June is Entrepreneurs “Do It Yourself” Marketing month, so we thought it would be fun to share with you some easy and effective ways to stay on top of your personal marketing and branding. As they say: Some people dream of success and other wake up and work hard for it. Spend June pushing yourself to try new ideas and take your success to the next level!

1. Start writing.  What better way to get noticed than to be a thought leader in your expertise. You’re the best person to talk about your neighborhood and the trends in the industry – you are living it every day! It doesn’t have to be a lot, just consistent. Start out by planning to write a short blog once each quarter and then once each month. Before you know if, you’ll be writing weekly and driving people to your site to get the most current information about their next move.

2. Become a social media wiz. Have you ever used Buffer? It’s a really easy way to stay active on social media by keeping you relevant to your followers and constructing all of your social posts for the week in just one sitting! Plan on spending one hour on Sunday evenings when you’re preparing for the week ahead to create your social media calendar.  Find and read articles relevant to your geography, your clients needs and don’t forget to boast your personal brand up a little too…write some social posts that link back to your personal website or blog. Not only will this app allow you to be active on social media, but it will also give you some time to make sure to keep up on the latest trends in your industry.

3. Have some fun with your open houses – and promote them as such! Everyone has boring old open houses on the weekend.  Pick a sunny afternoon and turn your open house out in the suburbs into a fun place for people to come in, check out the house and most importantly and meet you! Serve ice cream and have a “best toppings” contest with the kids.  Take pictures, and post them on social media – give kids little door prizes for participating (and gain points with their parents!). Have a great loft in the city? Host an evening out with appetizers, wine and live acoustic music.

4. Create new partnerships. Co-branding is a great way to get your name out to more people, and people that you wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet with otherwise. Mortgage brokers, inspectors, title companies…sure.  But let’s think outside of the box.  Maybe you could make a deal with that ice cream shop you used for your open house.  You promote them and they promote you! Take some time this month to think of those around you who could mutually benefit from a partnership of some sort.

5. Get mobile! If you read my last blog post, you know that 90% of homebuyers are on their phones to search for homes. Check out an app like HomeSpotter. For a monthly fee, your broker can get a stand alone branded app in the iTunes App and Google Play stores. And what’s even better is it can then be branded for each individual agent to be shared with clients.  Connect and market yourself where your clients already are – on an app!