Jessey is from REI Conversion, and he is also the host of the REI Conversion podcast, which focuses on the digital side of real estate investing specifically for wholesalers, flippers, and vacant land investors. REI Conversion helps investors get their websites up and running, and helps them automate their business. In this episode, Jessey talks about how they can help investors build their websites and common mistakes that could affect your lead generation.
Prior to real estate investing, Jessey worked as a digital marketer for eight years. He has worked with various industries including education and beauty where he consulted and built website landing pages. He was also an in-house graphic designer.
When he got into real estate, he was doing wholesaling, fix and flips, and lending. Now, he focuses on flipping vacant land and creating websites for real estate investors.
REI Conversion was created 3 years ago. One of the things that helped Jessey when he got started in real estate was being able to launch a website quickly. After getting into the community and meeting people struggling with setting up their online sites, he decided to create a WordPress theme for investors. One thing led to another, he later added full out plugins and even created a podcast to keep helping other investors.
Version 1.0 of their WordPress theme was pretty restrictive, so they decided that they needed to build everything from the ground up. Eventually, they came up with a fully customizable site that has a lot of different tools you can integrate into their theme. They are also working to connect third-party software like CRM or project management tools.
Jessey attends mastermind groups to keep updated on the online tools investors use. Then he thinks about how he can integrate those into his site. He is constantly working to simplify things so that anyone can have a customized-looking site.
Creating a website is simple. You start first by buying a domain then find a hosting site like WP Engine or GoDaddy. (Tip: If you install Honey as a plugin, you can get a GoDaddy domain really cheap. But beware since Honey takes over affiliate links.)
Next is to download the WordPress theme and install it.
REI Conversion has a knowledge base or video that anyone can just follow.
Plugins are also available. They’re similar to apps on mobile phones. REI Conversion is about to launch its Zapier property listing plugin. If anyone submitted a property they want to sell, their plugin will be able to make an automated offer based on the market value of the property.
Everything from their site is royalty-free. Their users get access to an explainer video, which they can use for their buying site. REI Conversion likes to add strategic things that could help increase the chances of sellers submitting their property.
One example is the headline split test they did to figure out which got more leads. It included two headline variations, one was “sell your property and fast for cash”, and the other was “sell your property fast for cash.” The second one did better.
When it comes to headlines, it’s best to be direct and communicate how exactly you’re going to help your customer in 6-8 words.
The big difference between using REI Conversion and their competitors like InvestorCarrot, Wix, Squarespace, or LeadPropeller is that their competitors own your data since they’re hosting your site and all your data.
This could be a problem in the future if the company gets sold and you could lose all your data.
Leaving them is difficult too as you’d worry about your site’s search engine optimization (SEO). It takes 6-12 months to even rank on Google, so investors are not keen to just throw away all that effort.
Having the flexibility to integrate a lot of things is a perk you can do with REI Conversion. Whether it’s live chat function or checkouts, using WordPress means that a lot of plugins are available.
REI Conversion also offers flexibility with pricing. They offer a starter plan and a one-time pricing plan for those who don’t want to pay for a subscription.
Being able to have multiple options also means that your site won’t look similar to 15,000 sites out there.
REI Conversion also partnered up with Endorsal to create an automated testimonial collection tool so that clients will have genuine testimonials.
Jessey starts by sending out mailers that direct potential sellers to his site. They fill out a short form asking for their name, email, and property address. The information from there automatically gets captured and goes into their system.
If the seller continues to submit the rest of the form, they’ll get asked for other details of the property. Then the site makes an automated offer immediately. The site makes the offer based on the market value submitted by the seller, and the percentage and range Jessey is willing to offer which he has already set.
Then Jessey will do the due diligence to get that property under contract.
After the property is listed on his site, he’ll drive the cash buyers list from his CRM to his new property listing either through autoresponders or texting.
It’s their starter plan that costs $297 per year. It includes their WordPress theme and whatever updates they do.
Plugins are not included.
Costing $497 per year, this plan provides the sites for both the buying side and the selling side. All updates are included. Plugins and explainer videos are already embedded.
This is a one-time payment plan of $1,497. It includes all future updates and plugins as well.
REI Conversion also offers a managed plan for $129 per month. They’ll host and update your site, and also backup nightly. They roll out updates frequently. They can also make changes or add new things on your site at no extra charge.
Headlines are important and the right headline can mean a 15% difference in results.
Forms should be on the landing page above the fold line of your website and not on a separate page. You should be guiding your property owners to take action and not be perusing around your site.
Some websites have a copy that spends a huge amount on flexing about themselves. That’s what testimonials are for. The mindset should be on listing out your unique benefits and how you’re going to help your clients.
SEO isn’t instantaneous. Don’t get too overwhelmed with that. Use WordPress and get a specialist to target certain keywords. But start basic and do incremental steps.
Having a website plays a big role in generating leads, but it shouldn’t replace your major lead generation activities like cold calling, direct mail, or prospecting. However, it gives you the opportunity to catch leads passively, 24 hours a day.
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