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How To Be A Successful Blogger: From The Newbie's Point of View (ME!)

By
Real Estate Agent with Platinum Real Estate Group

I have been getting some emails from some "newbies" much like myself. They all have the same Annoyed man with women writing next to himquestion, how are you doing so well with your blogging so quickly?

Wait, What? Who said I was doing so well??

I decided to take a look at some of these blogs from my fellow newbies. Guess what I found? Boring hyper local content, statistics, stories about their cats, no associations, no subscriptions, very few comments and the list goes on.

Let's start with the basics that I have found to work for me. (Keep in mind I am a newbie, and I am not an expert by any means.)

The best thing I came up with is: BALANCE

Don't write only about your local area, don't write statistics every other day, don't talk about how your cat fluffy caught a mouse yesterday (we all love fluffy but he is not front page news), and stop copying what everyone else is writing!

Boring speaker talking about statisticsIf you were to pick up the newspaper and read a story about how "grandma's" cat fluffy had a bad hair ball problem, would you pay the $0.50 to read the full article? Or would you pick it up, look at the headline, "Fluffy puked up another fur ball" and puke yourself?

You need some balance in your blogging. For every statistical, hyperlocal, me me me blog post, write something fun, new, exciting, controversial, funny, ANYTHING. You get what you put in. If you copy and paste local stats from your MLS, and wonder why no one wants to comment on your blog, reach up, open the lid, and stick your head OUT-SIDE THE BOX!

My first ten posts or so were about my listings, and my life, and me me me. You know what this produced? A big fat ZERO!

So I started reading about other bloggers, I started subscribing to top bloggers on Active Rain, I started subscribing to other top blogs in other industries. (If you need help with finding these blogs, type Good-Man Opening a box filled with moneyCool-Awesome: blogs in Google, you will find a plethora of ideas.)

Comment on the top blogs, ask for tips, ask what they think of your blog, do something else for a change. SEO is awesome, don't get me wrong, but if all of your blogs are for SEO purposes to drive yourself to the frontpage of Google, what is going to happen when you get there and your content is boring? People are going to come, look, puke, and look for something else!

Be innovative, be opinionated, be yourself, but don't be all about yourself! Get off your blog,  go find someone else's blog, and start interacting.

Now get out there you newbies and become the best blogger you can be!

Comments (15)

Deb Clifton
Coldwell Banker Advantage - Clayton, NC
Broker/Realtor, e-PRO, CNS

Great post Lisa! Thanks for the tips.

Mar 10, 2009 10:15 AM
Donna Shuman
Florida Wholesale Realty Corp - Oviedo, FL
REALTOR - Marketing for Richard Shuman - www.SKIPtheBULL.com

Thank you SO much for the tips. I just posted a blog today introducing myself and asking for patience as I muddle through the world of blogging.

These ideas are just what I needed!

Mar 10, 2009 10:16 AM
Amanda Wilson
EWM International Realtors, Inc. - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Real Estate Advisor

Lisa, Thanks again...I love numbers and statistics and at times can get caught up in the mix...I'm fairly a newbie--and am truly enjoying the blog life...thanks for your tips...I'll try to THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!!

Mar 10, 2009 10:19 AM
Lisa Udy
Platinum Real Estate Group - Logan, UT
Logan Utah Realtor

Donna,

Welcome to AR! You made a wise choice as blogging can become addicting, and activerain will make your addiction worth while. Like money and advertising for your business. Good Luck to you.

Amanda,

Just blog about what you think people looking for information want to find. Try to think, why are people coming to my blog in the first place? If you can answer this question you can give them what they want. This is when you will succeed! Good Luck to you.

-Lisa

Mar 10, 2009 10:22 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Great advice.  It is just as important to let people see the human, family side of you as it is the business side.  No one wants to read statistcs all the time.  The key is changing it up all the time and keeping it interesting and real.  I for one have enjoyed your blog!

Mar 10, 2009 10:34 AM
Patricia Aulson
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOME SERVICES Verani Realty NH Real Estate - Exeter, NH
Realtor - Portsmouth NH Homes-Hampton NH Homes

The best way to blog, like a writer, type out an idea and go for it.....There's no real science to it regardless of what you hear from those who "think they know."

Portsmouth NH Real Estate

Mar 10, 2009 10:35 AM
Lori Bennett-Davies
Essentials Home Staging - Kitchener, ON
Essentials Home Staging

Lisa- love the analogy to "would you buy this newspaper"----I am a Newbie also---learning the ropes on ar is a challenge- but I'm persistent.

Mar 10, 2009 10:35 AM
Lisa Udy
Platinum Real Estate Group - Logan, UT
Logan Utah Realtor

Sharon: I have learned a lot from reading your blog. Thanks for the ideas.

Patricia: Great advice!

Lori: Keep at it, and blogging will pay off in the end.

Mar 10, 2009 10:39 AM
Simon Mills
Mills Realty - Toluca Lake, CA

Balance is important.  You get out what you put in certainly applies to AR.

Mar 10, 2009 10:40 AM
Anonymous
Beth

You make it look so easy! Keep it up!

Mar 10, 2009 11:10 AM
#11
Monica Bourgeau
Portland, OR
Business Coaching

You've come a long way in a short amount of time, great advice and spoken like a pro.

Mar 10, 2009 11:11 AM
Connie Case
Platinum Realty Group - Fountain City, TN
Realtor, Knoxville Tn.

Lisa, You seem to have it goin on!! The advice is right on.

As a newbie, myself, I am trying to think of and comment on interesting and possibly, helpful things. Learning from others is what its about at this point in time.

 

Mar 10, 2009 11:44 AM
Antonio M. Cardenas Broker Associate
RE eBroker Group - San Leandro, CA. - San Leandro, CA
"The Realtors In Motion"

Cool Lisa, very cool advise, I like the part about "get off your blog" and think outside the proverbial box, you don't seem newby to me, and if you decide to blog like that you will have lots of readers following you. Thanks for the advise.

Antonio

Mar 10, 2009 04:46 PM
Rebecca Gaujot, RealtorĀ®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

Lisa, you may not be a pro.....but you certainly are giving some great advice in this post.  Keep on blogging...you don't sound like a newbie...

Mar 11, 2009 11:43 PM
Terri Lucas
Exclusive Home Staging - Redondo Beach, CA
Exclusive Home Staging Los Angeles

Lisa, thanks for the tips and advice.  I will keep this in mind when writing my next blog post.

Mar 13, 2009 10:34 PM