I'm actually quite new to blogging, with only a little over a month to my credit, so I've been reading about blogs and:
- who to blog
- what to blog
- why to blog
- when to blog
- where to blog
I found one article on my partner's computer dated 2003 and thought it was interesting. He's been blogging a lot longer than me, although only for about a month here at Active Rain as well. In no particular order:
- Content is king, queen, prince, princess, duke, and duchess—Your blog content should make people want to read it. You can help them by including pictures and spending at least a little time on formatting so that points are emphasized, listed, etc.
- Be yourself—If you like controversial topics and can handle yourself in a professional manner, by all means, blog about them. If you're more the funny guy, blog about that.
- Don't know what to blog about?—If you have a thought or idea, write about it now and decide where to blog it later. Of course, if Active Rain is your only blog, then this is where it will go.
- The field is wide open—There are about 108,000 members here at Active Rain, and other blogging sites are similar. I see about 1,525 members from San Diego County here, yet there are about 22,000 Realtors in the County. So although I wasn't the first San Diego Realtor here, I am in the leading pack of that marathon. In fact, I'm currently ranked #16 in San Diego County and moving up rapidly.
- Know when to be professional and when to be personal—Most people don't like to work with someone who's all work and no play with not even a sense of humor. At the same time, though, they want to make sure that when it comes to business, you will be professional. Make about 80% of your blogs about business and the other 20% about you as a person, unless you're at a social networking site such as MySpace, then reverse it. By letting people get to know you, you build rapport and a level of trust.
- Be the expert—Eighty percent of your posts should show that you are the expert in your field, in your area, etc. That will probably mean doing a little research on your own and writing something up by yourself. Picture yourself back in high school or college doing your term paper (unless you cheated or plagiarized. LOL) For the other 20%, you can use general interest, boilerplate, or template materials.
- Be patient—It will be rare that a blog, or blogging, will bring you instant success. Be persistent and consistent—as with all things in life, really—and that success will come.
- Writing style—There's nothing wrong with writing in an informal style. However, in this day and age of grammar checkers and spell checkers, at least make sure that you use the write words and spell them correckly. After all, we work in an industry where small mistakes can lead us to court. Exhibit that attention to details "here, there, and everywhere" (with apologies to The Beatles), and it will become a habit rather than a vice.
That's it for the moment.
As I have more thoughts, I'll blog them here, so be sure to subscribe to my blog.
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