A:  If you are a member of Texas Real Estate Online you have already made the first important step toward marketing your properties by creating what the public is looking for in real estate on the Internet. "A centralized market place" for Texas real estate. We service thousands of agents and hundreds of brokerages from cities and towns across Texas. The one thing they all have in common is that they all wish to use the Internet media to advertise for sellers and prospect for buyers. The one most asked questions for us this past two years of development has been how will the public find us. We have heard you say that search engines have to much information and a lot of it is inferior and frustrating to the public. Here is what we did about it. First we created the centralized location for Texas real estate professionals to house their listings in a real time database that you maintain. Then we added television, and conventional advertising to promote the location. We are growing success with one brokerage at a time. We are doing our part to make Texas Real Estate Online the best thing in Texas real estate. There are a few things that you can to to help promote both your services and ours. Encourage your broker friends to join us online.
Over this past two years we have  received a variety of feedback regarding our level of service and the success and activity from websites we host.  We have compiled a list DO'S and DON"T that might be helpful in getting the most from your presence on the World Wide Web.

•  The single most effective way to get the best results from a tool is to use it!   Advertise and they will come! Let everybody know where to find your inventory.
•  Submit your URL (web address) to a variety of search engines periodically. Trade links with your vendors. The more places you appear the more traffic you are likely to receive.
•  Make sure your web address is on all your conventional advertisements, not just the address, but a description of what is found there. (Example: see all our inventory 24 hours a day 365 days a year at our web site) Be creative…
• Place border ads in local newspapers advertising your web site as the main attraction featuring your entire inventory, full color property tours, online financing etc.
•  Be sure all business cards, brochures and stationary include your address and maybe a slogan.
•  Riders with your web address should be on all your signage.
•  Put your web address on your office sign (this will bring business to you, not send away) people want to deal with companies that are progressive and on the cutting edge.
•  Put the address of the property in the database. Some companies do not because they are afraid of losing buyer calls. If you choose not to put the address, at least put the subdivision so the customer will know where the property is. Remember, we are no longer information brokers, we are a service industry.
•  Invest in your web site, don’t be afraid to pay for quality, you will never be sorry you did, but you might be sorry you didn't. We are spending thousands of dollars on ineffective advertising every month in local newspapers and magazines. Invest in a growing media not a shrinking one.
•  Be sure to include a color-listing page from your web site in your listing presentation. Remember that the Net is a powerful listing tool. (Sell the Seller) on the benefits of 24 hour a day advertising.
• Consider a web-promotion company, direct mailers, press releases
•  Remember in 3-6 years the Internet will play seamlessly into our Televisions, digital and cable speeds will allow full virtual tours and a computer will cost less than $500 dollars so everybody will have one or two.

Another problem that we encounter frequently is the issue of system requirements:

•  In order to get the most from your web site you will need to meet the following minimum requirements for hardware and software. Unless your computer system meets these minimum requirements, you will not be able to get the full benefit and functionality of our service. One of our clients recently apologized publicly at a Board of Realtors function after nearly a year of complaining about poor service when he purchase a new computer. Amerisale, Inc. does not sell or endorse any brand of computer, Internet connection, or software, nor do we provide technical support for programs other than our on-line database.

Hardware:

•  Intel Pentium Processor or equivalent running at 166mHz or higher (166 is the standard today 300 is available)
•  16MB Memory (RAM) 32 is better
•  Minimum of 2MB Video Memory
•  28.8k Modem  (56Kbps better)
•  Scanner or Digital Camera (we recommend HP scanners) scsi is better and faster than parallel

Software:

•  Microsoft Windows 95 with Dial-Up Networking
• Netscape Navigator 4.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
•  JASC Paint Shop Pro
•  Internet Service Provider   

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