How To Make Money With Real Estate Online

Hey there Sea Changers and welcome back to my series of posts outlining ways and means to create yourself an online business. Today's topic is one aimed at those who are looking to fund their sea change by delving into their passions and interests as I discuss how to make money with real estate online.

Now as we know, we cannot underestimate the importance and influence that Real estate has worldwide from its effects on financial markets to our every day lives so I thought I should probably see if there is a market for this sort of thing online.

And of course I have found that there just may be an opportunity here – so without further delay and carry on, let's have a look…

What are we selling?

Ok, so before we get started, in most eyes the selling of real estate is the act of buying, listing or selling houses, warehouses, buildings, condominiums, units etc. etc. And of course in most parts of the world, you cannot do this legally unless you are licensed.

Now of course if you are licensed, then absolutely you can (and many do) list and sell properties over the internet. But what if you are not licensed? Well fear not as this is where this post comes in. You see there are so many peripherals around the real estate market that you can absolutely sell lots of items in this area without a license, even if you can't directly sell the house itself – let's have a look.

How do we get started?

I mentioned earlier that this was an area that I think could really be used to build a business around – especially if it is something that is a passion for you. That said, I would hate to convince anybody to start their own online real estate business and have it fall away due to the fact that even though you are passionate about it, there is not an online market for the purchase of gear or equipment in this area.

So to get started, let's see what people are searching for:

What are people looking for?

To start let's just confirm our market numbers:-

1. Number of monthly searches

As we are looking to see if there is an interest in real estate related products and services online, let's start by checking for niche related searches. You will need to find yourself a good keyword tool (I use Jaaxy) and enter in the keywords that best describe your market. In this case, we will start with the basics:

Yep, as I though- over 1.4 million searches per month for real estate. However most of these initial searches are for sales- so if we are looking outside of that a little, let's narrow down our focus here and look at the agents themselves.

Now we can start see some options here, agent courses, there are definitely some ways we could sell them online – and looks to me that people are always looking for agents too. Let's now look at this from a different angle to do with agents…

Numbers are not as big here but with all the variations it does look like you could make a decent online living dealing with the marketing side of real estate too (especially if you are the one creating all of the tools for the agents to use)…

What is our niche?

Ok, now the fun part begins – In the statistics and screen dumps above, we can already see some of the interest in different niches within the online real estate market. These show a definite interest in specific needs so the decision you have now is to determine whether you wish to create your online business covering real estate in general or concentrate on a specialized area or sub niche.

There are a good number of different areas you could explore here – and off the top of my head, some examples include:

• General sales and marketing tools
• Online licensing courses
• Rental referrals
• Building plans
• General house maintenance courses and tutorials
• Sales history reports etc.
• Sales preparation
• Flipping
• Property management software etc.

And that is just a few off the top of my head – all of which can be marketed from the point of view of the writer, or simply as a means of supplying information to those looking to either sell or purchase. To be honest, there is so much that goes on in conjunction with the actual selling of the properties that we really could list options here all day.

From the search numbers above, it does look to me that everything to do with getting ready to buy or sell could be incorporated into the one site however as you start to think about this, the question to ask yourself is whether the content you are covering is too large to cover effectively.

The risk here is that if you start with a niche that is too broad, you may not be able to cover everything to the level required or to become authority on the subject – which you will need to be if you are going to convince people to purchase from you and not their local store. Don't forget, you can always add a new section to your site as you grow as well.

As you work through narrowing your targeted niche, consider the following:

• Are you able to solve a problem – Most people undertake searches on the internet to solve a problem – see next section.
• Is it a subject that you have an interest, or knowledge in– I am guessing that you are in this post as you know about, or have an interest in real estate. If you don't have these, maybe consider another market as to be honest, you might struggle to produce solid content if you don't know much about the process – or worse, fail to see the attraction in it at all. Trust me, people will know immediately if your information is not up to scratch or even worse, can put their chances of a selling their home at risk.

Let's investigate this a little further by discussing the problem solving elements of niche selection.

What problem are we solving?

If this is a niche that you are interested in, you may already know what it is that you are trying to sell. If not, then maybe start to look at it from the perspective of solving problems. This, added to your area of interest is a great way to work out exactly what you think you might like to base your online business upon.

Think about your own search behaviors when you are online – I would hazard a guess that most searches you do are in order to solve a problem. Now think of this in a manner in which someone might have problems within the greater real estate niche such as:

1. You know that you want to buy a house but just don't know what you need to get started.
2. You have a problem and need a solution – I.e. “I want to sell real estate but don't know what license I need”.

Your goal here is to determine just what problem/s you are trying to solve for your readers. This maybe one problem that spans your site or differ for each post that you write. For example, if you have chosen sales preparation processes for your niche, then problems might be:

• Matching products to use– They want to know what marketing tools would be best for owner sale.
• Where to sell– There are a number of sales options out there – but which is best?

In these cases, people would be searching for those topics based on having a problem and needing a solution. Your site would outline and review the best options for them.

Alternatively, if your site is about assisting someone to become a real estate agent then you could look into the following:

• What courses are best for beginners
• What information to they need to know
• What courses are best
• How to get a job once licensed.

Note: You do not need to identify every possible problem that your readers may have straight away. In many cases, the more you write, the more ‘problems’ will present themselves so initially you really just want to make sure that there are some that may need solving as we have found here.

How are you going to convince them to buy?

Now that we know our niche (or are at least working on it) and have an idea of the types of problems that we want to solve, there is one last thing to consider which is the online purchase behavior of your targeted audience.

Your sales/post pitches not only need to match the needs and problems that your site visitors are looking to solve, but also target them specifically as well. Some examples include:

1. Those that are new to the world of real estate will want to know exactly what they are getting into and what they need to do.
2. The hard core real estate investors will want specs and details – they will dissect your reviews with a fine toothed comb.
3. Families might want the same information, but may be also be looking to fit everyone in on a budget.
4. Agents and/or professionals will need assurance that everything they are using is not going to hinder their chances of getting that next sale.

So at the end of the day, even though we do have purchaser behavior on our side, to be successful in selling real estate related products online, consider the following:

• Solve problems without purchase – That's right – write your posts in a way that actually makes it easier for people to do their research and buy elsewhere – by doing this, you are solving problems and helping readers out. If they trust you, they will be more likely to return next time and buy from you then – especially if you follow up with posts on similar or compatible products or accessories that might interest them!
• Provide the intangibles – One major disadvantage when it comes to selling anything online is that we can't really know what the products look and feel like. Your posts will need to cover this information in a manner that puts minds at ease and explains some of the intangibles.
• Know your audience – A big mistake many make here is to target the product and not necessarily the buyer. This is especially important when dealing with real estate. It is very easy for example to get carried away explaining how great a course is all the while forgetting that those taking them will want to sell industrial real estate instead. The same goes for high end options… Expensive doesn't always mean better or able to increase ability. Make sure you do your research on the buying behaviors of those you are targeting before writing your posts.

Tip: Still not sure? Have a look and see what others are doing. It might just help you with some ideas.

How to make money with real estate online

And now we come to probably the most important aspect of this whole online selling caper in that we need to consider how we are going to sell the products that we have decided to promote. Depending on the product, there are a number of methods you can use to do this. Let's explore them below:

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing programs are setup directly by companies or marketplace platforms (Amazon, eBay etc.) that allow you to join and then refer traffic to them via customized affiliate links. In short, this means that you will write about real estate and then refer your readers to a link where they will purchase directly from the vendors. The vendors then pay you a commission for the sale.

Affiliate programs are especially good for those selling many of the real related products we have discussed above such as courses, marketing tools and building plans etc. However there are also opportunities to make referral commissions from online rental management firms and the sale of real estate software as well.

And with affiliate marketing you can promote/review the latest items and then refer your readers to the vendor to manage the sale without you having to hold inventory or organize shipping.

Finding affiliate programs is generally not a difficult task either. To locate them, you would normally just type “real estate affiliate programs” into your preferred search engine:

So, as you can see, there are plenty of options in regards to affiliate programs for real estate related niches. As you search through them all, you can check it all out and find programs that:

• Relate to your niche/problems that you are solving.
• Have quality products – your brand can be severely damaged if you promote poor quality or unsafe products.
• Have solid payment and customer service arrangements.
• Pay decent commissions.
• Have good testimonials covering commission payouts and quality of product.
• Whether they have high ticket items you can promote on the side.

And of course the added beuatry here is that Real Estate can be very expensive with opens the doors for some high ticket real estate affiliate program options as well. In most cases, you will need to apply for the program before you are allowed to promote their products – don’t take this step lightly or you will be rejected. Affiliate programs will generally want to know:

• Your website name.
• Traffic levels.
• Why you want to join – (“so I can make money by selling your for sale signs” is unfortunately not generally a good enough answer).
• How you plan to promote their products.

One thing to be aware of here I guess is to keep in mind the issues we discussed earlier in regards to real estate related products online. You need to make sure that the programs you choose can be trusted and that the consumer is comfortable that they have recourse if something goes wrong.

For this reason you will need to make sure that your chosen programs are going to resonate with your readers and your niche. That said, some marketplace programs such as Amazon and EBay can give you access to these types of products and as they are more trusted, then they maybe worth a look for sure. Some Amazon examples are as below:

Sell your own products

If affiliate marketing or dropshipping are not your game of choice, maybe you could try sourcing and selling your own products. This process is especially popular with those selling smaller marketing type equipment such as:

• Agent Signs
• Agent to Agent Gifts
• Client Gifts
• Closing Headbands
• Decals
• Door Hangers with Business Card
• Key Tags

Here you actually purchase your product from a vendor or wholesaler, add your own label and then on-sell them via your website or platforms such as Amazon etc. This process requires a much higher setup costs as you will need to purchase your products, create and affix your labels and manage orders and shipment.

Some wholesalers/vendors however will affix the labels that you send them and then manage the packaging and shipment for you. This will cost you less to set up but obviously you will make less on the sale once they take their processing fee.

Again, to find out where to acquire your product, do a search for “real estate suppliers”:

Note: These results will usually be based on your geographical location so you may at times need to sort through a few pages.

From here you will need to follow the same processes as with affiliate programs in determining whether they are a good fit for your business plans including:

• Relate to your niche/problems that you are solving.
• Have solid delivery and customer service arrangements.
• Have good testimonials covering service and quality of product.

Alternatively, keep your eye out in your local area for markets or trade shows. These are a great way to find and purchase your products at good prices – you never know, you might even find a solid supplier for future sales as well.

Tip: This method can be very effective in driving online traffic and sales via the implementation of more traditional sales methods such as kiosks and market stalls etc. As people get to know you, they can purchase from you there and then be directed to your website for future sales.

Other methods

If none of the above really gets you excited then maybe it is time to think outside the square a little. Here are some other ideas that I have seen around the traps:

1. Demonstrations on YouTube – become an expert in all things to do with selling or marketing real estate with coaching and lessons, hints, tips and tutorials etc. and link your sales to YouTube advertising etc.
2. Teach/educate people – again – coaching or lessons.
3. Specialize in customizable options – branded marketing items and other gifts etc.

The sky really is the limit – think about how you might be able to corner a much-needed niche in the real estate arena and you could definitely set up a great business.

What do we need to do?

Once we have all of the above sorted, or at the very least a plan in place, we need to choose and setup the media that we intend to use to sell our product. This can include:

Build a Website

If you are looking to build your online business as an affiliate marketer, drop shipper or supplier, then chances are you will most probably need a website. Websites allow you to solve problems via blog posts and videos that people can view in order to identify the solutions that they need.

Usually, this process is fairly straight forward in that you build your website, write posts (on the differences between certain real estate agent courses for example), then provide links so that your readers can view/purchase the relevant materials from your links.

Promote on Social Media

When it comes to real estate, Social Media has the power to reach thousands and allows you to target specific segments if you choose the correct platform.

In terms of real estate related products online, a good platform to start with is FaceBook where you can discuss everything to do the current market with your audience, display items in use and show videos. However, if you are looking to set yourself up as an expert within the niche, then YouTube will be your absolute best friend – some even use these platforms without a website.

And, if you are able to build a following you may even get noticed and be paid gazillions to use or review sales techniques etc. within your videos – this takes time, but it does happen…

Join like-minded groups

Anther great tool when it comes to selling products online are social groups. By getting involved with these groups you can really get a great understanding as to what its members are struggling with, what information they seek and what products they are looking to buy. Below is an example of real estate related FaceBook groups:

Note: Many of these groups will not allow you to spruike or promote your sites directly, however if you can interact and demonstrate your knowledge then people will ask you directly for the information. At the very least, as above, it is a great way to get ideas and insight into what people in this area really want to know about and what they are buying online.

Conclusion

And there it is – How to make money in real estate online. I hope it has been helpful and as usual, please do not hesitate to comment below if you have any questions, need some advice or have any experiences to share.

Do you want further assistance with any of the above or need help to build your own real estate related website?

Are you looking for a comprehensive training platform that can give you step by step training, 24/7 support, tools to develop and host your very own website, ongoing assistance with SEO and social media and access to some of the best affiliate marketing minds on the planet, then click on the following link to read more about Wealthy Affiliate.

Until next time

Have fun

Paul

Note: If you make a purchase from this page, there is a very good chance that I make a commission from it – these commissions do not increase your sale price. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.