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You're Own Blog

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Concierge SL0475285
I recently attended a Howard Brinton StarPower convention in New York City.  The big "buzz" was blogging.  The virtues were made clear by an awesome presentation showing how the presenter was able to get to the top of Google using his blog filled with key words.
With enthusiasm, I approached the first vendor.  $1,350 set up fee and $400 per month to maintain the site.  Wow. I checked the second vendor, $2,000 per month and $500 per month to maintain it! Double wow! Being an impulsive person, it was hard not to sign up, but the big dollar amount was unsettling.
That night I went to dinner with my broker & some friends.  One of the guys there was a "web" person.  I told him about the prices and he laughed. He then said check out GoDaddy.   So, when I got back from NY, I signed up for a blog account with GoDaddy.  $56 for two years (total cost), and about 2 hours to set it up. www.eiglarshblog.com  I still haven't found the major difference between what I did and what you pay thousands more for!  My blog is being actively crawled & indexed by the search engines.

Comments (8)

Lisa Simpson
Mortgage Options - Summerville, SC
David, I checked it out. Very nice.I will go check out godaddy to see about a blog. Thanks for the tip. Lisa
Sep 13, 2006 10:58 AM
Mitchell J Hall
Manhattan, NY
Lic Associate RE Broker - Manhattan & Brooklyn
David,  My domains and hosting is with Go Daddy, they will even give you a free blog but it has their ad on it. They also have great customer service. They have great deals on template websites and hosting. I like them much better than the so called real estate website companies.
Sep 13, 2006 11:39 AM
Teresa Boardman
Boardman Realty - Saint Paul, MN
Thanks for posting this.  I have been on my own crusuade over the past couple of years to stop making technology purchases and spending money on stuff that will not help them.  The vendors take advantage of us becuase we are real estate agents not tech gurus.
Sep 13, 2006 11:46 AM
Eric Bouler
Gardner Realtors, Licensed in La. - New Orleans, LA
Listening to your Needs
Good post, liked your set up. I got a site from go-daddy on a condo project and they were great. You gave me a good idea!
Sep 13, 2006 12:26 PM
Brian Nelso
Thneed, LLC - Aliso Viejo, CA
Brian Nelso

Dave, there are a lot of sites out there that will host and help you blog.  Blogger is free, Wordpress is free until you add your own URL.  Even our 4MySales system includes a blog feature.  It is just a matter of finding the right tool that fits your needs and your budge.

 

Sep 13, 2006 12:27 PM
Jay Thompson
Zillow - Seattle, WA

The major difference in the ones that charge insane monthly fees is they also include content. But that content is typically just links and news snippets. It reflects none of your personality (which, IMHO, is one of the main selling points of a blog). If you don't, won't or can't add your own content to your blog, I suppose it might be worth paying someone to do it. But blog content devoid of personality defeats the prupose in my book.

Many of the free systems such as Blogger are not very flexible and of course you're tied to having "blogspot" or some such nonsense in your URL.

WordPress is Open Source software (i.e. free). Domain names and hosting are dirt cheap. I get all my domains and hosting from GoDaddy (a fine local Phoenix company with great SuperBowl commercials too!)

Sep 13, 2006 01:14 PM
Maureen Francis
Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel - Bloomfield Hills, MI
Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel

Blogging doesn't have to cost anything.  But with the level of tech sophistication I see most days, I can see why agents get sucked in to paying.

I pay hosting fees.  That's it. I had blogger for years and that was totally free.  I didnt want their name in my url anymore so I am gone. Wordpress is helping me out now too. 

Sep 13, 2006 05:23 PM
Ray Saenz
Exit Realty Laredo - Laredo, TX
Homes for Sale in Laredo, TX - Texas, Realtor

David,

Yes, I would ask about www.blogger.com,   I have that too, so I do not know if there is so much difference between yoours and blooger.com   

Regards,

Homes for sale in Colorado Metro Denver Area

Ray Saenz Real Estate Agent & ActiveRain  Network User

Sep 13, 2006 08:13 PM