Is There a Blog in Your Future?

The following article was written by Saul Klein of InternetCrusade, the company that created and delivers the e-PRO course on behalf of the National Association of REALTORS. While blogs are a fairly new innovation, the use of blogs as part of your Internet marketing efforts is becoming increasingly important. The use of blogs has been incorporated into the e-PRO course and all enrollees have the opportunity to create their own blog for free through www.RealTownBlogs.com. Currently, there are more than 1,000 bloggers on the Website.

Ask any 10 REALTORS^® you know: "What's a Blog?" You'll likely get a variety of responses including a few "What’s a what??"

Selling real estate requires constant contact with people. “Contacts create contracts.” Since the average term of homeownership is something like 5 to 8 years, what method or methods do you use to keep yourself and your name in front of people? Prospecting consumes a good amount of time for most successful real estate professionals.

While the traditional methods of participating in community and church activities works well for many, the Internet -- and a fairly “new” concept known as Blogging -- can increase your Internet presence and fit nicely into your web site and Internet marketing strategy. It can be very cost effective and, for many, actually a very enjoyable way to prospect and keep your name in front of people. After all, the secret to success in marketing is no secret at all…whether you are Coca Cola or a one person real estate business…you work (and often pay) to keep your name (and brand) in front of people.

According to Technorati, a web site that tracks Web log activity, the “Blogosphere” continues to grow at a breakneck pace. Technorati currently tracks 35.3 Million weBlogs (Blogs), and reports that the “Blogosphere” has doubled about every 6 months for the past 42 months. The “Blogosphere” is over 60 times bigger than it was only three years ago.

What’s a Blog?

The term Blog is “short” for Web Log, a type of website content that is updated on a regular basis. It is different from the “usual” website in that it may contain information written and submitted (posted) by various contributors in addition to the owner of the Blog. A Blog can be a one-sided or a multi-sided Internet “conversation.” When you comment on a Blog, the comment remains attached to the Blog, usually for public viewing. An e-mail alert is usually sent to the Blog owner to notify him/her that there is a comment from a reader. This is a feature that makes a Blog interactive. Authors can respond via additional notes or comments on the Blog and/or via e-mail.

How can I set up a Free Blog?

If you are interested in exploring the wonderful world of Blogging, go to http://RealTownBlogs.com and take a few minutes to set up your personal Blog. There is no charge. You'll be joining a rapidly growing community currently at 500. There's also a neat feature in which you can elect to have your Blog run privately while you go about creating it to the level you would want it added to our public directory.

10 Tips for Prospective Bloggers

1. Understand what a Blog is and what it can do for you.

A Blog is a web publishing tool in the form of a frequently updated, online journal that blends personal opinion and factual information with observations and links to other resources. A Blog can showcase your expertise and afford you an opportunity to differentiate yourself from other real estate professionals. You can Blog about your community, restaurants in your community, charities you support, or anything about which you have an interest or a passion. It does not have to be about real estate.

2. State the purpose of your Blog.

Your Blog can serve many purposes. Clearly state what it is your Blog intends to accomplish. 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 and share helpful information with other real estate pros or with fellow hobbyists/club members? Maybe you can set up and maintain a Blog for an organization and use a Blog as a means to get information out in real-time and to solicit input and conversation, and all this at no cost and requiring no technology skills.

3. Take control of your Blog.

Think of yourself as a tour guide whose role is to direct the attention of your audience to compelling content. With today’s information overload, they'll appreciate your efforts to filter news and information on their behalf. Use it to update clients with new properties minutes after they are listed.

4. Remember: It’s content, content, content.

Plan to add new postings every week (everyday is even better). Fresh content will not only maintain the interest of your audience, it may have a positive impact on search engine optimization rankings.

5. Encourage participation and community generated content.

Include a “Comments” feature that enables your audience to append their comments in a threaded discussion. Make your Blog interactive. People will return if they are submitting posts and asking questions…and that is what you want, participation, both active and passive.

6. Add links, photos, video, permalinks, Blogrolls.

In addition to the text message, you can include links to relevant resources; photos, even videos, give added dimension to your Blog. Be sure your Blog software offers a 'permalink' feature that enables you to create a unique URL for each posting. Add links to your favorite Blogs, called a Blogroll.

7. Use RSS feeds.

RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and is a means of easily distributing your Blog content so that it appears on the desktop of anyone with a RSS reader that subscribes to your Blog feed. If you are not familiar with a RSS reader, download one to your desktop and subscribe to a few news feeds and some Blog feeds (e.g., the orange RSS feed button at http://Blog.SaulKlein.com). Be sure your Blog software has RSS Feed capability.

8. Arrange postings by categories.

Blog postings typically appear with the newest at top. Use the Categories feature to help organize your postings and make it easy for readers to locate topics of interest.

The RealTownBlogs.com software has a unique feature called “Sticky Entries” that enables you to re-order your postings and keep special announcements at the top. Both the Categories and Sticky Entries features are great publishing tools. And, yes, you are “publishing” when you are blogging!

9. Promote your Blog at every opportunity.

Create a link on your website; include the URL in your signature; and reference your Blog in all your advertising and marketing. When you publish an exceptional article, be sure to send the 'permalink' URL to your sphere of influence - you can use a third level domain for this purpose. For example, I often reference a piece I wrote on the topic of Commitment. See http://Commitment.SaulKlein.com.

10. Do it now.

InternetCrusade^®, NAR's partner for domains and e-PRO^®, will host your Blog on their servers at no charge; go to http://RealTownBlogs.com and click the 'Create One' link. In addition to the free blogs, InternetCrusade has created a community of bloggers on BlogTalk who provide ideas for improvements to the blog software you will be using. BlogTalk uses the latest technology to network the community via e-mail and web-based discussion forums. Become part of the number one real estate blogging community today.

Would you like to become more savvy on the web? Sign up for an e-PRO course with your special Advanced Access discounted rate!

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