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Ask An Ambassador: Does Blogging Daily Require Sacrificing Quality?

By
Real Estate Agent with Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com SAL.2002007747

think about itNo.

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.  seriously, you think you can't blog often?

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 

 

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Serving Warren County Ohio & Adjacent Areas

The Liz Spear Team of Transaction Alliance
Elizabeth Spear, ABR, Ohio License SAL.2002007747

William (Bill) Spear, Ohio License SAL.2004011109  Kentucky 77938
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EHO
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Comments (42)

Diana Dahlberg
1 Month Realty - Pleasant Prairie, WI
Real Estate in Kenosha, WI since 1994 262-308-3563

Really enjoyed this post and especially the variety of comment/responses. Very encouraging for those of us who are not blogging every day.

May 24, 2016 01:12 PM
Robert May
Robert W May - Lethbridge Real Estate - Lethbridge, AB
Real estate consulting

I have never got into posting market reports, but I do know a few agents who do.  I suppose that is one thing I could really improve upon.

May 24, 2016 04:43 PM
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

Thanks for some great blogging ideas, Liz and Bill.  I will save and re-read this post for future posts.

May 24, 2016 08:02 PM
Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573
MOOERS REALTY - Houlton, ME
Northern Maine Real Estate-Aroostook County Broker

As you crank out the 2000 word authoritative blog posts, you have to remember all the other parts of a busy real estate day and night. Pull back the lever and do better quality rather than just there, another blog post whipped up that lacks much. Those days are over with gaming the bots. Don't blog in one place and develop those funnels to attract and hit all the targets in the audience too. Offer more value for their time is the key. The buyer does not care how many blog posts you crank out, but wants ones they can use to save money, time, frustration. Off more value, help more people. Simple right?

 

 

 

May 24, 2016 08:47 PM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Obviously, it's all about the quality of those posts!

May 24, 2016 09:15 PM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

It depends on the writer. Writing daily would mean a sacrifice for me. A sacrifice in quality or time. It's one or the other for me. Writing quality posts does not come easy to me and can be time consuming.

May 24, 2016 09:40 PM
Liz and Bill Spear
Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com - Mason, OH
Transaction Alliance Cincinnati & Dayton suburbs

Diana, Thanks!

Melissa, You're welcome!

Myrl, That's the beauty of blogging.  We can each choose our own way of doing what works for us.  You laid such a solid foundation that you can ease off the throttle and still get results.

Diana, There's a lot of blogging experience in the comment thread.

Robert, I know some agents have good success with them (e.g. Dick Greenberg).

Gabe, Always happy to help!

Andrew, I'm not much on whatever the latest Google wants.  I write until I'm done.  If 300 words or 1100, I quit when I think the topic is covered.  I back up my AR posts periodically and have modified some for use on our WP site.

Kat, Quantity alone won't get it done.

Sharon, Agreed, and I do think it's tougher to keep that steady stream going in fields such as yours.

May 24, 2016 11:29 PM
Richie Alan Naggar
people first...then business Ran Right Realty - Riverside, CA
agent & author

There are topics that have Universal appeal and then there are the vanity posts. When dealing with multitudes of people (online), subjectivity rules the day/way

May 24, 2016 11:46 PM
Tammie White, Broker
Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN
Franklin TN Homes for Sale

I will have to admit there were days when my quality suffered; all for the sake of points. I was guilty of that as recent as two years ago. Now, points don't matter to me. I want everything I write to be high-quality content. Posts that will either help consumers or help agents.

I do agree that quality doesn't have to suffer to post daily. However, writing quality content is time-consuming. It requires good organizational skills, writing skills and commitment. I don't want agents to think what you do is easy. It's obvious that you have a writing game plan. You have goals as to the number of posts you'll do each month and what content you want to cover. What was this post? 1,000 words or more? And yet, you knocked it out of the park. That takes time and good organizational skills.

So for those agents who are challenged in these areas, it might be better to post one great piece every few days, rather than trying to do this daily.

Like you, I've had great success because I rank highly in the search engines. My website is also bolstered by the backlinks to my site. Google loves ActiveRain backlinks. And as you said, my price point is much higher from those clients who find me because of my blogging efforts.

There are a lot of benefits to posting daily but those benefits can still be obtained for the occasional blogger as well. As long as the content provided is high-quality.

May 25, 2016 01:00 AM
Tori Toth
Tori Toth, International - Howard Beach, NY
888.667.6643 NYC & Beyond, HSR, SAR, RESA, LIBOR

I try and blog 3x a week M, TH, SAT on my website. Then I repurpose the blog here. How many posts a week here do you think is necessary? How to juggle your company blog and this one? Plan, schedule, repurposing methods? I'd love to hear about them.

May 25, 2016 01:06 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

B'Liz, I've seen great quaility with some daily bloggers and some really awful stuff from the dailies.  And the way you define "quality" and really vary.  I've seen some posts that, while they weren't perfectly written, did send a perfect message to the readers.  And like you say, there is no simple answer!

May 25, 2016 03:09 AM
Jillian La Rocque
St Thomas, VI

Great post!

May 25, 2016 05:40 AM
Liz and Bill Spear
Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com - Mason, OH
Transaction Alliance Cincinnati & Dayton suburbs

Richie, To each their own.  What works for me might not work for someone else.

Tammie, Agreed, what works for me might not be best fit for another blogger.  I would think unless a blogger wants a really delayed payoff, they're going to need 3+ solid posts every week until they build critical mass and start ranking for their keywords.

@Tori Toth, I think you're on track with your 3 a week providing they are solid content for your prime target market.  I don't blog much outside of AR, primarily using AR as a means of pushing traffic to our Wordpress site, especially the pages with custom home searches.  Some of what I do wouldn't apply for your niche (e.g. a market snapshot first day of the month and deeper dives typically the 5th through 10th of each month).  I like to take any subdivision posts I do here and turn them into custom IDX pages on our Wordpress site.  That's some of the best repurposing we can do.

Pat, True, quality can be in the eye of the beholder and as long as the target market is receptive, that's what counts.

Jillian, Thanks!  Wouldn't mind being down your way today!

May 25, 2016 06:14 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hi Bill -- when I saw this issue being raised in the Q/A Section and your response there - I thought to myself --- there goes those seeds of inspiration for the blogging wiz Bliz.     You're spot on when you tell us if you're actively involved in this business a couple of quick notes of what's happening in your day can become a blog with just a little effort.   

Like Kathy Streib commented, I committed to post daily.   Yes, I write a lot of market reports and yes I personally get bored at times with them too so I try to mix it up a bit.  There is something quite satisfying about the inquiry of new people who find me through some type of online searching.  Even those who actually say "ActiveRain".   Amazing, huh?

May 25, 2016 07:07 AM
Liz and Bill Spear
Transaction Alliance 513.520.5305 www.LizTour.com - Mason, OH
Transaction Alliance Cincinnati & Dayton suburbs

Michael, That was the seed for sure.  The number of responses that assumed quantity and quality can't co-exist concerned me.  Yes, it's work and it requires effort, but the payoff is there for those willing to make the commitment.  To me, it makes sense for me to do on a daily basis.  Get the bigger digital footprint and up my odds of getting a response from someone that needs my help.  And while market reports aren't the most fun, they're a critical part of our monthly blogging.  I did drop the one about foreclosures because it just leads to calls of people wanting to go to the sheriff's auction and that's a zero paycheck path for me.

May 25, 2016 07:17 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

This is excellent advice to share with bloggers. 

I hope you are enjoying a most productive month.

May 25, 2016 09:40 PM
Sondra Meyer:
EXP Realty, LLC - Corpus Christi, TX
See It. Experience It. Live It.

Thanks for the motivation to try to become more regular with my bliogging. Lack of content isn't a problem but lack of a good habit that allows me to save time for it each day or week.

May 26, 2016 12:50 AM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

I started reading this post on Tuesday, I came back to it yesterday.   I've been swampled.  I will say that sometimes my brain is so tired that I just can't think about real estate any more that day I write some personal stuff.  But oddly enough writing about my pets, my family and fun on my lake and stuff I like has connected buyers and sellers to me in a way that they come in and feel like we've been friends for a long time.  I like it.  It works for me.

May 26, 2016 01:50 AM
Olga Simoncelli
Veritas Prime, LLC dba Veritas Prime Real Estate - New Fairfield, CT
CONSULTANT, Real Estate Services & Risk Management

I like your short answer and you are an inspiration.

May 26, 2016 02:33 AM
Anita Clark
Coldwell Banker Access Realty ~ 478.960.8055 - Warner Robins, GA
Realtor - Homes for Sale in Warner Robins GA

Bill: We all need to find that blogging sweet spot and produce quality content that consumers want and need to see whenever it is we blog. For some it is definitely daily and others can make it work at a slower cadence. 

May 27, 2016 06:14 AM