Jeremy Schneider's talk on Marketing Apartments on the Internet given at the 2010 Conference on Affordable Housing

1. Marketing on the Internet Jeremy Schneider Founder, RentLinx Lead Developer, MSHDA’s MichiganHousingLocator.com Michigan Conference on Affordable Housing April 28, 2010

2. Why Market? Sales Funnel/Pipeline Starts with a lead: Marketing/Advertising Phone calls, emails, walk-ins Onsite Tour Sales/Qualifying Application Qualify $$ Signed Lease!

3. What’s a lead worth? Who cares if you miss a few? They’ll find me! Example: 100 unit building, 95% occupancy Average rent $800 10% lead to lease conversion ratio Marketing generates 20 leads/month 2 new leases signed/month $1600 new rent / 20 leads = $80/lead!

4. * Brought to you by MSHDA www.MichiganHousingLocator.com Free to list! Free to search! Affordable and Accessible housing options 24x7 Access, Unlimited updates Easy to use Part of the RentLinx network FREE!

5. MHL Success (Through April 2010) Went live December, 2006 3.5 Million Property Views in last 12 months! 72,000+ leads in last 12 months! 27,600+ properties representing 348,000+ Michigan rental housing units listed – and more are added every day All of these numbers increased 20%-50%over 1 year ago! EXLCUSIVE

6. Radio ads in 6 markets EXLCUSIVE

7. Michigan Housing Locator New in ‘10!

12. Change search radius

14. TIP EXLCUSIVE Add photos! Take photos on sunny days!* More photos = More traffic! *Statistics as tracked by RentLinx on the RentLinx network of sites

15. Where Would You Rather Live?

17. Labels by MSHDA

18. Photo Gallery

19. Print Brochure

20. Mark as favorite

22. The Long Tail – Search Keywords EXLCUSIVE *RentLinx.com keyword stats from Google Analytics

23. What are renters searching for? “Top” Keywords #1. “ann arbor apartments” #2. “kalamazoo apartments” #3. “east lansing apartments” Some other “down the list” searches #941. “houses for rent in manistee michigan” #3,139. “senior subsidized living in garden city michigan” #13,052. “all bills paid apartments flint, mi” #22,361. “for rent gas light district of grand rapids, mi” #35,477. “show me all the apartments by the #3 bus route” EXLCUSIVE *RentLinx.com keyword stats from Google Analytics

24. Do longer descriptions help? 0: Blank! 1-200: One or two sentences 201-500: One long paragraph 501-1000: Two long paragraphs 1000+: Getting kind of wordy! EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

26. Map

28. MHL: Satellite View Taking credit for Google’s hard work.

29. TIP List the rent or rent range! Renters prefer to see places they know they can afford instead of calling to be disappointed If your rent is based on income, use the description to describe general qualifications Provide a link to your income qualifications

30. MHLSchool Districts

33. TIP Upload your attachments in PDF format Everyone can view on any type of computer Will always be viewed and printed as you expect “But Jeremy,” you may be asking yourself, “don’t you need expensive software to create PDF documents?” No! Visit www.primopdf.com for a free converter! OR: Send your documents as an attachment to pdf@koolwire.com. It’s like magic! Any file that you can print, you can convert to PDF

34. MHLRent Reasonableness/ Comparables Report! NEW FOR ‘10

35. MHLRent Reasonableness/ Comparables Report!View similar units sorted by similarity. Choose 3 units of your choice! NEW FOR ‘10

36. MHLRent Reasonableness/ Comparables Report!Generate and customize a report to print or download! NEW FOR ‘10

37. But wait, there’s more! Many More!

40. Receiving The Leads Most leads come in via phone or e-mail Make sure they enter your sales funnel, not spill over! Signed Lease!

41. When Are Renters E-Mailing? EXLCUSIVE

42. When Are Renters E-Mailing? EXLCUSIVE

43. When Are Renters Looking? Moral. Only 40.9% of MHL web leads came in during 9-5, M-F business hours Many renters may not bother calling after hours Make sure your e-mail works! Reply (preferably call) as promptly as possible!

44. Phone Call Study! Phone call tracking implemented in Sept. ‘09 RentLinx Plus! Properties track their phone leads via special toll free numbers Michigan calls by the numbers: 7,000+: Calls tracked and recorded 600+: Distinct properties receiving calls 150+: Distinct management companies EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

45. When Are Renters Calling? EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

48. 62% of renters hung up when answered by machine

49. *55% of renters who hung up never called back or e-mailedEXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

50. Does Answering Help? EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

52. High traffic in Detroit and Ann Arbor

54. Necessary to repost often

57. Nigeria is a hotbed of fraudulent activity

59. Social Media Includes: Blogs, micro-blogging, social networking, event coordinating, etc. Not a silver bullet Great way to stay top of mind, increase referrals

60. Invite residents to events Tag residents in photos* Residents can “become a fan” Status updates: “Free cookies in the office!” Follow the site rules, or risk alienating users Example: facebook

62. Residents get reminders about events

63. Your name will appear when browsing photos

65. Market Your Website! Signs Business Cards E-mail Signatures Brochures Print and Internet Ads Voicemail Links from Partner websites! * Add a link to your RentLinx listing!

66. Your Listings on Your Site! Your Website! Visit www.rentlinx.com and click on “WebLinx” for more details

67. RentLinx . Track and record your phone leads Advertise on additional pay-to-list sites Generate custom average rent reports Free to upgrade, pay only $10/lead Plus! lead MHL Leads always 100% free Set your own monthly budget No contracts no commitments

69. Customize to match your chosen area based on specific location, zip code, city or county.

70. Included free when any property is upgraded to Plus!EXLCUSIVENEW FOR ‘10

71. Why Market? Sales Funnel/Pipeline Phone calls, emails, walk-ins Onsite Tour Application Qualify $$ Signed Lease!

72. Why Market? Sales Funnel/Pipeline Attachments Links Answer phone facebook Up-to-date Good Description Your site RentLinx Plus! MHL craigslist Prompt reply Photos twitter RentLinx network Phone calls, emails, walk-ins Onsite Tour Application Qualify $$ Lots of Signed Leases!!!

73. Why not market on the Internet? Survey responses to “Don’t advertise online? Why?” Lack of Budget - 25% Confusion. Don’t know how or where to begin - 20% The internet is not relevant to our business - 18% Lack of time or personnel to do it - 15% Have all the business we need - 12% Skeptical that it is effective - 10% No more excuses!  *ClickZ.com and Opus Research Study, 2007

74. Questions?