Right now Real Estate Blogging is the hot new buzzword on everyone’s lips. But what does it mean? What is it for? And why would you want to do it?
Let’s start at the beginning…
What is Blogging?
Blogging is a nick name for Web Logging. And it describes the process or act of writing or creating an online journal or diary.
These journals or diaries, called blogs can be public or private, they can be about anything from what you ate for lunch to how to build a rocket ship and everything in between.
They are increasingly being utilized and respected as news outlets. In fact, even the larger News agencies like CNN, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times go to blogs to get up to the minute information when they need it.
What is Real Estate Blogging?
Real Estate Blogging is simply utilizing the increasingly respected and respectable “blogging” as a productive marketing strategy that is viable, easy to use, very consumer friendly and, if done right, extremely cost effective. Real Estate Blogging is being talked about but woefully underutilized by most Real Estate Professionals.
Why Is A Blog Better Than A “Static” Website and what is the difference?
A Blog is also very much like a living thing. It needs to be given fresh content to keep it healthy and alive and growing. A Static website is more like a book, what is there is always there. The content never, or rarely changes and if you leave it alone for weeks, months or years, it will still be basically the same whenever you return.
A blog allows you to communicate with your client’s and potential clients in a manner that has never been available this easily, effectively and inexpensively before. Blogging should not cost you any money to get started. There are many places available on the Internet that will give you a place to “host” or keep your blog that are free to use.
The down side to using some of the free sites is that, depending on the site you choose, the address that you are given may be difficult to remember, the site may not be “optimized” for the search engines and if you are not getting feedback in the form of comments from people that are actually reading what you are writing, you may not continue to feed your blog and it will die.
The up side to using free sites, especially one of those that are being designed just for the Real Estate community is that they are already respected sources of information by not only the Internet, but increasingly by the public as well. They are very user friendly for both the person writing on them and for the person who is reading on them, and did I mention that the most respected sites are free to join, free to use and free for the client to access.
One of the best sites that I have found is called www.ActiveRain.com and it offers all of the above and more. It also has a separate side to it called www.Localism.com which is a blogging site designed specifically for the local consumer to find, learn from and communicate directly with a local Real Estate Professional.
I mentioned that some sites are not “optimized” for the Search Engines like Google, Yahoo and the like. Why would this matter? Because a site that is not optimized it is essentially invisible to search engines.
Basically, search engines treat the Internet like a hungry person treats a buffet. When you walk into a buffet the first thing you do is look at what is offered to see what looks “freshest”, then you look to see what looks new and different, and then you look to find the things that you have had before that you know are always good and that you like.
When you are looking for something on the Internet you start the Search engine to work the very same way. First they go looking for content that is fresh, meaning minutes old not days or weeks. Then they look to see what is new, different or specifically fits their hunger which is your need or question, and then they go looking for the sites that they have visited before that have had useful, appropriate or “good tasting” content in the past.
Blogs feed that hunger because every time you write something on a blog, you are making new, fresh and tasty “food” for the search engines. And that means that you are making it easier for them find you and your information and to offer it to the client that is looking for it.
Why Do You Want A Real Estate Blog?
Because blogging works. It works well, it works fast and it works in a way that nothing else can or does. A blog allows consumers to “meet” you, find out what you have to offer and get a feel for your personality so that when they contact you, their decision will made. All they need to do is find out if you are the person in real life that they have “met” on the internet and if you are willing to work with them.
Thus far, in my personal business I have generated the bulk of my leads including two very well qualified buyer’s from my blog site http://Route66Living.com . And I have only been blogging for two months. Other Realtor’s all across the country are using this method to generate most, if not all of their client leads and they are in all sorts of markets and all sorts of areas. The one thing that they all have in common is that they are all getting business, lots of business and they are getting it now. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call or drop me a line and I will help you out or point you in the right direction.
By Tisza Major-Posner, Realtor®, Keller Williams Professional Group, Claremont/La Verne (909) 837-8922 Tisza@HomesByTisza.Com
A little bit about Tisza Major-Posner. Tisza was chosen as an Apprentice for Inman News Corporation Blogger’s Connect and Active Rain’s Project Blogger competition. Project Blogger is a 14 week long contest which paired neophyte bloggers up with industry professionals who will coach them to become the best, most effective and successful Real Estate Blogger they can become. ActiveRain will be donating $5,000 to the winning team's charities of choice. The blogging coach and apprentice will each be allowed to direct $2,500 of the $5,000.