Blogging and Leads: The Materialization of Expectations In The Rain
"So here's my next question..How do I get leads from blogging?"
This was an excellent question posed by new AR blogger Karen Kopittke in her comment on Russ Ravery's blog post New Active Rain Blogger.
The answer to her question is one that, I suspect, many a new ActiveRain blogger has asked. I know I have, and I've been active here for the past six months.
To answer her question, the following must be brought into consideration:
- Have you been blogging consistently? At least one post each day
- What type of content are you blogging about? Your blog should be a source of information on local topics and real estate questions that consumers may ask, or provide information that consumers want to know.
One must keep in mind that the axiom "All real estate is local" is very true when it comes to blogging and expecting leads from it. In some areas, and depending on what you are blogging about, leads will come only after a few days; in others, leads will come only after months and months of steadily producing quality posts that feed consumers the information they are looking for.
If you want to guarantee yourself leads from blogging, here are a few topics to post about:
- Market Reports. Local statistics on the real estate market in your areas of service are always of interest to consumers.
- Communtiy Information. Blog posts about local attractions, restaurants, events and activities, etc. are a good way to bring consumers to your blog.
- Listing Information/Open House posts. Giving consumers detailed information on listings and where there are open houses in your area can be a huge draw for you.
The key to getting those leads from blogging is to ensure that you get found first by the consumer when they type in keywords in the search engines. Getting to the first page of Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. can definitely help. In order for you to maximize your potential for top placement, you definitely should read Brad Andersohn's post How to Create a Blog Post for Customers and Search Engines.
Here are a few examples from current ActiveRainers who have gotten leads from their blogging here (Author's Note: I will be adding more examples as I come across them in the Rain).
Andrea Swiedler - As far as I am concerned ACTIVERAIN ROCKS THE HOUSE!
Missy Caulk - Activerain brings Business Success
Virginia Hepp - The Little Blog That Could - Rainmaker!
Margaret Woda - Bob Stewart's Challenge Pays off for Maryland Agent
Kathleen "Kate" Elim - And Then What to My Wondering Eyes Should Appear...
Donna Harris - 500,000 Points and $122,000 Later!
Judy Greenberg - Do you want to list 69 condos?
Joan Whitebook - Don't Know Much About SEO, But I Know The Long Reach of ActiveRain
Jeff Dowler - One ActiveRain Success Leads to Another, and Another, and...
Geri Sonkin - Hi, I found You On Active Rain
Steve Kappre - Is Blogging on ActiveRain Really Worth the Hassle?
Irene Kennedy - The Down Side of Hyper-Local Content Posts: Let's place blame where it is due!
Sheldon Neal - "Hi I Found You From Your MARKET REPORTS" ...
Valerie Segheddu - WOW!...Hyper Local works! I just got my first lead only 3 days after posting...Thanks Bob!
Here's to every blogger seeing the materialization of their expectations of receiving leads from blogging in the Rain!
Courtesy of William James Walton, Sr. , Realtor, WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Briotti Group
Serving northern New Haven and southeastern Litchfield Counties (Waterbury, Wolcott, Prospect, Naugatuck, Middlebury, Southbury, Watertown, Thomaston and Plymouth)
Call William James Walton, Sr. Real Estate Agent with WEICHERT, REALTORS® - Briotti Group (203) 558-7463 for help with your real estate needs -buying or selling - in Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, Middlebury, Southbury, Prospect, Naugatuck, Plymouth and Thomaston
Buyers - Search for Greater Waterbury, CT Area Homes For Sale
Sellers - Request a Free Home Evaluation, Look at Recent Home Sales
Connect. Share. Learn.Welcome to ActiveRain, the #1 social community for real estate professionals.
Posted by 
;)
;)
;)
54 Comments on Blogging and Leads: The Materialization of Expectations In The Rain
WOW! This is a good post. I'm glad I came across your post. I especially liked the links at the bottom. I think this is so good because I have had good success with Active Rain and I support anything that promotes it.
William .. what a great post full of great information. Thanks for sharing the links.
William:
Check out posterous.com You can send your posts to them via email and they will post to your other blogs. I haven't figured out how to get it to my wordpress blog.
Thanks for sharing the links. I now have new reading material.
between my Wordpress web site blog and here, I am getting business. I did an older series on short sales in Edmond, Oklahoma and I got two phone calls to list the properties based on a Google search. I have done 4 parts to the AR series challenge on short sales in Oklahoma City, and two of them are No 2 and 3 on page one of shport sales in Oklahoma City already. As my dear Baptist mother used to say, "Don't hide your light under a bushel basket".
Great post. I have learned that providing information is critical because it builds creditability with fellow AR participants. Our biggest objective is to find out what others are looking for to expand and maintain their existing businesses. We link our services through AR, Linked In, WordPress, and Twitter. We also inform AR readers of post we make to external articles.
It is also important to develop a group of those that follow you. Other groups may become annoyed with posts if they do not relate to the format of the group. We are reaching out to our followers to form specific groups that will permit more contact reach articles and posts.
Since we conduct market analysis and project future trends, we have learned that providing prospect lists for potential sellers in the future is critical to agents. When we provide the lists, we also provide reports on what the market is doing.
We recently assisted a client in establishing list prices for his project and at the same time were able to point him to AR to find a new agent. The client is very please and has discovered a new tool in AR.
In the end, it is give and take. If you give good information and help others, they will purchase services from you.
Great information, but it has to be apart of your overall marketing strategy and you have to be consistent.
I have a current client who came to me after reading a post about trains in Arvada Colorado.
Good stuff - I appreciate the specific info on where to post to generate leads with my AR blog.... I have asked the question many times of those who say they get leads, to-date not one person has responded :(
I have a lot of success with my wordpress blog outside of AR. Social Media & Blogging are the "new prospecting" and Realtors must use these sites to stay relevant.
I believe the keys to attracting new business with your blog is to:
-Engage Your Consumer
-Provide Relevant Content
-Be "the expert" NOT just another Realtor
Happy Blogging... Feel free to check my blog out here: http://www.WebRealEstateTools.com
Drew
love the Active Rain network, and all the bloggers!!! yes I know it will help. it seems to already have help my site's ratings a bit. thanks for sharing!
www.charlottelakewyliehomes.com
Well,
It was interesting reading this. I guess it looks like one has to be really serious about this blogging thing. A new blog every day? What the heck can I write about so much and at tyhe end of the day, is it worth all the work? What if I blog and do not do it just right and get no results? It seems like a case of do it perfect or never mind. Any comments?
Jirius - Local events. Local businesses. The market stats for communities/towns/areas that you serve. Parks. Recreational facilities. Churches. Your experiences as a realtor. Getting the results that you want will take time and effort - you will need to be very consistent at it. This is not a "do it perfect" thing, but a "do it" thing, and keep doing it. One has to have a lot of patience with it. Follow Brad's instructions on how to optimize your blog ofr SEO, and just keep at it.
Very good. One of my top read post is a series I do on local parks. It is very local, long tail, but it is not directly real estate related.
I need these success stories to keep me going. Thanks for all the helpful posts about bloggers who are getting results.
William - I don't blog everyday. Should I? Of course, but I don't - and I have closed quite a few transactions directly from my blog. I have the AR blog and and outside blog.
Plus - You should have some landing pages on your website so that people can go there via a link in your blog and sign up for something. With me, they sign up for MLS searches.
You must use keywords properly to get the best Search Engine Results, page 2 is not good enough.
Thanks for the link to my Rainmaker post.
I need to come up with a simple format for market updates so I can do one monthly. That would certainly help get more attention, I would think.
WIlliam great post and great tips. Market reports and local information should go along way in attracting consumer attention.
Hardly an old post - and well worth the read, especially for the new bloggers.
Georgina - This post was almost three weeks old when it was finally noticed. No, not really old, but usually the AR gods feature "fresh" content. Do you realize how many posts get bypassed each day that are worthy of this honor??? I've flagged a few myself and have yet to see them featured - that's not to say that it woun't ever be, but...
Renee is the queen of good market reports, Rita's market reports are fab too. If you would like to excel with your market reports - check them out. Aww, mine are good too, so stop by & see them. I've helped Irene above setup those 'headache giving graphs' that you see! They are actually easier than you think!
If you want to be the local expert, local content & market reports is the way to go.
Thanks for sharing your idea William. Great comments can also lead to results too.