The Real Estate Tomato

WARNING! Horn Tooting: The Inman List of the Top 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers for 2008 Is Out, and We're On It!

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:13:20 -0500

After what has been an absolutely whirlwind year of company growth, product development and business travel, it’s hard to believe we had any time to blog at all. So, I have to admit, being recognized for the 2^nd year in a row as one of the most influential real estate bloggers, came as a bit of a surprise… albeit a pleasant surprise.

I’d like to think that the reason that I have been recognized as being so influential is because of the success of the many hundreds of real estate bloggers that we have developed over the last 2 years.

Collectively our clients have published 10’s of 1000’s of great looking and informative blog posts. So as much as I would like to take the credit for this achievement, the real honor belongs to our incredibly talented staff and to the dedicated bloggers of Tomato Nation.

Here’s the complete list of Inman News’ selection for 2008:
(In no particular order)

Congratulations to all those selected!

Broker and Agent Blogs

Kris Berg Founder, The San Diego Home Blog
Teresa Boardman Founder, St. Paul Real Estate Blog
Noah Rosenblatt Founder, Urbandigs.com
Daniel Rothamel Founder, Real Estate Zebra
Jay Thompson Founder, The Phoenix Real Estate Guy

Community, Multi-Author Blogs

Lani Anglin-Rosales New Media Director, Agent Genius
Greg Swann Founder, Bloodhound Blog

Mortgage Blogs

Todd Carpenter Founder, Lenderama
Dan Green Founder, The Mortgage Reports

Housing Economics Blogs

Barry Ritholtz Founder, The Big Picture
"Calculated Risk" Founder, Calculated Risk

Industry Commentary Blogs

Michael Wurzer Founder, FBS Blog
Joseph Ferrara Co-founder, Sellsius Real Estate Blog
Joel Burslem Founder, Future of Real Estate Marketing

Marketing and How-To Blogs

Dustin Luther Founder, 4Realz.net
Nicole "NikNik" Nicolay Co-author, MyTechOpinion
Jim Cronin Founder, The Real Estate Tomato

Local Blogs

Lockhart Steele Founder, Curbed
Jonathan Butler Founder, Brownstoner

Company Bloggers

Rudy Bachraty Social Media Guru, Trulia
Drew Meyers Co-author, Zillow Blog, Geek Estate Blog
Glenn Kelman Contributor, Redfin blog

Journalist Blogs

Peter Viles Co-author, L.A. Land
John Cook Co-founder, Where Are John and Todd

Housing Bubble Blogger

Patrick Killelea Founder, Patrick.net and Reality Parser

Why Should I Blog? - It's About the Value of Being Seen as the Expert in Your Niche

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:23:22 -0500

As I was standing at the podium at the Christie’s Global Conference talking about the marriage that is Real Estate and Content, an idea struck me that at the time I only had an opportunity to touch on... knowing it deserved more.

The audience I was speaking to deals mostly in incredibly high end luxury homes. We're talking mansions, castles, villas and the like. What struck me was the idea that if you were to break down the value of their time when applied to working with one of these listings, you're easily looking at several hundred dollars an hour... and perhaps the prospect of putting several hours a week into blogging for business might be difficult to justify.

The more I thought about it and considered the true value of real estate blogging, one question came to be the measure: What would you invest to be the leader of an audience of potential and qualified clients looking forward to hearing from you?

The power of blogging and the answer to why you should, lies in the goal of developing an audience that you can lead.

Blogging is taking the initiative to be a leader, a leader in thought, reporting, opinion and exposure.

In the offline world, you may have 90% percent of your market wrapped, but what about the online mind-share?
Are you seen as the leader?
Do you have the exposure?
Are your opinions respected?
Are you recognized as a resource that stands apart?

TO CONTINUE READING PLEASE VISIT THE ARTICLE AT ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION ON THE TOMATO:

Why Should I Blog? - It's About the Value of Being Seen as the Expert in Your Niche

Disclaimer: THIS ARTICLE 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.

Hey Real Estate Bloggers, Where Are You Aiming When It Comes To Subscriptions and Subscribers?

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:56:20 -0500

Today’s post is a special treat! Dave Smith of the Real Estate Blog Lab (and many other blogs) has found that he has so much to say, that he needs yet another outlet… and we’re happy to be there for him.

We are looking forward to publishing at least a couple of posts a month from him, focused specifically on our most popular topic of Real Estate Blogging Advice.

So, without further adieu…

Subscriptions and Subscribers: Where Are You Aiming?

By Dave Smith

Much is made of getting Traffic, Readers and Subscribers to your blog.

However, not all blogs should have the same goals. If your blog is monetized then it is clear that you want as many readers and subscribers as possible to see your pages. But how many of us who are Real Estate Bloggers have actually monetized our blogs and are looking to make money from traffic and clicks? I doubt very many are making a living or any real revenue from ads.

Extra reading from RET:
7 Compelling Reasons Google AdSense Will Ruin Your Real Estate Blog

I wrote today’s post to examine the difference between a short-term need Business Blog and a long-term need Business Blog.

Ongoing Interests Vs The Specific Need or Want

When I'm searching for a new home I start searching on the net. I look at homes, communities, activities etc. But once I've bought my home and moved to the community I stop reading about real estate and available homes in the community.

I was using a targeted search to find specific information about a particular event in my life.

This is unlike my hobby "Photography" this is something I'm always reading about. There are new things in the field of photography going on all the time. Cameras, software, photo sharing sites, services for storing photos. Tons of information is out there for my hobby and I subscribe to those blogs which keep me coming back and reading because this is an ongoing passion in my life.

I also subscribe to several photography magazines for the same reason. One about Landscape Photography, one about Outdoor Photography and one on photography in general. I have blogs that fit in each of these categories.

At the Real Estate Blog Lab I want subscribers.

Unless anyone plans to quit blogging or stop using WordPress as their blog platform I want readers coming back to read what I've discovered about the things going on in the WordPress and REBlogworld (I like that term, thanks to Todd Carpenter and Jason Berman).

My business blogs are not structured to attract that regular reader traffic. I'm writing to have informative content about Tucson on the internet structured in such a way that it comes up competitively in lots of different searches (The Longtail). This means I'm looking for more pre-qualified clicks and readers - not long term subscribers. If someone subscribes, that’s fine, but that's not why I'm blogging and I'm not going to focus on getting more subscribers to my business blogs.

If you author a blog with a specific topic of ongoing interest, then subscribers are your goal. If your blog is to help provide a service or meet a short term need, subscribers are bonus.

To Find The Remainder of this Informative Article, You Will Have To Visit This Article At Its Original Location On The Real Estate Tomato: Click Below.

Hey Real Estate Bloggers, Where Are You Aiming When it Comes to Subscriptions and Subscribers?

6 Secret Resources for Finding Real Estate Blog Topics That Attract Buyers.

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:53:42 -0500

“The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable,
a perpetual series of occasions for hope.”

-John Buchan

Actually attracting real estate buyers through the act of blogging can be seen as a lot like fishing. It’s the location of the bait, not the quality of the equipment that hooks the fish. Knowing what to write about, at the right time, can be as rewarding as a favorite, yet little-known fishing hole.

One species of Ready-To-Act Buyer is the newly or soon to be relocated.

Knowing what questions they have and where they are finding their answers can have you standing waders deep in favorable opportunity.

New-to-towners have a ton of questions that they are using the internet to answer:

Where to stay?
Where to eat?
What activities are there to do?
What to avoid?
…and so on.

To me, the value of a local Real Estate Agent is beyond the ‘offer-to-close’ events. I see the agent as much a community consultant as a transaction consultant. A well rounded real estate blog is a reflection of this range.

You commonly see RE bloggers detailing the amenities about their different neighborhoods, reviewing a new restaurant in town, or digging up interesting historical facts.

I’ve heard the argument that these kinds of community topic posts are a detraction from gaining the Ready-To-Act Audience that we yearn for. I couldn’t disagree more. As necessary as the ‘real estate consulting’ content is, it would be like cooking without seasoning to ignore the value of well aimed, and even whimsical ‘local color’ content.

The challenge with writing effective local color content is that knowing your town doesn’t always equate to knowing what blog topics make a wise investment of your time.

There are several incredibly resourceful, yet mostly untapped websites available when it comes to uncovering the “Right Now” questions of a potentially relocating audience.

1. TripAdvisor.com

This site is actually one of my least favorite travel sites online, but yet it proves to be a fountain of topics for targeted local color articles.

The reason I dislike it is exactly the reason why it is such a great resource for topics. Every time I start searching on Google to plan a trip, this site is always in the top 10 results. I normally look to find the Mom and Pop boutique inns, and it is sites like this one that have a strangle hold on the search results, making it difficult to find the places I would prefer to stay.

Because it has such a solid search engine presence, many people looking for answers to their travel questions find themselves relying on it for answers in the well maintained forums.

Take for example a TripAdvisor search for San Diego, CA.
There are an abundance of conversations about things to do, restaurants, night-life, where to stay, attractions, and resources.

TripAdvisor Forum San Diego
Sampling of Recent Topics:
– Snorkeling in La Jolla
– Condo to rent
– Moving to San Diego
– Dinner recommendations

I must make it clear that in any social network structure you can end up wasting valuable time by getting caught up in the social aspect of it. You must always remember that you are looking to leverage these networks to improve your business, not detract from it.

Look at the exposure you can generate in forums such as TripAdvisor as opportunities to drive traffic to your blog, where readers will recognize that you are committed to their education and appreciate the focus of content you have built for them to enjoy (and respond to).

You are looking to expand the audience that embraces your blog as a resource, not necessarily mingle with them in the forums. The questions that you are answering in these environments are shared by many, and they will see you as the community expert.

Here’s the link for the United States Forums.

2. Google Maps

Search your general location at http://maps.google.com. What you find to the left of your mapped result can yield a few gems for topics that people are most commonly searching when pulling up this same map.

A quick search of San Diego, CA reveals.
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Convention Center
Sea World
Wild Animal Park
Vons
Hotel Circle
Hotel Del Coronado
Legoland
House of Blues
Seaport Village

In addition, you can see user-created maps that reveal other topics of great interest:
Tip: Zoom in to your area, and the sidebar results can change offering more local content in relation to the map.

Southern California Fire Maps
25 Reasons We Love San Diego
San Diego Reservoirs
SD Downtown Happy Hour Map

**How can these topics reel in buyers?**

It’s about covering all the bases when aiming to attract an audience interested in visiting/moving to your community.

If you are able to uncover and write about topics that are commonly sought out by people using mapping tools for your area, then you can be certain, that with theSEO power of your blog, you will be getting yourself in front of a similar audience, through the search engines.

In the above example, the topics are on the minds of people searching about San Diego. Rather than guessing what people coming into the area are looking for answers to, now you can start fishing where they school.

To Find Out What The Remaining 4 Secret Resources Are, You WIll Have To Visit This Article At Its Original Location On The Real Estate Tomato: Click Below.

6 Secret Resources for Finding
Real Estate Blog Topics That Attract Buyers.

Announcing the Launch of Real Estate Tomato 2.0 - Community. Knowledge. Excellence.

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:06:59 -0500

For the last 2+ years, we have been forwarding the domain name RealEstateTomato.com to this blog (realestatetomato.typepad.com). Today, that changes. We are happy to announce the launch of the official website for our company and community, RealEstateTomato.com!

This blog here will continue to be our Real Estate Blogging Advice column, and for now will remain mostly unchanged.

So why the new site?

1. Community First

The care that we put into each and every client, has us feeling like one big family. Each blogging client has a relationship with our whole crew, and many of them with each other.

The homepage of the new RET is dedicated to showcasing our extended family by displaying the latest articles published in the network*, as well as featuring their avatars and blogsites as featured bloggers.

In the next couple of weeks we will be bringing the whole family even closer together by turning on a universal, members only, back-end blog that will be shared by ever member of our community. As they log in to blog to their local audience, they will have the option of being exposed to a national conversation centered around the art of blogging. Advice, announcements, discoveries, videos, tips, studies, contests and business referrals are just a sampling of the topics that we will maintain and encourage on the Real Estate Tomato Vine.

2. Separating the Message from Messenger

As effective as the blog has been at inspiring potential clients to contact us about our products and services, I’ve always felt that the true nature of our business model and offerings has been less than obvious to the casual observer.

The clean, uncluttered presentation of the new website gives visitors a clear understanding of our services as well as our community focus and most recent blogging advice articles.

Clear descriptions of our Agent Blogsites, Broker Blogsites, Tomato University Course, A La Carte Training, and Community Vine make it much easier for visitors to answer their questions about our ability to service their needs.

3. Change is Good

We all get tired of the same experience over and over, and I had finally had it with giving everyone else a new home, while we were still in the same one we moved into Day 1. A new coat of color scheme, a new layout, and a new slogan have us all feeling energized and in step with the progressive changes we have in store.

Many have noticed that our own blogging came to (another) halt this past month, and it is because every bit of spare time has been dedicated to launching our new home. We hope you love it as much as we do.

Twitter Explained for the Real Estate Blogger

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:28:38 -0500

I knew that Todd Carpenter's guest post was going to open a can of worms for me. I spent a good part of yesterday fielding questions about "this Twitter". I know I'm not the first to bring an explanation to the interweb, but it's going to save me from having to do it again.

Do you remember when you first grasped the idea of texting on your cell phone?

I remember thinking, "Who on Earth would waste their time doing such a thing?"
Now, texting has become such a part of my daily communications that I send and receive several hundreds of texts a month.

Initially, Twitter struck me exactly the same way. However, now it is starting to become an integral part of the way that I 'feel' connected to my online network.

For the Newbie, Twitter is an Awkward Tool.

Short messages, describing what you are up to at the moment, published online, for the odd folk that care.
"Sitting in row KK, seat 32 at the A's vs Red Sox game."
"Just finished dinner at the Waffle House, here's a pic"
"Why am I still up?"
"At Starbucks by the Palace, join us!"
"just accidentally dropped my Treo in the toilet"

Some of the above are real and some are feigned, but you can’t tell which is which... which is the point. Anything goes with a Twitter update - a Tweet if you will.

One of the reasons why a non-Twitterer may still not see the value and allure of Tweeting is because they can't see the need.

Just as I couldn’t see the need to text, when I had a perfectly fine communication device in my hand called the phone. Why take the time to type out a less than descriptive message to someone when I could just as easily ring them up for a chat?
If I wanted to type something to somebody, well, why not just send an email?

Twitter is not unlike the text message, but rather than use it to communicate to an individual or a specific group, it is a broadcast of your current state, to anyone who cares.

How Twitter Works:

Twitter asks you, "What are you doing?"
You type in a message no longer than 140 characters.
Fortunately, the message can include links, which help you expand your message by sending the reader to a website, image, podcast, blog article, etc.
Click "update" and the message is now broadcast for all those that care.

...CONTINUED

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Twitter Explained for the Real Estate Blogger

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Photo Editing For Real Estate Blogs Couldn't Be Simpler - PicNik

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:22:12 -0500

From time to time we recommend tools and services that are universally handy for your real estate blog. Teresa Boardman, HRH, has a quick one to share with you, that has become a staple in her blogging routine.

Photo Editing For Real Estate Blogs Couldn't Be Simpler

By Teresa Boardman

Nothing dresses up a blog post like a photo, especially on real estate blogs. Our readers really like to see some real estate when they stop by.

Most photos need some editing before they can be published on the internet. They need to be lightened up a bit and made smaller, and it doesn't hurt to sharpen them and tweak the contrast a bit, and crop them as needed.

Some of the photo editing software is pretty expensive and not all that easy to use. I have been using picnik (http://www.picnik.com) for much of my photo editing It is free but I am using the $25 a year premium version because I am worth it. Although the free version works well for photo editing, it is missing some of the cool photo effects, fonts and frames.

Picnik is on the internet and does not require any software download; just upload the photos and edit them online. I can put frames around them, write on them and or apply photo effects. When I am done I can save them in the perfect size and resolution for my blog.

The site is very easy to use, and many of the "automatic fixes" work just fine. Once a photo is edited it can be saved to Flickr, Facebook, blogger and several other sites. They can also be saved on my hard drive. Another really cool option is that photos that are currently in your Flickr account can be edited using Picnik and then saved back into Flickr.

Her website: www.TBoardman.com
Her blog: www.StPaulRealEstateBLOG.com
Voice: 651-216-4603

Thank you Teresa.
As always, it’s a pleasure having you 'on the Vine'.

Original location of this post:

Photo Editing For Real Estate Blogs Couldn't Be Simpler - PicNik

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:48:10 -0500

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

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.

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:41:20 -0500

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:15:38 -0500

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

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:20:31 -0500

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

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:25:58 -0500

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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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.

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:56:58 -0500

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

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:52:49 -0500

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:26:12 -0600

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

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:40:57 -0600

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

The Real Estate Business Is Content, Not Home Selling

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:22:27 -0600

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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The Real Estate Business Is Content, Not Home Selling

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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:14:09 -0600

(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

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:48:12 -0600

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?

Real Estate Tomato (Real Estate Tomato) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:10:50 -0600

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

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The Real Estate Tomato

WARNING! Horn Tooting: The Inman List of the Top 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers for 2008 Is Out, and We're On It!

Broker and Agent Blogs

Community, Multi-Author Blogs

Mortgage Blogs

Housing Economics Blogs

Industry Commentary Blogs

Marketing and How-To Blogs

Local Blogs

Company Bloggers

Journalist Blogs

Housing Bubble Blogger

Why Should I Blog? - It's About the Value of Being Seen as the Expert in Your Niche

Blogging is taking the initiative to be a leader, a leader in thought, reporting, opinion and exposure.

Hey Real Estate Bloggers, Where Are You Aiming When It Comes To Subscriptions and Subscribers?

Today’s post is a special treat! Dave Smith of the Real Estate Blog Lab (and many other blogs) has found that he has so much to say, that he needs yet another outlet… and we’re happy to be there for him.

Subscriptions and Subscribers: Where Are You Aiming?

Ongoing Interests Vs The Specific Need or Want

6 Secret Resources for Finding Real Estate Blog Topics That Attract Buyers.

1. TripAdvisor.com

2. Google Maps

How can these topics reel in buyers?

Announcing the Launch of Real Estate Tomato 2.0 - Community. Knowledge. Excellence.

1. Community First

2. Separating the Message from Messenger

3. Change is Good

Twitter Explained for the Real Estate Blogger

For the Newbie, Twitter is an Awkward Tool.

How Twitter Works:

Photo Editing For Real Estate Blogs Couldn't Be Simpler - PicNik

Photo Editing For Real Estate Blogs Couldn't Be Simpler

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 can these topics reel in buyers?**

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