You know what flash drives are.  But do you know the power of the new U3 smart technology with which many new flash drives are equipped?  If not, you may want to find out because this combo can be huge for mobile professionals who are tired of lugging around a laptop.

U3 is basically a way for you to take your programs and your files with you on your flash drive, thus giving you the ability to transform your flash drive into a finger sized portable PC (and you can password protect your flash drive!).   All you need is a computer at your destination with an open USB slot.

There is a fairly extensive list of programs for U3 available for download from their website including email, web browsers, OpenOffice (which I recommend for regular office document and spreadsheet needs as well) and there is a synch tool that allows you to synch up your changes made on the road.

Hopefully the big boys in loan origination software (Calyx Point and Encompass)  will make U3 versions of their respective software to complete the potential for loan officers who want to carry their laptop in their pocket.

There is tremendous flexibility and opportunity for LO’s who become early adapters of this new technology, and at prices as low as $20 for a 2 GB U3 flash drive… how can you go wrong?  I’m using mine right now.

If you are like me you have a certain number of hobbies (unrelated to the mortgage business even) that make life more enjoyable. Pursuing hobbies is not only enjoyable because of the hobby itself but also because of the people you meet who share the same interest.

A few months ago I volunteered to help out with a local film festival, movies being a hobby of mine, and promptly met some amazing people. What I wasn’t expecting was a great opportunity to both support the festival and do some fantastic marketing at the same time.

As it turned out, the festival was looking for sponsors from local businesses (mostly film related businesses at that) to pay for some of the expenses, provide locations for viewings, and provide food for parties. Sponsors could donate cash, goods, or services and received exposure at three levels depending on the cash equivalent of the donation, with the minimum being $100.

The exposure for the sponsors was fantastic with things like logos in press releases, logos and links on the film festival’s website (excellent link value from a very respected site), logo screen time before viewings, and even the ability to provide an insert in the festival program.

What’s more, the festival organizers had developed a demographic profile of the historical and expected attendees to help sponsors better formulate their ads. 400-500 people were expected to attend, not including participants.

So what started out as merely an opportunity to get geeky in a particular hobby soon became a great opportunity to do a little marketing as well. (And there’s nothing wrong with that, right?!?)

The point of this story is that there are opportunities to expand your business all over the place – sometimes you just need to open your eyes and your mind to see them.

If you don’t already have an account with Yahoo search marketing, you can register for a new account and get $75 in free credit.  This is not a bad way to try to generate some leads for yourself.

To get the $75, go to sponsoredsearch.yahoo.com/sellmore then enter promo code US1626B while registering.

If you have a website for your mortgage business, and are wondering about pay-per-click (PPC) advertising you may want to take advantage of this offer from MSN AdCenter. When you register a new account, just enter promo code AD4500 to get $100 free.

MSN charges a $5 verification fee, so you end up netting $95, which isn’t a bad deal at all. It’s a great way to do some experimentation with PPC advertising on someone else’s dime.

In addition to the free money, MSN can deliver highly targeted traffic to your site on a wide variety of demographics – not just based on your keyword list. Only want traffic in Miami, FL? Done. Only want traffic on weeknights after 8 PM? You can do that, too. Add in specific keywords and keyword phrases and you can send yourself highly targeted potential leads.

If you like to integrate gifts as part of your marketing strategy (for borrowers – remember RESPA compliance), you may find a few of the following resources useful. And if you aren’t currently giving closing gifts or doing any sort of promotion by using gifts then you might formulate some ideas to drum up more business for yourself, and extend the reach of your marketing dollar in the process.

• Promotional gifts at Branders
  This place has it all – USB memory sticks / MP3 players, wireless rechargeable optical mice, multi-purpose tools, and the common stuff like calendars, pens, & mugs.

• $25 gift certificates for $10 at Restaurant.com
  Not a bad way to extend your marketing budget. This site has restaurants in every major city that participate, with one draw back: most gift certificates require a minimum purchase. The selection isn’t too broad, either. You won’t find any chain restaurants.

• 20%-25% off at Borders
  This is a nice perk if you have an LLC or are incorporated. It’s a standard discount available to any business or group and is available for in-store purchases.

• 15% off a LobsterGram
  Different, and definitely not for every client, but huge potential to get your clients telling their friends and family about you and your gift.

• Exclusive event tickets at StubHub
  If you’re like me, gift-giving is all about doing something for someone that they wouldn’t normally do for themselves. Event tickets are a good way to accomplish this for the average client.

• Movie Gift Certificates – Fandango Bucks
  The largest brand in online movie tickets will let you buy tickets and send them instantly via email or you can have them sent to your email so you can print the tickets out and deliver or mail them to your clients.

• Any Gift Certificate You Want – GiftCertificates.com
  This is one easy, convenient site where you can purchase gift certificates for almost any national brand you can think of.  Not a bad way to save some time (and money when they run promotions) on a gift card for your clients.

• Moving Boxes or Supplies
  This is an interesting option for a client that is moving and could use more boxes. Thoughtfulness can go a long way to developing loyalty and eliminating a client’s desire to “shop” rates.

• Stumped? Try eBay
  Just browsing eBay looking for nothing in particular will often get the creative juices flowing, even if you don’t end up buying your client a gift there.

If you are a direct mail marketer, you probably have already got an idea of what works best for you. If part of “what works” includes continuous testing and experimentation, then you might find a new product from the United States Postal Service quite intriguing: photo stamps.

One strategy that many direct mailers find effective is to make the piece look as personal as possible. In other words, hand-written addresses instead of computer printed addresses, hand-written return addresses instead of printed, and stamps instead of machine-printed postage.

Photo stamps can add another level of personalization to your mail pieces by allowing you to put your picture on every stamp, in a larger size than a standard stamp.

In addition to added personalization, having your personal photograph on your stamps could also help draw attention to the piece simply because custom photos on stamps is a relatively new concept – they would almost certainly stand out.

Stamps.com will allow you to upload any image you want, manipulate it, and order directly from the site. These stamps are more expensive (about twice the normal cost), but overall may yield a higher ROI on your marketing dollar.

What do you think about using photo stamps in your direct mail marketing efforts?

It’s been a long time coming, but I’ve finally gotten ’round to completing the user directory here at MBL. There are a number of new links toward the top of the site for the various categories in the directory, which are meant to help users find others by what they do.

As the site grows, so will the directory. New categories are possible and if you belong to one that doesn’t appear please feel free to contact me with a suggestion.

Here are some answers to (what will probably be) common questions about the directory:

• How do you get a picture/logo by your listing in the directory?

  First, you must be a V.I.P. Member, then you must upload a profile picture in your user control panel.

• How do you get a bolded box around your listing?

  You must be a sponsor, which will also put you at the top of the list.

• Who shows up first in the list?

  First, sponsors. Next, members are listed by their MBL score. The MBL score is a combination of total posts in the forums and reputation points received from other members. Therefore, the more you post and the better quality posts you make, the higher you will be in the directory.

• Do you have to participate in the directory?

  No. You can opt-out through the control panel.

• Why participate in the directory?

  For service/product providers the answer to this question should be obvious. For originators: borrowers reach MBL through search engines all the time, and may find you through the directory.

Web marketing 101 is all about getting links from other sites that point to your site. As a mortgage broker or loan officer, you can boost traffic to your website by submitting your information to the many hundreds of web directories available across the internet. Each link you earn represents potential clicks to your site as well as potential bonuses in search engine rankings.

With that in mind, here is a list of 335 free web directories where you can submit your site:

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Marketing to a niche is my favorite way to get results. Why? Because you know better what your target customers need and want, compared to simply marketing to the general public. The more you know, the better you can tweak your marketing message and boost your return on investment (ROI). Niche marketing applies to many businesses but following is a list of eleven niches specific to originating mortgages:

1. Purchase Loans. We start with one of the basics. You can
   find subsets of niches within the purchase niche like FSBOs, Investment Properties, Land/Farms/Ranches, and referrals from Realtors. The various sub-niches represent a different group to whom you can market, all of which have different needs and interests, therefore they will likely respond differently to your marketing materials.
    
2. Construction Loans. Much like purchases, construction loans have sub-niches like Custom Home Builders, Subdividers, Condo/PUD Builders, Owner-Builders, Second Home/Vacation Home Builders.
    
3. Loans for Home Repairs. I considered including this in the construction niche, but decided it deserves a classification of it’s own. There are a wide variety of needs home owners might have when it comes to home repairs, including: updating roofs, windows, doors, heating, air conditioning, or other worn or outdated basics of the home. Home Repair customers might also be interested in finishing a basement, remodeling an area of their home, or adding a pool in the backyard. All these repairs and updates require money. Imagine the opportunity of networking with roofers, HVAC companies, window and door companies, etc. They have customers that need the money you can provide them.
    
4. Converting ARMs. This particular niche is hot right now, with rates on the rise and many ARMs set to make their first rate adjustment in the near future. You can get a list of borrowers with ARMs from your local county records and set up a simple mail merge in Microsoft Word to send a customized letter reminding the borrowers that their rate may soon increase. The more targeted you get, the better.
    
5. Mobile / Manufactured Home Loans. I decided to make this it’s own niche because there is a good amount of demand for loans on these properties, yet they seem to be fairly hard to place. If you can find a good lender or two with some good programs for manufactured homes, you can make a nice living focusing on these types of loans.
    
6. Foreclosure Bailout Loans. Yet another niche that requires knowing what wholesale programs are available to fund these loans. Find some good ones and you can make a good living working this niche.
    
7. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Loans. FHA is your best friend when it comes to Chapter 13 BKs. Study up on the requirements under FHA and find other wholesale programs that allow recent BKs and you’re well on your way to working a solid niche. Here’s a direct quote from HUD’s website:
   

   A Chapter 13 bankruptcy does not disqualify a borrower from obtaining an FHA-insured mortgage provided the lender documents that one year of the payout period under the bankruptcy has elapsed and the borrower’s payment performance has been satisfactory (i.e., all required payments made on time). In addition, the borrower must receive permission from the court to enter into the mortgage transaction.

    

8. Debt Consolidation Loans. This niche is almost too big to be called a niche, but it can’t be forgotten. The only problem I have with this one is that it’s one of the most competitive.
    
9. Cash-Out Loans. Same deal for this niche – not very specific and could probably be combined with debt consolidation.
    
10. Rate and Term Refis. Perhaps "refis" should be the niche with debt consolidation, cash-out, and rate & term as the sub-niches. However, it is probably easier to find data that will allow you to target borrowers eligible for rate & terms than it would be to find those interested in debt consolidation or plain old cash-out refis.
     
11. FHA Streamline Refis. This is it’s own niche because of the nature of the FHA Streamline. Easy, fast, and somewhat neglected. Loan Officers can do well focusing on this niche.

Do you work any other niches not listed here?

All loan officers and mortgage brokers are marketers.  If you don’t think like a marketer then you’re in the wrong profession.  As a marketer, you smartly take advantage of great opportunities when they come around.  What you are about to read is a great opportunity so naturally you’ll take advantage.

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