Of all the ingredients in the blogging success formula, the one that can’t be taught is Personality.

So, instead, I offer these 4 tips to help inspire you to be yourself.

1. Play to Your Strengths

Real estate is a complex business.  It involves both the left and right sides of the brain, if you will.  Yes, there are facts and figures, credit scores and financing options but there is also lifestyle, neighborhood amenities, client feelings, and a host of other intangibles.  I have heard finding a home compared to finding a mate.  Yes, there are the physical characteristics but also those hard to define “feely” qualities.  The real estate agent is the matchmaker, trying to blend all the elements together.  But each of you is better at certain aspects.

Are you more comfortable and confident analyzing statistics and financing to find the best deal in town?  Or do your strengths lean more toward quality of life and neighborhood amenities to find the perfect match for a first time buyer?  Do you enjoy marketing, staging?  Write about the topics that show your strengths… and your passion.  Find your talent and you will find your voice.

2. Reveal Yourself

If you have hobbies or interests (even pets), share them with your readers from time to time.  Perhaps you volunteer for an organization, at your church or synagogue, or are involved in community events.  Write about your experiences.  If you can (and maybe you can’t) relate them to real estate.  The point is to open up to your readers so they get a sense of the “unprofessional” you – Gee that doesn’t sound right, but you know what I mean.  You will be surprised to find that others share your hobbies, interests, volunteerism….and pets. 

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Certain types of blog posts attract visitors and generate a lot of interest (clicks), increasing the likelihood they will be read and maybe spread across the Internet. The first type of blog post hitting the mark is the “List” post.

Five Tips For Better List Posts

1. The number 10 seems to be a popular list number  – Top 10 list. The same is apparently true for odd number lists.  Don’t ask me why.  Even a post of 1 will work – The Number 1 Reason Homes Don’t Sell.
2. Use these powerful buzzwords to further attract readers, such as: Top, Best, Easy, Fast, Cheap, Simple, Popular, Tips, Tricks, Secrets
3. Don’t neglect the negative list.  For example, 7 Big Mistakes to Avoid When Photographing a Home for Sale.
4. Appeal to curiosity.  Secrets. Tips. Tricks. People are curious to know what the experts know.
5. Bold your list items.  It helps the list items stand out.

Blogging Tip courtesy of the HomeGain Blog Professor, Joseph Ferrara. To read the full article and receive the weekly real estate blogging newsletters, sign up for AgentView and the HomeGain Blogging School.

The problem with any product sold or given to real estate agents is, what I call THE MISSING MANUAL. Unlike the bikes I had to assemble at Christmas which had instructions – and still were tough to put together—the tools you get from vendors do not come with a manual of how to effectively use them. At best, you get the basics.

Let’s take blogging, for example. You can get a free blog from Wordpress or Blogger and strike out on your own. Or you can pay for a blog at any number of real estate websites. But there are 2 major problems.

1. The blog providers give you virtually no instructions on how to:

• Set up the blog
• Post content
• Add images, video, slideshows, listings widgets, etc. -– Do you know how to use an HTML editor -– Or know what the heck HTML is?
• Tag your posts (and images) -– did you know that images are indexed by Google?
• Categorize your posts -– did you know that choosing too many categories actually hurts you?

You have to learn by trial and error. That’s how I learned. It sucked. It took a long time and I made many mistakes, some of which I did not correct until years later — that’s right, years.

2. It takes time for Google to index new blogs.

You can write for months and months before folks can find your posts on Google, i.e. on the first page of Google. Let’s face it, no matter how great your content is, if no one can find it on Google, no one will read it. So you end of toiling without seeing real success and it’s discouraging. You’re likely to quit.

If only someone showed you how to write blog posts to effectively take advantage of SEO (search engine optimization)…………….

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After writing a post on a topic, simply add a section called “Related Posts” or something similar to direct your readers to other posts on the topic. Then list the titles of all the related posts with links to those posts. This will encourage readers to click these older posts and learn more about the topic and your expertise.

BLOG TIP: While it is a common practice to add the links to related posts at the end of a post, there is nothing preventing you from doing so within the body of the post. For example, if you mention home staging in a post on preparing a home for sale, you can say “See this post on how to stage a home” and link to that older post.

BLOG TIP: Review your older posts and edit them to add links to more recent posts. This way both old and new posts are tied together. If a reader’s search brings them to either post, they can see the link to the other and click it. Visually tying your posts together also helps the reader stay on your blog.

Blogging Tip snippet courtesy of the HomeGain Blog Professor, Joseph Ferrara. To read the full article and receive the weekly real estate blogging newsletters, sign up for AgentView and the HomeGain Blogging School.

Anyone who thinks they have to be tech savvy to succeed as a blogger had better wise up… or go stand in the corner. Blogging is about building relationships. And, as you all know, the best and strongest relationships are built on personal interaction. So, how do you build personal relationships when you are busy typing blog posts?

The answer is USE THE TELEPHONE. Yes, that age old piece of technology that some folks think disappeared with the advent of the internet is a blogger’s secret weapon.

Here’s why. Folks will talk to reporters and journalists easier than they will talk to real estate brokers and agents. One is perceived as an objective information gatherer, the other as a biased salesman. Use the telephone to reach out to folks to build relationships by focusing on them. Remember, your blog takes you into the space traditionally owned by reporters and journalists. You are the new reporters and journalists. Use this new power to your advantage. Use your blog to open doors that are otherwise difficult to open.

Blogging Tip courtesy of the HomeGain Blogging School Professor, Joseph Ferrara. To receive the weekly real estate blogging newsletters, sign up for AgentView and the HomeGain Blogging School.

What better way to learn how to improve your own blog than reading other agent’s blogs! Here are a few great examples of agents who are successful with their HomeGain Agent Blogs:

Heather Lawson not only gives consumers a link to useful home improvement tips, she offers readers a free newsletter. Give to get.

Aimee Freeman’s post can be found because it has a question consumers are likely search “How do I choose a builder? Aimee also has links to her content on other websites. Just add you market keywords in the title, Aimee “in North Carolina”

Marcy Moyer appeals to the pet lover in all of us. You’d be surprised how many people make real estate decisions considering their pet needs.

Blogging Tip courtesy of the HomeGain Blogging School Professor, Joseph Ferrara. To receive the weekly real estate blogging newsletters, sign up for AgentView and the HomeGain Blogging School.