I've been on ActiveRain since January of 2009 and the other day I was going through my past posts reminiscing about the good ol' days! I haven't been as active here on ActiveRain as I have more priorities that take precedence, but I thought about all the new people that have joined ActiveRain since I started who could benefit from some older posts I wrote and I would like to share them with you. Here we go!
My First Blog - Oh my! I have come a long way since my first blog. I still remember the cold sweats and the worry that no one would like me. It was terrifying to say the least! But, I knew that if I just tried it, it would be over after just a click of my mouse.
If you're sitting on the sidelines thinking you're not good enough or you have nothing to write about, stop it right now, and write your first blog. Seriously, leave right now and go write a post, I'll wait...
One Of My Most Helpful Posts - When you get into blogging, it's extremely important to know how people are engaging with your content. The easiest way to get this data is through an analytics program. I searched far and wide to find an analytics program that runs with AR and found GetClicky.
It's a great program and you can finally see how people are finding you in the search engines and how long they are staying on your blog. Anytime I talk to a new member I always refer them to this post so they can see the results of their hard work updated in real time!
Want More Google Juice? - Aww, this post brings back some good memories. When I first started out I was extremely excited to blog but I couldn't understand why some people's blogs were outranking my own. So, I quickly learned that in order to gain traction in the results pages, it was important to market my blog correctly. I took what I was learning and put it into a simple post on why links are so important to an SEO strategy. If you're new to blogging and SEO, this post is very basic, yet can be a core building block for your blogging success.
Who's Stealing My Content!? - Ever have someone steal your content? If not, it will happen, I can guarantee it. So, I hit the streets of the Internet to find something that would help me find those pesky little content theifs, and I came across a simple tool called Fairshare. This tool scour the Internet and anytime it comes across content similar to yours, it will notify you through an RSS reader. Bam! You now can go all Lenn Harley on those little buggers and sleep well at night knowing your content is protected!
Are You Syndicating? - Blogging for business is all about gaining exposure through online communication in order to attract potential clients. The more places you place your content, the more chances you have to gain new eyeballs and possibly a new friend, or better yet, a new client! This post gives you a little help on finding new places to attract a different audience, get some links, and become a blog rock star. If you've followed through on the four previous steps, it's time to up your game, so get to it!
Taking On The Internet Crazies - After blogging for a while, you're going to end up making someone upset or come across someone with a different opinion than yours. Sometimes, due to the nature of the Internet, they will remain anonymous and call you out in your comments. Taking care of these situations is a delicate process and should be nipped in the butt as soon as possible. This post gives you a few things to think about on the way you handle this situation. Don't give up on blogging because someone was mean, move on, and keep your head up!
Taking It To The Next Level - As time goes by, you'll be astounded at the number of ways people will find your blog. Analytics data is a gold mine and should be used to target new verticals every chance you get.
This post describes how you can use your GetClicky analytics to come up with new posts and new ideas on how to target a new demographic. After blogging for a while, you'll sometimes struggle to write a post. Use that time to check your analytics and expand on a previous topic to increase your market share. It's easy!
Join The Party Don't Be A Loner - Ever wonder why some people get so many comments on their blogs and people mentioning them around the blogosphere? It's simple. They engage others through comments, emails, tips, helpful hints, expertise, and networking.
I can't tell you how many people, since I started blogging, that I have reached out to for one thing or another. Just as in real estate, in order to increase your popularity and social graph, you need to network with like minded people. This post gives you some ideas on how to start building your online social sphere, now get to it!
Clean Up That Wall Of Text My Eyes Are Bleeding! - Although my first blog was short and sweet, it was a bold wall of ugly text! No pictures, no bullet points, and it wasn't built to be scannable by an Internet reader. I quickly learned from the ActiveRain experts that in order to increase readership, it's important to make your content sexy! Videos, pictures, and small easily-scannable paragraphs are crucial to a bloggers success. If you want people to read your blog, give them something they can digest easily. Trust me, people on the Internet are fickle readers. If they can't get the message quickly, unless they are your die hard fans, they will leave never to return again!
Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone - Real estate statistics, neighborhood reports, my day sucked, yadda yadda, blah blah blah, ICK!!! This post describes ways you can excite your readers and how stepping out of your comfort zone when blogging can be a great way to break through the glass ceiling. Want more readers? Teach them something amazing. Want more clients? Make your blog the best resource for everything they would need to know about your town. This post gives you some ideas on how to kick it up a notch, do it, I dare you!
Have The Real Estate Blues? Try Something New - My team and I put a lot of work into this post to detail 101 ways you can jump-start your real estate career. It was a fun post, but I will probably never do it again. 101 ideas? Yikes that was hard. However, if you're struggling in your real estate career, blogging is a great step, but you also need to step up your ofline. Over my career, I have learned a lot of great ways to make my business a success, and I wanted to share them all with you. So, if you're looking for some new ideas, this post has tons!
ActiveRain is a great place to learn from the best bloggers and real estate agents in our industry. Everything detailed in this post was sparked by something I learned by trying new things and jumping into the party. Please, if you read this post, take something from it and implement it today. Have fun blogging and remember, everyone had to start somewhere so get to it.
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