Create A Successful Real Estate Blog

The following list of items was part of an article published in the Realtor Magazine online. Read the full story at . . . Blogs — short for Web logs — are online journals that give everyone the opportunity to be a writer and publisher. Real estate practitioners use the medium to interact with their community and reinforce their professional expertise. Here's How To Get Started . . . Understand what a blog can do for you. Blogs are frequently updated and blend personal opinions and fact with links to other resources. If done right, your blog will showcase your real estate know-how and differentiate you from other practitioners in your market. Determine the purpose of your blog. Before you leap into the world of blogging, find your focus. Your blog can be professional, fun, or educational, or any combination of those. Define your blog’s goal. Will it position you as the neighborhood real estate expert? Will it service your clients and prospects? Will it help you network with other real estate pros or with fellow hobbyists? Select blog software. There’s no shortage of programs that make it extraordinarily simple to create and update a blog. With no more effort or time than it takes to compose an e-mail, you can have your latest blog entry on the Web. Experiment with different software programs, such as Google’s Blogger or InternetCrusade’s RealTown Blogs, both of which are free. Address the needs of your target audience. Think of yourself as an editor who must provide compelling and relevant news and filter information on your audience’s behalf. For example, if your audience is primarily buyers, use your blog to deliver buying tips and information on properties just minutes after they hit the market. Update your blog regularly. Create a schedule of when you’ll add new postings, whether it’s three times a day or once a week. Let readers know how often the site is updated, and stay true to your word. Fresh content will keep your audience interested and will help the blog rank higher on search engines. Encourage audience participation. Ask for opinions and feedback on the issues you cover in your blog—for example, “Which architectural style do you like best?” or “What would you like to see developed at the corner of Main Street and Forest Drive?” Also include a “comments” section where readers can post other feedback any time. Jazz it up. Add dimension to your blog with photos, videos, and links to news articles, relevant Web sites, and your favorite blogs. Use RSS feeds. A technology called RSS, short for “really simple syndication,” allows you to proactively distribute your blog content. It works like this: People who visit your blog—and have already installed an RSS reader on their computer—can click on a link you provide to have the content delivered straight to their reader. Make sure your blog software has RSS feed capability. Arrange postings by categories. Your blog software will automatically sort your postings on your blog site with the newest content on top. But that makes it difficult for visitors to your site to zero in on the topics they find most interesting. Use the “categories” feature of your blog software to organize your postings by topic. Promote your blog at every opportunity. Create a prominent link to the blog on your Web site, include the blog’s Web address in your e-mail signature, and reference your blog in all advertising and marketing materials. If you publish an article in your blog that you’re particularly proud of, send a link to everyone in your sphere of influence. Be sure to have someone check your spelling and grammar before you publish. Errors will reflect badly on you.