If time is money, how much time should you put in writing a post? Should this time be correlated to the time your readers spend reading, 
or the return you expect from it , or is it totally irrelevant?
My guess is most bloggers are writing with the hope that someone will read their work. That's why the blogging world is so focused on the SEO. We hope to be found, if we do it right. Being found is the biggest challenge for bloggers, especially new, or in very competitive search terms (which most real estate terms are ).
If your blog is new and/or is not ranking well for competitive search terms you would not have many readers/blog visitors. So what kind of investment should you be making in each post? One thought is that it's important to spend a lot of time on each post to produce very good content. The idea is that when someone comes upon your blog, they will be impressed with the content and come back.
On the other hand if your blog is not ranked well yet, you are not going to have many readers and therefore you should not spend a lof time. May be quick (rather then profound) posts focused on the key words is a better investment.
When your site is ranked well the question of time is still there. An interesting experiment is to look at the time spend by your readers on different types of posts. You could use Statcounter.com or other analytics to do it.
Would it matter if you found that the majority of readers spend less then 5 seconds on the blog? Would you spend 1 hour or 2, If that was the case? What would be the reasonable amount of time for writing? If your readers spend less then a minute, would it influence your writing? At what point would it make a difference?
In other business endeavours we look at the investment and expected return and make our decisions accordingly. Does this thought apply to the investment of time into writing vs. the time spend by readers reading vs. number of searches or hits. Or is it all academic and you are putting equal time in each post?
What is the average time your readers spend on your blog and does it effect how you approach your work? Please weigh in, so we could all learn.
Charter 1 Real Estate, Hilton Head, Bluffton, SC - Hilton Head Island, SC
It depends on the subject and depth you are writing about. Some blogs are easy to get finished and others really tax the creativity.
Jun 16, 2008 11:44 PM
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate
I really don't dwell on it....I just write the best I can and if I get business then that's great and I have.
Jun 16, 2008 11:58 PM
Anonymous
DANGER AHEAD!! DO NOT, REPEAT, DO NOT compose on the ActiveRain blog. You risk having the entire post lost when you upload and get the dreaded "You must be logged in to use this feature". UGH.
I compose in Eudora because the links transfer. I just have to add images.
Some of my posts take 10 minutes and some may take 30 minutes or more.
Posts go pretty fast when I'm inspired.
Jun 17, 2008 12:22 AM
#27
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland
DANGER AHEAD!! DO NOT, REPEAT, DO NOT compose on the ActiveRain blog. You risk having the entire post lost when you upload and get the dreaded "You must be logged in to use this feature". UGH.
I compose in Eudora because the links transfer. I just have to add images.
Some of my posts take 10 minutes and some may take 30 minutes or more.
Posts go pretty fast when I'm inspired.
Jun 17, 2008 12:25 AM
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC - Winter Garden, FL
Selling Florida one home at a time
Faina, I write very quickly. I normal posts takes me about 20 to 30 minutes from start to finish. The majority of that time is maing it eye appealing. My posts are written in my head way in advance of putting them "on paper". Some of my best posts were written while floating in the pool then I just jump up type it up and post.
Once a month I do a marekt report and those can take me hours because I have to do the research.
I have no idea how long folks spend on my blog. How do we find that out?
Jun 17, 2008 12:28 AM
Julie Chapman Broker - Ormond Beach, FL
Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
Most of my posts take 10 - 20 minute to compose, load photos, etc
(and my husband and I love spending the time taking the photos of our area - usually while walking on the beach or biking on Jekyll Island so I will not consider that work - that is time well spent with my husband who is also a broker in my firm)l
Jun 17, 2008 12:41 AM
First Realty Auburn - Auburn, AL
Inactive-2012 REALTOR - Homes for Sale Auburn Real Estate, AL
Great topic for discussion! Now we need a sequel: 'How much time to spend on a comment' :-)
Jun 17, 2008 12:50 AM
Realty Oasis - Metro Brokers - Highlands Ranch, CO
Highlands Ranch Real Estate - Denver Real Estate
I would say the amount of time is different - some are quick - others not so. It really just depends.
Jun 17, 2008 12:51 AM
LONG & FOSTER - Williamsburg, VA
Realtor In Williamsburg VA, Homes for Sale
Hi Faina!! Being fairly new to blogging, it takes me a little longer to get my posts together. I like to use color & pics. I read that you should be posting at least 3 to 5 posts a week. With that in mind, I really need to keep my time to a minumum.
Last night, I did a post & in record time!! I was so happy that I did 2!! Woo Hoo!!! I will be happy when I can get it down to 30 min per post.
Great post! BTW, check out my posts!! Thanks and have a super day!!
Jun 17, 2008 01:41 AM
Award Realty - Las Vegas, NV
Selling Las Vegas 702-498-3383
good post..I try to do my posts early in the day before I get busy..I always enjoy reading all the blogs here on AR...
Jun 17, 2008 01:53 AM
Realty Station - Bremerton, WA
Realtor to Kitsap County, WA
OK, we seem to be focusing a lot oif attention on getting people to read our blogs, but what end-result are we looking for? Don't we want qualified buyers and sellers to read pur blog, and for them to contact us? I love to hear the success stories, like Diana C.'s!
Jun 17, 2008 02:14 AM
Platinum Home Mortgage Company - Walnut Creek, CA
San Francisco Bay Area Direct Mortgage Lender
Honestly? 2 hours is what it takes.
I am inspired each and every time so there is no struggle time in those 2 hours....although I think to be a really successful writer you must write routinely and even when uninspired...you know, get up at 6 AM, sit there and write every day...like a novelist or something.
So I am only a several times a week poster. Lenn, you are always an inspriration....that you can write without inspiration, and that you can crank out the quality you do in 30 minutes.
Jun 17, 2008 03:44 AM
HOMEFRONT Realty - Kettle Falls, WA
Retired - HOMEFRONT Realty @ LAKE Roosevelt
It all just depends on the subject matter I am writing about. When I was writing my military relocation package blogs a couple fo those took 8-10 hours. They have brought me business. I can't write and publish a blog under an hour with text, layout and proofing.
Jun 17, 2008 04:22 AM
Century 21 Results Realty - Suwanee, GA
Realtor & Car Guy
I spend whatever it takes... There are some pretty long posts that have taken a couple of hours to put together, and there are posts that have happened in less than 5 minutes... or two minutes.
I want to spend enough time to make the post right. Even when I didn't have many readers, I still wanted the content I wrote to be correct and enjoyable. If it isn't, then the visitor won't come back.
I think that one should write fewer posts to start and/or write on a platform that is more likely to be read (like A|R).
Jun 17, 2008 05:40 AM
Bucci Realty, Inc. - Melbourne, FL
Eighteen Years Experience in Brevard County
We do have to be cognizant of the return on the investment of ime. Good post, Faina.
Jun 17, 2008 06:47 AM
Henderson-Sotheby's International Realty - Princeton, NJ
Real Estate Expert - Princeton, Montgomery ,Hopewell, NJ
Wow, what an interesting combination of opinions. I did not realize there were so many comments:)For the first time, since I started blogging on AR, I would answer by one response, since it would answer most all comments.
I think that different approach could be used for understanding time spent by the readers vs. time spent wrting for AR blogs then for the other ones. On the AR blogs, if they are focused on other members, I would spend as much time as possible to make it really shine, especially if your blog is new. Chances are, someone will read it and it needs to be good, even if it's for one reader. If it's excellent content, the readersship would grow over time.
For the AR blogs focused on consumers, it is important to make them the best possible, not because you may get a lot of comments. It's important to maintain the quality of your blog, because other members could be reading, even if they don't comment, and they could be the source of your referrals.
The blogs found through organic search by consumers are usually not read "cover to cover" -they are just skimmed to see if what they were searching for is there. The time spend by consumers on each post is very short. Writing a lot with enough key words, i.e. writing for Google is important for new blogs. Google doesn't very much care if it's very inspired, they just index the words.
That said, I spend a lot of time on each post (I am almost embarassed to admit how much time). I spend a lot of time on inspiring graphics, because this is what the reader sees before they even read one word of the post. I want the graphics to be thought provoking to make the readers think a bit about what it means and how it ties to the text.
To find out the time your readers spend on your posts, it would make sense to separate the AR members form non-members. One way to do it is to look at the Google searches (using Statcounter.com). These mostly would be from the consumers. You could put it in Excel for a quick calcualtion. AR members spend more time on each others blog, sometimes they just don't log out, which makes the stats show longer time then it actualy was.
Jun 17, 2008 09:43 AM
Bethesda, MD
Faina,
I think it depends what you want to get out of blogging. Being serious for the long-term benefit, then you should spend the needed time, perhaps up to an hour, maybe even more, to get solid content in there. Doing it that way will eventually bring in plenty rewards, including Google placement and phone ringing.
Jun 17, 2008 11:43 AM
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR
It appears that a lot of people spend lots of time on blogging. I don't have that much time to spend but enjoy doing it a small amount of time each day.
Jun 17, 2008 12:55 PM
Independent Real Estate Broker - Los Angeles, CA
Real Estate Broker (562) 884-6196
Thanks for sharing....I blog in between doing research!!and I've made mistakes! But I learn everyday!
Jun 17, 2008 01:21 PM
Texas Real Estate Services - Bryan, TX
College Station Real Estate
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Faina Sechzer
Real Estate Expert - Princeton, Montgomery ,Hopewell, NJ
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