Top 10 Articles from August

School's back in session--but successful real estate agents never stop learning! Here are the articles that most piqued your peers' interest during the final few weeks of summer:

1. How to Impress on a Listing Presentation - by Shannon O'Brien of Market Leader
You only have one chance to create a good first impression. That chance lasts 100 milliseconds, according to Princeton University researchers. Knowing this, and knowing that homeowners typically only spend one day interviewing listing agents, puts the pressure on to make your listing presentation massively impressive.

2. Creating a Powerful Email Signature - by Katie Ragusa of Tribus
Saving the perfect email signature will limit the amount that you have to spend typing when you bring an email to a close. For your leads and clients, it can make an easy way for them to locate your contact information and website. However, when used incorrectly, an email signature can be quite a disaster.

3. Why Zillow and Trulia Don't Matter Today - by Matthew Ferrara
Today, the game isn't finding buyers but capturing sellers. For lots of reasons – investors, artificially low interest rates, strangling foreclosure laws - the nation is suddenly facing an inventory shortage in housing again.

4. 99 Blog Topic Ideas for Real Estate Agents - by Chad Bhalla of WebsiteBox
Creating good content is hard, and constantly coming up with new topics to write about can become frustrating--especially when writer's block sets in. So when you are feeling frustrated don't bang your head against your desk, check this list of 99 blog ideas for real estate agents.

5. Reasons for Dissatisfaction with Agent - by Steve Pacinelli
Three out of the top five reasons of dissatisfaction with an agent all have to do with communication. Speed of communication, ineffective communication, and method of communication top the charts at one, two, and three, respectively.

6. Vine and Instagram: 5 tips on how to use them to market your real estate listings - by Joel Maas of Delta Media Group
The good news for you is video, in general, and these new marketing mediums, in particular, parlay perfectly to real estate. Emotional connections play a large role in home sales. Six-to-15 seconds provides an adequate amount of emotional bait for a consumer to want to inquire about more information.

7. Promote Growth with Referral Incentives - by Erica Rascon of Point2
Referral incentives are a great way to encourage your existing clients and peers to bring new clients your way. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. It is an inexpensive way to promote your brand and create direct leads without exerting a lot of effort or cash.

8. 5 Business-Building Tips for Buyer's Representatives - by The National Association of REALTORS®
Polishing your buyer-representation skills builds your reputation as a trustworthy, knowledgeable real estate professional who adds value at every stage in the home buying process.

9. Three More Down Payment Assistance Myths Debunked - by Down Payment Resource
Preconceived ideas often keep us from investigating further. In the case of down payment assistance, myths like "it's only for first-time homebuyers" and "it's difficult to qualify" prevent potential buyers from exploring all viable paths to homeownership.

10. Choosing a Lockbox - by Emily Williams
A lockbox can be so much more than a mere security and accessibility tool. It gathers valuable data that can be used to make important strategic decisions about your listings. By doing your research and being selective, you can unlock the possibilities of this new technology.