Blog:http://www.southbeachrealestateblog.com/
Key Info: Has good balance of fluff and solid real estate topics.

Blog: http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/
Key Info: Great writers here. They stay up on what’s happening in the real estate world. They often take a “let’s say something to cause trouble” which ensures lots of other bloggers link to their website.

Blog: http://www.miamicondoinvestments.com/
Key Info: He became a blogging star when one company tried to sue him for 25M for inaccurate info on his blog!

Blog: http://edmonton-homes.typepad.com/
Key Info: While I do not frequently read this blog, many other bloggers have this blog on their shortlist

Blog: http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/
Key Info: This guy is all over the real estate blogosphere. His blog is a big income producer for him

Blog: http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com/
Key Info: Another heavy hitter in the real estate blog world.

Blog: http://www.raincityguide.com/
Key Info: A great consumer centric real estate blog in Seattle.

Real Estate Technology and Marketing Blogs

Blog: http://www.bloggerlounge.net/
Key Info: Okay, I am bias. This blog is still in diapers but we will be adding lots of great blogging content

Blog: http://www.mytechopinion.com
Key Info: Great technology tips and reviews. Plus, these guys are nice enough to link to my blog.

Blog: http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/
Key Info: Joel is the Director of Marketing at Inman. Great stuff covered in this blog. Stay up to date on what’s happening in the real estate marketing world.

Blog: http://www.inman.com/blog
Key Info: This is a great all around real estate blog. After all, it’s from Inman!

Blog: http://www.1000wattblog.com
Key Info: Hand’s down, this is one of my favorite blogs. Marc is an amazing writer and very progressive when it comes to Real Estate Marketing!

Here is the secret, it really is all about getting others to help you keep your real estate blog updated. By using these resources, your time spent brainstorming what to write about will be reduced and your blog will be easier to maintain and offer more valuable information to your site visitors.

Instant Blog Post #1 – Interview Your Local Businesses

Simply send this list of questions to a local business owner. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, plus they will love the free exposure and you benefit from more original content on your real estate blog!

Here is a list of real estate related local businesses who would jump at the opportunity to be interviewed.
•    Home Stagers
•    Landscapers
•    Home Inspectors
•    Real Estate Attorneys
•    Home Appraisers
•    Painters, Plumbers, Electricians Handyman (service providers)
•    Contractors / Home Builders

Sample Questions
Make sure your business partner understand that this is not an opportunity to hard sale but to provide valuable information and be seen a consumer advocate and a trusted advisor. (stick with the soft sale approach)

•    Your business obviously plays an important role in real estate in (area name). What’s your take on the current market conditions from your business perspective? (This opens up opportunities to hit certain talking points such as less activity so they get better customer service, more time to spend)

•    What is the best part about owning a business in (area name)
•    What consumer friendly tips can you give to people looking to hire someone in your industry?
•    What are some pitfalls or “red flags” to avoid when hiring someone in your business sector.
•    What were the qualities of the area that attracted you to want to start a business here.

Instant Blog Post #2 – Interview Your Past Clients

Tell your clients that this isn’t simply a testimonial for you to use to gloat about. Your goal is to help educate consumers. Your clients should take it from a standpoint of them giving advice to a fellow home buyer or home seller. BTW – they will love your motivation of truly wanting to be a resource of information.
•    Having recently bought or sold a home, what advice can you give to other consumers getting ready to buy or sell?
•    What attracted you to want to purchase a home in (area name)
•    In your opinion, what should consumers look for when they hire a real estate agent?
•    Obviously, my goal is to make sure my clients have as much education as possible to effectively buy or sell a home.  Are there any “gold nuggets” that you learned during your experience that you can share with others?
•    (For home sellers) Today’s shift toward more technology-based marketing, places the element of marketing a home in a whole new light. What did we do different that you think made an impact in helping to sell your home.

Instant Blog Post # 3 – Interview Your Assistant / Buyers Agent

•    A day in the life of.. (this helps justify your commission)
•    What it takes to effectively market a home (listing coordinator)
•    What day should you put your home on the market (Thursday)
•    Pricing Strategy (the 999 vs 000) Being at the top of the search results (MLS tool, search results) (shows that you go the extra mile in pricing strategy)
•    The role of a buyer’s agent (show your customer service and protect their interest)
•    A client is always a client (after the sale). Articulate how your past clients benefit by a long-term relationship with you. You could say “As a client for life my clients have free use of fax, wireless web at my office, notary services, our moving van to move that big screen TV..etc”

Instant Blog Post  #4 – Have Your Mortgage Partner Post Monthly

Encourage your mortgage partner to submit a monthly post to you. Because you are in total control over what content is added to your blog, advise your mortgage partner, you may take editorial liberties with their post. The bonus for your mortgage partner is they get more exposure and are positioned as the subject matter expert (SME).
•    Monthly rate update
•    State of the market
•    General Mortgage news (there is a ton right now)
•    Mortgage pitfalls
•    Mortgage Myths
•    Top Ten List
•    Load Education
•    The Mortgage Meltdown
•    Mortgage Product of the Month-fully explain what a (fixed) rate mortgage is and why it might be the right choice if.

Bonus Tip – Post Ideas That Come From Writing Emails – Yes it Happens!

Today, as I was responding to Mainline real estate agent Pat Moyer, one of our “Gold Star” Blogging Boot Camp students in this session, this last paragraph is the result of an email I wrote to Pat this afternoon. In my email to Pat I stated…..

“I think you are on to something about blogging about an occasional life experience. Those situations make great life lessons. It is incumbent upon us to share those experiences to prevent our readers from making the same mistakes others have made. That’s the real mark of a true advocate –one who is willing to spread the message to help others. A real estate blog is the perfect vehicle to spread that message! I think I just wrote part of a post! WOW! It really does work!”

Where Will Your Next Post Idea Come From?

As you can see, what you write about can come from any number of ideas, situations, and resources (previously written listing presentation, your marketing plan, your email newsletter..etc). Don’t be paralyzed by what you can’t do! Be set free to blog about the wealth of knowledge and expertise you possess and the life lessons you experience in your world. Helping others by providing high value information and guiding consumers to avoid the pitfalls in real estate are priceless gems and well worth the effort to write about. Do that and you will create a loyal group of readers!

Leave a comment and tell me what inspired your next post?

Happy blogging,

Bobby

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If You Think Blogging will Produce Instant Results – Forget About It!

We all want instant results. Whatever we start, we think the payoff should happen right now. If we don’t experience microwave oven instant results we become frustrated and lose interest in the strategy. Many real estate professionals blindly jump into blogging giving no thought to the realities of what a good blog or blog writing is all about:

1. Before you start writing post, learn how to blog effectively to gain the attention of your readers and the search engines. Hence the purpose of the Dakno blogging boot camp.
2. You get out of it what you put into it!
3. It’s going to take a commitment of time to do it right and realize positive results.
4. The benefits of blogging include the opportunity for site visitors to get to know you. The ultimate benefits include new business, better SEO, and enhancement of your total online presence.
5. When blogging, it’s important to develop creative blog writing ideas/themes along with your “blog voice”. Develop topics, use of available resources and hyper-local topics/events so your blog is fresh and interesting.
6. Set realistic goals for writing and be prepared to make some adjustments to your blog writing schedule especially when your market heats up. Create a blog writing calendar to help remind you of your commitment.
7. If you’re waiting to write the next “Pulitzer prize winning post”, you’re missing the point about blogging. Blogging isn’t about writing War and Peace “novels”. It’s about writing short, usable information post (articles) that will benefit, entertain or maybe inform your readers.

Your Feedback!

What have you discovered about blogging? What other advice would you offer blogging newbies? We would like your feedback.

Do have a question about blogging or would you like to leave a comment? Feel free to do so.

Helping you blog smarter,

Bobby