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What kind of blog is best for you?

I am not sure that I totally subscribe to the notion that real estate bloging is like a diary or day in the life of… A diary to me implies something personal and private and not for sharing. I actually never had a diary probably because I never felt like keeping secrets. If something is on my mind in important personal matters, the important people in my life know all about it. I just can’t keep things bottled up. I heard that this may not be the smartest thing in the world to do and that such “sharing” does not always help things along.

In business I am reserved, respectful and always mindful of the clients, colleagues and the business. I do not feel compelled to relieve myself of all my thoughts –which I know is not smart business.

Then there is blogging. I do not feel the desire to write about things that I can only discuss with my husband, sister and very few closest friends. I wanted my bog to totally buttoned up and business-like, because that’s why I am doing it. Yet, I keep slipping into the “sharing” territory. Not sharing secret like things, or unloading every frustration I have, but something more then just hard-core real estate stuff. Sort of like this post. What is the reason to analyze all of this and even more so, why write about it? It’s on my mind and that’s what causing me to write this instead of a perfectly nice Princeton post with lots of links and the right title. May be I need an in- between blog. But what about business? My thoughts like in this post about blogging and other random personal stuff is not going to do it. I know that some do personal blogging and have gotten business from it. I am not sure of this for me. I know others who write only about real estate and that brought them a lot of business.

Yes, I can write an all hard-core real estate blog. That’s what I should be doing, because it’s a job, right, and job is not about fun and personal self expression? I think I am beginning to figure it out. May be I need a “job” blog and an “enjoyment” blog? Would the enjoyment one be about real estate? Hmm? If no one reads the enjoyment one, would I still enjoy it?

I am contemplating an outside blog. My reason for blogging is business; I need to have it all sorted out sooner rather then later. In the meantime, I just spend perfectly fine hour writing about what’s on my mind, without any key words or anything remotely related to selling homes in Princeton. This train of though led me to another question, which remembering the advice that not everything in my brain should be unloaded, I won’t.

The real estate vs. other blogging has been written about and I am not even sure that was the point when I stared the post. These thought in my head just needed to come out –may be that’s the point. May be it’s not fair to anyone who reads it, I am not sure. I will post and see. Also, should it be “members only”? Is this smarter for business?

Posted by Faina Sechzer - Princeton, Montgomery, Hopewell, NJ Real Estate Expert on 12/06/2007 07:10 PM

Comments (35)

princeton nj real estate blog, princeton nj real estate agent

35 Comments on What kind of blog is best for you?

DEC

2007

Faina,

I completely get where you're coming from. I feel like I have one foot on either side of the gray line...straddling it uncomfortably. AR is getting ready to launch an Outside Blog platform incase you hadn't heard. I'm a part of the Beta Testing and think it's going to be a great product for those of us who want to lead a double blogging live :-)

Colleen "Fish"

www.ColleenFish.com www.MapleValleyRealEstate.com

Serving Seattle & South King County for 18 years!

Hi Faina: I think it depends on for whom you write. Sometimes I write for other agents. Then I check the Active Rain box. Sometimes I write for consumers. Then I post to Localism. Sometimes it's both. You can still write about real estate but connect on a personal level with people by writing about day-to-day activities, your thoughts in general, or whatever you want to express, as long as you let your personality shine through your words.

I'm often very personal in the blogs I write, even more so with my newsletters. People are tired of machines. If they want to read a factual report, they've got the newspaper for that.

I'll tell you what I do find irritating, though, not that you asked -- I just thought I'd share -- and that's these darn newspaper reporters who are under pressure from the newspaper to "connect" with their readers. The Sacramento Bee has started asking its reporters to toss in little personal tidbits with the hard-hitting news, in some ways, as though they were writing a blog. I don't want to be reading a newspaper article about the war in Iraq and let my eyes fall across what the reporter thinks. I don't give a hoot what the reporter thinks. Some of the news starts like this: "Today, 3 civilians were caught in crossfire . . . " and three paragraphs in, the reporter will write, "Now, I don't know about you, but when stuff like this happens I think . . ." And I don't care. I don't want to know what they think. If I wanted to know what they thought, I'd read their stinkin' blog online. I want to read the news in the newspaper . . .

But I digress. It's my belief that when a reader comes across your blog, it should sound like you, look like you and be you -- and it's not necessarily all about real estate.

The best blog for me is the localism post to active rain.......

Faina- Well, I think you know what I think already. I believe in transparency. I believe it builds relationships with other agents with hopes of getting referrals and consumers in hopes of getting more buyers and sellers. I have written posts how consumers connect with me because of the personal stuff I write. I write a balanced blog of coaching for agents, localism for consumers and agents and personal stuff to share who I am so that I may attract like minded people to me. That is why when a consumer calls me as they are reading my blog they already know me, like me and trust me. If they don't, they don't call. I have folks connecting because I homeschool, because I am a mom and because I am Latvian. That is what I want. Katerina

Faina, You've raised a good question. I don't know if there's one answer which fits the bill for everyone. However, I would agree with you that there is wisdom to using discretion in posting anywhere...particularly on a professional forum.

Coleen - I have heard of the new beta for personal blogs. How are you liking it so far? I wrote this post because it was on my mind and I find that in situations like that, it may be on someone else's mind as well. My gut tells me that people looking for homes to buy care less about my thoughts on this, that or the other, unless it is answering their specific question. Which means -writing local stuff.

On the other hand I know people who told me they stay up late reading my blog, because it somehow is interesting to them. The paradox is that they are not looking for any houses -they just enjoy reading.

The third content category - is writing useful stuff for folks here on AR (which I am not sure if mine qualifies) - is for building relationships and developing referrals. I totally get it.

What I don't quite get, is where does my blog fit in, should fit in, would fit in?

Elizabeth - the question for me is never whether my blog sounds like me -it always does. I wouldn't know how to make it sound differently, even if I wanted to. The question is the need for a certain type of self expression, which as I said in my answer to Coleen, my gut tells me the consumers care less about, at least now. This need and reconciling it with the business need is the question for me. It could be totally a non-issue for others, I understand.

Katerina - you are right, I know your thoughts, because I read your blog. You have succeeded in making it work for you and others did as well. You know, what I would say next, so I won't. I believe in connecting, that's why you are my AR friend -lot's of connections for us.

Lola - I am too much of a business person, not to think about the implications of posts and comments. I know that it's hard to undo Internet, and that things that are read are not always perceived as it was intended by the writer. That said, I write what I believe to be true. This post are my true thoughts in trying to find the blogging formula that will make me happy,make money and keep people interested in reading.

Faina, on my outside blog, I'm probably more button down than on Active Rain. I guess as long as I feel that it reflects who I am, it works.

DEC

2007

This medium is so new for many of us that it can be a balancing act deciding upon whether our own posts should be more social or consumer orientated. I've been able to strike a balance of approximately 75% consumer geared articles to 25% "about me and my day" articles. Hopefully with that balance consumers can not only get the information that they are seeking, but also come to know me (a real estate agent) as a living breathing human being. Very nice post Faina and good food for thought.

Faina, I enjoy your posts. I like the idea of posts for localism which are just business like and then posts for members for AR .

Patricia - that's what I noticed with many outside blogs -very focused and mostly geared for the real estate buyers. On AR there is a lot more variety and people write on all kinds of topics that are not focused on local market and/or non-real estate related. Some of these non-real estate posts are obviously intended for AR members, but there are others that are just general interest ones. It's all very interesting.

Kris - once the consumers come to your blog they can see that you are multifaceted person. It is a great way for them to learn about us and if we can be the right real estate agent for them. The issue in my mind is how the blog will be found . And it seems to me that it has to be very heavily locally and real estate focused, because those would be the search terms the consumers are using. My posts are mostly real estate related, but they are my thoughts and ideas, and probably don't have the right or enough of searchable key words. It can also be that Princeton is a very traditional town with a lot of established real estate agents and so the consumers see no need to look for information in the blogs. A lot of food for thought for me.

Faina - I post to three blogs, actually four if you count localism as a separate blog. This is all business directed. I hope folks are getting to know me as I blog - especilaly future clients. Keep it up. I really do enjoy your posts. Yes, even reading about Princeton real estate!

Every time I write, I take a good look at it and ask myself if I were reading it as a potential buyer or seller, what would I think? Then I decide whether it should be members only or not. While I agree that every post needs to contain our personality, I also feel that our buyers and sellers don't really care about our personal lives all that much. They care about our professionalism and what we can do for them, and our knowledge of the real estate business. So that, sprinkled with a little bit of ourselves, is how I try to approach what I write. I don't think there is a right or wrong, just do what you are comfortable with. It's all good. :)

Gary - I read your other other blog. Between AR and the other one you must be spending your sleeping hours writing:). I started the Blogger blog, but I am not working on it. My though is to have a blog/web site with the IDX and all, I am not sure if it's possible with Blogger.You have been writing on your other blog, for a while, what has been your experience in terms of business developed as a result?

Thank you for reading my posts. Sometimes the writing feels lonely. Know that someone enjoys my blog, gives me much needed additional boost of energy.

Kelly - you must be doing it right. Your story about the WallMart referral is the proof that it works for you and your market. That is what we are all striving for. Thanks for your input.

Faina-Let me know if you find your answers :) me, I just write, and since I have absolutely NO expectations, I am satisfied.......that's how I joined the Peace Corps...no expectations at all, then whatever happened happened. I worked, learned, shared, and made friends. I grew tremendously in my own thinking......and this can be said of my AR experience as well :)

I don't care how much someone says they are sharing everything and totally transparent here. I certainly will not share intimate details of my life with my husband. That's mine and personal and whatever I would not share with people in real life here....then why would I share with complete strangers? You have the right idea but don't pick apart too much what to write about. It has to flow from the inside out....

I learned (especially if emotional about something) to let things settle over night and look at my post again in the morning. A couple of times I deleted the whole thing. :)

Only you can decide what kind of writing will bring you business.

Kathy - when I do things for business, I always set expectations. If things don't go according to plan, I change the plan. The difficulty comes in when there are too many variables to be able to decide why things are not working. It is difficult then to change the game plan.

If I revise my goal to be purely social, friendships, learning - my expectation would be that it will make me happy. That I can judge easily.

Sally - I agree with you about "total transparency". I used the model of writing with "flowing inside out" -that is how I like to write and what makes my writing more engaging, which is not one and the same with what brings business. I am just thinking aloud here. If I decided to blog here for social reasons, I would do no "picking apart". If this is for business, I try to analyze. What this analysis will accomplish I am not sure, hence my post, and that may be your point.

Faina... to answer the title of your post.... I would prefer the blog that I can cut and paste so I don't have to do any work... lol

Seriously.... be yourself, blog what you want to blog. I do 3 kinds of blogs. Business related, AR related, and personal. I think you need to back up your business blog with touchy feely blogs. Why? It could make the consumer feel more comfortable about you. Getting some insight to who you are, that can't be done in a 15 minute phone conversation... or sometimes that can't be seen when having a face to face meeting. These are just my opinions, but I have spoken to a few clients that I have helped from blogging. And they said they would come across one of my business blogs from searching... then they would follow some of my blogs and bingo...

On another note, I know you have been on here for several months? But my business didn't start to fall into place because of blogging until 9 months later.

In my opinion, the best blog I ever wrote was the first blog I even wrote on AR. It was about my initial reaction to selling real estate in a new market. It seemed personal and funny--at least to me. I really don't think anyone ever read it but me! I think it's important to show your personality and I think you did on this post! Congrats & keep doing it! I was happy to read Jeff's comment above that it took him some time to receive a business benefit from blogging. I've been doing this for a few months, but look forward to the day I receive either a client or a referral.

Faina- I hear you....and that is why with my personal life, and blog, I don't set expectations. Yes, with Business I have a plan, and I do set goals, and change them if they don't work.....so what I am hearing is that you want AR (or think it should be) mostly for business. The conflict appears to be that some part of you wants the soical side....:)

Faina - I would go with an Outside Blog. I recently decided to start a 2nd "Hard Core" blog from Wordpress and I feel more comfortable with it.

Jeff - For the business to happen, the consumers have to find the blog. How do they find the blog? By searching. What are they searching for? Most likely it would be buyers who do not know the area and are searching for the area name. Local people IMO, for example, wouldn't come to my blog for the opinion on the restaurants. There are too many restaurant reviews that come up high on the Google search. Local people, i.e. potential sellers, may not be looking for anything on the internet. They already know 5 real estate agents who will be happy to work for them.

I am not sure if the same logic applies to mortgage people as their audience to a large extent are the re agents. AR is a perfect place for it. Personal posts are very warmly received here and allow other agents to get to know you better, i.e lead to new business. It's not quite the case for the agents.

Marry Ann - I had people tell me that they stayed up till 2 am reading my blog. Unfortunately these people are not buying or selling homes. If the buyers are looking on the internet for information I think it may have to be all local and answering specific questions, rather like a magazine opinion piece, which is the way I write. I will read your blog after I answer the comments here.

Kathy -it's very simple -I want business whether it's on AR or another platform. The social side is always great. The issue is - if the business does not come, then what? I love writing on AR, in what ever way that I do it. But if this love is not improving my business, the same question, then what? I would continue with the social part. It's the business part I am trying to sort out. Like Jeff said, I may be too impatient, but I would like to feel that I have a plan and not just roll along.

Ryan - this is the direction of my thinking as well.

Faina I've had the best luck with Localism as well. As far as lead responses that is. I have tried several of the other blogs and have never received a lead or question from a buyer or seller. Just agents.

Vicki - this is excellent that your blogging generates interest from the consumers. Perhaps you can write about your experience so that we all can get a better understanding of what worked for you. Tanks for your comment.

DEC

2007

Good morning, Faina - this all sounds familiar. I've heard these thoughts in my own mind. After some successes in generating business through ActiveRain, I built another blog that is strictly for and about my community. No evidence yet that it is working in the community, but that may be a function of the market. That blog has very specific categories that help keep me on track, and none of them are titled "Personal Information".

Margaret - thanks for weighing in, as I think many of us may be thinking and pondering. I read your AR blog and your other blog. It's all very interesting.

Faina, I think WHAT people write about in blogs and WHY they write blogs is entirely personal. Some who write that they essentially broke their fingernail today I wonder about. But I try not to judge and just read and comment freely on those that touch me. Thanks for your well thought out thoughts.

Gary - I started bogging a a way to engage in a conversation with the Princeton real estate buyers and sellers. I read that it is happening for many on this forum. I need to see what I am doing right or wrong in achieving this objective. The social aspect of the network is great and will most likely continue to be very enjoyable for me going forward. Thanks for your comment.

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