The ShowMojo Blog • What’s New?



Update on the MojoBox Feb-26 Vulnerability

On 1pm EST, February 27th, we released a firmware update for all MojoBoxes. It completely resolves the Feb 26th exploit. You can immediately push this update to each of your MojoBoxes from your mobile app.

Hiring Good Help Sucks Right Now. Try Live Answer Instead.

It is a hot job market, and we know property managers and investors are feeling the heat when it comes to hiring good help. Currently, there are twice as many job openings as there are people looking to work. Even awful help is expensive, which is really, well, awful.

Announcing the AppFolio Integration, FINALLY

We’re thrilled to announce the completion of a feature request that has been in our backlog for ten years. Yes, it’s been literally a decade. Some Great Things take time. (Just in case anyone is considering an over-the-hill birthday gift for yours truly.) So let’s just celebrate. ShowMojo™ is officially part of the AppFolio Stack™ Marketplace. That means never-before-seen integration capabilities.

CATCH A BREAK With Unit-Based Pricing Plans

Residential leasing is anything but predictable. Seasons shift and creak. Markets rocket and dive and roll and bounce. All the while people come and go only a whole lot faster right now.  Looking for some predictability? Check Out the Unit-Based Plans. These plans have everything you could hope for, from full-featured do-it-for-you (Ultra) to just-get-it-done affordable (Classic). And, then, there’s the favorite mainstay (Pro) that puts all the ShowMojo features you know and love on a super-predictable budget.

Even MORE SECURE Self-Showings For The Holidays

If your team is doing the self-guided tour thing with All Security Processes and Settings Up to Snuff then this newsletter will just contribute to your holiday glee. If, however, your team is not 100 percent on the right self-showing security track? Well, we have no jolly way to put this. There’s a blizzard of self-show fraud out there and it’s worse than any holiday grinch.

True Two-Way Text Messaging Is FINALLY Here

You can now text message any prospect in ShowMojo on any leasing-related matter. This open beta is available to all accounts on a Live Answer Bundle and any account on an Annualized Units-Under-Management Plan. There are no additional charges for this feature. And, unlike some other glass-house-inhabiting, copy-cat knock-offs out there, ShowMojo’s text messaging does not include any hidden fees.

Black WEEK Deals on MojoBox and MojoLock G3

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Mindless Consumeristic Rapture. Label it what you will. At ShowMojo, we call it Black Week because — duh — we run our sale for a week: MojoLock G3s for as little as $54 each and MojoBoxes for as little as $29 each. Get a discount on one. Or buy in bulk to get a discount on them all.

Got Vacation Rentals? Get MojoBox and MojoLock G3

Smart Access is secure, affordable, and flexible access that fits exactly to your needs. Specifically: The MojoLock G3 Smartlock & The MojoBox Digital Lockbox. It’s not fair to call smart access the future of residential rentals. These devices are already being used by owners and managers of long-term residential rentals to speed turnovers, conduct self-guided tours, and enable keyless tenancies.

Holy Beta! Not Again. A MUST READ for Self-Showings

Are you getting that deja-what feeling like we’ve already been here and ShowMojo just dropped a feature out of beta? Well, that’s because we did. One week after the New Listings Gallery Rocketed Out of Beta we have a phenomenal chaser. Fully automated identity decisioning is a ground-breaking new layer of fraud protection.

Don’t be a Luddite. Transition to the Most Modern Listings Gallery Right Now.

Did you hear that? Just now? That was the sound of technological progress ripping past you in the fast lane. Did you get the license plate number? Not from that blur. ShowMojo’s new Listings Gallery has rocketed out of beta. It’s built for mobile devices. It looks great on cinema displays. And, as of today, it’s the standard gallery on all new ShowMojo accounts.

Get PAID for Screening Rental Applicants

Did you know ShowMojo has a powerful applicant collection and screening system that picks right up after a successful showing? That includes: A best of breed rental application, Dead simple application fee collection and Instant-on Rental Applicant Screening. Need a rental application solution yesterday? Every one of these features is available immediately and on-demand. Better yet, they are free on most any ShowMojo account.

A New MUST HAVE Rental Application Feature

Did you know that, built right into ShowMojo, there is a completely free best-of-breed rental application? Say goodbye to half-completed applications — and having to do the Dwayne Johnson Rundown to secure supporting documentation.

NEW Listing Importers for Rentvine and Rentec Direct

It’s a double-sweet Thursday morning. We’re thrilled to announce new listing importers for both Rentvine and Rentec Direct. That’s in addition to the baker’s dozen of importers and integrations that ShowMojo already supported.

MAGICAL MojoBoxes for ABSOLUTELY Anyone

Mechanical lockboxes have been a boon to property management, real estate, construction and numerous other industries. They’re affordable, dependable and physically secure… until you hand out that one-and-never-changing access code to the wrong person. That’s when the bad things start to happen. MojoBox is a digital device specially designed and priced to replace mechanical lockboxes.

Act Now on the NEXT BIG THING for Self-Show Security

Do you conduct self-showings? Then we have super news for you. The next generation of self-showing fraud protection is available in a ShowMojo Beta: Fully automated decisioning that incorporates Experian Precise ID. Precise ID is the same technology that banks use to verify a consumer before issuing a credit card or checking account.

OUT OF BETA: MojoLock G3 Permanent Access Codes

Got MojoLock G3s? You can set and customize a permanent access code on each and every MojoLock G3. Pick any code from four digits (e.g. Kaprekar’s Constant) to ten digits (e.g. Elon Musk’s Cell).

Announcing USABILITY ENHANCEMENTS Future Past Present

Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, and Stephen Hawking all toyed with the notion that past, present, and future exist simultaneously. Somewhat frighteningly, they toyed about that notion the same way a bored house cat methodically dismembers a random, hapless daddy long leg spider. We can’t hold a candle to that. We’re just going to squash that daddy long leg into the patio door. Then nab a lolly for the screaming toddler. And, in the following three minutes of tranquility, we’re going to dash out this newsletter.

Want More Applications with Fewer Showings? READ THIS!

At ShowMojo, we know crazy. We’ve been bootstrapped and investment-free as copy-cat competitors gobble up other people’s money for more than a decade. And we still haven’t taken money. Gutsy? Admirable? Or shat-bit crazy? It’s anyone’s guess. But that lets us do things like this: Take an application before allowing the prospect to schedule a showing.

The Next Level of SELF-SHOW FRAUD PROTECTION Is Here

Well, really, the next level of self-show fraud protection is everywhere. If you use ShowMojo. And if you join the beta. This innovation has been a year in the making. Our journey has included: Intelligent ID Fraud Detection, Real Automated ID Approval, Last-Minute Auto-Decisioning and our destination? Fully automated decisioning that incorporates Experian Precise ID.

Is Leasing Automation Software an Oxymoron?

We admit it. Leasing automation software isn’t a term with the same internal redundancy as, say, jumbo shrimp, scented deodorant, or military intelligence. But at least those descriptors do accurately nail the thing they describe.

MARKETING Updates that MATTER: Facebook, Kijiji and More.

It’s more than just a major source of listing scams. Some managers and owners swear by Facebook Marketplace. They use it to attract many legitimate rental leads. That may be the case especially when your team is willing to put in the manual effort to post, top post, and top post a little more. Now, ShowMojo has made posting to Facebook Marketplace more than a little bit easier.

IT’S OFFICIAL: Support Chat Now Available 9am to 6pm EST

You know, a real talk. Something with substance, meaning, and a dash of candor, so we can get to the heart of the matter. It’s about the ShowMojo support team. They’re feeling a little unloved for all their hard labor. They work into each weekday evening to ensure a timely response on every (and we do mean every) support request received before 6pm Eastern time.

Check out the NEW Listings Gallery and JOIN the Beta

If you’re old enough to hear Billy Crystal intone that line, then, let’s be candid, the years have not been kind. Now here’s a weekday update to warm your heart. You can feel however you like, and your listings gallery will still look marvelous.

ANNOUNCING MojoBox: Your Mechanical Lockboxes Are Now Obsolete

Would you believe that almost ten percent of ShowMojo accounts still use single-code mechanical lockboxes for self-showings? Well, if you’re one of those ten percent, you certainly believe it, but please do keep reading. MojoBox is a digital device specially designed and priced to replace mechanical lockboxes.

ALMOST EFFORTLESS Automated ID Verification for Everyone

Nine months back ShowMojo launched our Automated Document Verification open beta. It included best-in-class identity document scanning bundled on nearly every ShowMojo account. Over those next several months we added: Intelligent ID Fraud Detection, Real Automated ID Approval and Last-Minute Auto-Decisioning. How can we top that? By ending the beta and enabling automated document scanning for every ShowMojo account.

NEW Permanent Access Codes on MojoLock G3

We’ve got a great upgrade for every MojoLock G3 we’ve ever sold. You can now set and customize a permanent access code on each and every MojoLock G3. Pick any code from four digits (the kid’s birth year) to ten digits (your net worth).

Permanent MojoLock Price Reduction AND MORE

Inflation, you say? Seems ShowMojo didn’t get the message. We just knocked ten dollars off the price of a shiny new MojoLock.

That’s right. MojoLocks are now only $69 per smartlock. And if you’re doing a major rollout you can buy in bulk for as little as $59 per smartlock.

RENTAL Applications Now Include REAL Signatures

Whether your prospective new residents complete their applications on an iDevice, an Android-thingy, a notebook, or an old-school desktop, ShowMojo’s got you covered with a spiffy, new, built-in signature pad.

NEW MojoLocks FEATURE Makes Multi-Unit Property Showings AMAZING

For over a decade, ShowMojo has made in-person, multi-family showings a delightful experience for both renters and agents by:

Giving prospective residents the high-touch immediacy they expect, freeing leasing agents from the low-value monotony of phone-and-email coordination, so they can focus on what agents do best: selling and closing.

Which begs the question — what’s so special about today’s announcement? MojoLocks (and ShowMojo) don’t just get self-showings into the unit but through the entrance door as well.

Your Holiday Gift from ShowMojo? A NEW Anti-Fraud FEATURE.

We know stopping fraud and reviewing identity documents can be a royal pain in the reindeer.

That’s why we’re running so fast at fraud-based initiatives, including the hugely popular Document Verification Beta with Real Automated ID Approval and our new Enhanced Anti-Fraud Screen. Wow, that’s a mouthful.

Now, to help make the most of the upcoming holidays, we’ve added one more time-saving anti-fraud feature.

Another AMAZING Service Included in LIVE ANSWER Bundle Plans

ShowMojo’s Live Answer Bundles are a helpful human voice for every prospect who wants one.
However, they’re also a lot more than just that.
We named ‘em bundles for a reason. They’re an amazing (and growing) do-it-for-you service tailored to you and your team.

Get GREATER INSIGHTS with Live Answer Bundles

Do you need more insight into your leasing funnel? Would you like to know which listings aren’t getting enough leads? And which listings are getting leads but not converting enough to showings?

Even Better ANSWERS from Live Answer

With Leasing Automation you don’t need anyone (human, orangutan, nor Neptunian) answering the phone. But, hey, we know that’s not enough for every situation, nor every goal.

Does your team strive to keep market times low with an attentive, personal, 24/7 answer? That’s crazy simple.

Combine leasing automation for the heavy lifting with Live Answer for the high touch so absolutely every caller gets the service they expect and need.

Super Intelligent ID Fraud Detection Awesomeness

Let’s ponder on some big announcements that have brought us to this moment. Four months ago ShowMojo launched the Document Verification Beta. Last month ShowMojo announced Real Automated ID Approval.

You didn’t think you could both combat fraud and free up time, did you? But that’s exactly what this super-feature team-up delivers.

New FREE On Demand Rental Applicant Screening

At ShowMojo, our passion is to improve lives by saving time for more meaningful things. For any up-and-coming landlord or property manager, that means making powerful tools push-of-a-button simple.

Make VACATION RENTALS Remarkable with MojoLocks

MojoLocks can make life better for you, your team, your vendors, your residents, and even your resident’s dog-walker. But did you know that, if you conduct any short-term rental activity, MojoLocks improve that part of your business too?

TURN IT ON NOW: The New Max Listing Rotation Feature

The inevitable monetization of rental listings sites continues. In the latest move (announced earlier this month) Zumper has adjusted their pre-existing limits on free listings. There will now be a clear cap of five listings per company.

DELIGHT Your Prospects with BESPOKE Communication

Do any of us pine for more voicemails? Or relish the vibrating hum of text messages sawing their way through the nightstand as they herald the earliest murmur of dawn? Our Italian might be a bit rusty, but wasn’t scheduling-by-email the bane of Dante’s tenth circle of hell? At ShowMojo We Pioneered Leasing Automation to cut through the dark imbroglio of email, phone, text and overly-wrought metaphor — getting prospective residents right to viewing the homes they want to rent.

Introducing Call Transfer: Another AMAZING Live Answer FEATURE

All the way back in 2011, ShowMojo pioneered Leasing Automation to automatically respond to every phone call, every email, and every text message, allowing your prospective renters to self-qualify for and self-schedule showings without anyone in your office lifting a finger.

Introducing NEW Fraudulent Listing Guard

It’s happened to the best of us. You’re doing everything you can to protect your listings, including Automatic Diagonal Watermarking your photos, but one of your listings has been fraudulently posted on Craigslist and Facebook.
And let’s be honest, there’s no way Craig or Zuck could possibly care less. You’re busy enough. How does your team have time to proactively stay on top of this?

Get FREE POSITIVE REVIEWS with Reputation Boost

Are review sites your route to marketing nirvana or insufferable Billion Dollar Bullies? Whatever the answer, Reputation Boost is a new feature that leverages sites like Yelp, Facebook and Google Reviews without losing your lunch money.

New LOWER MONTHLY FEES on MojoLocks

MojoLock is a digital deadbolt focused on smart access. A MojoLock requires no additional equipment nor service. There’s no powered hub nor dedicated internet connection. It’s simple, secure and affordable access technology built right into your door.

New OCCUPANT SHOWINGS Conducted by Residents and Owners

Vaccines are widely available. Over sixty (yes, sixty) percent of the US has received a first shot.
We really hope we’re not getting ahead of ourselves on this one. Showing behavior can start to inch back to the old normal, can’t it?

MojoLock Price Reduction ALERT

A MojoLock on Every Door. No, Herbert Hoover never said that. But he should have. And what’s the easiest way to make MojoLocks more ubiquitous? Make them even more affordable.

Are You Making the MOST of Every Lead?

Online listing sites are changing. In many cases, the easy flow of free rental leads has all but dried up. So how do you make the most of your rental leads? And the most of your marketing spend?

GO KEYLESS with Resident Access for MojoLocks

We’ve been saying it to anyone who would listen (that’s more than a baker’s dozen and fewer than the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago) that MojoLocks are meant even more for residents than they are for prospective renter self-showings. And now, finally, we’ve put our mobile app where our mouth is.

EVEN EASIER: Schedule and Conduct Real Time Virtual Tours

Just like all of you, we can’t wait to be out of this new normal, and back to the old normal. It couldn’t happen fast enough. Until then, ShowMojo has added another option to make showings safer and more convenient for everyone.

MUST SEE Listings Gallery and Watermarking Updates

Is it just us, or do Craigslist and Facebook produce as much Online Listing Fraud as they do leads? ShowMojo’s latest watermarking option makes your listing photos more obviously yours, while also making it harder for online scammers to steal your photos.

LIVE ANSWER UPGRADE Lets You Answer Back

For every prospect with the undeterrable urge to speak to a human, Live Answer gives them their three minutes of fame, then channels their showing details directly through ShowMojo’s high touch automation. Easy peasy.

PRICE REDUCTION and Introducing MojoLock G3

Our updated MojoLock G3 is new and even more affordable. It’s priced $10 less than the original. And that is before the volume discounts. Basically there’s nothing that beats that.

NEW FEATURES to Nurture Your Prospects for Years

Leads don’t grow on trees like they used to. That’s why ShowMojo has dynamic prospect nurturing to help make the most of your current leads. But here’s a standout new feature for customers who have been with ShowMojo a year or longer.

NEW FEATURES for Self-Show Security

In our new normal of social distancing, self-showings have become even more widespread. That’s great, as it helps everyone easily and safely carry on with residential leasing. So what’s the opposite of great? Self-show scammers are getting shockingly aggressive in their tactics.

New EVEN BETTER Live Answer Pricing

Live Answer is an on-demand always-available service that answers the phone when (and only when) a prospect wants to speak to a live person.

MojoLock March MADNESS Smartlock Sale

MojoLock is a reliable, affordable and secure smartlock that does not require an internet connection. If you are new to the Smart Access Revolution then this is the best time to give MojoLock a try.

Use LISTING BOOST to Maximize Your Marketing Spend

Perhaps you are a long-time spender on paid marketing. Or, quite unfortunately, you are a hapless unsuspecting newcomer who runs a single family property management company in Delaware, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee – and got that Unhappy New Year’s call from you-know-who.

A Listings Love (News)Letter

And that’s the theme of the week, folks. It’s all about making marketing and management of your listings easier.

Magnificent MojoLock Upgrades

MojoLock is the most secure, most affordable Smart Access solution out there. To that end, our first major round of updates is all about Smart Access.

The Nifty Yet Nitty Gritty Newsletter

What a month it’s been. We announced MojoLocks, a ShowMojo Mobile App, must-have SEO Website Integration, and the rollout of a Comprehensive Rental Application Feature-Set. No more moonshots this week. But we have some detail-oriented updates to help put a skip in your step and a grin on your face.

New FEATURE Trick or TREATS!!!!

It’s Hallow-what? No, we didn’t see that coming. We were heads-down on a spectacular groundbreaking feature announcement. But since everyone’s busy attending to their little ghosts and ghouls – or just being ghoulish themselves – the spectacular groundbreaking feature announcement just got quantum-realmed into next week.

FINALLY … A ShowMojo Mobile App

Our first mobile app is like almost every ShowMojo first – from ShowMojo PHONE, to Live Answer, to Lockbox Self-Show Insurance, to Autonomous Scheduling. It’s super simple to start, with enough functionality to add value. And upon that very solid foundation, we will build even greater things.

NEW Smart Access PRODUCT LAUNCH: MojoLock

Have you ever considered a late-night, aisle-25, hardware store tryst between a digital lockbox and a mechanical deadbolt? And the resulting lovechild smartlock? Then you’re reading the right newsletter. And we’ve even given it a name: MojoLock.

Need Assistance with the Summer Showing Surge?

Does your team pride itself on individual, in-person showings? Pride aside, are individual in-person showings just something you do? Or – even with group showings and self-showings – is your team just overwhelmed by the summer crush?

NOT ANOTHER Daily Performance Alert Blog

OK. There’s a disconnect here. The open metrics for the last blog on Daily Performance Alerts were the worst we’ve ever seen. A total downer. An ego emasculator. Like being flattened with a two-ton heavy thing. So what does one do in the face of such adversity? We double down on Daily Performance Alerts and try again.

Three Tips to Grow Your Multifamily Property Management Business

Research shows that multifamily home supply is nearing a 30-year high in 2019, making this the perfect time to start growing and scaling your property management business. In this blog, we?ll share three tried and true tips for scaling your business to help ensure your growth is as smooth and seamless as possible.

Do You NEED to Answer Your Leasing Calls? (NEW FEATURES)

With ShowMojo, the answer is unquestionably and unequivocally no. You do not need to answer a single leasing call. That’s why there’s ShowMojo PHONE to automatically answer every single renter call. But we know you might choose to answer your leasing calls for an even higher touch experience.

EMERGENCY RESCHEDULE: Read This Now (New Feature)

Blizzard? Polar vortex? Flood? Hurricane Craig? Surprise visit from the mother-in-law? Whatever the emergency, with a few clicks you can now ask all showings during a given time period to reschedule.

Running Late? We’ve Got Just the NEW FEATURE for You!

It happens to the best of us. Lost keys. Traffic jam. Coffee travel mug malfunction. One way or another, the day’s showing schedule crashes into a goat rodeo matinee. Until now. Thanks to our new one-click fix: Running Late.

AUTONOMOUS NOW: Effortless and Efficient In-Person Scheduling

We have made it super simple to test-drive Autonomous Scheduling. And – in the highly improbable scenario that Autonomous Scheduling doesn’t save you time and gas-cash – you can effortlessly switch back to your old scheduling approach.

Even More NEW Listing Gallery FEATURES

With Individual Agent Galleries, Sales Listings Galleries, Listing Group Galleries and even Multi-Account Galleries we would have thought the job was done. Alas. It seems there’s always more to do.

The BIG DATA Betas BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Wow, is ShowMojo sitting on a lot of data. So much so, it’s a bit shameful. It’s just that we shouldn’t keep all this data to ourselves. So here are a couple meaningful beta steps to give you (and only you) access to more of your data.

NEW FEATURES for Showing Agents

Three-quarters of all ShowMojo-scheduled showings are in-person showings – not lockbox-based self-showings. Our hats off to all the showing agents out there who make this possible. We know it’s not as good as gas money – but here’s a tank-full of features to make your lives easier.

Treats for Everyone!

Yes, we know Halloween was yesterday. We weren’t about to compete with all the yummy corn syrup and powdered-skim-milk products being flung from every doorway. So we chose to wait it out.

Required Listing Updates FEATURE ANNOUNCEMENT

New listings – whether imported or ShowMojo-managed – go on the market all the time. And we know all-too-well that it’s a pain in the you-know-where to ensure each listing is configured correctly.

ANNOUNCING New Self-Show FEATURES

Are you an in-person showing hold out? You’re in good company. Three-quarters of all ShowMojo-scheduled showings are in-person showings (and not self-showings).

NEW Advanced Player FEATURES for ShowMojo PHONE

Our last blog was about game-changing updates to Live Answer. The one catch was that Live Answer costs extra. (We’re still puzzling out how to get call center agents to work for free.) This blog is about advanced-level updates to ShowMojo PHONE.

GAME CHANGER Enhancements to Live Answer

Live Answer is the one-and-only 24/7 on-demand call center that you can enable, disable and configure directly from your ShowMojo account. There’s no setup calls, minimum fees, nor contracts of any kind.

NEW BETA: Drive-Time-Based Scheduling

ShowMojo can now factor in traffic-aware drive times when scheduling alongside current showings. That’s in addition to ShowMojo’s existing, in-person scheduling features that already flex to your exact needs.

Most Boring ShowMojo Newsletter Ever

No, not like the Boring Flamethrower. We are so insanely jealous of Boring. All we get to sell is digital lockboxes (and that’s only to the fraction of folks who don’t do in-person showings).

Announcing MORE Critical Leasing Alerts

Some days – we know how it goes. The summer leasing season can feel like running a relay race, blindfolded, through a four-story bouncy castle, while tumbling downhill. And these are the days you still have your sense of humor about you.

FINALLY: Showing Notifications by Text Message

ShowMojo pioneered automated showing notifications by email back in 2011. Yeah, we’re kind of old. It was a big deal back then. Quite suddenly, there was no need to call the tenant before every showing. The awkward “I’m not asking for your permission” moments were gone. Even further gone – and with very good riddance – was the random start-of-showing “I never got a voicemail” screed.

NEW STACKING FEATURE: This One’s for the Showing Agents

Seventy-five percent of showings scheduled through ShowMojo are accompanied, in-person showings. There’s no self-show lockbox or key-checkout involved. And that makes sense, since ShowMojo was built first to completely reinvent the in-person showing experience.

ANNOUNCING Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need somewhere to answer common questions from prospective renters – somewhere that does not involve your voicemail or email inbox? And how about the ability to communicate directly to a prospective renter – apart from your owners or current tenants?

MUST HAVE Leasing Intelligence and ALERTS

ShowMojo now sends Daily Performance Alerts about several risk factors on your account. This healthy helping of New Feature Nirvana arrives weekdayly (no, that’s not a word) starting Monday.

More Scam Prevention. More Multi-User Flexibility. More Everything.

When it comes to feature updates, some newsletters are a little more organized than others. This week – well – we basically stuffed everything we could into the business end of a blunderbuss. That’s a metaphor, of course, but you still might want to step back.

BIG Lockbox Self-Show NEWS: Fraudulent Showing Auto-Detection

As we discussed back in November the growing popularity of lockbox-based self-showings is being matched by the rise of some decidedly disreputable and despicable folk. Now, to further frustrate fraudsters everywhere, ShowMojo has developed fraud auto-detection functionality for lockbox-based showings.

Do You Import Listings into ShowMojo? Read On.

Today’s menu features an eclectic selection of value-packed morsels for the majority of our customers who import their listings from a property management (or other third-party) system.

Combating Online Listing Scammers and Self-Show Opportunists

At ShowMojo, over the last few months, we’ve observed an uptick in scammers and other less-than-reputable individuals targeting lockbox-based self-show listings. That’s in addition to the everyday (and everywhere) Craigslist faux-listing scammer.

YABA: The ShowMojo Rental Application Beta

Frankly, we just got tired of saying: “ShowMojo automates your leasing process from the moment you start marketing to the point each prospect applies.” You might as well try to repeat “Sally sells short sales by the sea shore.” three times fast.

NEW FEATURE: Solicit Showing Agent Feedback on Every Showing

We’ve been using the Showing Agent Feedback feature with ShowMojo demos and onboardings for more than a year. That’s right. We built it clandestine-like to collect feedback on all of you … and improve the ShowMojo platform at the same time.

Please Pardon Our Mess

The ShowMojo management console just got rehabbed. Want to see? Log in, have a gander at your Dashboard, and prepare to be underwhelmed. But don’t sell us short on this update.

ShowMojo’s New Mobile Experience

Hey, we grew up cross-eyed, with a Teutonic resistance to tan skin, and an overbite befitting a kangaroo. We weren’t planning on winning any beauty pageants – ever.

Emergency Feature Updates

Fine. It’s not an emergency. It’s more of a creative disaster, but that would have made for a terrible subject line. The product development team has built all manner of new stuff, but we have not had time to draft a half-witty newsletter on any of it. So here’s just a taste.

What is ShowMojo and Why Is It On So Many Listings

If you’re a renter looking for a new place to rent, chances are you might have seen the ShowMojo name. Check out our blog to learn a little more about ShowMojo and how we help you find your new place faster and easier.

Beta Announcement: The Real Yardi Integration

Before anyone calls us out, yes, technically, we have advertised a Yardi integration since 2013. That’s because we did – back in 2013. It was a youthful, baggage-free extended-weekend thing. But we always knew Yardi was a phone call away, and including Yardi in the marketing helped the sales team sleep better.

New Feature Schizophrenia

Wouldn’t it be really swell if all our favorite property managers, leasing agents, individual investors, institutional investors and multi-family operators (yes, all of you) could agree on something simple and the same for everyone. Just once? For fun? For us?

ShowMojo’s Knowledge Base is 300 Articles and Growing

For those who might have wondered where our newsletters have gone, here’s the bittersweet truth. The ShowMojo creative team has been on a Lewis-and-Clark-like escapade unearthing and cataloging ever more content for KnowMojo, the one-stop-shop for at least half of everything you need to know about ShowMojo.

Security Deposits Updates that Will Make You Sing

Remember that Call Center Closed Beta that we’ve got running at a slow boil? Well, one of the most common prospect phone inquiries is “what’s the security deposit?” It’s not that ShowMojo didn’t already have functionality to track and display security deposits – it’s just that it clearly could be better.

Making Your Leasing Process Even More Effortless

Leasing automation needs to be as effortless as possible. You shouldn’t have to mallet prospects down your funnel, needle-nose them through the narrow end, tease out and discard the prickly ones, nor descale and regularly grease the entire chute. That’s our job. That’s why you leave your leasing automation to ShowMojo. So here’s what we’ve got for you this week.

New Features for Lockbox Users

We are fresh off a world-wind tradeshow tour and wow, do we have an image glitch. We hid the CodeBoxes behind the booth – even snuck out to the beach at 2am and buried the poor bastards in the sand – but folks still walked up and declared: “Hey, you’re that lockbox-show service. Y’know, I’m just not comfortable with that.”

ShowMojo: a better way to tour student housing

I’d like to give a prize to anyone who deals with college students for a living. Seriously, I could not do what you do. In an effort to make your life easier I present to you ShowMojo, an time-saving, annoyance-free way to get college students scheduled for showings of your private dorm.

New Feature Announcement: Late Showing Intercept

Perhaps we should be apologetic for our part in the upcoming Robot Revolution. But, wow, sometimes there’s things that robots just do better, saving us humans both our time and our sanity in the process.

CLOSED BETA: The ShowMojo Call Center

What’s the only leasing-automation company in residential rentals think it’s doing by throwing people at the problem? For starters, a call center helps us learn to better automate everything.

What Has ShowMojo Been Doing for You?

Did you get the email? We sent one yesterday — titled ShowMojo Weekly Activity Summary — to tell you about the important activity on your account in the previous week.

Easy Drivers License Verification for Lockbox Showings

Bad news for all of you who prefer your feature updates to come with four different setting-screen updates, two separate account check-in sessions, and a full-team briefing. So sorry. You’re going to have to wait until next week for another one of those.

More Text Messages for Everyone

Would you believe that 90 percent of all ShowMojo showings are self-scheduled by the prospect? Today we’re talking about the 10 percent of showings that are taken by phone or email and hand-entered via the ShowMojo Dashboard.

More Screening Question Magic

Screening Question Restrictors was a 2015 sleeper hit. For those not in the know, restrictors keep prospects from scheduling based on answers to certain screening questions.

Must Read Message for Postlets Users

We must confess that we really like Zillow. They have never been anything but gracious to us. That said, we were more than a little bewildered this morning when we learned that Zillow took Postlets back behind the barn and put it out of its misery.

New Plan Options for Just about Everyone

Most of our existing plans remain unchanged. Your current billing plan and terms with ShowMojo stay the same. All current customer plans continue to be grandfathered in. There’s only good news here – read on!

The Winter Lightning Feature Grab Bag

Just a quick reminder – and an immediate letdown – there’s no Lightning Eureka here. Lightning features are just smaller updates done super fast.

Start 2016 Right: with a ShowMojo Account Check-In

We started with document verification. Then announced the worst-kept secret since Apple Watch (read: CodeBox). Hey, when there’s another company out there slinging mud at a product you haven’t even announced yet, you know you’re on to something. Check out all of our new features from the last year, to get ready for the new year!

The New Year’s DDOS Attack Party

On January 1st, 2016, our hosting provider, Linode, was hit with a massive distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack across all their datacenters. Read on to find out about our response.

A More Responsive Listing Gallery

Well this is new. We’re actually announcing something with the word “design” in it. Hey, it’s not that we don’t salivate and writhe in envy over great design.

A Pre-Showing Questionnaire to Reduce Call Times

One major purpose of ShowMojo is to keep you from having to answer the phone. Nonetheless, there’s always been that small percentage of prospects who want (or occasionally need) special treatment.

Announcing the Prospect Blacklist

Do you have an overachieving prospect with an underachieving rental history? Are you receiving listing-site spam from someone fishing for leasing agent email addresses?

Calendar Automation That Will Make Your Head Spin

Oh what a wreck. Someone — apparently in a turkey-and-boxed-wine-induced stupor – thought ShowMojo product development wasn’t going fast enough. Staff was doubled. Productivity was quadrupled. Did someone say Ludicrous Speed? Yes, we ate too much, and then we built too much.

Announcing the RentManager Integration Beta

Using RentManager? Planning to use RentManager? (We won’t tell.) Feel safe putting the words “ShowMojo” and “beta” in the same sentence? Get in on the RentManager Beta.

CodeBoxes for All

Even if you don’t use lockboxes for self-showings, hang in there for the answer to: “If I Don’t Do Lockbox Showings Why Should I Care?”

Using Third-Party Showing Agents? We Can Help with That.

Let’s be clear about something. We’d prefer that no ShowMojo account pays commission to outside agents. We do believe that one of ShowMojo’s big value propositions is that leasing can be executed much faster, better and more cost-efficient with your own staff.

We Built It That Way for a Reason — Really

Never want to be double-booked on the same showtimes on two different listings no matter how complicated your calendars may be? Now there’s a setting for that. Plus, two new features for Lockbox showings.

Dynamic Prospect Notifications — Beyond Beta

We tried Fred, Judy, Joe, and Buddy. But none of those names seemed to fit. So Dynamic Prospect Notifications is getting ejected from the ShowMojo Beta Feature Club and it’s not even getting a cool kid name.

Got the Listing Site Blues?

Everybody has a favorite listing site. So, it stands to reason, everybody has a favorite listing site to vilify.

The Sweet Sound of Lightning in Summer

And, we’re back. Wow, what a summer rental season! We hope ShowMojo is helping you make the most of it, while still getting a chance to live your life and enjoy summer. That really is the goal, isn’t it?

Do You Have Underperforming Listings?

Let’s face it. No matter how finely we tune our leasing process, we’ve all got the properties in the back of the class that are busier tossing spitballs than getting rented. And the really tough part, of course, is snagging that property by the collar before an owner starts the daily dial.

Important News for Lockbox Users

Earlier this week we got a call on the black phone (ok, they’re all black, but that’s not important). The caller revealed that some ShowMojo lockbox customers actually answer the phone and enter showings through the ShowMojo Dashboard.

Sometimes We Just Don’t Listen

Sometimes we get shiny object syndrome. We admit it. We chase after things like ShowMojo PHONE, best-of-breed lockbox solutions, and document verification. You know, things that go beyond digital scheduling and marketing that no one – or few people, at best – asked us to do. It happens.

Don’t Use Lockboxes? Don’t Read This.

You wouldn’t believe the bumps that got us here. We’ve had product leaks the size of New Jersey. We pre-released hundreds of units to meet demand for a product we had yet to announce… And now we’re at journey’s end, and what do we have to show for it? Read on!

Announcing ShowMojo Lightning Features

What’s a lightning feature? It’s a not-so-huge new thing we got done lightning quick. You were thinking lightning Eureka, weren’t you? Ah, were that only the case.

Join Our New Beta. Get Less Showings.

Here’s a long-standing feature request: “We don’t show to people who don’t meet our screening criteria. Can we keep them from scheduling showings?” Have you asked this question – or up-voted this feature request? Well, we have a beta for you.

Showing Feedback Surveys (And One More Awesome Thing)

This afternoon we switched on Showing Feedback Surveys for all accounts! This isn’t a beta. And there are no hoops to jump through. After a showing is completed, the schedule-a-showing page automatically becomes a feedback survey. It just works.

Making the Homefront a Little More Secure

Up to now, there was no good way to make sure a prospective renter secured the home after a lockbox showing. Well, as of today, ShowMojo is your first line of defense, no matter what lockbox you’re using.

Do you like days off? So do we.

Great news. We just added two new features to better manage the days and times you and your team DON’T want to show, while still giving prospective renters the flexibility they’re looking for.

A Text Message Is Worth 10,000 Words

No famous, infamous nor anonymous person ever said that. But they should have. Well, now Pete just said it, and he does want credit if it becomes a big thing.

Are Lockbox Showings Creepy?

For an immediate answer to this headline, see Betteridge’s Law of Headlines. But we occasionally hear this feedback.

Who hired Doctor Killjoy to run product development this week?

This blog post isn’t about any ordinary cancelled showing – ShowMojo already emails you or the appropriate showing agent about that. These new features notify you, showing agents, and current tenants when all the showings on a given showtime have cancelled.

Get the “Custom” Message Out

ShowMojo now lets you add listing-specific custom messages to both: the showing details email and the showing confirmation messaging. Need help imagining how you might use this functionality? Read on!

Join Our Watermarking Beta

These aren’t your grandma’s watermarked photos. And this watermarking functionality is built into the core of ShowMojo.

Getting Back to the Basics – NEW SCHEDULING FEATURES

We took a surgical scalpel to ShowMojo’s scheduling algorithm, and we are quite happy with the outcome. NOTE: This stuff is complicated — and there’s no way around that. Don’t try to read while driving between showings.

The Zillow Email Firehose [UPDATED]

As we discussed back in April, Zillow has been testing out a new email anonymizer and auto-reply system. Zillow has been turning it on occasionally since the beginning of the year. This new system appears to now be Zillow’s approach to email moving forward.

A Different Kind of Listing Site

We’re striking out into new territory this week. Specifically, we’re happy to announce our very first (and very modest) attempt at a renter-facing listing site: Schedule-a-Showing.com.

And the Syndication Parade Continues

Last April it was just ShowMojo and our slick Craigslist templates. Then Craig and Pete had a falling out and Craig doesn’t reply to Pete’s emails anymore.

Got Lockboxes? ShowMojo Can Help

ShowMojo now supports lockbox-based scheduling. You can enable Lockbox Code Distribution on any Listing in the Options section.

New Features for ShowMojo PHONE

Okay, so it was not the 2007 iPhone announcement. But the excitement around ShowMojo PHONE has surpassed any of our expectations.

Email Us Anything — ShowMojo Can Take It

Forward any listing inquiry email from any prospect that came from anywhere, and ShowMojo will reply to it just like an inquiry from one our syndication partner sites.

Announcing Listing and Owner Reports

That’s right, after dozens of you emailed telling us we had to do it, we finally listened. This morning we rolled out listing-level reporting to all ShowMojo accounts.

The Day the Laughter Died

Hurricane Craig swung through to deliver a second round of punishment late in the day yesterday. What he took away from Craigslist this time was, basically, the last and most precious thing to take – clickable links.

Operation Craigslist Rental Rescue — Video and Updates

We’re starting off the week with bad news for Texas. It appears Hurricane Craig hit the real estate classifieds across the whole state on Friday. Our thoughts are with all the Texas rental and real estate professionals now stuck cleaning up the mess.

Some Metrics on Button Views and Page Views

ShowMojo includes a handy activity-tracking feature — accessible directly from the Dashboard — that tells you the number of button and page views for each listing you have on the market.

Ch- Check It Out!

I called on a Beastie Boys reference in order to open with something as cool as this pie chart I’m about to explain.

And Here Comes AppFolio Import, Plus a Little More

You’ve got business-critical software that already contains all your listing information and updates. That data needs to automatically flow into your Online Scheduling and Prospect Nurturing service. And that data needs to end up in the right place, to streamline your leasing process. Yes, we really get it.

I’m Conference Giddy

Pete and I are in a flurry of post-conference followups, which is to say we had a great reception at our NARPM conference debut in Chicago.

This Week It’s All About Your Rental Site

First Up, Buildium Integration. Seriously, we’re skipping the intros today because this is just HUGE. Are you using Buildium? Are you using ShowMojo? Prepare to be amazed.

Setting Your Rental Price

Are you new to being a landlord? Or thinking of buying rental property? There are a few things to learn if you want to manage a building yourself. It’s not rocket science. But one of the most important things a new landlord should know is how to set the right rent.

Getting Serious with Group Showings

Last week, several customers inquired about how to configure ShowMojo’s calendar to handle group showings. And not the occasional group showing, but a schedule chock full of group showings. Check out the solution!

E-Mail and the Importance of the Follow-Up

Woody Allen once said, “80 percent of success is showing up.” In today’s world that quote could be split up to say “40 percent of success is showing up and 40 percent is following up.”

Interior photos: showing off your rental listing

Last weekend, I spent some time on the cold city streets, trying to take some artsy photos. I must say, despite some friendly comments on my Facebook posts, I don’t think I quite have what it takes to make it in the art world. Real estate photography, on the other hand, doesn’t require any innate sense of art, just an understanding of a few basic principals.

Welcome to the 21st century, we’re glad you’re here.

At ShowMojo we appreciate people who like to do things the old-fashioned way. Still hand-write letters instead of emailing? We think we’d like you. Using a good old-fashioned day planner instead of an online calendar? Right on.

Oh Craigslist, Will You Ever Grow Up?

Craigslist is up to its old tricks again. In what we assume is an effort to poke Zillow in the eye (and perhaps reduce over-posting) they’re ghosting legitimate posts in high-population areas en mass.

Tired of no-shows? ShowMojo can help.

No-shows are the bane of many industries’ existences. In the world of residential rentals, where most landlords and leasing agents aren’t onsite, no-shows are not only annoying, but a huge waste of time. How many times have you gone to an out-of-way-showing and then waited and waited for a potential renter who never comes?

Rental Listings: What to Include, What to Leave Out

There’s a lot of advice out there on the internet about what should go into a rental listing. Some of it good, some of it questionable. At ShowMojo, we’ve got both renters and landlords on staff. After a bit of back and forth, here’s what we decided were the most important things to include in a rental listing.

Hi. It’s ShowMojo. Sorry for not posting sooner. We’ve been busy.

We know that’s not a good excuse. But it was worth it…. Really. We added so many new features over the last several months. If we listed everything here we’d crash the NSA’s email reader. And nobody wants to end up on that list. Instead, we’ll keep it brief and tell you about the three BIGGEST features we’ve added to ShowMojo.