Have you ever picked up the local newspaper to read an article quoting one of your competitors? Have you ever wondered why some real estate agents seem to get in the local newspaper or on local TV more than others?

There’s no reason you can’t be the subject of the next story. That publicity is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to your competitor. The newspaper story or television story reached tens of thousands of potential clients when it was published or aired. It will live on the Internet for years, where tens of thousands of buyers and sellers will come upon it when they are searching online for an agent and learn about him.

Let’s count the ways your competitor will get business from a single good news story. First, he will get cold, unsolicited calls from customers in the market to buy or sell. Second, he will reach tens of thousands more with the power of a third party (the newspaper) endorsement that supports the other marketing he is doing. Third, his article will live on the Internet, poised to pop up when a customer searches for local real estate agents on Google. Fourth, other real estate agents and brokers will see the story and be more likely to refer him business. Fifth, lenders and vendors he works with will see it, be more eager to work with him and refer him business. The list goes on.

How much money did you spend last year on prospecting and buying leads? Your competitor just accomplished more than you did and it cost him absolutely nothing. You are just as good a real estate professional. You know just as much about real estate and the local market and you would make as good an interview as anyone else in town. Except that you don’t know how to go about it.

You don’t need luck. You don’t need “media contacts.” You don’t need to advertise in the newspaper or on TV. You don’t need to be president of your local Realtor board or CEO of the biggest brokerage in town. You just need to learn how to get media coverage. Steve Cook and I (David Lereah) have written a guide to help real estate agents get local media coverage; it’s called: How to Get Media Coverage that Generates Referrals, Leads, and Income.

Over the next several weeks, we will publish selected excerpts from this guide so our readers can learn strategies and receive advice from one of the top media people in the real estate business – Steve Cook.