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Comment by Jumie Omole on June 7, 2010 at 3:06pm

i heart your logo and the color scheme choice- though in my opinion using blue, greys and blacks is playing it safe and just been like every other "professional website".

Since you have tons of info to share; i'd suggest not placing them all on your website, for instance "sign up for newsletter" would be more effective if placed on your blog in a prominent space rather than the bottom. Also the picture of yourself and hubby is great if placed on the blog, in the about us or "team divine" area.

Last tidbit, how do you plan to differentiate, track and follow up on the traffic the website drives versus the blog - the stats may be a helpful indication where to invest more time/effort.

Hope this helps, you've done a good job..... !

Comment by Melina Taylor on June 4, 2010 at 10:08pm

Thank you Dee! This was awesome. I appreciate you taking your time out. Hope you check back soon as you'll see some changes!

Comment by Dee Allomong on June 4, 2010 at 8:01pm

BTW - Melina's website address is now BURIED below my run-on comment ;-). Here it is again.

Divine Property Management Website

Comment by Dee Allomong on June 4, 2010 at 7:59pm

Hi Melina

I actually had a chance to see your old website and now your new one. I do like the elevated professionalism for this one, however, I think you sacrificed some bits that made you stand out. The bits that made your company something of a "Purple Cow." (By the way - I love Purple!). Too many businesses sacrifice individuality - they strive to be just like everyone else in their profession. Seth Godin recently wrote about this - We're the same, we're the same, we're. . .

A few weeks ago another property manager friend of mine asked for some input. He is going to get his website redesigned and I used to work for a company that built property management websites and now I work with lots of small business entrepreneurs and give website advice. He asked for examples of sites I liked, and I actually used your old one as an example (though it still needed some polishing). Here are the "likes" that I remember (darn it . . . I deleted my email to him).

- I liked your menu names. If I recall correctly, you had one called "Truth About." There were also some other unique names, but I don't remember them . . . SORRY!
- I liked the images that inspired trust - the ones with people in them.

In this new site, I like the
- local appeal to Orange County
- you stayed true to your values and display them on the Main Page and the About Page
- I like the photo of you and your husband, that does give a bit of the personal touch.

Seems like you need better main page copy that appeals to your target audience. The main page copy is good for organic search engine results, but also is important in explaining why an owner should hire _you_ or why a tenant should rent one of the properties that _you_ manage.

You should also have a web form on the main page so that you can capture contact information from the "lookers" - especially owners who are seeking management. This will help you follow up with them. Too many business owners spend lots of money driving qualified traffic to their site and then fail to capture any contact information for follow up. Some people are ready to talk with you right away, but a good number of people are truly interested and in need of your services, but when they first visit your site they are "window shopping." They are gathering information. How are you going to be sure they come back to you if you cannot follow up with them at all? That's what my day to day life is all about - helping small businesses automate marketing follow up to warm their leads (through educational content) until the lead is ready to take the next step - which for you is probably a consultation or analysis. BTW - I work at Infusionsoft, if anyone's interested - also chat with me if you want to learn more.

I'd recommend considering an integrated rental listing database. There are a number of companies that provide this type of service - you should contact some of our vendor partners at Let's Talk PM Vendors to see who offers the best solution for you. All of these companies are represented in the LTPM Community. Ideally your listings will show up in your website, but also be distributed to high traffic rental sites across the Internet. I've seen few sites that also integrate with social media so that you get even more visibility. A listing database will give you the chance to give more complete listing information, activate/deactivate listings, and get more exposure for your efforts. The data will be archived and you can run reports based on it.

Great that you've integrated a blog and your Twitter account. Make sure your Tweets are going to be relevant if they are posted on your site in a prominent place (top of your About page). Sometimes good to have a personal Twitter and a company Twitter.

Well, I could probably give more input, but I am sure others will also have something to say ;-). Besides I think this post is getting a little lengthy.

I hope this helps you, and also help other LTPM members who might be working on their website.

Ciao,

Dee

Comment by Melina Taylor on June 3, 2010 at 9:48pm

www.divinepropertymgmt.com