Blogging for Real Estate Agents

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What will be covered

What is a BlogBenefits of BloggingExamples of BlogsGuidelinesPlanning your Blog Finding Topics to Write AboutFinding Photos for your BlogPromoting your Blog

What is a Blog

What is a Blog

According to Wikipedia a Blog is …

is an abbreviated version of "weblog," which is a term used to describe web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog is a frequently updated, personal website featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles on other Web sites. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects.

Many blogs focus on a particular topic, such as web design, home staging, sports, or mobile technology. Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of other sites. And others are more like personal journals, presenting the author's daily life and thoughts.

Your BlogBroadcasting content out & directing people back into your sales funnel

Your Blog

Your Blog will interact and connect with connections in your social networks. One goal will be to drive traffic from your networks to your blog.

Why Blog?

Why BlogSearch Engines Love BlogsBuilds Your Brand24/7 Exposure…. All year longBuyers and Sellers will FIND YOU!Provides a Flexible Platform for Providing ContentBuilds Relationships with prospects and clientsGives you “credibility” and “authority status” on your listing & buyer appointments.

97% More Inbound Links

434% More Indexed Pages

55% More Website Visitors

Blog Readers can become prospects

Read Your BlogSee You as a Resource

SubscribeThink of You for business

You now have a connection that has been converted to a prospect

Examples

Examples of Blogs

There are several great blogs that are wonderful examples of what companies are doing to promote their business and build their brand

Real Estate Agent Blogs

Coldwell Banker Table Talk- http://cbcotabletalk.wordpress.com/Denver Musings - http://denvermusings.com/Real Estate in Denver and the Suburbs - http://www.denver-realestateonline.com/Bruce Swedal - http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/Amy Cesario’s Denver Real Estate - http://livingdenveronline.com/Moved Denver Blog - http://moveddenver.com/The Get Home Denver Team - http://bloghomedenver.com/Twin Cities Real Estate Blog - http://www.twincitiesrealestateblog.com/The Phoenix Real Estate Guy - http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/

Guidelines

Guidelines to Follow

Publicize your Agency (i.e.. Coldwell Banker, Remax)Keep in Mind the Fair Housing ActRemember Once You Publish it is on the Internet

Planning Your Blog

Planning Your Blog

Identify Your Audience Establish a Posting Schedule (1 – 6 times a week)Develop a List of TopicsWrite 10 – 15 Blog Posts at a Time

What to Write

What to Write About

Share Helpful LinksResource ListsLocal and Community News and EventsHow to TopicsProduct ReviewsReal Estate NewsMortgage NewsHome Buyer or Seller Tips

Finding Content

Finding Content to Write About

Google AlertsSearch TwitterForumsYahoo AnswersRead Other Blogs

Tools and Sites for Content Research

Google Alerts http://www.google.com/alertsGoogle Reader http://www.google.com/readerDigg http://digg.com/Technorati http://technorati.com/Delicious http://delicious.com/Yahoo Answers http://answers.yahoo.comAllTop http://alltop.com/

Finding Photos for Your Blog

Flickr Creative Commons - http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/Morguefile - http://morguefile.com/PhotoGen - http://morguefile.com/Photo Tree - http://www.photoree.com/Pic App - http://www.picapp.comFree Digital Photos - http://www.picapp.com

Blog Automation

Blog Automation

Certain Items can be automated on your Blog. Here are a few items you can use for automation:Post your Twitter Updates on your BlogAdd Syndicated Content to your Blog via either an RSS feed or via a Widget

Adding Syndicated Content

It is possible to add content to your blog automatically using RSS which stands for Really Simple Syndication.Many sites offer a RSS feed. These can be used very effectively to integrate content into your site. In using them make sure you give credit to your source.Here are a few potential RSS feeds that may be a good fit:Housing Statistics from Realtor.org - http://feeds.feedburner.com/RealtororgResearchHeadlinesReal Estate News from Google Alerts – It is possible to import your google alerts into google reader and post to your blog

Adding Content with Widgets

Widget: is a fancy word for tools or content that you can add, arrange, and remove from the sidebars of your blog. Widgets make it easy to customize the content of your blog sidebar.www.widgetbox.com – offers several Real Estate Related Widgetshttp://www.trulia.com/tools/ - Trulia offers several tools that can be added to your blog in the form of a widgethttp://www.housingwidgets.com/ - offers several widgets even a Vflyer Widgethttp://www.zillow.com/webtools/widgets/ - Zillow offers several widgets even a tax buyer credit quiz widget

Blog Promotion

Promoting Your Blog

Provide Clear Links from your Main SiteSubmit Your Blog to DirectoriesComment on Other Blogs and Add a Link to YoursPromote Your Blog on Other Social NetworksPromote your Blog to Your Email ListAllow others to Syndicate Your Blogs

Blog Directories

Best of the Web Blogs - http://blogs.botw.org/Blog Catalog - http://www.blogcatalog.com/Blogarama - http://www.blogarama.com/Technorati - http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/Yahoo!’s Blog Directory - http://dir.yahoo.com/news_and_media/blogs/Bloggapedia - http://www.bloggapedia.com/Blog Search Engine - http://www.blogsearchengine.com/