starting up a real estate classifieds site

7 replies
im having some trouble getting a site off the ground. it is a canadian real estate classifieds website.

see im a web developer and designer and im really finding it difficult to get real estate agents and companies to post ads on the site. i know a big problem is that right now the site is empty, but im worried about posting fake ads on it as it will jeopardize the integrity of the site.

ive sent an email blast to around 600 real estate agents in canada whose email addresses i scraped off of yellow pages. it did bring the site some traffic but none of them signed up or posted an ad.

any tips you can give me would be great. if theres any real estate moguls here that are interested in helping me or even jumping on board with this site please PM me.
#classifieds #estate #real #site #starting
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Clay
    Originally Posted by gauvion View Post

    im having some trouble getting a site off the ground. it is a canadian real estate classifieds website.

    see im a web developer and designer and im really finding it difficult to get real estate agents and companies to post ads on the site. i know a big problem is that right now the site is empty, but im worried about posting fake ads on it as it will jeopardize the integrity of the site.

    ive sent an email blast to around 600 real estate agents in canada whose email addresses i scraped off of yellow pages. it did bring the site some traffic but none of them signed up or posted an ad.

    any tips you can give me would be great. if theres any real estate moguls here that are interested in helping me or even jumping on board with this site please PM me.
    What does your classifieds ad website have to offer that Craigslist and Backpage doesn't already offer?
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  • Profile picture of the author asepkomara
    Is posting ads to your site free?
    How about the search engine traffics?
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    • Profile picture of the author Art Peterson
      Have you tired offering to list the house on your site for free?

      Create a mock ad for you site.

      Direct your emails to a video of you going over what is offered and going over the specifics of your mock ad.

      Then explain to them just like you did here how business is slow and you want to make the best Canadian real estate site. Tell them the cost of a classified and how they are getting a great deal right now, but if they dont act now they will miss out.

      once you have a well built out site then charge accordingly.

      hope this helps

      Art

      Art
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      • Profile picture of the author Sillysoft
        Maybe look at some real estate api's out there for some filler to begin with.
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  • Profile picture of the author gauvion
    thanks everyone! yes posting ads is free.

    the real estate api = GENIUS IDEA that didnt even cross my mind.

    i also love the video idea, and youtube traffic always helps
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  • Profile picture of the author Gengis
    Maybe you can set up a lunch somewhere for all the local realtors and your site would obviously be a big topic on why they are there and you can give a small talk..

    Make coupons to give out to the local realtors, for example "when you post 10 properties in 1 month you get 50% off "pick a particular restaurant people like in the area" "

    Now what you do is go to that restaurant and pitch the idea to them and believe me that most will do it and if not mov on to another restaurant.

    Just a couple ideas off the top of my head. Be creative buddy, and never under any circumstances give up!

    Gengis
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  • Profile picture of the author elvisjay
    I'm a real estate broker that gets offers like this all of the time.

    What are you offering to agents besides more work? We do have syndication services that take our listings and blast them out to all the major real estate portals...zillow, realtor.com, yahoo real estate, google real estate, etc.

    Agents that are producing hold their time as extremely valuable so any offer that is going to take more of it is generally just noise.

    Right now, my biggest need is to get all of the ad posting, social media, SEO, off of my plate just so I can do what makes me the most money which is writing contracts.
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