There are a lot of opinions out there around realtors without a marketing or design degree taking the do-it-yourself route. The critics (aka designers and marketing firms) want you to pay them to do what they are expertly trained at, and believe that spending hours a week trying to figure out the world of marketing and design is a waste of your time. Then there are people like us, who agree with the critics but with an asterisk attached – If you don’t have the budget or are unsure of where you want to take your brand then DIY is a great, (if not better) place to begin. Whether you are a designer at heart, like to get in the muck of it, or a new realtor with a limited budget, we’ve got your A-Z DIY marketing journey covered. Read on for our top tips to get started and then make sure to download our Ultimate Marketing Checklist below so you can keep your DIY journey organized and on track.
ONE | TAKE A TEST!
Well, more like a quiz that’s totally fun, completely painless and super short (2-3 minutes tops)! Head over to DIYBRANDQUIZ.COM where we’ve created a series of questions to help determine your brand style. So what the heck is a brand style anyway? Your brand style is where your personality and visual assets meet, think of it like this, if you had a magazine made specifically for you – your likes, your style, your singular flair how would that look? What feelings would it evoke when you flip through the pages – THAT’S your brand style. It’s not your brand, it’s the glossy images, colours and fonts that help people understand your brand better.
After taking the quiz you’ll be placed into one of our six brand styles (we call this the Fourth Street Six) Classic Luxe, Modern Minimal, Rustic, Vintage Chic, Feminine & Elegant, Colourful & Bold. This is where your journey begins. You’ll receive a 10-page guide with everything from font pairings and colour inspiration to imagery and other resources to help you better understand your brand style. knowing your Fourth Street Six will provide the clarity and direction you’ll need to take the next steps.
TWO | FIND A MUSE
What do they say? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? Finding a muse, someone who resonates with the direction you want to take your brand in will help tremendously with the DIY journey. This is such a great way to keep you on track and help guide you as you navigate the world of fonts (classic or modern?) voice (personable or professional?), values, colours and mission. It’s so tempting when you don’t have a clear direction to choose one person and copy them outright, I mean they are exactly where you want to be so why not just take the blueprint they’ve created and run with it? Here’s why you should absolutely stay away from ever doing that – By not following your own unique path, you are misleading your future clients, and putting yourself in a position to be someone you’re not, indefinitely… and friend, that never works and becomes more exhausting than anything else.
Here’s a better way to do it: Find three people who are where you want to be, try to look for them in and out of real estate. You might choose people whose aesthetic you love or magazines that have the general tone you are looking for. Whoever or whatever you choose, list three things you love about each and three things you don’t, then take those points and create something that is completely your own.
THREE | CREATE A MOODBOARD
Remember the days, or cutting out inspirational living rooms, outfits or even hunky men and putting them up on your corkboard in hopes of manifesting them right into your life? Well, were going to use the same process with your DIY marketing journey, except this time it’s all going to be virtual using Pinterest. If you’re currently pinning recipes, dreamy interiors and the perfect Saturday night outfit inspiration then you are already on your way to creating a moodboard for your brand. You know what you like and what resonates with you, now all we need to do is apply that same strategy to your brand. The first thing you want to do is to create a board and title is something like “My Brand” Or “Brand Inspiration” then comes the fun part where you search Pinterest far and wide for whatever makes you smile. Search for colour palette inspiration, font pairings, logo design, interior design, style etc … the purpose is to create a board that will eventually act as an anchor for your next steps – creating your visual assets. Take a look at our Pinterest Board HERE
FOUR | REFINE
Now that you’ve collected your muse, your brand style, your colours, fonts, etc. it’s time to make the hard decisions. Decide what fonts you want to move forward with (link to font pairing blog) what colours you’d love your brand to have (colour blog link) what visual style you’ll be using (ie. white and bright or dark and moody?)
Choose a few logo styles you love and want to draw inspiration from (can’t decide? Check out of pre-made brands for real estate). You want to make sure you have refined your inspiration down to the same colours, imagery, fonts, look and feel so you can move on with a crystal clear idea of what you want to include in your brand assets if you aren’t sure to take a couple of days to process all of your hard work. Taking a step back is a great way to get clear on what you really want, and revisiting your collateral with fresh eyes is always helpful.
FIVE | DESIGN
Now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is, or in this case no money, just time. Use a free design platform like Canva to easily create things like logos, social media posts, flyers and feature sheets (plus about a million other things!). You’ll want to start with your brand assets like a logo and brand board. Then you can move onto your marketing materials like social media artwork and flyers. If this all sounds daunting don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with countless tutorials and resources for creating visual assets in Canva – hop over HERE for our Canva help articles and Over HERE to grab templates that will save you time (and headaches).
Remember this is the fun part, experiment, try different things, and most importantly have fun!
Want a detailed step-by-step roadmap checklist?
