No.
That's the short answer and you can stop right there if you want.
While it might be true that some pursue points in the Rain to the point that quality is sacrificed at the altar of Points, writing daily (more or less) doesn't mean you have to bypass writing quality content.
While I can see writing daily to be a real challenge for those with non-real estate agent roles (mortgage, inspectors, consultants, etc.), for those of us in the real estate field working directly with buyers and sellers, well right there is a replenishing fountain of post ideas. Just stop and think about what you hear and you'll find the topics right in front of you.
Seriously, the questions from clients are rarely particular to just their own particular situation, so you can apply them more generally to buyers and sellers throughout your region. And with some tweaking, these FAQ type posts make great content for your websites.
When have you shown homes and NOT seen something that could turn into a post? A unique home feature, something not done right (condition, updates that weren't, pricing problems, pet issues, etc.).
If you're in to local stuff, there's no shortage of restaurants, small businesses, festivals, parks and the like to fill your annual posts.
Create series of posts on a theme (go nuts with IDX search capability here, and make them evergreen and they'll work for you for YEARS!).
Deep dive into your market and write market reports. For us, that's 5-6 days each month covered. They don't attract comments, but they attract consumers to call when they're ready.
Pull back the curtains a bit and let people know there are real humans on the other side of the keyboard. Someone who has rescue cats and Chihuahuas, enjoys flower gardens, likes swinging a hammer for Habitat for Humanity and regularly drops off a pint of blood at the local blood bank. Most buyers and sellers want the daily double: to know you have the real estate expertise AND that they can like and trust you.
If you've got subdivisions in your market, a blog post tying to custom IDX searches is the next best thing to money in the bank. You can be selective and keep it to the price points and locations you WANT to work in.
New construction? If you can get buyers to get past the idea that they'll get a better deal WITHOUT you, these posts are gold too. And here's the thing we see locally, the builders aren't so great at SEO, so a properly constructed new construction post can put you at the top of the search results.
For the most part, a post takes me 30 minutes or less a day. I don't cold call. I don't door knock. Direct mail is pretty much off our marketing plan too. Our primary way of building new business is blogging. It's VERY low cost and easily worth the daily time commit I've made.
For a large part, it's a matter of self-discipline to stay with it. A 30 in 30 day challenge 5+ years ago got us started. I've found blogging regularly makes it EASIER to blog more frequently. The tools are in place, it's mostly just a matter of finding a topic I FEEL like for that day, and having certain days of the month with dedicated topics (e.g. Tuesdays for our AAA series) takes some of the pressure off for finding a new topic.
And the payoff? It's been great for our business. We've hit the patio home niche steadily for the last few years, and added an increase in new construction patio home emphasis over the last year or so.
Fact is we're never going to be the biggest real estate team in Cincinnati, that's not our goal. I enjoy my engineering work and the benefits that come with it, and my clients know what I do and it doesn't bother them a bit. Being efficient with my time is critical.
A typical year for us is around 20 transactions totaling around $4 million in sales.
The payoff for the years of posting regularly? We get found, and all of us know prospecting is a numbers game. More calls, more chances to gain a client.
So far in 2016 we've had 7 closings and have another 7 Pendings for $3.75 million total. Nine of those 14 deals are directly attributable to our ActiveRain blogging/Wordpress site IDX combo working together. Blogging has helped us move our price point up and those 14 deals include 4 new construction builds. We have quite a few buyers in the "low simmer" mode acquired from blogging that are waiting for the right patio home to come on the market.
Our results don't happen by sacrificing quality for the sake of quantity.
IMO, there's no reason for a real estate agent active in the business to feel they can't write regularly AND write well too, it just takes time to develop your craft.
Face it, a post or two every few weeks doesn't feed Google enough to get results. If blogging is going to be part of your marketing machine, you've got to feed the beast to make it grow. But feed it often with quality blog content and you can become the 800 pound gorilla of your niche.
Until next Tuesday, just Ask An Ambassador if you need help!
Liz and Bill aka BLiz
Comments (42)Subscribe to CommentsComment