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Using Your Blog To Enhance Existing Relationships

Reblogger Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Property Manager with Gibson Management Group, Ltd.

 

I used to send out quarterly client and would-be client newsletters....now I am using my blog to keep in touch.

 

Original content by Bob Stewart

I could have used a steriod needle to symbolize 'enhancing'Alright folks, it's time again for me to bribe entice you with ridiculous amounts of points. The last few times it was me giving you lots of points to do a few things you should be doing anyway. This time I'm going to bribe you to help your fellow bloggers.

I have a hunch that not as many people are going to be able to participate because I get the sense that not as many people are doing this. Doing what? Glad you asked.

How are you using your blog to enhance your existing relationships with clients and prospects?

I had the pleasure a number of months ago to speak with one of our local ActiveRain members at the REBarCamp held in Seattle at the Zillow offices. One of the questions I asked him was how he was using his massive library of content to reach out to his existing prospects? This was a 200,000 point plus member and he must have had 300-400 posts in his archive at the time. I assumed he must be leveraging all that content with his existing database or sphere.

His answer? He wasn't. He was only thinking about his blog in terms of how it could help him find his next client or prospect. This was a little bit shocking to me (but obviously not shocking enough to do something about it then). It's come up a few times in the past week in conversations that I've had with other members as well. So I thought it was time we all put our heads together and we wrote about how each of us is using our blogs to reach out to existing prospects and clients.

Think about it for a minute. How many of you have people out there who are in some stage of looking? How many of you out there have leads (prospects) that have landed on your website and come back to look for houses every now and then? How many of you have former clients out there that you don't do a very good job of communicating with? Do you think you could use some of the content you have written to enhance those relationships? I think you can and I think you should. From what I have seen, people are so focused on using their blog to attract that next prospect, they forget how powerful it is as a tool to enhance their existing relationships.

The Challenge:

Write a post detailing how you have used the content of your blog to reach out to an existing prospect or client.(The key word is 'detailing'....we want examples, a play by play of how you utilize your library of content). This is going to be tough for some of you because you are not doing this. I don't think I'm going to audit you if you were to come up with an idea and write about that idea. That would be just fine. For those of you that don't have any idea.......you won't get the reward.....but your reward will be much larger. You will learn how to use your content to enhance relationships with your existing prospects and clients.

The Reward:

5000 points for every blog post that details how to use your blog to enhance relationships with existing prospects and clients. (limit one 5000 point reward per person). I am going to judge the posts. If I think you threw something together in an effort to get 5000 points, I may only give you 500. However, there will be no first, second and third. Every post is eligible to get 5000 points.

What would be some examples?

Did you complile a bunch of your posts together into a relocation packet? Do you send that relocation packet to every lead that registers on your webiste? If so, share with us what you put in the package. Share with us how you determine when is the right time to send that to them. Did they appreciate it?

Do you use your blog posts in a monthly newsletter that you send to your past clients? What kinds of posts are you including?

If you have someone you are working with ask you a question, do you use that opportunity to highlight their question in your blog and then send them the link instead of sending them an email response? Do you post the link on their facebook wall instead of emailing it so that their friends can see as well?

I don't know how you are using your past posts to enhance your relationships......and I'm not alone. We want answers!!

Leave a link to your post in the comment section of this blog. I would ask that you have them in by Friday of next week, October 30th at 11:59pm Central time.

(If you never got your points for the last series challenge, please do not bring it up in the comments here. You may never get them. There were quite a few people who couldn't follow the rules and it became a disaster to try to get all the points awarded. Please email me personally and I will get them awarded for you)

 

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Wallace S. Gibson is a Certified Property Manager with over 50 years of property management experience and expertise.  She maintains a specialized property management business in Central Virginia serving Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna and Louisa counties  

LandlordWhisperer

View our available Charlottesville, Albemarle and Lake Monticello rental homes online with photos and floor plans

"...to be a Virginian, either by Birth, Marriage, Adoption, or even on one's Mother's side, is an Introduction to any State in the Union, a Passport to any Foreign Country, and a Benediction from the Almighty God...." Anonymous

 

Comments(10)

Jon Zolsky
FunCoast Realty 386-405-4408 - Ponce Inlet, FL
your Daytona Condo Agent

Wallace,

Thank you very much for the tip. i could have missed it. I do not do a lot of AR stuff, more like a spektator, and, of course, I am not going to jump into the contest, but it would be interesting to read the posts and learn from them.

Feb 03, 2010 03:34 AM
Bob Force (REALTOR®)
Weichert Realtors - Aspen Hill - Mount Airy, MD
The FORCE in Maryland Real Estate

Wallace:

Read the post and I am looking forward to reading/ssing the replies.  I am a little confused.  You looking for input by 'next Friday October 30'.  I see you posted it today Feb 3. 

I keep going back to old posts (within the past three months) to show trents to prospects.  I email them to to them.

 

Feb 03, 2010 11:23 AM
Bob Force (REALTOR®)
Weichert Realtors - Aspen Hill - Mount Airy, MD
The FORCE in Maryland Real Estate

Wallace:

I am bad.  I just wentback and re-read the post to see it was a repost of one by Bob Stwart.

Feb 03, 2010 11:26 AM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

Bob * It was not a trick.  I promise!!

Feb 03, 2010 11:29 AM
Bob Force (REALTOR®)
Weichert Realtors - Aspen Hill - Mount Airy, MD
The FORCE in Maryland Real Estate

Wallace

Did not think it was a trick, I see it as a encouragement.  Was just making comment on the dates.

Feb 03, 2010 08:07 PM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

Bob * I'm attempting * albeit poorly * to encourage more property managers to blog about their LOCAL rental markets, etc. and it is HARD for them to justify the time and energy and I'm using all the backup support I can find!!!

Feb 03, 2010 08:53 PM
Bob Force (REALTOR®)
Weichert Realtors - Aspen Hill - Mount Airy, MD
The FORCE in Maryland Real Estate

Wallace:

I try to post atleast once a week a market report on rentals in the areas I work.  May I suggest you reach out to Realtors in the area and encourage them to do the same.

Feb 04, 2010 03:44 AM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

Bob * I post my own rental market report * Realtors in our area rarely have this information because landlords and property managers do not use the local cumbersome MLS system to post rentals.

Feb 04, 2010 03:48 AM
Bob Force (REALTOR®)
Weichert Realtors - Aspen Hill - Mount Airy, MD
The FORCE in Maryland Real Estate

Wallace:

If I were a Realtor in your area and looking for a rental for a client - where would I looK?

Feb 04, 2010 05:16 AM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

HomeRentals.net * 3 area property managers have our website hosted by this national home website and Craigslist for Charlottesville

Feb 04, 2010 07:10 AM