For this particular Blog entry I decided to write about the mastery of writing blogs. Not that I’m a master blogger by any stretch, but I think if you keep it simple and on message, you can achieve the intent of the blog and your audience will appreciate it as well. Many Realtors often tell me they don’t have the time to write a blog or they don’t see the point of it. While I understand their reservations,   the whole point of writing a blog is to engage your audience. If you can do that successfully it will invariably accomplish a few things. First and foremost it tells your audience (in this case a potential client or Lead) a bit about yourself and what you do. If the point is to sell more homes or garner more qualified Leads than you’ll need to find the right balance for content, frequency of blogging ,and the length of each blog. Remember that a blog can be as little or as much as you like.

Content: Keep it light, and write about things relevant to your audience so they can relate to the message you’re trying to convey. If it reads like a manual, it won’t captivate your audience, and consequently they won’t read or share your blog with others, so make it interesting and easy to read.

Frequency: Stick to a schedule if you can. Just as watching your favorite TV program is routine, so should your blogging. It is much easier to maintain an audience if they know when to expect a new post from you. I find if you plan out your topics in advance you will have much better success at consistency.

Length: Despite what you’ve heard, longer isn’t always better! Remember it’s not meant to be a Tolkien novel, and readers aren’t willing to dedicate a huge chunk of their precious time to read it. Stay on topic and you should be able to keep the number of words down to a compelling amount.

It’s your Blog so have fun with it and don’t get too bogged down on edits and rewrites but do make certain that grammar and spelling are correct.

Share your blog and invite others to offer their opinions, therefore engaging your audience.

So make a plan and commit to the execution of the plan and get Blogging!

Best of Luck!

Rob



A few different blog posts I’ve read recently point to the same problem: way too much online information. With search engines and people gobbling up free stuff like e-books, webinars, tipsheets, special reports, and other forms of e-info out there, it seems that we’re facing a crisis of information overload.

By now, we know that content satisfies search engine appetites and helps drive SER’s, and we’ve all hopped on the bandwagon. I find myself agreeing with the bloggers saying that the content bandwagon’s beginning to look more and more like one of those clown cars at the circus. Everyone’s got content to read, download, print, or view on-demand – the internet’s bursting at the seams with information.

If you’d rather stick pins in your eyes than watch yet another webinar or have bamboo shoots shoved under your fingernails before downloading and half-reading another e-book, maybe the problem isn’t really too much information, but rather too much of the WRONG information.

I get several emails every day urging me to sign up for webinar after webinar on seemingly every e-marketing tool and technique going. The reality is that there’s only so much time in the day, and I’ve probably actually attended only 2 out of the 20+ webinars I’ve signed up for in the last few months. Chances are good that I’ve missed a few usable morsels of information. For the most part, though, the unfortunate reality is: probably not. Most of the tips and tactics shared by these companies are things I’ve already learned on my own or picked up through research and reading, and practice in my own businesses.

So how do we, as busy professionals, separate the good stuff from the crap? What ‘free’ information warrants an investment of our time to read, view or engage in, and what doesn’t? Ultimately, it’s up to us and our experience level or interest with the subject matter. For example, I likely won’t attend a webinar on successful email campaigns, given my past experience and expertise on the subject, unless it appears that the session will impart something new. On the flipside, I read a lot of blogs and other information on social media and emerging practices because that’s one of my specialties.

However, if a software company that I just created an account with were encouraging me to participate in a webinar that would provide tips for using their software and improving my results with great insider tips and information, chances are I’d invest the time, whether live or on-demand.

There’s a lot of free information floating around in cyber space these days – it’s up to you to figure out what’s going to be worth your time. Even if you learn just one new thing, I’d say that’s time well spent.

Lisa-May Huby, Director of Marketing

Wow, how did this happen? It seems I just learned about Web 2.0, and now the so-called gurus are talking about Web 3.0!

Okay, here’s my take on Web 2.0 and how it affects us as Realtors: web 2.0 is about conversation, communication, transparency and instant information. As realtors we need to learn how to implement these strategies into our web initiatives, marketing campaigns and advertising.

Now, let’s break each one of these Web 2.0 strategies down a bit. In the interest of keeping this information digestible, I’m going to cover my points in 4 separate blog posts.

Conversation: As Realtors, we need to create cutting-edge techniques to captivate the online consumer through conversation. We can do this by giving the Seller a voice when it comes to promoting their listing. There is software out there that has some great technology that allows the Seller to post comments on their own listing, creating a dialogue with the online buyer.

With a new web solution on the market, the prospective Buyer also has the ability to converse with the Seller through an innovative rating system that allows them to rate the property out of 10 stars, and leave anonymous comments if they like, again creating conversation. Notice that conversation doesn’t necessarily need to be two-way.

By giving Buyers and Sellers a voice to communicate with each other, we give them the ability to become more connected to the sales process, and of course more connected to the Realtor.

Opening the door to an online dialogue like this has many advantages. First, it gives the Seller an opportunity to share the warm and fuzzies about their property that aren’t included anywhere else, giving you a little added help with the listing. Second, by allowing online prospects to rate a listing and provide anonymous feedback, it gives you a sneak peek at potential objections, and the opportunity to make changes in the listing as you need to (like removing a photo that’s raised concerns).

I know that many of you reading this are shuddering at the thought of seeing less-than-desirable comments and remarks on your listings (or getting spammed), but don’t be concerned. There’s always the option of turning comments on or off, or intercepting comments before they’re posted, much like many blog applications.

Don’t let fear of spam or abuse hold you back from using technology to your advantage.

Stay tuned for my next post that will outline more effective ways of communicating with clients and prospects.

TLC