I was kind of surprised by that. First of all, it is rare and unusual to find a real estate agent with nothing to say. Secondly, it occurred to me how many agents think that this is a time consuming and difficult thing to do. I think a lot of people, when faced with a writing assignment see it as just that; an assignment.
Keep in mind, you can look like the expert in what ever topic you choose to write about and drive traffic to your website and/or find yourself at the top of a Google search.
Writing a blog posting should be thought of as a conversation. The hesitation I get from most people comes from bad experiences from back in school. People get all locked up and become self conscience about whatever they put on paper. A blog posting is not a term paper. You should use words you use in everyday speech. The reader should feel like you are having a one-on-one conversation. This is how the best writers reach their audience.
Picking a topic is the easy part. Open up a Realtor Magazine. Discuss the pros and cons or realities of "for sale by owner". The big topic at this time is the down turn of the housing market. 500 words comparing your specific market to the rest of the country would be a good topic. Another would be the $8,000 home buyer incentive and how you help buyers with that incentive. Or a discussion on short sales would be a timely topic.
One good resource is the person who asks you a question about the business or the market. People were always asking me questions about real estate as soon as I told them what I did. Answer their specific question in a blog (kind of like I what I am doing with the meeting I had)?
Blogging works well when you have the right keywords. Do you know how to find the right keywords to attract the right clients? This is something that I struggled with at first. One thing I came to understand is that the keyword with the highest number of searches is probably not going to give you the best results. Like golf, the lower score is better because you have less competition for the keyword search. There are a number of strategies, but for real estate the simplest is to include geography. "Foreclosure list Hendersonville, NC", "Joe Smith Traverse City Land" are examples of including geography in your blog or on a meta tag for a website. Using keywords like these would put you at the top of a Google search for the topic.
Here are a few tips:
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Sit down and write (or type) without editing. Editing can be done after you have your unfiltered thoughts down on paper.
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Find a good blog platform. I can direct you to a good one or two.
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Write about what you know, have read and/or studied.
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Have a catchy title. "Three Deal Killers you MUST Avoid", "The Investment Property Tip that will put Money in Your Pocket Today". The title should be something compelling to get the reader's attention.
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In every blog post or article you write have a link back to your website or contact info capture page.
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Allow people to subscribe to your blog updates by emailing subscribers links to the page. (Don't spam!)
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Develop a social media presence and invite your social media followers to the blog posting.
This is a tough time to make a living in real estate. If I was to start back I would want to use the tools that would put me in front of the most buyers and sellers and reinforce my brand with information of value. In addition, doing this now will set the stage for future success.
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About the Author:
Dave Noyes is a recovering real estate agent who now has time to eat breakfast with his kids. He enjoys teaching others strategies to fill their sales funnel with leads using inexpensive and free solutions offered on the internet. He is available to talk to groups or for one-on-one consultations and can be reached through his website: http://davenoyesonline.com
