Real Estate Investors are Missing Out on a Major Source of Passive Income An underutilized wealth building strategy that's right under your nose.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
With the cost of housing rising and people buying fewer homes, it's important to plan ahead. Real estate investors need to anticipate the next potential market change and start thinking of new potential passive income streams.
To date, I've asked more than 831 real estate investors, through social media posts and live interviews, certain questions to learn more about their business. What I learned astounded me. A lot of real estate investors struggle with technology. It's not their fault -- they are experts in getting deals, not learning about the latest tech trends. A major source of passive income that real estate investors are missing out on is selling their knowledge, expertise and utilizing digital marketing to grow their business and get more deals. The lack of knowledge and experience with technology gets in the way of investors experiencing real growth.
Related: 17 Passive Income Ideas for Increasing Your Cash Flow
I've been able to help many investors with their program launches. If you're interested in launching your own course, training or coaching program, you're in the right place. The five action items below are ones you can start using right away. This applies to both real estate investment companies and real estate investors.
1. Ask your audience revenue-oriented questions.
Almost every real estate investor I have worked with has had some kind of audience, big or small. Investing in real estate is a hot topic these days because of how lucrative it can be. Ask questions that will help solve the problems that your audience is facing. Then create a program based on the responses you get.
2. Launch your program based off the trending response.
Because you've asked your audience revenue-oriented questions, you can now launch your program. If 80 out of 100 people give you the same trending response, you've struck gold. You now know what your audience wants and what they are struggling with. Create an offer and launch it to your audience, even if you don't have a single piece of content created. Launch it with live calls so that you can get feedback on how your content currently is, and what you need to change to fit their needs.
Related: Rising Number of Female Investors in Real Estate
3. Dial in your sales systems organically.
The best way to launch your program is to start with what you already have. You know the problem your audience is facing. You've already created your program. Now is the time to launch to your audience organically. You've already spent time nurturing them and teaching them. They will be more likely to invest in your program because they have been warmed up to your message. You can do this by creating simple Facebook posts first. Make sure you "tease" your audience before you launch it, just like how the movie industry creates movie trailers for upcoming movies. Launch your program by opening the cart on a certain day, accepting only a specific number of people.
4. Automate your program strategically.
This is where passive income comes in. Don't work more than you should and create another job for yourself. You're a real estate investor because you enjoy doing other things more. You love the idea of passive wealth. To keep this goal in mind, automate your business as much as possible. Your program can run and sell almost completely by itself when set up correctly. Set up procedures that will automate your program. This can be done by setting up step-by-step processes for current or future employees, or by setting up automations for it. Get notified when new leads and sales come in with integrations.
Related: 'Shark Tank's' Barbara Corcoran Says She Built Her Business 'Almost Like a Man'
5. Scale with Facebook ads and Google ads.
Although Facebook ads and Google ads are some of the best ways to scale your program, the costs are rising. Hootsuite, a social media management company, says that advertising budgets will double over the next five years. My advice? Start advertising now, and keep advertising later. The prices will only go up until the next big advertising platform shows up. The best way to combat this is to start advertising now so that you can get in while the advertising rates are at their lowest. Get as much data as early as you can and you will be ready for when the prices are high.
Following these results has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars for my clients. You may find that you have finished some steps above completely or partially. That's a good sign. Continue to the next step. If you're starting from scratch, I highly recommend you start on the first step.