Using the Homes for Sale in the Mountains Web Site A Guide for Advertisers
Page 2, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
Welcome! One of the many benefits of being a Homes for Sale in the Mountains customer is the convenience of submitting your ad materials to us online. When you use your account to log in to our web site, uploading your listings for inclusion in our printed magazine is just the beginning! Listings for sale of land, subdivisions, single family homes and commercial property become available online to buyers worldwide via our web site. You can advertise your rentals online as well. Once your listings are included on our site, you ll enjoy exposure to potential buyers who are eager for you to contact them, either for more information or to schedule an appointment to see one of your properties. We created this guide to help you get the most out of using our web site. Use this resource any time you have questions about how to use our site, or use it as a training tool for someone who is unfamiliar with how our site works. Web Site Technical Support If at any time you need additional assistance, please call our office at 706-896-2412, or toll-free 888-896-2412 during normal business hours, or send us an email with your question at techsupport@homesforsalemagazines.com. We're here to help! Page 3, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
Web Site User Guide for Advertisers - Index Section Page Welcome...3 Using Homes for Sale in the Mountains Magazines Web Site A Guide for Advertisers...5 Login How to access your account...5 Navigation Bar Links Detailed Instructions...5 Customer Home Page The tools for your online account...5 My Profile...7 Home List on Web...8 Adding properties to your Home List...8 Important notes about entering property information...8 Select photos for your listing...9 Save listing to your property inventory...9 Making edits to your listings...9 Browser Cache Display Problem...9 Add Home on Web...9 Add Magazine Layout Creating your printed magazine advertisement...9 Select Properties for Runbook...9 Layout Selection...10 Select Position for Each Listing109 Save Your Layout...10 Special Instructions...10 Submit Your Completed Ad...10 Proofing Your Ad...10 Reviewing Your Proof and Making Changes...11 Adding banners, insets or special formats to individual listings...11 Approving Your Ad...12 Leads Inbox How to view and process the leads you receive from buyers visiting our web site...13 Logging out of your account...15 Web Site Technical Support Information...15 Page 4, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
Using Homes for Sale in the Mountains Magazines Web Site A Guide for Advertisers Login - How to access your account The web address of your account login page is http://www.homesforsalemagazines.com/agents/ Here you will login using your email address and password we provided to you when you initiated your advertising account with us. You can also reach the login page from our home page, click on the "Advertiser Info" button in the left column, then click the "Agent Login" tab. Write your password here: The agent login screen: Don t remember your password? Please call our office for a password reset during normal business hours, 888-896-2412. Navigation Bar Links - Detailed Instructions At the top of every page, you ll see several links to tools you ll use often. This section will help you to understand how each tool is used. My Agent Home The customer home page The customer home My agent home screen: Page 5, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
To verify that you are logged into your account, you'll see your company name and a greeting below these links when you view the customer home page. Below the greeting, you see "What would you like to do?" along with several frequently-used links to several tools on our site: o I would like to View or Change my ACCOUNT INFORMATION - edit or update any of your contact and other account information. o I would like to CHANGE MY PASSWORD - you may change your password anytime using this link. o I would like to VIEW MY HOME LIST - add, view or edit the inventory of your listings you've entered on our site. o I would like to BUILD MY MAGAZINE AD - prepare and submit materials to us for your printed ad in our magazines. o I would like to VIEW MY LEADS - links to your Leads Inbox. o I would like to VIEW MY ADVERTISING DEADLINE CALENDAR - see your deadlines for upcoming issues of our printed magazines. Once you've logged in, your home page is the starting point for all online tools. At the top of the page, you'll see the navigation bar with links to all the pages available to you. These links are available to you on any page you will visit while logged into your account on our site: o My Agent Home - links to Customer Home Page. o My Profile - edit or update any of your contact and other account information. o Home List on Web - add, view or edit the inventory of your listings you've entered on our site. o Add Home on Web - link to quickly add a new property to your inventory of listings. o Ad Magazine Layout - prepare and submit materials to us for your printed ad in our magazines. o Leads Inbox - all leads are delivered to your Leads Inbox. o LOGOUT>> - log out of your account. Page 6, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
My Profile - Update your contact information The customer profile screen: Use this page to maintain your contact information, including your company name, web site address, your name, phone numbers, street address, city, state and zip code. If you edit information on this page, please call our office and let us know. Proof Notifications Email Addresses Also on your profile page you can enter additional email addresses to receive proofs of your printed ads. This is very useful if you have an assistant or an in-house marketing professional handling your advertising, or if you have more than one email address. We use email to inform you when proofs are posted to your account, so it's essential to keep this information current. Page 7, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
Home List on Web - Managing your online property inventory The home list screen: Your home list is the heart of your online account. Adding homes to your online inventory is quick and easy. Before you begin, however, be sure you have all original photos (from your camera, not the MLS), all listing information, the home owner s name and address, and representing agent s contact information handy. Be sure your property photos are easy to locate on your computer. Adding properties to your Home List Open the "Add New Home on Web" entry page by clicking on the "Add New Property" button located at the top of your Home List, or click on the "Add Home on Web" link in the site navigation bar (located at the top of all pages). A new page will open with blank fields for you to fill in. Several of the entry fields have red question marks next to them. Click on these question marks for more information about the adjacent entry field. Important notes about entering property information. Enter all information about your properties accurately in the fields provided. If you are entering a rental property, be sure to select Rental. Properties for sale should be categorized as Residential, Commercial, or Lot and Land. It is critical that you categorize your property correctly. Enter property prices in the price field it is not necessary to put prices in the property description. An exception would be if you want to state a price range for a multiple property listing, perhaps for a Page 8, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
new subdivision with several lots. In this case you would enter the lowest price in the price field, then the price range in the property description. Be sure to fill in your client s name and address information in the input fields on the right side of this page. When you advertise one of your properties in the printed magazine, this information is used to send your client a free copy with their listing included, along with a personalized Thank you! Imagine the excitement this can generate when your client opens up Homes for Sale in the Mountains Magazine and sees their property advertised! And rest assured, your client s information is never visible to other users of our web site, and we do not sell or use this information for any other purpose. Select photos for your listing After you've entered all the property information into the fields and drop-down menus, you'll notice four buttons for photo upload. You may upload up to four photos for each of your properties. Usually one will suffice. Save listing to your property inventory Once every field and drop-down menu is entered, and you've located the photo you want to upload using the "Choose File" button, you must click the "Add This House" button at the bottom of the page to save your information. (If you close this window before clicking "Add This House" you will lose the information you entered.) After your new property is entered, you'll be returned to your Home List and the listing will be visible. Continue entering as many properties as you like (depending on the terms of your account). As soon as you get them entered, they can be viewed by the public on the Internet. Making edits to your listings You can upload new photos or edit any of the information about your properties at any time. Keeping listing information current is very important, as you want to accurately represent your client's interests. Click on Home List on Web and then on the View button. Browser Cache Display Issue When you upload new photos and save your changes, sometimes the new photo will not show up. This is caused by Internet Explorer's file cache. To fix this issue in Internet Explorer, select your "Tools" menu, then "Internet Options." Under the "General" tab, click the "Delete" button under "Browsing History" then delete your temporary Internet files. If you use a Macintosh, delete your browser's file cache. After you do this, the new photos should appear properly. Add Home on Web As mentioned previously, this links directly to the Add New Home on Web entry page. Ad Magazine Layout - Creating your printed magazine advertisement online Creating your ad has never been easier! Here are step-by-step instructions to help you get your ad completed and ready for printing in our magazine. Select Properties for Runbook Page 9, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
Before you setup your ad layout, you'll need to indicate which listings you want to appear in your printed ad. To do this, click on the "Home List on Web" link at the top of any page, and then click on the "Runbook" check box in each property you want to appear in your ad. Keep in mind that you have a certain number of properties that will fit in your printed page, so don't select all your properties for Runbook. IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful not to select the "Delete Check Box" on the far left side of your listing unless you really do want to remove listings permanently from your Home List. Layout Selection To get started on your layout, the first step is to choose an ad layout based on the page size indicated on your Space Reservation Agreement. Choose the layout you wish, and then click on the "Select Ad Layout" button to proceed to the Building Ad tool. You can change layouts if you wish by clicking on "Change Ad Layout," but you will have to rebuild your ad at that time. It's best to choose a layout and stick with it. Select Position for Each Listing You will see your selected layout grid with a drop-down menu in each position. Use the drop-down menu in each block of the layout grid, located on the left side of the page, to select properties you designated "Runbook" in the Home List. All the properties available are shown in a list on the right. If you want a property to take up two or more horizontal spaces, simply select the same home ID number in two or more of the grid spaces. Save Your Layout Once you've chosen all the properties to fill your layout grid, be SURE to click the "Update" button just below the Ad Layout grid. If you skip this important step, all your selections will be lost if you navigate to another page, and you'll have to select your properties in the layout grid once more. If all the blocks in the grid become green in color after your click the Update button, your layout is correct. If any blocks become red in color, your ad is not ready and there is something wrong with your layout. Please call us for assistance if this occurs. Special Instructions If there are any special instructions you need to relay to our design team regarding your ad layout, click the "Edit Instructions" button and enter the information in the space provided. Submit Your Completed Ad When you've completely finished with your ad layout, click the "Submit Ad" button. We are notified that your ad is ready for us to work on and we'll post a low-resolution PDF proof to your account when complete. You will receive notifications via email any time a proof is posted to your account. Proofing Your Ad While working on your printed ad, we provide you with a 1st and a Final proof. Once you create your ad and click the "Submit Ad" button, we are alerted to begin working on your ad. Proofs are posted online as low-resolution PDF files. Note that each page of your ad has its own proof. Click on the page numbers to view proofs for each page. Page 10, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
While work is in progress on your ad, we "lock out" the ability for you to make to prevent omissions or errors. Status messages will be displayed at the top of the "Ad Magazine Layout" page to inform you where your ad is in production and when you may make changes. When your 1st or Final proofs are posted, your ad layout is unlocked, and you can make changes at that time. If we post a 3rd, or Additional Charge proof, you are only allowed to approve the ad. If changes need to be made after the Additional Charge proof, you will need to contact our office via telephone. When work is completed on your ad, we will post a 1st proof to your account on our web site. An automated email will be sent to you letting you know the proof has been posted (this email also includes step by step instructions for making changes). Reviewing Your Proof and Making Changes Once your 1st proof is posted, login to your account and review your proof carefully - to see your proof, go to the "Ad Magazine Layout" page, and then look for the "View Proof" link. On your PDF PROOF, check all prices, descriptions, MLS numbers and photos for accuracy. If you need to make any change to property information, make all your changes at once on the web site. Be sure to document your changes in the "Special Instructions" box by clicking on the "Edit Instructions" button. Make a note of the MLS number of any property you have edited and describe what information you changed (price, description or a photo) and save the instructions. When all of your edits are complete, click on the "Submit Ad" button again to let us know you've made changes. Finished with your changes? Click the "Submit Ad" button above the grid. We'll now receive your changes and an additional proof will be sent to you within a reasonable amount of time. If at any time you wish to see or print out a representation of your ad, click the "View Ad" button located directly below the yellow Ad Layout grid on the left side of the page. You can edit property descriptions from this page as well. Adding banners, insets or special formats to individual listings To add special items to a particular listing, click the View Ad button just below the yellow layoug grid, then click the "Edit" button in the appropriate square. A new window will open for you to modify your listing text and other listing information. Here you can select a second image to appear as an "inset," specify banner text, and you can enter property-specific special instructions if necessary. This is useful if you want a single listing to stand out with a different colored background, or if you want us to make the listing look different from the others in your ad. Just explain what you want in the Special Instructions area: Page 11, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
The advanced features entry screen: Be sure to click the "Update" button after your edits are complete. The window will close and your changes are saved. Click the "Submit Ad" button after you make changes to any part of your ad (be sure to make ALL your changes at the same time before clicking the "Submit Ad" button.) Approving Your Ad If all information is correct on your posted PDF PROOF, this is when you click the "Approve" button to let us know the ad is correct and ready for printing. You'll need to approve each page of your ad. After approval, no further action is necessary on your part for this issue. After we make any changes you submitted after the 1st proof, we will post a final proof to your account so you can verify that all your changes are incorporated into your printed ad. You'll receive another automated email message to notify you that a new proof is posted. Page 12, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
To view your Final proof, login to your account, and carefully review the new proof on each page of your ad. If everything on the posted PDF PROOF is correct, click the "Approve" button to notify us that your ad is ready to be printed. Be sure to review your final proof to verify that all changes were made, and if we missed any of the changes you requested, please call our office immediately to request a correction. You may still make changes to your ad after the final proof; however, additional charges will apply: Change submitted manually - per listing (not using web site) $ 2.50 Text change - per listing $ 25.00 Photo change - per listing $ 50.00 Layout change - per page (pre-press) $ 75.00 Layout change - per page (post-production) $125.00 On-the-press plate change - per page (magazine on the press) $500.00 We will always post a proof to your account on our web site after any change is made to your ad. You may want to print out a copy of your proof or save it to your computer's hard drive for future reference. We remove all ad materials and proofs from your account once the magazine is printed. Leads Inbox - How to view and process the leads you receive from buyers visiting our web site The leads inbox list screen: Your leads will appear in a list, showing the sender's information, along with the date and time the lead was received. If the lead is an inquiry on a specific property you have listed on our web site (a direct lead), the MLS number and Home ID number will also be displayed, and will be shown in red Page 13, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
type. Only you will receive direct lead information - no one else will get it but you. Qualified (general) leads, displayed in regular type, are from buyers who want you to contact them, and are looking for properties in your area, but are not inquiring about any specific listing. To view the lead, simply click on the "view" button. A new window will open and all the lead information the customer entered will be displayed for you, including contact information. To reply, a "reply to sender" button is located above the lead information, along with a "print" button for your convenience. If you want to forward the lead information via email to someone else in your office, simply click the "forward" button. You'll see a "to" entry field - simply insert the recipient email address in the box (for multiple addresses, separate with a comma). Then click the "send" button. The individual lead display screen: If you forward leads frequently, an address book function allows you to save frequently used email addresses. To enter information into the address book, navigate to the "leads inbox" page, and click on the "manage personal address book" button, located at the top of the leads listing. Here, you can add, edit, or delete contacts. Page 14, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
Be sure to check on your leads frequently (we recommend at least once per week) and remember to delete old leads or those you've already processed. If you need to save the lead, print it out for future reference. Logging out of your account. Click LOGOUT>> at the top of any page to log out of your account. You will need to log back in to access any of the password-protected portion of your account after clicking on this link. Web Site Technical Support If at any time you need additional assistance, please call our office at 706-896-2412, or toll-free 888-896-2412 during normal business hours. We're here to help! Page 15, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers
Notes: Page 16, Web Site User Guide for Advertisers