REAL ESTATE INVESTOR WEBSITE COMPANY
Westbury, NY · Member since 2015 · 6 posts · 2 votes
Hi guys
Ok I am starting as a wholesaler , I need to do 2 websites ,
Now I don't know what to pick between
www.leadpropeller.com ( modern / apparently seo customize 49/month )
or investor carrot or
( modern / apparently seo customize 49/month minimum)
www.realestateinvestingwebsites.com ( design don't look modern , not responsive website) (300 one time payment )
please any reviws or advices
I started with a lead propellor site to try it out for a month. It is a nice site and probably has everything you need to get started. There is a BP discount and a lot of positive responses on the thread that was started a few weeks ago about it. I can tell you that from my experience their customer service is outstanding! They are very helpful and quick to respond which is great. They also have great videos on the site about every facet of setting up your webpage which are very helpful.
I also read @Scott Costello blog post a couple days ago about lead carrot as I see a lot of those sites around too. I recommend you check that out, it is on his webpage with the link in his profile. I don't have any experience with that site so not very helpful there.
After reading @Antonio Coleman blog posts and doing some marketing and SEO research on my own I decided to go with my own wordpress site. What I didn't like about the two other sites was that it wasn't exactly what I wanted my site to look like and a lot of the sites out there already have similar content and the same look. I wanted mine to stand out and be able to customize and expand the site more at my own pace. Also, I wanted to make this decision now as I got started with my site instead of 6 months to a year later and start all over again. The most important part to me was that I wanted to learn how to do it myself and spend some time now so I know what I am hiring out in the future and how easy/difficult of a task it is. So, I jumped and it will be cheaper in the long run and I hope it will produce better results. My wordpress site was $55 and I have spent about 6-8 hours on it so far. There is the upfront cost of the domain name and monthly hosting but that is it along with my time which most will argue is worth more than the $50 a month you will pay for lead propellor. However, once it is set up my time will be spent on SEO and blog posts to move up in the rankings which you would be doing with those sites anyway if you want them to rank highly.
You can always change your mind later in the process but I wanted to learn that side of the business and start my site from scratch (really a wordpress template but all my own material). Good luck with whatever you decide.
@Lily Boudon as a BP paid member you get a discount on Leadpropeller
oh ok . and do you know if they are good ?
@Lily Boudon Hi, before you go buying those type of websites yuo might want to read all of my blog posts here on BP. I now about all those sites you just named above and personally they won't have all the tools in them to help to dominate your local market.
Nearly all my clients come to me having a site from those you listed above. So at the end of the day we always have to start over with something they own and control 100% percent. Just read over my blog post and then make an educated decision.
Good Luck Lily
http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/author/antoniocoleman/page/2/
@Antonio Coleman What sort of things do you don't get that you absolutely need from a site you build yourself that Investor Carrot or Lead Propeller doesn't give you?
Hi @Scott Costello It's the all around customization of the site that is suitable for the search engines. Those sites create mass templates that are good to have but not always suitable for your local market. At the end of the day believe me when I say that its better to own the cow versus renting it.
Those sites are good to start with, but coming from a guy who starting creating sites back in 2002. You just need something you have 100% control over.
Just checked out your site..it looks good bro
Owning your own site and being able to do what you want is the ideal scenario for sure. I own both my own sites and a couple Investor Carrot sites. They both rank very well and bring in leads, but I enjoy the IC site more because I don't have to put much work into it. And to this point it pulls more leads per month.
In the end it's not always good to have 100% control over your website. If you don't have the knowledge about seo and websites or don't have the money to spend to hire those things out, it can be a huge time suck.
I'm not arguing with you at all, just trying to point out the advantages of the other side. Building your own website can be like going down a rabbit hole if you know what I mean.
I'll shoot you a message as I'd like to chat with you more about this.
@Scott Costello I think investor carrot has really good reviews but right now the cheapest package is 49/ month
however lead propeller is cheaper.. but I cant find any reviews on the net.... are you familiar with leadpropeller?
thanks for your post , I read couple of your blog post,,, real good. I agree with you , it is good to own a website but with my budget it Is not possible right now , so my plan is to go with carrot or leadpropeller and in couple of months ... I hopefully get someone to build my own. and maintain the SEO work ...
@Lily Boudon Great..just let me know when you're ready to make that next step. Just want to point you not the right direction.
@Scott Costello I think investor carrot has really good reviews but right now the cheapest package is 49/ month
however lead propeller is cheaper.. but I cant find any reviews on the net.... are you familiar with leadpropeller?
Hey Lily, I currently do not have any experience with Lead Propeller outside of knowing the owner.
One thing you should keep in mind is that no matter what website service (or building one yourself) it's going to take quite a bit of time to get a foothold in the first page of search results. So switching from one to the other might not be the best strategy. I'd pick one and just commit to it fully.
The good part of building your own site from scratch (with the help of someone like Antonio) is that you can go at your pace. You can just get something up there that will be with in your budget and then commit more money to it later.
However I always recommend really committing to your website and putting in the hard work/dollars in the beginning.
Just to give you an idea of what I spent on my IC site vs the site I built from scratch in the first year...
IC: $49 * 12 = ~$588
My Own Site: $3200 (i hired out some of the SEO and Content writing)
Over time the costs will probably even out because as my own site establishes itself on the first page of search results for some good keywods, i will probably not need the SEO guy as much or the content writer.
Best of luck in your decision. Whatever you choose will be the right choice as long as you commit to it.
Hi guys
Ok I am starting as a wholesaler , I need to do 2 websites ,
Now I don't know what to pick between
www.leadpropeller.com ( modern / apparently seo customize 49/month )
or investor carrot or
( modern / apparently seo customize 49/month minimum)
www.realestateinvestingwebsites.com ( design don't look modern , not responsive website) (300 one time payment )
please any reviws or advices
I believe Brandon Turner mentioned he was going to do a webinar or blog post about Lead Propeller so I would be on the look out for that
Yeah I have a big post on LeadPropeller coming out in a few days! I LOVE leadpropeller!
I've just been looking at comparisons of the two myself. Investor Carrot has a lot of good reviews, but what muddies the waters a bit for me is the fact that they do offer one of those "affiliate" programs (current customers get money back for getting new people to sign up). There's nothing wrong with that, and it's certainly common enough in internetland, but it just makes me less certain I am getting an actual opinion. That said, probably there are tons of satisfied customers who just want to give an enthusiastic recommendation, and I'm just being an old grumpus...
I agree about that third site- it looks like it's stuck in 2002. Pop-up talking people? Yikes.
@Lily Boudon My advice is, after you sign up for basic webpage subscription, once you could afford seo, build a website. remember it takes 6-12 months before you get 1st, if you get 1st rank, needs to get updates every now and then, but when in marketing, it should be worth it.
this is not an expert's opinion, but i have had an outsource website company before.
I started with a lead propellor site to try it out for a month. It is a nice site and probably has everything you need to get started. There is a BP discount and a lot of positive responses on the thread that was started a few weeks ago about it. I can tell you that from my experience their customer service is outstanding! They are very helpful and quick to respond which is great. They also have great videos on the site about every facet of setting up your webpage which are very helpful.
I also read @Scott Costello blog post a couple days ago about lead carrot as I see a lot of those sites around too. I recommend you check that out, it is on his webpage with the link in his profile. I don't have any experience with that site so not very helpful there.
After reading @Antonio Coleman blog posts and doing some marketing and SEO research on my own I decided to go with my own wordpress site. What I didn't like about the two other sites was that it wasn't exactly what I wanted my site to look like and a lot of the sites out there already have similar content and the same look. I wanted mine to stand out and be able to customize and expand the site more at my own pace. Also, I wanted to make this decision now as I got started with my site instead of 6 months to a year later and start all over again. The most important part to me was that I wanted to learn how to do it myself and spend some time now so I know what I am hiring out in the future and how easy/difficult of a task it is. So, I jumped and it will be cheaper in the long run and I hope it will produce better results. My wordpress site was $55 and I have spent about 6-8 hours on it so far. There is the upfront cost of the domain name and monthly hosting but that is it along with my time which most will argue is worth more than the $50 a month you will pay for lead propellor. However, once it is set up my time will be spent on SEO and blog posts to move up in the rankings which you would be doing with those sites anyway if you want them to rank highly.
You can always change your mind later in the process but I wanted to learn that side of the business and start my site from scratch (really a wordpress template but all my own material). Good luck with whatever you decide.
thank you all for responding.. great comments. I love this biggerpockets forum !
Well I went with IC, I took the 100/month because I wanted at least 2 sites minimum and also they doing GREAT mastermind live webinar every week.. I cant lie about that ! I attended one and it was great .
But yes the most important is to maintain you sites because like all of you said it takes time to rank on google ... so I've decided to join for 2/3months learn from them a bit and then hopefully I close 1 or 2 deals from my own resources because I wont get any leads from IC in 2/3 months I doubt or maybe I am wrong but anyway then I will build my own website and use someone to do it.. it is only the budget the issue right now that's it, and I needed my websites to be up and running now ..
that's the only reason why I didn't go with leadpropeller because leadpropeller websites looks better !
@Lily Boudon Awesome job. I can't wait to see your success over this year.
Thanks :-) @Antonio Coleman me too
Interesting, I was up on computers in the days of punch cards and mag disks, totally lost today.
I'm not sure I even know what you guys are talking about, that said, I have a IT specialist putting a web site together for me, have no idea what it will be set up as, that's his doings.
No, I'm not competing with BP.
I was thinking of a forum, might have a blog, a place to put out educational (real educational) aspects for RE investors.
I don't mind others posting commercial stuff in a forum, but I will oversee it, no gurus allowed without a total review of materials and they probably won't do that, much less pass so might as well say no gurus. Books maybe. No fee to post an ad. Not sure anyone will see it, LOL.
I'll probably include receipts for my chili, post my gas mileage on my overland trips, have pics of the yacht, some powered parachute flicks.......no, just kidding, it will just be RE and finance.
Actually, the idea came from a administrator at SW Missouri University and having an adult education on line course linked to the school, making my life easier, that is still a pain!
So, along those lines as to the purpose, what do you computer geeks recommend?
Must be dead simple to maintain, reliable and spam deleted automatically so I don't spend days deleting junk (not even sure that's an option).
Be nice, I don't know squat, so spell it out for me, I do know what an IP address is...I think. :)
@Lily Boudon you have got a ton of great feedback here.... thanks everyone for such wonderful insights.
While I am not overly familiar with either service I will tell you that my experience as a wholesaler and rehabber and a website haven't been the best. Overall I know you absolutely NEED to have a web presence in this day and age and if for nothing else to show the world or your prospects that you are somewhat progressive and up to the times. The one thing I do not personally believe is that a squeeze page or website alone will magically make you successful as a real estate investor.
You need leads to get phone calls to get appointments to make offers (and get some accepted) to sell your contracts or buy the properties right? I think that is something we can all agree on. That being said, I look at it like this, I am certain there is someone out there who has never spoken to a prospect and put a deal together but in my world, you need to talk with someone to build rapport, go out and meet them whenever possible and see the property (also whenever possible) to really "do" the work necessary to build your business and strengthen your sales and people skills.
In short, get leads (website, direct mail, door knocking, bandit signs, realtors.....whatever) and don't be afraid to call them and talk with them to take the interaction to the next phase which is the meeting, viewing the property or whatever it is in the chain of events.
Good luck and please let me know how it all goes.
Yes that's right . We need to build a rapport ... especially with distressed homeowner and I feel like they are not that easy to reach over the web...
But I will use every tools possible ( direct mailing bandit sign facebook fan page you tube linked in .. of course realtors)
Thank you
I will keep you posted for sure !
I am not affiliated with I Carrot but I have 3 websites with them. I am just starting to use them for lead acquisition and I like the fact that they have classes and mastermind group lessons. The teach you what to do immediately with the site to get started and have SEO education as well. They have even offered to do SEO for free if you will allow them to use you as a learning example. You can also customize the look of your site.
I have just asked them to set up local landing pages for me as well. They will set up 10 pages for $20 each. They have a market place for members to get discounted work done for them as well.
BTW. Read @Antonio Coleman posts. They are very educational.
@Vince Mayer Thanks for the mention
Hey @Lily Boudon , welcome aboard!
Great points in this thread for sure.
In the end, every solution out there is right for certain people for different reasons.
There are huge pros and cons w/ owning your own code (building your own site) vs. leveraging a platform like InvestorCarrot.
The biggest long-term cost most people aren't figuring of building your own website or going with a low priced option is the potential loss of revenue over the long term by lack of conversions.
Scott wrote in a post of his how his Carrot site is pulling about 5x more leads vs. his site he owns that he hired an expert to setup. 1 extra deal w/ the Carrot site pays for the membership for years.
Plus over the long-term w/ your own code you have...
- Wordpress updates
- Plugin updates
- Hosting fees
- Potential hackers (one of the larger investors in Birmingham had his non-carrot site hacked in Jan and switched over to Carrot as a result. He's ranked #1 in Google... another Carrot member ranked #2 in Google... for the top 3 seller keyword terms)
- Updating the website design when technology changes (like mobile, etc.)
- etc. etc.
InvestorCarrot (and other hosted versions like LP as well) handle these things for you.
Our weekly mastermind calls alone will be worth the value for your Carrot membership Lily so we look forward to working w/ ya and getting you results quicker!
See you on tomorrows call and we're here for ya!
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@Antonio Coleman Great work you're doing man!
Lets connect sometime. Would love to dive in and learn more about what you're doing to see if there's any synergies there.
Like @Scott said above I'd love to connect offline (or on here, either one) to discuss some of the things you feel aren't good on the SEO side w/ Investor Carrot. Carrot members hold more page 1 and top 3 rankings for motivated seller keywords around the country than any other website platform (over 13k leads per month right now)... so things are working pretty decent. I'd love to show you what we're doing behind the scenes to make that happen. On the front it looks like people have the same content, behind the scenes it's not the case. Some pretty cool SEO stuff we're doing behind the scenes w/ our content... plus our training and support that is driving those results. Cool stuff!
The main drawback from a platform like ours is of course that you don't own the code. There are pros and cons there for sure, but more often than not unless you're an SEO and conversion rate optimization expert, it can be a burden building your own site and hoping it'll convert well, and maintaining that site, the plugins, etc.
But that's why there are many many options for peeps! Something different for each persons needs.
Keep up the great work man! Your blog posts here on BP are great! Solid stuff.
Lets connect!
Thanks @Trevor Mauch Just contact me anytime bro