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How To Build A Blogger From The Ground Up - 3rd In The PB Round-Up Series

By
Real Estate Agent with I.V.P.G. - Inland Valley Professional Group

Hi All,

Yesterday, as promised, I posted the 2nd part of this seriesabout my experience with Active Rain, Blogging and Project Blogger.  For me the three are inextricably tied especially because they all happened at almost the very same time to me.

To refresh your memory... Or if you have just joined us... Previouslyy I covered the launch phase and the very early weeks in the life of Route66Living.com.   I talked about everything from the selection of the site's name and it's look to some of the earliest posts and decisions that were made regarding how I wanted to handle comments. 

Now, we are getting to some of the really fun stuff including my very first blogging clients.  At this stage in the game, about two or three weeks into the event, things were starting to heat up both outside of AR and in.  On the contest front, judges were starting to be heard from and I was starting to get my very first taste of the competition aspect of the Project Blogger event.   I was now traveling at breakneck speed as I was still feeling that I was behind the curve and that I needed to catch up quick. 

I was also still reeling a bit because of the amount of things that had happened so very, very quickly to and for me and I was also starting to really feel all of those late nights.  Since I am a confirmed night owl and have been all my life, (I actually slept through my birth at 6:18 AM and I arrived naturally, neat trick, huh? :-) it was coming as a bit of a surprise to me just how tired I was.  But as my mom used to say "It's a GOOD tired".

Drew was still making tweaks here and there including adjustments on some of the graphics and adding in the instant Zestimate and CMA request widgets.  It was also at about this time, without fanfare, after seeing them on Drew's site, I asked Drew to add the two charity link widgets to my sidebar.  Kiva and ONE have been there almost from the beginning. 

I debated ever so slightly with myself about adding them, not because I don't think the organizations are awesome (they are) and not because I don't like what they are doing (I do), but because I didn't want anyone to think that I was trying to use them as a way to curry favor.  I hope that their presence on my site is beneficial to them, but I truly don't want or need to know what level of benefit they derive. 

My mother worked for the Sister Kenny Foundationyears and years ago when they were still primarily known for combating Polio and she told me about how when some businesses would decide to donate to the foundation they would ask for someone to come out for the presentation, there was always press, and they always wanted the sickest looking, wheelchair bound child they could find to appear.  They were trading on the child's infirmity and using the child's misfortune to make themselves look good.  Having grown up hearing that story and many others like it, I have always been hyper-conscious about trying to avoid doing just that. 

I strongly believe in the value of charitable works and do what I can to help others, but I also try very hard to do my good works in secret, for the most part. 

At this point in the game, Route66Living.com was pretty well fleshed out and 99% of the technical parts were in place and running well.  It was also at about this point that I started to get very definite signs that Route66Living.com was working and working well.  I met one of Claremont's City Councilmen, Sam Pedroza and was shocked to find out that he knew who I was before I introduced myself, because he was reading my blog! 

It was also about this time that I received my very first bonafide blogging client!  Not just a name to try to convert to a lead, but a real, live person with a need and a FICO and everything!   I was extremely honored by the fact that this was a client referral from another agent who I had never met in person and who had found me via my Active Rain blog. 

It is high praise indeed whenever anyone chooses to work with you, but it is an even bigger honor, I feel, when another Realtor, especially one that is very successful, decides to refer a client to you.  Having someone stake their reputation on my abilities is truly amazing.  And having this occur as the direct result of their reading what I have to say, liking it, and liking me enough to extend a client to me is a wonderful feeling.  It also told me in no uncertain terms, that my blogging was going to pay off. 

I also learned about how to use the Technorati and Ping-O-Maticservices and began regularly "pinging" the search engines whenever I put something new on the site.  A ping essentially pokes the search engine to tell them that there is something new and fresh and that they should take a look.  The more frequently you ping with relevant content the more frequently they visit or "crawl" your site.  It was also about this time that I learned about and signed up for Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a truly wonderful thing.  It allows you to have Google troll the Internet on your behalf and bring information back to you about whatever words, phrases or names you ask it to look for.  This is kind of like an RSS feed (which stands for Really Simple Syndication and I think that is hysterical :-) except that you don't have to discover the source yourself first and then have the feed take it from there, you just set the parameter's of the searches you wish to have done, tell it how often you want to be notified and sit back and wait for the results.

At first, the content that Alerts brought to my door, or to be more accurate, my email were of dubious value and some were older than the hills.  Some also fit my parameters but had nothing to do with me.  Occasionally that still happens but I would rather have it tell me everything that it finds than to have it try to decide what will truly be of interest to me.  

I have asked it to alert me whenever Claremont, Claremont Blog, Real Estate Blog, Claremont Real Estate, Tisza Major Posner, Tisza Realtor, Tisza Real Estate Agent, Tisza Real Estate, Claremont Realtor, Claremont Real Estate Agent, Route66Living.com and Claremont, California pop up anywhere. 

I have been treated to everything from information about the Tisza Major, which is a river in Hungary that was actually named for an ancestor of mine, and is currently dying due to pollution;  To information about Claremont in Australia.  It has also found my name, my blog site or both in other people's blogs or comments and it has alerted me to those as well. 

This is another thing that I would highly recommend your doing.  You don't need to be as extensive as I was with what you ask to be alerted to, but at the very least you should make sure that it tells you whenever it runs accross your name, your blog site or your area of interest. 

One of the most exciting days for me was when Google Alerts picked up not just what I had written on Active Rain, but when it started showing me what I had written on Route66Living.com as well.  At first there was a significant delay, we're talking days here, between when I would post something new to Route66Living and when it would show up for me as an alert, but as I kept writing and pinging that delay has winnowed down until it is only moments or at most one hour if things are really busy, before I get the alert.  Oh, and did I mention that this stellar, curbside service is FREE?  Well, I should have, because it is and that just makes it all the sweeter.

Things continued to run fairly smoothly for the next month or so and although more content was added to my site only one new widget appeared.  I found a nifty little widget that allows you to have the local area weather information available right there for all to see, again it is a freebie (you have got to love those Geeky Boys :-) and Drew dutifully attached it to Route66Living.com for me.

We did hit a bit of a glitch which caused Drew to ask for help from a developer and also prompted my switch to Firefox as a browser.  IE 6 was causing a problem with the user experience and it needed fixing.  I confess that I still use AOL 99% of the time as my browser, some habits die hard, shh, don't tell anyone, it will be our little secret OK?

Drew published several updates which chronicled his contributions and our collaborations.  Here are the links to Update two, Update three and Update four.  Drew was great about including links to all of the much more technical aspects of the build and I would highly suggest that you check the update links above to get the straight dope, as it were.

From the very beginning, Drew and I decided that the technical side of things would be primarily his department and the content would be mine.  "Just write" was the instruction I was given and just write is what I have done.  Drew has suggested some topics from time to time and also some additional resources that I should link to, and I have always welcomed his suggestions, and implemented most of them,  but the words have consistently been mine alone. 

Long about the end of the first month I wrote a story about the West Nile Virus and how it is still a danger.  I spoke with the Public Information Officer for San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and  Vector Control and actually ran the story past her for a quick fact check.  When you are talking about something that is truly a potentially life and death topic you really don't want to get your facts wrong.    I was very pleased when the story came back without any changes needed.   It is stories like that one which are actually some of the most gratifying to create. 

About the second month of the event I was introduced to Visual Tour a virtual tour program and system.  I purchased the software and signed up for the service.  The tours that you can create with it are wonderful and the program is pretty near stupid and bad photographer proof as well.  I attached my first virtual community event tour to this story about the Claremont Farmer's Market

I also was introduced to a free program (thank you again Jeff Dowler) called Filmloop.  They have since become Fabrik, but the great idea is still the same and it is still very simple and fun to use.  I demonstrated the program on this post here on AR "Truth In Advertising - A Humorous Take On Listings".

May was a big month where leads were concerned and I really started to see the results of my efforts.  I received client leads from Route66Living.com for the first time, I also received some actual clients from my site as well...

Tomorrow I will wrap up the series with my fourth and final PB Round-Up.  I will bring you from the second full month of Route66Living.com's existence to now and share with you what I have learned, and what plans I have for the future.  So, until tomorrow gentle readers...

Take care all, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

Tisza

Comments (6)

William Johnson
Retired - La Jolla, CA
Retired

The resources alone are worth the read. But the other things are awesome to. Please teach me to write like you. Amazing! Yep, book marked just like the other two.

BTW, you are on earlier today. At least it is not midnight again,lol Great great post!

Jul 13, 2007 01:23 PM
Mary Pope-Handy
Christie's International Real Estate Sereno - Los Gatos, CA
CRS, CIPS, ABR, SRES, Silicon Valley
Great wrap up, Tisza. Not everyone will have time (or the interest) to go back through the 10 gazillion PB posts. The summaries will be helpful to others down the road.
Jul 13, 2007 01:48 PM
Tisza Major-Posner
I.V.P.G. - Inland Valley Professional Group - Claremont, CA
DRE#01784679

Hi All,

William - I am glad you are finding these posts interesting and informative.  That has been my hope for them as they are being crafted.  Yes, I am on quite a bit earlier than usual, mainly because each of these round-up posts has taken about two days to craft (I have already begun the fourth and final post).  But, that doesn't mean that I won't be on later to burble about something, why mess with a winning formula, right? 

G3 - I am glad you like it.  You are very welcome and be sure to read the fourth and final round up that will debut tomorrow.

Take care, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

Tisza

Jul 13, 2007 01:48 PM
Tisza Major-Posner
I.V.P.G. - Inland Valley Professional Group - Claremont, CA
DRE#01784679

Hi Mary,

That was my intent.  I also remember talking to Jonathan and hearing him say that what they hoped to get out of all of this was a sort of how we did guide, I hesitate to call it a how to guide as there are so many ways "to".  The best way I could think of to demonstrate my appreciation for my participation and to pay a little back was to try to honor his his request and pay a little forward as well.

Take care dear friend,

Tisza

Jul 13, 2007 01:51 PM
Kaye Thomas
Real Estate West - Manhattan Beach, CA
e-PRO, Manhattan Beach CA
Tisza- You have learned so much in such a short time.. I still don't know much of what you will now incorporate into your blog each day..
Jul 15, 2007 05:45 AM
Tisza Major-Posner
I.V.P.G. - Inland Valley Professional Group - Claremont, CA
DRE#01784679

Hi Kaye,

Patience Grasshopper :-) I will share this and much more in the fourth and final round-up post that should debut later today.  It has been a much larger challenge than I anticipated it being to try to encapsulate and condense into four articles the sum total of almost four solid months of effort.  And, I really don't want to do a half-arsed job of it.  After all, I have had the benefit of some of the finest teachers in the blogosphere to model my efforts after and I want to try to demonstrate what I have gleaned from you all.

Thanks for reading this offering.  I know it is long and four will be long as well, but I hope that after finishing them you feel they have been worth your investment of time and my effort.

Take care, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

Tisza

Jul 15, 2007 07:19 AM