Real Estate Information Archive

Is blogging a chore?  Blogging doesn't have to be difficult, especially when you're sharing good news.  Sometimes you just need a little inspiration.  We've got some great blog ideas for your consideration as we roll into the summer selling season:

1. Promote Your Market Those "in the know" are taking advantage of today's favorable market conditions.  Low interest rates, affordable home prices, and stabilizing inventories have created a lot of opportunity.  Share what's happening in your neck of the woods.  Sellers have a larger pool of buyers this time of year, and buyers have a terrific selection of well priced homes.  This is a great time to be in real estate.

2. First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. Recent news from the Department of Housing and Urban development is a real gift to our housing markets.  Explain to first time buyers how they can come out ahead.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that people need to know about!

3. Record Low Interest Rates. It's hard to know how long these interest rates will last, but you know it's only a matter of time before they head back up.  Five percent rates make nicer homes affordable to more people.  If you've been thinking about moving up, now be your best chance!

4. Neighborhood profiles and current events. Great weather means there are great things going on everywhere.  By plugging in and promoting your community, you appeal to web visitors as a neighborhood expert.  Use this time to take pictures, post some video, and show others what your love about your area. Let your enthusiasm shine through - it can be contagious!

Writing on any of these topics can provide a wealth of great discussion points for your web visitors.  The more you share, the more you are seen as the local expert.  Search engines love a relevant website, and real estate buyers and sellers appreciate a knowledgeable agent!

Do you maintain a blog?  Many real estate agents find blogs to be an excellent resource for keeping web visitors informed, and sharing specific knowledge that people find valuable.  By posting market trends, anecdotal comments, and other content unique to your area, your blog becomes a wealth of information for anyone interested in local real estate.  And the more you can write about, the more readers you will attract.  

 If I write on something very generic like Portland Oregon Real Estate, my single post is going to be one of several million existing pages that already reference this topic.  On the other hand, a more detailed post about property values in the Rose City neighborhood will appeal to a much smaller, more targeted audience. If we plotted our blog posts on a graph, we would see a lot of competition for very generic content, and less competition for more detailed content. This phenomonon is seen in the long tail of search.

The more we write and share about our areas of expertise, the more topics we contribute to the long tail of search. I believe the most interesting content is the stuff that falls in the long tail, because this represents specific knowledge on key topics that are important to the reader.  Anyone searching for Rose City neighborhood property values has a keen idea of what they are

The collection of posts you develop and share touch many different lives on topics that are imprtant to them.  Sure, not all topics will get people to buy or sell homes.  So what?  We live life not just to sell homes, but to engange others, make relationships, and help others.

One of the great side benefits we see from blogging is that other folks take notice as we share about things that are meaningful to us.  It may be the housing market, a local school board measure, a favorite hobby, or the celebration of something neat in your community.  The more we write, the more search engines take notice.  Our personal longtail begins to grow on the web, and your blog starts coming up for searches outside of real estate alone.  This is one of the advantages of blogging.

Write about ideas that are helpful to others. Keep it positive, give hope, and offer people a reason to come back. Make connections, and make sure to mention what's going on in your specific field of expertise - local real estate. 

Give them the real you, and stand out from others who are affraid to do the same.

I was just reading a blog post from Seth Godin, marketing guru and prolific blogger.  As someone who has written tons of books and speaks across the country, Seth never seems at a loss for words.  yet I was surprised to read that blogging didn't come easily for him.

I think a lot of us get caught in the early stages of over-thinking our blog strategty and trying to plan out what we're going to write about weeks and months in advance.  This approach may be helpful for some, but far too many people get overwhelmed before they ever start. 

Don't over-think the blog.  Just dive in and get started. The more practice you get, the more naturally it will become.  Like our elementary school children who are asked to write non-stop 15 minutes a day, the repetition makes us proficient.  Find time to blog, share your observations, and clarify your thoughts.  The more you post, the better you'll get  and the more meaningful your posts will become -- not just for you, but for your readers, too.

Find 15 minutes now and then to share your observations and insights.  As you do, you'll define your voice and connect with your readers in different and numerous ways.  You just have to start!