Commercial Property Digest
Q. To what audience is the FAQ focused.
A. 

This section is designed to answer the basic questions that commercial property professionals may have as they contemplate placing their property listings in the CPDigest.com database.

Q. What is a Property Ad?
A. 

Click here  to view a typical Property Ad.

Q. Who can submit a Standard Property Ad online?
A. Anyone who has authorization to represent a commercial property that is for sale or lease. It is important that you read, understand and agree to abide by the "Terms of Use" provisions prior to submitting an ad.
Q. How do I place a Property Ad ?
A. 

This is a very intuitive process after the first 4 items. The additional information is offered to answer other issues should they arise. Always feel free to call 303-791-9332 or email us at kirk@cpdigest.com

 

 

1. Go to http://cpdigest.com// You will need a jpeg image and a PDF to place a property so you'll need to know where they are filed on your computer.

 

2. Click on Place Property Ads

 

3. Put in your email address and create a password. Complete the registration. If you are in an office with multiple brokers and wish to to use the Completed Property feature to show just your completed deals, place a hyphen and then your last name after the company name. You should be emailed an Authorization code shortly after registration. You can continue without it but will need it to have your property go active.

 

4. When you're in, on the top line between Update My Information and Logout click on Place Property Ads 

 

5. Follow the step by step requests using the pulldown menus going to each next step. Click on the map to set the sub-market.

 

6. When you get to the the Edit page put in the text information appropriate for your property, look at all the options for range of lease rates, sizes, etc.

 

7. At the bottom of that page there are 2 Browse buttons. When you click on the 1st it will open your computer and you''ll need to find the jpeg image and double click on it. That will upload it.

 

8. The 2nd Browse button is for finding the PDF brochure of the property in your computer. When you find it double click on it and it will upload the PDF.   

 

9. Next click Preview. Very Important: the Preview button records information, you must click it and have the Jpeg and PDF in, for it to recognize your inputs, if not your inputting will not have recorded and this can be frustrating. After that your information is in and you can edit what you want and it will show you what it looks like. If its OK click Approve. If you need to make corrections hit the Edit button and make the changes and Preview again. When it's what you want Approve it.

 

10. After you Approve it you will be taken to the submittal agreement. After reading it, click I agree, if you do, at the bottom, you may have to scroll a little to see it.

 

11. It will then ask you for your Authorization code, (if you have not received one from us by email please contact us by phone or email as you will need this to go live with your submittal) type it in and hit Next.

 

12. The system will show the property and click Finish at the bottom,  That's it.   Remember you can go in and edit your properties at any time and if they are active you just need to Approve the edit and it will be made. No need to use the Authorization code again.

 

If you do not complete the final submittal process, when you go to  My Properties page you will see a button that says Finish Submittal. You can click on that and finish the submittal

 

If you have an active property and you want to take it off line, but keep it for future submitting hit Save and it will go offline.  You can delete a listing easily and mark an active one Sold or Leased and it will show up that way online. Obviously this needs to be used sparingly.

 

You can now change a property listing to Completed and generate a web address for these properties that you can link to pretty much any web presence you have and also to your email signature. This can help substantiate your expertise in closing transactions. Any active property will have a button for changing the listing to Completed.  

 

Some important points don't use all CAPs, Ad is more readable as upper and lower case, though some CAPs OK,   Use * asterisks as bullet points.   

 

 

If you have a logo send it to us and we will put it in. The space allotted is 75 pixels wide and 56 pixels high. If you have an IT person give them this information.  

 

If your images are more than 1.5 megs you can use Microsoft Photo Editor to reduce them. If you run Windows you probably have this now.  Right click image and Open with Microsoft Photo Editor, On the menu line above the inputtted image click on "image" and reduce to 50 or 60 % using the tool and make sure Smooth is checked, save it using the File link in the upper left corner and put it in a folder you'll know how to access, name it and use this image to upload.  

 

If you subscribe to the CDX and your listings have images in the system you can right click on them and save them in a file and they will be saved in a very small file you can use.

 

Make sure it is saved in a JPEG format, not in a bmp. Normally you will be given a choice of what you wish to save it in.

 

Sounds far more complicated than it is. Do it once and you're set.      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q. How long will Ads appear online?
A. 

Five months. During that time you will be asked to periodically to renew your properties and make appropriate edits. If properties have Sold or have been Leased you can now put them in a "Completed" status and these can be linked to any web presence you currently have. They can also be marked across the face of the ad either Sold or Leased. These Completed ads must also be kept up-to-date in order for them to appear online.

 

 

Q. How are payments handled?
A. 

In order to insure that subscribers benefit from the 2 emailings over 4 months and online exposure for 6 months the invoicing is based on a total commitment of 6 months billed in 2 month increments. First invoice will be after the first emailing. 

Q. What's this about building a web presence to feature active properties placed on CPDigest.com?
A. For any active properties you have in CPDigest.com we  provide a feature that allows you to create URL links, that can be copied and linked to off your email signature, off a free blog or any web presence that permits this. The links are free of the CPDigest banner and menu and can be for a combination of all your properties or by property type, including a separate category of Completed properties which can be an effective way of providing a record of your successful transactions and establising your expertise. Click here for an example using this off a blog.
Q. Can one person easily put properties in for multiple brokers in an office and administer all properties for that office?
A. Yes, there is an administrative access that can assigned to an office which will allow this to be done. However for an individaul in a firm to use the URL links feature to show just their properties they will need to be separately registered.
Q. Can property ads, no longer active, be retained in the system in anticipation of a future desire to re-activate the listing?
A. 

Yes. Once registered you will have a password to enter the site. Under the "My Ads"  link, the status of each property will be shown. Properties that have expired will remain in the system but will not be seen by the public. They can be renewed, deleted or remain in the expired status until you decide their fate. Administrative access will be available for each firm with multiple members, so all ads may be administered by one individual. The administrator can or an individual can select "Save" and an active ad will change to Not Approved, remain on their inventory, but will not be viewable by the public.

 

Please note :The Completed option, if chosen, does not allow you to return to a previous status

Q. What if I need assistance in placing an ad?
A. If you encounter a problem, we will be more than willing to assist you. We would ask that you initially try to utilize the online ad placement procedure. In some cases, where full ad placement by our staff is needed, it may be necessary to charge an additional fee to cover administrative costs.
Q. What kind of image do I need to submit?
A. We suggest this be a current photograph or rendering of your property.  Images should be oriented horizontally  and must be in a JPEG format. Images from your digital camera, saved to your hard drive and 1.5 M and under in file size should easily satisfy this requirement.
Q. Do I need to supply a PDF brochure to link off my online ad?
A. Yes. This is important to give a full presentation of your property to the interested party who views it from the CPDigest "Direct Mail" or from the CPDigest.com website. This is an efficient way of getting your full brochure in the hands of a potential client.
Q. What is a PDF?
A. “PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print, or forward to someone else. PDF files are created using Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Capture, or similar products. To view and use the files, you need the free Acrobat Reader, which you can easily download. (Click here). Once you've downloaded the Reader, it will start automatically whenever you want to look at a PDF file.   
Q. What if I don’t have a PDF?
A. 

If you are unable to produce or obtain one, we can create one for you. There will be a small charge.  You can however Google " Free PDF creator" and find free or very inexpensive software you can download that will allow you to create a PDF of almost any document. If you subscribe to Xceligent's CDX you can make a PDF if your property is on that database. Many current versions of Microsoft Word allow you to save Word documents as PDFs.

Questions ? Please contact us  support@CPDigest.com

Q. Can I link to my company website or blog off the online ad?
A. Absolutely, and we encourage you to provide the URL during the registration process for greater exposure for your properties and your company.
Q. If the property is represented by more than one party can both parties be shown on the property ad?
A. The online ads are submitted under just one name which shows up automatically on the property ad; however, an additional name and company can be added on the Promotional Line during the submittal process.
Q. Can I show a range of sizes on a condo project?
A. Yes you can.
Q. What do I do if I have a property that does not fit a Property Type category?
A. These properties should be placed under the Special Use Category where you will have an opportunity to explain the properties’ unique features. When these are searched online the property use will show prominently as well as the representative’s comments about the nature of the property and its potential. The website has a Key Word search that searches the text of the ad so if you have a Bowling alley, Drive in, restaurant, etc we encourage you to include these references in your copy.
Q. Does the CPDigest.com website provide a map of my submitted property?
A. 

If you have provided a correct and complete postal address or the latitude and longitude coordinates of the property, a map link will be provided. If the system cannot map your property, fields for Latitude and Longitude will be provided and a  link to a site (found here) where you can find these coordinates. On the Edit page these fields will be displayed so you can make corrections if necessary.

Recently Google seems to attempt to map even bogus or incorrect addresses so we advise you to check the Google generated map and use the above tool to correct the location, if needed.

Q. How do I add a YouTube video to my property listing using the Promo field when submitting a property?
A. 

Copy the URL for your video from the YouTube site. In order to reduce the size of the URL go to http://Tinyurl.com and follow the instructions to reduce the URL size. ( it's easy to do). Place this new URL in the text as shown below. This must be done exactly as it is described for it to work, including the spacing.

 

Red Text below shows 1.what needs to proceed the Video URL, 2.what needs to proceed the text you wish to use and 3. what you need to conclude with. These need to be placed in one line, not like shown here. Note: It's shown this way because this text disappears when put together in an attempt to show a complete example.

 

Example.

 

Start with the following  (note the 1 space between the a and the h) a href=put in Video URL followed by> then add the text you wish to use,

 

then add  < to the beginning of the all of the above

 

and add (no spaces between any of these and the wording) to the end of the above

 

 

 

Windows Movie Maker, available for Windows XP, is a great tool for creating a video that you can upload to YouTube and then add to your property listing. You can use property images string them together and add narrative. Movie Maker is probably already on you PC if you are running XP and can also be downloaded off the internet for free. Click here for a beginning tutorial. For an example of a Completed property with a video added click here. One shows a direct link to the video on YouTube which opens with the video playing, the other opens to your own individual YouTube Channel, where there are no extraneous videos but must be clicked on to run.

 

Unfortunately Movie Maker for Windows 7 is a step backward for doing the above and it complicates adding a narrative. You can download PhotoStage Slideshow Producer for about $28 and it works well if you are running Windows 7.

 

To add a YouTube video for your Directory Listing you will need  the embed code for that video from the YouTube site. You will need to email that to us and we will need to place it online for you. There is an administration fee of $20 to handle this addition and any subsequent video changes.

Q. Can't find an answer to your question?
A. Email us at support@cpdigest.com or call us at 303-791-9332