Real Estate Web Design and Marketing Blog

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As many of you may know. Outlook 2007 shows email stationery much different than in ealier versions. This is because with 2007, Outlook uses Word to render emails. While this does make it easier to format day to day emails, it can be cause Email Stationery to not display properly.

Another “feature” with Outlook 2007 is that you can no longer simply add Email Stationery by “browsing” for your stationery file. With 2007 you must first save the file to a specific folder and then select the stationery. It’s obvious that Microsoft is trying to phase out Email Stationery because with each new release of Outlook, it’s more difficult to incorporate Email Stationery.

It’s Still Possible.

Here are the paths for saving the stationery…

Stationery (.htm)

Windows Vista
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery

Windows XP or Windows Server 2003
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery

Note that you may  have to “show hidden files and folders” in order to access the paths listed above. To do this, follow these directions…

To display hidden folders, do the following:

* Windows Vista
1. In Windows, click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

If you are using Control Panel Classic View, double-click Folder Options, and then continue with step 4.
3. Click Folder Options.
4. On the View tab, under Advanced settings, under Files and Folders, under Hidden files and folders, select Show hidden files and folders.

* Microsoft Windows XP
1. Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Folder Options.
3. Click the View tab, and then click the Show hidden files and folders option.

Now that you can access to the folder, simply drag and drop your HTML email stationery file into the folder.

Now open outlook 2007 and select Tools - Options.
Select the “Mail Format” tab and click the “Stationery and Font…” button

Ensure that the Personal Stationery Tab is selected and click the “Theme…” button

You will now see a list of available themes listed in the left hand side. Select your Email Stationery from the list (it will be listed as the file name).

While they don’t make it easy, it’s still possible. But this leads me to wonder. Is Email Stationery dead?

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Helping Dakno Real Estate Clients Stay Ahead of Your Competitors

To help you stay one step ahead of your competition, it’s important your Dakno real estate website provide your site visitors more information-rich resources and advanced neighborhood and condo property tools. In fact, today’s web-savvy real estate consumer expects more from their online experience.

Delivering More Value to Your Real Estate Site Visitors

With more consumers “hard-wired” to hit the web to fact-find and search for homes, it is critical you provide your site visitors more value so you are truly seen as the ultimate real estate resource in your area. Based on your feedback and our innovative thinking, Dakno is excited to announce numerous new features and enhancements for your Dakno website and Agent Backdoor site editor. Below is a complete list for your review.

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At some point during your blogging adventure you may have a “hit the wall” moment when you stop blogging because:

• You get totally overwhelmed with your business – remember, you’re an agent first and a blogger second. It happens – just don’t beat yourself up about it. Get back in the blogging saddle when the time is right and try to be consistent.
• You have difficulty with writers block – “What do I post on next???”
• You experience blogger burn-out. Burn-out usually occurs when you experience exhaustion and fail to remember that blogging is a marathon and not a 100 yard dash. I always say slow and steady wins the day!
• You lose sight of the value of blogging and simply give up

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It seems a day doesn’t go by that a real estate agent doesn’t ask me, “does target marketing really work“? Then they follow that question with a statement of fear by saying, how can I succeed unless my website targets, first-time buyers, luxury buyers, condo buyers, relo buyers, lakefront property buyers and the list goes on and on! My first reply is “absolutely“, target marketing most definitely works! Then I say, don’t let your fear prevent you from experiencing success. The smart ones then say “if target marketing works - prove it“. I love it when they challenge me with questions and comments like that.

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How about sports movies? One of my personal favorites among many is “Field of Dreams.” The cast is most impressive. Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, even Amy Madigan does a stellar job playing Ray Kinsella’s wife - Annie. Now that is a show stopping cast for sure!

Are You Hearing Voices?

Ray Kinsella did! Out of the Iowa corn field came this famous quote - “Build it and he will come!” - he being Shoeless Joe Jackson played by Liotta. Joining Jackson from the corn fields would be a few of the team members of the 1919 Chicago White Sox. Farm owner Ray has such a strong “vision” for the field, he even gets to play catch with a younger version of his dad - John Kinsella, played by Dwier Brown at the end of the movie. Now that scene will grab you for sure!

If You Build It Will They Come?

Based on one of my all-time favorite sports flicks, I wrote a post on my Crystal Coast Blog called If You build It Will They Come? Take a look>

Helping you build your Field of Dreams website!

Bobby

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I have seen many real estate agents in this scenario. They leave one real estate company and join another firm or start their own company. When this happens, real estate agents go through the typical song and dance. They update marketing materials, Web site information, etc. Even if a real estate agent hits all the highpoints of their Web site (footer information, contact information, etc.) their old information can still permeate throughout the internet long after they are settled into their new surroundings.

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Blogging Boot Camp - Your Incubator for Blogging Ideas

Each week during our Blogging Boot Camp we share creative blogging ideas, discuss how to implement blogging best practices and offer helpful tips to best use the WordPress blog editor with our real estate agent/broker students. The exchange is fun and the ideas that flow out of our time together are always very interesting. During our recent boot camp call (Thursday-week #7), we shared this idea we thought would benefit the “masses”. Just as a helpful reminder, when blogging, think globally but write locally.

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How you ask? Before I answer that question I have to ask you another question. Do you provide links to “great” websites like your local chamber of commerce, your local newspaper website or maybe the area convention and visitors bureau from your website? I know you were thinking those websites offer all kinds of great area facts and information (and they do). And the main reason you provide those links to these sites is because…….? We both know why. Chances are your site fails to provide any solid area information to your site visitors and you want your site visitors to be able to get to know your area. So is it a bad thing to provide your visitors these “community links” to this “valuable area information”? BTW - this is as close to a rant post as you’re going to read from me. Take heart - it’s a mild rant.

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As some of you may know, Real Estate Webmasters is hosting a Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World contest. It’s a contest to see what agent can dominate the search engines for that keyword. I was aware of the contest but hadn’t really been following it that much until about a week ago. I received a Google Alert that said Kevin Tomlinson and Brad Carroll were the greatest real estate agents in the world. What? It turns out that Blogging Queen ARDELL wrote a post on Rain City Guide declaring us as winners (thanks again!) The point of her post was twofold. One - to test to see how fresh content differs in search engine placement from older authority content; and two, to see show that a team approach is the best way to achieve good SEO.

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The ActiveRain Customizer Project has been extremely successful. However, there are a few people who seem to have had a few problems successfully customizing their blog. With this in mind, I have written a quick FAQs post to hopefully clear up some issues. If you are interested in obtaining free technical support, please read through the questions below. It covers common problems and tells you how to obtain free support. If you are interested in Dakno Marketing assisting you with the design or implementation of your custom ActiveRain blog, please contact us. We will offer this service at our standard rate of $75/hour.

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