Three marketing mistakes agents make — and how to correct them

"Every year, more money is spent on advertising research than medical research."

That's what Australian real estate marketing guru Julie Ryan told her standing room-only session "Fire Up Your Marketing" at last month's National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Conference and Expo. As real estate agents, you're constantly trying to get into the heads of your prospects to learn what will prompt them to contact you instead of your competition. Unfortunately, as Ryan explained, there are several common mistakes made in the process.

Here are three of the most common mistakes Ryan said agents make in their marketing efforts:

Trying to be all things to all people. Every agent wants to be known as the expert in their area and they often promote themselves as just that in their marketing. The problem? So is every other agent in their area.

Instead of marketing yourself to everyone in your community, Ryan suggested developing multiple lines or niches in your business and sending marketing to the prospects that would fit that niche best. For example, send out a separate marketing piece to prospective condo buyers, first home buyers, and waterfront properties. This way, you differentiate yourself from the other agents who are marketing in your area because prospects will identify you as the agent who specializes in the type of home they're interested in.

Sending out marketing too frequently – or not frequently enough. According to Ryan, agents who send out marketing too often cause what she refers to as the "Wallpaper Effect." This happens when the recipients of your marketing will become so used to receiving something from you that it's no longer effective. And while monthly campaigns are effective for keeping in touch with past clients, they're useless for new prospects. Why? Ryan says it's due to the innate human characteristic we all have: Every three weeks we tend to forget everything that isn't absolutely important to us.

So how often should you send out your marketing? "If you haven't sent something at least three times in three weeks to your new prospects, you're wasting your money," she told attendees at her session. That way, your prospects have the opportunity to go through three very important stages in brand recognition: Curiosity ("Who is this postcard from? What do they want?"); Recognition ("It's another postcard from that real estate agent."); and Remembering ("Oh, That's from the real estate agent who specializes in vacation homes."). That doesn't mean you should send out marketing every week; rather, Ryan suggests sending out a postcard or e-mail once a week for three weeks and then stopping for a month, and so on.

Inconsistency. Many agents make the mistake of being too inconsistent with the frequency they send out their marketing, or the medium in which they send it (e.g. e-mail, postcard). The result? Your prospects won't make the connection that you are the one sending them the marketing piece.

If you send out a newsletter or report to past clients, make sure it's sent on the same day every week or month, so your prospects will learn to expect it. If you have a logo, motto or other recognizable characteristic of you or your company, make sure it appears on every piece of marketing that you send out.