Interview with Mark Podolsky, The Land Geek on marketing, real estate, and strategy - #051

Mark Podolsky started in the early 2000's, learning a way to market land online and finding buyers. Since then, he's managed to build a profitable and lucrative business through his Brand, The Land Geek. Although he specializes in real estate investing, this episode isn't just for those interested in the real estate industry.

In this value-packed episode, Mark discusses the strategies he used when he first got started and how they've evolved with the times to make his business more successful and lucrative than ever. He provides actionable tips and takeaways to apply to your business no matter what market or industry you're in.

Episode Discussions:

• The most valuable marketing asset Mark has
• The only channel to immediately connect with your target market
• Why email marketing is more of a valuable marketing tool than ever
• The benefits of having an email list and lead magnets
• Why you should always have a plan B to Facebook and other marketing channels
• Important marketing foundational concepts and fundamentals
• How to peach to the converted
• Not being in the convincing business
• The importance of knowing your customer avatar
• How to handle negative comments on your Facebook ads or posts and the beauty of hugging your haters
• The insiders secret weapon to making money online

4:13

Mark's intro:

• Professional land investor
• Has done over 5,200 land flips since 2001
• Got into land investing working as an investment banker and was miserable
• Got the "Monday and Friday blues"
• Firm hires someone taxing deed auctions, buying up raw land for pennies on the dollar, flipping online and making 300% returns on investments
• Mark buys 10 half acre parcels at an average of $300
• Sold them online for average price of $1200
• Next auction made $90K

"Now...I work 2 hours a week. Take that Tim Ferris."

7:19

• Mark's main marketing channel back in the early 2000's was Ebay.

9:22

The best buyers are the neighbors:

• Sends out neighbor letters build up buyers list online if neighbors pass
• Prices to receive money out of the down payment and finance the rest
• Automates payments through software

10:53

Takeaways:

1. Mark knows his customer avatar
2. Goes to the people that already understand the value of his product

11:48

"If you're not offending by noon, you're not working hard enough."

-Dan Kennedy

12:11

• Transitioned to Craigslist after Ebay
• Is able to post 124 ads with a touch of a button using software
• Uses Facebook because it's cost effective and it works

"The costs of marketing are so low and you can target so well on Facebook."

13:51

• Listing where most of your results are coming from could cut 80% of your marketing
• Allows you to focus in on what's working.
• Makes life easier, gets you better results, saves you money, enables you to connect with customers.

14:41

• Mark uses scheduling software like MeetEdgar.com or Coschedule.com to auto post ads on Facebook.
• Posts ads around 2 or 3am to target the "toilet sitters."
• Acquisition manager is on Facebook messenger, responding in 10 seconds or less.

16:00

"The secret of making money online is the phone."

17:54

• Talk to people and ask them the right questions so you know your target customer.
• If you don't know who your avatar is, you don't know what keeps them up at 2am, you can't target them properly.

18:47

Mark's favorite customer calls are the "haters."

• They cut to the chase.
• Don't care about your feelings or how hard you've been working.
• They tell you what you're really doing wrong.
• Once you cut through the initial sting, take their criticism as a gift.
• Tweak accordingly and the haters become your greatest advocates.

19:31

1. The haters are the type of people that want to be heard.
2. They have opinions that other people have but come out and say it to your face.

19:54

Dealing with haters:

• One of Mark's favorite books is Hug You Haters – by Jay Baer
• Negative feedback is an opportunity to not answer the hater, but to answer the market.
• How to reply: "Thank you for your comment. I'd like to educate you on why this is not a scam."
  • Been in biz for ________ years.
  • Flash your rating and customer satisfaction badge
  • Link to testimonials
• Provide proof to challenge comment.
• Thank again for comment.

"Now we're making that person look like a lunatic."

21:29

How to handle negative Facebook comments:

• Make sure their gripe is legitimate
• Provide proof to negate their concern
• Address it twice and then stop!
• Use it as a marketing opportunity to overcome objects and lower your cost-per-click

23:51

Why the two best marketing channels are your neighbors and your email list.

24:19

"Would you say that everyone should probably have an email list in their business? "YES"

24:53

Mark's process developing a lead magnet:

• Asks: "what are the common things people are asking me?"
• Marketed concerns as "Here's How to Avoid the Three Fatal Land Buying Mistakes I See Investors Make Every Day."
• Psychology states we're more risk averse than gain.
• Always under-promise and over-deliver on everything

25:54

Every business should have an email list and a lead magnet.

• If you don't have a lead magnet, look through emails and questions
• Find what short-term immediate problem you can solve for potential customers.
• Convert to PDF and use as an exchange tool for customer info.

26:34

Where is The Land Geek today?

• Teaching people who have solo-economic dependency how to get out of it with the ultimate side hustle.
• How to avoid mistakes and move the needles in their lives with the goal being that their passive income exceeds their fixed expenses within 18 months of working the business.

27:28

What The Land Geek is about:

• Solving every single pain point that Mark has gone through in the business with software and virtual assistance.
• Backend software geekpay.io that automates collecting money.

29:12

Mark's Secret marketing fantastic "techy, geeky" tips:

• Lumen5.com takes blog posts and creates a video • Showbox.com • TakeQuickVideos.com

Connect with Mark:

Thelandgeek.com - Mention the Modern Marketing podcast and get the $97 Passive Income Launch Kit for free!

Mentioned in this Episode:

Lumen5.com

Hug You Haters- Jay Baer

Geekpay.io

Contact Adam: [email protected]

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