A recent blogger asked some very interesting questions about Home Guide Magazines, our program for Realtors and our intuitive online websites, tools and resources. We thought this correspondence was so good we should post it here for others to learn more about us! Hope you enjoy! If you have questions please comment here … we’d love to hear from you!
Q: Which magazine features only Cincinnati listings on their website?
A: HomesofGreaterCincinnati.com features only Greater Cincinnati real estate listings on the website and offers homebuyers instant gratification with thousands of real estate listings available instantly and more details and features for each listing than any other website!
Q: If this is the case why do I see listings for Indiana and Kentucky?
A: You don’t! All of the information on HomesofGreaterCincinnati.com is locally focused, because that’s what someone searching for a home in Greater Cincinnati wants! We feature only Greater Cincinnati listings on the HomesofGreaterCincinnati.com website, you do not see listings for Indiana and Kentucky on the website … those areas have their own unique and local websites. Northern Kentucky real estate listings are featured on NKYRE.com and Southeast Indiana real estate listings are featured on SoutheastIndianaRealEstate.com.
Q: If the homesofgreatercincinnati.com webiste is so strong with its 40+ online syndication partners, and now homes.com as one of them- better know as harmon homes, why print a publication?
A: Integrating print + online is essential in today’s market. You mention Homes.com so we’ll use their statistics to make our point here. They state that 85% of all homebuyers START their search online. This means that 85% of people looking for a home to buy will start online (not one specific website … not Homes.com … but “online”). We agree with this statistic but take it a step further in that almost 90% of those who start their search “online” use Google … which is important because that’s where we focus our search engine optimization … and the top search term for the Greater Cincinnati area is “homes of greater Cincinnati” or “homes in greater Cincinnati” which is why we attract more local traffic than our competitors. Homes.com further states that of this 85% who START their search online 86% of them will actually buy a home they find online. We agree with this statistic too. When you do the math, that only equates to 58% of all home buyers (15 % of homebuyers DO NOT start their search online … and only 86% of the other homebuyers who do start their search online will buy a home they found online which translates to only 58% of all homebuyers).
Q: Why not have just an online presence?
A: The better question is, what about the other 42% of homebuyers? Using Homes.com statistics, which we have already stated we are in agreement with, it is obvious that if we want to reach more homebuyers (and we do) then we need to reach them “where they are”! These same statistics indicate that this other 42% continue to rely on print as their primary source for finding a home. We tap into BOTH type of homebuyers because 42% equates to A LOT of homebuyers and our advertisers deserve the best exposure we can offer them.
Q: Do the Cincinnati Realtors have to pay a portion of their rates to distribute books in Indiana and Northern Kentucky? Are the Cincinnati Realtors paying for Kentucky and Indiana pages?
A: Quite the opposite! If you have seen our magazines you know that the quality is exceptional, and far exceeds that of any of our competitors. This type of printing can be very expensive, so how is it that our rates are at an industry low? The answer is simple … shared press time! By sharing the expense of press time the overall cost per page comes down significantly. So everyone shares in the savings! Regarding our printed real estate magazine distribution … internally each “area” has its own budget and the ad revenue from each area is used to cover the expenses for that specific area. This means that each area has to hold its own … and this is working brilliantly! We have a completely innovative business model, there is really no comparison to it anywhere in the nation.
Q: This might sound like a great oppourtunity, but is it a great value or a great deal?
A: Absolutely! If you are a REALTOR you know that people in the Tri-State don’t “confine” themselves to one state … that’s why this area is known as a “Tri-State”. Do some Greater Cincinnati homebuyers come from Southeast Indiana or Northern Kentucky? Yes … and often! Why else would so many Cincinnati REALTORS & Brokers spend so much time and money to be licensed in both or even all three states? It only makes sense to broaden the exposure for our advertisers in print as well. For example, let’s say a homebuyer works in Mason but lives in Northern Kentucky. Economy being what it is he or she wants to move closer to where they work. If they are part of the 58% who will use the internet for their search they have easy access to homes for sale in greater Cincinnati … and will get instant gratification when their search brings them to HomesofGreaterCincinnati.com. But what if they are part of the 42% of homebuyers who DO NOT find their home online? They still want easy access to homes for sale in greater Cincinnati … and we provide that access in our magazines and therefore reach people right where they are.
And we’d like to one more of our own!
Q: What other value-added tools and services are included in the Home Guide Magazines advertising program?
A: LOTS! A REALTOR can advertise a listing for a little as $10/each with exposure both in print and online. That alone is incredible and unheard of in the real estate industry! BUT THERE IS MORE … each $10 listing also has a FREE virtual tour produced with both branded and non-branded links provided to the advertiser for their personal use and a FREE fully branded printable listing flyer. And we are adding features every month! Check back in April to learn about the next spotlight feature that is included FREE … you’ll be amazed!
