Blogging for Newbies

[Maggie/Vancouver]

Hey Guys and Gals,

Thought I would weigh in on this topic as it is something I have been wrestling with since I started RE a big long one year ago today! 

Like Margot, I have also been writing a personal blog for a few years.  It has quite a few followers.  In addition to my professional careers prior to real estate, I am also a performer and a writer.  Initially, I kept all this stuff hidden but, in this information age, hiding info about yourself is futile, so I just mention it in my About Me section of my RE site.  (I am a writer, a performer and I like pets, yoga etc.)  I figured that since hiding didn't work well for Tiger Woods I might as well be a bit more like David Letterman and just come out and say it!!!  (No, I do not talk about my affairs in my blog)  I did this after being recognized at a few open houses and it felt a bit awkward.  Thus, since it is who I am, I didn't try to conceal it.  I am, however, a bit more conservative in what I write in my personal blog or do on stage.  But, since I am not really an over the top person in real life, it is not very hard.  I am just me.  Some people may love it and others may hate it.   If the clients find me offensive I know for a fact we would not make a great team so it is better for them to find another agent. 

I have also started a RE only blog for my RE specific thoughts.  The biggest challenge is being dedicated to find time to write in all these blogs!!  I now have a specified writing time each morning.  It seems to work so far but then again I am on Day One of this new program.

Carol asked about driving traffic to her blog.  The best thing I can suggest is for you to buy a domain name (eg. a dot com name) and point it to your wordpress or other blog site.  If your blog address has the wordpress stuff in it, it is harder for people to remember.  When you write your posts, it will ask for tag words to help Google etc find it.  Just put all the key words there that reflect your post and your blog.  It will take time to build traffic but it is worth it....mine is getting a lot now...initially it was just me and my best friend who were looking at it!!

I do like Wordpress over the others you mentioned but I find it a tricky site.  It depends how web savvy you are.  I use Squarespace for my personal site but you have to pay for it.  It is essentially a Wordpress type site but very very simple.  If I did it over again, I would use WP but I am too lazy to switch!

Margot...I LOVE your blog.  Keep doing it.  I have put it on my favs so will cruise by and check it out every now and then!!

That is my two cents Canadian. 

Have a great day, my friends.

Maggie  :-)

[ChicagoSoul]

Well...I did it. I signed up at Active Rain.

Now off to think of something blogworthy.

Oh...someone over there said I looked like Sarah Palin. Must be true. On New Year's day one of my oldest friends said the same thing when I absentmindedly pulled my back. I digress...

[DMLucostic]

I've also recently started a blog, and I have no idea how to get followers. If anyone else who has a new blog, and wants to exchange blog links to follow I would be happy to do so. I mean, I guess it would be a start, but where do we go from there? How can I attract people from my area to join my blog site? I've listed my blog on the info. page of my Facebook, but I can't bring myself to post anything on my main/wall page about my blog. Has anyone else done this? How would you word it? 

My "Beyond Real Estate" blog:  http://dmlucostic.blogspot.com/

My active rain profile:  http://activerain.com/daniellelucostic

[Jennifer Allan]

Content drives followers to your blog - actually, let me say that content drives potential customers (not necessarily followers) there. The goal of a real estate blog is to BE THERE when a local buyer or seller goes hunting for information and whaddya' know? You've provided it! So, blogging about neighborhoods that you specialize in, both from a real estate and non-real estate perspective will get you found, and if your blogs are well-written and interesting, might inspire someone to read more.

Active Rain has tremendous SEO built in, so if you do blog about local stuff, they'll "help" you get decent search placement. It appears that you aren't yet a "Rainmaker" there, so your blogs aren't getting any SEO at this point; only the people who pay for rainmaker status enjoy that.

Once you start blogging about your local area, topics will occur to you all the time! Truly, they will!

So anyway, you ask about attracting people to your blog - the first critical step is to have some good stuff there for the people you're hoping to attract to find...

[NLKnudsen]

I just started gathering material for my blog.

It isn't Real Estate related per say...it is all about my local are. My first post (I am in the process of putting together now) is about this lovely local charity that provides housing and food for neglected animals.

Not RE related, but it is something near and dear to my heart and it is local and it gets me out talking to people...I just loved the couple who is doing the work, and we will keep in touch because of the "interview"

This made more sense to me than blogging about RE at this point...I am still learning my market, and this is getting me in touch with people, live actual people!! In my market no less

[DMLucostic]

Thanks for the tips! Great information!

[Tony Gilbert]

Hello... Jennifer, and everyone! I'm new here - thought I'd post a comment about something I'm experienced in... SEO.

Regarding a "new" blog, it is paramount to keep in mind that it takes many (many) months for the blog to become "trusted" by the search engines, particularly Google. It is also strongly "preferred" to have your own domain name, rather than a sub-domain of a blog host. In order for the blog to gain "authority," one must be consistent with the posts, both in the general nature of the blog, and the amount of unique content. And by "unique," I don't necessarily mean unique from other blogs... I mean avoiding a rehash of content previously posted in the same blog. (Though, feel free to rehash/reword and utilize in another blog later.)

It is VERY important to stick with the blog - the longer it exists and the more often it is updated, the more "authority" it will be earn. This is critical for the future - I see agents setting up blogs,  then they get "busy" and abandon them, thinking they may not need the blog anymore. (They don't know what they're missing-out on later.) In this case, I'd hire a freelance copyright expert to create relevant content to keep the blog active. Also, assuming the content is generally helpful (note... I don't say necessarily 100% "accurate"), and important keywords are "naturally" included (conservatively peppered in each post), then the blog will prove quite valuable over the long haul. Moreover, do this with several "niche" or "hyper-local" blogs, and the benefit can be tremendous. (BTW, don't host multiple blogs on the same server/IP.)

The MOST important thing you can do in any blog post, is to have a keyword driven, and "eye-catching" heading, and a "custom" page title. For example, if I wrote 350 word post with comments on home staging, both headings below would work, but one would not only drive more human traffic, but be more successful from an SEO stand point...

Sample 1: Post Heading - "Home Staging Tips"   Page Title - "Home Staging Tips"
Sample 2: Post Heading - "5 Quick Home Staging Tips for a Fast Sale"   Page Title - "5 Quick Home Staging Tips - Stage a House to Sell Fast"

I came up with this very quickly... but obviously, Sample 2 is preferred. It's important to take advantage of the Blog's software to utilize the page title tag to its full potential. In the case of Sample 2, the heading is engaging, and the page title contains matching words and word order, and is also "concise" (goal to contain 10 words or less). Then, using this example, include the following words in the post one or two times (naturally - not blatantly repetitive)...

home, house, staging, stage, tips, sale, sell, quick, fast

and the following phrases only once...

home staging tips
house staging
quick home staging
stage a house
sell fast
fast sale

Anyway... just some "quick" advice.    When starting a blog, it's best to try to incorporate some of the basics above, so that as you become more experienced going forward, you don't feel compelled (or worse, find it vital) to spend ooodles of time, and then some, tweaking your previous posts. 

Have a great day!

Tony