It’s common to hear industry people fret over what to blog. While blogging education is always important, even the most experienced writers need to develop a productive ‘business blogging strategy & style.’ Buyers & sellers also want to believe their Real Estate Professional is - locally -knowledgeable. With a Blog it’s easy and affordable to develop trust as the local value- add authority.

Here are 13 fresh content ideas for your Real Estate Blog!

I. Real Estate Blog your everyday answers: Have you answered any Real Estate related questions this week? Probably several right? Those answers are your knowledge and your great content. Rather than sharing answers with just one person, make notes so that you can Blog those same answers to the web. Like- minded buyers & sellers are searching for those same answers everyday

II. Real Estate Blog for local news coverage or PR: It’s great Public Relations to be written up in the local news! As a strategy why not go so far as to notify the local newspaper of your Blogs existence. Newspapers are challenged for content these days so they’re always looking for good resources. If not just a list of good local blogs with links, comment on their blogs. One way or another, someone will be recognized locally for Real Estate knowledge in the local news. Get proactive and it might just be you

III. Real Estate Blog new value added services: Are you adding new, or improving old, Real Estate services? If so, it’s an important development that needs promotion. It certainly makes for good content, so why wouldn’t you blog to capture the folks searching for those services or to update those who are listening via subscription?

IV. Real Estate Blog the success stories: Client success stories establish credibility. Have you solved a clients’ problem? Have you improved something for a client with your service? Have you sold a great home? If so, why not share the success story that your Home Buyers & Sellers have had so that new prospects can easily recognize & trust your skill?

V. Real Estate Blog about the local news: One way to engage a community is to cover important local issues, or in cases where it has local relevance, national news. Careful here: positive coverage is generally the best course because leaning in one direction can cost you the trust of half or more of your audience. What’s more, you don’t want to alienate the local newspaper folks either, they can be your best friends [see bullet IV. above.] However, there is NO reason you can’t tactfully add commentary to top local issues. It demonstrates knowledge and can bring you into important conversations, which are likely followed by leads

VI. Preemptive Real Estate Blogging: Have a listings presentation coming up? Why not Blog something great about the area the folks live in? It can establish an indexed presence for that area, development, community or street and you can leverage that in the presentation. Good local bloggers want to be indexed for everything they can, creating a huge net for search queries. It also shows prospective clients you’re on the ball, likely to generate exposure for their home

VII. Real Estate Blog about local communities, neighborhoods & developments: Whenever possible, share what you know, hear & see in the surrounding areas of the community. Are their new developments, buildings, parks, community resources, doggie parks, landmarks, historic buildings, unique architecture, local heroes, events, fundraisers, races, useful public transportation or parking tips? If so, Blog about them

VIII. Real Estate Blog about new local businesses: Are there any new intriguing local businesses getting started in your area? Have you eaten, shopped, or received exceptional service somewhere locally lately that you really liked? If so, get in the habit of sharing your local community experience. You can be assured folks are searching for those products, services and, often, those very businesses. Be there when they do with your great local insight

IX. Real Estate Blog local business interviews: As a local business person, there’s no reason you can’t share lots of community- oriented information. Why not interview other business owners? Why not be the one to share information about their products, services & intentions? 4- 5 questions will do, but it demonstrates local knowledge, authority, team play, enthusiasm for the community and it adds value for those interested in moving to the community
 
X. Real Estate Blog with locally relevant images: Take local photos regularly. Uploading them to your blog is easy. Share them with fun descriptions and interesting facts, demonstrating your enthusiasm for the community. It could be a historic house, a development, a park or a local event with a description about why it’s special. And by the way, people really enjoy visual content

XI. Leverage commenting and social networking to generate interest in your Real Estate Blog: Identify good local news sources and, if they are interactive [as most blogs are], add relevant thoughts with links back to your own blog. Try to link to a post you’ve written that is related to the subject your commenting on. The author may appreciate your interest, but the audience might see you and develop interest in you too

XII. Real Estate Blog about new listings, open houses and on closings: Write about business successes like a new listing or what happened to get the listing and why the experience is, was or will be positive. Demonstrate not only success, but a willingness to learn and to share what you have learned

XIII. Real Estate Blog local sales data: Solely regurgitating local sales data isn’t going to differentiate you, but a monthly post with good data is welcome. Interpretation of that local data, normally limited to insiders, demonstrates an interest in sharing and being a value- added community educator 

Having a discipline for Real Estate Blogging is easy and it’s also important to your business. You’ll serve yourself by being in the search engine indexes, prepared to help the people looking for the answers you have… and that they need. That AND you will help all those folks already subscribing to your Blog in anticipation of your useful information. In all, make a commitment to Real Estate Blogging and you’re likely to be perceived as the authoritative, forward-thinking, open & honest local business person… that you truly are!

Here are some specific examples to help demonstrate these real estate blog posting rules...

Please be certain to read the full article on effective blog posting rules first (without full context this may not make sense :))  Below you will find several everyday examples to the six rules for creating effective real estate blog posts!

Example #1:    Create good real estate blog post titles 
Don’t forget to include targeted or localized content so that you don’t have to compete on a larger scale in the search engines than absolutely necessary!  Here’s a simple example:

Let’s say you are going to provide a real estate market report for your area:

Bad Title: July 07 Market Report
Good Title: Flagstaff, AZ Real Estate Market Report For July 2007

Or maybe you are introducing a new listing:

Bad Title: New Woodland Hills Listing
Good Title: New Real Estate Listing in Woodland Hills, MI - Single Family on 2 Acres!

This behavior may make you feel a little redundant at times, but think about it from Google’s perspective - if you don’t provide specifics, Google will have a hard time recommending you in the right arena.  The more information you provide, the better your chance to get audience with the right viewers!
 
Example #2:    Effectively leverage your blog post content
Try to let your reader know what they will encounter in the first few sentences of your blog post.  If you clearly outline the value proposition, they will be more likely to read on.  The goal is to educate and inform so that they will think about taking advantage of your call to action (ie. use your online MLS Search or other relevant web tools).  You also want to try to get your targeted keyphrases into the first paragraph.  Search spiders digest content from top to bottom - you’ll be more effective and will make their job easier if you outline the overall points of your content upfront.  One word of caution, don’t try to go after too much, the more targeted each blog post is, the greater your chance to become indexed for that specific topic.  Here’s an example:

Again, let’s assume you are offering a real estate market report in say Flagstaff…

Intro:  The real estate market in Flagstaff, AZ continues to remain strong in the third quarter of 2007.  Below you will find a detailed account of Flagstaff homes currently available for sale, homes sold in Q3, and a list of the most popular Flagstaff subdivisions by number of homes sold.  If you would like a comparative market analysis of your Flagstaff home, please contact us (make this a direct link).    

Example #3:    Add valued links to your post to drive traffic to your real estate websites and create search engine trust
The best links you can offer from your blog post are those that you give out freely because you truly believe in their value.  It is also a great practice to link to other relevant blog posts that you’ve already written!  It’s hard for me to give specific examples from a realtor’s perspective, but i can give some examples from my own perspective as an educator about real estate blogging:

• I might provide a link to another great article on the benefits of business blogging
• Or, I could link to another article i’ve already written that adds value to this one
• Or, I might tell you to contact me for more information

Example #4:    Use Proper Blog Formatting
This one is just plain common sense I guess.  Try your best to make it easy for the reader to skim your article for the important points.  Using bold, numbers, and bullets will help to train the reading eye.  If you add photos, make sure to web optimize them (not too big!) and place them in your post in a pleasing manor.  Since Ann Heitland was part of the orginal Active Rain comment stream that inspired this post, I’ll use one of her recent posts as a good example - there is quite a bit going on here, but it is clean and well organized:  http://blog.bestflagstaffhomes.com/public/item/190484
 
Example #5:    Identify a Call to Action, Convert those potential buyers and sellers to leads!
For a real estate related blog post, some specifics might include:

• Linking to your FREE MLS Search (be sure to link directly to your search or to the registration page - NOT to your homepage)
• A link to "What’s my [your area] Home Worth?"
• A link to "Sign up for automated [your area] listing alerts"
• A link to "Need help Relocating?"
• A link to "Neighborhood Overviews"

You get the picture Tip: Make sure to always link directly to each resource page and not to your homepage!  Also, try to link to pages that capture names and emails.
 
Example #6:    Use relevant categories and tags in Every Post You Write
Tags: Your tags should be considered ‘keyphrases’ – specific 1-4 or 5 word combinations that serve as descriptive bullets for the content you’ve just written. They must be on topic with the post – the tag section is NOT a place to dump all your top level keywords and keyphrases. If the keyphrase is not relevant to the post you’ve written this behavior is harmful. Search spiders are smart, this is considered keyword stuffing – don’t do it! As a general rule of thumb, less than 10 tags or keyphrases (not words) is suggested per post.

Example Tags for this post: Real estate blogging techniques, Effective real estate blog posts, real estate blogging, Realtor blog tutorial
 
Categories: Your categories should be 1-2 or 3 word phrases that help a human to locate pertinent blog posts by topic. Kind of like naming folders on your C Drive – this is meant for quick reference and easy recall of information.

Example Categories: Blogging Tips, Blogging Tricks, Realtor Blog Tutorials, Blogging techniques

Make the most of your real estate blog with these simple rules...

Rule #1:    Create good real estate blog post titles
 
Search engines and humans typically want different things out of a title; to be successful you must strive to please them both. In technical terms, your blog post title is a header tag, this means it is the first thing a search spider will encounter. You must think about adding important keywords/phrases to this area. Always be specific, entering localized information (specific to your real estate market) that easily allows the spider to identify your content goals. At the same time, you must consider the human value proposition. Don’t just jam your title full of keywords and phrases that have little to no specific value. Make those phrases work so that your reader can immediately identify your value proposition. This is the make or break in enticing them to read further.
 
Rule #2:    Effectively leverage your blog post content
 
Again, search spiders display certain behavior patterns. They tend to digest content that is toward the top of a page or post first. If left unsatisfied, they may skip on to index other pages and flag the rest of that content for later indexing. Give them a taste of what they want upfront. Create compelling first paragraphs that include your target real estate market keyphrases and easily demonstrate the human value proposition. The spiders will love you and your readers will be compelled to read on.
 
Rule #3:    Add valued links to your post to drive traffic to your real estate websites and create search engine trust
 
In the world of search, links are very important metrics. However, you must be very careful about your linking strategy. A link will only work to your benefit if it is relevant to the overall value proposition of a post. The best way to figure this one out is to put yourself in your target client’s shoes. If you were reading your own article, what link resources might you find valuable? You should offer several links to outside resources and several links to resources (other relevant articles) within your own blog. At the same time it is of the utmost importance to always think about linking to those tools on your website (such as MLS Search, Home Value, Email Alerts) so that readers have the chance to become potential leads. If you can, use “link in a new window” so that readers don’t become confused when they navigate away from your blog.
 
Rule #4:    Use Proper Blog Formatting
 
Most internet readers give you only a few seconds to qualify whether or not they think they will gain anything by reading your post. It is imperative that you make it simple for them to do so. Use simple formatting and a clean layout for every blog post you create. Bullets and numbers are a great way to call attention to your main points. Fonts should be uniform throughout, photos and links well placed. If it’s a train wreck for the eye, people will typically not give it a chance.
 
Rule #5:    Identify a Call to Action, Convert those potential buyers and sellers to leads!
 
Every post you write should have purpose. No matter what your subject matter, you should always think about providing a call to action at the end of each post. After all, this is a real estate business tool – we are trying to generate leads! As I mentioned above in the Linking Rule, one of the easiest ways to create a call to action is to link to the relevant lead capturing tools that you already have on your website. If overlooked, this one action could be the downfall to the success of your real estate blog. Try to make sure that the lead in is relevant to the post you’ve written. Target buyers with a complimentary MLS Search or signup to a first time homebuyers seminar, catch sellers with a Neighborhood CMA or FREE Home Valuator, entice people to subscribe to regularly receive your posts by email or RSS. Think about new and different ways to connect with every post you release. For a more in-depth discussion on connecting with your reader follow on to the marketing section!
 
Rule #6:    Use relevant categories and tags in Every Post You Write
 
Categories and tags can be confusing as compared to one another. Here’s a simple rule of thumb. Categories help humans find and organize content and tags do the same for search engine spiders.
 
Tags: Your tags should be considered ‘keyphrases’ – specific 1-4 or 5 word combinations that serve as descriptive bullets for the content you’ve just written. They must be on topic with the post – the tag section is NOT a place to dump all your top level keywords and keyphrases. If the keyphrase is not relevant to the post you’ve written this behavior is harmful. Search spiders are smart, this is considered keyword stuffing – don’t do it! As a general rule of thumb, less than 10 tags or keyphrases (not words) is suggested per post.
 
Categories: Your categories should be 1-2 or 3 word phrases that help a human to locate pertinent blog posts by topic. Kind of like naming folders on your C Drive – this is meant for quick reference and easy recall of information.
 
Best practices are meant to be followed as a general rule! I know discipline is no fun, but don’t forget this is about making the most of your investment and leaping over your competition on the web!

Spinning your wheels blogging? It's not too late, bring your real estate blog back to health!

As you all know, business blogging can be a very effective online niche marketing tool.  However, all really good real estate blogs have disciplined administrators behind them.  Spinning your wheels blogging?  Take a look at four of the major pitfalls to avoid!

Poorly Targeted Blog Content
This is the number one thing I notice about an unhealthy real estate blog - content that is not targeted to resonate with a specific audience.  Business blogging is labelled that for a reason.  In theory you operate a business blog with very specific goals in mind - mainly to generate online real estate leads.  If you don’t approach content creation with some discipline then you can’t hope to have a successful real estate business blog.  I’m not saying scrap your personality, but what I am saying is focus! 

Put yourself in the shoes of your target client, what kind of questions are they asking Google?  Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box - not all people are typing things like "Detroit Real Estate" into the search engines, you’d be surprised to know that many people know exactly what they want.  Spend some time with your team in a blog brainstorming session.  What kind of clients do you want to resonate with?  What questions are those folks asking in search?  Once you have a list, strive to make at least 80% of your content focused on answering these questions!  You can’t connect with someone interested in a certain subject matter unless you write about it!  Use that other 20% to develop your flare.  In the long run you will thank yourself for introducing a plan! 

Titles and/or Subtitles Are Too Generic
Your blog title and subtitle (if you have one), should be considered top level connecting mechanisms.  Use them wisely!  Many Realtors have a tendency to be overly generic in titling their posts.  You want to think about your reader AND the search engine.  Give those search spiders something good to digest! 

Imagine that you create a post entitled, "Real Estate Market Report", how many other Realtors in the world do you think you just stepped into competition with?  Google is smart, but you want to make their job easy.  Don’t force the search engine to guess where you are located.  Get specific!  These areas are the best place to begin targeting those keyphrases that are important to you.  "Real Estate Market Report" becomes "Aspen Real Estate Market Report from the Joe Public Team".  One thing to watch out for - don’t be overly blatant about your quest to target top level terms (in this case Aspen Real Estate).  Use things keenly in sentences and make sure what you say is of value and makes sense!  Your best bet is to get those phrases into sentences that target a bit more than just your phrase. 

Low Posting Frequency
Ok, I think this one speaks for itself.  If you can’t handle the writing, either get someone to help you or get rid of your blog.  It’s just not going to work if you don’t participate!  There is good help to be found out there - use it!  On the other hand, real time technologies are not going away - only getting more advanced.  Don’t let the revolution pass you by!

A Poor Linking Strategy
Number four here is very important.  This is the key to making your blog into a lead generating machine.  Once you connect with those visitors on specific and unique levels - what are you doing to turn them into a lead?  Yes, perhaps your content is really good and they like it so much that they call or send an email.  Don’t count on this though.  

People will take the path of least resistance.  What are they really looking for?  Probably an MLS search, a home valuation, sign up for an email listings alert - give it to them!  Make it so easy for your reader to use these tools that they just cant resist.  Provide links from every blog post you can where it makes sense to do so.  Make your navigation easy to use.  Add graphics to your site that target the eye.  Use those lead generating tools on your website that you’ve already paid for! 

Take the reigns and turn your real estate blog into the marketing vehicle that it can be!

Think of your blog as the visibility arm in your Internet marketing strategy. How will you turn visitors into potential leads?

As many of you know by now, blogs are ‘real-time’ technology tools.  We create posts, or short articles of information, we hit save and the content is immediately available for online viewing.  It’s a dynamic environment which typically leads to some pretty good visibility in the search engines if you use it correctly.  But wait, has anyone really stopped blogging long enough to think about how to turn that visibility into an online lead?  This is the end game, so let’s talk about it a bit.

Link Funneling ABCs
What does this techno-speak mean anyway?  When i talk about ‘link funneling’ - what i am really referring to is ‘how many people are you sending from those blog posts to the lead capturing tools on your websites?’  Lots of folks think only in terms of unique visitors - how many visits am i getting to my blog in a day or a month.  What we should really be thinking about instead is - how many potential visitors did i funnel to my MLS Search pages, my Home Valuator and my e-mail listing alerts.  You may be surprised to know that some of you who are experiencing less visitor traffic, yet are doing a great job at link funneling may be getting more out of your investment than those with lots of traffic and very few link funnels.

Blogging is About Visibility, Lead Capture is Up To YOU
If you want it to also be about lead capture, you need to put some thought into it.  What happens when someone lands on that blog post you wrote about the new condominiums going up two neighborhoods over?  There are a few things you should consider every time you write a business-based real estate blog post:

1. Have you put yourself in the reader’s shoes?  Meaning… is your post easy to read, well laid out, does it offer value, are you answering the questions that led your reader here?
2. Are you the resource or have you given the spotlight to someone else?  Every time you offer a link out to an external resource such as a newspaper article or perhaps the developer of a new project, you send a message to your reader.  That message is, I am not the expert - they are.  This is OK, but you need to do a cost/benefit analysis of doing so.  Is it worth potentially losing someone to the outside source or could you spend a few extra minutes giving out more information from your own expert opinion?
3. Is your content relevant to your target audience?  Again, step into your potential clients shoes - what are they interested in, what kinds of questions might they turn to Google for answers on.  These are the things you should be focusing much of your blog posting energy on. 
4. Does your post make it easy for the reader to find your complimentary online tools?  This is A#1 - if you don’t make it easy for them to click on "Free MLS Search" or "What is my city, state Home Worth" or "Sign up for Automated Real Estate Listing Updates Via Email" - how are you going to get the opportunity to turn them into a lead? 

Make it Easy, Easy, Easy
When you add those links to your complimentary online tools - make sure you link directly to the relevant page within your website.  Don’t create a link that says, "Free MLS Search" and then send someone to your home page!  Make it simple, send them directly to the search page or to the registration page necessary to get into the search page!  The last thing someone wants to do is land on a home page and figure out what to do next. 

Blog Navigation is a Key Factor
How’s your navigation?  And  by navigation i mean the links you offer from the top, left and right sides of your blog.  Is it easy to understand/use?  Could it be simplified?  How about turning text into graphic buttons?  Would any of this make your user interface and your reader’s experience better?  These are important questions to ask yourself as typically your environment can be modified to meet your needs.

As I mentioned above it is truly possible to have low visitors yet good link referral traffic.  At the end of the day, where does your concern lie?  The end game is in leads - look at your blog in a new light, where do you measure up?  The good news?  If you’re not happy about what you find, it’s an easy fix!  Put a little more thought into providing visibility to your online lead capture tools from wherever it makes sense!  And, don’t be afraid to edit some of those historical posts to add these links back in!

Helping to educate your clients along the way can help lead conversion and word of mouth referrals

Buyers often feel uncomfortable with the buying process and many agents agonize over the time consuming process of educating clients. This is heightened more by the growing number of foreign investors in the US housing market, particularly in areas such as Southern California, New York and Florida where the process is very different to their country of origin.

To educate buyers and potential buyers about the process without long lectures and case studies, why not utilize the technology around you?

Blogging is found to be a great way for guiding buyers through the buying process. By posting [even] once a week about the process from start to finish one will not only provide the blog with fresh unique search engine friendly content, but a basis to utilize when engaging potential clients (Agents can easily offer an ordered set of links to each post, which might guide them from start to finish.)

Of course local knowledge comes into play with potential neighborhoods of interest  and different procedures and/ or restrictions; however, do not over look Government and Association resources. HUD has a great array of pamphlets that help buyers so link to them as well as utilizing your local and national board memberships (such as Realtor.com)

Not only will your buyers and potential buyers trust the knowledge you share, the more they are to recommend you - another lead generation channel! So, go and blog your way to educating the consumer through your REblogsite!