By Ted Demopoulos
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With over 70 million blogs and 1.5 million posts per day - according to Technorati in mid-2007 - blogging has definitely hit the mainstream. You have CEOs, moms, engineers, dentists, marketers, political mavens, small business owners, and yes, real estate investors and agents blogging.
In fact, according to a 2007 Boston Globe article, there were over 750 real estate blogs - and the number is growing. Type "boston real estate blogs" into Google and you'll find dozens of blogs such as the Boston Condos blog by John Keith, the Boston Globe's Boston Real Estate Now blog, and the Boston Real Estate Blog .
Blogging, if done right, can be great for business. It can help you increase your online exposure to people who might not otherwise know you, build your thought leadership, and position you as the expert in a specialty niche.
If you're like many people, you may be wondering how to start a blog, and even more important, how to maintain one over the long haul. (Because blogging entails a real time commitment, many blog owners stop updating their blogs after three months - and literally abandon them.)
If you're considering starting a blog to promote your real estate business, consider the following success strategies:
1. Become familiar with the blogosphere.
Before starting a blog, it helps to become familiar with the blogosphere and its code of conduct. (Even though the blogosphere is a bit like the untamed Wild West, business bloggers do abide by a certain code of ethics.)
More important, you'll want to become comfortable with reading and commenting on other blogs for three reasons: you'll gain first-hand knowledge on how the blogosphere works and its terminology; you'll learn what other real estate bloggers are writing about, which will help you position your own blog; and you'll build a network of bloggers to whom you can link when your own blog goes live.
Linking is a huge part of blogging success: the more you link to other blogs, the more other blogs link to you - and the more "well-known" you become.
2.Plan out your blog.
When I first started my blog, I literally opened a Google Blogger account and was up and running in five minutes. I don't advocate starting a blog this way because you leave out too many important planning steps, such as figuring out what your blog will be about.
When considering a blog, you'll want to ask yourself the following:
Let's look at each question in detail.
Who will write the blog? If you work for yourself, most likely it will be you who will manage the blog and develop content; if you work for a real estate agency or company, you'll have to decide whom within your company will write the blog. It's ok to have more than one writer - many companies do have multiple writers/bloggers for one blog, each of whom has a particular "beat" or focus.
What topics will I cover? Does your company provide property management, mortgages or other services to the real estate industry? Or, are you a real estate investor who specializes in a particular type of real estate transaction - i.e. auctions, foreclosures, or short sales? If so, then you may want to consider writing about topics within your area of expertise.
A mortgage company, for example, might want to educate consumers about new mortgage programs or provide news analysis and commentary about the current financial situation. Property managers, on the other hand, might want to showcase community events and happenings within a specific metro area in order to generate interest in their rentals.
Where and how does my blog fit in with my other marketing tactics? Don't make the mistake of starting your blog because your Web designer said you should have one in order to show up in the search engines or because "everyone" has one and you need one, too.
A business blog is like any other marketing tactic. What works for other businesses may not work for you. Consider how the blog will fit in with what you're currently doing and most important - if you'll have time for one. It may be that starting a monthly newsletter is more your speed.
How often will I update the blog? Generally speaking, you'll want to post fresh content to your blog about three times a week. Some bloggers do more, others do less. Some bloggers have a set schedule, others are more "ad hoc," posting when they encounter something of interest. Whatever suits your style, do note you'll need to schedule roughly three to five hours a week researching and creating posts.
How will you access your blog? Before you start a blog, you need to determine which blogging platform you'll use. Google's Blogger is free and very easy to use and lets you get up and running in a few minutes. However, most people use the templates provided, so your blog ends up looking like all other Blogger blogs (it's very easy to spot Blogger templates).
Other platforms include WordPress and TypePad. WordPress is free (because it's open source), but requires that you download the software to a server (either your own or the one that hosts your Website) and you'll mostly like need help setting up a customized template. TypePad requires that you pay a small fee, and they'll host your blog on the TypePad company server -- although it can be done transparently so that it appears under your own domain. Again, you'll probably need help developing a custom template.
You'll also want to decide if the blog will have its own URL or if it will be a sub-domain of your existing website i.e. yourcompanyname.com/blog. Either way is fine.
All three platforms require that you login to make any changes and/or write posts. When you set up your account, you'll want an "administrator" and "authors" - the person who can make administrative changes and those who write and submit posts, respectively. If you're a solo blogger, you are the admin and the author.
3. Develop a "beat."
I have a friend who is passionate about surfing. He lives to surf. His whole life is set up around being able to drop everything when "surf's up!" His vacations are only to surf spots.
He has passion - which is critical if you're going to blog - but when he's not surfing, he doesn't care to talk about it much. He doesn't follow discussions on the latest surf spots, new and better surfboards, different techniques, and other stuff surfers may follow.
In other words, he lacks a "beat."
Reporters and journalists have beats - or industries and topics that they cover. A software reporter, for example, will follow the happenings within the computer industry and the major players plus any peripheral areas. Journalists and reporters are avid readers and consumers of information and are expert at sniffing out stories.
Although you don't have to be as diligent as a reporter, you'll want to develop a number of ways to keep abreast of news within the niche area you're writing about. If you're a real estate investor writing a blog about rehabbing for profit, you'll want to read local and national newspapers, watch "how-to" TV shows about home renovation, read trade publications geared toward contractors, read other real estate blogs, and get to know your local rehabbers and contractors who can pass along tips - just to name a few.
As you can see, starting a blog is a great way to build your online identity, showcase your expertise, and gain new business over time. Before jumping into the blogosphere - and getting in over your head - do some preliminary planning and research. You'll find it much easier to start and maintain a blog once you understand how a blog fits in with your existing business.
The author of, What No One Ever Tells You about Blogging and Podcasting and the co-author of, Blogging for Business with Shel Holtz, Ted is a prolific blogger and in-demand speaker who is often quoted by the press. He can be reached at 603-659-0500 or via his blog at www.bloggingforbusinessbook.com
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