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Best Resources for Real Estate Blog Content

I am always asked by agents that maintain their own blogs, "where to go to find content and how to find frequent content." Over the past year, blogging has hit the net by storm and the number of bloggers grows by the thousands every day. When I first join Active Rain, I think there were less than 2,000 bloggers on the site. Now the number has grown to 43,554. I joined in August 2006.

The best places I have found for blog content can come from individuals we work with on a daily basis or the sites we visit frequently. These individuals are filled with information and would love to have their content added to your blog.

Where to find topics?

Transaction Vendors - with the assistance of your transaction vendors, you can get at least one blog per month and a regular basis from your Title Company, home inspection company, pest Inspection Company, preferred lender, appraiser, bank contact, etc. You will receive at least five blogs for your site giving you a new blog at lease every six days.
Home Stagers - Team up with a home stager. Home stagers provide a lot of helpful home selling and buying ideas for seller and buyers. I am always looking for new decorating ideas. One or two blogs per month will benefit each of you.
Subscribe to other Blogs and Community Newsletters - Subscribe to other blogs and online newsletters on topics of interest. Often and article written on a topic will generate a fresh new review or generate new content for a new blog on the same topic. Avoid plagiarism and avoid blogging to criticize the information the other person discussed. It will make you look like the bully on the playground trying to attract attention. Your post should always respect the views of others even when you don't agree.
Ghost Bloggers - If you do not have time to blog or would like to have additional content added to your blog site, consider hiring a Ghost Blogger.
Company News - Blog about the latest company news. If you or your team have made great stride, achieved a goal, will host a seminar, have a new listing, etc., write about it.
Google News - I like to use Google News to find targeted content on topics that I am ghost blogging about for agents. I even subscribe to Google news feed in the specific areas of the agents.
Your Assistant - Involve your assistant in the writing process. Your assistant sees and hear a lot of information and can provide a lot of insight to what buyers and sellers would like to know.
Forums - Watch the forums for topics. What are others talking about, complementing, complaining about, etc.
Buyers and Sellers - What type of questions are they asking during your presentations, showings, and contract phase? Create your blogs based on those questions. One question asked and answered will often provide an answer to hundreds or thousands of buyers and sellers.
New Listing Area - Just picked up a new listing? Blog about the area surrounding the listing (Park and Recreation, Mall, community events, etc), and add a simple link about the listing in the blog. Don't use the entire blog to talk about the listing. That should be kept separate.
Yahoo News - Like Google news, subscribe to news in your target area.
Topix.net - Subscribe to Topix.net and receive update national and local news stories.

PS: See Bobby Carroll's comment below. He has included several great add-on resources.

Of course, there are many other resources available online that will help you locate content for your blog and I am sure others will provide additional information.

Regards,

Carolyn Nelson, NAR Certified Real Estate Assistant | Carolyn@OnlineREPA.com | http://www.onlinerepa.com/ | Bus: 877.717.4491 | Fax: 866.590.2269

Posted by Carolyn Nelson on 08/18/2007 07:23 AM

Comments (53)

blogging, ghost blogging, resources

53 Comments on Best Resources for Real Estate Blog Content

AUG

2007

Carolyn,

This is a well thought out and helpful blog especially for those new to blogging.
Thanks for taking the time and effort to write it

WOW! Great post! Great list! Thank you for your effort. I'm not new to blogging but I could always use a lot of help to get better at it. Thank you!

Fantastic tips and very helpful to us new to blogging.

Thanks.

Carolyn, once I became attuned to writing blogs, subjects that came up naturally during the course of the day would inspire a "Hey, I've got something to say about that!" Sometimes as I write a long comment on someone else's post, I realize that it could be a blog on its own.

I think local events are also good to add to your blog and it shows the readers that you are current with local activities

Debbie, Jessica, and Brad - I've learned a lot about blogging, most from AR. I'm always happy to share any resources to make others more efficient.

Brian - blogging does the same for me. One topic often generates a new blog. Sometimes, one blog generates a host of additional blogs.

I like writing my blogs late at night, store it in word, then post each over a period of time. The Word 2007, I like the fact that I can write blogs for clients and post it directly from word in to word press in addition to picking the tags.

Hi Susan, that is the topic of the next blog I wrote, keeping blogs local. I think that is the best avenue for any agent. It will help with the search engine and you will spend less time looking for content when you write about local events.

Ahh, the woman that never sleeps. Great topic Carolyn. With those ideas I can now take your advice to "get off my bottom and blog!" :-)

Hi Toni!

Four hours of sleep is all I need to make my day complete. Anything over four hours will give me a headache, backache, and ruin my day. Now get off your bottom and blog!

So many resources, so little time (to blog). Thanks for the ideas.

Hi Carolyn - some great suggestions on your list, and as someone else mentioned, I think the local events in one's area are great for ideas to write about as well. I'm not sure I agree with 'ghost bloggers' as I believe your writing should be your own in your own voice, but I know there are others who feel differently.

Congrats on the gold star post!
Ann

Great post. I use Google Alerts and Topix for great local content ideas.

Don;t forget your local newspapers for that local content - Great post. Thanks!

Thanks for the helpful list, and good for you for doing it. It's appreciated. There's a lot of great content ideas that come off our AR comments trails as well.

Cheers...

Doug - There never seems to be enough time in the day for blogging. Thanks for the reply.

Ann - Thanks. Ghost Bloggers will write your blogs in first person. Some use Ghost Bloggers for additional content.

Tracey - I also use Google and Topix. Those are usually my top resources. Thanks.

Carl - Yes, the local paper is a must. I subscribe to the local paper for the agent's area. Thanks!

Gary - I'm glad I can provide another resource to those struggling for content and it's even better when other post additional resources. Thanks for the reply.

I haven't used outside sources, but will check some of these out. Thanks..

This is a terrific and valuable resource. New to blogging or not...this is a helpful way to look for new information to support out blogging efforts. Thank you! ;) Pamela

Hi - These are really excellent ideas. And this is a slightly different list than other idea lists I've seen. I think there are some different ways to explore a little more. I while back I wrote a post where I linked to a bunch of great idea generating posts. I think this is such a great list I linked to it from here. Thanks.

Carolyn,

Nice list for content subject. Just out of curiosity though, what is a "ghost blogger" and where do you hire one?

Al - Sometimes we have writer's block and the resources often provide light bulb ideas.

Pamela - Thank you Pam. More resources will help the new bloggers.

Angela - I'm sure there are other ways to explore a little more. When resources are combined, it makes it easier. Thank you.

Paul and Michelle - Ghost Blogger are individuals that specialize in writing blogs on a variety of topics for those that would like to keep content flowing on the blog sites. Blogs are written in first person and the writer is very familiar with the topic. Ghost Bloggers will also link your blogs to other blogs and in some cases respond to comments. I prefer and recommend that the agents respond to each comment.

If you do a Yahoo, Google or internet search, you should find a host of professionals that specialize in Ghost Blogging. Contact me if you need additional assistance or have questions.

Regards,

Carolyn Nelson, NAR Certified Real Estate Assistant | Carolyn@OnlineREPA.com | http://www.onlinerepa.com/ | Bus: 877.717.4491 | Fax: 866.590.2269

Carolyn~ This is such great information! I was wondering how you handle the ghost blogging with clients, and the content. Bookmarked;)

I keep coming up with blog ideas in my sleep bit I forget about most of them by the time I wake up.

Laura - It's a lot of work especially when an agent wants two new blogs a day for six days. Each usually have between 200 - 300 words with links. In the end, I always learn more while researching or writing the articles.

Michael - Same here. I can come up with a great blog idea in the kitchen. But by the time I make it to the office chair, I have forgotten the idea because of the distractions. It's time to put a pen and pager on the night stand or keep a recorder handy.

Well deserving of your Feature. Frankly, time seems to be a bigger challenge than topics to blog about. I'm inspired by so many other bloggers here. Plus I have a feed of other sources ranging from Mortgage News Daily, Inman News, WSJ, NY Times, and my local Business Journal. I also subcribe to all major market news feeds from the Business Journal and pass blog topic ideas on to our clients. On a local level, blog topics can range from interviewing local school officials, city council people, developers, custom home builders, HOA meeting hot topics and local events.

Bobby - The school and HOA are two of the other resources I wanted to include but couldn't remember once I walked away from the computer. Wish I could remember the other item. HOA and Schools blogs are very important to buyers. It's often the deciding factor. Thanks for the reminder. Thank you.

Regards,

Carolyn Nelson, NAR Certified Real Estate Assistant | Carolyn@OnlineREPA.com | http://www.onlinerepa.com/ | Bus: 877.717.4491 | Fax: 866.590.2269

Great post.

I just started a blog idea journal, now I only need to get around to writing more blogs. ;)

Frank - Great idea for a journal. I usually book mark blogs I like but it would be more user friendly to jot down the "idea" to be used later.

Thanks Carolyn for getting the creative juices flowing!

Fine suggestions and well thought out - thank you. Bookmarked for reference as I am encouraging blogging and my wife will be teaching it in HS this year (as part of a business course).

Carolyn,

That list is pretty complete. The Internet is a treasure trove of sources for news and topics to write about. The challenge for many may be which ones to choose and then how to write about the material that is there. Content is important, of course, and copying something outright is a no-no.

This is a great list, Carolyn. I think someone really should not be at a loss for things to write about. My peference is to write stuff myself - the idea of a ghost blogger, for me, just does not set well, although I know some folks use them. Wonde what they have to say about this?

Jeff

Carolyn,

Thanks for the great information.

Regards

Dave Magua

Weston florida

Carolyn: It is great to have someone like yourself share these resources. I find that once and awhile I hit a block. Most of the time I have a lot of ideas, but just can't find the time to write the blog! This will be a great assist.

Hello Carolyn. Thank you very much for you blog. I can use any additional content to add to my blogs. And I am definitely going to check out www.topix.net. Great post.

Newspapers are also a good source of ideas. I read 4 of them every morning, from local to the Wall St Journal, and often there are topics that will set me thinking...and blogging.

AUG

2007

Congratulations on your gold star, Carolyn! I find the greatest source of blog topics is other blogs. For example, I read a post about open houses the other day and came away with two ideas - a tutorial for agent open houses and a discussion of the MOST principal I apply to my marketing efforts. When that inspiration occurs, I quickly put my thoughts into a draft, so I can go back at a later time to develop them. Sometimes, the graphics I find for the post, inspire further tweaking of the idea.

Thanks for the ideas...I just wish I had more time. I really enjoy the internet and blogging and see it as an effective way to promote my businesses. Some of my recent posts are on my experiences with clients and potential clients and my farm area. Keep the ideas coming!

Great resource ! I could use some ideas myself!

I am always searching for new content for my blog. It's nice when you can write on a topic that is out of the ordinary.

good ideas

Thanks, Carolyn- This post was inspiring to me... we all have a group of people with whom we regularly work. Why not ask them for current issues? It doesn't get much easier than that!

Frank - Start out by writing two blogs a week. Make it relevant and filled with content. I usually spend Saturday or Sunday writing my personal blog. Since Word 2007 will allow me to post the blog directly into my Word Press Blogs, I can save my blogs in my blog folder and post a task in my OL calender as a reminder.

Debbie - You are welcome. I will post additional links to my personal blog in the future. I will also start posting weekly customized drip letters.

Art - Thank you. I'm sure your wife will enjoy teaching the class but odds are, the students will be able to teach her short cuts. It's amazing how much high school students know about blogs.

Esko - Thanks you. I don't think it is possible to not find information on anything when searching the net. It's like shopping at Wal-Mart for soap and claim that the shelves are empty or claim that Wal-Mart doesn't sell soap. I took my son back-to-school shopping yesterday. While in Office Max, I asked if he needed a dictionary. Silly me, you would have thought I asked him to buy a set of clay tablets. LOL

Jeff - Thanks, I also like to write my own content but also like writing for others. It's definitley not for everyone.

Dave - You're welcome.

Joan - I enjoy sharing information. If you don't have a pocket pc, keep a small tablet handy for notes. Sometimes, it could take several days to write a blog because you are press for time. It will all work out.

Lanre - You are welcom. I like topix.net I can subscribe to specific cities where each agent lives without any problems and the information is always up fresh.

Sharon - The newspaper is a great place. I prefer to read the online version.

Margaret - Thanks Margaret! Congrats on the Bronze Star. You have been doing a lot of blogging since we last spoke. Blogs are always a great source for input and output.

Rebecca - Consider writing blogs about the questions your clients ask every day. Create one blog for each question. The next time a client ask a question, you can answer it and refer them to your blog for additional Q & A. Create a new page on your blog for Real Estate Q & A.

Paul - Thank you. I have also seen a lot of new ideas in the comments. By responding to this list alone, I have created three more blogs in my journal.

Deb - It is nice having that option. You will find a lot of topics on topix.net

Malika - Thanks

Sandi - That is true. You can also use the company suggestion box and/or to questions you hear clients ask daily as a blogging tool.

Regards,

Carolyn Nelson, NAR Certified Real Estate Assistant | Carolyn@OnlineREPA.com | http://www.onlinerepa.com/ | Bus: 877.717.4491 | Fax: 866.590.2269

Great info ! Great post ! Thanks

Thanks Melissa.

This is a great blog! I am looking up each of these!

Teresa Johnson

AUG

2007

I agree I am always thinking about blogging topics and I find they come to me after a conversation with a client and always being in tune to new ideas.

I always tell people to blog about what they are passionate about too. It always comes through in the writing. -Charles

Teresa - Thank you. Have a Great Day!

Scotte - Keep a running list or journal of questions your clients ask. Answer each as a separate blog. Have a Great Day!

Jacqulyn - Unless they person is a ball of confusion, finding topics from the above resouces and more should be very easy. Have a Great Day!

Oops, gotta another blog idea!

Regards,

Carolyn Nelson, NAR Certified Real Estate Assistant | Carolyn@OnlineREPA.com | http://www.onlinerepa.com/ | Bus: 877.717.4491 | Fax: 866.590.2269

Carolyn,

Thanks for the post. Great list of ideas for sources of information. I agree that everyday business experiences make for great posts.

AUG

2007

Carolyn,

You've always got such great ideas. Nice post.

AUG

2007

William - The questions the buyers and sellers ask everyday are great topics. I keep a list of questions the agents are asked and provide the updated list weekly to generate blog topics.

Tracy - Thanks. Even though I don't sell, I see, hear, and read enough information on a daily basis to generate ideas and solutions.

Happy Blogging,

PS: Don't keep us a Secret. Recommend us to your network of agents. Subscribe to my blog today

AUG

2007

Carolyn, I never heard of a Ghost Blogger..sounds like something I need! Thanks for the tips!

SEP

2007

Vicki, While it growing in popularity, many have a hard time determining what segment should be outsourced. I believe that the agent should still be involved and contribute at least one personal blog per week while the ghost writer manage the others.

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