A couple of months ago I was interviewed by our local newspaper, the Burlington County Times. They called me for staging advice, asking about choosing paint colors when preparing a home for sale. It wasn't a huge interview and although they included where I work, they did not include any contact information. No worries-- I was thrilled just to get my name out there (every little bit helps!) and I figured anyone trying to find me could just Google my name.
Then last week I received a call from an elderly woman who would like to hire me for a color consultation because she is eventually going to sell her home. I asked her how she'd found me and she said it was in the newspaper! OK, so the interview worked!
But then she told me the strangest thing. She said she had the hardest time finding me! She really had to do some searching because I was nowhere to be found!
What? Nowhere?
I thought I was on practically every website, directory, and social media site I could get onto. I even have my Google alerts set up so that when someone else is getting better rankings, I do what they're doing. I blog, umm, semi-regularly. Well, I'm on my own 30-day challenge right now but that's another story.
But I missed something. She was a newspaper reader. Not an online paper-- an actual newspaper, newsprint on the hands and all. She wasn't looking for me on the internet, she was looking in the phone book.
The phone book? I don't even have a phone book. I did a quick look around my office and it appears I'm not the only one who doesn't use the phone book much!
I know seniors are using the internet more than ever-- most of my clients have found me that way, but it appears there are those out there I'm missing!
What do you think? Is print advertising still bringing in business? Enough to make it worth doing? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
Michele Rose is a Realtor and Professional Home Stager in Burlington County, NJ. She has been assisting both buyers and sellers with their real estate needs for the last 6 years. In 2007, she founded Rose-Colored Staging, a professional home staging and redesign business, to help sellers successfully market their homes with professional home staging.
