Real Estate affiliate program
Rent.com is the largest real estate affiliate program out there right now. This program has a website that, based on zip code, lists all the available rental properties along with specific information regarding location, price, and sometimes even some pictures of the apartment or house available for rent. A landlord or property owner can choose to sign up with the affiliate program and therefore, have a wider audience base and much, much more “traffic” through virtual tours and web surfers.
When a web surfer is looking for available places to rent, they can log on to Rent.com and enter in varying criteria; i.e., number of bedrooms, first or second floor, number of bathrooms, square footage requirements, etc. Rent.com will “go out” and search the web for available rentals that meet this person’s criteria as it is entered into the system. If there are not any available that meet the specific criteria, then Rent.com either asks the person to revise their criteria (maybe settling for one less bathroom, etc.) or explains that there is nothing currently available but to “check back soon” for more information to follow.
The rental office benefits by the obvious increase in traffic and in the subsequent rental of their listings. The web surfer benefits because if they go through Rent.com and have it documented on their rental application, (that is approved and results in a lease being signed) Rent.com promises to give the new lessee a $50.00 check. How Rent.com makes it money is by charging the leasing companies a nominal fee for listing their available rentals on their website. The “win-win” is ideal and needless to say a very lucrative venture for the Rent.com people.
Taking this into consideration, a real estate affiliate program makes sense to all involved. Unlike other affiliate programs that simply try to generate sales from clicks on another website; this program has a target audience, one that is actually looking to make a purchase! Home sales are down currently and there are more listings than buyers. Making a virtual tour available on line will save the real estate agent the hassle of wear and tear on the body and car taking prospective clients from house to house and enables the buyer to “shop” from their home and not waste valuable time going from place to place.
The real estate industry takes their real estate affiliate program quite serious. As homes sales net huge commissions and the prospect of repeat business is always slim, the importance placed on the “almighty sale” is the real estate agent’s bread and butter. Making sure that everyone involved in the transaction is clear on what to expect, clear on what is expected and clear on all costs involved throughout the life of the transaction, the affiliate programs are about relationships; relationships that are valued and taken care of for long times to come. Affiliate programs can bring about additional mutually beneficial relationships, like those with a certain bank, or a real estate affiliate may foster a beneficial relationship with a furniture store, you see the point. Affiliate programs are all about benefits; find your best suited match! |
