The Real Estate Tomato

Real Estate Blog Growing Pains? Share the Load, Multiply the Success.

2008-06-23T11:48:10Z

In preparation for my participation at Inman Connect 2008, I have been thinking a lot about our panel topic, Growing Pains: Take Your Blog to the Next Level.

Today’s post is a run-together of the relevant points on this topic, the way I see it.

If you are experiencing “Growing Pains” in your blogging, I guess it would entail that you have been at it now for at least the last year, and in some cases much longer. In addition, you probably find the following list familiar.

1. Your blog is at the center of your Online Marketing Strategy.
2. You enjoy the Discipline of blogging regularly.
3. You have integrated your blog into your Offline Marketing.
4. You are Generating Leads and Clients as a result of your blogging.
5. You have earned Prime Position in the Search Engines for desired terms.
6. You are recognized as an Authority on the topics you cover.

So where does a real estate blogger go from here?

Well, what are your Needs?

1. More Content
2. More Authority
3. More Exposure
4. More Business
5. More Relationships

The Tendencies are to look for New Tools, New Design, and/or New Knowledge.
However, I don’t know that any of these will make any real difference.

In an earlier post, I penned that the Future of the Real Estate Blog is inevitably going to yield to proficient video bloggers. However, I don’t feel that embracing video is the next step for bloggers experiencing growing pains.

Although I still believe that video will be an amazingly successful tool for those that master its application, I don’t see it to be universally leveraged in the real estate industry.

(On a side note, if you want to watch what fellow panelist Daniel Rothamel’s first thoughts on our topic are, go check out his vlog.)

Blogging, even with all the attention it has garnered over the last couple of years, is only being used as an effective marketing tool by less than 1% of active Realtors. Vlogging (video blogging) is a similar effort to blogging, in that to be successful it will require discipline, creativity, consistency, skill and practice. Given the effort required, I’m not going to broadly encourage bloggers with growing pains to jump on the vlogging train to solve the above Needs.

What then?

My first impression of the Real Estate Business was watching my father, who has been the broker of a successful boutique real estate office for longer than I have been alive. Admittedly, as a boy, I had little understanding of what he actually did for a living other than:
1. He took lots of pictures of houses and property.
2. He seemed to know everyone in town.

Continued... There's plenty more!

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A Clever and Effective Way To Gain More Real Estate Blog Subscribers

2008-06-10T11:41:20Z

About a month ago I received, in the mail (yes, the kind with real letters, bills and magazines) an envelope with 3 items in it.

The first was a a New Blog Announcement, something like a Baby Announcement: It’s a BLOG!

The second a business card showcasing the Blog Address and contact information for Michael Bergin and Virginia Amos (on the reverse), proud new owners (and authors) of GWSleptHere.com.

For those not “in the know” – GWSleptHere is embracing the common local claim to various local destinations in greater Alexandria, VA, that the Father of our nation, President George Washington, slept on the grounds.

The third item was a a faded $1 bill likeness (you know, the one with George Washington on it) offering a quick and easy was to receive a $5 Starbucks Gift Card: Subscribe to GWSleptHere.com.

I found the marketing idea so clever and fun, that I immediately went and subscribed to make sure I was one of the first 50. I’m sure his local audience got their announcements days before me, given that I live 3000 miles from Alexandria, VA.

Fast forward to yesterday.

In the mail, as promised, I received my $5 Starbucks Gift Card, along with a very nice, handwritten note thanking me for my subscription, and to our team for doing such a wonderful job on their new blog. So, not only have Michael and Virginia earned my (and many others’) subscription, but they also get a huge shoutout from the Tomato!

I’ll ask Michael to give us an update in the comments as to how many he sent out, the investment and the number of subscribers they have earned with their campaign.

So, if you want to read a real estate blogging team that really has the hang of blogging for business, go check out GWSleptHere.com, and be sure to subscribe to their feed.

To see how much Michael and Virginia spent on this campaign, and other comments, please visit the original location of this article on the Real Estate Tomato :

A Clever and Effective Way To Gain More Real Estate Blog Subscribers

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The Real Estate Broker Blog 2.0 - Plug In To The Solution

2008-05-28T15:15:38Z

**Disclaimer**

This post is a blantant pitch for our exciting new product, the Real Estate Broker Blog. Feel free to ignore it completely if you can resist its delicious chocolate chip cookie smell.

**End of Disclaimer**

Last year we launched the first of it's kind Real Estate Broker Blog.

Because of its innovation and wild success, Beth Butler, the Broker responsible for the project, has been asked to speak at Inman Connect in San Francisco this summer.

Her topic: "How One Broker Is Making Group Blogging Work"

Here's a quick overview of the EWM Project's current stats:

-14 Offices with 750+ Agents
-400+ agents have posted since launch last year.
-100+ post regularly (a few times a month)
-10,000+ Posts to date
-Easily 100's of Leads Generated (sales, leases, listings, press requests)
-Dozens and dozens of Sales
-60 Percent of Inbound Traffic from SE's (read: Google)
-1000's of Daily Hits

Well, from all that we learned over the last year, designing, developing and managing this massive project, we've found some room to make improvements. In fact, we learned so much, that the entire approach has changed enough for us to call the product the Real Estate Broker Blog 2.0.

Besides Beth's Company Blog (http://blog.EWM.com), there are very few successful Broker Blogs on the internet, and the reasons abound:

1. Price: The development of an office-wide, comprehensive and organized blogsite is quite the project.
2. Getting Agents to Blog in the First Place: The Benefit, The Commitment and The Education.
3. Providing a Win-Win Solution for the Agents': Agents aren’t going to just blog for the Good of the company.
4. Security and Moderation Control: Brokers are responsible for the content that is published to their site.

And then, there are other challenges that are sure to develop:

1. Agents come and go... what then?
2. Future Customization for Broker and Agents: Upgrades, Designs, PlugIns and Functionalities.

Well, we've solved all the above and more!

With one package product, we are now providing Real Estate Brokerages (large and small) with the following:

1. Full Featured Custom Company Blogsite

    a. Custom Design from Scratch
    b. Unlimited Content Pages and Lead Generation Forms
    c. State of the Art Company Blog
    d. Integration of Broker IDX
    e. User Friendly Content Management System (CMS) for In-House Editing.
    f. Open Source Platform

The Company Blogsite plays two roles. First of all it is a full blown real estate broker website, housing pages about the company, its agents and services, as well as it's lead generation forms and IDX MLS searching tools.

And secondly, it is the destination for a re-syndication (republishing) of all the content written by the agents on their personal blogsites. This creates greater exposure for the agents' blog articles, and establishes the company blogsite as an enormous cumulative resource.

...Continued. There's Plenty More!

Such as:
2. Unlimited Agent Blogsites
3. Company Intranet Blog and User Management
...and how we've overcome all the above challenges...

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Writing Your Real Estate Blog Primarily to Google is a Squandered Opportunity.

2008-03-31T22:20:31Z

Thanks to the recent frequency and quality of guest posts, I’ve had the pleasure of taking a little time off from shouldering the content on the Tomato. Keeping in stride, we have another treat for you. Todd Carpenter, ubiquitous RE.net participant, and owner and author of the globally appreciated mariah.com (a web 2.0 real estate network of websites), just emailed over this solid piece weighing the value of blogging for Search Engine exposure.

Writing Your Real Estate Blog Primarily to Google is a Squandered Opportunity.
By Todd Carpenter

What’s the difference between a blogging expert and a real estate expert?

Blogging experts may or may not understand how the real estate industry operates. Take, for example the theory forwarded that, for the sake of superior Google search results, bloggers should not write about their community. That instead, they should stick to posts that are only about real estate itself.

You’ll get no argument from me that a real estate blogger should blog about real estate. Blog about your listings. Blog about your open houses. Blog about market conditions. Blog about foreclosures. You’re a real estate agent, of course you should write about real estate.

Blogging this way and you’ll get search engine traffic. However, blogging only about real estate means leaving much of a blog's marketing power at the table.

Some experts scoff at the idea of blogging about the community, or local businesses, or even writing a restaurant review. These topics may not drive in large numbers of web driven leads, but let’s face it, you can BUY Internet leads. You’re not in the Internet leads business. You’re in the real estate business.

Step away from blogging for a minute and think about how successful real estate agents market in the real world.

Referrals are key to driving a successful real estate business. I’ll take one referral from a real live human over a hundred from Google. Referrals from past clients are very powerful, but you can use you’re blog to create a referral stream from people you’ve never worked with before.

...Continued - Where is John going with this?

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Can My Real Estate Blog Help Me Talk Like a Woman?

2008-03-27T13:25:58Z

John Coley, still my favorite Lake Martin, Alabama blogger, sent over this gem, and I couldn’t wait to post it for your enjoyment.

Can My Real Estate Blog Help Me Talk Like a Woman?

By John Coley

I recently got rejected on a listing presentation, and it hurt.
Unless you're a realtor that signs up 100% of your listing presentations, you know what I mean.

This one was particularly painful because it was to list a couple's lake home and help them buy another. The combination of the two homes would have been about $2 million in gross sales, which buys a lot of groceries in Alabama. It also hurt because I felt I had a really good relationship with the husband. He contacted me out of the blue. We talked a lot. He liked the way I marketed other homes in the area. So I was surprised to hear that I had lost at the last minute to someone else.

I swallowed my pride and tried to salvage the episode by getting some good feedback.

I said, "I'll be honest.. I am really surprised. I thought that you all had made up your mind to let me help you. Please do me a favor. Can you give me the full unfiltered truth, even if it hurts my feelings? How did I miss this one?"

And he told me, bless him. He's one of the few people out there that will really tell you what they think. I am so glad he didn't spare my feelings; what he said flabbergasted me as much as it helped my career.

He: "My wife didn't want to go with you."

His wife?? Up until then, he had been my main contact. I had offered to meet with them both in person, but they declined for the sake of time. How could she not like me if we had never met?

Me: (cringing) "Why didn't your wife want to let me help?"

He: "I'm embarrassed to tell you this, but it's because you're a man."

What? Have I just become a victim of discrimination? He's kidding, right? No, he wasn't.

He went on to say that his wife felt that she could not work well with a male agent. In their past real estate transactions, she liked dealing with women.

I thanked him profusely for his honesty. The conversation ended on a positive note, but I was frustrated. As a man, how can I overcome that objection? Sure, there are a lot of great female realtors in the world. I know many. But there are also a lot of great male ones, too. I really think that I could have done a great job for these folks.

So how can I lessen the chances of this happening again?

...CONTINUED

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All You Ever Needed To Know About Blogging SEO, But Were Afraid To Say So.

2008-03-26T13:56:58Z

I know what you are thinking…”not another SEO article, please…”

SEO focused companies have secrets.
They want you to think that you need them to get you to the top of the search engines.
They want you to think that you need to learn the complex details or you will fail.
They want you to think that there is so much that goes into it, that you'd be a fool to not put your faith in them.
They want you to think that your success depends on their knowledge and tools.
They want you to think that their advice will make "all the difference".

Well folks, the truth is, when it comes to blogging, SEO consulting is a lot like cold medicine. When you catch a cold, if you don't take medicine you are going to be sick for seven days. However, if you do take cold medicine it is going to only be a week before you're healthy.

The fallacy of SEO advice is that Correlation does not always imply Causation. Just because you took your cold medicine, and then got better in a week, it does not imply that it improved your health. It just made you feel like you were doing something positive.

When it comes to blogging, many of those that are currently holding the top spots in the search engines have done it without much concern for SEO. In fact, it may have never even crossed their minds.

Well Then, How Did They Do It?

They blogged, they blogged and then they blogged some more.
They blogged on topic. They blogged on the topic for which they were looking to be found.

So, if you want to be found in the Search Engines for terms that you expect will generate an audience that will develop into leads, then you need to blog those topics.

Is it really that simple, Jim? Yes it is.

But what about all those advertisements and remedies we hear about that are designed to help us be found in the search engines? Should I not be taking those as prescribed?
You can. And they may make you feel better about everything. But an active blog, on target and on topic is a healthy blog.

So what's the SEO equivalent to "stay home, get some rest, and drink lots of fluids"? Surely you can't completely ignore some advice.

There are some basic guidelines, but once you read them, you'll realize that they mostly common sense, and not some packaged remedy.

...CONTINUED

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How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Brad Nix and the RETechSouth Event

2008-03-15T19:52:49Z

This is the fifth article in a series of interviews that we've held with a handful of our Tomato Blogger Clients.

Our mission throughout these interviews is to learn how the efforts of our blogging clients have made significant, and positive differences in their real estate career.

Today’s interview is with broker, Brad Nix of Maxsell Real Estate. Maxsell Real Estate “is the only real estate company in Metro Atlanta exclusively servicing the I-575 Real Estate Corridor of Northwest Atlanta.”

Brad joined the Vine in late February of 2007. He was a great choice for today’s interview because of just how much his business and use of technology have changed in just 12 months.

Here’s his story.

Tomato:
You know the drill… you still working with the traditional marketing strategies of print and mail?

Brad Nix:
Very little. We are definitely using a lot less of all of it.
If we do anything [in print], it’s simply to drive traffic to the site.
But for example, we used to buy a 1/4 page, every week, in the local paper here in Atlanta. That along with some many less effective print ads have all been left behind.

Tomato:
How has the blogging and focus on technology made an impact to your brokerage over the last year?

Brad Nix:
That’s the thing… without a doubt it has been a huge part of our growth and philosophy.
Last year, before we met, we had just 6 full-time agents.
Since the blogging, we have grown to 21 agents (and counting).
We are attracting agents that recognize that we have a finger on the pulse of the future, and they want to be a part of that.
They come to us impressed by our tech savvy, understanding of SEO, blogging, and commitment to adaptation.

Tomato:

So how many agents are participating on the blog and to what capacity?

Brad Nix:

Right now there are 5 of us that post regularly on the site, so about 20%. But we are just getting started. I am really looking forward to some developments; tying the whole company into the back-end of the site, and encouraging them all the get involved.

Once we move to using the back-end as a forum/intranet for the company’s announcements, updates, stats, etc, I believe it will get more participating, more regularly, simply because they are now just a click away from writing an article.

Tomato:

How else have you used the Internet and blogging to your advantage in ways you hadn’t prior to this new approach?

Brad Nix:

Well, our Listing Presentations are so technology centric now. We take the time to explain how we embrace everything blogging, to social networking to Trulia and Zillow. Instead of being fearful of something like Zillow and the objections and challenges it can present, we actually are embracing it for the benefit and exposure of our clients’ properties.

Tomato:

Are there any topics that you are finding are working better for you than others when it comes to generating leads and clients through blogging?

Brad Nix:

Actually, yes. By taking a bit of a commercial approach, and blogging about local developments in our region have had a great effect. Whether it’s a new project getting started, or new stores that are coming in… the effect is amazing.

The perception is that I’m the expert and they contact me for all sorts of reasons. Concerns such as when projects will start, what roads will be needed, what businesses are coming in to the area and how to lease commercial space… but the curious thing is that we’ve actually been generating listings because people don’t want to live in the area any longer, and need someone to sell their home.

Tomato:

Now, I know you have a big event coming up that has really caught tread… this has to be perhaps one of the most relevant ways that blogging has changed your career… organizing a big tech event, drawing huge industry names, filling 100’s of seats… look at you.

So what’s the low-down?

Brad Nix:

Well, Matt Fagioli (another Tomato Blogger and Atlanta area Broker) and I have gotten together to try and educate the local real estate community here in Atlanta about all the technological advancements that are taking place in the industry.

It’s coming up fast (March 27^th), and that initially was of some concern to us, as to how we were going to pull it all together and create enough of a buzz about it to make it a success.

And that’s just it… you won’t believe how fast things came together. In literally a week, we had already established a huge buzz online in the RE.net community, but even more impressively were able to land some Big Names as panelists and speakers.

Dustin Luther of RainCityGuide and 4Realz.net, Michael Simonsen of Altos Research, Mark Warner of RealESpace.com, David Harris of GeekEstateBlog.com, Christian Sterner of WellcomeMat.com, Rudy Bachraty of Trulia, Jason Benesch of your Real Estate Tomato, Pat Kitano of TransparentRE.com, Kevin Boer from 3OceansRealEstate.com… and maybe even you, I have heard.

Tomato:

Maybe….

Brad Nix:

The thing is, how this all came together so quickly just endorses the fact that things don’t need to be planned 6 months in advance to get the attention they deserve. The buzz that social networking and blogging can create is unbelievable. It’s amazing what has happened in just the last 7 days with this event.

Tomato:

I know you all have a video promo for it, so I will be sure to include that here at the end of this. Thanks so much for your time today, Brad. I am really excited for you and Matt, pulling off such a great 1 day event in such a short period.

For more information on the Tomato sponsored event, simply go check out their website: RETechSouth.com

RE Tech South Conference in Atlanta -- Real Estate 2.0 "Southern Style"

We’d love to hear from you about how blogging has changed your real estate career.

Feel free to post below, or email me to interview you directly for a future post. I’ve heard some great stories, so stay tuned!

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

Other Interviews with Tomato Bloggers:
Week 1 - Jackie Colson-Miller
Week 2 – Uncle Jack LeVine
Week 3 – Mary DeLuca
Week 4 – Roberta Murphy

Real Estate Blogging Business Plan For 2008 - Boots On the Ground Will Help You Find and Service Buyers

2008-03-07T12:26:12Z

The growth of Real Estate Blogging, although steady and noticeable, still has not lived up to the hype, and it never will. That’s not to say that it is being rejected as a competent means to the end: as an effective lead generation tool. In fact, we’re finding that blogging is not only keeping people in business, saving them marketing spend, and changing their outlook on real estate, but it is actually improving the industry.

Anytime that you force an industry to establish, present, and defend opinion and insight, you’re heading in the right direction.

The reason I feel that a rush to blogging as a marketing tool will never catch fire is because of a major deterrent called: Work.

Writing for most is work. Sitting alone at a computer, being asked to pave the way to your marketing success through writing, is just not a reasonable endeavor for most.

Real estate success, like that of many consulting industries, is very much dependent upon one’s own, solitary efforts. Because of this, agents tend to do look to peers for guidance rather than risk it and forge a path of their own. Blogging is the dark horse in real estate marketing, and curiously this is what has it working so well for the few that have learned to embrace it properly.

So what’s “embracing it [blogging] properly” supposed to mean?

The trick to making blogging work for you, as a business growth strategy, is to build an audience of past, present and future clients. Getting in front of the past and current client group is as easy as setting up their subscription to your blog’s feed.

Getting in front of the new audience has been blogged over and over and over and over and… more to come.

It’s maintaining the interest of the audience that’s the difficult part.

A concern I frequently hear from potential bloggers is the fear that they will not be good enough or interesting enough of a writer to bother trying. The funny thing is that blogging success does not depend on one’s writing skills. To be a good blogger, you don’t have to be an interesting writer. Heck you don’t even have to be a fair writer. You simply need to know how to present information that is interesting to your intended audience. If they can appreciate your regular message then you will have earned their readership. This is embracing blogging properly.

...CONTINUED

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Starting A Real Estate Blog? Grab That Email Database, Let's Get You Read

2008-03-04T18:40:57Z

When I started the Real Estate Tomato, in June of 2006, I had one reader, me.

Before the first month was over, I was averaging 30 unique visitors a day.
Within 2 months it was 135 unique visitors a day.

How did we get out of the gates so quickly?

We did it in part, with an old friend: The Email Database.

To make a business blog a successful marketing strategy, you need to have an audience of potential clients.

Having been a consultant for online real estate marketing for 6 years before starting the Tomato, I had a mighty database of real estate agents, lenders, industry professionals and friends. If I was going to regularly write articles about leveraging the internet as a marketing tool for real estate, then this was the audience I would want to be paying attention.

So I shoved it down their throat.

Well, not exactly.

Email Marketing For Bloggers

My strategy was to comb through my list of about 1500 names and whittle it down to around 300 or so that would not mind that I started sending them articles I had recently written. I chose friends, newer clients, and clients with whom I had worked very closely with. I left out older clients (both in age and date acquired), acquaintances and those names I couldn’t put a memory to.

Once I had this list of choice contacts, I sent them an email announcing the launch of my brand new, curiously named, real estate marketing blog. In that email I informed them that I had taken the liberty to subscribe them to a bi-weekly (2x a month) email blast of the articles that I publish each month. I made it clear that they had been hand chosen based on our relationship, and my understanding that they would appreciate my efforts to educate them on the art of internet marketing. I also explained that they could easily unsubscribe from this free service by either contacting me directly, or clicking an unsubscribe link at the bottom of this and all future email blasts.

No one unsubscribed from the first email.

I scheduled the first email blast to go out after my first week of posting to the Tomato. The email that went out was branded with the Real Estate Tomato logo and included 3 parts.

...CONTINUED

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The Real Estate Business Is Content, Not Home Selling

2008-02-28T22:22:27Z

The above might seem like an odd statement, but it couldn’t be more true.

Let me use some examples of other industries to illustrate the point.

The Music Industry

The business is content creation; melodies, lyrics, videos, live presentations, etc.
The product comes in the form of CD’s, DVD’s, downloads, posters, T-shirts, tickets etc.

The Baseball Industry

The business is content in the form of the actual game, the play-by-play, the TV broadcast, the reporting, etc.
The product is tickets, jerseys and caps, hot dogs and beer, etc.

The Restaurant Industry

The business is content in atmosphere, presentation, description, expertise, service, etc.
The product is meat, vegetables and alcohol, etc.

...CONTINUED

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How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Roberta Murphy

2008-02-28T12:14:09Z

(Originally posted on the RET Monday the 25th)

Here we are with our fourth article in a series of interviews that we've conducted with a handful of our Tomato Blogger Clients.

Our mission throughout these interviews is to learn how the efforts of our blogging clients have made significant, and positive differences in their real estate career.

Today’s interview is with Roberta Murphy of both SanDiegoPreviews.com and LuxuryHomeDigest.com.

Roberta was one of our very first clients and an early graduate of our intense blog training course. Way back in the Fall of 2006, Roberta contacted us after reading our writings on ActiveRain. She contracted us to build LuxuryHomeDigest, a blog focusing on a blend of Luxury Living and the world of Luxury Real Estate.

Shortly there after, she hired us to convert her main website, SanDiegoPreviews.com into a full featured blogsite and intense community resource.

Tomato:

So, you know the theme, how should we jump into this? Should we cut to the chase?

Roberta:

Might as well. Shoot.

Tomato:

All right then, what’s the biggest, noticeable difference in your real estate career since your blogging has become the center of your marketing efforts?

Roberta:

Making the move from Website to Blogsite has helped me achieve results in the search engines that I never imagined possible. I am ecstatic with the dominance I have in Google.

Let me start from the beginning. I had been online for years with SanDiegoPreviews.com as a static real estate website. I hate to admit it, but it is the truth, at one point we were spending $5000 a month on Pay-Per-Click advertising. It was working, which is why we paid, but it was getting so expensive, and it was always rising, with no end in sight.

Basically, I saw the writing on the wall in about October of 2006, and new I had to go for organic results in the Search Engines, and fast. That’s when I called you.

After several months of regular blogging, what’s proving to be amazing is that we are coming up all over the tops of the search results pages that are hugely competitive. Terms we used to pay several dollars a click for are now ours, organically. Back in August I sent you a list of over 50 competitive terms that we are top 10 for, and in most cases top 3. And that was just for SanDiegoPreviews. There were another few dozen for LuxuryHomeDigest. That list has grown tremendously from there.

Tomato:

Well, besides shedding your Pay-Per-Click expense, what else have you found leaving behind once the blog proved to be such an effective lead generator?

Roberta:

No more newspaper ads, no more magazine ads, most of my mailings… but my favorite is when I get calls from vendors looking to sell me advertising, like shopping cart ads and things, and I just tell them that I blog. Usually there is silence on the other end of the line. Then I thank them for calling and hang up.

On physical advertising that I continue, like my signs, everything says “As Featured On LuxuryHomeDigest.com”

Tomato:

So, do you have any particularly interesting stories of success that you would like to share?

Roberta:

Oh do I. This one is great.

So I did an article, as I usually do, on this listing I had that was referred to me by Brian Brady. I met Brian on ActiveRain, so it was a blogger to blogger referral.

Anyhow, the listing is priced at 1.5 Million Euros. (approx $2.2 Million), and belongs to this couple, and opera singer and an artist, that are looking to move to Europe, preferably Crete.

So get this email from an expatriate, currently living in Ireland, that wants to move back to the US, preferably California. He is enamored by the home, and wants to see it immediately.

So he flies here to San Diego, and decides it is perfect.

But here’s the big twist.

He is now selling his 12 acre, 16^th Century country home in Ireland. You remember how the California sellers are looking to move to Europe. You got it. They are now flying to Ireland to go see his old home. The buyer and the sellers are swapping homes. It is unbelievable. All because of that blog article.

Tomato:

That is amazing. Crazy, and amazing.

Well, I like to ask the same closing question in my interviews. I know we didn’t cover a ton of topics, so was there something I should have asked you that I neglected to?

Roberta:

You could have asked me what advice I would give to new bloggers out there trying to forge a name for themselves online.

Tomato:

Go for it.

Roberta:

Take your personal interests and turn them into a second blog. I know, it sounds like more work, but it actually makes the commitment to writing that much more enjoyable, and then you start to develop an audience that shares similar interests to you… and that’s when the fun starts!

Tomato:

Thanks so much for sharing with us Roberta, it has always been such a pleasure having you on the vine.

We look forward to hearing more stories from you again soon.

Roberta:

My pleasure Jim.

—

We’d love to hear from you about how blogging has changed your real estate career.

Feel free to post below, or email me to interview you directly for a future post. I’ve heard some great stories, so stay tuned!

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

Other Interviews with Tomato Bloggers:
Week 1 - Jackie Colson-Miller
Week 2 – Uncle Jack LeVine
Week 3 – Mary DeLuca

7 Reasons Why Your Local Real Estate Blogging Peers Are Not Your Competition

2008-02-24T17:48:12Z

Because the clients we work with have such a positive experience with their blogging, they commonly express the concern that they would prefer us to not educate others in their geographic areas of focus. Sometimes they ask in jest, other times they are actually dead serious and willing to pay for exclusivity.

As unwise as this is from a business growth standpoint for us, this is not the reason I discourage this manner of thinking. Below are 7 arguments in favor of the growth of the real estate blogging community, in your town. And, selling more custom blogs and training is not one of them.

1. Coke Needs Pepsi. McDonalds Needs Burger King.

Why? Because the consumer should not be discouraged to get more of what they want, just because they can't have their preferred product. Coke can't be in all places at all times. So Pepsi is there to provide the thirst quench. Just as McDonalds can't be on every corner, BK is there is fill the void. This keeps the consumer perpetually satisfied.

The consumer still prefers Coke over Pepsi (or vice-versa), but in a time of need, is at least able to get more-or-less what they are looking for.

Your Blogging Audience will react in the same manner. If you get their attention with relevant, interesting and regular content, you will earn a fan. For those days when you are not there, the consumer wants to be able to continue to satisfy the their need for local real estate blog content, at the same time, wishing it was yours.

Sure you risk losing them to another neighborly blogger, but only if you put out an inferior product. Trust your fans. Let them go, and be confident that they will come back to you when you publish again.

2. Build Win-Win Relationships

Show an interest in your neighbors real estate blog, and they and their audience will show an interest in yours.

This is such a foreign concept for many agents that have been fighting for client loyalty for so many years. But the truth of the matter is that it is precisely this reciprocating effort that will be the difference between a good blogger and a great blogger.

Initiating conversations in emails and in the comments of your peers' blogs will both establish the recognition of your name and your blog as well as help you earn their trust and their visit.

Bringing local Realtors and their audience to your site to contribute to the discussions on your platform is the reward. But, you'll need to make the first (or many) effort(s) by playing nice on theirs.

This is certainly another instance of:
Keep your friends close, and your ~~enemies~~ competition even closer.

Pay it forward. It will come back to you.

...CONTINUED

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7 Reasons Why Your Local Real Estate Blogging Peers Are Not Your Competition

Is Your Website Working Against Your Real Estate Career?

2008-02-20T17:10:50Z

No one is denying that there has been a shake-up in the real estate industry.

Empty cubicles, where there once was a waiting list, tell the story better than I could.
A thinning of the herd is always a positive thing for those staying put, but the bottom line is that there will always be more agents in the field than ready-to-act buyers and sellers.

So we ask, what are you doing to ensure that you are a 'stayer' in 2008?
There is common saying that I can't see being much more appropriate than now: Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Along with this national 'shift in the market', that has many agents looking for a new career, there is another 'shift' that will certainly lead to the frustration and demise of many seasoned and novice agents alike.

The Digital Divide.

In 1997, an agent having an online identity was the exception and today it is the rule.
Unfortunately, today 99% of these online real estate identities have been rendered mostly useless.
The typical agent's website is a glorified digital brochure with it's only useful tool being the ubiquitous home search button.
So the rhetorical question becomes: Of what use is a canned real estate agent website to today's ready-to-act buyers and sellers?

Your challenge: Today's internet user (real estate related) is looking for Right Now Answers to their Right Now Questions. They are looking for and expecting Perspective and Insight from a changing industry.

Being a huge fan of Wired Magazine, I am going to lift one of their standbys in order to illustrate how the industry is failing to meet the expectations of the internet user and what can be done to improve the effort.

Introducing the Expired, Tired and Wired when it comes to the online presence of a real estate agent.

...CONTINUED

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN TRUNCATED FROM ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION, AND THE REMAINDER OF IT CAN BE FOUND BY SIMPLY CLICKING BELOW:

Is Your Website Working Against Your Real Estate Career?

How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Mary DeLuca

2008-02-09T15:31:15Z

This article is the third in a series of interviews that we've conducted with a handful of our Tomato Blogger Clients.

The theme throughout these interviews is to learn how their blogging efforts have made huge differences in their real estate career.

Today, allow me to introduce Mary DeLuca. Mary’s blog is Beltway Ramblings, covering the community and real estate happenings around Arlington, Virginia, aka the Beltway in Washington, DC. Her launch date was June of 2007.

Tomato-

Mary, you jumped at the chance to be interviewed, what has you so fired up about blogging?

Mary-

Blogging has done wonders for my real estate career in so many ways. Firstly, the expose to me as an agent in the area is so much greater. It’s unbelievable how many people are telling me that they are reading my blog. But what has really made such a huge difference is the fact that it has opened my mind to the opportunity that exists in the business of real estate, even in a sour market.

The blogging community that I have become a part of really helps me see clearly just how much positive news there is in our industry. A stark contrast to the talk around the watercooler in the office where the mood is depressed.

I have just wrapped up the best year in my career where many are expressing that this has been their worst. And blogging and the blogging community has been a critical reason for that success.

Tomato-

I remember that when we first spoke in June of last year, you were telling me how you were on internet overload. Just confused about what you tools you should be using and whether or not all the money you had spent on real estate websites so far was even worth it.

How has your training through us and embrace of the blog as your central marketing tool changed all that?

Mary-

Jim, can you excuse me for a second, there is someone at the door, and I think that is is a package that I am expecting.

I’m back. And it was the package I was expecting; my brand new Blackberry camera phone. I needed a new one because I had just worn the other one out.

So I guess that gives you an idea of how far I have come. I am so connected now, it’s crazy. After I got comfortable with the blogging, and then learning all about the tools that make my life easier and career more successful it has all just fallen into place. The blogging, the eflyers, the rss feeds, the social bookmarking, social networking… all of it now makes so much sense. I am actually telling people what they need to do. It’s awesome.

Tomato-

So, I don’t want to repeat the same story we’ve heard from the earlier interviews, but in a sentence, how has your marketing approach changed since you embraced the blog as a major part of your strategy?

Mary-

Jim, all my prospecting is done through the internet. And, I couldn’t be happier about it.

Tomato-

Do we get to blame all that on blogging?

Mary-

Actually, it all goes back to the community I have found online. The exposure that the blog has created by itself is huge. Also, the Tomato Forum and the community is like a big referral network. It’s weird. We’re all birds of a feather, us bloggers. And I feel that I have gotten to know so many great people through the blogging community… I trust them, and I would be happy to refer business to them, as they are to me.

Tomato-

Is blogging making you a better Realtor?

Mary-

Definitely. It is forcing me to be so vigilant. Now I really look at and think about things from the other side of the transaction. I need to be connected to the community, and engaged in what matters to the homeowners and those moving into town. It has definitely improved my approach to my chosen career.

Tomato-

My signature question: was there something that I should have asked you in this brief interview that I neglected to?

Mary-

You didn’t ask me what my favorite thing about blogging is.

Tomato-

Well…

Mary-

I get found for so many different things. The SEO is huge. I write about something, wondering if anyone cares… and then POW! Google brings another visitor to read the article I just published yesterday. That’s awesome.

Tomato-

Thanks for your time Mary, we certainly appreciate it!

We’d love to hear from you about how blogging has changed your real estate career.
Feel free to post below, or email me to interview you directly for a future post.
I’ve heard some great stories, so stay tuned!

Other Interviews with Tomato Bloggers:
Week 1 - Jackie Colson-Miller
Week 2 – Uncle Jack LeVine
Week 4 - Roberta Murphy

Why Worrying About SEO Is Detrimental to Your Real Estate Blog

2008-02-08T12:53:34Z

Last year I wrote a post called 96% of All Real Estate Blogs Will Fail.

It has become more and more clear that I failed to mention another clear reason why real estate bloggers are bound to abandon their blogging efforts.

S.E.O.
Search Engine Optimization

Realtors help buyers buy property.
Realtors help sellers sell property.

If this is going to their business model for success, it needs to be a full-time job.

Business Blogging is a marketing effort.
However, it is a marketing effort that, as we've pointed out countless times, needs to be a discipline in order for it to work. In order for a full-time REALTOR to install a demanding discipline such as blogging as a piece of their marketing puzzle, it needs to be something that is not a challenge to embrace.

The more challenging that it becomes, the less likely it is going to work into their business model.

This is exactly why SEO will kill your real estate blog.

Blogs, when properly designed, coded and submitted, will have an enormous amount of built in SEO power.
This is FACT.

We have so many examples of our Tomato Graduates dominating desired search results pages that it would be ridiculous to list them. If you doubt it, call any one of them. However, their level of understanding when it comes to SEO is basic, fundamental and intentionally pragmatic.

And whatever happened to the talk of the Long Tail? The power of your ever-growing content (articles published) is undeniably the most powerful search engine tool you have. The best part: all you have to do is hit publish to make it work.

The Long Tail is the bloggers best friend. Because it can make for spectacular results, and it is not something that needs to be studied as a science, bloggers are encouraged to continue hitting publish, and continue to maintain the blog as an important element of their marketing strategy.

Unfortunately, a focus on SEO throws a wrench into the party.

Here’s just a sampling of what I have seen happen when mastering SEO with one’s blog becomes a concern.

(TO CONTINUE READING AND TO LEARN THE CONSEQUENCES OF WORRYING ABOUT SEO - YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THEJUMP TO THE ORIGINAL LOCATION OF THIS ARTICLE)

Why Worrying About SEO Is Detrimental to Your Real Estate Blog

Blogging Etiquette - The Blog Comment Policy - Do You Need One?

2008-02-05T13:41:32Z

Blogs are meant to be a two-way street. We are blogging for an audience. Engaging that audience to participate is a huge part of the the motivation and an element that can define a blog’s success.

So where do you draw the line?

What do you consider acceptable behavior by the audience, on your real estate blog?

For a lot of real estate bloggers, their blog is an extension of their business. This means that their reputation, credibility, personality, works,message and even their career are potentially on the line with every article published.

What are you doing to protect the above?

The following are a number of items that range from mildly unacceptable to extremely offensive when it comes to the behavior of those leaving comments on your site. Setting a proper comment policy for your real estate blog can be used as a deterrent and for piece of mind when choosing to edit or delete offensive comments left on your business blog.

Keep in mind that some bloggers are simply not offended by some of the following, and this is just a list that ranges from mildly annoying to clearly unacceptable.

1. Drivel
You don’t see it much in the comments on business blogs… it being such an immature act and all, but comments like “First” or other such one-word comments are just dumb.

2. Off Topic
Some people feel that because they have a keyboard and an internet connection they now have right to discuss whatever they want, wherever they want.

3. Hijacking
When the article takes on a life of its own in the comments, because of a heated, mostly off-topic, discussion between (or among) commentors. Basically, the article loses control of the intended message because the commentors have taken to using it as a platform for their own discussion.

...Continued

There are 16 other items, as well as examples of different Comment Policies for your ENJOYMENT.

Get there by following the below link to the original location of:

Blogging Etiquette - The Blog Comment Policy - Do You Need One?

Recycle to Get The Most Out of Your Real Estate Blog Articles and Pictures

2008-01-29T16:02:12Z

Because of the global exposure Teresa Boardman receives, and the fact that she is a regular contributor here, I am regularly asked how she is able to continually keep up the vigorous posting pace on her real estate blog.

I can’t speak for her, but I can say that the article she just sent over give us some tips on how to get more than one life out of your blog articles and the pictures that you snap for them.

I Already Said That

By Teresa Boardman

My blog has a lot of words in it. There are almost 1000 posts. Posts that I wrote a couple of years ago are still out there marketing for me. They work hard and people contact me because of them. Last week I got two inquires from posts I wrote in October of 2006.

Writing words and taking pictures does take time.
I estimate that I have 1500 to 2000 pictures posted on my St. Paul Real Estate blog.

I like to get as much use out of my content as I can. There are days where I feel like I don’t have another sentence in me. When someone sends me an email with a questions I often send a response and include a link to a blog post as a more in-depth answer to the question. If I already wrote it do I really need to say it again?

TO CONTINUE READING TERESA'S INSIGHTFUL ARTICLE, PLEASE MAKE THE JUMP TO ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION:

Recycle to Get The Most Out of Your Real Estate Blog Articles and Pictures

3 Reasons Your Real Estate Blog Loads So Darn Slow, and the Solutions

2008-01-27T19:20:31Z

Want to lose the interest of a new visitor to your blog?
Ensure that it takes more than a few seconds for your blogsite to load.
Not only will you lose their attention, but your site will give the impression that it is not user-friendly.
Both are the kiss of death.

The challenge is that many of the offenders have no idea that their site is taking so long to load.

By regularly visiting their own blog, Temporary Internet Files get collected onto the site owner’s computer, facilitating the speedy display of their site, keeping them oblivious to the ugly reality.

A new visitor to your site has no 'build up' of temporary files, so their first experience entails loading all the files on your site upon visit. If you have any of the following challenges, your site may be guilty of turning off new visitors.

1. Image Size.

It's not the visual size of the image, it's the file size.
An image that appears no larger than a postage stamp can actually be a 5MB image that will take several seconds to load on even the fastest of internet connections.

The Solution:
Avoid resizing images inside your blog article editor.
This is where challenge happens. Shrinking an image in the blog editor does not make the file size any smaller.

Resize before uploading them to the blog article editor using an image editor.
My preferred free image editors:
Irfan View – Downloadable program
Picasa – Downloadable program
Pixer – Online
Picnik – Online (registration required)

To Get The 2 Remaining Reasons and Solutions You'll Need
To Make the Jump To It's Original Location on the Real Estate Tomato:

continued: 3 Reasons Your Real Estate Blog Loads So Darn Slow, and the Solutions

Come on back to comment... or leave on there.

How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Uncle Jack LeVine

2008-01-25T20:08:21Z

This article is the second in a series of interviews that we've conducted with a handful of our Tomato Blogger Clients.

The theme throughout these interviews is to learn how their blogging efforts have made huge differences in their real estate career.

Today we meet "Uncle Jack". Jack Levine is the author of Very Vintage Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jack originally began blogging way back in October of 2005. He may even have been the very first real estate blogger in Las Vegas.

After a break from blogging in late 2006, Jack reemerged with the official launch Very Vintage Vegas in March of 2007. A few months later, Jack hired us to take his blog and blogging skills to the next level.
The following is how it has changed his life.

Tomato-
I know that you blog quite regularly. How often do you post and what's the secret to the pace you maintain?

Uncle Jack-
Since I made the decision to make the blog the main focus of my marketing efforts, March of last year, I'd say I post anywhere from 2 to 4 times a day.

To keep that pace, I tend to post a lot of easy to publish stuff. Almost every day I do a Worst MLS Photo, and commonly keep my editorial posts to under 3 paragraphs. Less is more, I guess.

Tomato-
What is the biggest change to your real estate career since you started VeryVintageVegas?

Uncle Jack-

Suddenly I'm famous. It's so common for me to meet someone in the real estate world here in Vegas that knows exactly who I am because of my blog. Now I am memorable because of my blog. They remember the name.

It such a change from when I had a template site with Advanced Access. I had that site for years, no leads, no mentions of it, no one knew me because of it... I had it listed on all my marketing, everything... and it never produced.

With the blog, it was only a matter of months and I was not only getting great business from it, but it has really transformed me into a very well know agent in the city. It's amazing. Every buyer and every seller I work with tells me that they know and read my blog. It's unbelievable, the difference.

Tomato-
Just as I had asked Jackie last week, what are the changes in your marketing strategies now that the blog is at the center of your marketing efforts?

Uncle Jack-
I used to do all the usual stuff, right up until last year. Print, magazines, newspaper ads, classifieds, mailings... all that stuff has been shed.

I still have the business cards, yard signs and property fliers, but everything is now geared to brand the blog and plant the seed to read.

Tomato-
What were your blogging goals when you started back up again in March of 2007?

Uncle Jack-
I wanted to become a listing agent in the niche market of Vintage Homes in Las Vegas. Homes that were built in the late 1940's to the early 60's...back when there were only like 50,000 people living here.

I know I keep saying it's amazing, but it is. I am famous in that niche here now, and it has all been because of this past year's blogging. For the first time in my life, I am a listing agent, and in fact, I am getting all these calls to list a house where they have already made their decision to list with me. They aren't talking with anyone else.

Tomato-
What's the most common type of business contact you get from the blog?

Uncle Jack-
Recent arrivals to Las Vegas. Out-of-towners that moved here like 5 or 6 months ago. They've been reading my site since they landed in town, and now they are ready to talk.

Tomato-
What power has the blog given you? I mean, you don't just become a well known real estate agent because you blog.

Uncle Jack-
The blog has given me the opportunity to be recognized as the expert. I have credibility now that I just couldn't get when I was providing the same information to an individual [in emails]. Now I get to share my knowledge with a huge, and ever-growing audience and the effect is unbelievable.

Tomato-
It's been a tough year in Vegas real estate, yet you seem super optimistic. What gives?

Uncle Jack-
Survival this year has been 100% because of my blogging. I am doing better than almost all the agents I know. I am sure that I too would have been struggling if I hadn't committed to it.

Tomato-
Is there something I should have asked you, but haven't regarding the change that blogging has brought you this past year?

Uncle Jack-
You never asked what joining the Tomato Team has done for my blogging.

The out of town leads have quadrupled since September when we [Steve Christmas and I] became Tomatoes. Learning to SEO my posts and eliminating all those unknown mistakes has made a huge difference in the volume and quality of those contacts.

Tomato-
If I could blush, I would.
Thanks for your time Jack, we really appreciate it!

We’d love to hear from you about how blogging has changed your real estate career. Feel free to post below, or email me to interview you directly for a future post.

Other Career Changing Interviews with Tomato Bloggers:
Week 1 - Jackie Colson-Miller
Week 3 - Mary DeLuca
Week 4 - Roberta Murphy

(this list will update weekly)

How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Jackie Colson-Miller

2008-01-24T20:28:30Z

This is the first in a series of interviews we’ve conducted with some of our clients that have completely made-over their marketing strategies since the launch of their real estate blog.

Our goal is to illustrate just how much the Internet has become a part of their client acquisition process now that the blog has become the center of that strategy.

Our first interview is with the author of Real Estate Sizzle, Jackie Colson-Miller of Tampa, Florida. She launched her site and training with us in March last year (2007).

During arguably the worst year in recent real estate history, Jackie finds herself thinking outside the box, embracing new tools, philosophies and efforts. With a focus on real estate blogging, internet savvy clients, and increasing productivity, Jackie is reaping the benefits. As of Jan 2008, she has 13 concurrent Tampa area listings for the first time in her real estate career. All generated because of her new approach.

-Tomato:
Jackie, how would you describe your current marketing strategy outside of the Internet marketing you do?

-Jackie:
Besides the bench, the yard signs and my business cards, which all showcase the RealEstateSizzle.com, it is non-existent.

Nearly all my efforts for new client acquisition are centered around the Internet.

-Tomato:
Well, what did you used to do, so far as traditional marketing is concerned, that you no longer take the time to do now?

-Jackie:
So much. I did mail-outs, holiday items, recipe cards, just-listed, just-sold, open houses, newsletters... you know, the usual and then some.

-Tomato:
And now you do none of those? No open houses? No holiday stuff?

-Jackie:
I have done a rare open open house. But the rest of it I have completely abandoned.

Put it this way... when I go to a listing appointment I set the homeowners' expectation that there will be no print advertising, no fliers, no magazines, no mailings... nothing of the traditional sort. I then back that up with my entire online marketing strategy including my blog readership and its dominance in the search engines, custom online property fliers, email broadcasts and the social networking reach that I have.

My goal is to attract clients that are like-minded. I want to work with people that appreciate and understand this approach to achieving the results they are expecting when it comes to getting their home sold.

I also plan on doing some future holiday marketing campaigns, but you can be sure that they will be a platform that advertises the blog more than anything. I used to advertise myself, now it's all about the 'Sizzle".

-Tomato:
Besides blogging, online marketing and seeking out internet savvy clients how else has your commitment to integrating the Internet into your business changed your approach to real estate?

-Jackie:
In just the last several months, I have moved to a total online transaction. I have changed title companies to one that supports the ability make the real estate transaction, from listing to sale, a completely online experience for all parties involved.

I encourage my clients and the other parties involved in the transaction to use email as the primary communication tool. I believe all Realtors should embrace this as a rule. Email makes for a very clear and searchable paper trail, keeping everyone on the same page.

-Tomato:
What about office time and meetings and such?

-Jackie:
Believe it or not, I have stopped going to all non-mandatory office meetings. They are a waste of my time. I have goals in mind that actually separate me from more than just taking the office meetings out of my schedule. After reading The 4–Hour Work Week, I'm really looking at ways to increase my productivity and decrease my time-spend.

Blogging, internet marketing and the online transaction are all huge pieces of that puzzle. Soon you'll see that I am working less and less from Tampa, and more and more from anywhere I choose.

-Tomato:
As long as you’re blogging regularly, we’ll never notice

-Jackie:
That’s the idea.

Thanks for your time Jackie!

We’d love to hear from you about how blogging has changed your real estate career. Feel free to post below, or email me to interview you directly for a future post.

**No Required Jump Link To The Tomato On This Post... But if you would like to read the super nice comments Jackie got when we posted this article on the Tomato, you can check them out here.

Three Letters I Don't Think About When Writing A Post For My Real Estate Blog

2008-01-22T20:20:22Z

Our favorite “Tell-it-like-it-is” correspondent from the real estate blogosphere, Teresa Boardman, is back with her first Tomato contribution of 2008. Recently there has been some discussion as to what approach we should take when it comes to considering the search engines with a real estate blog article writing style.

Teresa, a proven success with her straight forward approach, serves up a spoonful of perspective, keeping us all in check:

The Three Letters I Don’t Think About When Writing a Post For My Real Estate Blog

By Teresa Boardman

There are three letters that I don’t think about when I write a blog post, they are S, E and O. I consider my posts and photographs to be a kind of creative endeavor and I can’t be creative if I am thinking about Google. I do need to attract search engines but my main goal is to attract the people who are using the search engines. With almost 60% of my traffic coming from search engine traffic I think I am doing just fine.

The people that I attract are much more important to me than the search engines. They are the kind of people that I want to work with and they want to work with me. I don’t have to get all salesy with them or overcome objections. They know what they want and they want to me to help them get it.

If I worried about how many keywords are in each post or how many categories each post is in or how each photo is labeled I couldn’t write a word. If I did everything just so for search engine optimization I think my readers would leave me.

Don’t get me wrong. My blog is optimized. Typepad is a great platform for SEO and even though mine is highly customized it has all the bells and whistles. Beyond that my job is to provide content. I know I am repeating myself but it is the content that makes it all work. Not keyword stuffed content, but rather, stories of the ordinary.

The Real Estate Tomato

Real Estate Blog Growing Pains? Share the Load, Multiply the Success.

So where does a real estate blogger go from here?

A Clever and Effective Way To Gain More Real Estate Blog Subscribers

The Real Estate Broker Blog 2.0 - Plug In To The Solution

Well, we've solved all the above and more!

1. Full Featured Custom Company Blogsite

Such as:2. Unlimited Agent Blogsites3. Company Intranet Blog and User Management...and how we've overcome all the above challenges...

Writing Your Real Estate Blog Primarily to Google is a Squandered Opportunity.

Can My Real Estate Blog Help Me Talk Like a Woman?

Can My Real Estate Blog Help Me Talk Like a Woman?

All You Ever Needed To Know About Blogging SEO, But Were Afraid To Say So.

Well Then, How Did They Do It?

How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Brad Nix and the RETechSouth Event

Real Estate Blogging Business Plan For 2008 - Boots On the Ground Will Help You Find and Service Buyers

So what’s “embracing it [blogging] properly” supposed to mean?

Starting A Real Estate Blog? Grab That Email Database, Let's Get You Read

Email Marketing For Bloggers

The Real Estate Business Is Content, Not Home Selling

The Music Industry

The Baseball Industry

The Restaurant Industry

How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Roberta Murphy

7 Reasons Why Your Local Real Estate Blogging Peers Are Not Your Competition

1. Coke Needs Pepsi. McDonalds Needs Burger King.

2. Build Win-Win Relationships

Is Your Website Working Against Your Real Estate Career?

How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Mary DeLuca

Why Worrying About SEO Is Detrimental to Your Real Estate Blog

Unfortunately, a focus on SEO throws a wrench into the party.

Blogging Etiquette - The Blog Comment Policy - Do You Need One?

There are 16 other items, as well as examples of different Comment Policies for your ENJOYMENT.Get there by following the below link to the original location of:Blogging Etiquette - The Blog Comment Policy - Do You Need One?

Recycle to Get The Most Out of Your Real Estate Blog Articles and Pictures

I Already Said That

3 Reasons Your Real Estate Blog Loads So Darn Slow, and the Solutions

1. Image Size.

How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Uncle Jack LeVine

How Has Blogging Changed Your Real Estate Career? - Jackie Colson-Miller

Three Letters I Don't Think About When Writing A Post For My Real Estate Blog

The Three Letters I Don’t Think About When Writing a Post For My Real Estate Blog

To Continue Reading the Wisdom of Teresa Boardman, You'll Need To Make The Jump Below to the Original Location of our Post:

Such as:
2. Unlimited Agent Blogsites
3. Company Intranet Blog and User Management
...and how we've overcome all the above challenges...

There are 16 other items, as well as examples of different Comment Policies for your ENJOYMENT.

Get there by following the below link to the original location of:

Blogging Etiquette - The Blog Comment Policy - Do You Need One?