I'm really excited to announce 3 new widgets that launched this past week. Each of them offers great value to you and to your visitors. Let me show you each of them so you can decide if they are something you would be able to use on your sites and blogs, or that your clients might like to see. I'll be installing the contact form generator as soon as this post goes public, it's one of my favorites. Why? Because it has the potential of capturing contacts that can be converted to clients at a later time. Plus, they're all FREE.
Since I mentioned it first, here is the "contact form widget" which has great potential of helping you capture contacts. The reason this one is one of my favorites is because I strongly believe that you're wasting your time on the web if you don't have a capturing tool in place on your website or blogs. You may be able to cultivate eyeballs to your sites with great content, even be #1 on Google, but if you're not able or at least attempting to capture contacts, then it just doesn't seem to add up in my opinion.
You can customize these widgets to look and say whatever you want.
This second widget is the "rental map widget" and it's very consumer friendly. It's perfect for those relocating to your area who might need to rent before they make the decision where they want to own? Look at all the rental properties that are now available all across the country, imagine being the connection between consumers needing to rent and helping them make the best choices where to eventually own? I see huge potential in providing this type of value to your clients and readers.
The third widget is the "agent reputation widget" that every agent should have on their sidebar, blog, website, social profiles etc. It's the next best thing to a word of mouth referral. We all know how uncomfortable and inconvenient it is to try and sell ourselves and our services all the time, so letting others help in this area is more than just a convenience. Client testimonials and reviews are a primary tool for driving more traffic, contacts to your site, and business to your bottom line. For example: On Zillow, 1 Review = 75% more contacts than agents with 0 reviews, and 5+ Reviews = 150% more contacts than agents with 0 reviews.
All these widgets are brand new and FREE. Each of them comes with the ability to be customized, re-sized, color coded and branded to your liking, but the most valuable piece is the co-branding. Every time someone visits your Blog or site and uses the widget, if they end up going to Zillow's site from your widget, you will appear at the top of every page no matter what page they're looking at. This is a great opportunity to stay in front of your target audience and potential clients even when they're not on your site.
(your photo, company, contact info, phone number, and links will appear on Zillow like sample above)
Like these widgets? Then you'll love these others as well. Take a peek at ALL the Real Estate Widgets.
"Learn More. Get More. Do More. Be More."
Hey Brad, thanks for the widgets, back from the Oscar Parties?, I will have to book mark this and figure out how to put it on my Website & on AR. Thanks and have a great evening.
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Endre - it's pretty simple to customize and add these to any site, if you need any help just let me know...
Thanks Doug. :-)
Now that is very interesting I like the new widgets
Leave it to you Brad, to come up with even more, excellent ways, ideas and widgets for us to use in promoting ourselves wherever we can. This is going to open everything up for me even more than what I already have. Thank you.
Thx Brad. On my website I have the contact forms (and soon they will be on every page - in March I think) but I'm excited to be able to add to FB. Thx. I'm bookmarking so it will be on my "to do" list on here.
Thanks for this wonderful addition for our sites. Now to figure out the best place to use them.
Margaret
I am trying it out right now. Hope I can successfully get it up and running. Thank you.
Hey Brad - I just installed this and it was super easy and FAST. This post needs to be featured.
Karen - thanks. Even better, these are widgets that can make you $$$ :-))
Brad ...These look like some great widgets ...Thank You
Oh boy! I can't wait to check these out these widgets. Thanks Brad!
Brad, I am all about widgets, thanks Zillow for them. Also congratulations on joiningforces with William Raveis Real Estate here in the Northeast, a compliment of synergy for both.
These are great additions to anyone's blog. This gives buyers or sellers a way to respond directly to us for more info.
Thanks, Brad, these look great. I get lots of calls about rentals so that might be one to also include.
Definitely need to bookmark this Brad. Thanks for sharing these - always good to be able to update the toolkit!
Thanks Brad, for sharing. I just added the testimonial widget. Very cool! Let me say, as someone who uses a couple lead generators, ZILLOW beats 'em all, hands down!
Really cool stuff that I think will help me get business. Thanks Brad
Brad, with my site being widget based this is perfect. It is in the burgeoning stages but I'm with you, without "at least attempting to capture contacts, then it just doesn't seem to add up".
More than a little interesting, Brad. Time to goose up the Zillow profile and get recommendations.
Thanks for the new widgets, Brad! They will look great on my website and blog!
Brad,
They definitely are good. I will have to set some up and get going on them. Thanks for letting us know.
All the best, Michelle
Brad, you rock! Ever since one of your webinars, I regularly use your widgets, and noticed some new ones the other day when I drafted a post on rentals....thanks so much for all you do to help us!!!
Thanks Brad going to add these right away They are great! More and more people are contacting me for Rentals.
I'm sad to say I still don't know how to put a widget on anything!
Brad, looks like some great widgets, especially the contact widget. Big question. Does Zillow get these contacts as well if they're filled out? Sorry to question free stuff, but most free stuff has a catch :)
As usual, you are a wealth of great information! Thank you for sharing your latest information! I plan to look into all of the new widgets! And the rent-before-you-own trend continues to grow in my area, so this will be very useful!
Hi Christine - I was just teaching a webinar on that very thing, I have another one coming up on Friday if you'd like to join us? How To Install Widgets and Gadgets, otherwise you can just give me a ring and I'll walk you through it over the phone. 707.646.1876 :-)
Hey Roger - great question. The answer is no. The contact and email information goes directly to you. Try it out, I added the widget in this post and on my AR sidebar. If you enter your name and email, it will come directly to (me) which is the email address I entered as my contact info when I set it up.
I'm proud and happy to be able to say that "there is no catch" We're always trying to connect willing and able agents to the consumers that are needing help with Real Estate and visiting our site.
Sounds great! Bookmarked for later in the week when I actually have time to update my site. Question #2, can you have multiple contact forms setup differently on your site? For example, one for a buyer and a different one for a seller? Thanks.
Greg,
Worth checking out and implementing, thanks for the update!
Now you've done it once again Brad, you've made me have to go make updates to all my sites. You know I say this in jest as I do appreciate all that you bring to the table…
Always look forward to your posts, Brad... more good stuff, thanks!
Hi Brad - I will look forward to using these new widgets as soon as Zillow becomes available in the Great White North!!! ;)
Hi Brad, I've just started getting into widgets so this is such perfect timing for me. Thank you!
Brad, great recommendations. I am giong to have to put these to work right away.
WOW Brad, these are GREAT!! Thank you for the info and they are FREE!!!!!!
Brad, these look like good widgets to add to my website. I'll bookmark this so I can add the widgets some time this week.
I really like the contact form widget. Zillow keeps leading the way with new 'hooks' for real estate.
this is really good info. I am always looking for something new to add to my site...great info here...thanks.
Hi Brad,
A Canadian version for Zillow would be a great start....;o), we can talk about widgets later.....
Thanks Brad
I see what my "free time" project is going to be this week.
Hi Brad,
So cool. Thanks for sharing these cool widgets with us on AR!
Cheers from Lake Tahoe,
~Grace Yee
Look great Brad. I will have to check it out. Book marked for now =}
Ohhh, some new toys with which to play, Brad. Thanks for the alert!
Good Morning Brad
Thanks for the post and new widgets. Adding this to my favorites. Have a great day.
Brad, thank you so much for great widgets! Where do you get all these incredible ideas? I'm makeing it my daily ritual to visit your site - you always have amazing suggestions. Have a fabulous day!
Brad, the Contact Form widget looks like a winner. Thanks for the info.
Brad, there is no doubt that Zillow is a widely used tool and offers outstanding service to traditional agents.
However, specializing in real estate auctions, I've been searching for a viable use with my particular industry niche. Could you offer any suggestions on how Zillow can be used to gain more market share via real estate auctions? Or direct me to the proper place to find this info?
I checked out the rental map widget, I think it could be a great addition to my site however the topographical map in the background makes it nearly impossible to tell where the homes are actually located. I would suggest making a change to a street map view so people can see where these rentals are. Great idea though, I hope you improve it to make it more useful.
Thank you for sharing this. I will definitely use them.
It's now part of my repertoire, thank you.
I'm with #45.
Thanks Bob for the support but there seems to be a lot of agents that find there is a benefit with using Zillow. I would love to here how that works.
Thanks Bob for the support but there seems to be a lot of agents that find there is a benefit with using Zillow. I would love to here how that works.
Thanks for the tip! Nothing better than widgets and even better are FREE widgets!
Hey Brad - These are great widgets. One question - I want to incorporate one into my Outside Blog but the widget manager doesn't let us include things like this. Any bright ideas?
Brad
Very interesting. The second one is not of interest but the other two certainly are.
Brian
Thanks Brad! The new widgets look really cool and useful for our readers. Great to see you.
Roger - you can have multiple contact widgets setup to target specific types of contacts. Great idea, thanks! :-)
Hey Christine # 25, A gadget you cannot hold in hand is called a widget.
Jeff - let me know how the rentals widget works out for you in your area.
Kristin - glad you like the widgets and they're working for you.
Kat - that is really great to hear, thank you.
Kevin - it doesn't add up and never will without a connection being made right?
Marc (Peter and Linda too) - more than just a "hint" is already in place.... :-))
Robert - I appreciate, respect, and welcome your comment, I'll be calling you later today. Thanks.
Justin - I'll give you a call as well so we can brainstorm on that a little deeper.
Christa - thanks for that suggestion, I'll definitely pass it on to our dev team. Thanks.
Bob - I'd be happy to add you to the call list if you'd like? Let me know.
Christianne - there is no HTML widget for the AR outside blogs, but we can experiment with a couple ideas??
Thanks to everyone for checking these out, and for commenting. I'll be back shortly....
Brad, the customized widgets are exactly what I'm looking for!
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MY CONCERN IS, when people fill out the contact form, is their information SOLELY going to ME or is it going to me and a Zillow database of some sort?
I had a friend of mine fill out a custom widget on a website I had (shall be nameless, I deleted my account only 2 weeks after having it) and someone else contacted her. To say I was annoyed would be an understatement! I was livid.
ETA: Sorry I see you already answered this question. Sounds like a win-win!! I'll be setting up ASAP!
Hi Brad!
That contact widget looks just like the ticket I'm looking for. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Thanks Brad,
This is great information. I like the "contact me" widget.
Brad, these widgets look great! I'll look into implementing them on my site. Thanks :)
Hi Brad. I had a concern about privacy issues but you've already answered the question I was going to ask.
Thanks for the fab post. I love widgets. I always think "Oh, this is the coolest one yet!"...but over and again, widget after widget, it keeps getting better and better. Now, if I could just figure out how to make them work. lol
Thanks for the info. I am amazed on all the cool stuff that is out there for our websites. Technology has come so far in such a short period of time. The only problem is TIME- making the time to find all the cool "toys" and then figuring out which tools are right for you.
Brad - Let's experiment then! I really want to add my Meebo chat widget to my outside blog and add a few other widgets but we don't have the capability right now. If anyone can figure out how to do it, I know you can :) I just finished giving my blog a facelift but of course some of the enhancements don't transfer to the outside blog...
Thanks everyone, I just started getting a ton of email comment notifications from AR, now I'm slammed!! lol~
Lindsay - if you need help, just let me know.
Tommy - you nailed it right on the button!!!!! Remember that it's the tools that are right for the client too... :-)
Christianne - The only option is to try and place the code into a text or one of the other widget boxes for outside blogs. Until they add that HTML widget box, the AR outside blogs will be limited with these types of tools and options. If you go to ActiveBradsBlog.com, it's an AR outside blog and I was able to get some of the other HTML widgets to work using the text widget box. Not the ones mentioned in this post though. Hope that helps. :-)
Hi Brad - Thanks for the follow up - I couldn't get the Meebo widget to work with the Text Widget option. I know you are now with the Big Z but do you have any inside scoop on when that HTML widget box may become a reality??
You'll have to check with Kerrie or Bob on that one...
BTW - it took me longer to type the spam word then it did this comment! lol~
What the heck is a grumixameira, I'm off to google to find out now..... haha~
Thanks, Brad. Added the contact widget to my outside blog.
Thanks Brad, Booked marked this one. A great lead generation tools. Free is always good.
Brad, I tried using the contact widget. It works for my active rain blog, using the blog settings are to install the widget. However, it doesn't show up in the outside blog. And usinging the widget iframe in the outside blog doesn't seem to work. Any suggestions?
Hi Vickie - the widgets don't work on AR outside blogs, they haven't added the HTML widget that we were told would be added 1 1/2 years ago, hopefully with the new techs that have come on board for AR, they'll get that added soon. They do work well however on the Wordpress and Blogger outside blogs, just not on AR's. Sorry.