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Drive-By Marketing

An array of new mobile services let you send property details and photos instantaneously to buyers who are scouting out your listings on foot or by car.

The Web is an ever-important place to market your listings, but don't put all your eggs in one basket. After all, buyers haven't limited their home searches exclusively to cyberspace. They still spend a lot of time looking for properties the old-fashioned way - cruising neighborhoods in person to see what's available. 

In fact, that plain old For Sale sign remains one of the most popular home-search tools for buyers, according to the 2006 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. A hefty 63 percent of buyers who responded to the NAR survey said they used information from a yard sign to help in their search - a higher percentage than those who used print ads, open houses, or home magazines. 

A number of new mobile wireless technologies have emerged to help you take advantage of this curbside audience, which often is armed with PDAs, cell phones, or laptops to canvass the neighborhoods more effectively. These mobile marketing services allow you to put enough data in buyers' hands to help them decide if they're interested enough to contact you, or if they should keep driving to the next house. 

Here's a look at some of the latest services.

*Dialing for Data. Other services require prospective buyers to dial a toll-free number and enter the property code. TaggLine gives callers the option of listening to property information over the phone, receiving it as a text message or photos, or connecting directly with the listing agent. The service also can alert practitioners to information requests and provide tracking reports. Subscriber base price is $50 per month for up to five listings and $75 per month for unlimited listings.