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How To Get Business From Localism, Even If No One EVER Reads Your Blog!

When we post to Localism, we are the neighborhood reporter covering a beat. In exchange, we get to cast our line out to the Internet in hopes our blog will attract those that are interested in buying real estate LOCALLY.

But I say, why wait for Google to get business? You can be out and about LOCALLY, making connections with LOCALS, all in the name of your LOCALISM post.

Sure beats cold calling.

As a hopeless Barbara Walters wannabe and journalist, I have worked on various newspapers and newsletters my entire life in the role of reporter. And here is something you may not know: Calling up prominent members of the community to ask for their opinions for your blog is a very FAST and POWERFUL way to get business, get noticed, and become connected (even if NO ONE EVER READS YOUR BLOG!)

As you may know, human nature dictates that whenever someone asks us for our opinion, we are FLATTERED and have no problem spewing it out. We are, celebrities of the moment, and we get to talk with someone who is actually listening and (gasp) even taking notes. Is there anything better for your ego than that?

Getting interviews is the easiest thing in the world for all of these reasons. It is also probably the easiest way in the world to prospect for new business AMONG THE LOCALS.

Think about this: would you rather call up the Parks Commissioner to ask him to consider you for his next real estate transaction??? Or would you rather call to ask for a few minutes to discuss the new City Park expansion so you can write about it on your local blog, Seattleinsider.com?

The Parks Commissioner will not realize he has connected with a local real estate specialist who cares about the community, and cares about him. He is in the ego zone, still flattered that someone has interviewed him.

Oh, but he will.

Do not be surprised if he brings up the subject of real estate (placing you in the role of expert). Do not be surprised if he mentions you by name (when he tells everyone about the interview). Do not be surprised if he keeps your card, and thinks about you far more than that other person that sold him the last house (who has stopped marketing or who is out of the business.)

And although he probably WILL sign up to read your blog, what if he never does? His ego will associate YOU as someone who cared about HIM. He will naturally think of you as someone who cares about the community. How could you be anything but the LOCAL EXPERT?

Being a reporter gives you A HUGE COMPETITIVE ADAVANTAGE, not to mention an opportunity to know people you would probably NEVER meet otherwise. Embrace this role, become the celebrity expert yourself, and oh yes, sell some real estate while you're at it.

Congratulations, ActiveRain, on the launch of the new Localism.

Written by Janet Guibault, Mortgage Lending Expert Based Out of the San Francisco Bay Area

Posted by Janet Guilbault California Mortgage Banker/Broker on 07/10/2008 12:39 PM

Comments (93)

activerain, blogging, marketing, rainernation, realtor success strategies

Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: The Art Of Marketing You

93 Comments on How To Get Business From Localism, Even If No One EVER Reads Your Blog!

JUL

2008

Excellent point! I actually got a lead (it didn't go anywhere) from a guy that I emailed a question to about a regular post that I was writing here on AR. I can only imagine that talking to a local person would make the likelihood of a referral all that much better!

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.

As the cruise ship commercial says, you gotta get out there. Blogging is great, but connections with key people belly to belly are the best.

Awesome idea! In this instant I have just become the Clark Kent of Vancouver, Washington.

THANK YOU!

JUL

2008

Janet, this is probably the best post I have read on how to use localilsm. I follow Mary McKnight's rule to post 80% about your market/business and at most 20% localism. But your post shows a targeted way to get new referral relationships. Excellent! AJ

This is a great idea. I have bookmarked you for that space of time I can actually put this into effect.

Janet,

What a wonderful post and an even better idea. I will certainly begin using that in my contact with the community. Thanks for the tip!

Janet, you are reinforcing a great idea - I hope I can put this to work on a regular basis. I am another BW wannabe, and this should be fun!!!

Janet - great point. Works particularly well to really focus on the community you live in, and gives a greater connection to what you do.

Hello again, Janet,

Congratulations on your featured post. You certainly offered somr great tips for users of Localism. I am looking forward to utilizing Localism as a unigue and positive community marketing tool.

Take care.

With the video interviews I've been doing I feel like a reporter. Nice post!

This is so true... It sure works for me!

Great idea! Thanks for sharing!

Nice idea - Good thought for sure..

This is an example of just smart thinking and I appreciate that in the world of mediocre thought.

In that way only you can do Janet - you've characterized the essence of Localism and blogging in a nutshell. The why and how (easy) it is to target your base by making them the target of your posts! I just came from a meeting at my brokerage on this topic as we are about to launch our new office blog. I will forward this post to keep them excited :)

So Janet... if you wake up one day and you DON'T get a gold star, does it shock you? (because frankly, it would shock the rest of us :))

MWA!!

Janet,

Maybe you can tell me what I am doing wrong. I keep posting to Localism, but can never find the posts. What is happening?

Thanks for any help,

I've been thinking about doing something similar in connection with my eBusinessDirectroy and eNewsletter but you expressed it so well. Thanks for helping me bring into focus an idea that was formulating. Great thoughts!!!

Thank you for sharing! Those are excellent thoughts for making Localism work for all of us. It could be great fun to run down some interesting people. Can I be Clark Kent instead of Wa-Wa.

You are exactly RIGHT! It has helped my business tremendously to interview people for my blog or to do a review in a restaurant or business. Plus, you never know who reads this post later down the line or who it gets forwarded to. Love it!

Hi Janet...You just gained a new subscriber with this one post. If your other posts are this good they will be well worth reading.

I have a list a mile long, actually dozens of businesses and individuals, that I keep planning to write about for my own blog and for AR/Localism. Thank you for the nudge.

Kate

P.S. Congratulations on the feature!

Janet - You are a sharp cookie. Nicely done! I need to do more of this type of direct, personal networking for my blog. Thanks for the terrific ideas, and congrats on the featured post as well.

Point well taken. It always goes back to getting out there face to face with the locals..

Janet,

You have given me a great idea for my area in localism. Congrats on the feature!

Excellent post, Janet. You seem to do a great job at engaging people so that the connection is made at that level. Good post.

Wow, you've hit on such a great idea here. I'm going to bookmark it.

WHAT an EXCELLENT post!! I think this is a great idea!! I am going to mark this and give it a try!! Thank you for sharing your valuable information.

Great Great Great idea!

My coach just taught me that how to get into relationships with financial planners, ask them about the market!

Again Thank for sharing

Sincerely

Joel Silberstein

Great idea. Everyone likes to see their name in print or on the internet as the case may be. This has given me a great idea for a community focus blog.

Thanks!

Janet, I just subscribed to your blog. Congratulations on getting featured. Some good ideas here.

What a great attitude and I think your attitude is catching...and worth it as well!

I love your points...I almost feel like I am a reporter these days as well...but it's all good. It is such fun to do the research and take the photos...I have learn more in this past year about my community than I could have in 10 years without blogging!

Great post!!! I am VERY new to blogging and am trying to get the hang of it. Thank you for sharing

great ideas all around. Being a local expert can take on so many forms. It helped me build a rapport with my latest listing client

Hey Janet - Great points, this is a very good insightful blog, deserving of ffeatured, congrats!

I'll be using your advice from this one!

THANKS for sharing

Janet - This is a wonderful way of looking at Localism, our role, and that of small business owners around our various communities. The ways one can implement this are truly boundless.

Spectacular idea and great post! You are so right, beats the heck out of cold calling.

Hey Janet,

I've had a blog on my broker for 45 days and I'm having writers block until you came along with this. I believe now I'll have more than enough to write on interviewing everything.

Thanks,

Robert...

As the lottery says, you got to be in it to win it.

Great post. I have been tossing this idea around for at least a month or so and you just conveniced me to get off my rump and hit the local scene...Thanks.

Thanks for the help.........

great post, wihat a wonderful way to expand ones circle of influence,

What a post, what an idea! Excellent way to market yourself without really anyone thinking that you are marketing yourself.... and it could work!

Thanks for the great ideas! I have been attending some planning commission meetings and also Board of Supervisor meetings. Things to think about.

Roxanne Schilling, Realtor at Lake Tulloch

AR never fails me. I am pretty active in the community and interact with influential people within the area but I have never thought to actually interview them. Great post.

Flattery will open a lot of doors, won't it. Thanks for sharing this great idea. Have a great weekend.

Thanks for the great ideas, I'll be doing some talking and writing.

Thank you so much for sharing...that is one of the best ideas I have heard in a while and I will be making interviewing appointments next week!

A community leader's opinion lends credibility to a local blog, spotlights a local official and gives exposure to the blogger. Sounds like a winning plan!

You made some valid points, for this I Thank you. Sometimes it is nice to have a reminder of what's offered to us on a silver platter..."the GOOD" of Localism. :) I love the exposure of Localism, I've spent numerous of months blogging about my favorite community. I just hope that those blogs do not get lost in the havoc between old and new.

Great post, a definite headliner!

Cheron Lange

Great idea - thank you for sharing - this is a good focus to add to our activities!

Janet, excellent suggestion. It makes a lot of sense. Especially if you ever are experiencing writer's block!

Janet- what a great idea. It not only a good way to create lots of content for our blogs, but gets us out there, in the community.

Oh my gosh! What a FABULOUS post!!!! The ideas in my head are spinning!!!!!!!

This deserves a feature!!!!!

Tina in Virginia

Janet, Now this is a post I can get my head around!!! We ALL have egos and we all like them to be stroked. That why folks are so receptive to being interviewed. Our business has always been about building relationships and this post points out an excellent way to do it. Folks need to get out of the proverbial box and open up their minds to all the opportunity that's out there. Localism is going to be AWESOME!!!

This is such a great idea! I was thinking about doing something like that.

Everyone always hears about the "touristy" things in the metro Atlanta area to do, but not much is written about what locals can do for fun. You've just reaffirmed what I've already been thinking about.

Keep up the good work.

Janet - Great Info for people who have a hard time prospecting. Getting interviews from the community is the best way to meet people.

Janet, what a great idea!! And what fun it will be to connect with people in the community that we might not have otherwise. That's one of the things I love most about the real estate biz--the people you meet along the way. Thanks for sharing this idea!

Janet, what a terrific idea! My mind is racing with all the friends & clients I have to call for interviews! Thanks a bunch!

I love interviewing people, and I love to be called for my opinion, Janet.

This is a great perspective.

I agree I am focusing my marketing on connecting people and promoting businesses with in my community

So far, I have had some success with localism. Great post, by the way.

Good ideas Janet on how to use Localism.

Janet, This is such a valuable post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with us. I am going to embarrass my kids even more from now on. :0)

Love the idea! mmmmmmmmmmm, who to interview... :-) This could be fun.

You are right. Localism is like a free webpage on your area. You get to keep casting

There's a slant to Localiam approaches that I really never gave a thought. Great post and even greater ideas.

HELLO JANET!! Great post! I love it...I don't know if I can ever get high enough on google to have folks read my blog, but your idea is novel!!

Thanks so much for sharing,

Being a reporter gives you A HUGE COMPETITIVE ADAVANTAGE, not to mention an opportunity to know people you would probably NEVER meet otherwise.

Hi Janet,

This is a brilliant post! Thank you. I know a successful agent who brings his laptop with him almost everywhere he goes. He lets everyone know that he's a blogger, which opens the door for him to do interesting interviews with a wide variety of local people.

Janet~ Love it! I am new to this area and needed a push to get out and learn my community. What a great way to do it! Thanks a million!

Janet- What a great post! I have been doing this on localism for a year now and we do get referrals but what we also get is regular readers of our blog because of our interviews and reviews. I also do an RES show with the photos of let's say my son's gymnastics school and made a CD with the RES show and gave it to the owner of the school. She was so happy and grateful that I did that for her. It is a positive way of looking at what can be done with Localism.

I think more people read our Localism posts than most agents will ever realize. I've gotten listings from these posts because it was obvious I knew all about the area. And when the customers have contacted me, they eventually start mentioning different posts. I've realized that they read my stuff for a while and feel like they know me by the time they contact me.

JUL

2008

I love this idea. I look forward to implementing this idea and meeting new people in the community.

Great Post!! Thanks for sharing, Really great idea on meeting people!!

I like your idea and perspective. Taking the less obvious approach certainly sounds like the best approach.

Thanks for the post. It seems we are becoming cub reporters for our areas.

I am really need to start doing that. This is a great way to generate leads. Thanks for sharing. This is a well written post. Great post.

Janet, thanks for sharing this great idea.

I think the advice in this post fits really well with a lot of what Buffini teaches - make connections in your community and keep in contact with them. Talking to, say the Parks Commissioner, gives the agent the chance to add the person to one's database, build a relationship with them over time and ask them for referrals.

Hmmm! The wheels are turning. Great post!

Rainers: Thank you so much for your overwhelming response to this post. I hope all of you will forgive me just this once for not answering all of you individually like I normally do.

The enthusiasm and excitement that shows through in your many comments is a testament to the future success of Localism. It is nothing short of thrilling to be a part of ActiveRain at this stage in its life, where change is coming rapidly on the wings of innovation and brilliance.

Someday we will all look back and be amazed that we were a part of a revolutionary marketing concept. All of us are on the cutting edge of something very big, and very special, that promises to change the entire real estate industry.

I predict some of your blogs will become amazingly popular, with Realtors and other advertisers begging to take advantage of your many readers, and paying you for the privilege of appearing in your blog.

I beg of you to keep your blogs journalistic in nature instead of promotional. Once someone percieves your blog to be a thinnly disguised advertisement, you are toast. Your readers MUST percieve that you are GIVING information, not SELLING something.

Best of luck and thank you for all of these comments. Have a wonderful weekend.

Janet - I know how puffed up my ego became when I received calls on AR blogs from reporters researching for articles they wrote. Being the shy sort, interviewing someone for a blog is a much easier ice breaker. Great action plan you give!

Janet,

What a wonderful idea and great way to be memorable. Thanks for your post and Congratulations for being featured!

Have a Colorful Day!

I really apreciate the information as well as all the comments. It is great to have a forum like this to share our ideas.

JUL

2008

Duh. Janet, your post, and subsequent detailed comment, is so correct yet something I absolutely never thought of. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you so much I have been working with the city officals on the water problem we

have in our communtiy. This will be just what I need to boost my presence on the issue.

Thanks for the great blog! This gives me great insight on the new localism.

JUL

2008

Hopefully the editors will pick up what I have written. Thanks

Thanks Janet,

You are so true. I had thought about doing what you said but now I know I will go out an interview some locals!

JUL

2008

Thanks Janet,

I love your idea!

I've new to Active Rain, am so jazzed by the people who have contacted me already just from blogging. I hate all the bad press, and I concentrate on sharing what I know, what I've done lately in real estate in our community. Showing actual photo's of homes my clients have visited in hopes of allowing other potential buyers to feel comfortable with the process and the market conditions. I also share helpful tips for sellers letting them know I understand the stress they're under and I am here to help if they need it.

To my surprise the other morning Channel 4 News called me just minutes after I posted a positive post about a young couple who scored big with the purchase of a Bank Owned Home. The editor already had Chirs Gordon in his the car on the way to interview me. He did, and the great news is two first time buyers I've been working for a few months now, coaching them helping them find a home, saw me on the 6:30 news and both have put offers on homes this week!

Yesterday he called again and wanted to know if the IndyMac Crisis is impacting any of our buyers.

I am amazed at what my blogs brings to me daily. I can't wait to interview a few locals. Thanks again.

JUL

2008

I love it - go straight for the throat ego zone. Full story at 11.

AUG

2008

Great idea, I am still new at this blogging stuff and desperately trying to get the hang of it and find the time to do it. While I do not have the writing ability you have I am hoping to come up with something clever soon.

Thanks again for your blogs I enjoy them so much.

Janet I agree with you 100%. This is really terrific. I have done a little bit of this by featuring local business but surely not enough. I need to get back to doing it on a regular basis.

SEP

2008

great idea...I recently got a new camera and am loving strolling around the community taking pictures...never thought my new hobby could tie into reporting on the local events...

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