Reality Check for Lazy Realtors — Market and Advertise or Watch Your Business Die

Stop Dreaming, Start Promoting — Your Real Estate Success Isn’t Going to Market Itself

Listen up, you delusional real estate %$#^. You think you can sit on your as$ and wait for clients to magically appear? Wake the fu*k up. This isn’t a fairy tale. It’s a cutthroat business, and if you’re not out there shoving your face in front of potential clients, you might as well pack up your sad little desk and go home.

I have written about this before, but I continue to hear realtors ask why they should buy advertising or do marketing, and I just want to scream at them.

Real Estate Marketing isn’t some optional extra. It’s the goddamn lifeblood of your business. You want listings? You want sales? Then you better start treating marketing and advertising like it’s oxygen, because without it, your real estate career is going to suffocate faster than you can say “foreclosure.”

Do you have any idea how many other realtors there are in your city alone? A lot!

Let me break it down for the more stubborn of you out there. The point of marketing and advertising in real estate is to get your name out there, to make sure every Tom, Dick, and Harry knows who you are when they’re thinking about buying or selling property. It’s about screaming your brand from the rooftops until people can’t ignore you anymore.

You think Barbara in XYZ County made millions on referrals alone? Bullshit. She busted her ass building that network, and you can bet your last commission check she was marketing herself every step of the way. Stop making excuses and start making noise. And besides, YOU’RE NOT BARBRA. You can’t do what she did, it’s not in your DNA. She’s got charisma, you don’t have that kind of personality.

Now, let’s talk cold, hard cash. How much should you be spending on marketing? Industry standard says 10% of your gross commission income. But let me tell you something — if you’re not seeing results, pump that number up. Some top performers are dropping 20%, 30%, even 50% of their income back into marketing. Why? Because it fu*king works. You don’t have to commit 30%, 40% or 50% for life, but maybe to launch things off the ground.

Take Ryan Serhant, for example. This guy didn’t become a real estate mogul by sitting pretty. He leveraged every social media platform, created his own YouTube show, and even wrote books. He aligned his actions with his goals and marketed himself relentlessly. The result? A multi-million dollar empire.

Or look at Tom Ferry. This guy built an entire real estate coaching business on the back of aggressive marketing. He’s constantly putting out content, hosting events, and making sure every realtor knows his name. That’s the level of commitment you need to succeed in this game.

Here’s a wake-up call for you lazy so n so’s. Take this self-assessment:

How many hours per week do you spend on marketing?
What percentage of your income are you reinvesting in advertising?
How many different marketing channels are you using?
Can you even name your target demographic without hesitating?
When was the last time you updated your marketing strategy?
How much content to you produce weekly or monthly?

If you couldn’t answer these questions confidently, you’re already losing. Time to step up your game.

Want some actionable tips? Here’s some tips for those of you who seem to be allergic to marketing and advertising…and to success.

Get your ass on social media. Post every day. Show properties, share market insights, give a behind-the-scenes look at your business.
Start a blog or YouTube channel. Become the go-to source for real estate info in your area.
Invest in paid ads. Facebook, Google, Instagram — wherever your target audience is hanging out.
Network like your business life depends on it. Because guess what? It does. Join local business groups, attend community events, sponsor a Little League team. Attend and speak at city council meetings.
Create a killer email marketing campaign. Nurture those leads, provide value, and stay top-of-mind.
Develop a unique brand. Stand out from the sea of boring suits and cheesy smiles. Be memorable, be bold.

Here’s a real-life story for you skeptics. Sarah, a realtor in a saturated market, was struggling to get listings. She decided to go all-in on video marketing, creating weekly market update videos and virtual property tours. She spent 30% of her income on promoting these videos. Within six months, her listings tripled. Why? Because she aligned her actions with her goals and wasn’t afraid to invest in herself.

Alright, let’s talk about Richard Branson, the master of outrageous marketing stunts. It’s not real estate, but it’s marketing and this guy knows how to make noise, and he’s not afraid to piss people off to get attention. Here’s a real-life story that’ll make you rethink your wimpy “For Sale” signs:

Back in 1994, Branson decided to take on Coca-Cola with his own Virgin Cola brand. But he knew he couldn’t just quietly slip onto store shelves and hope for the best. No, this madman needed to make a splash that would send ripples through the entire beverage industry.

So what did he do? He rolled into Times Square, New York City — the advertising capital of the world — in a fucking tank. That’s right, a goddamn military vehicle in the middle of Manhattan. But he didn’t stop there. Oh no, that would’ve been too subtle for Branson.

He proceeded to aim the tank at a massive wall of Coca-Cola cans. And then, with the whole world watching, he crushed those cans under the tank’s treads. It was a declaration of war against the biggest name in soft drinks, and Branson made sure everyone knew it.

The stunt was outrageous, it was ballsy, and it got people talking. News outlets couldn’t ignore it. Social media wasn’t around yet, but if it had been, this would’ve broken the internet.

Did Virgin Cola ultimately succeed? No, it didn’t. His soda didn’t taste good. But that’s not the point. The point is that Branson understood something that too many of you real estate chumps don’t: Sometimes, you need to do something crazy to get noticed. Or at the very least, advertise and do some marketing.

Now, I’m not saying you should go crush your competitors’ yard signs with a bulldozer (though that would be pretty damn entertaining). But the lesson here is clear: If you want to stand out in a crowded market, you need to be bold. You need to take risks. You need to do something that makes people stop and say, “Who the hell is this realtor, and why are they different?”

So ask yourself: What’s your equivalent of driving a tank through Times Square? What can you do that’s so audacious, so unexpected, that people can’t help but pay attention? Figure that out, and you’ll be well on your way to dominating your local real estate market.

Remember, in this business, being ignored is a death sentence. So take a page from Branson’s book and make some noise. Your bank account will thank you.

Now, let’s talk SEO, because if you’re not optimizing your online presence, you might as well be invisible. Use those keywords like they’re going out of style. “Real Estate Services” should be plastered all over your website. “Realtor” and “Real Estate” need to be in your meta descriptions, your headers, your content. Sprinkle “marketing,” “advertising,” and “promotions” throughout your blog posts. Make sure “business promotion,” “action taking,” “goal-setting” and “marketing” are part of your vocabulary.

Remember, in the world of real estate, to the bold goes the glory. Or better yet, to the advertising realtor goes all the listings. So stop whining, stop making excuses, and start marketing like your career depends on it. Because guess what? It fucking does.

Listen up, you marketing-challenged realtors. If all this sounds overwhelming, it’s because it is. Marketing isn’t for the faint of heart or the thin of wallet. But here’s the deal: either you step up and do it yourself, or you call in the pros.

That’s where I come in. Stop wasting time and money on half-assed efforts or 20-year-old girls who watched a YouTube video and now call themselves marketers or copywriters. They’re not.

Fork over the cash and let someone who knows what they’re doing handle your marketing. Your business is on life support, and I’m the defibrillator. So swallow your pride, open your checkbook, and give me a call. Because the only thing worse than paying for good marketing is watching your real estate career flatline from neglect, contact CrossCopywriting.com/contact.

And for the love of all that’s holy, sign up for my Real Estate Marketing Newsletter, it’s FREE and gives advice and tips about marketing, you know, to make you more money. Sign up HERE.