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EP 49: Advanced Marketers Plan + Our Vision For Our Product w/ Trevor Mauch

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Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below! Add humanity back to business and help people regain more precious time for the things that matter in life. Carrot Mission What is our vision here at Carrot for the next 5 years? In this short CarrotCast our CEO Trevor talks about the history of Carrot, our product, where we’re going, and the Advanced Marketers Plan… Listen to our other episodes at www.CarrotCast.com. Listen to the Podcast In This CarrotCast Episode, We Cover… 1:15 – Brief Carrot history: The Carrot business model in 2013.4:05 – Doubling down in 2014: Creating a platform for positive change and solving the lead generation problem. What has to happen to build websites that are based on performance? 9:40 – What Carrot has cooking in the kitchen now? 11:25 – Casting a vision for 2017. How to build more online credibility and bust through with SEO when markets are cluttered and inflated. 14:30 – [New Product Feature] – SEO Keyword Ranking Tracker. What it is and why we built it. 15:10 – Rolling out The Advanced Marketer Plan – Carrot’s first new plan in 3 years. As the market shifts, you need to be able to: The Advanced Marketer Plan will help you with these tasks and much more! 17:00 – What Carrot is crazy excited about in the coming months and years. 17:45 – Adding to the Carrot Team. 18:25 – Rolling out AgentCarrot and the vision for our product for the rest of 2017. Have questions? Reach out to us for more information about Carrot’s new products and plans at support.testcarrot.xyz.

EP 47: Flipping Vacant Land: How Gary Horton Pivoted His Wholesaling Business In A Tough Market To Be On Track To Flip 100 Pieces Of Bare Land

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Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below! When you’re confident with whatever it is, you expect the result. You’re not hoping for it – you expect it. So you can say “hey, here’s what we’re going to do and you can just lead.” I think when you’re starting out, your confidence is more like you’re not sure what to do, and I think that is picked up on. Gary Horton While most of the real estate market is flooding into flipping houses or wholesaling houses… savvy investors are looking at the gaps in the market where there is an outsized opportunity vs. competition level. When Carrot client Gary Horton hit a wall wholesaling real estate in San Diego he tested out flipping vacant land… and hasn’t looked back since. Now Gary buys and sells land all over the West Coast, from his house (or office), does 8-9 flips per month, and barely has any competition. In this episode, Gary lays out his entire business model from start to finish. His marketing, how he targets sellers, how he sells his properties, his margins, how he does online marketing to drive consistent land deals… EVERYTHING. Listen to our other episodes at www.CarrotCast.com. Listen to the Podcast Dive in and listen to Gary’s story and get inspired to go down the path less traveled. 3:20 – Gary’s backstory — Who he is and working a career that he didn’t love. 6:00 – Building confidence and credibility to leave his job and close his first deal. 9:30 – Why he decided to pivot from the truly motivated house seller market to flipping vacant land. 12:45 – Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can save you a lot of pain and time. Walking through the Kolbe Index test. 15:50 – The nuts and bolts of land flipping. 20:30 – Cracking the land flipping code — making the move and dealing with the responsibility that came with it. 23:15 – Gary’s land-buying business model: Buying Baltic Avenue instead of Park Place. 27:55 – What types of situations are the sellers going through to sell their land so cheap? And the strategy behind his direct mail campaigns. 32:05 – The leads from his Carrot website have been very good. Find out how that has helped him open the door for more investment opportunities. 34:35 – How searchers are finding his website: SEO and AdWords on a $1 per day budget. 38:25 – Find out his online stats, such as how he’s been able to profit over $40,000 and only spend $322 on AdWords.  Gary’s Analytics Launch A Land Buying Site With Carrot Today! 42:50 – Building up a seller financing land business that is consistent, predictable, and low-risk. 45:20 – His rule of thumb of pulling a list and what to look for when finding a sweet land buying niche. 48:50 – Diving in deeper into what one of those land buying niche opportunities looks like: From dream communities to land buyers paradise. 52:05 – Land SELLERS: How to market your land listings. 1:01:30 – What are some of Gary’s goals he’s pushing? 1:10:30 – Why he chose Carrot and what it meant to his business.

EP 46: Creating Remarkable Content: From Ideation to Publication w/ Mike Blankenship and Trevor Mauch

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Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below! I ask myself the question, ‘How can I be better?’ Because, if content is about cutting through the clutter and getting to the top of rankings, then I have to stand out when I write my content.” Mike Blankenship How do you put together remarkable pieces of content as a real estate investor or agent on the web that are useful and effective? How do you get people to see it? Creating content can seem like a daunting task. On this episode of the CarrotCast, Carrot Content Strategist, Mike Blankenship, and Trevor Mauch discuss the practical things you can do to seamlessly produce any piece of content, from the birth of an idea to the publication of a post. And, give actionable tips to make your content better, build more credibility and help more people with great content. Be sure to listen to our other episodes of the CarrotCast at www.carrotcast.com. Listen to the Podcast In This CarrotCast On Creating Remarkable Content For Real Estate Investors And Agents, we discuss… 4:30 – People say “content marketing isn’t going to work for me” – how to make content marketing work for your business if you’re in a market that doesn’t have a lot of competition. 8:20 – How do you make your content marketing effective in a competitive market? Cutting through the market by solving a problem for your audience. 11:00 – The first step to creating content. The process for coming up with ideas and tools to find those ideas. 13:45 – Why every piece of content should be solving a problem for your audience. 14:55 – After finding an idea to write about and performing some keyword research, what is the next step to crafting useful content that is also great for SEO and social shares? 18:35 – Do this one thing after you’ve chosen a solid idea. 22:30 – Before you get started writing, find out how to outline an article and why it’s important to write about topics you truly enjoy. Take a look at one of Trevor’s favorite pieces that he’s published: How A Pumpkin Farmer Changed My Perspective On Life And Business 27:30 – Mike walks through his process for writing long pieces of content. 30:15 – Don’t let your content creation drag you down. Why you should start short and explore different topics and processes. 34:20 – Don’t procrastinate and be afraid. Why it’s important to hit the publish button. 42:25 – How long should written content be and some shortcuts to speed up the content process. 46:25 – Thinking outside the box. Where to look for ideas to write about that are indirectly related your topic.

EP 43: A Real Estate SEO Master Breaks Down How He Closes 2-3 Real Estate Deals a Month From SEO in a Competitive Market w/ Dave Brown

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Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below! I knew from my background that once I did the work, it would keep returning a benefit to me over and over again. Today, I’m reaping the rewards. David Brown “You can’t do any deals with SEO”. We hear that quite often from people who don’t want to put in the work and focus. But for those who use a solid proven system and implement a plan with consistency… they see results. Dave Brown fuels almost his whole 30-40 deal per year business with his approach to Real Estate SEO and in this podcast, he breaks down exactly how he started, what he did on SEO in the first days, what he does today, some tips… and his story as a real estate investor. If you’re curious about pulling in deals with search engine optimization listen to Dave Brown’s story and how he does it. Listen to our other episodes at CarrotCast.com. Listen to the Podcast In This CarrotCast Episode, We Cover… 2:20 – Find out what David has learned over his 2 decades in the real estate industry. 5:00 – How to build a business around your lifestyle and why David gave up his real estate agent license and never wants to get it back. 7:50 – Creating a business around leverage. The context of what David’s business structure and the organization looks like and why. 16:00 – David’s mindset around growth – doing more with less. 18:15 – What business systems he uses… CRM, Phone Tracking, Online Marketing. 20:05 – Unpacking his Real Estate SEO strategies — Why his website content has been so effective in cutting through the clutter. Keys: 23:30 – David’s secret sauce he dashes on his location-specific pages — Taking it to another level! 28:10 – Why creating pages that target specific keywords have helped him command his market in search results rankings. 31:25 – How to increase your website traffic, in theory. We focus on some SEO math. 34:25 – SEO tactics you can employ to your website. 35:50 – David shares his off-page SEO strategy. 39:00 – Sharing heartwarming stories in a much needed time… Check out David’s other passion… americansnippets.com. A website and podcast about American stories that need to be shared. 41:10 – Top rules for your website… customized, clean, and credible. Also… be sure to check out our Case Study with David… Getting More Motivated House Seller Leads Online – David Brown Case Study

NEW: Owner Finance Websites Now Live! 

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The owner financing option is becoming more common. Which is why you need a strong online presence and a high performing website. The first thing your potential clients do is search for financing options online. And no matter how good of a broker you are, your hands are tied without clients to cater to. You need to grab the browser’s attention by giving them a reason to work with you beyond the traditional bank loan. In line with one of our core values, “Consistent Improvement and Innovation”, we created our Owner Finance sites with your clients, your business, and above all else, the relationship between the two, in mind. So, how can you soar a mile ahead of your competitors? Offer an optimized and mobile responsive website that encourages your clients to work with you. All of the InvestorCarrot sites are mobile responsive so that your clients can reach you and your services on whatever they’re using: mobile or desktop. In terms of usability, setting up and maintaining a website is simple. Even if you’re a beginner, you’ll quickly get the hang of it. But if you do struggle, it’s okay. Carrot support has your six. Introducing Our New Owner Finance Website System Over a two-month period, we researched and tested owner finance websites to create our first version of a high performing seller financing website that you, as our InvestorCarrot member, can access and setup in your account.     We’ve kept these owner financing websites simple… but effective. And we’re still actively testing the sites, so there’s more to come. As we continue learning, we’ll add elements to your website, each and every month, that increase engagement, conversion, and revenue. The Design We’ve taken our proven “lead hero” and built that into the owner finance websites, as well. We found that when we utilized the “lead hero” on our home pages, the homepage conversion rate increased across the board. Of course, we’ve built in our hidden Conversion Boosters that are infused into all of our InvestorCarrot real estate investor websites. The Conversion Boosters improve opt-ins, engagement, and one of the most important aspects of your business, brand credibility. Let’s take a look at some of the pages on our owner finance websites… Available Homes Page: Why Use Owner Financing Page: How It Works Page: The Results Method Our proven philosophy has been “Design For Results, NOT For Prettiness.” When Carrot first started, we were all about a pretty site. But it didn’t take us long to learn that results are what matter most… InvestorCarrot websites are built from the ground up, backed by research and test data, to leverage SEO, produce loyal clients, and make your business into a brand client’s can’t help but connect with. Plus, we’re always testing and adding new features to our websites and to our Carrot client dashboards. Once we find what works best… our team goes to work to create a nice, clean look, all while retaining the current conversions (or, ideally, increasing website conversions even more!). The Owner Finance Website Content The content has been professionally written by people who know SEO, website conversion, and the real estate investor industry inside and out. The words on a page can make or break your search engine results and directly influence how well your website performs once a visitor arrives. Every page on our new owner finance website is written with four factors in mind… Search Engine Optimization Lead Conversions Customized and Customizable Credibility Boosters  There are many reasons why our members love us, but one of the main reasons is the quality and actionable content we produce. You can save time by leveraging writers to produce content rather than spending countless hours producing your own. … Continued

EP 38: Making the Leap: How Michael Rogers Went From CPA to Full Time Real Estate Investor in 2017

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Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below! Know what you’re good at and know your cycle of confidence and stay in it. Really know what you’re going to good at. You don’t need to be good at everything. Figure out something… and nail it. Michael Rogers When should you make the leap to full-time in your side business? It doesn’t matter what business it is, there’s a point when it makes more sense to leave your day job and go full-time into your passion. Michael Rogers, a Carrot client and CPA of 12+ years walks through his journey on how he did his first deal, built an income producing portfolio while still working full-time, then how he slowly scaled back his hours at the CPA firm he was employed at and eventually dove in as a full-time real estate investor, just this past winter. Now, Michael is still focused on building his portfolio for the long-term and doing wholesale deals for his active income.  How did Michael do it? Listen in. Also, listen to our other episodes at www.carrotcast.com. Listen to the Podcast 3:45 – What are some benefits to your mindset from short-term to long-term thinking? 5:40 – How we can all relate to Michael’s change from corporate CPA to real estate investing.  8:50 – What role Michael’s family played in his decision to become a full-time real estate investor. 12:20 – Michael shares the key lessons he’s learned in the first couple of years being in the real estate investing industry. 15:20 – What type of criteria does he set when looking at properties? 17:00 – His various type of assets he invests in and how he’s built a passive income flow. 19:00 – A $35k deal – That’s how he started 2017 off! What type of growth he has experienced over the past few months. 21:38 – Using his InvestorCarrot website to generate leads and build a legit and credible business. 23:15 – What marketing mix is generating leads for Michael and helping his SEO with quality backlinks such as being featured in “The Chattanoogan” newspaper. Michael’s Feature in The Chattanoogan newspaper 26:50 – What his ROI has looked like through his InvestorCarrot website. The important factor of “knowing your numbers.” 29:35 – How long did it take for Micheal’s SEO to kick in and start to rank #1 for certain keyword phrases, such as, “sell my house in Chattanooga?” 33:40 – Why and how he’s chosen to add credibility to his website through: Video About Page Images USP (unique selling proposition) 38:00 – How Michael has grown as a real estate investor. 42:15 – InvestorCarrot vs. the other guys. How Michael’s life has changed by using the Carrot platform and where he thinks he would be without it. 44:00 – Why “family” and “freedom” are the core reasons he took the leap into investing. 46:00 – Michael’s projected 24-month visions for family and business. 51:15 – Why Michael truly believes in the InvestorCarrot process and websites.

EP 37: Sitcom Based Newsletters To Build Massive Brand Affinity In Real Estate w/ Ryan Fletcher

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Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below! Anything that’s worth doing is worth sucking at, first. I think that’s a Gary Halbert think that he said. And, you don’t start writing and immediately build an audience. It takes time. I tell everybody, if you won’t write for one then you won’t write for a 1000. Ryan Fletcher *Warning: This podcast contains explicit language* Brand storytelling pretty much works for everyone. If done right, it can be one of the most effective pieces of your content marketing strategy.  We’re living in a time of competition clutter and brand storytelling is one way to keep your brand from conforming to the herd. How can you grow your business to make you the only viable option for leads without having to go door to door or make cold calls? How can you tell a more influential story to cut through the clutter and become a driving force behind that story? How do you create a credible brand where before leads even reach out, they’re likely to go with you because of what you’ve done in your community? So many investors and agents fall into the short term marketing “tactics” trap and lose focus on building the foundation for an amazing long-term business. On this episode of the CarrotCast, Ryan Fletcher, host of the Agent Marketing Syndicate Podcast and author of Defeat Mega Agents, joins us to discuss gaining control of your business and avoiding some of the “tactics” that may lead you down the wrong path. If you’re looking to rely on Facebook ads, AdWords, Craiglist… then great! But, this podcast is for the serious, long-term agent and investor. Build credibility and community! Enjoy and be sure to listen to our other CarrotCast episodes at carrotcast.com. Listen to the Podcast It’s easy to get caught up in all of the training and coachings, but you need to take control of your brand by telling a story. But… how do you accomplish that? How do you create a brand that is so good that leads can’t ignore you? Find out on this episode of the CarrotCast. Enjoy! 3:00 – What pushed Ryan into real estate and from $8k to $180k within one year. 7:15 – Breaking through the mindset that extended content doesn’t work. 12-page sales letters – people read them because they’re not boring. 10:00 – How Agent Marketing Syndicate helps agents break away from the clutter. HINT: Build relationships 3-5 years before someone is even in the market to sell their house. 13:30 – Creating content that builds relationships through a message and having patience. 15:00 – Why building relationships in the community and outside of real estate are so important for long-term success. 20:10 – How Ryan gets his real estate message out. The HEART is hardcopy mailers then repurposing via social media. 22:15 – Changing the failure mindset and pulling away from the canned real estate agent thinking. Building confidence to put your story on paper. 27:30 – Having a passion for great service: What is the Impact Club and how it brings together communities for the greater good. 34:30 – Creating a process for being in it for the long game. 38:15 – Want to become a better marketer? 41:10 – Making business shifts. The difference it can make in life, with friends, and with family. 47:30 – 3 Things you can do to set yourself up so others have a hard time competing against you. 52:20 – Brand Storytelling: 3 Main levels you need to commit to in order to stand out from the crowd.

Why Online Real Estate Marketing Can Boost Your Offline ROI

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Are you doing some offline real estate marketing as well as online real estate marketing? We’re talking direct mail, bandit signs, radio, TV, etc. If you are, you need to watch this video because this video’s going to walk you through how to increase the return on investment that you get with your offline marketing, leveraging online marketing. Why Online Real Estate Marketing Can Boost Your Offline ROI Now with this topic, one of the biggest things that we always look for to help our high-achieving investors is how do you squeeze more return on investment out of your marketing? Not Sure What Your Marketing Budget Should Be? Use the Carrot ROI Calculator A lot of people come to us just for online real estate marketing help. The problem is they kind of think of that in a capsule or silo. They’re not thinking about, “How does my offline marketing work with my real estate marketing online? If you do them correctly, they actually work together really well to help you make more money. New Consumer Path to Opt-in or Purchase On one side of the equation, you’ve got your offline marketing. Direct mail, bandit signs, TV, radio, referrals, etc. Maybe you’re only doing one of these. Maybe you’re doing none of them. If you’re investing money there, then you’re putting marketing messages in front of your prospects. Now in today’s day and age what happens is, according to lots of studies and this one, in particular, 85% of people when they have to make a big financial decision, they search online before they actually make that decision. Picture yourself at Home Depot, or you’re going to buy a car. Almost none of us make decisions like that without whipping out our phone or our computer and searching online to find reviews or ratings, or finding other options and alternatives. House sellers, house buyers, investment property buyers, everyone does the same thing. What do we do to make sure that when we introduce those people to our brand through our offline marketing, that we’re then capturing them when they go online? You can’t do it with a website that doesn’t perform well. If someone’s going to go online, they’re going to research your company after they received your postcard, as an example. They’re going to go online and they’re going to look at your website. Is your website building credibility? Is your website building a relationship with that prospect? Can they feel that you’re a real person, you’re a real company, you’re not a nameless face that’s a corporation? We need to make sure your website is covering these issues. Image Source: McKinsey&Company Tailor Your Real Estate Brand Message Also, are you building a recognizable brand? Can searchers say, “This is a company name that I can lock into my mind.” Or, “I can lock that person’s face that’s on that website into my mind.” It’s memorable. Or, is there a testimonial on your website that really resonated with them. We need to make sure the story we’re telling them online is helping to support and further the sale of your offline marketing. Optimize Your Real Estate SEO for Certain Keyword Phrases One other really important thing that you guys should be doing with your online marketing to help your offline marketing better, is even if you’re not using your website on your direct mail pieces or your TV advertisements, people are Googling your company name. They’re Googling the phone number that’s on there. They’re Googling anything that they can find that’s identifiable on that direct mail piece or offline marketing to then go … Continued

Real Estate Marketing Plan: Strategic Marketing Template for Real Estate Agents + Investors

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Looking for a sample real estate marketing plan to create your strategy? We’ve got you covered. Why You Need A Real Estate Marketing Plan According to the U.S. Small Business Association, only 56% of small businesses with 50 or fewer employees have a marketing plan. Almost half of smaller businesses are missing out on leads and sales. Here are four other reasons why a marketing plan is essential for your real estate agent or investor business. Sample Real Estate Marketing Plan At its basic level, a real estate marketing plan answers a series of questions that helps you define your ideal targets and craft your business’s most compelling offers into a cohesive story. It uses good distribution channels to reach your ideal targets. Here are the questions you need to ask when making a good real estate marketing plan: Here is a quick video that can help get you started… Real Estate Marketing Plan: Simple 90 Day Strategy What is Your Marketing Goal? First things first: you need to set your goals and objectives. Clearly, state what you want to accomplish for yourself in your real estate business. If you’re an investor, it could be buying 50 properties this year. As a real estate agent, you might consider closing 100 listings. Or, in both situations, you could want to get your brand or name out more for recognition. It could be that 50 percent of your target market knows who you are. Set goals that you can quantify to record and track your accomplishments. Develop a 10,000-foot vision for your business, such as… Then quantify that vision with measurable goals. Measurable goals might include: What Impact Do You Want to Have in Your Communities? You want your real estate business to be sustainable and build a good relationship with your community. How you approach and treat your clients has a tremendous impact on how your business is viewed within your market. Your clients directly affect your business reputation, lead, and deal volume. But it’s not just your direct clients. Anyone that you interact with can be considered an indirect client. Residents, Facebook friends, your website host, employees, contractors, partners, and suppliers. You must constantly assess your behaviors and their impact on your local community and the broader audience. Image: Placester Then you can assess and find your niche within. What events to attend and who to build relationships with. Your community approach will also help you create your immediate and long-term business needs. Is Your Market Saturated with Similar Offers? You want to build strong relationships with your customer base. As you’re maintaining a high value and positive service for your customers, they’re more likely to spread the word among their peers. If you’re in a competitive market and find it hard to make your marketing stand about your competition, then be sure to make your service and client experience stand out. Build your real estate brand identity, and your customers will become ambassadors if they see and feel that “above and beyond” connection. Marketing Strategies for Real Estate: How Tough is Your Competition? First, you need to identify your competitors. Take into account your potential or future competitors too. There are a couple of methods you can use to do this. 1. Look at them from a customer’s point of view If you can look at your competitors from a customer’s point of view, you’ll be able to spot some of their larger strengths and weaknesses. It’s a fun yet challenging activity to think like a customer. Why would a customer want to use them as a real estate service? Is … Continued