One of our bloggers has asked how to create a drop-down menu from their blog header and since I have now managed to remember/figure out how, I thought it would be good to share!

In order to have a drop-down menu, you need to use the Twenty Ten theme, which you can activate under Appearance > Themes in the left-hand menu of your blog admin:

Any pages you have created will appear in the header of your blog, as with any of the other themes.  However, with the Twenty Ten theme, any sub-pages you create will now appear as a drop-down menu when your readers hover over the title of the parent page:

To create a sub-page go to Pages > Add New in your admin menu or open an existing page on your blog.  Once the page is open you can use the ‘Page Attributes’ options on the right-hand side of your screen to assign a parent page, simply choosing one from the drop-down options:

Now just create as many pages and sub-pages as you like!  If you want to change the order in which the pages appear in your menu, just return to the ‘Page Attributes’ options and assign the page a number under the ‘Order’ field:

Venturing into the world of social media can be daunting at the best of times and in a lot of cases people jump in head-first without any strategy or thought for what they want to achieve from social media and how they can get it.  Some manage to figure this out over time and successfully find their niche in the social media space.  Others continue to wander aimlessly, wondering what it’s all about and why they bother!

Thankfully, that doesn’t have to be the case any longer.  I’ve just finished reading “Learn Marketing with Social Media in 7 Days” by social media consultant Linda Coles.  The book is a great resource for those who are new to social media or those who are giving it a go but are still unsure of it all.  Even those who consider themselves quite adept at social media are sure to find some gems here.

The book provides all the practical information and tips you need to master Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube and to will assist  you in creating a marketing plan to help determine and achieve your social media goals. It’s a book you will refer back to time and again as you establish and build your social media presence and is a must for anyone who wants to promote their business successfully online.

Linda has very kindly given us three copies of her book to giveaway.  Just email us, listing three social media sites covered in the book (can’t ask anything too hard on a Friday!)  First three correct responses will win a book.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USFqi_5m0NA

If you want to promote a professional image, you need a professional email address. It’s that simple.  All too often I come across agents using a gmail, hotmail or yahoo account and it makes me cringe.  As a real estate agent, you are in a trusted position and are often privy to highly sensitive information shared by your client.  Having an address like jimandann@gmail.com or smithfamily@hotmail.com does not inspire confidence or give you any professional credibility.

I can understand why Gmail in particular is widely used, as you can access your emails easily from any computer or location and can use Google docs and a host of other useful Google tools.  However, you can redirect another email addresses to your Gmail account and have the ability to reply to people with an alternative email address listed as the sender, rather than your gmail address.

Follow the directions provided by Google and make use of this facility.

If you don’t have an alternative email address, then register your personal domain name and use the associated email.  Domains ending in .co.nz can be purchased from as little as $20 per year from sites such as 1st Domains or Freeparking.  You then also have the option of redirecting your domain to your blog or personal landing page.

There are so many apps available for smartphones, iPad and Android tablets that it’s hard to know where to start!  Here’s our top 5 must-have apps, which will make your life infinitely easier when you’re on the go.  If you’ve tried and tested these apps or have some other great apps you can recommend, please leave your comments below:

Dropbox

An oldie but a goodie! Dropbox is a free app allowing you to access your documents, photos or videos anywhere. You can also share files with other dropbox users easily and securely.

Realestate.co.nz app

I know, shameless self-promotion!  The Realestate.co.nz app is now available for iPhone and Android and while not we do not have a version specifically designed for the iPad or tablet yet, the app will function on those devices also.  Use the Realestate.co.nz app to stay up-to-date on what is being listed in your area.  At listing presentations it’s a great tool to show your prospective vendors what else is selling in their area and at what price.

Evernote

This popular app was designed for notetaking and archiving.  Use it to save ideas, create to-do lists and record things you see or do at any time.  Your notes can be text, photos, webpages or voice memos.  They can be shared with colleagues and are available from any device or computer you use.

Open Home Pro

Sick of trying to decipher email addresses and phone numbers after your open homes? Spending too much valuable time inputting details into your database. Open Home Pro makes your job easy. With Open Home Pro visitors to your open home can enter their name, email address and search preferences. Their details are saved within the app and can be easily exported as a .csv file.  This app is currently only available for iPad.

Docusign

Docusign provides a fast, efficient and secure way to send, sign and track documents allowing you to complete contracts on the go, reduce your use of paper and fast-track your business transactions.  Once you install the app you can create a free account allowing you to send three envelopes per month or you can pay to create a full business account for unlimited sending.

For those of you who maintain blogs, Facebook business pages or Twitter accounts you will no doubt have experienced times when you just can’t come up with ideas or find anything relevant to write or post about.  If you’re not already using Google Alerts, then you should start now.  Google alerts make it easy to stay up-to-date on what is happening in your area or within the industry, allowing you to share relevant news or updates with your followers.  The alerts will come direct to your inbox so you no longer have to go scouring the web for news.  You can set your alerts to receive news ‘as-it-happens,’ so if you’re quick to pass it on to your followers they may be hearing it for the first time from you, making their connection with you all the more relevant and valuable.

All you have to do is enter the relevant keywords, select how often you want to receive the updates and what kind of content you want, enter your email address and then click ‘Create Alert’.  Then just sit back and wait for the news to hit your inbox!

It’s a good idea to use the ‘Preview results’ option when you are setting up your alerts.  This will give you an idea of the information that will come through.  You may find that the suburb you entered also exists in the UK and USA and most of the results relate to those suburbs instead of yours.  If so, you may want to refine your search and add a city or region after your suburb.  Try a few options until you are happy that the results you’re seeing are relevant to you and then create your alert.

In our June newsletter we asked agents to register their interest for participating in practical workshops focused on establishing or improving your online presence.  In response to the positive feedback we received, we will be holding our first workshops next month in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.  See below for details.

Participants will need to bring along their own laptop and during the workshop will complete profiles on Realestate.co.nz, LinkedIn and Google.  In addition, we’ll help you set up a blog, Facebook business page or Twitter account – or all three if you want! – and will provide you with practical tips and advice to help you maintain those accounts.

The workshops are three hours long and the cost is $65, providing a cost-effective way to build your online presence.  And if that’s not sweet enough, we’re also offering an early-bird deal – register and pay by Tuesday 23rd August and it will only cost you only $49.  We have limited the workshops to 15 people to make sure that each participant can receive the assistance they need, so get in quick!

PARTICIPATE FOR FREE!

We’re giving one free registration for each of the workshops.  All you have to do to be in the draw is to ‘Like’ our new Agent Pro Facebook page by on Tuesday 23rd August and then comment on the post about the workshops, indicating which of the workshops you would like to attend. Easy!

When was the last time you checked to see what Google had to say about you?  If you haven’t taken the time to set up online profiles, chances are that people searching for you online will have a hard time finding relevant information about you.  If you have already set up profiles in the past, take this opportunity to make sure that your contact details are up to date and all information is still current.  You may have some recent testimonials that you can add, for example.

Creating a number of online profiles gives you some degree of control over what people read about you online.  At the very least, you should have a profile on your company website and on Realestate.co.nz, where you can add a free profile through our Agent Pro site.  From each of your listings on Realestate.co.nz,  there is a link to your profile page and if someone does a search online for your name, your Realestate.co.nz profile will usually be one of the first entries that will be displayed.  Use your profile as an opportunity to showcase your expertise and provide a few testimonials from clients to back it up.  To set up your Realestate.co.nz profile, just download our flyer and follow the steps provided.  If you have any problems, don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0800 732 536 or email us for assistance.

While you have your profile handy, here are two other sites where you should promote yourself too:

LinkedIn – with over 120 million members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network.  You can choose to register and simply complete your profile or you can use the site to network, build your contacts and help grow your business.  This article provides some great tips on getting the most from LinkedIn.

Google Profiles – another opportunity to create a public profile and share relevant information with potential clients.  Google profiles are integrated with most Google services, including Google+ and there are a number of ways you can make your profile easier to find.

If setting up your profiles is something that has been on your to-do list for a while but something you never get around to, consider booking into one of our upcoming workshops.  In addition to helping you set up your profiles, we can help you set up a blog, Twitter account or Facebook business page too.