"SEVEN MYTHS ABOUT REALTY BLOGS"

So after I finished the Ten Myths of SEO, I promised a Ten Myths of  Blog Marketing. I can only come up with 7. I find myself at a creative block on these as this is stuff I have said a million other ways. So I have to come up with a new way of saying it, without redundancy.

I will fill these in over the next week or so but here they are in all their glory. This list will no doubt ruffle some feathers as it will show that most realty are not very effective if they are promoting a business of any sort.

1. You gotta Blog if you are going to Survive Online
2. The Search Engines like blogs better than a website.
3. A Blog Is easier to get traffic from engines.
4. I can write anything on my blog
5. The Blogosphere matters
6. A Blog Is about You
7. Social Media and Web 2.0 is the future of the web

Talking about Search Engine Algos & Marketing is much like a political spinning. There is always two sides if not many more answers to a question. It often sounds almost like triangulating to cover all bases so as not to ever be wrong.

The reality is that SEO and online marketing does not have a right or wrong answer. It is more like gradations. The fact is to blog is better than not to have blogged. To have many websites is better than one.

Like a Coach told me once, "It is better to do something crappy, than not at all".

So please take my advise as a best world scenario. Often, time, budgets, and skill do not match the perfect world that I am deluded by in this post or any of my others for that matter.

Let's tackle number one.

YOU GOTTA BLOG IF YOU ARE TO SURVIVE ONLINE

Bull.  Most visitors do not know what a blog is. They only know that if it smells like a website page, and looks like a webpage. Then it is a webpage. So why the big deal about blogs?

Lets look at the hype first

The idea of a Blogosphere and Social /Web 2.0 forwards the notion that the world is demanding your participation or you will be passed by. We will look at the deeper meanings of these trends later but suffice it to say that these are not the reason to blog. Not today anyway.

The real reason to blog.

• Content/Long Tail-As the amount of related and non related webpages have grown, it has become more and more difficult to compete. Many agents or small businesses cannot afford to compete with enough important inbound links to make a dent in the onslaught of richer competitor agents, and outside Aggregator Corporations (think Zillow, Zip Realty, Homegain).
  
  So by blogging or creating unique content the idea is that you can attract less competitive phrases that are the low hanging fruit. Also more pages can help foster more page rank within a website. I agree that agencies will have to become publishers of content in order to survive in the future. They just do not have to do it on a blog however.
• Authority and Personality-Your blog has the ability to show your personality. Your unique perspective on how you do your business. It is in affect, the canvas by which you paint your Unique Selling Proposition.
  
  If you read this blog you can tell that the approach I take is that of the Curmudgeon. The anti hype marketer. I think I blog a unique perspective because unlike 99% of the Vendors selling Realty web marketing products or services. We actually are a marketing firm that markets our own websites.
  
  Meaning, we know SEO. We know blogging. And we know how to generate leads & Sales. But more than likely this is the first time that I have so directly stated such. I prove our knowledge thru our commentary and tips.
• Local Real Estate-Talk about your market. Talk about your farm. Talk about issues that locals care about. You are not a journalist.You are a salesperson. Don't hide from that fact. But no one cares about that the Stock market sold off yesterday. They do care how that will affect their home prices though.
  
  You look much more credible discussing home price fluctuations as a result of the sell off, than just reporting the sell off. Every news agency in the world beat you to that, and did a better job than you writing it.
  
  You also can sell up property. For some reason "experts" say this is wrong. If selling is wrong you are in the wrong business. Actually you should not be in business. Business is selling. But I think perhaps most think of selling as either distasteful or in the sense of the used car salesman stereotype
  .
• And finally its easy to Post and Manage a blog.

Having said all that. You do not need a blog. You can do the above on any webpage as long as you have the limited skill to do so.Instead of worrying about doing blogs, agents and agencies need to worry about content creation if they are to survive and compete in the new online reality.