Pssst. Want to know how to get a lot of local exposure for your real estate practice without spending a lot of money? In this high-tech age of SEO, meta tags, blogs and email drips, the answer is refreshingly old fashioned: the press release!

I recently wrote a press release for a REALTOR® who specializes in first time home buyers. In addition to being incredibly dedicated and willing to teach first timers everything they need to know, he has set up a registry to which wedding guests may contribute to the couple’s home buying fund. In the press release, I spelled out his business practices, wrote about the registry, threw in some testimonials and, voilà! A local newspaper picked up the story and did an interview. Result: three new clients and nearly $15,000 in commissions!

Now, not every press release is going to bring those kinds of results—some of them may not even make it into print. However, your financial investment is relatively minor, and the payoff can be, at the very least, some additional publicity for your business.

I suggest that you hire a professional writer who understands journalistic style to write your release. In general, the press release should be about 500 words and should start out with something interesting or unique to your business. Do you have a special “irresistible offer”? Spell it out. Did you have a career unrelated to real estate before you became an agent? Write about how and why you made the transition. Is there an interesting neighborhood connection? Play it up.

Before you hire a writer, draw up an outline for the release that covers all the points you want to include. Make sure to include any dates of future events, phone numbers, emails, web sites or anything else that will help potential readers and/or editors contact you.

When the release is complete, send it to every publication (via fax, if available) that’s distributed in the neighborhoods you serve. That includes major newspapers (send it to the real estate or business editors), local “throwaways,” community or city magazines and neighborhood web sites. Some publications may publish it as written; others may call you for additional information and write their own stories. Don’t hesitate to revise the release periodically, adding new information, and then send it out to the same contacts.

Don’t be discouraged if there’s no response. Space allocations in publications change from one issue to the next. Be persistent–one day, you may see your name in print!

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