This week, 4realz

While at Move, I used to send out a weekly email to the bulk of the executive team where I listed the top 5 to 15 news items from the past week that I thought they should know about (along with a dash of commentary). From the feedback I got, I know it was greatly appreciated and started more interesting conversations they I could possibly count.

Now that I’m no longer at Move, I’d like to continue doing these emails, except open it up to real estate technology executives from across the industry. (And although it is geared towards executives, I’m happy to add just about anyone to the distribution list.)

Getting a weekly email from me is 100% free and 100% opt-in. The only way to get on my list is to email me @ thisweek@4realz.net with a simple request to be included. Unsubscribing will always be just as easy. 😉

Without further ado, here’s the topics I covered in this week’s email:

Typically, I’m not going to repost the weekly emails here because it will be duplicating a lot of the same stuff that I will have already covered on 4realz, but this week is a bit different since I thought I should give people a flavor of what to expect.

And remember, if you want to be included on the email list going forward, then all you have to do is email me at thisweek@4realz.net with a request.

13 responses

  1. ummm. Isn’ t that the point of blogging? Why not post all the content here on the blog instead of asking us to email you? Do I really have to have a subscription to the blog and the email to get all the good Dustin content? Is there a glossy print edition with timeless content for readers who can’t be bothered with email or RSS feeds?

  2. I hadn’t seen the Vast / Ben Clark news. Ben’s a good guy, but he always seemed a bit peripheral at Zillow. Based in Virginia or somewhere.

    Hey Ben – here’s task #1 for you: real estate search results aren’t like results for used cars. When I search for homes in “Sunnyvale, CA” I do NOT want 24,000 results. I do NOT want the first results I see to be in East Palo Alto. I want the 50 homes for sale in Sunnyvale. That’s it. Please.
    http://www.vast.com/real_estate/location-sunnyvale~ca

    I tried to feed Naval these use cases a year and a half ago, but apparently they had other priorities.

  3. Geordie:

    You bring up a great point that blogging should be enough… but my experience has been that blogs simply don’t reach everyone. If you’re comfortable with a feed reader or you actively make the round of blog sites on a regular basis then I don’t think you’ll have any need for the email.

    Nonetheless, I’m positive that (at least at this point in time) I will not reach many of the people I want to reach (i.e. real estate tech executives) with a blog. That’s reality. The typical real estate tech executive is too busy to follow this blog on a regular basis and I’m going to happily fill up 4realz with a lot of fluff stories that will be interesting to my blog audience, but not necessarily relevant to them.

    To put it simply… I’m looking to create something that is appropriate to the audience. In this case, I think an email is the most appropriate tool. I could be wrong and may change it up in the future. 🙂

    With that said, a good email is often quite different than a good blog post, so I won’t just copy-and-paste the same stuff that I write here. However, please don’t feel like you have to subscribe to the email to get the best stuff. I love to blog and do not plan to hold anything back on 4realz.net!

  4. […] I just signed up myself. Dustin created Rain City Guide, a top real estate blog, and until recently, was employed by Move.com. Each week he sent a roundup of the top news to the big wigs at Move. Now he’s willing to share it with you. var OutbrainPermaLink=”http://blog.mariah.com/2007/12/get-the-top-realty-news-of-the-week-spoon-fed-to-you-by-dustin-luther/”; var OB_demoMode = false; if ( typeof(OB_Script)!=’undefined’ ) OutbrainStart(); else { var OB_Script = true; var str = “”; document.write(str); } […]

  5. I just clicked on the link to LinedIn. We are second cousins.
    But I also noticed you need to update your employer…
    hint hint…

    That’s the problem with having profiles all over the net. One thing changes and you are out of date on 50 sites.

    Hey, that might be the next great thing, eh?
    A central repository system that would feed all the profiles from one source…

    Mike, stop typing! You’ll give it all away!
    I can’t…
    oh no I accidentally hit the submit button

  6. Mike: Someone will crack the multi-profile nut some day, but I think I’d be more worried about a central profile repository than an outdated profile! 😉

  7. […] 15, 2007 by Dustin …my announcement around the weekly emails.   I have a few dozen sign-ups at this point along with some much appreciated plugs from Todd and […]

  8. Geordie: When I read Paul’s post showing the ubiquity of email (as compared to blogs), I couldn’t help but think about this conversation!

  9. I guess my suggestion (request?) is to post your weekly roundup on the blog as well as send out the email.

    There will always be those consumers who would rather stay anonymous and read a blog rather than get on another email list.

    There are others (like myself) who would rather just subscribe to the blog and read it all here as oppose to deal with another email clogging the system.

    I agree that email is here to stay and am not suggesting that Twitter or Facebook or texting is going to replace it anytime soon.

  10. Geordie: Great suggestion… Since I’m still only one email into the endeavor, I’ll play around a bit with formatting and what I publish here on 4realz. Best.

  11. Let me echo Geordie’s request. Please post it to the blog! You know the execs have it backwards… They should be RSS-ing not SMTP-ing. Don’t you want them coming to your blog so they can start figuring out that the internet isn’t just something you dump something on? So why not post the column to your blog and then email the link to the execs?

  12. Ben,

    You make a good point except almost everything I write is a summary of something that was posted on 4realz earlier in the week. I think I’ll post this week’s “email” over on RCG as a test…

  13. […] besides blogging on 4realz, I’m also committed to sending out a weekly email that summarizes the news and gossip that I think the typical real estate executive should know. […]

Leave a Reply