In light of yesterday's lawsuit, I think that it is an appropriate time to talk about online reputation and what  I think real estate blogging should include. 

Real estate is a relative late comer to the blogosphere, but the concept has spread like wildfire because there is great demand for real estate information in general, particularly in a challenging market.  Readers recognize that a Realtor micro-focused on a particular market can often ‘drill down' and provide information not readily available anywhere else.  

I consider Real Estate Blogs to be business-focused.  As Brokers, we have an established revenue model and blogging is an innovative marketing tool, not unlike listing syndication or websites.  With that in mind, I consider that our focus on blogs should be to provide information. 

When addressing blogging terms like transparency, advocacy and conversation initiation, my interpretation of those concepts in relationship to real estate can be summed as follows - provide truthful and accurate information without bias and overused sales terms.

I go back to the old days when the marketing mentality was to "make the phone ring."  Write an ad for a listing and leave out the address and the price.  The mindset was that people who wanted information would be forced to call you.  Those days are long gone.  It is now all about information.  We have all learned that providing factual and accurate real estate information is beneficial to everyone.

People criticize newspapers for editorializing the news - editorial belongs on the editorial page, inflammatory personal opinions and observations are best left out of your posts in a business blog. 

As an example, if you are posting a market stats report in a neighborhood where the inventory is climbing - there is no need for you to say "Listings are increasing at a catastrophic rate".  These sensationalized statements are best left to the "bubble" blogs who are trying to gain readership so they can sell ad space.  As real estate brokers, we have a business model - we would like to continue the practice of selling real estate, and if providing good information can do that, so much the better.  Adding inflammatory opinion just to gain eyeballs adds ZERO to your business plan.

Now, I appreciate that many blogging purists will disagree with me.  They will tell you they love to engage and create conversation through controversy.  That certainly has its place in many blogs - but for me, it adds nothing to what we , as Realtors,  are trying to accomplish.  I would never sugarcoat anything about the market.  Facts speak for themselves.  If the inventory in an area is up 30% and sales down 30%, the numbers speak for themselves.  We are helping no one by ‘sensationalizing' the situation...not the area, not the market, and certainly, not ourselves. 

Your online reputation is not just about blogging.  It is about everything you do online including where you choose to syndicate your listings, the quality and accuracy of the information on your website, your log of  comments and even the selection of vendors you choose for your online marketing.  Make your selections carefully, your online reputation will define your business reputation.

Ok, the title is corny, but the sentiment remains. 

There are many good people here in Active Rain and I have been fortunate to meet more than a few since joining in April.   I am more fortunate still to have had some of these bloggers migrate over to join me at EWM.

I am pleased to announce that Vickie Acuri, Active Rain blogger, has joined EWM in the Las Olas office.  Vickie called just before Christmas to let me know her broker was unfortunately closing down shop and she was looking for a new place to call home.  After a good bit of interviewing around, she agreed to join us. 

We feel most fortunate to have Vickie.  Her enthusiasm is well evidenced in her blog and her market knowledge will soon have her leading the Northeast Broward real estate market.  Just in case you may have missed her blog, it is chock full of market stats and great local information on Lighthouse Point, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach.

In this market of excess inventory and slow moving listings, it is not uncommon for brokers to offer a higher than usual cooperating commission to entice other agents to come and show their listings. While I certain appreciate the lure of the higher commissions, I can't help but think... who does this really benefit?

Here in Miami, as I believe the entire world must know by now, we are staring down on the delivery of about 20,000 new condos coming into an already saturated real estate market. Back a few years ago, in the height of the pre-construction speculation fever, many of these same condo buildings enticed brokers with high commissions. Unlike today, the inventory was short and many of the resale listings came at a discounted commission so broker's flocked to new construction and the big payout.

Not only would some brokers boycott projects which offered a typical commission, but they had websites showcasing only those buildings that offered the higher commissions. Now, I am all about making a living in this business, but it seems to me that maybe some of the better broker instincts, like which was actually the best building, got thrown by the wayside in a rush for the bigger bucks.

Now let me clarify, many of the agents that made money in pre-construction sales are no longer in the business. Many of them had a license and saw an opportunity - it was never really a career with many having full time jobs outside of real estate. Seeing that you could make a commission just by sending a buyer over to the sales center, there was no need to quit the day job.

With so many options, how much did the commission come into play in the buying decision? Did real estate agents actually steer buyers into an inferior purchase decision just to make an extra commission point or two?

Last week I attended the first big real estate auction of 20 developer held units of one of the first condo buildings to deliver in Miami. Eight of the units were sold in an absolute auction at prices considerably less than the units originally sold for 3 years ago. This was one of those buildings where the prices were always too high for the location and building amenities, selling at the same price as better buildings in better locations. One of the differences was the higher than usual cooperating commissions.

This may be mere coincidence, but it is certainly a correlation I will be watching as the rest of the buildings come on line.

Yes, I feel a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.  My month long journey down the yellow BLOG road has been full of twists and turns, but most of all it's been about many lessons learned.

1.  Yes the blog is a bit like the Land of Oz.  There is so much going on.  Every day so many voices, subjects and posts - it at times can be a little overwhelming.  There have been many days that I sat at my computer and thought I might never blog again - lost in the poppy field of EWM Bloggers.  But now, a little more than a week from our formal release - I can see the horse of a different color... our blog is taking shape.

2.  I have come a cross more than a few scarecrows.  Those agents that will not blog... if they only had a brain!  Their fear of the fire of technology is palpable.  Scarecrows come in all shapes, sizes and age ranges.  Many of the scarecrows were surprised to find that search engines will yield someone other than them on listing searches of their own inventory... you would think that in and of itself would be enough to get that blog brain going.

3. Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY! Around week 2 the liability lion leaped out from a tree in the forest of no return.   I am not one to ever underestimate the legal ramifications of the real estate business, but I really never saw this cowardly lion coming.  Fear of mad bloggers writing slanderous, scandulous content seemed to be a legitimate concern with the lions, not to mention the possibility of flaming public comment!  With a a little bit of time and a lot of courage - the lions eventually came along.  Actually, one good look around the moderated blog and the commenting gave them the courage they needed to let us proceed without further incident. 

4. I've had a lot of help along the way.  Kevin has been an unbelievable Good Witch.  In my darkest "blogerated out" moments, he would step in and encourage at an office meeting, write a help post or just sit beside an agent and give them a few minutes of his time to help them along.  Without ruining his reputation as a snarky blog brat wicked witch - I have to tell you - blogging has made him a better person... he is a hero here in Oz - a Top Producer who wants to help the munchkins along.

5. Of course, there would be no Oz without the wizard...Behind that Tomato is a salesman extraordinare - a man on a blogging mission.  On the journey people have asked - why did you pick the Tomato? My answer was simple - he understood the yellow blog road and had as much vested in our successful journey as we did.  His black bag of tricks contained brains, courage a ton of heart - the perfect Wizard of our Oz.

6. Once the Wizard was gone - back in the air balloon to Sacramento where he came from ( I still hold hope that we can convince him to come back east and have him make Florida home... I know a good Realtor or 2)... I am left to ponder my journey so far and will share with you what I have learned the most... there is no place like home. 

The blog is merely a reflection of your company - it will read and feel just like your company is... good, bad or indifferent.  I don't want to get  lost in the trappings of what kind of company you have - this is not about Traditional Brokers vs. Internet Brokers - this is more about your company culture. If you enjoy a good reputation in the community - the blog brings that back to you 10 fold.  If your agents trust the broker and believe in their company... they will blog just because you tell them it is the right thing to do.  If your agents enjoy working with each other - they will comment on each other's blogs and support each other in their new venture.  If the agents are plugged into their markets and their communities - it will come through in the blog.

So just in case you wonder what has gotten me through 3,000 posts, 2,200 comments and teaching a few hundred agents how to blog with little sleep... I just click my heels together and say... there is no place like home.  Those ruby slippers feel great as i blogerate!

We are off and running with the company blog! After two 10 hour launch days filled with training, tips and education I am happy to report we are up and running. We are still adding features, organizing and tweaking the site, so we are still technically in the "soft launch" phase - but my agents and staff are blogging their fingers off!

I am personally moderating each post - teaching and pointing out a few things along the way. I just finished moderating the 600th post - all of which came in over the last 48 hours. I coined the term "Blogerator" ( remember you heard it first here) which is my new night job as I teach and train bloggers through moderation.

Not only am I teaching, but I am learning. I am amazed at the new attributes I can attribute to the company that have bubbled up through blogging. So here are a few new things to add to my "Who Knew" list.

1. We have many foreign language bloggers. I knew we would get posts in spanish an many of our agents are native spanish speakers - but what I didn't know is that culturally they are inherently incredible bloggers. The spanish speaking culture is deeply rooted in story telling, so blogging just comes naturally. My spanish reading comprehension has grown exponentially and we have had to add a spanish spell check to the editor.

I was blogerating late last night and I thought I was losing it when I opened a post and didn't really understand much of what was on it. It was in Italian. I just pushed publish because I have no idea what the blog was about.

In the draft cue right now, there is a french post, a russian post and 2 portugese posts - I am a 2 language blogerator - I'm already in over my head.

2. We have some really interesting people working at EWM. We have someone offering a good affordable wine as a weekly feature. The there is someone studying the effectiveness of the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale when it comes to construction quality. There is a Brazialian economist who wonders why the FED is lowering the discount rate. The aforementioned Italian describes that American interior designers only know about the worst Italian marble. The list goes on and on. I love my peeps, but I never knew how diverse and fascinating they can be.

3. Life on the internal blog is fun and active. My favorite part of the blog is where it resembles active rain - the "private" ramblings of the agents. The story telling, the questions they pose and how so many are commenting and sharing. Commission cutting, mortgage fraud revelations, and loving the blog are some of the favorite topics so far. I received an email from one of the agents, who was quite vocal in the classes yesterday, expressing his concern about the company image being tarnished through blogging. He had been researching and found an article to make his point. I emailed him back and told him to blog about it - and he did - the comments are running. Someone put up a post that they like the blogging thing but ask if the blog is successful that the management not dress like Star Trek anymore. (BTW, that is me as Spock - it went over big with most of the crowd)

4. The internal blog is a great way to give our vendors and department heads direct access to our agents. Today, Jeff Turner posted about Real Estate Shows. He will contribute on a regular basis as we start to introduce RES as a new company tool. Our company trainer is offering night classes in English at a mutually convenient Starbucks. I can offer regular suggestion from the Blogerator to everyone.

5. The blog is a morale booster. The South Florida market is among the worst in the nation. The excitement generated by the blog has given a huge shot of energy and excitement to many of us weary warriors. Everyone is talking about it, searching for their stuff, patting themselves on the back for learning how to upload pictures and find new ways to describe their tired listing inventory.

I could go on and on and remember I am only 2 full days into this. I am overwhelmed by the positive response and just want to say that the company blog is simply the most amazing tool for real estate since the telephone. I just got a call from one of our top producers, who has already posted 20 articles (and they are pretty darn good stuff) saying he is quitting real estate to blog. I simply told him... REAL ESTATE IS BLOGGING.

Check out our blog- which for now is hosted at blog.ewm.com - poke around, comment and have fun. Stop by often as it will change and improve everyday. I'm off to blogerate. And just in case you wonder what this blogerator thing is about...

Captains's Log: Star Date launch minus 1 day

Our mission: To Boldly go where no Real Estate Company has gone before... An agent generated hyper local real estate blog.

We will officially launch the EWM Blog tomorrow and Wednesday. After reading Lenn Harley's post and many other similar posts and comments, it would seem that our mission here is likely to fail as most bloggers out there would tell you that the majority of real estate agents will not blog. It wasn't that long ago that I heard "Agents will never use email" and somehow we managed to get past that and some of the other technological challenges. So let me go back a few months and tell you about how we have prepared for the launch.

1. We hired Jim Cronin, Real Estate Tomato and his team to design our blog. We mirrored the Active Rain platform so posts can be public or private. The private blog will become our main communication source for the company- no more group emails or memos. The private blog is embedded in our intranet site making a hybrid site. The public log is similarly embedded in our main website. In both cases, the decision to combine the resources seemed to make sense. Internally, when someone logs into our intranet site to do a contract or submit an ad - the blog feed should serve as a reminder that subtly says "Have you blogged today?". Also, with all of our managers and staff blogging about what's going on a great archive of resources begins to emerge. We have been backloading things like training schedules, videos, how to's etc. On our main business site, it will be hard to tell where the site ends and the blog begins. Featured posts will make it to the front page - this is a big incentive for our big producers who are most anxious to dominate that page because of the traffic it gets. The blog content will also build more viewers because the site will have a continuous feed of fresh content.

2. Hedging the content bet. We have 750 agents plus 100 or so staff - so content should not be an issue. Even a relatively small amount of participation will result in a decent amount of content. I appreciate that blogging purists may see much of what many agents will write is crap - but I would beg to disagree. This is not a high brow site with intellectual ruminations (except mine of course). Local user generated content is more informational and less thought provoking. But just in case, I have made some outside deals with community newspapers, other real estate bloggers and some "authored" content just to make sure the quality level is high.

3. Creating a buzz. This is where the Star Trek stuff comes into play. We will be rolling out the blog over a 5 week period - in a contest format with a Star Trek theme. In each of the 5 weeks, we will discuss and teach 1 topic to build specific content. For example, week 1 is to blog listings. Ines Hegedus-Garcia has graciously agreed to judge the first week of entries. No, Ines does not work for our company, she is technically a competitor, but I don't see it that way. She writes good stuff, sets a standard for any agent ,and blogging should cross company lines. At the end of the day - we are all in this together, aren't we? Ines, and a few other local real estate bloggers will be contributors on our site. I have also been emailing the entire company as a lead in. Everyday some great posts to understand what blogging is all about.

4. Using PR to build the audience. We are fortunate to have a great PR firm who has been lining up interviews and articles about the blog. They will slowly be released over the term of the contest and immediately following to build some readership. We have designed a series of print ads that will run in our traditional media sources to direct readership on things like open houses, market stats, etc.

5. Share the load. I began early with our management team to get them to go in and do posts as they will carry much of the day to day burden of getting the agents to blog. I will spend a considerable amount of my time going from office to office - but everyone on the staff needs to promote the benefits of blogging.

So there you have it - the log to date. Tomorrow I will don my Spock ears and introduce Jim Cronin and his team to launch the blog.

Other thoughts on the company blog... and a cute "theme" youTube video on Star Trek and Real Estate

Why Blogging is like a Sales Meeting

Opportunity Time - Can a Company Blog Replace Floor?

Will Top Producers Blog?

Some days I can't get out of my own head...you know what I mean - those days where thoughts rarely find their way to actions.  So I thought I would put a call out for clarification to see what kind of opinions come back.

Our IT department has been working on a listing feed to drop to some of the more popular listing sites, you know the ones I mean - those large national databases that are not MLS/IDX driven. Many of our agents have said they are getting great traffic on their individual listings so it seemed like a good thing to pursue.  So pursue we did and all systems are go, but I am having trouble giving the final launch orders. i can't help but thinking... Is Listing Syndication a Smart Move?

On the countdown for launch... here is my system diagnosis:

1.  It's FREE and free is good - but for how long?  Maybe I shouldn't care.  But let's just say zillions of leads start pouring in and the feed just seems to good to be true until it is no longer free... then what?  How much are the leads worth?  Will the bill of burden be put upon the broker's lap? the agent's lap? or both? Will the cost of the most successful sites be cost prohibitive to a smaller brokerage? Are we on a doomed mission with no way back?

2.  These aggregate sites are not necessarily Realtor friendly.  When you move away from MLS/IDX feeds, the rules of order and honesty start to disappear - no one to call when your listing shows up as duplicate content because another broker or the owner uploaded it. No control over the content which may be anti-agent in nature.  I understand consumers want more information, but who is in the control center monitoring the mission?  Do they really care if you crash and burn?

3.  How many sites is enough?  When does it stop?  I hear a lot about layering your web presence - just like ad reps used to talk about print ads.  So if you believe the hype - your inventory needs to be everywhere - on every local, national and Realtor site in the country, or else you might miss someone.  Are we so anxious to join the race that we are willing to jump on a ship with no guidance system?

At the risk of stirring a bit of controversy - I have to ask - is there any real value in listing syndication at the broker level - or are we all just so lured by the promise of leads  and the peer pressure of new models that we are doomed to repeat the mistake we made with print ads? Are there so many unique buyers and sellers out there that we must be in every free site or are we really just layering the same listings on the same sets of eyeballs?

I can certainly see where an individual agent could see value in the time spent to load their listings every place they can and reap the rewards of any leads that come their way.  But at the broker level where you are deciding for thousands of listings -  I am not so sure.  I can't help but think we should know better than to build someone else's business model with our inventory without knowing how much it will ultimately cost. Afterall, where would consumer's go for real estate information if these aggregate sites did not exist?   Wouldn't we be better off providing better information and maximizing our own search engine content to drive traffic to our sites? But then again, I could just be lost in my own head.  So give me the order  - launch or scrub this mission?

As part of my pitch to get our agent's on board for the upcoming company blog, I have been encouraging participation in Active Rain.  To date, 170+ of our associates have taken me up on that.  About 30 or so have actually posted more than one post and I get more calls and emails from people yet to post telling me how much they are learning.  I am trying to find our "newbies"  as soon as they come in to welcome and write some encouraging comments.  I thank all of you for showing so many of our people such a warm welcome.

I have been wondering if our Top Producers would latch on to the blogging concept.  It only stands to reason that they would see blogging as just one more thing to add to their already full plate.  And honestly, since their attendance at sales meetings is scarce, I thought they might not even know about the blog yet.

Much to my delight and surprise, when I went to our Miami Beach sales meeting, EWM's 2006 Top Producer, Nelson Gonzalez, was there and listening intently.  I must credit Kevin here, as he has been chatting up Active Rain in his office since the Project Blogger competition so they are a bit more "in tune" to blogging.  Nelson asked some great questions in the meeting and really added a nice dimension to the overall conversation - his attention in the meeting made my job much easier. 

Well, not only did he join Active Rain, but he put up his first post today.  Nelson sells ultra-luxury waterfront homes on Miami Beach and he sold more than $60 million last year alone.  His star filled client list is the envy of many Miami Beach Realtors.  He knows his market like the back of his hand and is truly an "insider".  He is an industry veteran and has earned his business by building a great reputation for his integrity and business acumen.  He understands that he is at the top of the heap today, but won't stay there if he doesn't adapt and embrace the tools like blogging that will form the top producers of tomorrow.  Besides all of that, he is also an incredibly nice guy and will be a great blogger because he is a top producer who understands the value of sharing.

So back to the title question - Will Top Producer's Blog? 

My answer is an unequivocal yes... and here they are.  I am looking forward to their view from the top, I know these guys will stay there.

       Scott Patterson             Kevin Tomlinson            Nelson Gonzalez 

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to stand in front of your office group and hold a sales meeting?  Although you may think you have never had this experience - you probably have and just didn't know it.

I am in the process of building a company blog and have begun to post about the process here in Active Rain.  At the same time I have been traveling around our 14 offices stumping the blog and what it is all about.  Guess what - the comment thread on my post Opportunity Time - Can A Company Blog Replace Floor? is almost identical to the questions and comments I get in the sales meetings.

The same can be said of almost any post where you raise an issue and the comments become as important than the post itself.  A good sales meeting, just like a good blog post,  is led by someone who can have a thought provoking discussion about whatever topic is at hand.  Participants will learn as much from the questions and comments as from the introduction that the meeting leader will provide.  The better the discussion, the more people will take away from the meeting. In blogging, the comments should be just as interesting as the post itself.

Sometimes, commentary may get controversial - this is a great thing!  Don't be put off by someone openly disagreeing with you - it's not personal and is an essential component of any worthwhile conversation, whether the conversation is online or in person. The questions that people raise in disagreeing can actually help further develop your own thought process- contrary to popular belief- it is good to think.

Commentary can also seem random.  In sales meetings I often wonder if the person was actually sleeping or on the phone while I was giving the presentation.  In blogging, it might seem like they didn't even read the post or are focusing on some minor point.  Take a deep breath and respond anyway.  Everyone's voice is important, no matter how "out there" it may seem.  You may actually find that someone else will step in and field these comments - just like in a meeting where someone in the audience chimes in "Where have you been?"

So, the next time you are working on a post - imagine that you were going to present in person to an audience in your office meeting.  What you contribute is only one part of the equation.  The comments and how you handle them should be the best part of the conversation.

First rule of real estate management, don't ever discuss Floor Time in a sales meeting.  If you have ever stepped into this mess you know it's true. So, at the risk of stepping into a pile of controversy... do you think a company blog can be virtual floor time?

I have started writing in my other blog about building a company blog - an endeavor we are well into at this point with an August launch.  Never heard of a company blog?  Let me explain.  In kicking around Active Rain one day, I started to contemplate why not have a company blog?  We have a great website which we are always tinkering with and have been researching SEO solutions and then it hit me... what if I could get a decent number of our 750 agents to participate on a company blog?  

I poked around the internet and saw some nice company blogs - but they read more like a streaming press release.  Many of them looked like they were being written by a staff person - only one voice.  Then, there are some great blogs with the broker and 1 or 2 agents and some outside contributors - all great stuff, but not much on local content.  

My idea was to build a blog that would allow every agent to post freely.  Think of an Active Rain type site for your company. (AR Gods - remember imitation is the most sincere form of compliment).  Our company is not massive but big enough that there should be more than enough contributors to keep the posting current and interesting.  We already have some great bloggers in our midst with Maggie Dokic and Kevin Tomlinson and who knows how many more will emerge?

Since each post will feature that agent - any lead generated will go to the agent - so, in my mind, it becomes like virtual opportunity time. The more you post, the more leads you will get. The more leads you get, the better the word spreads and more content builds the site. 

You might ask why would someone who already has a good blog post on the company site?  To me, this is a fundamental example of how to stand on your company's marketing shoulders.  Our site has a well established track record with google, any blogger can benefit from the traffic and content that the site generates - build readership faster and gain those coveted backlinks.  It is a symbiotic relationship - you scratch the company's back and it will scratch yours.  Just like floor time - the more signs that are out on the street, the more often the office phone will ring - and you will be getting all of the sign calls.

I began this journey by having all of our managers join Active Rain.  I am now doing the same with my agents, one office at a time. So far, I can say about 15% of the people have joined and contributed - that is actually more than I would have thought.  They are already storing posts on the new site for the August launch.

Active Rain is a great training tool for the blog.  So many great posts to absorb in a relatively short time.  Bet you never thought you might be training agents in Florida how to do virtual floor- but you have and they are going to be great.