Blogging Tips That Blow Their Skirt Up and keep them coming back to read more! I've been blogging for 14 years and I can share that my posts have earned me "Active Rain Fame" by being Featured and they have earned me Real Estate Gold by producing commission-earning referrals. While I'm not a famous blogger with millions of followers, I know what it takes to get attention from and make money with blogging.
My 5 Tips for a successful blog are simple, common knowledge tips I learned from other AR bloggers, but unfortunately many people still fail to incorporate them in their blogging.
- Catchy Title, Titles that make you curious and titles w/ misdirection are huge!
- Evergreen Subjects, Current Topics or Local Interest Topic
- Present both sides of the argument to further draw the reader in.
- Polarizing position opinion but...
- Layout and photos are crucial
1. Titles
Here's some examples of titles I've used to catch readers attention, because they either were curious, antagonized or amused by the title alone:
Created curiosity, what can this be about?
Keep Your Fork Honey, There's Pie
Polarizing, antagonizing title that you either strongly agree with or you can't wait to counterpoint comment on because you know better than the author...
Open Houses Are Not Necessary to Sell Homes
Titles with double entendres and or blatant humor grab a lot of readers too:
Male REALTORS® Claim Size Doesn't Matter; Do The Woman Agree?
2. Topics
This to me is easy because I'm either going to create informational "Evergreen Posts" or very current Topical Posts and Localism Posts. I find that rotating through them creates the best buzz for your blog, but I do use my monthly strategy of The 25%-25%-50% Rule.
25% Evergreen posts are like your Q&A section, they are truths and facts about real estate that rarely if ever change, so once you post them, they are done and as relevant in 20 years as they were today.
25% Topical posts are going to be national news items that directly affect real estate and or homeowners like the recession, rising rates, market trends, inflation, buyers markets, sellers markets, rental trends, etc.
50% Localism posts would be things that only affect your state, county, city or neighborhood, they have a smaller audience, but create a wonderful niche that paints you as the local expert. This for me recently in San Diego would be posting about the newer ADU laws, the very current Vacation Rental Licensing requirements and restrictions.
3. Both Sides Now:
In many of my posts I just report the news. I will share both sides of the topic and then insert my opinion into the article after the reader has a chance to familiarize themselves with the topic without prejudice. Some posts do not require my opinion at all, while other stories set up my professional position for me, the ultimate point of the blog. However, when I'm taking a position, a polarizing one where I know others will be inspired or offended into retorting, I go to the next step...
4. The Polarizing Position.
While I often report the news in my posts, offering my professional opinion at the end based on the facts of the article; there are certain posts I'm purely writing as an editorial opinion in protest to something going on in our industry that needs an opposing voice to shine a light.
It could be to fight back on a derogatory article written about REALTORS® or to denounce something Zillow is doing to mislead the public or to simply counter with my experiential facts, the fears being broadcast from the media that day.
By the way, do not be like the lady in the photo below. You want to encourage debate, not cause an argument.
Based on my years of experience and knowledge of a topic, (which I'd better have my facts straight if I'm going to be opinionated because readers will debate and argue with my position), I enjoy debate (a lost art given way to arguing positions) because they often teach me or my readers something through the counterpoints and facts.
5. Layout & Photos:
Look, if it looks sloppy and ALL text, I'm not reading it and neither are most of the people you're trying to reach. So many of the newer bloggers and some of the seasoned ones seem to dump words on a page and post. NO! You want the eye to be drawn in and enticed to read.
Use fonts, bold, italics, paragraphs, Paragraph Titles, and supporting 💡 graphics to create eye candy and interest! Write a 300 word piece that reads like 1,300 because a picture is worth 1,000 words! Always remember to credit your photo sources and not to use copywrite photos without permission. Can you find the rule I broke here?
Photo 1 by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch
Photo 2 by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com
Photo 3 by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com
Photo 4 by Mikhail Nilov: https://www.pexels.com
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo
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