Okay. That’s probably our most boring headline ever. But it makes the point.
And we’re not just bringing on great new partners like ApartmentList, Apartable and Walkscore. We’re also improving our feeds to existing partners. The entire Backpage network of classified sites, for example, now has the calendar button included on every ShowMojo listing.
Additionally, we’ve discovered that hyperlocal, niche and regional listing sites can be very successful for some of our clients. If there’s a listing site in your market where you want ShowMojo to syndicate, please drop us a line and we’ll follow up with them.
Just a reminder. When prospects submit inquiries about your listings through a third party site, ShowMojo automatically emails each prospect immediately, then again 24 hours later if the prospect has not replied or scheduled a showing. You can customize these emails in Settings > Communications. Nearly one in four prospects who submit an inquiry through an external listing site eventually schedule a showing in ShowMojo!
Back in November, when Craig Newmark declared his intent to abdicate the king-of-rentals throne, many of you asked how ShowMojo would respond. This new focus on listing syndication is just Phase One of our response. Over the next few months, you’ll hear from us on Phase Two and Phase Three. We’ve got some really exciting stuff in the hopper!
Finally, just a couple quick comments on Craigslist.
First, we continue to see considerable traffic and scheduled showings from Craigslist. Advertising on Craigslist with our template or your own template (and our schedule-a-showing link) still works. Luddite Craig might not like it, but renters want links in Craigslist posts. Renters want to see the additional details on your listings and they want to schedule showings. Renters are copy-and-pasting the schedule-a-showing URL to schedule showings. It’s worth remembering that Hurricane Craig pummeled everyone, including renters.
Second, we believe the housing space is entering a post-Craigslist era, unless Craig and Co. come to their senses and stop trying to un-engineer the Internet into a printing press. It may take years, but Craigslist’s current course ends in the land of defrocked Internet darlings like MySpace and AOL. At least when it comes to housing.
At ShowMojo, we see huge opportunities in the post-Craigslist era. We’re working with tools and partners that will make the most of these changing times. And we’re really looking forward to the upcoming rental season.