming soon!

Broker
Access Realty, Inc.
1-800-840-0165

Dear Blog Update,

Today, the automated messaging system used by your real estate sales agent, MIKE CARRAWAY, has stopped sending email to you because none of the email messages sent have been opened. For a mail message to be considered "open", you must have clicked one of the links contained in the email and viewed the report your provider sent.

This message is an automated process designed to reduce the sending of unwanted emails. If you would like to continue receiving emails, please click here. Once your account has been reactivated you will begin to receive your emails immediately.

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The following are the links to the selected listings.

Details 331358, 5020 GIHON CIR, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $308,900.00
Details 338932, 5012 GIHON CIR, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $308,900.00
Details 339702, 7913 COUNTRY CLUB DR, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $309,900.00
Details 346229, 4966 JOAB CIR, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $309,900.00
Details 344631, 6229 JONATHANS WAY, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $309,900.00
Details 347557, 6672 SERVICE RD, TRUSSVILLE, AL - $309,900.00

Or Click Here to go view all listings at once.

If your email program doesn't support an HTML url, then copy and paste the following
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REALTORS: REAL-Service REAL-Expertise.
You can also visit http://www.Access1000.com to perform your own property search.

Broker
WEICHERT, REALTORS - Access Realty, Inc.
1-800-840-0165

There is a new blog network in Birmingham, Alabama! The Realtors at Weichert, Realtors - Access Realty have joined together and created the only real estate blogging network in Birmingham.

The blogs are titled simply by their city names such as: Homewood Homes, Hoover Real Estate, etc., making them easy to find.

The blogs contain the latest homes for sale and real estate news about the local communities. I have included links to the citys that are up on my link list to the right. Check them out!

Now there's an easy way to find the open houses in the Birmingham, AL area with just the click of your mouse.

Weichert, Realtors - Access Realty has just launched www.8YellowBalloons.com

Tune in to 8yellowballoons.com every week to see where the open houses are going to happen. You would drive around looking but it's a lot easier with a map.

You can also custom design your own Open House Home Tour!

Given the IAB and PwC’s projection that ad revenue in podcasting will at last pass $1 billion in 2021 (up from $479 million in 2018), one would think this mediums decade-long slow (really slow) march towards some sort of critical mass has finally hit its stride. Let the gold rush begin, no?

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Podcasters continue to find growing interest from marketers, but their growth remains constrained by factors including a lack of independent audience benchmarks.

U.S. advertisers spent $479.1 million advertising on podcasts in 2018, up 53% from about $313.9 million a year earlier, according to a new report from the industry group Interactive Advertising Bureau and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC.

Podcast advertising is expected to rise to $678.7 million this year, the report said.

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Johanna Zorn is leaving the Third Coast Festival. The executive director and co-founder of the Chicago-based audio documentary conference will be departing in the fall, and the search for her replacement will kick off later this week. The move was announced Wednesday through a letter published on the Third Coast website.

Obviously, this is a major development for the beloved conference, which has become one of the most, if not the most important gatherings for radio and podcast producers since its founding almost two decades ago. Third Coast grew particularly quickly over the past few years — tracking the growth spurt in the audio world around it — the biggest expression of which was the decision to shift the festival towards an annualized schedule in 2016. (It was previously held every two years.)

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There are big opportunities for the music industry in podcasts, but one of the big barriers is licensing: the cost and complexity for podcasters of securing the rights to actually play music in their shows.

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Apple is on the prowl. Months after Spotify shelled out $500m on two podcasting start-ups, Apple executives are said to be contacting media companies in the hope of funding original content and brokering exclusive deals.

This new phase for Apples streaming service comes at a time when audiences for voice-based programming are growing rapidly. In the past five years, weekly listeners have doubled in the UK, as have monthly audiences in the US. It is not surprising that technology companies are focusing on podcasting and making the medium easier to access. Apple has introduced full-text podcast searches on its Podcast app and Google has made them appear in search results. Spotify launched a voice assistant.

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In recent months, the tech giant has reportedly reached out to media companies about such deals, per Bloomberg. We do not know what kind of companies Apple is engaging with (indie production studios or established networks), and we do not know what sort of shows they are targeting (hits like Serial or brand new projects), per Hot Pod.

Top Podcast Consumption Apps
Business Insider Intelligence
What this move is about: Apple likely views exclusive originals as a way to protect its dominance of podcast listening, which has slipped in recent years as rivals like Spotify bear down.

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Over the past few years, there have been a number of major developments within the advertising world, but one of the most fascinating is the tremendous growth of the podcast. Podcasting, by many measures, is clearly on the rise. As the fortunes of podcasts rise, so too do those of individual podcasters, who have legions of devoted fans looking forward to their next episodes. Podcasting has created a new type of influencer, one who has the ability to reach people wherever they are, whether it’s at home, in their car, or during their daily commute.

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Let me tell you: it was a journey. Learning how to podcast is easy on the one hand, but keeping it up requires grit. I struggled. I celebrated. I attracted clients. I considered quitting at times. I got fan mail. I stuck with it.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

It has now been over 17 months, and I've learned some things. If you are thinking of starting a podcast, here are a few mistakes I'd recommend avoiding:

1. Spending too much money
You do not need a bunch of fancy equipment to start a podcast. Trust me. I spent $65 on a used Yeti microphone and pop filter from some guy off Craigslist and started recording the next day.

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Nielsen has launched Nielsen Podcast Listener Buying Power Service, an analytics tool providing insights matching podcast listeners by genre with their buying habits.

The tool is placed to help pair podcasts with advertisers by detailing the interests and expenses of audiences.

The product, from Nielsen Scarborough, launches with iHeartMedia, Cadence13, Stitcher, Westwood One and Cabana as clients.

Clients will be able to profile shows using program titles collected from subscribers. In order to connect specific types of listeners with particular advertisers and specific program-level insights - built from a sample of 30,000 respondents.

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One-third of Americans over 12 listen to podcasts. But just as the business gets booming, are there already too many podcasts?

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To make your search easier, we are going to break down some of the best podcasting microphones you can find right now.

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We at Adweek recently announced our new Podcast of the Year Awards, celebrating audio excellence across 20 categories. Since we have assembled an incredible lineup of judges, all with direct podcasting experience, we wanted to take this time while submissions are open (that is, before we flood them with shows to judge) to hit them up for some advice.

First we posed the question all of us with a podcast get asked most often: What should you know before launching a show?

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YouTube might not be the first platform people think of when they’re looking for podcasts, but a growing number of top creators are proving YouTube is a bonafide podcast network.

Several YouTubers — including Logan Paul, Marques Brownlee, and Emma Chamberlain — have launched podcasts in the last year. They are all available through traditional audio platforms, like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, but many also offer video versions that live on dedicated YouTube channels where they’ve become incredibly popular.

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Meanwhile, the biggest advantage management holds up for growing podcasts is improved engagement on the platform. But since Spotify doesn't disclose average time spent per user on its platform, investors may be left guessing how the company is doing. So, what is the best indication of whether or not the podcast investments are paying off?

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iHeartMedia has been the radio industry leader when it comes to podcasting. From purchasing How Stuff Works, to The Ron Burgundy Podcast with Will Ferrell, to slapping a full day of podcasts on its radio stations, iHeart has not been afraid to take risks with this fairly new medium. So what does Bob Pittman think about it all?

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A good podcast starts with compelling material – but according to Tyler Moody, VP & GM, WarnerMedia Podcast Network, that’s just the beginning. To launch a successful podcast, Moody says you need:

1.   Content: In a democratized media world content is still king. Maybe more so than ever. The product you deliver to your audience has to be top quality and deliver on its promise.

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If you want to test in a channel where early adopters are being rewarded with both attractive CAC and scale, here’s what you need to know:

~ Podcast advertising is used very successfully as a direct-response channel with CAC on par with other consideration-stage activities. It is not just for awareness.
~ Podcast reach is very good, reaching 51% of US audiences aged 12+ monthly.
~ Ads read by hosts outperform canned programmatic ads.
~ Tracking is harder than most digital channels and the cost to test the channel is higher than most digital channels.

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Think about it. When was the last time a new podcast came out that was a mass, mainstream hit? Something that was such a hit that it changed things: brought in masses of new listeners, garnered tons of press, or really altered the perception of what podcasting can be?

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One of the more curious growth areas in media has been the rise - largely under the radar - of podcasting. The simple act of voices telling stories, conducting interviews or teaching weird and wonderful things has made it one of the most important communication mediums of the 21st Century. Around 73 million Americans identify as regular podcast listeners, and that number is only forecast to rise. With that in mind, we want to help you get started making your own with our pick of the best podcasting microphones around.

The popularity of podcasting can be largely attributed to communities that form around popular podcasts. So it makes sense that more and more people are looking to podcasting as a way of telling their story.

The good news is that there is a relatively low barrier to entry.

Best Podcasting Microphones

Podcasting is recording strong growth in the UK, with the most recent Ofcom data showing that 7.1m people listen to podcasts each week – equal to one in eight of the total population. Moreover, this figure increased by 24% from 2018 to 2019, and has more than doubled in the past five years. As part of their in-depth survey of media consumption, Ofcom also found that half of podcast listeners began listening in the last two years, and regular podcast users listen to seven podcasts per week, indicating that, for many people, podcasts are now an important part of their daily lives.

Business ideas for 2020: Podcasting

There is an industry trend toward more direct listener monetization and engagement. This includes crowdfunding, membership, tipping, and donations, as well as exclusive and premium content.

This is a healthy development — expanding the range of touch points with listeners beyond the ad impression and helping publishers diversify their revenue and business models. The trend speaks to the depth of experience that spoken-word audio elicits, and it encompasses other podcast engagement strategies such as live shows, email newsletters, fan clubs, surveys, and experiments with personalization and interactivity.

PodPass wants to build the identity layer for podcasting

The audio technology company Voxnest owns the podcasting platform Spreaker. The Italy-based StreetLib is a digital book distributor. Last week, they teamed up for a symbiotic relationship that will let StreetLib’s book publishers create podcasts and Spreaker’s podcasters create and distribute digital books or audiobooks.

The Publishing And Podcasting Industries Are Getting Even Cozier

More than half of the U.S. population over age 12 has now listened to a podcast, according to Edison Research. The medium has fundamentally altered the landscape for audio content, liberating and empowering both listeners and creators. And big acquisitions such as Spotify’s purchase of Gimlet Media signal that the business of podcasting is coming of age, too.

But there remains an economic gulf that some entrepreneurs and investors see as an opportunity. Ad spending on podcasting is around $500 million, by some estimates, but that compares to $17 billion or more for radio.

So where is podcasting heading next? How will speech recognition, smart speakers and other innovations change the landscape for podcasts? Should you start your own show? Could you make any money if you did?

The future of podcasting: Can the business of audio content catch up with the creative revolution?

Last month, the Pulitzer Prize Board announced that there will now be a Pulitzer for audio reporting, further proving that podcasting has become an unignorable cultural force. In the announcement, Pulitzer Administrator Dana Canedy explained that the renaissance of audio journalism in recent years has given rise to an extraordinary array of non-fiction storytelling.

Investigative podcasts are exploding. Here are six great ones to get you started.

Fifteen years after Apple first offered 3,000+ free podcasts on iTunes, the medium has become mainstream.

Basic Facts: According to Edison Research and Triton Digital, there are now 62 million Americans listening to podcasts each week, up from 19 million in 2013. One reason for the growth is the number of choices podcast listeners have today. There are now over 800,000 active podcasts with over 54 million podcast episodes currently available worldwide. Because of a low cost of entry, in the first ten months of 2019, a record 192,000 new podcasts have been launched.

Podcasting Is Going Mainstream

On a recent rainy afternoon, a panel featuring a mixture of hip young creatives took place at YouTube’s Manhattan studio space. The topic of discussion? Podcasting. Organized by New York-based podcast hosting platform Simplecast, the event drew a crowd of young creators with a hunger to learn how to produce and distribute their own podcasts.

How Podcasting Became the Next Content Medium Race

Last Friday, a group of podcast publishers and related operatives announced the formation of something called the Podcast Academy, which they described as a nonprofit organization dedicated to “elevating awareness and excitement for podcasts as a major media category and advancing knowledge and relationships in and around the business.”

Its various activities will involve things like holding educational webinars, organizing networking events, and publishing white papers. But its flagship endeavor seems to be an awards program to be called the Golden Mics — or, as people are already calling it, the Oscars of podcasting.

Podcasting Is Getting Its Own Oscars. Will It Work?

The soundproof Staples Connect Podcast Studios, developed in partnership with iHeartRadio, will include professional equipment -- a RODECaster Pro control board, RODE microphones and SHURE headphones -- and space for up to four people.

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Starting a podcast is easy. Making one that actually sounds good is another story entirely. We can not help much with the bigger problems facing would-be podcasters -- finding a good topic and getting people to listen -- but we can point you to the best gear to get started. With a few smart purchases, you too can sound like a podcast pro.

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Technologically-enhanced journalism has seen proliferation of online broadcasting channels, blogs and online newspapers. All these are set up in a bid to mainly attract curious millennials, and to offer alternative platforms to the wider content consumers.

In Kenya, online newspapers and TV streaming services have been touted as the next frontier in the media industry.

Legacy media outlets find this both as a challenge and opportunity at the same time. As much as they are a source of new revenue streams, these new digital channels offer tough competition that has seen the traditional media outlets’ earnings substantially shrink.

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Spotify, the Swedish music and audio streaming giant, has extended its reach further into the growing podcast market with its formal acquisition of the Ringer, a US sports and pop culture platform.

Although Spotify announced the acquisition at the beginning of this month, more details of the deal emerged this week in a filing with the Security and Exchange Commission.

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Podcasts have never been more popular than they are today.

In fact, there are more than 800,000 active podcasts as of 2019, which is a number that only looks to increase in the years to come.

So why are podcasts so popular?

Because they are incredibly huge moneymakers.

Almost a third of Americans listen to at least one podcast a month, and advertisers have noticed.

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