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Real Estate Blogging - The Steps & Cycle For Success

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Education & Training with Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp Non-Licensed

Real Estate Blogging - The Steps & Cycle For Success

Are you a REALTOR or BROKER Blogging? Why are you Blogging? Who is your audience? What are you Blogging about?  What are your ultimate intentions? What are your goals and desired results?  Do you have a plan in place for success?  Of course you do, or you wouldn't be here.  

Here's a simplified concept that may help give a better understanding about the steps and process of Blogging.  There is nothing worse than doing something for your business and not understanding the full process, or missing certain key steps, elements, and components that would ensure your efforts are worth while and justified.  This is just one concept of many, that could help take your blog to the next level and add to your "Cycle of Success!"

1. Writing Your Best Blog Posts:

Writing your Blog posts to be discovered by search engines and consumers (intended audience) is the first step. 
How To Write a Blog post for Search Engines and Consumers.

2. Getting Found vs Getting Clicked:

SEO is great, and being on the first page of Google is key, but it's not the end all be all.  Getting found on the search engines by consumers and having them actually click on and read your post is the goal. Using a simple strategy listed in the post referenced above will help.

3. You've got Their Attention and Interest:

When visitors find your posts, they like you, your content, your experience and your area. Or Do They?  Only they can decide this. You should write and be transparent.  Just be yourself.  Let them decide. The wider variety of content you supply consistently, the greater of an audience you will potentially reach.

4. Connecting and Establishing a Reputation and Rapport:

Now they are on your Blog or profile and decide to search for homes in your area. At this point you have no connection or way of tracking or contacting them unless they comment, email, or call you. This is where the importance of understanding the Blogging process comes into play. If you can get traffic and visitors up to this point, then you're already half way there...The virtual "Handshake" takes place.

5. Where do you take them from here:

If Consumers do a search for homes on your Blog posts or Profile, where do they land?  Have you setup your Hit Router to direct visitors to your MLS, IDX, or Listings in your area?  Are you maximizing the potential for exposure on where consumers are searching for homes on ActiveRain? 100,000 homes were searched in a single month here.  If your audience is the selling and buying consumer, this step is very important. There are many folk's who miss this key ingredient and component on their Blogs. Having the right tools in place helps if you want to capture valuable traffic and leads.

6. Does your IDX Have the Proper Tools in Place to be Effective:

As consumers land on your designated Hit Router pages and IDX, are they setup properly? Make sure your traffic and visitors land on a site with the information they are asking for. This would not be a Blog, or a website, or an "about you" page.  Those pages will get closed immediately. If they search for homes in Houston Texas, the next landing page should be just that.  All the homes for Sale in Houston Texas. Period.  To be sure, Do the searches yourself and use the correct URLs for your Hit Router and IDX linking.  Don't make them try to figure out how to use your site and do the searches by themselves.

7. How Many Clicks Does it Take to get to the Center of a Lead:
(The world may never know...)

So now you have a great lead capture system and IDX setup using Hit Router but now what?  Is it one, two, three, five, or seven clicks before you solicit their contact information for follow-up? This is a question that only YOU can answer. There is no right or wrong answer. Whatever you believe will work for you and your prospects, that is the best way to go.  The problem is, some haven't setup their IDX lead capture and have nothing in place. Some IDX sites out there don't even offer or have the capability of creating a lead capture form. More importantly, some IDX sites won't let you setup direct landing pages to listings that are being searched for in specified areas.  Ouch!

8. Once you Have the Lead Captured, do you Have an Effective Follow-up Plan:

Making sure you have the proper tools in place and follow-up programs are important. Now that you have them in your store, are you effective in taking your leads to the next level?  Do you have a program or tools that will assist you in the follow-up process over the necessary period of time it will take to convert them to closings? If not, then what is the point in all the rest of the efforts that you're making to try and capture them as a lead or client anyway?  Everyone knows that the key to any successes in any business is always based on the follow-up.

9. Converting Leads to Closings:

Once you have completed the transaction and closing, what do you do next?  Using the many social media platforms to connect to clients, friends of friends, and SOI's is what it's all about. Have you researched all the ways you can use many of these sites to tap into new friends and potential clients? This is Social Media Networking and Marketing at its finest.  What better way to grow your sphere of influence than by doing it through your past and future clients?  Followers on Twitter? Friends on FaceBook?  Associates on LinkedIn etc.  All great resources for growth and expansion.  Remember, I know 100 people that you don't, and you know 100 people that I don't.  Let's both know 200 people!?!?

10. Clients for Life and Building Referrals:

Most clients and friends are for life. Having a good CRM and using your "Blog Library" of content is the best way to keep the cycle going and successful. Asking for referrals from the point of contract and tapping into others SOI will keep the pipeline refilling and the success cycle going.  There is no better way to get in front of 100's, 1000's, maybe millions, than with your Great Blog and Social Networking skills.

Each of these Steps and this Cycle for Success are dependent upon each item and how efficiently you apply them to your Blogging and Business. As you continue to Blog, you will learn and inevitably grow in each area.  You don't have to be an expert with the technical side of things, but understanding the steps and this cycle for success will really help.  This is just one "Blogging" concept that I hope will help you in determining what you need to enhance or incorporate into your "Steps and Cycles for Success!"

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Comments (95)

France and Mark Clausen
Realty Austin - Dripping Springs, TX

Hi Brad,

This all sounds great but how do we set it up? I'm about as technical as a 4lb sledge hammer!

Sep 29, 2009 12:14 PM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Rosalinda - looking forward to seeing you in the Big City! 

Thanks Linda

France and Mark - there are links in the above post that will walk you through it, but if you need help, you can call me anytime and I'll assist you.  It's not as hard as you may think.  Remember, if you're a sledge hammer, then every challenge is just a nail!  :-)

Sep 29, 2009 12:35 PM
Tiffany Cloud
HomeSmart Real Estate - Gilbert, AZ

Brad, I have no idea where you find the time to write such concise but thourough post!  All the tools you need are here on AR, just DO IT and be consistant...   still having a hard time with that "consistant" part!  lol :)

Sep 29, 2009 01:14 PM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

The Difference between Hit Router "My Markets" and Click Campaigns  (I just got 2 emails asking about this)

One thing to understand is the difference between the two areas available using your Hit Router.  The Local Markets or "My Markets" area is Free.  The Campaigns are paid for based on clicks. Here's a simple scenario:

1. If a consumer searches a home while on your Blog, Post, or Profile, they will be linked to your local IDX page for whatever Local Market cities you have claimed and setup.  This means every post you have written has the potential of driving you a lead and a potential customer.

2. If you have a Click Campaign setup, this means if they do a search on ANY of the 1.3 million pages on AR, you have the chance to convert a home searcher into a lead if they type in any of the cities you have set up. This works on any members Blog or post.

You can see why having the proper landing page for your IDX is important whether you are using the FREE local markets or the Click Campaigns.  If you look at the link in this post that shows all the cities that were searched, do the math, it makes more sense to have a click campaign setup so that no matter what page they are looking at on AR, if they do a home search, they'll land on your IDX.

Sep 29, 2009 01:18 PM
Damon Gettier
Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS- Roanoke Va Short Sale Expert - Roanoke, VA
Broker/Owner ABRM, GRI, CDPE

Ok.....I will try and figure this out this week.  Thanks for more information overload! 

Sep 29, 2009 01:26 PM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Good Grief, Brad!  I just can't keep up with you!  Can you slow it down just a bit?!  As always, thank you for the wonderful advice and it looks like I have a couple of things to add to my laundry list!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and enjoy Seattle's Bar Camp!  (I'm still upset you couldn't come to Charlotte this year--maybe next?!)

Debe in Charlotte

Sep 29, 2009 06:07 PM
Christine Donovan
Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA
Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

This is great information, and I'm especially excited because I'm trying to explain a lot of this to my husband, and here it easily laid out for me to present to him.  And, I love the ability to download it to pdf.

Sep 30, 2009 04:24 PM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Christine - I hope this helps it all make cents sense to your husband. :-)

Oct 01, 2009 09:10 AM
Gabriele Buonacorsi
Coldwell Banker Premier Realty - Henderson, NV

AWESOME ADVICE...SOCIAL NETWORKING IS SO BIG THESE DAYS....IT CAN GET CONFUSING

Oct 19, 2009 05:16 AM
Tere Rottink
CoastalVa Realty Inc - Virginia Beach, VA

I can't believe I almost missed this Post.  Excellent!

Oct 31, 2009 10:45 PM
Rita Minion
O'Brien Realty - Solomons, MD

Hello Brad,

Excellent post! Thank you so much for all the great tips!  I have so much to learn & your posts are making it easier for me.  Thank you so much for you help!  I need to get educated on Hit Router. Seems like a pay-per-click - is it?  Again, thanks for you terrific post!

Rita

 

Nov 03, 2009 01:15 PM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Hi Rita - Hit router has two segments. One is the FREE Local markets which allows you to setup unlimited areas and link to your IDX for specified searches.  The other segment is a paid campaign that lets you bid for clicks on ANY property search done on ANY ActiveRain page. The FREE local market searches only apply to your page, profile, blog, or posts while the CPC campaigns work on ANY of the 1.3 million pages on AR. Here are a couple posts I put together explaining them both:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/759371/Listing-Router-How-To-Setup-Save-Your-Own-Traffic

http://activerain.com/blogsview/759375/Listing-Router-How-To-Set-Up-Your-Own-Click-Campaign

I hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help you out if you need. :-)

 

Nov 03, 2009 01:50 PM
Rita Minion
O'Brien Realty - Solomons, MD

Hello Brad,

Thank you for your help and the additional links!  This is great!  Again, thank you.

Rita

 

Nov 05, 2009 12:25 PM
Lori Cain
Own Tulsa - Tulsa, OK
Midtown Tulsa Real Estate Top Producer

Over the past seven months that I've been part of the Rain, I think I'd be clueless and would have given up without your amazing direction. You put your heart and soul into what you do/write, and it is greatly appreciated.

BTW, discontinued my hit router campaign until I got IDX of my own - was tired of paying to send people to my Broker's site. So, I'm almost there - added IDX to my personal site and almost have it completed!

THANK YOU!

Dec 14, 2009 11:00 AM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Hi Lori - thanks for your comment. Just let me know if there's anything I can ever do to help.  My passion is definitely into AR and my work here, but my heart is into the members most of all. Happy Holidays!!   :-)

Dec 15, 2009 02:55 PM
Joe Cuchiara
Higher Ground Real Estate - Colorado Springs, CO

Brad, would you be my personal coach?! :o)  Thanks for the direction and counsel. I'm starting to get my feet wet.

Jan 10, 2010 01:54 PM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876

Joe - happy to be your personal coach. First step will be to get you some water tight shoes.  :-o)

Jan 10, 2010 04:56 PM
Kevin Cottrell
Austin Real Estate Today - Austin, TX

Wow  Brad - I've been away from AR for way too long.  I'm gonna go through and read every one of our excellent posts.  I know we can get our blogging on track - we had sorta given up - however, after reading your post above and the excellent discussion, I can see that doesn't make sense.  Keep em coming!

Jan 17, 2010 01:22 PM
Amaan Rooos
RealtyBoost - Oakville, ON

I'm not new to activerain...but I'm new to using the blog.  Unfortunately, I'm finding it very difficult to find answer to things or find out how to contact ActiveRain for question, so I thought I'd try to post here and hope that I hear back.

I would like to upgrade to RainMaker status, but when I try to make the purchase; A) I thought it was only $29.00 for those who have had accounts for a while, and B) I'm Canadian and it won't allow me to type a Postal Code. 

Can you help me with this?  Thank you so much for your time.  I think this is a great resource but am still trying to find my way around.  I appreciate any help you can offer.

~ Amanda

Jul 11, 2010 05:49 AM
Bud & Beth McKinney
RE/MAX UNITED - Cary, NC
Cary/Raleigh/Apex NC - The Team That Cares, RE/MAX United

It seems that blogging nowadays is The way to get clients to notice your property. I remember when all we had was a sign in the yard, word of mouth, and ads in the paper. Now, you can't just let your old methods die when this one gets taken up. Make sure that blogging is just added to what you already do. But this is very informative and great for those who have been in the business awhile to re-read over time and learn new small tricks they didn't catch the first time around.

Jul 12, 2011 05:21 AM