Be Strategic With Your Blog: A 6-Part Series for Newbies (Part 2)

My whole point in creating this series for you is to help you avoid the mistakes I - and so many other ActiveRain newbies - made when we first were getting our feet wet. Now, as I said in my first post in this series, Making the Most of ActiveRain:

Succeeding at ActiveRain will take work.
Succeeding at ActiveRain will take a commitment.
Succeeding at ActiveRain will take time.

One of the fastest ways to keep your commitment, make the most of your time, and work most efficiently at your new blog is to create a blogging strategy. Getting clear about your answers to some key questions before you begin will make your entire blogging experience better, and help you see returns much more quickly:

1. What are your goals for blogging? Are they clearly defined, or clear as mud? Why are you blogging? What do you want to have happen as a result of your blogging on ActiveRain? Build business. Make friends. Find a mentor. Gain experience. Eventually write a book from all your posts. There are no right or wrong answers - there are only YOUR answers.


2. Have you identified your target audience? Who will read your blog? The public? Other REALTORS? Other players in support industries? Once you know who you're targeting with your posts, it becomes easier to tailor your posts to them and their needs. What you write for a prospective buyer in your community will likely be very different than what you will write for a mortgage broker or home inspector.


3. Have you identified the topics and themes that are important to your target audience? Don't overlook this step. Find out what YOUR readers want to know, and tailor your blogs to that information. This process will help you niche your posts so that the readers you want are finding and reading your blogs.


4. Do you ALWAYS include a call to action? Soooo many newbies and seasoned bloggers alike miss this one. At the end of every post, give your readers some instructions about what you want them to do next. Call you? Visit your Web site? Start an MLS search from a link to your site? People need guidance, so guide them.

Get strategic about your blogging before you begin, and you'll be well on your way to seeing tremendous success from your involvement in this amazing online community! And if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask. That's why we're here. Trust me - I was where you are once. It gets easier and all the myriad returns are so well worth it!

Anna Banana

Miss any segments in the series? Catch up now!

Part 1 - Making the Most of ActiveRain

Part 3 - Create a Blogging Schedule

Part 4 - Deciding What to Write

Part 5 - The Five Deadly Sins of Blogging

Part 6 - Perfecting Your ActiveRain Profile