We all know in the last few months that the blogosphere has grown in staggering leaps and bounds. Many RE professionals have realized that they need a blog, but many don't understand how to maximize the benefits of blogging.

Enter the Advantage Solutions Group's "No Blogger Left Behind" webinar. Labeling it simply as a "webinar" is a huge understatement. Hosted by faculty staff Joeann Fossland (e-PRO, GRI, PMN, ACRE) and Frances Flynn Thorsen (e-PRO, SRS, CEO), "No Blogger Left Behind" is an 8 week, all-inclusive, everything you need to know to become a successful blogger roadmap.

Eight 60 minute webinar / teleconferences discuss everything, from the very basics of what blogging is, to finding your niche, to even earning revenue off of your blog. A downloadable workbook containing live links to blogs as well as the course homework assignments combined with group activities provides for an interactive learning experience.

As an added bonus, all courses are recorded, so if you miss a session, or you are just looking for a review, they can be downloaded anytime.

"No Blogger Left Behind" is a stellar example of not only spreading technology knowledge amongst RE professionals, but also bringing the real value-proposition behind the technology to the forefront.

Candidates of the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ Certification have access to the Learning Lab. Today we examine what this area is, and what role it plays within REW™.

What is the Learning Lab?
The Learning Lab is accessible by all REW™ candidates from their post login homepage. From this area, candidates can try out the technologies discussed in each of the courses as well as additional "best of breed" RE technologies - all provided free of charge by technology partners.

Why utilize the Learning Lab?
Simple - get your hands dirty! Technology is inherently scary and intimidating - such is the primary reason for failure of, or slow adoption of the benefits included within each technology. REW™ looks to show folks what's under the hood of these technologies by giving a first hand look at how they work and how easily they can be UNDERSTOOD and APPLIED by anyone. Course materials are great information, but the meat of learning the technologies is seeing for oneself the benefits through live examples.

Why Technology Partners?
Technology partners provide the tools to demonstrate the course materials and additional beneficial technologies available today. REW partners were chosen as "best of breed" providers of each technology. Learning by example is by far the best form of education.

Just as one might learn word processing by using a popular word processing software such as MS Word, a great way to demonstrate electronic forms would be to experience it using the popular ZipForm technology. In no way are candidates required to purchase any products, however we invite them to try for themselves to determine if they are a good fit for their needs.

Recently featured in Inman News, Scott Einbinder wrote an excellent article, entitled "Death of the listing presentation", calling to attention the ineffectiveness of today's current listing presentations.

This article really hit home - sellers don't want to know every accolade you've earned, they don't want to be drowned with pretty graphs and a host of facts and figures, and they definitely don't need slide after slide of AVMs and CMAs they can easilly obtain on their own. All of these things are great, but 1 or 2 slides in an entire listing presentation would easilly suffice.

They want a plan - no - they want a detailed plan of how you intend to sell their home. Not a series of advertising actions, but a well laid out plan, including the services you will use, and how they jive with one another to create an overall marketing campaign.

Scott Einbinder thinks we should change the name of the process from a Listing Presentation to a Listing Education, and I couldn't agree more. RE agents need to educate their consumers on the services available, which ones they use, and how they are effective. It is this sort of presentation that will capture sellers and turn prospects into clients.

Recently I was in contact with one of our REW candidates, Kim Desroches-Noel, a virtual assistant with the REW technology partner Team Double-Click. I had a chance to catch up with her and ask her how her life as a VA is going (clients, technologies used) and how REW is playing a role.

KIM: "I am still with Team Double-Click and using my [REW] knowledge as I am working for a Real Estate company through them. I am working in LeadTrax CRM and online platforms through Yahoo. Currently I am using IM programs as we work in a team of three per shift and we use the conference functionality to keep in contact throughout the shift. I am now in the process of using RELAY with my new job for online transaction coordination and have a local realtor who has me doing his quarterly newsletters for him."

"Your [REW] certification has been wonderful in increasing my knowledge and allowing me to serve my clients in a more productive way. I have recommended it to many colleagues and I hope they take my suggestion and pursue the certification."

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Thanks for the feedback Kim and best wishes with your continued success!

Today, featured on GeekEstateBlog.com, Marc Grayson touched on a portion of what he likes to call "attention-to-detail", in "How Music Dated the Real Estate Listing". This post mentioned an exemplary online listing (video tour, virtual, etc) but music in the virtual tour was Christmas / Holiday music (we're in July), instantly dating this wonderful listing.

Presentation is paramount. Every Agent knows that no buyer wants to see incorrect information or misspelled items on print or advertising materials. It's just blatant oversight and a little effort to see an item through can easily avoid these situations.

Unfortunately, this "attention-to-detail" goes out the window (along with the kitchen sink) when it comes to online advertisements, email, websites... and the list goes on. So here are a few gotchas that every person (including me!) should watch out for when it comes to an online presence.

1. Spelling - You'd think this would be a no-brainer, but I have been just as guilty as the next person. In emails, online ads, etc, it's usually just a click of the spell checker. Don't skimp - use the spell checkers included.

2. Font - By far the most easily overlooked item. Many times when using HTML in emails or those fantastic email or website toolkits, there's a default font that none of us use. Take care when cutting and pasting in these instances as the default font, or even the font from the application the text was cut from may be transferred to someplace you don't want it. To avoid this, take a brief moment and re-load and re-read your online documents.

3. Links - Another easy item to miss, especially when you have a document using a lot of them. Again, re-load, re-read, and click on everything. Pay careful attention to links you want to open in a new window, and those you want to use the existing one.

4. Images - You'd be amazed how different WYSIWYG and email editors handle pictures and the spacing around them. The answer? Test, test, test, and just for good measure, test again. Nothing drives me more crazy than when I send something out "to the masses" and catch an error after the fact.

5. Content - This is a biggie - make sure your content says what you want it to say. Be sure quoted articles are cited properly and you aren't using false information. Aside from the tremendous legal liability, if you are telling folks one thing, and a reader calls you on it, other readers will take note.

Bottom-line, re-load, re-read, and test. Remember, online, face-time is limited - what you present your readers and clients is how they will evaluate you.

Recently, Stefan Swanepoel’s 2008 Real Estate Trends has been released, and cast light on some extremely interesting movements in the RE market. Although I haven't had a chance to read it myself yet, the future of REAL ESTATE MARKETING blog posted an extraodinary graph of how real estate has developed over the years pictured below.

What do I make of this graph? Well, overall, technology usage and adoption appears to be on the rise. Secondly, RE technology appears to becoming more and more specialized. In the late 90's up to the peak in 2000, the trend was most driven by large changes in the dynamics of the technology itself, that is until the (dare I say it?) DotCom fiasco.

It took redevelop of Web 1.0 and the introduction of Web 2.0 to spark user confidence in the market again. In the most recent years, the driving force behind the trend has shifted from large overhauls to the technology itself to better and more specific exploitations of the capabilities behind the technology. This is most evident at the end of 2007 with the graduation of Virtual Tours to Online Video.

From a graph like this, anyone can conclude that RE agents, brokers and assistants should have been (and if not, should start) investing in these technologies to stay on the cutting edge. However, like they say, hind sight is 20-20 - it's easy to judge when the noise of the real estate boom as died down. But now that we have the facts, why are some so resistant to education. I see professionals so quick to spend money on billboards, and park benches - maybe it's time to re-evaluate those expenditures. Maybe it's time to invest in the services being offered and not just the number of places advertised.

It could just turn around the market...

Recently, discount brokerage, Foxton's, announced it laid off 90% of its work force, essentially signalling it's demise. Inman News' Scott Einbinder wrote an excellent article entitled "After Foxton's, a 'real' real estate story" covering the news, adding an interesting take on the reaction of this brokerage's downfall . To see the original Inman News post, please click here.

The emotional reaction to this event in the real estate community is extremely revealing because it demonstrates an unfortunate trend that has existed in the industry for ages. That is the industry is too often focused internally on itself, rather than on the customers it is supposed to serve. You constantly hear and see Realtors spend untold sums of money splashing their pictures and logos on everything from park benches to refrigerator magnets, but ask a brokerage or an independent realtor how much they have invested in themselves and their education, and more often than not, the answer, is very, very little.

And the reasons for not continuing their education don't always revolve around the expense of it. You often hear "I'm are too busy to educate", or "I don't see the real value in it". Real estate professionals regularly talk about service, and "placing the customer first", but a shockingly small percentage of them actually follow through.

Thankfully with the advent of Web 2.0, and the continuous flow of "need for technology education" articles originating from the most popular real estate news sites has changed this attitude significantly in the last few years, but many professionals still sit on the side line.

Real Estate brokerages, Realtors, and assistants need to realize the value in investing in their skills - the skills and techniques that will help them better serve their customers. In the current real estate landscape, that means utilizing web-based technologies. These technologies were created to make our lives easier, to more successfully serve our customers - so why do we not utilize them?

Benjamin Franklin wrote that the definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result". Maybe it's time, as a community, we realize that the same old RE practices are merely producing the same old results. Maybe it's about time we learn some new ones, not only to benefit ourselves, but for the benefit of our customers...

In this part 2 of a 2 part series, I will discuss how you can display the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ logo on your site, your blog, in your print materials, email signature block - virtually anywhere you would like.

Once you have completed your certification, you have access to the My REW™page (exclusive to certificants). Amongst many other valuable resources on this page, you will notice a section entitled "Certification Marks (Logos)". In this section you have access to several links containing information about our logo, as well as access to the logo itself (web-friendly JPEG, High-resolution TIFF for print-materials).

The first bullet (see image below) you will see is a link that will automatically open REW™ Marks Use Guide containing directions on how to use the 3 certification trademarks available to certificants (REW™ Logo, "REW™", and "REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™"). This includes items such as proper guidelines on how to use and reproduce our logo on promotional materials (such as business cards, letterhead, brochures, etc), as well as in the online world (such as web sites, domain names and e-mail addresses).

Following this bullet, you will find 3 different versions of the REW™ Logo for display usage, as well as the REW™ Certification Mark Tagline. The REW™ Logo we make available, is the same logo found in the upper left hand corner of any of the pages on our website, available in different resolutions and sizing.

The REW™ Certification Mark Tagline, similar to the bottom portion of any of the pages on our website, is a image that truly says "education equals differentiaion". The Tagline image is a composite of the 3 certification trademarks available for use by certificants (REW™ Logo, "REW™", and "REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™"), along with the statement of "The certification marks above are owned by the National Institute of Webographers, LLC and are awarded to those who successfully complete initial and ongoing certification requirements". This composite image truly says you are now part of an elite group, dedicated to on-going professional development in real estate, web-based, consumer-facing technologies.

Lastly, we provide the raw HTML you can cut and paste directly into your website, blog post (good idea is use this in your "signature block" of every blog post). This code will create a linkable REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER logo on your site, of the proper size, so others may both view your achievement at a glance and learn more about the certification with just the click of a button.

We are serious about technology education, and we applaud those who continue their educational efforts beyond the bare minimum to increase their success and further their professional career. This 2 part series is just a brief discussion of some of the many perks that become available to you upon completion of the REW™ certification.

Are you ready to embrace Real Estate Technologies?

2007 has been a year of great change for us. Not only has that change encompassed the look and feel of our website, but also to the services we offer before, during and AFTER you have completed your certification. We look to not only help you acquire the best tools available online to connect you with your customers, but also to market your accomplishment of the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ certification to your clients and your fellow RE professionals. In this Part 1 of a two part series, I will discuss our press release service available to you following completion of your REW™ experience.

The REW™ Press Release

Once you have completed your certification, you will have access to the My REW™page (exclusive to certificants) in your personal profile. On this page, there is a section entitled "Press Release". The first two bullets in this section allow you to choose which Press Release you would like to obtain. There are press releases tailor made for either an AGENT or BROKER, or an ASSISTANT or COORDINATOR.

No matter which press release you choose, you have access to three formats of your press release - a Microsoft Word Document version, a Portable Document Format (PDF) version, and finally an HTML / Blog File version.

The Microsoft Word Document version can be downloaded and modified to contain your name and contact information in Microsoft Word. This document is beneficial because it can easilly be included as an attachment to emails to your clients or for print purposes. A PDF version can be modified using software such as Adobe Acrobat and is made available for you to use as a link from your website or any other linkable location of your choice on the internet. Lastly, an HTML / Blog format is provided for easy cut and paste into HTML documents such as directly into your website, or to a blog to tout your accomplishment to your blogging audience.

The Press Release Process

We understand that completion of the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™, as well as implementation of the technologies we offer is a great achievement and we don't want you to keep that accomplishment to yourself. That's why we have made the process of telling others about it as effortless as possible.

In the third bullet under the "Press Release" section in your personal profile, you will find two links. The first link presents you with a list of recommended, 100% free, PR outlets. Of course you can utilize whatever outlets you like, but we provide this comprehensive list as a convenience.

In this list, you will notice several of the PR sites have been highlighted with stars - this is what I'm really excited about! These specific sites are PR outlets that we will send your press release to on your behalf FOR FREE! To utilize this press release service, you simply click on the link entitled "Click Request form here" from your profile page underneath the last bullet, answer a few short questions such as your name, RE profession, email, and website, and we send the press release out for you!

Combined with the knowledge our education conveys, our Press Release service is just one more perk we offer that you can use to differentiate yourself from the rest. Next week, during Part 2 of this series, I will discuss how you can proudly display our logo on your site to show your customers and clients you are serious about technology education.