I don't hide my blog under a bushel.

There isn't a person who knows me who doesn't know that I am an avid blogger.  Every buyer and seller I work with sees the link to my blog on my business card, on fact sheets at open houses, under my signature on every email I send them, and every other piece of promotional material that I put out.

Just in case they don't notice it right away, I point it out to them.  Before I take on a new client, and if we don't already know one another from a past transaction, I suggest that they read my blog to get an idea of who I am and how I work.  If they are referral from a past customer, they are often already familiar with it - the friend who gave them my name gave them the blog link before I did.

Once they are a client, I often write about our time together looking at houses, how they make the decision about which one they'll buy, the negotiation and getting it all to the settlement table.  Now, I try to keep it humorous, and I never write about my own clients behaving badly.  Also, I almost never use names (certainly not without their consent) and while they might recognize themselves, other people reading the post would not.

And in almost all cases, the posts make them laugh and they like to read about our escapades on the streets of Washington.

When I wrote Ma'am, Kindly Move Away From My Clients! I got a call within an hour of posting it from my buyers.  Then they shared it with their friends and family.  Wadda Ya Want For A Million Bucks? had the same effect on the woman I showed a sloppily prepared house to.  The couple I was working with when I wrote Selling a Blog Buddie's Listing! wound up joining Active Rain (I made the comments open for members only after the spammers) and they were able to read and comment on that and several of he posts that their transaction spawned.

When it snows, I email a link to Your Snow Shovel Is Your Friend to all of my sellers, which makes me feel less like the nag I might be if I phoned them to say "shovel it!" 

I wrote a post about one of my sellers, Edna Johnston, who helps people get a tax credit for dedicating the facade of their historic home to the L'Enfant Trust.  She loved the post, and so did the people who bought one of my historic listings and asked about the possibiliies with their new home.

And speaking of Edna, she bought her house years ago when I was with Pardoe Real Estate, which morphed into Coldwell Banker, which I left for WC and AN Miller Realtors, then moved to Evers & Company where I am now.  And she tracked me down on Google, which thanks to all of my new found Google Juice, she was able to do easily when she typed my name.  Before Active Rain, I was buried on Page 35.  Now I'm on Page 1 most of the time - which is pretty neat for such a common name.

I'm in a book group, and half of the members are past clients or bought on of my listings.  When I wrote My Fun New Book Group! about our first meeting, they all got a link.

My blog is something that sets me apart from other agents.  It gives my clients, and also my colleagues, something to laugh about.

And as I'm finishing this up I realize that I don't have to talk as much when I'm with them.  I'm not tempted to run at the mouth, regaling them with my funny little real estate stories.  They've read them in my blog!  It's a non-verbal introduction to who I am, which makes it possible for me to listen and learn who they are and figure out how to best serve their real estate needs.

Ya know?  Blogging rocks!  Active Rain really rocks!