You may be the expert when it comes to your personal rental property portfolio, but that does not mean that you need to personally micromanage every aspect of the marketing campaign to fill those rentals. While many DIY landlords automatically discount the idea of using virtual assistants (VA) to help them with any aspect of their business, in reality a VA can be highly affordable and free up valuable time that you can then use to grow your business. Here are three ways you might use a VA in your rental property business:
1 | Offline Marketing
VAs can create and/or distribute flyers describing your properties and services via mail or email to local businesses, schools, and churches. Consider offering a referral bonus or a charitable contribution to the agency or an agency of the organization’s choice if they post your flyer or promote it. A VA can help manage this process and keep track of referrals as they come in. VAs are also ideal managers for newspaper ads, should you choose to run a “classic” classified promotion for a property that you believe might be attractive to an older demographic. According to the PEW Research Center, the majority of people who read traditional newspapers are over the age of 55. They will likely appreciate a live response from a real person when they call in about the property as well, and a VA can help you with this.
2 | Craigslist and Other Websites
Craigslist is still a go-to tool for many renters. Since Craigslist campaigns require regular postings with dynamic images, VAs are an ideal resource for managing this type of campaign because they can personally upload the ads on a regular basis and respond to inquiries. You may wish to leverage your Craigslist campaign on other sites as well, such as Postlets, Zillow, Hotpads, Trulia, Rent.com, and Pad Mapper.
3 | Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Groundwork
You probably knew that your website benefits from good SEO, but did you realize that your social media presence will also dramatically improve with a little SEO maintenance and measurement? VAs are the ideal people to implement the details of plans that measure the results of social media campaigns and test how changing variables within a campaign affects results. This will not only improve the responses to your social media ads, but help establish you as an expert in the local rental market as well. Especially if you’re just getting started in real estate investment and have a small portfolio of single-family homes, now is the time to establish yourself as a local authority on rentals in your neighborhoods.
Linda Liberatore is a member of more than seven REIAs in the Chicago area, president of the Lake County Property Investors Association, and shares her knowledge about effective, profitable property management at local and national REIA events as well as on podcasts and in print nationally. She will be presenting “How to Save 7 hours and $1,000 Each Month While Growing Your Real Estate Wealth and Rental Portfolio” at Think Realty’s National Conference and Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 14, 2017, and contributing to Think Realty’s newsletter with valuable information leading up to that event. Click HERE to reserve your spot now.
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