Real Estate Marketing Blog

Realtor or Blogger

Are your a wannabe blogger, or do you write to find leads?

ProBlogger is a blogger now selling something (books). CopyBlogger, Dave Taylor, Life Hacker. These are professional bloggers. It seems the advice that most take for blogging has been from guys and gals that blog professionally.

That is terrific resource  when you want to be a professional blogger, selling to one specific community. The word "Blogging" itself has taken on a damaging aura. Writing or creating is a much more useful term.

And as a Realtor you must ask yourself what are you doing to serve your readership?

Here are some more questions to help break away from blogging, and transition back into Realtor the publisher.

Real Estate Agent or Professional Blogger?

If you have read any of HouseBlogger you know I am a bit of a curmudgeon on the whole Web 2.0 thing and Social Media and Blogs. This seems hypocritical I know. But, I am not against them, just the hype around these web 2.0 entities.

In fact, these platforms get lots of search engine spider activity and thus should be part of a marketing strategy. But these things are just words to describe platforms. And platforms are just software. And I am sorry I am not going to get too excited about my Outlook or Word Software programs. So why should I with a blog or social network?

Blogs, Emails and 2 point oh.

This is a snippet from a recent email thread I had with a UK journalist.  I cut her part out as she never did give me permission to print her part:

The Absolute Standard for a Real Estate Blog

Does it make you money?

Blog Me, Blog Me Not

Mary McKnight of RSS Pieces has advocated ghost writing your blogs. I have always believed it is better to do something crappy than not at all. So I guess you can gather that I do not recommend ghost writing, but it certainly is better than nothing. However, I believe this issue strikes at the heart of a blogs real value.

Universal Search and Real Estate

Real Estate SEO gets more complicated as the Natural Search results gets more crowded:

You may have missed it, but a few months back Google promised to start mixing their various other search results into their regular search. They call it....Drum Roll.........Universal Search.

Real Estate Video and You Tube, Blogs, News, Images, Local, and Google Base=Google Natural/Organic search results......

Does Anyone Read Blogs?

Many might read my posts and think I am anti everything Internet. In fact, I am anti hype. And thus, like to poke holes into the hype of the day while illustrating the opportunities.

Only 12% of the Internet read RSS. And...

A majority of Americans do not read political blogs, the online commentaries that have proliferated in the race for the U.S. presidency, according to a poll released on Monday.

In fact, many more people do not know that they are reading RSS and blogs. They just do not know it. Furthermore, where does a blog, RSS and a traditional website begin and end? And there my friend is the opportunity!

Color Part II

We recently reported that the consideration of your color as important in your marketing and home staging.

Ford Motor company has found that "40% of consumers will turn to another brand if they cannot find the vehicle color they want".

In fact, Ford Motor Company is moving to a choose your color model of Paint color that is all GREEN. Meaning that it is not only a Eco friendly paint, but many of the colors inply a "green freindly" shade.

To List Or Not To List?

The question of posting your own listings have come up in the blogosphere.

I for one think it is a great idea. I wouldn't post the typical drab MLS listing with its acronyms and such. This is your chance to show video, lots a pictures and to wax poetic about the house.

Some ideas for blogged listings:

• Home Owner Interview video. This is the Internet, commercials are out, gritty is in. We want the bottom line.  What is so special about the local school. I can tell you that I have a wonderful story of our local educators.
• Information on the local schools. Again how about an interview with the principle?
• Parks, facilities for older folks,facilities for kids,  community gatherings. Video or picts are perfect for that.
• Historical significance
• Special Craftsmanship
• etc

Note: When taking pictures or video for goodness sake put people into them. This is what sells. Its just like asking someone to imagine what their couch will look like over in that corner. It allows them to dream a little.

I know this is going beyond the basic, but I really have thought listings on a blog a no brainer. So what?
I know Dustin has said he is against it in the past. While Todd and Gregg are open to listings.

Again, I think it is the right thing to do. It is the #1 reason why people come to a real estate website after all. However, it is a blog also which allows for your creativity. So sell it by using the blog CMS and showing off the property.

The Secret To Getting Real Estate Traffic

The recent article of last month in my Big City paper, the LA Times elevates realty blogging to a place of absolute necessity and almost web royalty. The takeaway seemed to be just blog and success will come. Which of course reminds me of the old Web 1.0 adage, "build it and they will come". Which site owners eventually find to be untrue.

It seems with every new emergence of a platform comes a love affair. But let's focus on the current love affair with Blogging.

Blogs are just websites. There is nothing magical about them other than they give a user the opportunity to easily write and post content. Stuff they should have been doing on their traditional website. And it is easy to ping web service directories.

Here is the secret to getting traffic: Create content and get lots of links. The end. (of course if the content is not focused you get untargeted traffic. And try competing for a popular keyword without getting a ton of inbound links).