Most real estate blogs are dominated by real estate topics. This may seem logical, but I don't think that is the right approach. While it is important to establish your credibility and incorporate real estate into your blog, your blog should not be limited to real estate related topics. Remember that real estate knowledge isn't what differentiates you in the market.

Seller and buyer tips are a good way to establish credibility and make real estate part of the conversation. Home maintenance and improvement tips may be even better because one of the objectives of your blog is to maintain contact between transactions. Market updates are good because they are more localized, provided you focus on local market conditions.

Localization is one of the core concepts of real estate marketing. While you may work with clients over a wide area, it pays to position yourself as an expert in one or more smaller areas where you do geographic farming. You can tie your blog into that effort by mentioning those areas in your posts and perhaps by featuring a weekly listing from those areas.

Localization also applied to non-real estate topics. Blogging should be part of your communication with your sphere of influence, so all of your SOI activities are potential blogging topics. Hobbies and other interests can also make good blogging topics, but try to frame those subjects in terms of your target areas. Gaining avid readers in Iowa won't build your business in Santa Clara County.

Did you catch that?

I'm centered in Santa Clara County. I was able to work my location into the previous paragraph which increases the likelihood that my blog will be found by someone local rather than someone across the country. There are plenty of topics that are naturally local, such as restaurants, golf, schools, charities, fraternal organizations, and neighborhood events.

Think about your SOI activities and then think of ways to use your blog to add value. If you participate on the board at a common interest development, you can post a reminder a few days before each board meeting and a brief summary a few days after. When you talk to others in your complex, you can let them know that information is available on your blog. The same approach applies to the PTA and other local meetings.

If you are an avid golfer or an avid diner, post mini-reviews of your experience at local courses or restaurants. Let them know about your review in case they want to link to your review from their website. Maybe you enjoy movies. You could post movie reviews, but those aren't local... unless you happen to mention the name and city of the theatre somewhere in your review.

What makes you unique and maintains your relationships with clients and SOI prospects isn't simply chunks (too often copied and pasted) of real estate knowledge. Use your associations and hobbies to personalize your blog, use that content to market your blog within your SOI, and remember to try to keep the focus local so that your blog attracts local prospects who might someday become clients.  After all, you're not blogging for ad revenue!

Thanks!

Frank Jewett