There are lots of ways to add listings to your Wordpress blog to promote your listings. You can add listings directly to your blog posts, embed widgets and flyers and also create special pages dedicated to the listings themselves. However, if you are using Wordpress, there is an easier way that keeps your readers on your site while maintaining the soft-sale strategy - by using a Featured Listings Plugin and Sidebar Widget.

Featured Listing Plugin Features:

• Native within Wordpress so clicking on your listing does not send you to a 3rd party site
• Sidebar widget highlights the property beds/baths and price
• Details page consists of
  • a)Large photos and thumbnails
  • b)Your Agent Contact and Photo
  • c)Request more information contact form
  • d)Birds Eye view as well as standard map
  • e)Neighborhood Demographics with charts
  • f)Payment Calculator

Here's a step by step on how to add the Featured Listings Plugin:

Step #1 Download and install the Featured Listings Plugin

Step #2 Unzip and upload the plugin to your wp-content/plugins/ folder

Step #3 Login to your site and go to the "Plugins" tab and activate your new plugin

Step #4 Configure the Featured Listings Plugin

a. Sign up for a Realivent account to manage your listings (all of your listings will then be pulled into your Wordpress blogs from here)

b. Go to your Featured Listing administration page and add your Realivent username

c. Give your Featured Listings Page a name and click "SAVE"

Step # 5 Configure your Featured Listing Sidebar Widget

Find the Featured Listings Plugin in your Sidebar toolbox and drag it to your preferred sidebar location.

Be sure to click update or save before exiting.

That's it! If all of this was done correctly, your site should now be showing your listings both on its own page and on the sidebars. This keeps your listings visible on your site while not being too overly obtrusive to your site readers.

Here are some sites that are using this plugin:

GreaterTampaBayRealEstate

Key2DenverHomes

Roots2RealEstate

MyLifeStyleRealtor

Next post, how to manage your listings and the Recent Transactions Plugin. If anyone needs help getting this setup, please let me know.