Real Estate Views from St Pete

Sharon- I write content that International buyers want to read about. I connected with a Romanian couple from my blog. I am going to be writing more posts because on my clustrmaps I have A LOT of International readers. Nestor and I also have our CIPS designations. Katerina

I go on-line a speak with international people using Skype.  Everybody seems to be interested in our beautiful Florida beaches.  Speaking French helps me a lot...

Katerina - good for you, both on the CIPS designtion and your sucess in targeted content. Your Romanian couple should lead you to other Romanian buyers. Have you been on any trade missions yet?

Robert - that's a great use of Skype. You also have your website in French, so that's making it easy for anyone speaking French to learn about your area. I like your beret, too.

Sharon, I know that in my car, I'm listening to "Learn French In Your Car" CD's.  I should probably do a little Spanish, Italian, German and Arabic. 

I'm anxious to hear what others are doing since I am not focusing on this arena. I have acouple of clients from canada but have yet to do any targeted marketing or blogging. Hmmm. I speak a little French and German but not enough to be conversant. I need to look at Clustrmaps...

Jeff

I had a young lady who publishes e-books suggest to me that you do an ad on a e-book that is targeting your area.  So for example I have a listing on the Chesapeake Bay and she has an e-book talking about the places to visit and things to do on the Chesapeake bay.  She says that her marketing targets out of the area people who want information on travel to that area.  She claims people from all over the world order the e-books and they will see your ad.

I am sure there are a lot of tourist information people look for on Florida.

I am very interested in this subject if you have anymore information please do pass it along. 

Patricia - Go, Girl! In the DC area you should be able to put many languages to use. Arabic is an unusual and excellent choice. It's nice just to be able to have a brief social conversation in another language. I think there are some great online choices that are much more interactive than when I was studying languages. When I was learning Japanese, I used to keep half a dozen katakana characters on my seat, and I'd review and learn then when I was stopped at red lights. It's the only time I'd prefer a red light to a green one!

Jeff, yes, do look at your clustermaps. Follow Patricia's example and have some language tapes or CDs for your car. You certainly don't have to be fluent enough to discuss contracts in another language (I especially avoid that, no matter how well I speak a language) but just being able to exchange a few pleasantries in their language makes them feel you care. If you can actually converse a little, it helps relieve the pressure - it's difficult for many of them (especially a spouse) to always listen and talk in English.

Endea - I hadn't ever thought of that. I think it's a great idea if it's not too expensive, though I'd read the e-book first to be sure it's something that you want to be associated with and that it doesn't direct people to your competition. You may even want to do an e-book of your own on buying real estate in the Chesapeake Bay area.

 

I am motivated to find international buyers in latin countries.  thanks for the inspiration.  any ideas where to advertise or how to target international buyers. thank you. Lupe Soto, Bilingual Realtor (Spanish/English) selling Burbank Real Estate in Los Angeles County.

Hello, Lupe! Thanks for your comment. One way to find international buyers in Latin countries is to travel to those countries (not just once, but often enough that those buyers know that you are real, trust you, and know that you're there for the long term). You can also join international trade associations near your area and really get involved with them, work on committees and projects, develop relationships. For me, advertising has not been effectice - too many "snake oil" salesmen. Work on building relationships that will the develop into business that will then develop into referrals.