Two key companies have a number of VA’s trained and skilled not only with Point2 Agent, but a plethora of other softwares, tools, and skills.  Contact them for full details and special pricing for members of the Point2 community:

REVStaffing
(404) 819-2933
Point2Support@revstaffing.com
www.REVStaffing.com

RealSupport, Inc.
(847) 705-1655. ext. 201
Info@RealSupportInc.com
www.RealSupportInc.com

After a whole lot of “Ohhh yeah, I remember that, that was a good one”, I decided that there were some posts that were just too good to not be seen again.

So…I’ve dug deep into our collection of bloggity goodness and picked out a few posts that deserve a few extra ‘props’.

With that being said, I introduce to you…The Best of the Blog – in the literary stylings of Point2 Agent.

I’ll start with Carey – in my opinion the most skilled and creative one of us all.  He’s got a way with words that make us all a little bit jealous. A couple of my favorites:

How to Profit from NOT Selling Using Social Media
Grease is timeless; software design not so much
Home Feedback or “Get out of my house, Stinky”

Next I picked a few of my favorites from Megan’s collection of words – and well, to be honest…Megan kicks all our butts in coming up with stuff to write about.  Not only is she one of the best writers I know – her stuff is always jam packed with a ton of valuable information.  It was hard to narrow this list down!

13 Ways to Get Your Listings Noticed
3 Listings, 3 Cities, 3 Prices
Thrillion Dollar Listings
Blogging is like Bran – The Series

Then there is Chris…who is something of a web app/technology junkie – which works well, because quite frankly – I’m not.  We can always count on him to spread the love of new and innovative trends and neat web app finds.  Here’s some of my favorites posts of his from the past year or so:

The Lost Art of The Genuine Commenter
What Real Estate Marketing Can Learn From Vitamin Water
10 Web-based Productivity Tools That Will Change the Way You Work
The Open- Source Alternative
Targeted Marketing : Too Effective, Or Just Plain Creepy?

And what would we do without our resident media guy/genius Bryan?  Without his expertise, there would certainly be a lot less great listing photos out there.  Bryan’s been offering up wicked tips on photography for a while, and has shared some advice that some people pay to get.

Hot Shot or Not? A Quality Control Checklist
HDR for Real Estate Photography
Merging Knowledge with Technology: The New Real Estate Photographer
Choosing a Digital SLR Camera

And lastly, here are a few of my own personal blog bests from yours truly. I’ve seen some of my very first posts – I wont go there…let’s just say I think my writing has improved quite a bit over my time at Point2.

Handy Tools to Help You Lead the Ultimate Double Life, Online That Is
Who Invited Them!?
Listing Type: Container Home?

I hope you’ve enjoyed this compilation of ‘Greatest Hits’.  There’s a lot of great stuff that you can put to use in all of them.  And if there is anything that you would like to see on here and haven’t – let us know!

In the past we’ve usually focused on announcing major new feature releases and updates to the Point2 Agent software and not so much about the other behind-the-scenes types of updates that lay the groundwork for our big feature releases, or that ensure that your sites continue to function in the best way possible.

You may not know this but we publish a software build every week or two weeks on average which includes bug fixes, product changes and improvements.  Many times these updates are not easily visible to our members and we realize that it might seem like we’re not doing a lot to improve your software experience.  We promise we have been hard at work – but I admit, we’ve neglected to share that information with you.

That’s about to change.  Going forward we’re going to provide our members with the details about all of our releases – even ones that include fixes and updates that aren’t really noticeable to you.

You might not always understand what each improvement or bug fix is really about.  That’s okay, I probably won’t either.  But we still think you should know.

And what I do know is that our development team is always hard at work to ensure that not only our current features work flawlessly, but also in developing new and exciting features too.

Check out the most recent Product Release announcement from this morning and stay tuned in to the Announcements Forum over at our Support site for more details about every product release we perform.

For me, once it started dipping to 6°C (43°F) overnight and I spotted leaves yellowing towards the end of August, I was already saying bye to our rather dreary summer.  For the record, the weather this summer here in Saskatchewan was completely lousy.  OK, there.  I’m done complaining about it.

For many last week marked the start of a new school year!  Parents of elementary school-aged children around the globe surely are rejoicing.

For many college and university students, one of the challenges of a new school year is finding suitable housing.  Well, one of our syndication partners, CampusHomesOnline.com is there to help with your search.

From their website: Campus Homes Online is a uniquely focused listing site. Homeowners, real estate agents, and property managers alike benefit from Campus Homes Online’s ability to service visitors with targeted tools such as email notifications, save & share searches, radius search and more. Visitors have the chance to view homes and apartments for sale or for rent on any campus in the country.

And it’s true, I swear they’ve got virtually every college campus listed in the US on that site!  I see this being a great time-saving service that can ease the stress of getting ready for the new school year to begin.

So, if you haven’t yet figured out where you’re going to stay while attending college or university, give this service a try.  If you’re an agent with listings in the US in the areas nearby college/university campuses, your listings will appear on CampusHomesOnline.com.

Good luck to all you students out there and here’s to getting good grades!

Having said that, I figured it might be fun to show off a few Point2 Agent websites that were spiced up by a couple of the web designers who are a part of our Alliance Member Program.

(Click on the images to view the full site)

Here’s one by Kathleen Allardyce of Getting it Write Inc:

I chose this one mainly because… well, since the boss is in Vegas (I’m a tad jealous) it seemed fitting to check out some Las Vegas properties.  But aside from my own biased opinion, this website is jam packed with their own content and makes good use of different Point2 Agent features.  Using both a listings display as well as IDX, Las Vegas Properties makes it easy for potential buyers (and daydreamers like me) to find what they are looking for.

This one is from Kathy Stephens of Simple Sites Serious Success:

I didn’t just choose this one because Angela is from Saskatoon (well, maybe a little…gotta support the hometown!)…but this one is laid out in such a way that it doesn’t overload visitors with too much information.  The site is kept neat, simple, and to the point – making it even more customer friendly.

Or how about this one from one of our more recent additions to AMP, Nelson Cuesta of Cogent Web Services:

Not only is Texas one of my favorite places, but this site is just all around pleasant to look at.  It’s professional, classy, and easy to navigate.  The more I look at this site, the more I remember how much I enjoyed Texas earlier this year.  Hmm…as soon as I buy that winning lottery ticket…

Of course not everyone requires a website designer, and there are plenty of top notch self-designed Point2 Agent websites out there.  These are just a few of the ways a the template sites can be enhanced.  Word around the campfire here is that there are a few things coming your way to help increase the appearance of your website even more.

So…if you have a great website, feel free to send it our way!  Who knows, we might even show it off a little.  If you think you’ve got the chops to be one of the Website Designers in our Alliance Member Program, why not show us your skills?  We’re always taking applications, so really…what have you got to lose?

I am going to do my best to address one of the most asked questions:

What is the difference between a Syndication Dashboard and Point2 Agent?

The answer? It’s simple.

I’m not going to go into grave detail, but I’ll give you a quick lowdown.

Syndication Dashboard

If your MLS has signed up for Syndication with Point2, you will receive an invitation for a Syndication Dashboard. You’re not obligated to use it, but let me tell you – if you don’t, you’re missing out on some of the best exposure for your listings. Your listings are sent to us via a data feed from your MLS and distributed through the largest Syndication network on the planet. Meaning, they are being placed on some of the highest trafficked real estate search websites. Most importantly they are reaching the eyes of your potential buyers.  And what’s more – it’s totally FREE.

No, we do not have any control over your listing, nor do we own it. Your listing is your listing. All we do is deliver it for you. Think of us as a big tourist bus, giving you a free ride and stopping by some of the hottest attractions.  And if for whatever reason you don’t want to syndicate your listings (which would be kind of crazy, don’t you think?!), well – it’s your listing, you have control, and you can opt out.

But what if Syndication isn’t enough? What if you want more? What if you want a complete website to accompany your listings online? What if you want to see exactly who your prospects are, what they are looking for, and how they found you? Wouldn’t it be nice to pinpoint your customer’s wants, and easily and effectively send them targeted messaging based on those wants?

Point2 Agent

That’s where Point2 Agent comes into play. Not only do you get the syndication, but you get a ton of tools to build that presence right where consumers are spending the majority of their time – online.  While the Syndication Dashboard gives you access to some very basic reports – it’s nothing like the detailed reports you receive about your prospects and more through a Point2 Agent Account.  Not only that, but if your MLS has signed up with Point2, your listings are imported directly into your Point2 Agent account – meaning you can spend more time with your clients, and less time adding listings to your account.

A Point2 Agent account starts at $19.99 per month and you get to try it out for 3 months free. We don’t ask for a credit card until you’ve completed your trial, there are no obligations, and we’re not really into contracts – meaning, you can cancel at anytime on the monthly plan. If you’ve received a Syndication Dashboard from your MLS, you can upgrade to a Point2 Agent account at anytime.  A Point2 Agent Account has 3 levels of membership – each one with even more features available.  You can see them right here.

I didn’t go into the entire comparison of features, because I would be here all day – and so would you (and you have real estate to sell!).

Want to know more?  Just click right here to download a handy little comparison chart.

I hope this answers some of your questions.  And, well, if it didn’t…give me some credit – it’s Monday morning, and I got a little too much sun on the weekend!

Sometimes we forget to realize that we stare at this stuff all day, every day.  So, naturally we think it’s pretty simple.  But for anyone that is seeing their Syndication Dashboard or Point2 Agent account for the very first time – it can be overwhelming, this I know (remember…I’m the one still struggling to use something as easy as Twitter!).  We’re working on simplifying things over here, and any of your questions can always be addressed by our Customer Care Team.  I can tell you – they are a lot more alert than I am on a Monday!

Have a great week!