smileyThank You!

Thank you for all your wonderful comments, kudos, suggestions, concerns, promotion, enthusiasm, and most of all, your participation.

We're chalking this event up as a huge success, thanks to all of you.  We couldn't have done it without you.  It seems like we simply set the event in motion, a little over a month ago, and you all took the ball and ran with it.  If we take anything away from the experience it is that there is a very clear need for this sort of event.  So be certain, we will continue to fill the need in every way we can.

Statistics From The Event:

1. Number of Registered Attendees: 1928
2. Number of Live Presentations:  26
3. Number of Pre-Recorded Presentations: 1
4. Hours of Live Content: 13
5. Maximum Number of Attendees in All Webainrs at Once: 1004
6. Maximum Number of Attendees in a Single Webinar:  404
7. Registered Attendees That Participated: 1634
8. Number of Live, In-Office Events: 71
9. Largest Population at an In-Office Event: 127
10. Number of T-Shirts Printed: 500
11. Number of T-Shirts Delivered by Tuesday: 460
12: Total Unique Traffic to VREBC.com in 30 Days of Existence: 11,161
13. Total Unique Traffic to VREBC.com on Day of Event: 3,651
14. Most Registrations in One Day: 366 (11/16/09)
15. Fewest Registrations in One Day: 5 (11/8/09)
16. Greatest Referrer of Registrations: Facebook 20.9%
17. Referrer Runner-Up: Office/Co-Worker: 20.2%
18. Number of Sponsors: 13
19. Total Money Raised For Warmath Charity on Day of Event:  $427
20. Total Number of #vrebc Tweets  During Event: 2330
21. Number of Countries that Tuned In: 11
22. Number of Attendees in a Bathrobe: Insufficient data.

Of all the stats above, the one that stands out most to me is the charity total.  If everyone had donated a quarter ($0.25) we would have raised $475 for the Warmath Children College Fund.  Collectively, we raised only $425.  If we can find 120 more donors that feel like they got $5 worth of knowledge from this event, then we can at least present the family with a $1000 donation in all of out names.  Together, by giving a little, we can all make a big difference.

Presentation Downloads:

Below are download links for the Notes and PowerPoint presentations of the Speakers that we have received.  If you presented at the event, and have something for us to post here, please send them so that we can update this list.

Ross Hair - Converting Social Media Into More Real Estate Closings
Ross Hair - Social Media Mind Map

Frances Flynn Thorsen - Social Media Risk Management Part 1
Frances Flynn Thorsen - Social Media Risk Management Part 2

Was It Social?

One of the concerns before the event, even at its conception was: Can it be social?
Can we capture any of that social magic that happens in the real life barcamp events?

We set up the 3 obvious avenues, a Twitter Hashtag (#vrebc), a Facebook Fan Page, and a Chat Room.

Here's what Matt Stigliano had to say about the experience:

My biggest fear as it was a very simple scrolling chat, was that the conversation would inevitably turn boring. It didn’t. People engaged and discussed the finer points of what was being said in each session. We shared our tips, tricks, and ideas. My guess is that it was a lot like the conversations that take place in the hallway of REbarcamps all over the country.

This was the sense that I got from many of the participants that we heard from.  We also heard that people were jumping from the Twitter hashtag to the chat room, not wanting to miss anything.  With 2330 #vrebc tweets and 100's of active attendees in the chat room, there was at least a conversation happening, that's for sure.

71 Offices held their own live event during the BarCamp.  One office wrote this blog about the experience, mentioning that, "The day exceeded all expectations as 3 rooms had standing room only attendance."  He continued, " it provided me with the opportunity to spend a day with the agents and then kick back at the social meetup party afterward."

Our goal with the office events and the in-real-life meetups after the event were to try and bring participants together, physically,  much like the standard BarCamps can.  The feedback we have received from the office meetups and the after event meetups is that everyone enjoyed themselves, and really took advantage of the social aspect of the day.

I think we can continue to improve the social experience in subsequent events, but for a first go at taking the conference online, I think the consensus is that YES, it was Social.  Mission accomplished.

bathrobe-vrebcSuggestions We've Received:

Here are some suggestions that we are considering and would love some discussion among our participants in the comments.

1. Longer Sessions.
Is 30 mins too short?  Should we encourage the speakers to present on a mitigated topic?  Or, do we extend the presentation time to 45 mins, or even an hour?

The format we went with mirrors the standard BarCamp schedule.  30 mins up, 15 mins down.  After experiencing this schedule online, I do think that we should extend the sessions by 15 mins, making the schedule 45 mins up, 15 mins down.  Thoughts?

2. More Engagement with the Presenters.
Should we allow for live question and answer?  Do we need to encourage the presenters to have a partner to handle the live questions?

In the presenting guidelines, we encouraged the presenters to not engage the live audience in the their sessions.  30 mins was such a short window to present in the first place, and we wanted to avoid the likely possibility of being taken off track with dozens of questions from the large audience.  That said, I do believe that there is a need to engage with the presenters, and I propose that we set up 'break out' chat rooms for each presenter to 'hold court' for 15 minutes after their session.

3. Offer a Panel Format for Some of the Sessions.
Can we pull off a 3 or 4 person panel with a moderator on the line, all virtually?  Should it be given at least an hour, given the range of participation needed?

I like the idea.  If we have a solid panel that proposes a session, why not?  Thoughts?

4. Record the Sessions.
We have received a TON of requests for replays of the sessions.  The reality of the situation was that we were just 3 people doing everything we could (at the time) to make this a smooth event.  Adding the recording to the dynamic was the first thing we had to sacrifice in the production to maintain our sanity.  Now that we have the experience of this event behind us, I guarantee that our future events will have full recordings of each session, available for download.

5. Less 101 and More Advanced Topics.
We recognize that the majority of the audience did find out about the event because our social media reach, which would lead us to understand that the majority of the attendees were somewhat versed in the fundamentals of using Social Media, and other online marketing strategies.  Catering to this audience with more advanced topics and content is crucial, and we will make an effort to secure some advanced topic presenters for future events.  However, we can't ignore that the clear goal of these events is to educate the new adopters, not the early ones.  With a little more attention to pinning 101 classes at the same time as advanced ones we can hope to satisfy the greatest number of you.

6. Less Selling in the Presentations.
We put up some guidelines for all the presenters, and included a "no selling" point in said guidelines.  But, we can't and won't control what happens in each session.  We can only hope that all the presenters 'get' the spirit of the event and follow suit.  That said, I personally don't mind a little 'selling of your time' in your presentation.  Maybe it is the salesman in me, but if I have a captive audience, a little shameless self promotion is impossible to resist.

Tech Challenges:

What were the "tech difficulties"?

1. Limit of attendees allowed in each webinar was accidentally capped at 300 instead of 1001.

It seems we made the mistake of launching the Webainars manually, about 15 minutes earlier than schedule.  We were anxious and wanted to get them up and running to test them and get that detail out of the way.  Well... it turns out that this is how you limit the permitted attendance of a webinar to only 300 instead of the advertised 1000.  In fact, the Admin Control Panel continues to read: Max 1001.  Immediately we started getting complaints of people not being able to join "Full Webinars".  We called Citrix and they informed us that we shouldn't have launched them manually, and that there is now nothing that they can do.  We closed each wenbinar room, relaunched it, and this seemed to reset the allowed attendees to 1001 again.

2. Jumping in and out of webinars was not "easy".

We realized that the switch between webinars was not going to be smooth.  There is just no way to have it automatic, given the service that we used: GoToWebinar.  We think that we can improve expectations by posting a clear, step-by-step expectation of jumping from room to room.

3. Audio issues for the speakers.

A few of the speakers had issues calling in and being heard.  We solved all of them but 1 instance, and are still unsure what caused that challenge.  The other challenges were related to permissions, access links and audio pins.  With practice we can better manage these potential challenges, and hope to minimize them in the future.

4. Audio issues for the attendees.

Some attendees were not hearing the audio.  The only solution we have heard to overcome this is to log out and log back in again.  It seems to resolve all audio issues.  Otherwise, attendees must dial in and listen with their phones.

Our Next Event:

It is official.  We are going to ride the wave of interest and enjoyment from this event and produce another.  Bigger, Better and Broader.

Date: Monday the 4th of January (just before Inman NYC)
Time: 9AM PST - 4PM PST
Webinar Rooms: Four.
Number of Presenters: 28
Length of Sessions: 45 mins.
Length of Breaks: 15 mins.
Registration Goal: 3,500
Office Event Goal: 200

In the meantime, we will be working feverishly to build a more social experience around the event.  If you would like to be more connected to that experience, please join the beta version of TomatoUniversity.com.

Thanks again to our sponsors, speakers and those that helped produce this awesome event.

 

 
Posted by Real Estate Tomato on 11/20/2009 03:47 PM   Comments (0)   vrebc, rebarcamp, real estate tomato  

“You buy the pizza, we’ll deliver the education”

pizzaBrokers, imagine providing your real estate agents the ability to learn from industry leaders, top marketing professionals and social media experts without leaving the office or paying for speakers to visit your destination.

This is what Virtual RE Bar Camp (VREBC) can do for your office.

Your entire office can get the educational experience that REBarCamps have provided to thousands of agents across the country.  Bring the power of this event to your agents, without the cost and travel.  The Ultimate Office Meeting.

Every brokerage is looking for new and unique ways to provide value to their agents.  The Virtual REBarCamp is the solution:

Progressive Education: Stay relevant in this changing marketplace.
Diverse Content: There is something for everyone.
Nationally Celebrated and Recognized Presenters: Value!
All Day Event: Everyone should be able to participate with this schedule.
It’s Free: The price is right!

Brokers and office managers, this is the perfect opportunity for you to offer an experience of incredible value to your agents.

Suggestions for a successful, in-office RE BarCamp:

- Projector screens and a strong audio source.
- Separate rooms for  the separate webinar channels (3).
- A tech-savvy assistant or manager to ensure a smooth operation.
- Computers dedicated to Social Media avenues (Facebook, Twitter, TomatoChat.com) allowing the office to get into the national conversation.
- Pizza and refreshments.
- The After-Event-MeetUp.  Plan an off location MeetUp to have a drink together and meet other participants from your community.

If you are going to plan an in office VREBC we would love to know. We will showcase your event and brokerage on our website: http://www.vrebc.com. Instant cool!  We’d also appreciate it if you could request that the participating agents register on our site so that we can get a sense of the overall participation count.

we will be holding the first of its kind,
Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

What is it?

  • In place of a rented venue, we'll be holding the event online.
  • In place of break-out sessions in rooms, we'll we have simultaneous webinars, all day.
  • In place of the hallways, we will be chatting on Twitter, Facebook, Backnoise and  TomatoChat.
  • In place of traveling you'll be able to attend from the comfort of your home or office.
  • In place of an impromptu calendar, we will be filling presentation slots all month.

Attendance is unlimited, and it is still FREE!

 
Posted by Real Estate Tomato on 10/26/2009 03:42 PM   Comments (5)   rebarcamp, vrebc, brokers, office meetings  

Some said we were crazy, but no one said it was a bad idea.

On November 17th from 9AM until 4PM PST
we will be holding the first of its kind,
Virtual Real Estate BarCamp.

What is it?

  • In place of a rented venue, we'll be holding the event online.
  • In place of break-out sessions in rooms, we'll we have simultaneous webinars, all day.
  • In place of the hallways, we will be chatting on Twitter, Facebook, Backnoise and  TomatoChat.
  • In place of traveling you'll be able to attend from the comfort of your home or office.
  • In place of an impromptu calendar, we will be filling presentation slots all month.

Attendance is unlimited, and it is still FREE!

And finally, so as to not lose the Social Aspect of the BarCamp atmosphere, we are encouraging volunteers around the country to organize In-Real-Life MeetUps for immediately after the online event.  Sponsorship donations will help fund these Social Media Happy Hour style gatherings, so please let us know if you would like to help by volunteering your time to organize a local MeetUp.

As the calendar of sessions and the IRL MeetUps start to come together, we will keep you all posted through Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page.

Block off your entire calendar for Tuesday, Nov 17th.  None of these webinars will be available after the event.  You do not want to miss this.

vrebcsm3

 
Star Posted by Real Estate Tomato on 10/20/2009 10:55 AM   Comments (75)   webinar, rebarcamp  

 

 

We are thrilled to announce that on RETomatoRadio.com will be speaking with Real Estate Blogging Royalty, Teresa Boardman. Teresa has launched the StPaulRealEstateBlog.com in November 2005, and has hardly missed a day of blogging since.

Her dedication, and local-focused approach to blogging has been the inspiration of 1000s of real estate bloggers across the country.

Together, with Teresa we will be discussing the following:

How on Earth she manages to regularly write for:

StPaulRealEstateBlog.com

AllTAllDay.com

StPaulPaulPhotos.com

RealEstateWeenie.com

RealEstateTomato.com

Inman.com

ActiveRain.com

 

Photo Blogging

Topic Development

Blogging Discipline

And the “Future of the Future” because no one is addressing that.

 

And much more, including your questions.

Time: 3pm PST
Where to listen live: RETomatoRadio.com
Call-in Number to listen away from your computer: 347-884-9764
Live Chat: www.TomatoChat.com

 

 

 

 

How To Choose A Domain Name For Your Real Estate Blogsite

TheSignToAGoodDomainNameWithout doubt, the most common question that I get from brand new blogging clients is, "Can you help me choose a domain name?"

The days of agents using their own name as their website identity are gone, and this has them left with the task of developing a new, powerful brand.

After answering this question and setting up several hundred domains over the last few years the formula has become clear. That said, you could probably break everyone one of these 'rules' and still end up with an incredibly successful blog.

But before we get the guidelines, you need to get into a Domain Buying State of Mind.

What Are You Going To Be Blogging About? Ultimately your content will determine your success, not your domain name. However, taking into consideration what your topics of focus are to be make a nice direction for your site's name, and help potential visitors understand your focus.

Who Is Your Ideal Reader? Once you can define who you need to read your blog, you can consider what impact the domain name will make on them.

What First Impression Are You Looking To Make? We ask this question in our design interviews because it makes all the difference in connecting with what our clients' design needs are. This consideration can make a difference in your domain name selection.

What Are Your Blogging Goals? Leads VS Relationships - Communities VS Traffic - You As The Expert VS Your Site As The Tool.

Who Will Be Writing On The Blog? Is the name you choose going to work for everyone involved?

Basic Guidelines to Choosing A Real Estate Blog Domain Name

1. Easy To Remember

If your audience can’t remember your domain name at first glance then you have made a poor decision.

Note: Terms like “Real Estate” and your community of focus (San Diego, for example) are incredibly easy for your audience to remember. If your blog is a real estate site about San Diego simply tag a word that’s easy to remember to that and you’re fine. Wire, Voice, Blog, Report, News, Wave, Juice, Crab, Cafe… are all examples of single words added to an easy-to-remember combination.

StPaulRealEstateBlog.com 
StLouisRealEstateVoice.com 
MiamiRealEstateCafe.com

I’m not suggesting this type of combo as the best alternative, but it is common for a reason; it’s memorable. (There is one clear peril to using a term like 'blog' in the domain: Your site may grow to be bigger than the identity of the blog, and yet now limited, in impression, by the domain).

Beware of easy to confuse combinations of words. If the order of words don't make a strong impact, or don't have a natural order, you can be sure they will be jumbled, and your potential visitor will end up on someone else’s site.

ChicoHomeSearching.com VS HomeSearchingInChico.com VS ChicoHomeSearch.com

And finally, if it can’t be remembered, it can’t be branded.

2. Easy To Spell

Google does a good job of suggesting words when it catches a misspelling with their “Did You Mean?” feature. But that doesn’t mean that they will suggest your site. And, not all browsers automatically utilize a search engine if they don’t recognize the url.

If you cover a community that is commonly misspelled (Schenectady, for example), it would be worth buying domains with common misspellings just to cover all bases. I own RealEstateTomatoe.com, and you wouldn't believe how much traffic I still get for this misspelling.

And finally, if it is difficult to spell, it makes your domain harder to remember.

3. Value Of Keywords

The question is, "Do I Need "Real Estate" in the Domain Name?

The short answer is: No.

The other question is, "Should I have keywords in my domain name"

The short answer is: Yes, keywords are a benefit in your domain name. The reason is because when you are linked to, by another site using your domain name, the link the use contains these keywords, and they are considered a relevant description by the search engines. For example, if I link to SantaBarbaraRealEstateVoice.com from this article, the spiders will see the keywords Santa Barbara Real Estate associated with my link, giving a description to the site I am linking to. This is a key element to success with inbound links: that they clearly define and describe your site. You’ll see me regularly use keywords (and alt titles) when I link from my articles to boost the value of the link for site.

-BUT- Keywords in a domain are not required for your site’s success. Most of the successes you will gain in the search engines come from your content, not your domain name. I recommend that you first consider the memorability of the domain before you start adding keywords, just for keyword’s sake.

Some favorite real estate blogsite domains without a definitive keyword:

Miamism.com 
HomeSection.com 
CentersAndSquares.com

4. Length

The length of the domain is certainly relevant to the above considerations. 5 words in a domain name is not necessarily too many if it makes sense. Take Valerie Fitzgerald’s domain name:LosAngelesRealEstateTalk.com. The name of the area and the term ‘real estate’ are a given, leaving just the term ‘blog’ to be remembered. No one interested in reading a blog about real estate in Los Angeles is going to forget that domain name.

However, something like: CastleRockRealEstateHomesForSale.com is ridiculous. It is difficult to remember, keyword stuffed and a P.I.T.A. to type. Remember, the object is to create a powerful brand that supports your powerful content, not to make a mockery of your site's name just to improve your SEO.

There are still 6 more Major Determining Factors for choosing your Domain Name.
To read those, you will need to collow the link to this article's original location.

 

How To Choose A Domain Name For Your Real Estate Blogsite

 

IT HAS BEEN CHOPPED BECAUSE THIS IS A SYNDICATION OF THE ORIGINAL, AND IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT FOR SEO PURPOSES IT IS NOT A GOOD STRATEGY TO POST THE SAME ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY IN MORE THAN ONE LOCATION. 

 

 

 


Inman-connect-sf-2009Yesterday, during our Tomato Radio Show with Brad Inman and Daniel Rothamel of Inman News, Brad was feeling generous and announced that he would give us 10 free passes to the upcoming Inman Connect conference in San Francisco.  He also mentioned that we can give them away in any manner that we please.

So, instead of just handing them out to the first to raise their hands, I figured we would run a little competition. 

I know how busy real estate agents are, so I’m not going to make this too difficult.  However, I also know that the biggest challenge for bloggers is the commitment to developing regular content.  So this competition will be about swift and easy content creation.

Requirements to get one of the 10 Inman Connect Free Passes:

1. Write an article (or post a video) on your blog that includes a 50 word reason that you deserve a ticket.  The article doesn’t have to be 50 words, but the reason that you deserve the ticket has to be exactly 50 words.

2. The article (not the reason) must link back to this article on the Real Estate Tomato Blog, and to the Inman Connect San Francisco page.

There are 2 ways to win:

1. The first 5 respondents that meet the above requirements automatically win a free ticket.

2. The 5 most creative entries will each win one of the remaining free tickets.

We will be rewarding only one ticket to each winner.  Real Estate Tomato staff will be voting to determine the for the creative entries.

Please note: If you don’t have a blog, well, we can help you with that.   
And we will find a way to get you a free ticket if you become a client today.

If you didn’t win a free ticket, but would still like to attend the Inman Connect Conference in SF Aug 4th-7th, we can still help you receive a substantial discount by visiting thisregistration page and using the coupon code: Tomato.

 Follow Us on Twitter and Get Our Daily Real Estate Blog Tips!

 

 If you enjoyed reading this article, why not Subscribe to be notified of the next one?

Are You Ready?
ShareThis

 

 
Posted by Real Estate Tomato on 07/16/2009 03:48 PM   Comments (5)   inman connect  

This week’s show is another amazing opportunity to learn from some of the biggest names on the Real Estate Industry. 

Brad-InmanOn Wednesday, July 15th, at 3pm PST, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Brad Inman and Daniel Rothamel of Inman News.

For the last several years, Brad has organized, what I consider, to be the most important conference for the real estate industry.  The opportunity to connect, network and learn from some of the brightest minds in the industry make it a Must Attend event.  It is labeled as 3 days, but those of us whom attend know that it is a full week of opportunity.

So what are we going to be talking with Brad and Daniel about?  Well the big event in San Francisco, of course.

Brad and Daniel will be sharing their thoughts on:

What makes this Connect Event different than all the ones in the past?
What are they most excited about for the upcoming event?
What makes Blogger’s Connect so special?
What will they take away from the experience?
Who are the 'do not miss' names speaking at the event? (Besides me, of course!).

Daniel-Rothamel-The-Real-Estate-ZebraAnd, we will be taking you calls as always.  So prepare your questions for them now!

The event this summer is in San Francisco from the 4th to the 7th of August at the Palace Hotel.

To Learn More About Inman Connect: 
Bloggers Connect
Schedule of Events
Conference Program
Workshops
Start-Up Alley
Speakers
Innovator Awards
Social Networking
Sponsors
Pricing
and more.

 Visit RETomatoRadio.com at 3pm PST on July 15th to listen in live.

Inman-connectCall in to listen away from your computer, and Ask Questions: (347) 884-9764
(Hit the #1 on the keypad to get our attn, and we'll bring you on live!)

There's a chat room too!

Yes, there will be a podcast in case you missed the live show... but being there is where it's at! 

RETRadio5

Are you a fan yet of Tomato Radio’s Fan Page on Facebook? 

 Follow Us on Twitter and Get Our Daily Real Estate Blog Tips!

 
Posted by Real Estate Tomato on 07/14/2009 03:35 PM   Comments (1)   tomato radio, inman connect, brad inman  

50 Sound Real Estate Blogging Tips

Ah-Ha-TwitterMost of my blogging efforts revolve around delivering sound real estate blogging advice.  The articles generally take me at least a couple of hours to develop, format, publish and broadcast.  I have dozens and dozens of ideas that are just waiting to be developed and published, but as we all know, the mostchallenging thing about blogging is carving out the time.

Then it strikes me. Micro Blogging on Twitter would be a fantastic solution to my dilemma: a ton of ideas, and no time to get them into blog-shape.  So, on April 25th, 2009, I started posting Real Estate Blogging Tips to Twitter, under the hashtag #reblogtips.  Only having 140 characters with which to deliver sound advice forced each one to be clear and definitive. The following are a collection of 50 of those first two months of tips.

1. Near holidays, timely posts can drive HUGE traffic to your blog. Great article on just that phenomena: http://bit.ly/WysfJ

2. Tell it from your perspective.  If you think you don't have one, then you don't have much business being a blogger.

3. Getting your readers to subscribe to your blog is crucial. Make it VERY CLEAR how to subscribe via email and rss reader.

4. Copy/Pasting entire articles you find on the Wire to your blog = Fail. Grab a paragraph and leverage your own opinion.

5. Do an Interview Post with a local business owner and it will dominate the SE's for their business. Good power to have!

6. Never, I mean never, under estimate pointing out the obvious. What's clear to you is that "a ha" moment of others.

7. Looking for your blogging voice? Tell a great real estate story, a story that has a point with value for your ideal reader.

8. Write posts with the intention of making your blog better.  Each article is someone's first impression of you.

9. Want good SEO content about yourself on your blog? Interview yourself with some keyword rich questions. It'll be fun too

10. Use Sub Headers to break up the different ideas or sections of your blog articles. Easier to read, and huge for SEO!

11. Blog from your ideal reader's point of view. Ask their questions, in their voice, and then answer them.

12. Don't be afraid to ask for guest authors to contribute to your blog. Or pay it forward and offer to write on someone else's.

13. 3 reasons LISTS make for great blog articles: 1. They make engaging headlines. 2. Easy to write. 3. Easy to read.

14. 2 great locations for FREE and interesting IMAGES for your blog posts: http://cli.gs/DHsj1R and http://cli.gs/RTBRj8

15. Your images will rock in Google with keyword rich file names and alternate text. These details make all the difference.

16. Learn to add padding around your images to keep them from butting up against the text. It will make it look like you care.

17. What is the most challenging element of blogging? Finding the time.  If it’s that important, you must schedule it!

18. Every article needs an image. It's worth the $1/per to get the perfect one at istockphoto.com.

19. Your categories NEED to be Keyword Rich. Yes, you should change them if they are vague, or lame.

20. Your readers love lists. They represent the perfect Snack Sized Article that they can quickly consume.

To read the REMAINING 30 Blogging Tips, you'll need to head over to the Original Location of this post on the Real Estate Tomato: 

50 Sound Real Estate Blogging Tips

IT HAS BEEN CHOPPED BECAUSE THIS IS A SYNDICATION OF THE ORIGINAL, AND IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT FOR SEO PURPOSES IT IS NOT A GOOD STRATEGY TO POST THE SAME ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY IN MORE THAN ONE LOCATION. 

 

 

My friend Melani Gordon from Gwave Consulting brought this to my attention, so I thought I would bring it to yours.

July 27th iBidcondo is set to deliver a deal of a lifetime in Dallas. Buy your auction seat today. Bid for a brand new 1,300 sq ft condo in downtown Dallas, TX.

Full property details - http://ibidcondo.com/auctions/29/details

iBidcondo is a new and exciting way to purchase high quality real estate using a unique (Patent Pending) online-auction system that has NO RESERVE or MINIMUM PRICE.
iBidcondo covers the cost of the property by “selling a limited number of seats” to the Auction.

This means that the majority of the net proceeds will be donated to a registered Charity that the winning bidder nominates prior to the auction.
•    iBidCondo auctions are online live property auctions where properties are auctioned without reserve or minimum prices.
•    To bid at an iBidcondo Auction, Bidders must first purchase a "virtual seat" to the online Auction from the iBidcondo website.
•    The revenue from the sale of the Auction Seats subsidizes the price of the property.

At a recent auction of a property in Austin, a condo with a $690,000 value was sold for a bid of $86,840, and more than 1,200 people participated in the auction. Followhttp://www.Twitter.com/ibidcondo to learn how you can win an auction seat. 

 
Posted by Real Estate Tomato on 07/02/2009 11:36 AM   Comments (0)   ibidcondo  

The 11 Most Common Pitfalls For New Real Estate Bloggers

Bear-trapWe’ve trained hundreds of real estate agents to make the blog an effective marketing tool.  We run them through a dozen hours of personal training classes, aiming to keep them on track to success. 

The following represent the most common issues that we help them recognize in or to keep them focused.

___

1. Worrying About Design Before the Writing

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This is akin to planning a wedding before you have even met your husband/wife to be.  Before you even ‘deserve’ a great looking home for your blogging, you need to have shown a solid commitment to The Writing. 

Our process with our new clients is to get them to start thinking and acting like bloggers while their custom design is being developed.  The process usually takes around 4 weeks, providing us with ample time to establish a strong commitment in the form of 10–12 well written articles.

Not to take away from a killer design, but the impression that you should want to make with your blog is that you are an Expert, delivering a Consistent Message.  This will gain you an audience, to whom you have earned the right to show-off you fancy site.

More on this topic: 
Why Am I Blogging Again?

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2. Failing To Establish A Clear Focus for the Content

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If we stick with the idea that the common blogging goal which we all share is to gain and retain an audience, then we need to consider their experience.

Good headlines and great content will surely gain the audience, but keeping them there, and earning their subscription and return visit is the real trick.  Categories, Related Posts, Tags, a Mission Statement and clear Calls To Action are your opportunity to make your message clear.  But the first thing you need to do is carve out exactly what topics of content you plan to deliver on a consistent basis.

If your audience is confused as to what categories of content they are going to get from your blog, they aren’t going to bother subscribing.  You put $1 down and pick up a newspaper without even looking inside because you know what you are getting (local news, world news, sports, business, entertainment, comics, etc).  Your audience needs to react with a similar understanding.  When they recognize a solid commitment to a clear group of topics that meet their interests, they will commit to you in the form of subscription.

More on this topic: 
Your Real Estate Blog is Your Newspaper.

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3. Failing to Recognize and Write to Their Ideal Reader

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In order to gain the right audience, you need to define them.  I know that most of you have worked with all ages, all incomes, all races, and have gone miles in all directions to help them… but who do you want to work with?  Define him/her, and then write to him/her.  Take a second, write down who they are and even name them if you have to. 

When you can visualize the reader, it is much easier to explain things to them.  What’s easier, explaining something to a friend or to a room full of strangers?  When you ‘know’ your audience, it will be much easier to hatch and deliver your ideas.

More on this topic: 
8 Things That You Are Not Doing On Your Real Estate Blog, But Should Be.

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4. Failing to Read and Learn from Other Bloggers

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Become-a-better-writerTo become a better writer you need to be an avid reader.  We learn from example, and there is no shortage of fantastic writers in and out of the RE.net. 

Read from the perspective of a writer.

I learn something every blog surfing session.  I see new formatting ideas, new call-to-action approaches, new PlugIns, etc.  But before all that, the new blogger can pick up so much from established bloggers.  Blogging is not like other forms of writing, and reading others will help you recognize the rhythm and formatting that works best.

In addition to learning the writing style, new bloggers will notice the dedication shown by the successful.  This is the most valuable lesson of them all. 

More on this topic: 
7 Reasons Why Your Local Real Estate Blogging Peers Are Not Your Competition. 
How Twitter Makes You a Better Writer

 

For Pitfalls 5-11, you'll need to click through to the original location of this article on Real Estate Tomato.

 

The 11 Most Common Pitfalls For New Real Estate Bloggers

 

IT HAS BEEN CHOPPED BECAUSE THIS IS A SYNDICATION OF THE ORIGINAL, AND IT HAS BEEN PROVEN THAT FOR SEO PURPOSES IT IS NOT A GOOD STRATEGY TO POST THE SAME ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY IN MORE THAN ONE LOCATION.

 

 

 
  
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Real Estate Tomato

Paradise, CA

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Real Estate Tomato

Office Phone: (530) 872-0892

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