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Blogging Whys Woes and Rewards

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Dale Carnegie once said, “There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.”

Oh how I know this to be true!

Today I had the pleasure of presenting a Webinar for CRS on Social Media and Blogging. I did a small part on blogging. My preparation far outweighed the time it took to speak for the few minutes I did!

Now that it's over, the things I left unsaid still bounce around in my brain. To relieve the Brain Pain, I am going address a few here.

If you have a question I didn't cover, contact me. I will answer you if I can!

Social Media is a wonderful way to connect. Connect with both consumers and peers. The more people you know, the richer you will be.
Treat yourself to RoboForm. As you get involved with Social Media you will need help remembering your passwords. Trust me on this, it will keep you sane.
Blogging isn't for everyone. If you know this now, it probably won't change.
LinkedIn is important. It doesn't take a lot of work. Set up a profile, ask to be recommended (perferably from people who actually know you).
FaceBook is for fun. Be human but not stupid. Remember the internet never forgets.
We never talked about Flickr. If you like photos, use it. Use it locally, make friends and connect.
MeetUp is an awesome way to meet people in person, learn something new and get out of the office/house/car. Check it out.
Yes, social media is time consuming. It's work, but a fun work.
The shear number of social networks is beyond comprehension. Don't try them all, pick a few and work them.
There is no magic bullet. If you want results you will have to work for them.
Reciprocity is the what makes social media go around. You probably won't be able to take more than you give. In fact you will probably give more than take, but then we are Realtors, we are used to that!
A blog can be a part of your website or a separate enity. There is a difference if they are not one and the same you should LINK from your blog to your website. If they are combined you will always be adding more content. I prefer the later. The choice is yours, you decide.
Facebook and MySpace isn't just for kids...anymore.
Looking for a non-intensive way to blog? Hire someone. Money can buy anything. :)
Blogging won't generate more business for you if you are a lousy blogger.
Should you let your feelings show on your blog? Yup. Humans have feelings, it's how we affiliate.
If you have a blog and want to know if anyone reads it, you need to get analytics from your host or Google. This way you will be able to view your traffic.
There is a difference between blog platforms (free and paid). On a paid blog you get support and suggestions.
Sprucing up your blog is simple with photos. Here's a post I wrote a while ago on how to do this!
By all means tell your sphere about your blog. Invite them to come read it and comment!
Find blogs you enjoy, set up an RSS feed in Google. Justin Smith has a great primer on how to do this.
Once you have your RSS reader set up, read and comment on other blogs. As you do others will visit your blog. The search engine spiders will follow!
Blog topics should be current and topical. If you want to do Short Sale business, just write about it.
WordPress Blogs are great. But don't use the FREE WordPress blogs for business unless you use your own domain.. You need to own your own domain, besides free WP for business blogs is a no-no. I suggest you use a WordPress hosted blog, that means a .org blog (free software) but is hosted at a company of your choice. This way you will own and control it's destiny.
Is there liability? Only if you are living.
No, you may not use other people's content (unless you are REBLOGGING on AR) even when you give credit. Using other peoples content is stealing.
You may "quote" other people. Small quotes add interest and are not stealing.
Twitter rocks. It's micro blogging and quick and easy way to connect. Try it. Follow me @KrisTalk
Twitter tips from John Novak Karl Peidl Joel McDonald 50 Ideas from Justin Ukaoma and Kim Woods Read FIRST!!
Google is your friend. If you don't know how to do something, google it.

MORE TO THINK ABOUT (updated December 19, 2008)

Remember to identify yourself and company each page of your blog. NAR COE!
By all means run a Google Alert on your name, your company's name and your keywords. You want to know when others are "talking about you!" Hopefully they are saying only good things.

OK here's the brain dump, hopefully the answers here address your question, if not, give me a try. I'll answer you here on Active Rain afterall I'm a Blogger on the trail of blog fodder.

Cheers!

Kristal Kraft

Broker Associate, ABR, CIPS, CRS, GRI, ePRO, PMN, PNG
TheBerkshire Group, REALTORS
3801 E. Florida Ave., Suite 400
Denver, Colorado 80210
303-589-2022 ~ direct 303-953-5362 ~ fax

Selling Colorado Since 1984, Serving the Following Areas:

Denver Home Search	Highlands Ranch Home Search	Parker Home Search	Englewood Home Search
Littleton Home Search	Search Denver Foreclosures	Greenwood Village Home Search	Relocation to Metro Denver

Posted by Kristal Kraft ~Denver Real Estate~303-589-2022 on 12/16/2008 10:25 PM

Comments (42)

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Post is included in group: Active Rain Newbies

42 Comments on Blogging Whys Woes and Rewards

DEC

Great list. I'm curious on #24. I use WP.com for my Reese's Pieces blog. Why do you say it shouldn't be used for business? Or did I miss that in their TOS?

BTW, I posted on your "focus" article and linked to it. Those were gorgeous photos!

Gosh, Kristel! You got me all charged up... and I should be going to bed since it is almost midnight! Thanks for the info and links. I'll be working on it this week in between the Holidays cards & gift wrapping.

Wow, lots of thought went into all that. I guess that is why you are teaching the course. Nice job.

That was a lot to read right before heading off for the night! Gonna have to bookmark this one to re-read! You've got lots of great stuff here. Especially liked #10 - you have to work for that magic bullet!

~Kathy

Wow...lots of great info! I put RoboForm in my favorites and will check it out later. I do have a time with passwords, but I've chosen one that would be pretty hard to ever figure out...and it makes life a bit easier!

KK - Great commentary on social media, etc. Hope the webinar went well. Was it well attended? Haven't used Roboform - guess I oughta. Happy Holidays!

Jeff

Elaine ~ I've corrected that statement. This week I was in on a conversation about this topic and understood it incorrectly. After reading the TOS of WordPress, my first statement appears to be incorrect. Thanks for pointing it out. Thanks also for commenting on my DenverDwellings.com blog. I so enjoy taking those photos. I'm delighted to learn you too enjoyed them.

Pat ~ I know blogging does seem to take away from our sleep. Good luck with the wrapping, I must get busy with that too.

Steven ~ Thanks, actually CRS gave me a copy of the initial questions. After reading them I wanted to throw out my presentation and address the questions specifically.

Kathy ~ If you find the Magic Bullet, please do share!

Thom & Ray ~ Oh wait until the social forums make you choose a different password....it happens you know!

Jeff ~ Yes nearly 500 peeps! Robo Form rocks. I didn't give the speech I wanted, can I have a mulligan? :)

Thats a pretty big list of stuff to do here.

Dear Kristal,

Great list! It is giving me an outline of what to do.

I tried to save it as reference, but failed.

Any way I can save a copy to my docs for reference?

Thanks,

Barbara

Kristal, which CRS class was this? I have one class left to get the designation and don't remember seeing one titled like that. Are there any coming up this spring or summer in Denver. I have been meaning to check the classes out to see if I could take one there and visit family.

Great stuff Kristal. I hadn't heard of RoboForm, what an awesome tool. I am confused about #24...we can or cannot use our free wordpress.com blog for business? I will be coming back to this post.

DEC

RoboForm beats the little postits I have all around my desk! Ok, I have a few potits for the nonimportant access info and in my home office. Still, I hat keeping track of all that stuff.

Thanks for the tips.

This is the second time I'm heard of RoboForm this week. Thanks for the tip! I agree with your #9 with one caveat: choose the social media groups you'd like to focus on, but you may wish to register and pick your unique screen name or id because sometimes the good ones go quickly.

Hi there! Love seeing your face in my blog forum... I know there will be some 'good stuff' for sure. XXOO.

Google is your friend. If you don't know how to do something, google it.
Google is your friend. If you don't know how to do something, google it.
Google is your friend. If you don't know how to do something, google it.

This, IMO, is the most valuable piece of information anyone can get. We only have so many hours in a day and still only 7 days in a week.

If one must choose resources and one could only choose one, Google would be mine.

What I have found so interesting when speaking to groups of 100-150 or so is the small number of agents and brokers who blog and/or use the Internet as a part of their business plan. Most agents and brokers I meet in groups actually pooh-pooh the Internet and simply look blank faced at the word "blog".

They are still doing business like we did in the 1980s.

Thank goodness.

Don't you just hate it when you get thru giving a talk and all you think about are the things that you should've said? That darn self-talk!!

Excellent advice! I plan to check out some of those suggestions and links!

BTW, I have used RoboForm for years and cannot live without it. I even printed out a hard copy of all my passwords and I backed them up on a zip drive and keep both locked in a safe, just in case! That is how devastated I'd be if I lost my Roboform info! I am afraid to put it on my laptop though, where I am accessing some potentially unsecure wireless networks at times.

Thanks :)

Great post and I definitely agree about Google. That is my #1 "go to" place for any information I need!

Fabulous I love the first sentence that you give three speeches. I have been speaking around MI and find that to be true. Each group takes on a life of its own, with the questions.

THanks for all the helpful hints krystal. Your are truely helping everyone pickup knowledge.

Excellent! I like the idea of posting something like this after a speaking event.

I also find there is a category called "things I wish I didn't say".

What a great, thorough post. I made lots of notes and am going to try some of the suggestions you made right now.

This is such an excellent list and probably one of the the best I've seen. We're fortunate that you were willing to relieve your 'Brain Pain' here. Thx!

Thank you. Always good information on this site. Robo form is awesome. I've used something like it before but have been painfully keeping passwords on a word doc the last year or two. Mozilla auto fills most of them for me but sometimes it clears out and I need to remember.

And the spiders will follow if you comment!

That is one of the best lists of reasons to blog/social media I read in a while (and there is no shortage). I am a big Robo Form fan and completely agree worth the $30 or so it costs.

One addition to your list - Set up a google alert for your name, blog and or company. Helps find people talking about you so you can join the conversation.

I want to know why this post has not been featured yet? I love social media, that's how I got to meet wonderful people as yourself. :0)

Roboform sounds awesome. I am always trying to retrieve a password! Great advise!

Kristal great tips! I will check out roboform. What social networking sites do you belong to? I just feel so overwhelmed. I don't feel like I fully understand all the benefits of any that I belong to.

Good stuff, now your all ready for your next CRS presentation on blogging! Thanks.

DEC

There's a lot of information to digest. Roboform looks like an interesting software.

Hi Kristal! GREAT social media post and I'm SURE that your speech was just fine--we are always our WORST critics! I'm certain that your listeners came away with wonderful information that will get them started down this awesome road of communication.

One question--I use photobucket. How does it compare to flickr? Should I change? (okay, sorry, that's two questions!)

Debe in Charlotte

Kristal,

Really enjoyed your presentation yesterday on the CRS Webinar. I liked how you expressed that a blog is a dynamic form of communication vs our web sites which are static. And I liked your direction that Word Press seems to be an advance from Active Rain when you get serious. Thanks for teaching us!

Bob de Camara, CRS

Great advice and really appreciated since I am fairly new at blogging. Thanks again!

DEC

Kristal,

Like your work and your enthusiasm. Others are raving, too! Happy Holidays. Keep writing.

Dave

dave@davebeson.com

DEC

Kristal, sounds like good sound advice. I know that I need to twitter more, just need a little more time though.

What came as a surprise is that MySpace is no longer just for the kids. I had avoided one but now, I look into it.

Thanks for your insights and hopefully in 2009 I will be more socially active as long as it doesn't interfere with selling.

DEC

I love that Dale Carnegie quote. So true. Thanks for the list and I'll try to be more active with some of these in 2009. Happy Holidays.

DEC

Kristal...excellent list! I'll have to check out Roboform...anything to make life easier. Merry Christmas Kristal.

DEC

Kristal - what a resource-full blog post! I read your post hours ago, and then got caught up in the links, and the links from the links...and then I got busy ...and here I am back, to say Thanks!

Ok folks, I'm finally getting back here to respond to all these wonderful remarks!

Barbara Delaney ~ Yes you can save this page as a reference. There are several ways you can do that, either use a "social bookmarking site" like delicious, or "Bookmark" it on your tool bar. I use Firefox and have downloaded "Google Bookmarks" that means I can access my bookmarks on any of my computers. Good luck with that. And thank you for giving me another topic to write! You rock!

Marchel Peterson ~ CRS is doing Webinars, you can listen to them live or listen to the recordings later at your leisure. Either way it's a great way to keep up with the industry. I'd get on the mailing list if I were you! BTW if you come to visit family in Denver, please give me a call. Perhaps we can grab a cup of coffee and chat! That would make my day!

Patricia Beckman ~ Robo Form makes my life easier that's for sure! As for the Wordpress.com sites, I've heard (but cannot find it in the TOS) that they can take away your priviledges on business blogs. I don't know for what reason a real estate blog would be upsetting, but why risk it? Like I said, I prefer to control my own destiny.

Kim Hamblin~ LOL postits are not secure! what if a robber came to your computer and got all your passcodes? Oh My! Next thing you know he'd be loging into your MLS! Might even buy something! All kidding aside, RoboForm rocks! Just get it. :)

Kelly Kilpatrick ~ You are so right about registering for all the social networkings sites. Even if you never go back at least you don't have to worry about some deadbeat taking your name and defaming you. Good point! Thanks!

Susie Blackmon~ Ah my face frequents your forum, true! I get around to the good sites! Thanks my photographer firend!

Lenn Harley~ I called Google first. It's mine. So there!

Don Rogers ~ Yes I hate it! IT took at least a week for my brain to calm down. This post helped but not entirely.

Rhonda Jones ~ Cool! I love to hear others who love RoboForm! I hear you about printing out the passwords. YOu just can't be too careful.

Debra Kukulski ~ Google Rocks. No doubt about it. I wonder what we did before Google? Actually I do remember, I just don't want too!

Missy ~ You are so right. Sometimes I'd rather just answer questions. Of course you are probably finding the vast disparity in knowledge and understanding of social media.

Robert Worthington ~ You are welcome. Glad to help. Weren't we supposed to talk on the phone awhile back? HOpe all is well with you!

Linda (Carnac of CT) Davis ~ OH yeah, but we won't go there. I never did get to quote you, " If you have a crappy business a blog won't make it better!" :)

Linsey Planeta ~ Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!

Steven Beam ~ Actually spiders only follow if you add a "do follow" plugin. Wordpress defaults to "no follow". As well as AR at times. :)

Josef Katz ~ I loved your suggestion and added it to the post. I've been a big believer in having Google Alerts notify me when someone mentions my name. It's fun to show up and let them know I am listening! :)

Mana Tulberg ~ I wish you were giving out the stars. I think the AR Gods are taking the day off, golfing or something? Thanks for the compliment, I do agree, social media has brought us all together. That is very cool.

Julianna Hind ~ Hope Santa brought you RoboForm! :)

Bielenberg & Associates ~ I belong to more social networking sites than I can count. The best one is of course AR. Then Facebook, LinkIN, Flickr (another favorite), Property Qube, Bigger Pockets, Trulia, Inman, Broker agent Social and many more. I am NOT active on all. I just drop in now and then. Just pick a few and see if you like them. Blogging is the glue that holds them all together. You should be blogging if nothing else!

Lyn Sims ~ Thank you! That would be fun!

Christine Donovan ~ I will be doing a post on RoboForm and how it can benefit you!

Debe Maxwell ~ Thank you for the encouragment. Photobucket is a manipulation software, isn't it? Flickr is a collection of photos where you make friends and comment. There are groups and categories for both photos and friends. I enjoy it because I learn and actually get to converse with people who aren't in real estate. Not that I don't love my real estate friends, it's just that they don't buy houses from me! :) I will have to check out photobucket.

Bob de Camara ~ I know you from somewhere...tell me where? RE/MAX forum? RealTalk? Thanks for you support on the Webinar. It was fun to do, but much like speaking into a black hole.

Hart Mortgage Services ~ Good luck with your blogging. Lenders are naturals for blogging, you have so much to share and it changes...daily!

Dave Beson ~ Ah the man of many letters! I used your system since forever, some of my clients have the letters memorized! Thanks for the compliments, yes my fingers keep going....

Gena Riede ~ Selling comes first, it's best social activity we can do! I'm with you on the MySpace stuff, although Brian Brady has been using it successfully for quite sometime. Thanks for stopping by my friend. :)

Kelsey Barklow ~ Dale Carnegie came up with many good quotes! It's nice to be able to rely on the fact I'm not alone! Hope the list helps and please enjoy the holidays.

Monika McGillicuddy ~ Ah you have emerged from the darkness (no power for 8 flipping days) to catch up on AR! RoboForm is awesome, but it uses electricity. Got power? :)

Sharon Simms ~ LOL your comment is worthy of a full length post. How many times have we gone looking for something only to find interesting links to take us somewhere we had no intention of going yet don't care to leave, yet? Now what were we talking about?

JAN

Kristal, I have been away from AR for a while, but am catching up on reading posts. This is a good one for sure. Lots of good info. Some of these things I am using, and some I have never heard of yet. Happy new year!

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