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It seems that many Realtors® are at this place regarding their web marketing: "Will you get off my back already? I went and bought a template web site and I got myself e-mail, too. So now I’m competitive. I can tell sellers that I’ve got everything any other online agent has and that’s all I need to convince the seller that I’m web-savvy! I’m done!"

If that’s you, you’re not done; you’re just misinformed. You’ve become a victim of "the easy way out." And here’s why:  You thought that all you had to do was shell out a few hundred dollars and suddenly you’d be riding the technology wave that everyone was saying you had to be on. You thought that your template-based web site—because you were told it contained all the "right stuff" for consumers—was the answer. Or perhaps you bought that template site because you got an incredibly good deal.

Note: A "template" web site is one that includes the same basic design and content from agent to agent with typically only the photo, bio info and several other items changing.

I bet the firm that sold you the site told you it would make you competitive with all the other Realtors. Well, they were right. Now you look just like all the other Realtors on the web. Sadly, mere parity was what you likely had even before you purchased a web site. Bottom line? You’re still at the line of scrimmage.

Oh yes, you can say that your template site brings you an inquiry once in a while and maybe one might lead to a sale over a year or so. But a stand-alone, original web site that looks like no other will do worlds better inquiry-wise. Know too, that template sites become far less effective as more agents put up ones that look almost exactly like yours.

Consumers who have visited several of these template sites soon tend to ignore all of them, including yours. They think they already visited it. Thus, what did you gain? The answer? Virtually nothing.

Sadly, at a time when you were still pretty ignorant about the web, the template site sales rep may have forgotten to stress that your site exists in a competitive war zone and has to scream "Look at me! I’m unique! I’ve got the right stuff you need to buy or sell a home. I’m what you sought!" Gee, too bad he forgot, huh?

Well, enough crying over spilled milk. Your template site was a first step in your web experience. You’re smarter now. What can you do next?

Go take a web marketing course from Barbara Cox, Ph.D., at the Orange County Association of Realtors office so that you know what you’re doing on the web and don’t make more costly mistakes. Then, during 1999, adopt a new attitude—not merely "tokenism"—about your web marketing.

If your web page or site looks like that of many other agents in your marketing region, make it look radically different or get rid of it. Budget some serious funds this year for web marketing, including from $2,000 to $3,000 for a custom web site that looks different from other ones. That’s still cheap—the average corporate web page costs about $24,000 today, but you don’t need the very best designers—at least not for several years. But you do need to look different from the very peers with whom you wage marketing warfare every day.

See, your site is more important than you may think it is. How important? Well, to any visiting consumer on the web it IS you. So do you want that consumer to view you as just like all the other Realtors sporting those same nifty, inexpensive, all-inclusive template sites with all their pretty frames and buttons? Or do you want to stand proud on the web as an uncommon choice? A choice that is obviously not "me-too?" A Realtor who makes things happen? A leader? An innovator?

The web is always changing. And so should your web site. It should evolve. You cannot just let it sit there like maybe you thought you could. It needs your attention. Even to the point of perversely MAKING yourself change its look and wording on a regular basis as market conditions change. Say, every few months. Otherwise, you’ll bore your repeat visitors. Unfortunately, changing a template site is harder due to its rigid formatting. Although most Genstar Media sites can be significantly altered, if—and only if—the agent takes the time to learn how, and then does it.

There are no free lunches on the web. Or in the marketing positioning of yourself. If your realty office gets offered a "deal" if only its Realtors will all choose from the same handful of template-looking sites, refuse. You’re wasting your money compared to a custom site. Unless you’re happy being like everyone else on the web. If so, template sites are just right for you.

http://realtimes.com/rtnews/rtapages/19980924_techsuccess.htm