Training Guide - Reliance Networkmedia.reliancenetwork.com/media/downloads/remaxms/...Charts, graphs, and print ads created by RE/MAX International to be personally branded for your

RE/MAX International, Inc. Copyright © RE/MAX International, Inc. Proprietary and Confidential 5075 S Syracuse St Denver, CO (800) 525-7452

Training GuideSeptember 2007

Copyright © RE/MAX International, Inc. Page 2 of 28 Proprietary and Confidential Design Center Training Guide

DESIGN CENTER TRAINING GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS RE/MAX DESIGN CENTER INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 3 ACCESSING DESIGN CENTER ....................................................................................................... 4 DESIGN CENTER OVERVIEW......................................................................................................... 5 DESIGN CENTER PROFILE............................................................................................................ 6 UPLOAD YOUR AGENT PHOTO ..................................................................................................... 9 DESIGN GALLERY ...................................................................................................................... 11 CREATE A PRINT PROJECT......................................................................................................... 12 PREVIEW AND PRINT A PROJECT ................................................................................................ 12 HOST A PROJECT ...................................................................................................................... 12 SUPPORT & GUIDED TOUR......................................................................................................... 12 SELECTING A DESIGN GALLERY PROJECT .................................................................................. 12 GLOSSARY OF TERMS................................................................................................................ 12


RE/MAX DESIGN CENTER INTRODUCTION

RE/MAX Design Center RE/MAX Design Center is an online marketing tool available to all U.S. RE/MAX

Broker/Owners and Associates at no cost. Design Center currently houses over 1300 professionally designed templates, 200 of which are branded specifically for RE/MAX, with additional templates to be added on a regular basis. In the Design Center professional marketing materials can be created quickly and easily, including:

• Tri-fold Brochures • Flyers • Postcards • Animated Web Commercials • Virtual Tours • Electronic Greeting Cards • And More!

Once completed, materials can be printed via desktop printer, sent directly to a professional printer, e-mailed to clients and prospects, or posted onto a website All materials are fully compliant with RE/MAX trademark and graphics standards.

“A flyer has never sold a home, but the quality of a flyer sells the agent” -Curt Schooling, Imprev


ACCESSING DESIGN CENTER

Log In

To log in to RE/MAX Design Center, follow the steps below:

Step Action

1 Log in to Mainstreet at www.remax.net. Enter your Username and Password. Click the Sign-In button.

2 Hover your mouse over the Technology menu, select the Design Center link.

NOTE

If this is your first visit to Mainstreet, select this link to create a profile.


DESIGN CENTER OVERVIEW

Design Center Home Page

Upon logging in to Design Center, the Home Page is displayed and provides links to a guided tour as well as shortcut options to create new projects and folders.

Navigating Design Center

The top menu bar displays the following tabs: Profile, Design Center, and Address Book. To return to the home page at any time, select the Design Center link on the top menu bar.

The highlighted tab in the Top Menu Bar indicates your location within Design Center. The specific page within that section is underlined in the Sub Menu Bar.

Top Menu Bar Sub Menu Bar


DESIGN CENTER PROFILE

Profile Overview

The first thing you'll want to do after your initial login is to enter your profile information. Your Design Center profile is designed to save you time by allowing you to enter personal information such as, contact information, photo, and RE/MAX logo, which will be automatically included in each project you create. The Design Center profile is independent from your Mainstreet profile; therefore any information entered will only be displayed on projects created in the Design Center.

Set Up Your Profile

To set up your Design Center profile, follow the steps below:

Step Action

1

Select the Profile tab from the top menu bar. Refer to the following page for a detailed explanation of each Profile option.

Continued on Next Page

NOTE: To complete your profile, either select each sub menu or select the links on the Profile Overview page.


Design Center Profile, Continued

Option Action

Contact Information

• Fields marked with an asterisk ( * ) are required

• All information entered will automatically be

included on each project • Click Save when finished

Tip: The Title field is a great place to list professional designations or team names.

Office Information

• Fields marked with an asterisk ( * ) are required

• All information entered will automatically be


Tip: The Web Address field can be used to market personal or office websites.

Logo

• The selected logo will automatically be


Tip: A custom office logo can be uploaded at an additional cost; please consult with your Broker/Owner for additional details.



Design Center Profile, Continued

Option Action

Photo

• Select Upload Image to upload a photo

• Click Save when finished

Tip: For best results, select a high resolution photo of at least 150 dpi in the following formats (.jpg, .gif, .tiff). Refer to page 10 for a detailed explanation of how to upload a photo.

Postal Indicia

• Postal indicia, which are also called postal

permit imprints, are imprinted designations on mail that denotes postage pre-payment

• Postal indicia are printed in the upper right

corners of mail pieces in place of postage stamps and can only be issued by the US Postal Service, for more information and rules visit www.usps.com

• Select the Upload Image button to upload a

photo • Click Save when finished or skip this step if you

do not have a postal indicia Tip: For best results, select a high resolution photo of at least 150 dpi in the following formats (.jpg, .gif, .tiff) Refer to page 10 for a detailed explanation of how to upload a photo.


UPLOAD AGENT PHOTO

Upload Agent Photo

To upload a photo, follow the steps below:

Step Action

1

Hover you mouse over the Profile tab, select Photo.

2 Select the Upload Image button.

3

Select the Browse button to locate your photo on your hard drive or portable storage device, click Send File.



Upload Agent Photo, Continued

Step Action

4 If the width and or height of your selected photo are too large for the photo placeholder, the Design Center will prompt you to crop your photo. Any part of the photo outside of the dotted, animated box will be cropped or deleted. Once the crop area has been determined, select the Crop button.

5

Confirm the crop, click Save.

To set the crop area: Hover your mouse inside the animated box, with the white hand tool, click and drag. To resize the crop area: Hover your mouse over the corners of the animated box, with the black arrow, click and drag.


DESIGN GALLERY

Design Gallery Overview

To build a project in the Design Center a template must be selected from the Design Gallery. There are 2 main folders, the General and RE/MAX Libraries. The General Library contains unbranded templates, whereas the RE/MAX Library contains template with additional RE/MAX branding.

Project Name Description Brochure

A project displaying photos and text for residential listings or charity partnerships. May also be used for office recruiting or personal marketing.

Cards

Fold over, card that can be used for personal promotion and the promotion of listings.

CD/DVD Packaging

CD/DVD case covers and CD/DVD disc labels for marketing projects or promotions.

eCards

Simple messages usually emailed to clients/prospects about special occasions, seasonal greetings, reminders, and advertisements.

eNewsletters

All content is written by the Agent or Broker.

Flyers

Single and double sided documents that can be used for personal promotion, or to highlight listings with photos.

National Ads

Charts, graphs, and print ads created by RE/MAX International to be personally branded for your personal advertising and listing presentations.

Newsletters

Pre-constructed newsletters where the broker/agent can promote individual properties. (These items are updated monthly).

Postcards

Mailing advertisements with themes such as fold over designs, recruiting, seasonal mailings, charity partnerships, technology, and residential listings.

Property Cards

Fold over, business card sized cards that can be used at open houses or other locations where a property or an agent is being promoted.

To expand a folder, click once on the folder name. For a description of each print template, refer to the table below.

NOTE: All completed projects can be accessed from the Portfolio tab.


CREATE A PRINT PROJECT

Print Projects

To create a new printable project, follow the steps below:

Step Action

1

Hover you mouse over the Design Center tab, select the Design Gallery link.

2

Expand the appropriate library folder.

3

Select a subfolder; expand additional subfolders if applicable.


NOTE: The number in parenthesis to the right of the folder denotes the number of templates in the folder.


Create a Print Project, Continued

Step Action

4 Templates are displayed.

• Select the Preview link to view the template

• Click the Select link to begin building your marketing project

5

Upon selecting a template, you will be directed to begin building your project.

• Specify a name for your project • Description is optional • Select or create a subject folder; a subject folder is where your

completed marketing projects are stored • Click Save


NOTE: When previewing a template, editable text is displayed in Latin Lorem Ipsum text. Lorem Ipsum text is simply placeholder text that allows you to focus on the design elements of the template.

Tip: To retrieve projects easily use a naming method that works best for you. It is recommended to name your projects according to template type, such as Flyer, Postcard, etc. It is recommended to name Subject Folders according to property address, MLS ID, or client name.



Step Action

6 Contact Information should be populated based on information entered in your Design Center profile. Verify or modify information if needed. Click Next.

7

Your Agent Photo should display based on the selected photo in your Design Center Profile. If you wish to use a photo other than the selected photo in your profile, select the Upload Image button; refer to page 10 for step by step instruction. Click Next.


NOTE: A Co-Agent can be added for an individual project



Step Action

8 To upload project photos, select the Upload Image button. For a detailed explanation of how to upload photos, refer to page 10. For best results, please be mindful of the image resolution along with width and height requirements below the photo placeholder. Upload all photos, click Next.

9

Based on selected template text field labels will vary. To add text to each placeholder, simply type it in, copy and paste from another source, or choose the Phrase Assistant to select from over 700 predetermined phrases.

Refer to the following page for a detailed explanation of the Phrase Assistant and other useful tools.


NOTE: To view photo and text placeholders, select the View Layout button. To preview your work, select the Preview button.



Select the Phrase Assistant to assist with creating marketing dialogue. Below is a detailed explanation of each tab:

• Your Phrases tab stores phrases and manually entered text used in previous projects.

• Generic Phrases tab allows you to select from hundreds of

predetermined phrases. Narrow your search by selecting a keyword from the drop down list.

• RE/MAX Phrases tab allows you to select from a number of RE/MAX

taglines.

Once a phrase has been selected, click Save.

Select the Spell Checker to ensure your project does not contain any spelling errors.

Select the Help button for suggestions about what should be entered in each text placeholder.




Step Action

10 After entering text, click Save.

11

The Project Overview page is displayed; refer to the following for a detailed explanation.


NOTE: The disclaimer, “Each Office Independently Owned and Operated” is automatically included on every template in the RE/MAX Library, which needs to be included on every piece of marketing material created from the General Library.


PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project Overview

Once a marketing piece has been completed, you are directed to the Project Overview page, which allows you to accomplish the following: print, preview, edit, duplicate, delete, download, host, or e-mail a project. Below is a detailed explanation of each option on the Project Overview page.

Option Action

Preview

Allows you to preview your finished project

Tip: Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher is required to preview a print project.

Edit

Allows you to modify a project. Click Next to continue.

Duplicate

Creates a copy of your project with the same name in the same folder as the original project.



Project Overview, Continued

Option Action

Delete

Allows you to delete the selected project. Once a file is deleted it cannot be retrieved. Before the file is deleted, you will be asked to confirm you want to delete the project.

Print Options

Download: Allows the document to be converted to a PDF file for printing in the office on a desktop printer, or sent to a Service Bureau such as Fedex Kinkos or your bureau of choice. Quantum & Express Copy: Allows you to upload the document to either approved technology partner for printing.

Download

Standard Print Options: Converts the document to a PDF as is. Advanced Print Options: Converts the document to a PDF while allowing you to specify options such as, crop marks, bleeds, and whether you would like to print more than 1 per page (Postcards, Property Cards, etc). Save for WWW/Email Converts the document to a high quality image format (jpeg) for downloading, printing, or hosting.



Project Overview, Continued

Option Action

Host Options

Host for the World Wide Web: Allows you to convert the document to a web page or image for e-mailing or internet viewing. Click Next to continue. Hosting creates a unique web address for each project. For Printing: Allows you to convert the document to a PDF for printing.

Email

EZ-Mail: Allows you to quickly and easily e-mail your projects to yourself. You can then forward the e-mail to your contacts using your own e-mail program. ROI Pro Bundle: Allows you to e-mail your projects to up to 1,000 recipients by selecting contacts or groups from your Design Center Address Book. The ROI Pro Bundle is not included with your subscription and can be activated for an additional fee.


HOST A PROJECT

Hosting Overview

Now that you have designed a professional marketing piece, you want to show it off to the world! Hosting allows you to do just that. The term hosting can be defined as a location to store data. When you choose to host a project in the Design Center your projects are hosted on the Imprev Hosting Server and are given a unique web address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Hosting a project in the Design Center is a snap and can be accomplished in only a few clicks.

Host an Animated Project

To host a Slideshow, Virtual Tour, or Web Commercial, follow the steps below:

Step Action

1

From the Project Overview page, select the Host Options button.

2

Specify whether you would like to post this project on realtor.com.

• If Yes is selected, you will be prompted to enter MLS information about the listing.

• If No is selected, you will continue with the hosting process. Click Next.


NOTE: There is a charge of $29.95 per listing, however if you have unlimited showcase listings through realtor.com, the charge is $9.95 per listing.


Host an Animated Project, Continued

Step Action

3 Specify how you would like your project hosted.

• Option One - Branded with Contact Information: Displays your contact information, logo, and Agent photo in the project.

• Option Two – No Contact Information: Saves the file in an IDX compliant format for posting on your local MLS, but suppresses your contact information, logo, and Agent photo.

Click Next.

4

If you selected Option One - Branded, the URL is displayed on the Web menu of the Hosting Tab.


NOTE: A project can be hosted both Branded and Unbranded. Repeat the previous steps to host in both formats.


Host an Animated Project, Continued

Step Action

4 If you selected Option Two – Unbranded, the URL is displayed on the IDX menu of the Hosting tab.

HOW TO COPY THE URL

Copy the URL

Once you have successfully hosted a project, you will want to distribute your project to your prospects, clients, or colleagues in a variety of ways, for example; post your project to your MLS or put a link to your project on your own website. To copy the URL follow the steps below:

1

Click and Drag to select or highlight the URL. Right mouse click or on the selected link, select Copy. Paste the URL into an e-mail, website, or MLS.

There are a number of ways to Copy & Paste:

• Right Click • Edit Menu • Control + C (Copy) • Control + V (Paste)

Tip: Select the Statistics button to view a graph and statistics of the number of visits to your internet marketing piece.


SUPPORT & GUIDED TOUR

Design Center Support

Online support can be accessed on the Design Center tab which allows you to find answers to some Frequently Asked Questions. For a guided tour, select the Guided Tour link.


SELECTING A DESIGN GALLERY PROJECT

The chart below details the projects available through Design Center along with the actions you can perform for each one.

Print Download Hosting Postal Indicia Animated

Brochure

select designs

CD/DVD Packaging

E-Cards

E-Newsletters

Flyers

National Ads

Newsletters

Postcards

Property Cards

Virtual Tours

Slideshow Tours

Walking Cards


GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ADOBE ACROBAT A software program with two “versions.” The Acrobat Reader is a free program that most computers have or can easily download from the internet that allows you to read any document with a .pdf file extension. With Acrobat Distiller, files created in many types of programs can be converted to a .pdf (stands for Portable Document Format) and viewed by anyone who has the Reader. That way the receiver of the file does not have to have the program that the document was originally created in.

AGENT PHOTOS Do not take/copy your agent photo from your website. This will result in blurry images with poor quality for printing. Upload the files directly from the images given to you by your photographer. For best results, Agent Photos should be at least a 150dpi full color image with a width-to-height ratio of 2:3. It is suggested to use a photo which is at least 300 pixels wide x 450 pixels high. Using a high resolution, original image from a photographer is recommended. Agent Photos are either Portrait or Landscape referring to its orientations on the paper -- whether it is oriented vertically or horizontally. Most Agent Photos are Portrait, and most team photos are Landscape.

DOWNLOAD One of your options after going through the process of creating your marketing piece, downloading means that you are saving a copy to your own computer so that you have it “locally” available (on your own hard drive, without having to go on-line) for future use.

DPI Dots per inch. Standard of measurement for the resolution of images. The higher the DPI, the higher the resolution and quality of the photo.

FILE TYPES All computer files have a file extension, such as .jpg, .bmp, .pdf. The computer uses the file extension to know what program the file was created in and what program(s) can be used to view the file. This issue is important to know with respect to the Design Center when uploading picture files or creating Adobe .PDF files.

LIBRARIES The General Library houses projects that are not specifically branded with the RE/MAX name, however the RE/MAX logo appears on all projects made in Design Center. The RE/MAX Library includes some general designs as well as any other templates that were specifically designed for RE/MAX Associates. Each library and project will have different options as far as number of pictures, headlines, etc.

HOSTING You are provided 100mb of storage in the Design Center for your projects. Hosting allows you to “post” them to the web site and generate a unique URL for each project. If you make changes to a project after you have hosted a file, you will need to re-host the file to update the changes. Why would you want a URL for your marketing piece? Two examples are that you can create a link to it from your web site, or you could email the link to someone.


LINKS To copy and paste the link of a URL into email, simply copy and paste the URL of a completed slideshow tour, brochure, flyer, etc. into an email and send it out to your associates or contacts. All they need to do is click on the link to view the impressive property piece you just created!

LOREM IPSUM Lorem ipsum (lipsum for short) is the standard placeholder text used since the 1500s in the publishing and graphic design industry. It is used to demonstrate the elements of graphic presentation, such as fonts, typography, and layout. It also serves as the placeholder text in the mock-ups of visual design projects before the actual words are inserted into the finished product. When used in this manner, it is also called greeking. You will see this used throughout the RE/MAX Design Center.

PIXELS Individual tiny dots of light which display colors, images and text on a screen. Most images and font sizes used in websites are measured in pixels.

PORTFOLIO The Design Center home page where all of your saved projects will be housed. From here you can create and edit subjects and projects, search available designs, and manager your hosting.

POSTAL INDICIA Postal indicia, which are also called postal permit imprints, are imprinted designations on mail that denotes postage pre-payment. Postal indicia are printed in the upper right corners of mail pieces in place of postage stamps. Postal indicia indicate whether the mailing is first class or standard as well as showing the post office of origin and the account permit number. Contact your local post office or usps.com for more information.

PREMIUM SERVICES Imprev offers the ability to add office-level options to your Design Center access such as office logos and more server storage. Contact Imprev for information and pricing. (800) 809-3356 or [email protected]

PREVIEW The use of the Preview button will significantly help you create your piece. Simply click the preview button and leave that window open along with the RE/MAX Design Center screen as you insert your text. After previewing, close the preview window, make the desired changes and click the preview button again to preview your edits. Use this function on every piece you create to save you time!


PROFILE This is information about you that will be included automatically in your marketing pieces.

PROJECTS Projects are individual marketing pieces. For example, an open house flyer for 1234 Common Street, which you might store in your Open Houses folder. (Subjects).

QUICK START Takes you to your portfolio where you can browse past projects or create new folders and/or new projects.

SUBJECT FOLDER The Subject folder stores projects for your marketing events. It functions similar to a folder in Windows.

THUMBNAIL A small version of an image for preview purposes.

UPLOAD You are uploading a file when you send it to a server or site (as opposed to downloading a file to your local hard drive).

VIEW LAYOUT This option is available during the creation of a project. It shows where text fields and photos will appear in the finished project. It also provides you with the placeholders of the text and photos.

Documents

Training Guide - Reliance Networkmedia.reliancenetwork.com/media/downloads/remaxms/...Charts, graphs, and print ads created by RE/MAX International to be personally branded for your