– A profile of Realty411’s publisher by Edith Bates –
Hollywood and the REI (real estate investor) arena may be completely different industries, but Linda Pliagas, founder of Realty411, a California-based media and marketing company, says she sees a lot of similarities between both.
For one thing, many real estate speakers develop larger-than-life personas and travel around the nation to meet their groups of eager fans and students. People tend to see only the glamorous side of the industry (the fortune, fame and properties), not realizing the toil the constant work and travel takes on the educators’ lives and families.
Both the entertainment and REI industries are fickle. Popular, in-demand speakers can lose their starlight quickly and then end up not getting as many bookings and invitations to speak as in previous years.
“It’s a tough business to travel around the country to speak at real estate clubs and events,” Pliagas says. She would know, last year company produced 19 expos around the country and did business with some of the top speakers in the REI industry.
In her previous career, Pliagas, who has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, was a freelance journalist and fashion magazine publisher who regularly interviewed media’s elite, such as entertainer Jennifer Lopez; best-selling author Brian Tracy; fashion icon Oscar de la Renta; the “dog whisperer” to the stars, Cesar Milan; civil-rights legend Julian Bond, among other powerful people.
As publisher of a popular real estate investor magazine, many real estate speakers and service companies now rely on her to promote their brand and business to the masses through her company’s magazines (Realty411, REI Wealth, CashFlow Express and Private Money411), plus their live events, and with email and social media marketing campaigns.
“I saw a need in the real estate investor arena for public relations and marketing,” Pliagas says, “Like in the entertainment industry, the real estate investment space is all about brand exposure and publicity. Companies and speakers who promote themselves are the ones who will get the most business and a larger share of the market.”
Realty411 promotes their clients by writing articles about their services in the print and online magazines (REI Wealth Monthly is completely digital). Additionally, they have also held photography shoots to create the perfect cover shot, produced videos and online podcasts, plus devised specialized email and social media marketing campaigns — all designed to skyrocket a company’s visibility.
Pliagas says she was always intrigued by the media packages she was sent by top-notch public relations companies when she published her previous lifestyle magazine. “They always had great media kits and creative ways of delivering their information to capture my interest and attention.”
Now she implements similar marketing strategies to help turn an average realty professional into the next great real estate rock star.
