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Attention Real Estate Agents:

Email me if you want a copy with larger text size. Larry(at)realestateundressed.com I will send it in pdf form. Thanks

Local Agent, Local Blogger: copy

Posted by Teresa Boardman 2 Comments »

When I started my real estate blog there were not many real estate blogs around and no blogs about St. Paul. I was lucky. My instinct told me that if I wrote to consumers, and kept it local because real estate is local, that people would read my blog and that I would get to meet them, and maybe they would become clients. I learned to keep it real and to be myself and not to imitate others or try to be something or someone that I am not.
Then at some point, maybe about a year ago the real estate industry got interested in blogs. I started seeing them everywhere. Many of the bloggers would start out the way that I did. After a few months they would begin writing to other bloggers and giving advice on how to blog. I understand how this happens. It is hard to stay focused especially in the beginning. Writing a local blog can be a lonely experience, even more so for someone like me who does not live any where near Seattle, but in fly over land where blogs are not as popular.

In most cases local bloggers do not get national recognition. I have had national recognition but only because I was an early adapter. There certainly are better blogs than mine. The first time my blog was noticed was by the Chicago Tribune and the reporter wrote about it because she was not finding local blogs written by agents. She was finding blogs written by Realtors for other Realtors. When she came to mine she found pictures of houses because I was writing a series on local architecture that week. The other blogs she visited had pictures of iPhones on them because that is what everyone was talking about that week. Those architecture posts generated about a million dollars in sales, the iPhone posts got more traffic and comments and links.

My goal was and is to stay focused and if you read my blog you will see that I have stayed on track. It can be fun to write to other bloggers who will leave comments, but my goal is to write about St. Paul and about real estate and it is a lot of fun to come up number one in the search engines, organically for keywords that other companies pay for.

Why am I writing all of this? Mostly to explain the undressed network. The idea is to have a local blog because real estate is local. Blogs are not technical, they are about content. What to write and how to write it. The undressed network is not about getting national recognition or about seeing which blogger can have the most real estate professionals reading. It is about building relationships with the consumers who live inside of our computers, so that they will contact us and ask for our help when they need to buy or sell real estate.

I contend that the real estate industry does not yet understand local blogs or the power that we as individuals have on the internet. As an industry we reward bloggers by how many others in the industry read them and have not yet embraced the idea of writing to potential clients. It is about being real and local and giving consumers the information they are looking for. It is about honesty and integrity and yes even undressing. In writing we are undressing online. We are exposing our beliefs, values and ideas. That takes courage but it is powerful.

I guess I have just exposed my beliefs and values about real estate blogs. It is OK to have a national blog, I have one of those too, and I read them, but if the intent is to win business try a local or neighborhood blog. National bloggers have a lot more competition because there are so many of them. There is almost no competition for local bloggers making it a great opportunity for agents who want to have a strong web presence that generates business.

A Call to Action - Blogging is a Bona Fide Force

March 19, 2007

A Call to Action - Blogging is a Bona Fide Force

Pat Kitano writer

Last week on Transparent, I sounded the call to action to Realtors about blogging - there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that blogs can soon potentially lock up Google’s top page for local search keywords, i.e. “Your city real estate”, based on blogs’ powerful search ranking qualities. There are only 10 spots on that top page, and once they are taken, it will be tough for a new blog with little “Google juice” to displace a blog occupying one of the top ten. Those top ten Google spots per locale will in effect work like the “Yellow Pages” listings of the future, except they are organic and free

Blogging Is Taking Hold

  Over the past few years blogging has begun to replace traditional media outlets for reliable information and recommendations. This development has created big opportunities for agents that want to catch the wave. Neighborhood or Community blogs are taking hold as the way people research their next move.

We provide the agent a turn key program. We provide a brand (The Undressed Blogs) on a WordPress platform that has been optimized for agents.

We provide training and coaching from agents that are bringing multiple leads in off of their blogs.

If we can do it, you can do it.

Stop Acting Like Blogging Is Rocket Science

Written by Teresa Boardman for The Real Estate Tomato website
blogging is not rocket science

The Article

Real Estate Agents and Bloggers: Marriage Made in Heaven

Real Estate Agents and Bloggers: Marriage Made in Heaven

from Sadie’s Take on Delaware Ohio by Toby Boyce

It seems that blogging has taken over the world.

Local Blogs locking up Google Real Estate

Local Blogs locking up Google Real Estate

This entry was posted on 3/11/2007 on oue friend Pat Kitanos blog.

For a local real estate agent blogger, your search engine optimization (SEO) objective is to get onto the first page of google for queries about your home town related to real estate.

Blogging:

Blogging: what’s in it for me?

If you’re not blogging yet, you are probably wondering what’s in it for you. I know that’s the first question I would ask if someone told me I needed to devote at least 3 more hours a week to some new fangled marketing strategy. So, let’s take an in depth look at what separates a blog from a website and how a blog can actually help you build traffic and leads online in ways that a website simply can’t. (Read also: How to write a blog to generate leads)

1. Blogs are better indexed than websites by search engines like Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Why? Search engines are voracious readers, they like frequently updated, new and relevant content. Blogs provide just that. They allow you as a Realtor to login to their back-ends and enter new articles daily without knowing a lick of HTML.
BENEFIT: Increased search engine results rankings on Google, Yahoo! and MSN. Basically, a blog helps you get found in searches on popular search engines better and improves traffic to your site, which ultimately results in more leads and listings. (Read also: Where does my site rank with Google?)
2. RSS feeds syndicate your blog’s content across the net. All blogs have a built-in marketing tool called RSS. RSS allows individual subscribers to sign up for your feed and have your new content delivered directly to their feed reader, email or website in real time.
BENEFIT: Increased web presence and brand awareness. When another website chooses to syndicate your content, you benefit by an increased web presence, branding and more traffic to your site. Built-in marketing mechanisms like ping services and RSS help drive more traffic to a blog than a regular website. (Read also: Building RSS subscribers in 7 easy steps)
3. Agents that write blogs perform more research to keep up with their local markets than Realtors who don’t blog. This greater knowledge base becomes a significant competitive advantage over non-blogging Realtors…
BENEFIT: Blogs build a Realtors’ knowledge base and credibility as an expert in their field. Because the blog platform gives the realtor a channel to market their knowledge, visitors tend to think of the Realtor as an expert. (Read also: Turn yourself into a local expert)
4. By frequently providing quality local content on hot button issues, a Realtor builds credibility within their community. They connect with their audience (read “potential clients”) on a personal level that makes them feel as though they already have a relationship.
BENEFIT: Blogging agents generate more leads than non blogging agents. People like to do business with people they “know” and respect as an expert, therefore blogging agents generate more leads than non blogging competitors. (Read also: Ultimate guide to blogging for real estate leads)
5. Any blog that is driving reasonable traffic can be monetized. Once a blog has at least 100 pages of content and proven traffic, an Amazon affiliate shop and Google AdSense helps defray marketing costs.
BENEFIT: Blogs can be monetized to provide an alternative income source. Because blogs drive substantially more traffic than websites, monetizing them can boost a Realtor’s bottom line during good times and carry him/her through lulls in the market. (Read also: Money making blogs)
6. Blogs are better indexed by search engines, syndicated through RSS feeds and many offer free social networking ping services. Through these mechanisms, your blog content is constantly marketed across the web and consistently driving traffic back to you.
BENEFIT: Blogs drive more traffic than websites. Blogs have many more automated web marketing tools than websites and are better indexed by search engines. Your customers can find you more easily, driving far more quality traffic to you than a website that tends to be static. (Read also: Ultimate guide to blog marketing)

CNN Says Blogging may upend the marketplace for real estate

Found on the Ubertor blog

CNN.com: “Blogging has hit the real-estate industry…and it just may upend a marketplace known for inefficiency and restricted information.”

Filed under: Blogs, Blogging, Bloggers — Stephen Jagger @ 12:14 pm

We continue in our campaign to get real estate agents blogging… many have stepped up, started blogging and have seen the results. CNN Money wrote an article in late January 2007 about the effects that blogging is having on the real estate industry.

Blog if you love real estate
Bloggers are changing the equation when it comes to buying a house or condo.
By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
January 19, 2006: 12:23 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Blogging has hit the real-estate industry…and it just may upend a marketplace known for inefficiency and restricted information.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of blogs covering real estate and they shine unfiltered lights on their subjects, reporting market gossip, innuendo, facts, opinion, virtually anything. . . .Complete Story Here

What Separates A Blog From A Website?

Let’s get down to basics with Mary McKnight of RSS Pieces blog.

I often get asked, what are the differences between a blog and website.  There are four primary things a blog does inherently that a website simply won’t. These features allow a blog to market itself to search engines, spread your content across the web to attract new readers, provide an easy way for you to add new content regularly and most importantly, offer a way for readers to interact on the site… click here for the full article