"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.

Comments

[Nathan Garza]

I own a Web Production Company, and I am going to have to say that you are spot on here. Content creation is the key, and blogs do make it supper easy, especially for those without the skills/time/resources to do it by other means. Love your blog by the way. Keep it up.

[john harper]

I think the point is that blogging provides a lot of varied content that tends to revolve around your business interests. Since many people still don't know what a meta-tag is, it is easier to give it to them in myth terms because the reality for them is that they could never hope to accomplish it on their own.

Greg Tracy had a good post yesterday over at Blueroof that spoke to all the ways that blogging has helped him beyond the SEO element.

[John Strozier]

I like your blog and comments. I've built my blog only a short time ago and I’ve had a steady stream of traffic. Blogs are very immediate which is great and you can generate traffic the day you start it. Also it helps that I have the most comprehensive site for my area, which is not that hard. Thanks for the good reading. I’ll bookmark your blog.

All the best

[Lucy]

Good post and tips! Yes, you are absolutely right. Moving forward in the age of technology, a website is a must for marketing. I love to see agents keeping up with the changing times and using Internet marketing strategies.

[kamal real]

point-6 A Blog Is about You
i m fully agreed on it because you are only limited to your post only. comments are the main power of blog which make it usefull and lengthen the thread.

[Egyptian Real estate Agent]

This article is very useful for us as a real estate agent, and with importanc Internet real estate marketing , here we know the importance of blogs!!!

Ahmed Anies
Egyptian Real estate Agent

Egyptian Real Estate BLOGGER
Phone: (002)+ 016 1334420
Email: info@egypt-realestate-agent.com
site: www.egypt-realestate-agent.com

[Charles Meunier]

Thanks for your blog and your inspirations. I created my Paris Real Estate blog only last year and am getting a lot of traffic:

KHS Paris Real Estate Blog
http://www.khs.fr/BlogEN.cfm

[Cory Barnett]

Check out http://www.lenderimplode to see how much the lenders are in trouble.

Cory Barnett
http://www.FreeShortSaleSecrets.com

[Risa and David Weiss]

Myth (or cop out) #8: You have to be a "techie" to blog.

Truth: If you can type, you can blog.

The beauty of services like TypePad.com (which this blog is hosted on), is that you don't have to know anything more than how to string a few sentences together. Everything else is done for you by the service.

Myth #9: You don't really generate real business directly from a blog. People just don't show up out of nowhere and contract with you for services.

Truth: Bull. I have a current inventory of $3,500,000 in listings purely from internet marketing efforts. I have another $1,000,000 in pending buyer contracts waiting to close from internet marketing efforts.

But you have to work at it. Some people literally DO drop out of the sky and contract for services. But most of the time, it's relationship building that takes weeks, months, or in some cases, years to develop before turning into a contract for sale.

[Lonn Dugan]

Well done. Well Said... Bravo!

However...

You knew there was going to be a however... right?

IF BLOGS ARE EASIER to make and use than most web site content pages, and IF CONTENT IS KING, then isn't this EASE OF USE a compelling argument for having a blog?

If you want to compete for online mindshare by producing content, then isn't blogging the best way to do it?

[jf.sellsius]

Thoughtful post. I think the long tail "hanging fruit" can be quite satisfying if you have a unique niche market to write about.
Your suggestion about news re-reporting is good----if you tie it to your local market.

[Denis]

This being a real estate blog, I think you or your readers might find www.housemath.us interesting.

The site allows a potential home buyer to do sophisticated financial analysis of the monetary consequences when buying a home.

Or in plain words - how much exactly and for how long do I have to pay for that house.

[Glen Colton]

I'm a broker that's just starting out in Central Indiana, and have been reading about the good things a blog can provide. I would like to learn how to set up a site, and in particular, how to set up whatever it is that makes it possible for folks to do MLS look ups on the local board site. I'm thinking my focus should be on buyers wanting to move to our county, which is one of the last to benefit from the expanding growth of the neighboring 'big city'. In addition to posting items that advocate buyer's representation, I think making informational links to the county (school corp., C of C, parks and recreation, businesses, etc.) will be a must also. Advice for me, anyone?

[Risa and David Weiss]

I commented earlier about the potential effectiveness of having a blog, but neglected to clarify that Tim and I are 100% in agreement - using a blogging tool for creating your web presence has nothing to do with "blogging" and everything to do with having a web site with inherently good search engine optimization foundations built-in and an ease-of-use that can't be beaten, particularly for the non-technical agents out there.

Of course, there are some tricks to the trade that make the difference between just having a blog-architectured web site and having one that generates real business for you.

Anyone can have a blog-architectured web site, but few can turn it into business.

[ForeclosureFish]

We started our blog just to provide the search engines with "food" on a continual basis, but were quite surprised to see that a large portion of our traffic comes through the blog. So starting and maintaining a blog, even on a limited basis, is quite important for attracting visitors and building credibility, as well as chasing the "long tail" of the web. Good points about blogging in your post.

[Tim Adair]

100% agree with you about content. The more content you have the better. The best option is to localize your content so people in your area will be able to find you. Research highly searched keywords in the google and yahoo. Try to use these keywords in your articles. You will be guaranteed to be found and indexed by the search engines.

[Lender Mate]

Yes we are also looking for new ways to promote ourselves online. Seo is definitely important.

[Australian Real Estate]

Hi

My first time here and I was intrigued to learn the power of blogs as previously I had dismissed their importaance.

Congrats on a fine resource and you've inspired me to go out and create my first blog.

[San Diego real estate agent]

Good post. I think the main benefit of real estate blogs are that once set up agent do not have to know anything about html, ftp etc. to get fresh content/opinion up on their sites.

Take a look at our San Diego real estate blog at:
http://www.brokerforyou.com/brokerforyou/

[croatia property]

I m very much agreed with the pt no-1. I m vry impressed with this pt it is vry difficult to survive in the market if we dont have the blog.

[Realtor]

Good myths about the blogs. I am very much agreed with pt no-6 "A Blog Is easier to get traffic from engines". You just try this once to get the results.
real Estate

[wayne helmore]

Thanx,Blogs are very immediate which is great and you can generate traffic the day you start it. Also it helps that I have the most comprehensive site for my area, which is not that hard.More-
http://www.claridges-commercial.co.uk/