As a real estate agent in Alabama, you may ask yourself “How much should I spend on marketing this property?” and “How much should I spend marketing myself as an industry expert?” The answer isn’t necessarily one-size-fits-all and can depend on the results you wish to accomplish. 

As your partner in the Alabama real estate industry, our Title Company in Huntsville offers services to help you and your customers to the closing table. Check out our tips for marketing yourself as an agent. 

How Much Should A Real Estate Agent Spend On Marketing

Before we dive into expenses and budgets, let’s discuss some of the mediums available to real estate agents. You could choose all or just a few options to develop a successful marketing strategy.

Print Marketing

If farming is a part of your real estate strategy to gain new business, printing postcards or a mailer is a cost-effective way to get into the mailboxes in neighborhoods or ZIP codes you’d like to gain listings in. You can create easy designs for free on sites like Canva.

You can take advantage of newspapers, community newsletters, and local magazines to advertise yourself and your listings. A few things to keep in mind are the publishing deadlines. Listings may sell before the piece goes to print or go through price changes. Advertisements can also be very expensive, and sizes may vary depending on the publication. 

Online Marketing 

Facebook and Instagram ads are a cost-effective way to increase new business or advertise your current listing. With lead-generating ads, you can have potential new clients’ names and phone numbers come directly to your inbox. You can get extremely hyper-local with your advertisements, set a specific budget, and set exact dates. Advertising an open house or a new listing in local community groups is a great way to spread the word throughout the neighborhood. 

Google Adwords campaigns are a great tool because they are targeting people with search intent to buy or sell now. You can create campaigns to target people searching “houses for sale in Birmingham”, for example. You will be paying per click, so you want to ensure you have enough budget to really capture good, quality leads and rank above the competition. 

Creating a Real Estate Marketing Budget

Now that we’ve taken a glimpse at some of the marketing options available let’s look at how to create a strong budget to drive maximum leads. 

Option 1: 10% of Last Year’s Gross Commission 

A popular option across several industries is to look at the previous year’s commission and budget 10% of that towards marketing. So if you made $60,000 last year, you’d want to set aside $6,000 for this year’s marketing. This is recommended for veteran Realtors and agents. 

Option 2: Percentage of Last Month’s Commission

If you’re a newer agent, you may not have last year’s numbers to work off of. So you might want to look at the previous month and set aside 10% for marketing. This method allows more control over your budget and will enable you to change budgets and tactics month-to-month. So, for example, if you made $4,000 in commission last month, you’d want to set aside $400. 

Option 3: Flat Fee Each Month

There may be several reasons you wouldn’t necessarily want to use previous month’s or year’s figures to craft a marketing budget. For that reason, you may want to choose to spend a set amount each month. Maybe you have succeeded with Facebook ads and want to go all-in for three months. The most important thing to remember is to stick to that budget. Keep an eye on reporting, so you know how much you are paying. 

Boundary: Your Real Estate Closing Partner

Once you’ve marketed yourself as an industry pro, you’ll be looking for someone to handle all aspects of your closing, and that’s where Boundary Title comes in. It’s our goal to deliver professionalism and expertise with every transaction. Our dedicated team is here to answer all your questions throughout the closing process. Contact us today to order a title, schedule a closing or ask us a question! 

This material is provided as a courtesy and for educational purposes only.  Please consult your title professional for specific information regarding your situation.