A step-by-step guide to increasing awareness and brand recognition for your real estate business through magazines.
Have you ever noticed that the people quoted and featured in top real estate magazines aren’t so different from you? Maybe a quote reflects your thoughts, or you find yourself with valuable insights that would be a great addition to a real estate article. Have you ever wondered why the people quoted were given this platform, and how they got there?
The good news is, you are only a few steps away from joining the ranks of real estate professionals who are featured in top magazines. Here’s how to get started.
Why magazines?
If you’ve ever been a consumer of industry magazines, you might already have an idea about why working to get featured in them is worth your time and effort. When we see people and businesses featured in magazines, we generally view them as an authority. Getting your name in print is an instant credibility boost, and helps to establish your expertise in your industry and location. Plus, magazines can reach a wide variety of people, some of whom you might not have crossed paths with otherwise, so they’re an excellent way to grow your audience as a realtor.
Once someone stumbles upon your name in a top magazine, they’re much more likely to become a warm lead and turn into business that you don’t have to spend hours on end trying to convert. Plus, this method of getting your name out there doesn’t break the bank like luxury real estate ads and other marketing methods can. In most cases, it’s free!
How to get featured
Build relationships
One of the most important steps for getting featured in top magazines with excellent credibility is building relationships with editors and writers. You can go about this by sending emails to introduce yourself and share what you appreciate about their last issue, or by interacting on social media. Twitter is a great platform for building relationships with editors and writers because it allows for a quick exchange of ideas and opens the door for a more in-depth conversation.
The more writers and editors you know – and who know you – the more likely you are to be featured in real estate articles, and the more frequently you’ll see your name in print. Creating and cultivating these partnerships is the foundation required for the rest of the steps to work. Becoming a go-to real estate expert for any given writer or publisher is like striking gold!
Be a conscious consumer
When you read real estate magazines or real estate columns in broader publications, take notes. What is the writing style like, what angle does the writer take, what’s fresh about their content? Familiarizing yourself with the types of articles a magazine tends to publish will help you brainstorm pitches that are relevant to them, which makes them more likely to pick up your idea and feature your luxury real estate business! Keep a running list of insights and ideas that come up for you as you read.
Avoid one-size-fits-all messages
When it comes time to reach out to writers and editors at your favorite magazines, tailor your messages to that specific publication. Writing up a copy-and-paste email is highly unlikely to work because each magazine has its own voice, audience, and style. Instead, create a loose template that you can start from, then edit and personalize from there. This cuts down on unnecessary time spent while also allowing you to show each magazine that you’re thoughtfully engaging with their content, and that you have something to share that their readers will truly be interested in!
Find your angle
Stay on top of local and national news and formulate your ideas around real estate trends and the housing market as new facts develop. Keep a running list of topics you could speak as an expert on, and match these ideas up with your knowledge of the publications, editors and writers you’ve come to know in your research.
In some cases, you are the angle! You can consider your personal story and your path to the real estate profession as a topic of interest for some magazines. What’s unique about you, and what qualities of your business might other real estate professionals find helpful or interesting?
In many cases, you don’t need to talk about a brand-new or never-covered concept or topic. You just need a fresh spin or new approach that will educate, entertain, or somehow add value for the magazine’s readers.
Pitch, pitch, pitch
Once you’ve come up with a topic and angle that you think will interest a particular magazine, it’s time to pitch! Write to the contacts you’ve been cultivating relationships with. That usually will look like sending an email that details your idea and insights, but communicating via other platforms is valid as well. If you’ve been interacting most with a member of a magazine’s staff on Twitter, the best place for your pitch might be their DMs!
While it’s not best practice to send an identical message to lots of different people, there’s no limit to how many pitches you should send. You can send out as many customized pitches as you’ve got time for! Once you’ve familiarized yourself with a magazine, pitch the publication whenever you’ve got a great idea or something to share that they may want to publish. You don’t have to choose one idea or one publication; the more, the merrier.
Stay Organized
With so many moving parts at play, from your feature ideas to your desired publications to the names and outreach methods of your contacts, it’s essential to use a reliable system for staying organized. This will keep your processes efficient and allow you to keep track of your great ideas!
Having a system for staying organized will also help you keep track of follow-up. Editors and writers are busy, and they might not get back to you after the first time you reach out. That doesn’t mean they aren’t interested! Follow up a few times after each pitch, unless they let you know that they aren’t interested. Even when you receive a rejection, you’ve made contact with an important professional in the real estate media world, and you can use that relationship to learn, grow, and get featured in the future!
Prepare your website
Once you do connect with sites and magazines ready to publish your ideas and quote you in their articles, be sure you’re making the most of it! Many publications keep an online version, which means these articles are the perfect opportunities to drive traffic to your website and ultimately get in touch with interested future clients. The backlinks to your website will also boost your SEO, meaning you’ll show up in search results for users who haven’t even read the article! That added visibility means that the quality of your website and social channels is more important than ever.
Invest in your custom realtor website design to make sure that all of your links and references will lead magazine consumers back to the very best representation of your brand. Check that your website is organized and well-designed, and effectively showcases your capabilities. Bring together your brand style, testimonials, and latest listings to pack a punch, and ensure there is a clear way to get in touch with you. If all goes according to plan, once you’re featured in a magazine, you’ll see the calls start rolling in!
Provide great photos
If you don’t already have a variety of professional photos you could send a magazine featuring you, set up a time to have some taken. If a publication is featuring your words and ideas, they will likely also want to include a photograph. A healthy mix of lifestyle photos and headshots will prepare you for a wide variety of magazine styles.
Be a resource
Some third-party sites can be great tools in helping you connect with writers who need your expertise. Sometimes magazines outside of trade publications will publish pieces about real estate, and you want to be the expert they quote and feature! Websites like HARO can be great resources for getting connected with reporters who need quotes or who are looking for an expert to conceptualize an idea. This is a great way to showcase your expertise and get your name out there!
Troubleshooting the process of getting featured in the media can feel frustrating at first, but all it takes are a few great pitches or a couple of great contacts to get the ball rolling and land your name in front of countless future clients! Stay consistent and enjoy the opportunity to speak to a wide audience.
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