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Blogging is Dead

So is blogging dead? Are all 150,000+ members of Active Rain wasting their time?

Sunset Hill Park Is that what David Gibbons (my birthday twin) of Zillow meant when he said: Blogging is so 2008 on Twitter the other day?

(read on or scroll down for an update about David.....)

I keep hearing that blogging is a dinosaur, but 2009 seems a little different. Twitter and Facebook have been around longer than 2009, but what has changed? The growth they have both seen this year is truly phenomenal. Is social media taking over blogging? For some and that is a good thing.

This is my favorite recent quote out of a great blog post written by Brian Clark on Copyblogger:

"But the story remains the same: people who mainly want to socialize, share links, and post pictures of their cat should be using social networks instead of blogging, and that's exactly what's happening."

Blogging isn't dead.

Social media is important in order to share your content with your network, but did you know that Facebook doesn't share its info with Google? Facebook and Google seem to have emerged as arch enemies for Internet Dominance and it is really important for anyone launching or running a successful web campaign to be highly visible to both camps. Blogging is going to help you with both. Google will pick up your blogs when they crawl and you need to make sure you are posting wonderful relevant link bait on at least one of the two fastest growing social media sites: Twitter and Facebook. If you are serious, you should be posting links to your content from both of these places.

But don't think that is enough.

There are two more very important rules for success:

1. Create good content in your blogging efforts. This not only attracts visitors, but if they take the time to click on your link and it is poor content, they won't stay and you will lose your credibility

2. Engage socially. Don't just post links to your content. Make friends and be social.

In closing, I am being sarcastic with such a title....

It is important to know where I am coming from here. Blogging on ActiveRain is one of the very best things you can be doing for your real estate business. It is at least the very minimum in Internet marketing. Whenever I look at the Google analytics for my Seattle real estate website, I can see that I get a great deal of traffic from a number of sites including Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Twitter and this pleases me. When looking at page views per visitor, though, the number of pages that people view on my site when they visit from ActiveRain, Localism, or my Seattle Suburbs blog site are always much higher than the number of pages from other sites. A very targeted audience is reading your blog.

Blogging is just beginning and Brian Clark is right, for the people sharing pictures of their cat the journey may have ended, but for the rest of us we should be creating compelling content to link to!

7/6/2009 Update: David Gibbons posted a video response for us and he has some great things to say - if you have any time at all, please head over there and hear him out a wonderful explanation and good biz building tips as well:

David on Active Rain Video

(PS - You can find me on Facebook: Courtney Cooper and also Twitter)

Courtney Cooper

Seattle Realtor, Owner/Designated Broker/EcoBroker

Cooper Jacobs Real Estate

courtney@cooperjacobs.com

206-850-8841

(Seattle real estate - search all MLS listings from all companies for FREE), SeattleAfloat.com (Seattle Houseboats), GreenLakeLoop.com (Green Lake Blog), QueenAnneBoulevard.com (Queen Anne Blog), MagnoliaView.com (Magnolia Neighborhood Blog)

About Me:

Seattle real estate has been a big part of my life for well over a decade since I began my career in real estate,but also before that time when I was in the process of purchasing my own first home. Buying your first home can be quite overwhelming,but I have managed to help many first time home buyers along the way.

Move up Seattle buyers and other types of specialized purchasing is a great passion of mine! I love Seattle houseboats and you can find me down on the docks of Lake Union and Portage Bay several times a week. Other aspects of Seattle real estate that I adore include Queen Anne Real Estate,Wallingford Real Estate, Ballard Real Estate, Green Lake Real Estate, Laurelhurst Real Estate, Magnolia Real Estate,andSeattle Waterfront Real Estate.

In addition to being a Seattle residential broker and founder of Cooper Jacobs & Seattle Afloat, I am also a member of CBA (Commercial Brokers Association) and head of the Cooper Jacobs Commercial Division in an effort to provide excellent commercial real estate services to the Seattle commercial real estate industry. With a background in accounting and management, it is my great pleasure to coordinate our Seattle commercial brokers.

About Cooper Jacobs Real Estate's Seattle Branch:

My office at Cooper Jacobs Real Estate LLC is located centrally near all my favorite Puget Sound neighborhoods just a few blocks up from Lake Union in Seattle’s Wallingford. Cooper Jacobs Real Estate is a wonderful place filled with talented Seattle real estate brokers and I count myself extremely lucky that I get to spend so much time with these wonderful people. We specialize in different Seattle neighborhoods and suburbs in both residential and commercial real estate and are all very passionate and excited about each of our favorite Seattle neighborhoods and industries!

©Courtney Cooper ©Cooper Jacobs Real Estate LLC

Posted by Courtney Cooper 206-850-8841 on 07/04/2009 10:49 PM

Comments (84)

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84 Comments on Blogging is Dead

JUL

2009

Courtney - I figured that your conclusion would be different than the title indicated! Happily, blogging continues to grow and gain legitimacy as a form of media.

Hi Courtney, I think blogging is great but I wonder how many of our 150,000+ AR members blog.

Courtney...

There will always be a demand for good content, and those that strive to deliver it will always be successful. Good post.

Courtney, interesting post. Blogging is so vital.

The long tail and the fact that search isn't dead means that blogging isn't either... it is part of a strategy.

My guess is that "blogging is dead" for at least 80% of the ActiveRain members. It's a question that comes up every month or two - how many Rainers really are active? If we were to define active as "writes one post per week" it would take over 4,000 posts per day to reach the 20% level.

Bloggers tend to be fiercely loyal to the benefits of blogging. But if we each look at our markets overall, I'm betting we'd find that 1) we're in the minority, and 2) there are several very successful agents who have never written a post. Blogging is just one possible channel in a marketing plan. The key point, whether or not blogging is used, is to engage others.

Of course blogging isn't dead, not with the multitude of people here doing it on a daily basis, and generating great leads from it. Besides, the internet wouldn't be half as much fun if there were no blogs...

I don't believe blogging is dead...but, I do believe it can certainly help you excel where others have failed. Staying consistant and disciplined are key to your overal effectiveness.

All the best,

-Keith

I didn't realize that Google doesn't crawl Facebook, thanks for the info. I know Google hates duplicate content so I avoided putting info from my website, www.foreclosedDreams.com, onto Facebook. That changes next week. Thanks.

--Ralph

JUL

2009

I keep hearing that blogging is a dinosaur

Comments like that must be coming from people who are not successful bloggers.

Hey you guys! I have been down at the beach watching the fireworks overhead - Happy 4th!

Jason - How could I resist that title, though, right? :)

Shirley - you are right. I actually looked at my subscribed blogs this afternoon and saw that there were several who had not written since early 2008 so maybe bloggin was so 2008 for them.

Deborah and Richard - I couldn't agree more.

Lane - it is an awesome strategy, too. We have done fairly well in our office compared to others when things get slow because we have great internet clients. The quality ones come from my AR and Localism posts.

John - you are right, too:) A little sad, but great opportunity for the rest of us.

Courtney, in blogging and in Facebook you can share pictures of your cat, the question is in either format, does anyone care? At least in blogging there tends to be more high end subject matter than Facebook.

William - not to mention all the awesome content you can find. You literally can find anything on the internet - why shouldn't we be the ones filling up the pages with great neighborhood stuff? You want to know where the best doggie bath place is in the Seattle suburbs? I can tell you:) (I love the true idea of Localism for this BTW).

Hi Keith - I have accomplished a lot since stumbling into this "little thing" called Active Rain almost two years ago.

Ralph - thanks for stopping by my page on Facebook, by the way:) This is a great article I saw about Facebook and Google. I saw it on http://www.dustinluther.com - Dustin is amazing and everyone here should become a fan of his page on Facebook because he completely rocks. Absolutely brilliant and a nice guy on top of it.

Bruce - I have often thought the same thing.

Gary - I used to think the same thing, and for the most part you are right at this point in time, but look for that to change in the future - I really am seeing that Facebook is a lot bigger than I think most of us thought so. I have decided that I need to quit screwing around and have quality in both arenas of the internet. I don't have any closings from Facebook like I do from blogging on Active Rain yet, but I can see that this could easily change in the distant future.

I don't listen to much of what Zillow ever has to say..

Greg - David Gibbons is pretty amazing. In all fairness, I should probably tweet this link so he can explain because I never got an explanation, but he is worth following on Twitter @DavidGibbons). Zillow has some great talent. I would take another look. They hosted ReBar in Seattle and I got a chance to go in their offices - so pretty, but more importantly filled with these amazingly hip & brilliant techies. He may have been being sarcastic for all I know - LOL

Courtney- Blogging is here to stay for those who take the time to write quality content. I see it blossoming in many areas besides real estate also. I meet a lot of great writers/bloggers through Twitter. I love Active Rain and Twitter. Those are my two favorite places to hang out:) And I get a lot of biz from both. Katerina

Holy Crap I about had a heat attach when I read the title - I was going to send the blog ambulance to your house! I thought oh no she has lost her mind! Whew.... hahaha! Wait I will be right back I need to send you a FB poke! But please, please never make me see another picture of a cat! As for Zillow - I wish peeps would just take it for what it is. But then again I am a little miffed at them for taking my "all star" badge away - as a buyers agent it is tough to keep that thing going!

I am with you! If I see one more wordless Wednesday post I am gonna lose it. You have got people racking up the points but if you look at their blog it is total crap...frankly. You are right... they need to take to to Facebook!

I've been trying to tell people for years that blogging is just a fad... ;)

I still think you're a LOT better off blogging on your own domain than on AR. But that's a topic for a different day and place.

You are TOTALLY right Courtney about the quality of people at Zillow. Everyone I've ever met there has been top notch. I've never understood why so many agents hate on Zillow. Here's a post I wrote over two years ago and I still don't get it... Why do so many agents fear Zillow?

I've heard a few discussions on this elsewhere on the blogosphere. I disagree, I think folks blogging good content will always rank well. I blog here and have a photo blog and a my own domain blog. I use all three differently. My strategy evolved over time.

I hope the Blog is not dead -- I've just re-discovered it for myself - though it would figure if it were now lol...

You had me sweating bullets with that title, Courtney! Loved the post.

Courtney: Thanks for posting the post......many just do not "get it". Moreover, I really did not "get it" to earlier this year. It took about 2-300 posts before it sunk in for me. When one gets away from "what's in it for me" attitude, blogging takes on a completely different form. Best to you and good luck in God's country.

If your cat sells real estate...this could be a good thing! :o))) Like any form of marketing, social networking and blogging are only as good as you make them. Your approach must be planned and deliberate. You are right, you need to be social, you need to blog and you need to tweet. I just wonder what will happen to all those agents who are not doing any of the above...

Jeani

All I know is that about half of my business comes from my blog. My clients want to learn as much as they can about my Lake Norman real estate market and what it is like to live here. They find me when they are doing research and they have told me that whenever they were search online my name kept coming up as did my posts. There aren't many who have the time and patience for blogging. Those are the folks that have moved on to other social media but for those of us who have several years or move of Google Juice blogging is awesome.

Courtney: I think blogging is alive and well as long as the person doing it provides value to their readership. As for Twitter, I don't see the value yet. Perhaps it may become significant but I find it interesting that the number of users recently levelled off. The only barrier to blogging is if a person doesn't care or feel like they're a good writer. And that's a skill that can and should be learned. Thanks for the post. I enjoy reading the blogs here and elsewhere and plan on blogging for quite some time! Take care.

Courtney: In our wonderful age of abundance, there's a place for everyone... And, people are figuring that out. In my experience I've seen a lot of great writing this past year especially. So 'quality' blogs are growing.

A writer can't help but write. Something drives them to. Those who's purpose is really social and they are not writers because it sounds too much like work, should enjoy social networks... nothing wrong with that.

Nice post... thanks...

So much business is coming from my blogs, either new leads or solidifying contacts, that I can agree wholeheartedly - it's not dead. But one has to WRITE and offer value to succeed. What I love is that my work keeps on producing results, unlike an ad that is out there once and then gone...and better yet, the consumer was looking for an answer...and I provided it...I'm the expert and hero!!!

So perhaps I should agree, blogging is dead...pass it on...I need more business. *Evil grin*

I get lots of great leads from my blogs as well. I too think that saying its dead will provide the opposite effect. Great post!

Good post. It goes to the old adage (not sure exactly how old it is or who said it) "Inspect what you Expect".

It's very important to continually re-evaluate what we do. That doesn't mean we should constantly be changing what we do - it's vital in business (and in life) to stay the course as much a s possible and make minor adjustments one at a time.

The question at hand, though is whether or not blogging is as effective and important to our marketing as it was 12 months ago - or 24.

Things are constantly changing in the world of "E". Since e-mail and the Internet exploded in the mid-1990s there have been new "things" thrown at us - each one being touted as the ultimate solution to reaching our goals.

Prodigy, AOL, Email, Mass E-mail, Websites, Webforms, Webleads, SEO, Interactivity, Bulletin Boards, BLOGS, IM, TXT, PODcasting, Webinars, Mashups, RSS, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo.

I realize those are not all "applications" but they are all things that were or are big buzzwords that were discussed and conisderd to be something we all needed to learn more about and take part in

Everyone of those (and there are a lot of others) was at some point, beloved by it's faithful users. At some point, many of the faithful users of some channels scorned them and moved on to something else that replaced them.

Some of those ideas or apps, have hung around even in the advent of the next and next and next big things. Users have found that trashing one thing for the next simply because it's new and cool doesn't necessarily make sense.

The key is to evaluate what benefit you are receiving from an app, and then when the next thing comes along, look at it, maybe even try it out, but carefully evaluate the benefit you get from it. If you get the same value as from the "old" thing plus some new stuff, then you should phase the old one out and move on. If, however you will gain some new value but LOSE some of the old value, then you have a decision to make - choose one or keep them both and somehow integrate them together.

Remember when Twitter was started it was basically a way of friends keeping track of each other. The original developers did not plan for it to become a business tool. What Twitter is today is because the users evaluated it, figured out how to use it for the things we do now - sure, Twitter made enhancements over time but this was mostly at the request of the population.

So does Twitter replace Blogging? In my opinion the answer is - not so far.

The key to all of these apps, going as far back as Prodigy is good content. If you don't provide relevant, easy to follow content, no one is going to read what you say regardless of the medium.

I am not a Twitter guru (yet) but I do have a Twitter plan. The plan would not work without my two blogs. The goal is a simple one. My Tweeting should drive readers to my BLOGs where they can learn more about me and decide if I am someone they want to include in their circle. Once on my BLOG they can read my content in much more detail and get to know me.

The second goal, for me, on Twitter is to read other people's content and learn from them. More often than not the best Tweets, in my opinion, are those that have url's back to other websites where you can dig in and really get some details.

So, I'm not ready to replace Blogging - not even close.

Ask me again next year - who knows?

ILMAO with David Gibbons being the trendsetter that everyone should follow? He's got a few people including himself on AR.

I am wondering what Zillow has us doing that generates more leads than blogging (if done properly.) I guess I should have listened to the zillow guy that was trying to sell me the enhanced site a couple of weeks ago.........

;)

Coutney - you had my on your title - I knew it would be a fun read and informative! And thanks for the kick in the pants. I too have been screwing around with facebook and not doing as much socializing as I need to be. I've been so focused on ar and blogging there just doens't seem to be enough time for it all.

Katerina - I like Twitter, too:)

Jo - I am pretty sure you don't need listings to get that badge - you just need to haunt the site some more:)

Team Newington - I think some of those wordless posts are pretty cool, but it is just my opinion. I haven't done one - I don't thinkyou can get points for them anyway without the fifty word minimum, but like I said no expert on that.

Jay - I will have to go read your post - I don't understand the zillow hate either.

Jessica - Hey girl:) Of course you get clients form your wordless posts - you post compelling stuff with or without words.

Missy - I think that is what is so hard - trying to take in and digest and figure out what your online strategy will be:) Obviously, you got it down!

Shaun - I think you are safe;)

Irene - sorry:)

Tim - It took me a while, too - sometimes I still forget - LOL

Jeani & Diane - I completely agree

Paul - get on board with Twitter - come on! :) It is awesome!

Rene - that is part of it forme - I like to write and you are correct - there have been some amazing posts - really fun to read!

Dawn - ya, it's dead (wink)

Heather - you go!

Rick - having that Twitter plan is a huge step! Twitter is very useful - just look at what it is doing ofr Iran right now to get information out. Their government shut down cellular and more and kicked out the media, but through Twitter information is getting out.

Lyn - David is awesome, awesome, awesome! He is also a definitel trendsetter, but alas he has not blogged on AR since 2008 - maybe that was what he meant. He liked this post BTW when I tweeted it to him. Maybe he will post a blog here for us.

Renee - I actually have gotten quite a few contacts from Zillow - either through my listings there or my answers to questions or even my profile. No closings yet, but I can see a sale happening form Zillow for me in the next year for sure. Just looking at Lenn's post shows me that I should definitely focus some more energy there (with all my free time).

Hi Anna - Glad to be the kick in the pants you needed! I needed it, too, and have a long way to go, but FB is a big part of online marketing now and will be in the future. Maybe AR should have a FB interface, too? Like the option to post all your blogs to Twitter in the settings portion of your blog? Bob? You like that one?

Blogging, dead, I had to read! Blogging is dead only to those who have given it up, to us that blog daily, we see the real value and blog on. Half my web site traffic comes from my blog, I am not given it up for a long long time.

Perhaps blogging is dead to the social set that write about their silly everyday occurances and who have not yet acheived 2 full decades in their lives...after all, its much simpler to twitter that you just woke up than it is to go into detailed descriptions of what side of the bed you woke up on and what exactly woke you up in order to maintain a blog for your "peeps." But when someone is house hunting they are going to be very happy to find your blog when you are creating quality content about things that people actually want to read about, and its cool to mix in some everday stuff, of course. Not to say that there is anything wrong with Twitter...but its a completely different aspect of social media, in our opinion.

Twitter is so . . . 1984!

Twitters scares me. I signed on using my gmail account. Today I received a "facebook" invite from a person I know. I clicked on it, without checking the valid email account it came from (simply by holding the mouse over the sender's email address) and it quickly went to an account, supposedly from this person I know . . . and it had ALL the emails/names of people I KNOW -- not her! The email from the facebook invite had people I knew . . . and since our circles don't connect, it wasn't from the facebook invitee. Then I went back and put the mouse over the email sent, and lo and behold . . . and SCAM email! No wonder it was in the JUNK mail -- now why didn't I listen to the filter? And all those names . . . were from my gmail account that I used when I signed up for Twitter! Twitter is dead to me now!

Courtney, of course blogging isn't dead. If twitter was the cause of blogging's demise, then why are 90% of the tweets have links sending people to...blogs!? Maybe you should ask David that.

I am going to agree with Missy on the blogging strategy here. My personal web site includes real estate AND personal info. Many in my SOI really DO want to see photos of my kitchen remodel or new pup. I mix real estate and personal on Twitter and Facebook. My outside AR blog is real estate only, and I think it is too cool that I can send automatic updates to FB and Twitter when I post a new blog to the public.

Blogging helps me remind my friends that I'm a Realtor and active in my profession. But, they want to see some of my personal side too, I think. That's why I mix it up.

And the rule of thumb is still true: content is key.

Not for me it isn't. Blogging has done gret things for my SEO, and I've learned so much here on AR.

Courtney, I LOVE the sarcasm and knew where you were going with this. It's beyond amazing how many agents have refused to adopt the blogging model. It works.

By the way, did I say it works? SEO, direct contacts, listings, buyers, closings. I'm going to have to check out David's comment. Bizarre is all I can say.

JUL

2009

Blogging is alive and well. One thing I enjoy about Facebook is that I can incorporate by blog into it.

Great post, Courtney!

I have received numerous leads from my blogging about the Lake Nona area (Orlando, Florida) that have turned into wonderful clients. I am always sharing with the great agents around me the power of Active Rain...what a blessing and you can't beat the price!!

Warmly,

Carey Light, PA

Courtney - Great post... Like all of the advancements in technology, so too will social media evolve and advance. Thanks for pointing it out so clearly...

I try to make use of every outlet possible -the challenge at times is coming up with enough fresh content to post so that you don't put duplicate content out there....search engines tend to frown on that :(

Another excellent tip that I just learned about 8 months ago is to have a clear objection or intention before spending time on any task (blogging, social networks, prospecting, etc...)

Here is an interesting point of view on Realtors blogging on AR.

http://webrealestatetools.com/real-estate-updates/activerain-trulia-suck

Drew

Hmmm, I wasn't aware that google and facebook weren't simpatico. Thanks for the info!

I blog and I do photo blogs and I use/love Twitter every single day. And videos, etc., and I'm changing my focus.... blah, blah, blah. Whatever works for you but yes, content over time is key, and so is finding your PASSION!

That's definitely thought provoking - I don't think blogging is dead, but I certainly think a lot of the active bloggers are migrating to the short, instant updates of Twitter, etc.

You can't argue with the rapid pace of change we've seen over the last 5 years, 2 years, 6 months!

I was hoping that the title was meant ironically, as I've only been blogging a short time. I do get inquiries and questions but no clients/customers as yet. But blogging is a great way to learn about your local community and the real estate business if you are new.

I think the blogging takes time. I have few subscribers, but a number of readers. I use it to provide information and I am learning to link it as a resource for people. I think in the long run it will be my most important tool.

My rule: I read ONLY blogs that are going to INCREASE my knowledge on any given subject! I really have no need to know who's at Starbucks, on the beach, etc.

Kathy Opatka

Blogging like anything else is personal to the person doing it. If you don't like blogging or feel you receive no benefit from it...don't do it. I like to blog, twitter etc...I give information to others but I write for myself.

Courtney, I am totally relieved that blogging isn't dead----just when I am getting started:)

Kathy - what if the subject you want to know more about concerns what's going on in the life of potential clients?

I can't read everything, but I do subscribe to a number of blogs of people that I know. I read them periodically - same as Facebook or Twitter. Always good to know when people you know are getting married, divorced, having kids, have kids who are getting married, etc..

I'd like to be able say that I talk to everyone in person frequently - but that's not going to happen. Blogging, Twittwer, FB, Linkedin, keep me informed about who's doing what - some of which can turn into an opportunity for me to help them with a Real Estate need.

In turn, I post to them what's going on in my life so they continually are reminded that they know me.

For example, I posted on my FB page and Twitter a while back that I was teaching my wife to play Stratego (an old board game). This has absolutely nothing to to, obviously with Real Estate, I got several replies from people on my list - a couple that I really have had no interaction with in quite a while. We exchanged "how are you's" and "what's going on" posts for a day or so.

No revenue tied to Stratego at this point but it put me in closer touch and front of mind (for now) with a couple of people who may or may not have any need for my services at some point.

If someone I know likes to go to a certain Starbucks on Saturday mornings - could be that I'll be passing by that way and drop in to say hi.

Courtney, I love this blogging on AR! I am relatively new at it, but I am now doing it more and more. I have learned so very much from all the bloggers. On with blogging!!! grin. thanks a lot!

For me, blogging is keeping me informed about what is going on. And in my business information is the key to success, along with new ideas and experiences of others in different situations. So, blog away... and I'll keep reading...

Courtney

Thanks for the insight..........still lots to learn.......sometimes overwelming.

Thanks again.

Nice work Courtney and what an awesome discussion this post has generated. I guess I have some explaining to do. After reading all the comments here, I shot a video that hopefully explains in more detail what I was trying to convey with "Blogging is so 2008." I can't seem to add the video to the comments but I did just post it on my AR blog -- here you go!

Hi Courtney~ I came here after seeing David's blog. We all KNOW that blogging is a waste of time. I mean, who really gets business from it anyway? :)

Wow - lots of comments and I have been busy today:) I am going to go right over and check out David G's post!!!!

PS - Charles, you are NOT *just* getting started!!!!!

I am just now getting active on Facebook and Twitter. I still haven't quite figured out Twitter or how useful it will be. I have a feed of my blog on Twitter, but I question how people will ever find me on Twitter.

Blogging is work .... twitter and facebook is much easier and quicker. Like everything, consitency is the key to a successful blog and your audience will expect more from a blog than an occasional status update on facebook.

Maureen - it is all about just starting conversations. Some people have searches set up on twitter to watch for words and you might stumble right into one of those one day and pick up a follower:) You can also list your Twitter name in directories so people know what you are about. You know you are on the right track if you are already at the 100k thresh hold for AR - I would recommend watching David's video I referenced above.

Hi Susanne - I think it also goes back to what Missy said above about creating strategies for what you are doing.

JUL

2009

I definetely do not think blogging is dead, if that is what you enjoy and get good feebback and hits then so be it.

Wow, I am not big on blogging but I read a ton of blogs - I find blogging full of great informatin and opinions giving all sides. The problem I see with Twitter is useless information - Some of the people on Twitter provides links to good information, but I don't really care if someone is on the way to a showing or going to a birthday party. I like the substance blogging provides to us non-bloggers! As you can see this post sparked me to respond. I also like being able to pick and choose what I read on AR based on the title. Great post Courtney.

Good discussions and David did a good job on explaining himself in his video - As with anything pick your involvement and get good at it. Doesn't do anyone any good especially yourself if you try and be everywhere to everyone. So now if we could just get the word out that blogging is dead - and everyone else stops blogging... think about it - we could control google!

Courtney, I think we all agree blogging is not dead. I simply love blogging.

Great post, blogging takes work everyday!! Its only dead if you do not give it the attention that it requires.

Blogging is a very powerful tool for myself, and being a RainMaker on AR has made blogging even more powerful for those using such means to expand their business realm. The more accessible one's blog becomes, the better their reward. Cheers!

Courtney - Congrats on your featured post and all of the comments you've generated. I'm now a fan and a follower.

JUL

2009

Courtney

I'm glad I read your post after viewing David's video. Although he makes some very good points, I think blogging will continue to be an important marketing tool.

JUL

2009

Thanks for the post. I need all the motivation I can get to blog. I started doing blogs to get traffic in theory. But my traffic has been strong for a long time without it. So I have stopped for the most part but miss it. Ironically, I get a lot of people contacting me, thanking me for the information and apreciating my sharing it with them.

So I will get back to blogging. Summer has been very busy for me and I have to thank in part Active Rain and the community for some good ideas, etc. Thank you for the information!

Great post Courtney and congrats on the feature.

JUL

2009

I didn't read all the above comments so if I repeat another's thought, my apologies.

Blogging and creating meaningful content beyond 140 characters is not dead. In fact, many of the links on Twitter are to longer articles, including blogs (there is a marketing hint there).

Blogs also provide archival content which survives on Google and is extremely valuable to a real estate professional--it can also be socially bookmarked (you know there are 5 categories of social media, right?). For example, I coach my clients to post everything on neighborhoods in their market AND make it easily accessible-- not only is it of keen interest to buyers but it gets you indexed ahead of the TruZilla. Conversations on twitter are just now being searchable thru newer search engines like Collecta.

But newer (and growing) methods of communicating cannot be ignored. I remember dragging David Gibbons to Twitter, figuratively speaking, because Trulia was all over it (I knew because I use Tweetbeep to monitor the conversations there). Now, Zillow has surpassed Trulia in Twitter conversations (Zillow does have more co. folks out there twittering).

But David is right about pro-active marketing, incl. marketing your blog offline-- check out zinepal.com---you can't depend on Google to market your content. You must use all the online AND offline channels you can --- and one of those channels is YOU.

My apologies for this long comment. For those who endured it, I pass on this gem of a social media site -- Meetup.com-- being from the old school (still a good school), you might find it more sensual (no, not in that sense).

BTW, excellent post Courtney.

PS: check out TheClozing.com (pro-active marketing and shameless self promotion)

JUL

2009

I enjoyed your post so much I read it twice to make sure I didn't miss anything of value--so much to learn! Thanks for sharing!

JUL

2009

Carmella - that is great! Thanks for the feedback!

FEB

2010

Its only dead if you do not blog anything on it. If you have useful information and strategy blogging can be very useful.

Thanks Courtney for posting this blog.

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Courtney Cooper 206-850-8841

Seattle, WA

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