ActiveRain Founder/CEO Jonathan Washburn made a statement a while back in his ActiveRain blog article, "10 Steps to Localism Success":
5. Do not post a bunch of self serving marketing material on the bottom of your post: If a home buyer or seller finds your information interesting they will figure out how to contact you. Also, our editors highly downgrade posts with built in - self serving marketing messages.
I've covered this particular subject on a number of previous occasions:
"Removing Your Own SPAM" "How to Sabotage Your Own Blog"
"Don't turn Your Blog into a Refrigerator Magnet!"
Obviously, as you can tell by these articles, like Jonathan, I'm not a big fan of 'over-the-top' blatant self-promotion within the context of blog posts, especially ones that are written and geo-targeted specifically for consumers.
I enjoy reading Seth Godin. As someone who has been involved in marketing most of my professional career, I find his approach insightful and refreshing. One of the descriptions he uses for ineffective, old-school methodology is "Interruption Marketing." Today's sophisticated Internet consumer isn't duped with relentless 'white noise' real estate commercials. It's just elevator music to be ignored.
As real estate professionals, it has been deeply ingrained in us from Day 1 to 'brand' everything we put out there. We've effectively littered the local landscape with every conceivable form of self-promotion, from refrigerator magnets to grocery carts. If there's a flat surface somewhere, chances are our name & logo/website is plastered all over it!
As we transition into all things Web 2.0, it becomes rather challenging for some of us to leave old school marketing baggage behind. Incessant self-promotion is one of those old tricks making a very slow death.
Real Estate used to be 'Agent-Centric.' All of our marketing and promotion centered around us - my image, my website, my logo, ME-ME-ME! Glamor shots ruled the day!
Thank goodness the Internet marketing paradigm has shifted over to more 'Consumer-Centric' focus. Now our energies are better spent on creating/developing marketing/information that offers actual value/benefit to potential clients.
Unfortunately, there are still many out there who feel that conversational blogging = advertising. Their usual blog post consists of a few jumbled, barely legible sentences hurriedly thrown together. Then the remaining 3/4 majority content contains a business card on steroids, with every conceivable piece of contact information imaginable, endless Realtor designations, accolades, website links, snappy catch phrases, logos, banners, etc..
A well constructed blog will contain sufficient navigation tools to facilitate a reader's desire to contact you. Redundant links, banners, signatures, ad nauseum, only serve to clutter your content, 'interrupt' the flow of meaningful dialog, and distract your readers from meaningful content.
Creating good quality, hyper-local content takes time, effort, and commitment. There are no shortcuts. Good writing will attract your readers and keep them engaged, and coming back!
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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com
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