Last week was another incredible week of classes at Tomato University.  I had the opportunity to sit in on most of the classes, and I couldn’t have been more impressed with our professor’s efforts.

This week looks to have just as much punch and impact with some very popular topics and skilled professors.

Do not miss a class that catches your attention, you might not see it come around again for a while.

Monday May 10th at 11:00 am PDT

Show Me Your Back End - Autoresponder Messages That Sell More Homes.

With Steve Rosenbaum

Steve Rosenbaum knows how to sell homes using the internet.

He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Austin Business Journal and interviewed by the 20/20 News Team for his expertise on creative marketing techniques that gets houses sold.

In this session, Steve will share with you the techniques to make any home stand out. Plus, all registered guests will receive templates for an automated follow up campaign that can be modified to make any real estate property stand out from the crowd.

Special Social Media Bonus: Tweet a promo with #SMYBE message and receive a free digital copy of Steve and Sherri Rosenbaum's Big Bad Home Sale.

Tuesday May 11th at 11:00 am PDT

"Practical SEO for the Real Estate Professional"

With Justin Smith

This course will teach you how to use readily available SEO tools to help you increase ranking, traffic, and leads. You will learn how to use these tools to their full potential, and easily implement your findings. Most SEO tutorials and classes are too broad and not relevant to the real estate industry. We will break down complicated reports & metrics and teach you how to apply them in a practical way into your website and blogging strategies.

• Keyword research for the real estate industry
• Turning Keyword Research data into an Actionable 'bite size' To-Do List
• How to analyze backlinks and domain authority
• Breaking down the link profile of a competitor's website
• And much more...

Tuesday May 11th at 11:00 am PDT

Breadcrumbs - How to be EVERYWHERE (Or Just Look Like It)

With Mike Mueller

How to deliver your message to everyone.

From your blog to Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, Tumblr, Posterous, Flickr, Friend Feed, Yelp, 4Square, Ping and many more.

Dropping "breadcrumbs" all along the way, all leading back to your homebase!

Wednesday May 12th at 11:00 am PDT

Social Media Strategy for Brokers

With Beth Butler 

A simple approach to implementing a Social Media strategy for brokerage companies of all sizes.

Redefine real estate marketing 101 with social media as a cornerstone.

Thursday May 13th at 11:00 am PDT

Simple, But Effective Mobile Blogging

With Teresa Boardman

Anyone with a phone with a built in camera can have a blog.

Explore easy, effortless photo blogging options. Get content ideas and learn how to market yourself and your business with your photo blog.

Thursday May 13th at 11:00 am PDT

The Power of Adding Posterous To Your Online Marketing Strategy

With Brad Carroll

Give your online marketing presence a jump start in 2010 by adding Posterous to your online strategy.

You won’t believe how easy it is to increase your search engine ranking and drive more traffic to your site with this easy to use microblogging platform.

Friday May 14th at 11:00 am PDT

Optimizing Your Real Estate Blog For The Search Engines

With Chris Hotz

It seems that everyone knows how important it is to attract external links to your website. However, there is another type of link that is overlooked time and time again, but is just as important…the internal link.

When considering your sites Search Engine Optimization (SEO), why not concentrate your efforts on something you can control. Your blogsites internal links are those links that you have complete control over and that can have a direct affect upon your sites search engine visibility (ever heard of Wikipedia?).

In this class you will learn how to:

1. Ensure that your website gets properly spidered and that all pages are found by the search engines
2. Build the relevancy of a page to a keyword phrase
3. Increase the PageRank of an internal page
4. Create page depth
5. Keep visitors on your site longer

Please note:

• All classes are LIVE Webinars.
• Students will be able to either call-in or connect with their headset/mic/speakers to listen in and ask questions.
• All classes will have a live chat managed by the professor (or assistant).
• Students will receive all webinar login links and codes in an email (to the email on file with their TU account) 1-hour prior to class start time. If you have not received the info in your email, contact tu@realestatetomato.com immediately, and we'll resolve.
• Most classes will have a 'take away' item such as a checklist, to-do list, e-book, worksheet, resource sheet, or the like.
• All classes will have an additional 15 minute live Question/Answer Session after their posted schedule.

In order to sign up for a class, you must be registered and logged in. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds. Let us know if you have any challenge logging in.

Future Tomato University Classes can be found on our Classes Page.

Our extended Professor Roster is available on the site as well.

 Take advantage of these classes while you can.  We cannot guarantee that you will have another chance to attend anything listed above.  We will not be recording classes, and it is our aim to constantly provide our members with unique and ever changing content.

This Week's Upcoming Class Schedule For Tomato University - Blogging, Video, eNewsletters, & SMM

Our first few classes in the beta phase of Tomato University have been received incredibly well, and we are very excited to continue to forge forward.

We have been making many improvements to the site based on member suggestions: Smart time zone tracker, Google Calendar class reminders, improved sign up interface and many other behind the scenes changes.  Keep your suggestions coming, we are listening and responding.

Our roster and class calendar continue to grow with the addition of some huge industry names – so stay tuned to our updates as we are always offering something new and exciting.

The next few days have some very powerful classes
that you must take advantage of.

Wednesday April 28th at 11:00 am PST

No Hassle Video Based Real Estate Lead Generation – with Ryan Hartman

Ryan Hartman is the man behind RETechulous.com.  He dazzled at our last Virtual BarCamp, and was a sure shot for our University.  You’ll need a few note pads for this class… because you’re going to learn a ton!

Videos been one of the next big things in Real Estate for years. One of the biggest barriers with video is the perception that it takes too much time to implement. In this session, we'll discuss the following:

PART 1

1. Using Your Handheld (Flip) Style Video Camera to Upload Videos to a Youtube Account
2. Tagging, Titling and Describing Your Videos
3. Avoiding the need for audio, by using YouTube's "Audio Swap" and "Annotations" features
4. Organizing with Playlists

PART 2

1. Installing and configuring the "Tubepress" Plugin in Your Wordpress Blog
2. Creating your main "Gallery Page"
3. Using tubepress shortcodes to create an unlimited number of themed gallery pages. (will include a list of code snippets )
4. Closing Remarks. "It's Not Necessarily About The Quality, It's about the fact that you're holding visitors on your site, increasing chances for lead capture! ." Also some notes about not boring visitors with slow property tours. 

Thursday April 29th at 11:00 am PST

Building A Successful Blog From The Ground Up – with Laurie Manny

Laurie Manny is a powerhouse real estate blogger who has built a business on her ability to generate leads from her blog and ensure top-of-the-search-engines exposure for many competitive terms.

Laurie was recently invited to be part of the annual CAR event, Tech Tuesday, where she wowed the audience with her real estate blogging session.  This is a do not miss class.  And, no, it will not be recorded.

This class is geared for the beginner blogger with new (or newish) blog sites.
It is also for bloggers who have not had success with their real estate blogs and would like some strong basic training.  

What this class will cover: 

• What makes the blog such a powerful tool?
• What kind of articles should I be writing on my new blog?
• Writing to consumers; Buyers and Sellers. 
• Writing about Real Estate AND about my city and the neighborhoods?
• How should I handle Calls to Action?
• IDX and why it is critically important for your real estate blog.
• What are back links (external and internal)?  Why are they important?
• How do I make certain my site is found by consumers on the search engines?
• How to clean up your posts and keep your content fresh. 
• Pros and Cons of setting up a Blogroll
• Pros and Cons of Link Exchanges

Laurie has prepared a great ebook “take-away” to be distributed to each webinar attendee.  The 90 minute class is packed with valuable information, the ebook will be a great reference tool as you are building your new blog!

Friday April 30th at 11:00 am PDT

Lead Generation and Incubation Via Automated Blog Based Newsletters – with Ryan Hartman

(For more on Ryan, read the bio-line accompanying his class above)

Stay in touch with 1000's of potential prospects by simply  sticking to your Blog Content creation schedule. 

Wordpress allows for the creation of an unlimited amount of category or tag based RSS feeds. Aweber's "RSS Blog Broadcast" feature can tap your blog and automatically deliver newsletters populated by the content on your blog. 

– How To Generate Niche Focused Category Feeds In Wordpress
– How To Include an Aweber Web Form next to or below each post in a category by hacking template files.
– How to configure an automated blog broadcast for each category web form.
– A list of Category based niches for real estate.
– A few ideas for promotion.

Friday April 30th at 2:00 pm PDT

Methods To Create Quid Pro Quo Relationships With Your Community & Build Good Will – with Pat Kitano

Pat Kitano is the founder of the Domus Consulting Group, a consultancy that works with corporations and associations to develop community engagement and social media strategies

This is a completely different take on real estate social media marketing.

We'll discuss how you can promote your communities' businesses and develop valuable quid pro quo relationships with them so they always need and refer you to others. We'll explore the changing world of hyper-local marketing, and how to create tangible business opportunities.

Check this April 21 Active Rain blog post by Joe Pryor for a preview of the steps that actually have a true ROI.

Future Tomato University Classes can be found on our Classes Page.

Our extended Professor Roster is available on the site as well.

 Take advantage of these classes while you can.  We cannot guarantee that you will have another chance to attend anything listed above.  We will not be recording classes, and it is our aim to constantly provide our members with unique and ever changing content. 

If you haven’t yet become a member of TU, never, fear… it’s easy, and it’s FREE! 
Just go to the Registration Page and sign up. 

It is finally here!  We are so excited.

We’ve launched Tomato University (beta):
“Technology Education For The Real Estate Industry”

The success of our first three Virtual BarCamp events made two things very clear:
1. There is an overwhelming interest in learning how to use technology to improve one’s real estate career.
2. Participating from the comfort of your home or office is a hugely popular alternative to learning in person.

Please Note: If you were a participant in any of our Virtual BarCamp events, then you are instantly a member of the University.  You will have received an email notification of your membership… and if you haven’t, simply login and request a reset of your password. 

Our mission with Tomato University is to scale back a bit on the intensity of the VREBC experience, and give everyone an opportunity to learn in a much more relaxed and engaging environment.

Rather than spending the day drinking from the fire hose of VREBC (28 live classes over 7 hours), we are launching the University with just 5 classes per week (1 per business day).

See University Schedule: http://www.tomatouniversity.com/courses

The other major distinction from VREBC is that the classes will be limited to much smaller audiences, allowing for direct engagement with the professors, in real-time, during class.  Classes will last between 1 and 2 hours, and in most cases will be limited to just 40 students.

See University Professors: http://www.tomatouniversity.com/professors

During this beta period (roughly 45 days), all classes will be held at 11am PST (2pm EST).  In addition to the great schedule we already have in place, we will be adding classes and professors on a regular basis, with constant turn-over and growth.

Soon we will be offering intense Labs and Tutoring Options to our schedule.  The labs will be limited to as few as 5 students, and the one-on-one tutoring sessions will be available for those that want our undivided attention.

Even though the University is in a beta phase, our commitment remains in providing our students with the most relevant and effective technology training available. 

Here are a few of the ways you can instantly take advantage of the University:

1. Sign up for upcoming classes taught by some of the Real Estate Industry's finest minds.
2. Shout out from your Dashboard to the entire community, Twitter style!
3. Hold conversations with any other member(s) in real-time using "@membername" Twitter style!
4. Rate and Comment on classes you have taken to improve our offerings.
5. Friend other members to send direct messages and get updates on their activity within TU.
6. Post your RSS feeds to your profile to gain more exposure to your blog articles.
7. Submit your ideas for classes and/or your application for professorship.
8. Update your profile details.
9. Connect with Twitter and Facebook to broadcast status and connect with others.
10. Manage your email update preferences.
 
To begin taking advantage of your free membership you will need to register or login:

Once logged in:

To view your Dashboard:
http://www.tomatouniversity.com/members/dashboard

To see our Upcoming Classes:
http://www.tomatouniversity.com/courses

To meet our Professors:
http://www.tomatouniversity.com/professors

To update your Profile:
http://www.tomatouniversity.com/members/edit

We are going to be making an enormous amount of usability and functionality improvements in subsequent phases. 
Many of these improvements are already in the works, but we would love suggestions from you.

Our goal is to create an incredibly resourceful learning environment that thrives as a social network.
This initial phase is intended to be interactive, so don't be shy.

Near future upgrades we already have planned:
- Fan Classes for notification of updates and future related content and classes.
- Uploading of instructional videos to a tutorial library by both professors and members.
- Direct Message other members, privately.
- Participate in a community blog discussing high-level real estate technology topics.
- The addition of a Tomato University Blog for system news and updates.
- Browse and view an archive of recorded classes from past VREBC events.
- RSS/XML Feed of upcoming classes for affiliates and professors to showcase on their websites.

Don't hold back on your suggestions - we are very excited to hear from you.
http://www.tomatouniversity.com/contact

On nearly every call with a real estate blogger looking for advice, I end up having them consider both of the following.  Everything else is at best tertiary to these concerns and can probably be satisfied by simply keeping these primary items in mind.

1. Why Are Your Visitors On Your Website?

What brought them there, and what are they expecting? 
Did they do a search on Google and find an article that you wrote? 
Did they click from a link in your email signature?
Was it a Tweet? a Facebook status update? a YouTube video?
Did you tell them to go there? Did someone or something else?

You need to consider the reason and the context of every actual and potential visit.
This understanding will help you determine the 2 most important things about your online marketing strategy.

a. Am I reaching my Target Audience?

b. Are my visitors getting the experience that they came for?

The root of all significant Bounce Rates is based on this immediate experience.

If you fail to satisfy your target audience’s need, instantly, then you should consider your site a failure.

Defining your target audience is up to you, but I can help a little with the “experience that they came for”.

There are 2 reasons that most visit a real estate website:

1. Listings. Listings. Listings.

Both buyers and sellers need a place to live.  
Make the ability to search for and sign up to receive new listings a huge priority in your navigation and/or clear calls to action.  This is a no-brainer… no excuses.

However, listings are not a unique commodity.  Every real estate site worth a darn has an MLS search feature. 
They come for the listings but stay for the content.  Build value beyond the database.

2. Finding A Resource They Can Trust

Looking from the outside in, the real estate industry is one that often suffers a bad rap, but much like the legal industry, it doesn’t eliminate the need to for a capable consultant that buyers and sellers can count on to:
Clearly answer questions
Provide expertise
Offer savvy opinion
And make the whole experience as low stress as possible.

From a website, this can only be achieved with content, content and more content.
The content needs to be incredibly well organized and it needs to be focused on the target audience’s needs.
The same applies for the Calls To Action – You need to make it clear to your audience that you are there to satisfy their needs, and you can only do that if you are connecting with the audience that you are reaching.  More on this later.

I can’t present examples for all potential RE topics that attract an audience, so I’ll just use one.  Take for example a website that is geared to satisfy the needs of someone in need of Short Sale advice and information.

The Short Sale is not your average transaction, and requires a whole different set of skills, knowledge, experience and communication.  (Disclaimer – I have no experience with short sales, I only know what I have heard… but humor me with this example, and apply the lesson to your own niche.)

Upon their landing on the site you want to present solutions to the things that keep Short Sale Buyers and Short Sale Sellers up at night.  Anyone who has been doing short sales knows that there’s a lot of that.  You need to make it as clear as possible that you are there for their needs. 

My suggestion would be to create calls to action for something like the following:

For the Buyer:
1. Search Short Sale and foreclosure listings
2. Search all available MLS listings
3. What you need to know before investing in a Short Sale.

For the Seller:
1. We’re here to help; learn about our Short Sale services.
2. Testimonials of successful Short Sales.
3. Do you qualify for a Short Sale?

With those 6 Calls To Action, you can cover the needs of almost all your short sale traffic.  Make them make a decision to dig deeper into your site, whether it be a database of listings, or articles positioning you as the expert on the niche.

From there, it is all about the quality of your content.  Once the organization of connecting effectively to your target audience is tackled, win them over with your knowledge and experience.  The more questions that you are able to answer directly and preemptively the more trust you will build.  Trust leads to contact, and contact leads to relationships.

Bottom Line: Create the experience which provides the best access to the reasons that your visitors are there.  Everything else is tertiary.

More info on the topic:
Giving Away Trade Secrets Is The Secret To A Successful Blog
How Does Blogging Actually Generate Leads?
Why Blogging Makes You A Better Realtor® 

The second thing that you need to consider about your web presence is: 

2. Are Your Visitors Getting Any Closer To Doing Business With You Because Of Their Experience On Your Website?

Of course if you blow the “Why are visitors on your website?” question, then this one becomes irrelevant.

Nobody is managing a real estate website or writing a real estate blog just for fun, they’re doing it to improve their business.  If it is fun, then that is because it improves their business.

Consider an inbound phone call, an opportunity to gain a client.
How do you handle the situation?

Appear professional
Have an engaging personality
Clearly answer questions
Provide the resources they seek
Gain trust
Close on opportunities

It is the Closing Opportunities that makes the whole thing work for you.  In a “selling” situation (e.g., getting someone to agree to make an offer… or accept one) you have to close the deal.  Just providing all the information in a complete and easy-to-understand manner and waiting for the client to make the decision is not going to get the deal done.  When you are connecting on all points, and they trust you, it is your opportunity (read: responsibility) to BRING them to make a decision.  Walk them to the other side of the deal.

Your website can have this power as well.

Create opportunity that makes it clear to the engaged visitor that you are here to WORK WITH and FOR THEM. 

Calls-To-Action that specifically explain how you can, will and are already helping them. 
(Sticking with the short sale theme)
“I am here to help you with your short sale, contact me NOW.” 
“Subscribe NOW to our weekly newsletter educating you on everything you need to know about short sales.”
“Subscribe NOW to receive instant updates of new short sales that hit the market in your criteria”

Everything else is just a shiny object to distract them from following through with you, for the reasons that you connected with them in the first place.

More Blogging Success Tips:
Simple Marketing Tip: Engage The Audience You Create To Avoid The Headache of Lost Opportunity.
Don’t Be The Ignored Real Estate Blog, How to Avoid The Starbucks Mistake
How A Strong Finish Has A Real Estate Blog Article Generating Leads
How To Approach Real Estate Blogging And Ensure Your Success, Guaranteed

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Virtual BarCamp is TOMORROW!

Clear your schedule.  Lock your door.  
You are not going to want to be to be interrupted.

From 9AM until 5PM PST, we will showcase 32 of the industry's brightest minds to blow yours.  Below is that list. 

We are running 4 simultaneous webinars, all day long.  Each “Webinar Room” has a separate Access Link, Call-In-Number and Access Code.

This information will be emailed to all registered participants.  You can jump in and out of each webinar by using the different access links and call-in-numbers.  Each session is separated by a 15-minute intermission, leaving you plenty of time to access a different room, or to chat with the presenter after their session has ended.

We would also like to encourage you to visit Twitter, Facebookand TomatoChat Rooms (#1, #2, #3, #4) to join in the national conversation with your peers, on the day of the event. Consider these locations the ‘hallways’ of the event, where you can meet, discuss and learn from each other during the intermissions.

WEBINAR ROOM #1 SESSIONS:

1. 9:00AM PST:  Jim Cronin - Welcome To Virtual Real Estate BarCamp
2. 9:15AM PST:  Stefan Swanepoel - Back to the Future: Trends Shaping Social Media
3. 10:15AM PST:  Michael Russer (Mr. Internet) Dominate Your Online Competition – In Any Market!
4. 11:15AM PST:  Steve Schwartz - Full Motion Video For Real Estate:  How to market You, Your Website, & Your Listing
5. 12:15PM PST:  Darin Persinger & Co. - The 1-2-1 Business Development Formula for Real Estate.
6. 1:15M PST:  Ryan Hartman - 60 Minute, Totally Free, Real Estate Lead Gen and Incubation System
7. 2:15PM PST:  Mark Madsen and Mortgage Panel -  The Missing Ingredient In Your Real Estate Blog: Mortgage Content
8. 3:15PM PST:  Daniel Rothamel - 5 Valuable Social Media Lessons I Learned While Raising A Newborn And Being A Daddy
9. 4:00PM PST: Jim Cronin - Closing Words
10. 4:15PM PST: Bonus Hour - Tom Ferry

WEBINAR ROOM #2 SESSIONS:

1. 9:00AM PST:  Jim Cronin - Welcome To Virtual Real Estate BarCamp
2. 9:15AM PST:  Steve Rosenbaum - Show Me Your Backend
3. 10:15AM PST:  Scott Sambucci - “Beat the Headlines.  Be the Local Market Expert.”
4. 11:15AM PST:  Sherry Chris - Attracting the Right Talent to Your Brokerage
5. 12:15PM PST:  Mike Bowler, Sr. - Raise Your Own Bar In Real Estate” by Getting Educated and Differentiating Yourself.
6. 1:15M PST:  Katerina Gasset - Get Your Blog On
7. 2:15PM PST:  Evan Russell - The Agent Goal Tracker
8. 3:15PM PST:  Brian Tercero - WordPress As The Core of Your Web Presence.
9. 4:00PM PST: Jim Cronin - Closing Words
10: 4:15PM PST: Bonus Hour -  Mike Mueller - “Breadcrumbs - How to be EVERYWHERE (or just look like it)”

WEBINAR ROOM #3 SESSIONS:

1. 9:00AM PST:  Jim Cronin - Welcome To Virtual Real Estate BarCamp
2. 9:15AM PST:  Stacey Harmon - Facebook Fan Page Strategies For Realtors
3. 10:15AM PST:  Cyndee Haydon - The Power Of The Video Testimonial
4. 11:15AM PST:  Bob Stewart and Brad Andersohn - Hyper Local Blogging
5. 12:15PM PST:  Jay Thompson -  Essential Wordpress Plugins: Some “Must Have” PlugIn’s/Functionality For Your Real Estate Blog.
6. 1:15M PST:  Joel Burslem - 15 Ways To Take Your Real Estate Business To The Cloud
7. 2:15PM PST:  Chris Smith - Creating And Growing A Brand From Scratch By Leveraging A Facebook Fan Page And Targeted, Relevant, Inexpensive PPC Ads.
8. 3:15PM PST:  Spencer Rascoff - Zillow A to Zillow: From Advertising to Zestimates
9: 4:15PM PST: Bonus Hour - Amy Chorew - Tools For Following Feeds And Friends

WEBINAR ROOM #4 SESSIONS:

1. 9:15AM PST:  Sheri Moritz - Using Craigslist To Increase Web Traffic, Generate Additional Leads & Close More Traffic
2. 10:15AM PST:  Ross Hair - My Most Powerful Facebook Strategy - Building Neighborhood Communities!
3. 11:15AM PST:  Glenn Sanford - The Office of the Future - Today
4. 12:15PM PST:  Bernice Ross - Don’t Just Capture Leads–Convert Them
5. 1:15M PST:  Harrison Painter - Brand Yourself and Attract Business in One Hour Per Day with Social Media and Video!
6. 2:15PM PST:  Pat Kitano - The Impact of Geolocational Media
7. 3:15PM PST:  Gahlord Dewald -  Three Ways To Measure.  Three Ways To Improve

If you got to the bottom of this article, and you reposted it to your AR blog, consider yourself in the running to receive one of 5 Free VREBC T-Shirts!  Thanks for your support.

I sat here making an effort to finish writing an article covering the 2 most crucial things to consider about your website when I was derailed by the topic below.

The following is based on a phone rant that I have let loose so many times that I’m starting to feel myself on auto-pilot, almost thinking about something else, as I explain the basic formula to guaranteed blogging success.  It struck me that I need to write this down before I mistakenly consider it to be no longer relevant.  The fact is that it couldn’t be more relevant for new and struggling real estate bloggers.

I am adding this article to the Pre Class Homework that all of our new clients will receive, for it is the foundation of their path to blogging reward.

1. Define Your Target Audience/Ideal Reader

In a past article I wrote this:

Your knee-jerk first thought: My audience is far too diverse to have a specific Ideal Reader in mind when I write.  It’s the same argument I hear when I try to pin an agent down to commit to focus on one specific niche community with their early blogging efforts; I’ll work everywhere, why would I want to pigeonhole myself to one location?  I will be missing such a greater audience.

The answer is that it is much easier to write fluidly and constructively on a micro level then it is when approached broadly.  Sure the topics seem endless, at first with the broad stroke, but the value comes in your ability to hone in on the endless topics of a narrowed focus.  It is much easier to position oneself as the expert on a limited range of topics than on everything, everywhere.

Who you are writing to works in a similar manner.  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 deliver your ideas.  My advice: force yourself to consider who you are writing to; define them, and write to them.

All of the above absolutely applies, but I think I can drive this point home, and make it clear as to why this is the number one thing to do to ensure your success.

Stop thinking like an agent that will drive 20 miles in any direction to help any potential client, in any neighborhood.

The Bad News: You can't be all things to all people. 

The Good News:  As a blogger, you have the power to create your audience, and attract the types of clients that you want to work with. 

Do the following: 
Ask yourself, “Who do I enjoy working with?” and “why?”.
Now name your ideal reader.  Mine is “Sue”. 
List everything you can about them.  
How old are they?  Are they married?  Kids? Household Income? Profession?”
Where are they from originally?  What interests do they have?
Where do they want to live?  How much do they want to spend?
What are their concerns/questions/challenges/dreams/plans?

There is a beautiful thing about blogging; if you write to them,they will come.

2. Define What You Are Going To Write About.

Your Real Estate Blog Is Your Newspaper

The above linked article tells some of the story on this step to success, but again, this point needs to be made absolutely clear in order for you to pause reading and commit to this action.

Clear topics and organization of your content is everything.

You have an opportunity to make an amazing impression on your visitors.  What you choose to write about will deem you an expert on those topics, if you make it clear.

Choose the pillars upon which your entire blog will stand.
If you are just starting out, limit yourself to no more than 10.
Those categories need to be something that you can commit content to regularly.
If it is a topic that you can’t write inexhaustibly about, then omit it from the list.
You can always add to this list as you develop as a blogger.
If your aim is to have some whimsical content, then create a category for all of it (“Whimsical Wednesday”, for example).

You'll thank me later.

If you don’t take this approach, your blog will make the impression that you are all-over-the-place and not an expert in any topic.  It will be too overwhelming to your visitor to know what to expect from you, and they will not subscribe.  Your best categories will be buried by the clutter.

At the end of this post I do offer some ideas of what to write about, but I know nothing about you, your expertise, your area of focus, your goals, your ideal reader… so don’t rely on me, or others to establish the pillars of your content.  Think very clearly about this task.  This is how your audience will be getting to know you, and there is nothing more important when it comes to them trusting you as their expert agent.

3. Goals - What Do You Want To Achieve From Your Efforts?

“More business” is not exactly the right answer.

There's plenty more of this article left!  
To read the remainder, you'll just need to click over to its original location at the Real Estate Tomato Blog: 

How To Approach Real Estate Blogging And Ensure Your Success, Guaranteed

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. 

It is on!!!!

Today only, we are running 4 simultaneous webinars, all day long.  
28 Speakers!
7 Hours!
2000+ Attendees.

www.VirtualBarCamp.com/register

Each “Webinar Room” has a separate Access Link, Call-In-Number and Access Code.

This information will be emailed to all registered participants.  You can jump in and out of each webinar by using the different access links and call-in-numbers.  Each session is separated by a 15-minute intermission, leaving you plenty of time to access a different room, or to chat with the presenter after their session has ended.

We would also like to encourage you to visit Twitter, Facebook and TomatoChat Rooms (#1, #2, #3, #4) to join in the national conversation with your peers, on the day of the event. Consider these locations the ‘hallways’ of the event, where you can meet, discuss and learn from each other during the intermissions.

WEBINAR ROOM #1 SESSIONS:

1. 9:00AM PST: Jim Cronin - Welcome To Virtual Real Estate BarCamp
2. 9:15AM PST: Brad Inman - What Is Inman News Predicting?
3. 10:15AM PST: Mike Mueller - 7 Secrets To Facebook Page Success
4. 11:15AM PST: Brad Andersohn - Blogging Tips For Beginners
5. 12:15PM PST: Bernice Ross - Seven Serious Social Media Mistakes Most Agents Make
6. 1:15PM PST: Glenn Sanford - The Real Estate Office Of The Future, Part II
7. 2:15PM PST: Amy Chorew - 5 Things You Need To Know Before Buying A Laptop/Notebook
8. 3:15PM PST: Drew Meyers - Online Reputation Management
9. 4:00PM PST: Jim Cronin - Closing Words

WEBINAR ROOM #2 SESSIONS:

1. 9:00AM PST: Jim Cronin - Welcome To Virtual Real Estate BarCamp
2. 9:15AM PST: Stacey Harmon - Facebook Tools & Tricks: Separating Personal from Professional
3. 10:15AM PST: Nicole & Reggie Nicolay - Twitter Essentials for 2010
4. 11:15AM PST: Darin Persinger - The 7 A’s To Building Your Business Online & Offline
5. 12:15PM PST: Brad Carroll - The Value Of Adding Posterous.com To Your Online Tool Belt
6. 1:15PM PST: Jay Thompson - Write Right, Right Now.  Get Your Blog On!
7. 2:15PM PST: Jonathan Rivera - How To Leverage The Power Of Social Media In Real Estate
8. 3:15PM PST: Joel Burslem - 15 Ways to Make Your Marketing Mobile
9. 4:00PM PST: Jim Cronin - Closing Words

WEBINAR ROOM #3 SESSIONS:

1. 9:00AM PST: Jim Cronin - Welcome To Virtual Real Estate BarCamp
2. 9:15AM PST: Sue Adler - How I Started Over in a New Market & Went to $50M/year in Sales in Just 4 Yrs!
3. 10:15AM PST: Sherry Chris - Next Generation Brokerage
4. 11:15AM PST: Matt Johnson - Using Web Applications To Streamline Your Use Of Technology
5. 12:15PM PST: Jeff Turner - The Lost Art Of Listening
6. 1:15PM PST: Kendra Todd - The 45-Min Branding Boot Camp: “The Brand Called You”
7. 2:15PM PST: Mike Simonsen - What’s The Market Telling Us? (All new session!)
8. 3:15PM PST: Pat Kitano - Innovative Community Engagement Strategies

WEBINAR ROOM #4 SESSIONS:

1. 9:15AM PST: Teresa Boardman - Flickr.com - A REAL Social Network
2. 10:15AM PST: Tara Jones - Media Marketing
3. 11:15AM PST: Ross Hair - Advanced Facebook - How To Use FB To Dominate Your Local Market
4. 12:15PM PST: Stefan Swanepoel - Social Media Beyond Mainstream: Augmented Reality & More
5. 1:15M PST: Mark Madsen - 7 Strategies For Connecting w/ Agents Online w/o Looking Like A Stalker.
6. 2:15PM PST: Rob Hahn - Social Media Heresies
7. 3:15PM PST: Steve Rosenbaum - 10 Ways To Lift, Tuck & Firm Up Your Contact Follow Up So Your Front End Takes Care Of Itself

Our goal is to reach 3000 registered attendees to VirtualReBarcamp.com!

The event is free being presented by 28 of the top minds in RE technology and social networking. Currently we have 1500+ registered attendee.  To reach our goal we need your help.  Fortunately, we have a ringer in our pocket: The generosity of ListingMoves.com.  ListingMoves.com is going to be running  a contest for everyone that helps us attain our goal.

Anyone that writes/re-blogs this post on ActiveRain about VirtualReBarCamp.com being held January 4th will be entered in a drawing to win one of the following prizes:

      1. 1 year free subscription to ListingMoves.com premium package ($720 value)

      2. HP Netbook Computer

      3. Platinum RainCamp Access Pass (If you don't know what that is go to RainCamp.com or ask one of the guys here on ActiveRain they'll fill you in :-) )

      4. One year free NetFlix subscription (3DVD's out at a time)

The rules:

Comment below with the link to your post or re-blog so we can enter you in the drawing.

You can also tweet about this for a 2nd entry in the drawing and it can say anything to promote VirtualBarCamp but it must include #VREBC & #ListingMoves as hashtags for tracking purposes such as the following:

28Top real estate tech speakers present@ #VREBC Jan4  Register now by going to http://bit.ly/8BBZYu & qualify 4 $25 StarBucks GiveAway #ListingMoves

(ListingMoves.com will also be giving away 25$ starbucks gift cards to the 2000th, 2001st, 2500th, 2501st, 3000th, 3001st registered attendees and donate the same amount to the Warmath Children College Fund Charity) 

Wow!  Fingers crossed... come on 3000!