Holiday Blogging !
I remember several years ago when the market was super hot and whenever we had a lull in the action, I would ask for advice... would ask what to do ? Doug Schenll, a Wells Fargo loan officer who was and is a good friend would say "Chris, enjoy it. Take a break, go away for a few days. Also, take the opportunity to focus on some marketing, organizing, planning...etc for it will not be long until you will be jammed up again doing deals". He was and is so right.
Fast foward 4 years, and what I would add to that is Blog, Blog, Blog which in my opinion is the same as Market, Market, Market. What is funny is that 4 years ago I did not even know what a blog was !
And one of the nice things about Blog, Blog, Blog is that you can do it in the morning, afternoon or night ! You can do it naked or in a suit. Showered or unshowered. Seriously though, you get the point.
For those that are jammed up between now and January 15th with deals and settlements, this might not apply as much. But for those that will have a seasonal slowdown, this is a great opportunity to either get your blog off the ground and jump in to internet marketing and social media. Active Rain rocks ! Take advantage of it, the resouces and the people. It was our choice to jump right into the blogosphere (is this a word ? ) and are very glad we did !
The beauty about one's blog is that it opens you up to market yourself and to market your listings. Our blog, The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog, has already provided us with a lot of positive feedback and exposure from both clients and consumers. Sometimes people will stop us in the neighborhood saying hey we say you on the net ! It also helps to increase your presence on the search engines with your other sites as links can go back and forth between all of your sites. For example, on our main site - The Somers Team - we have a number of link that go to our blog - The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog, and so forth.
On your blog, you can talk about your community, your neighborhood, your listings, yourself and the list goes on and on. You can also blog about niche services such as short sales, foreclosures, etc... Set a schedule to post a blog entry 3 to 5 times a week. If you really get into it and have the time do more, go blog wild !!
At the same time, take advantage of the seasonal slowdown to increase your knowledge and participation on sociial media sites such as Twitter (we are @thesomersteam), Linkedin, Facebook (please add us if we are not connected yet) and the list goes on and on. Active Rain is a great platform to learn more about all of these sites. You can read about them in other superstar blogs (such as Castellum Realty, Paul Chaney, and Bill Gassett) to get more acclaimated with them and become involved yourself !
So, happy holidays and happy blogging ! Next year it could be jamming as a result !
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The Somers Team - Chris and Stephanie Somers
The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog
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17 Comments on What to do with the Seasonal Slowdown ? Blog, Blog and Blog !
When things have gotten slow I like to work on marketing as well whether it is my website, SEO, or blogging.
Bill - most definitely... I think you commented before I edited the post which added you as an Active Rain blog superstar ! Good to see you - welcome back from your vacation !
Christopher and Stephanie:
Blogging is new to me also, I started in June. I will probably fill in with blogging, it works together now with my regular web site. Although I don't know how people do it, blogging seems compelling and addicting.
Best
Richard
Richard - compelling and addicting are good ways to describe it. It is addicting to me. I love that fact that we have experienced success in the blogging for business model. Is very cool. At the same time, I have seen us go higher and higher in the Google search rankings for our local markets' key words. How cool is that ? Im sure that is happening to you too (although you are already very succesful), it really shows that it works and can work for anyone that wants to raise their business production a notch or two ... or three or four !
Chris, I was blogging before AR--and writing articles (which are a wonderful way to get found) but I haven't had the time lately to do everything I'd like. I never would have imagined how this place would have grown.
Well, even I am pretty busy these days, I still manage to write a few posts every week. It is a great way of relaxing.
Carole - I can only imagine. Im glad we got here when we did ! Is amazing to be a part of this !
Huiting - I agree ! Writing blogs and commenting is a way for me to relax and clear my head as well - to a certain degree, it is a form of catharsis.
The winter is usally pretty slow out here. You make a great point this is an excellent time to work on the blog.
Justin - Exactly ! Blog, Blog, Blog are the buzzwords from Thanksgiving to XMAS : )
Blogging is definitely in my to-do list. It's already there. But I plan to look at my 2009 financial budget, re-organize the office, tweak the business plan and definitely shape up my website/ blog a little more. Thanks for the blog.
Loreena - Is great to make adjustments to plan for the next year ! Having a focused business plan and a target market is key. The great news with you is that you are already an expert blogger ! If you come up with any ideas for the new year, please let us know !! : )
When things are slow, I concentrate on preparing for the future. Driving more traffic to the websites, listing packages etc..
Geez, I remember when I didn't know what a blog was also!
I just closed a house yesterday on a house that I blogged about like 5 weeks ago! How powerful is that.
Now it's just a part of my overall marketing!
I forgot to ask you about the feedburner thing where people can get your blog emailed to them....? How do you like it? Is it working out? I am curious abou it.
Remo - that makes all the sense in the world to maximize time efficiency.
Sheila - That is awesome... blog, blog, blog !!!
Cristal - Good question - I know there is some way I can track it but I already forgout how to do that. I know there has been some people who have subscribed but not sure how many. I will have to ask someone how to look into it. Either way, it is a nice way for consumers to have an option to subscribe. The outside blog feature does not provide for that.
Just looking at everyone's monthy archives this appears to be the most frequented time for veterans on this network as most of us have pumped out more blog posts this month cmpared to any other. This is especiallly true of northeast realtors. This is also a great time to get organized and to delete old emails in your inbox and shred old paperwork from 3+ years ago. Winter cleanup season has started.
Castellum - so true ! A great seasonal time to get organized, throw old files away and plan for a phenom 2009 ! Part of that includes pumping out some great blog content !