Many real estate agents come to the industry without any preparation on how to create flyers, pamphlets or brochures. While it is not rocket science, making attractive and effective brochures to help sell a home does take some practice and an investment in a set of tools to create flyers and other marketing materials that the buyer will hang onto, and call back on.
Below are five of the tools that every agent should have to create the best marketing materials they can at the lowest cost.
1) A good digital camera. While your camera phone might be just fine for snapping a quick picture, the quality and pixel density just do not cut it when you put that picture in print or the internet. You can find many good, inexpensive digital cameras in the $250 to $350 price range. Be sure to get one with a resolution of at least 5.1 megapixels, and it should have an auto-zoom feature. Get one with an expandable memory, or separate memory cards, and take a lot of pictures to select from.
2) A good color printer. You don’t need to break the bank to find a good color printer capable of printing on a variety of paper types. You can pick up a good inkjet printer capable of printing high quality pictures and graphics in the $200 to $300 price range, and refill cartridges are typically in the $30 to $40 range.
3) Quality paper. Do not use typical light-weight office paper for printing out flyers and brochures that will hit your customer’s hands. Use the cheaper paper to prepare a mockup for proof-reading, look over the layout and to check edits, but use heavier stock, or even glossy stock, for the finished product. The paper as much as the contents printed on it lend weight to the flyer or brochure that will say “quality.”
4) Photographic editing software. This one will take the most ‘hands on’ learning curve of all of the tools. But learn the basics first, such as improving the color saturation, the brightness, and the contrast of your digital images. You will be amazed at how good even the dingiest picture can be made with a decent software package. And you don’t have to go for the high end on this, you can find professional-grade editing software for digital images in the $129 to $199 range.
5) Document editing software. Whether you are using a Windows or Mac-based computer, your package came with word processing software. What most people don’t realize is that that same word processor has available various templates on the internet for download, some free, others at a minimal cost. Learn how to make the best use of those pre-formatted templates, or create one of your own. Try to come up with one standard template you use every time, or a few different ones for different markets. But keep it simple and make sure to leave plenty of room for pictures!
You’re in a highly competitive industry if you’re selling homes. The successful real estate agent knows that not only must they appear professional, but so should everything they leave behind for the world to see. Professional looking brochures and flyers are as much your ‘calling card’ as your business card, and should be a reflection of the pride you take in yourself and in representing your clients.
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