Marketing on the Internet

Jeremy SchneiderFounder, RentLinx

Lead Developer, MSHDA’s MichiganHousingLocator.com

Michigan Conference on Affordable HousingApril 28, 2010

Why Market? Sales Funnel/Pipeline

Signed Lease!

$$

Qualify

Application

Onsite Tour

Phone calls, emails, walk-insMarketing/Advertising

Sales/Qualifying

Starts with a lead:

What’s a lead worth?

Who cares if you miss a few? They’ll find me!

Example: 100 unit building, 95% occupancy Average rent $800 10% lead to lease conversion ratio Marketing generates 20 leads/month 2 new leases signed/month $1600 new rent / 20 leads =

$80/lead!

* Brought to you by MSHDA www.MichiganHousingLocator.com Free to list! Free to search! Affordable and Accessible housing

options 24x7 Access, Unlimited updates Easy to use Part of the RentLinx networkFREE!

MHL Success (Through April 2010)

Went live December, 2006 3.5 Million Property Views in last

12 months! 72,000+ leads in last 12 months! 27,600+ properties representing

348,000+ Michigan rental housing units listed – and more are added every day

All of these numbers increased 20%-50% over 1 year ago!EXLCUSIV

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Michigan Housing Locator Web Leads per MonthDecember 2006 - March 2010

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EXLCUSIVE

Radio ads in 6 markets

Michigan

Housing

Locator

New in ‘10!

MHL:Search Results

• Sorted by Modification Date

• Users can mark favorites

New in ‘10!

TIP

Keep your property information current! * Jump to the top of the list! Properties are

sorted by modification date Click “Mark as Current” to update modification

date

MHL:Favorites

• Save, view and send your favorites!

• E-mail a list of potentials to a client or to yourself to save!

New in ‘10!

MHL:

• Hone in on exact location

• Change search radius

• Drag and drop starting point

MHL:View results on a map

TIP Add photos! Take photos on sunny days!* More photos = More traffic!

EXLCUSIVE

*Statistics as tracked by RentLinx on the RentLinx network of sites

None Exactly 1 8 or more0.0

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Average Property Views in 2009Based on number of photos listed

Number of Photos

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Where Would You Rather Live?

MHL:Proper

ty Details

• Attachments & Links

• Labels by MSHDA

• Photo Gallery• Print Brochure• Mark as favorite• Utilities

TIP

Use the description! Potential residents crave the details A great place to list everything that won’t fit

elsewhere Generate more qualified leads!* More opportunities to match keyword searches Search engines thrive on this content!

The Long Tail – Search Keywords

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Top Search Engine KeywordsThe top 10 keywords make up a tiny 2% of the 75,546 visitors who reached us through search engines

43,776 unique keywords accounted for 98% of the visits

*RentLinx.com keyword stats from Google Analytics

What are renters searching for?

“Top” Keywords #1. “ann arbor apartments” #2. “kalamazoo apartments” #3. “east lansing apartments”

Some other “down the list” searches #941. “houses for rent in manistee

michigan” #3,139. “senior subsidized living in

garden city michigan” #13,052. “all bills paid apartments flint,

mi” #22,361. “for rent gas light district of

grand rapids, mi” #35,477. “show me all the apartments by

the #3 bus route”

EXLCUSIV

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*RentLinx.com keyword stats from Google Analytics

Do longer descriptions help?

0 1-200 201-500 501-1000 1001+0.0

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Leads Recieved Based On Description LengthPer property, Jan-Apr 2010

0: Blank!1-200: One or two sentences201-500: One long paragraph501-1000: Two long paragraphs1000+: Getting kind of wordy!

EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

MHL:Unit Details• Interior Photos• Map• Modification

Date

TIP

Add interior photos and floor plans! Renters love it Some sign leases sight-unseen!

MHL: Satellite View

Taking credit for Google’s hard work.

TIP

List the rent or rent range! Renters prefer to see places they know

they can afford instead of calling to be disappointed

If your rent is based on income, use the description to describe general qualifications

Provide a link to your income qualifications

MHLSchool Districts

MHL:School Districts

• Automatically decided based on latitude and longitude

• View boundaries on map

MHL:School Districts

• Easy to change, if necessary!

TIP Add links & attachments! Links provide helpful info to renters and

improve the search engine rank of your website

Attachments give your future residents access to important documents before they walk in the door

TIP

Upload your attachments in PDF format Everyone can view on any type of computer Will always be viewed and printed as you

expect “But Jeremy,” you may be asking yourself,

“don’t you need expensive software to create PDF documents?”

No! Visit www.primopdf.com for a free converter!

OR: Send your documents as an attachment to pdf@koolwire.com. It’s like magic!

Any file that you can print, you can convert to PDF

MHLRent Reasonableness/ Comparables Report!

NEW FOR ‘10

MHLRent Reasonableness/ Comparables Report!

View similar units sorted by similarity. Choose 3 units of your choice!

NEW FOR ‘10

MHLRent Reasonableness/ Comparables Report!

Generate and customize a report to print or download!

NEW FOR ‘10

Many More!

But wait, there’s more!

How to Get Listed?• Visit

www.rentlinx.com

• Click “List your Properties”

NEW FOR ‘10

Review LeadsReview all incoming e-mails and phone calls (plus only)

Receiving The Leads

Most leads come in via phone or e-mail

Make sure they enter your sales funnel, not spill over!

Signed Lease!

When Are Renters E-Mailing?Web Leads by Day of Week

April 2007- March 2008

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When Are Renters E-Mailing?

Web Leads by Time of DayApril 2007- March 2008

0100200300400500600700800900

1000

Time

Lea

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9am-5pm Business Hours

EXLCUSIV

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When Are Renters Looking? Moral.

Only 40.9% of MHL web leads came in during 9-5, M-F business hours

Many renters may not bother calling after hours

Make sure your e-mail works! Reply (preferably call) as promptly

as possible!

Phone Call Study! Phone call tracking implemented in

Sept. ‘09 RentLinx Plus! Properties track their

phone leads via special toll free numbers

Michigan calls by the numbers: 7,000+: Calls tracked and recorded 600+: Distinct properties receiving

calls 150+: Distinct management companies

EXLCUSIVE

NEW FOR ‘10

When Are Renters Calling?

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Phone Leads by Day of WeekMichigan Properties, October '09-April'10

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EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

When Are Renters Calling?

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Phone Leads by Time of DayMichigan Properties, October '09-April'10

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Business Hours, 9-5

EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10• 76.1% of calls came in between

9-5, M-F• 12.1% came in between 9-5, Sat

and Sun

How Are The Calls Answered?

No answer2%

Human answers

26%

Caller nav-igates to human

18%

Leaves message20%

Hangs up on ma-chine34%

How Are Phone Leads Answered?Michigan Properties during

Business Hours

Notes:• Only 44% of

renters could talk to a human during business hours

• 62% of renters hung up when answered by machine

• *55% of renters who hung up never called back or e-mailed

EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

Does Answering Help?

Call during business hours

Caller talks to human Calls picked up first by human

Agent asks for showing0%

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Probability of Scheduling a ShowingFirst Contact Calls during Business Hours

EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

craigslist.org*

Free classified site Posts sorted by date City specific sub-sites

Pros:

• Free!

• High traffic in Detroit and Ann Arbor

• Some swear by it

Cons:

• Can attract spam or fraud

• Necessary to repost often

• May get less attention from affordable/senior housing seekers

Watch out for scams!

Bad guys pose as renters to try to extort money

Here’s how a common scam works: Interested renter contacts you, excited

to pay Rarely in person, they choose unit, send

first month plus security deposit Check is for too much, they ask for

extra to be returned or forwarded to a 3rd party (furniture, moving company, etc)

Original check bounces, you’re out the difference

ExampleFraud Attempt• Leads from the

MHL will include the country at the top

• Nigeria is a hotbed of fraudulent activity

• RentLinx blocks fraudulent users, and contacts any managers who heard from one

Warning Signs – Protect Yourself

Warning signs: Out of the country Poor grammar Strange questions, as

if he didn’t read the ad Overly willing to send

money Check is for too much Asks for money from

your account Wants to use

WesternUnion, MoneyGrams, or similar

Protect yourself! Stay aware of

potential for fraud

Use common sense

Never send money away from your account!

Social Media

Includes: Blogs, micro-blogging, social networking, event coordinating, etc.

Not a silver bullet Great way to stay top of mind,

increase referrals

Invite residents to events Tag residents in photos* Residents can “become a fan” Status updates: “Free cookies in the

office!” Follow the site rules, or risk

alienating users

Example: facebook

Benefits:

• Appear in news feeds

• Residents get reminders about events

• Your name will appear when browsing photos

• Your property will appear on all your “fans” profile pages

Your Website! Best Marketing? Renters trust as the most accurate

source Can be very inexpensive A little can go a long way Cheap domain names:

GoDaddy.com*

Market Your Website!

Signs Business Cards E-mail Signatures Brochures Print and Internet Ads Voicemail Links from Partner websites! * Add a link to your RentLinx listing!

Your Website!

Your Listings on Your Site!

Visit www.rentlinx.com and click on “WebLinx” for more details

RentLinx .

Track and record your phone leads Advertise on additional pay-to-list

sites Generate custom average rent

reports Free to upgrade, pay only $10/lead

Plus! lead MHL Leads always 100% free Set your own monthly budget No contracts no commitments

Average Rent Report• Compare prices,

amenities, property types and sizes

• Customize to match your chosen area based on specific location, zip code, city or county.

• Included free when any property is upgraded to Plus!

EXLCUSIVE

NEW FOR ‘10

Why Market? Sales Funnel/Pipeline

Signed Lease!

$$

Qualify

Application

Onsite Tour

Phone calls, emails, walk-ins

Why Market? Sales Funnel/Pipeline

Lots of Signed Leases!!!

$$

Qualify

Application

Onsite Tour

Phone calls, emails, walk-ins

MHLUp-to-date

Photos

AttachmentsGood

Description

LinkscraigslistPrompt reply

Answer phone facebook

twitterYour site RentLinx Plus!

RentLinx network

Why not market on the Internet?

Survey responses to “Don’t advertise online? Why?” Lack of Budget - 25% Confusion. Don’t know how or where to begin

- 20% The internet is not relevant to our business -

18% Lack of time or personnel to do it - 15% Have all the business we need - 12% Skeptical that it is effective - 10%

No more excuses! *ClickZ.com and Opus Research Study, 2007

Questions?