Posts Tagged ‘ real estate blog ’

Preferred WordPress Blog Plugins

It’s been quite some time since I posted my last list of preferred WordPress plugins. Since the HomeGain Real Estate Blog is all about helping real estate agents succeed, I thought this would be a great place to post an update.

Man have things changed! WordPress has always had great plugin’s, but I really think it’s reaching a breakout point. After installing the right stuff, WordPress behaves like an incredibly functional CMS for a highly dynamic website (not just a blog.)

Without further adieu, here’s my list of preferred plugins for WordPress blogs:

Akismet – There’s a reason this plugin comes standard with every WP install. It’s the only spam plugin you need.

Lucia’s Linky Love – In my opinion, this is the cadillac of do-follow plugins. Most do-follow comment plugins blindly follow any commentator link on your website or blog. This makes it really tough to let marginal comments through — even though the commentator might simply be uncreative, rather than spam commenting. Lucia’s allows you to set a minimum # of comments before the links are followed, and allows you to follow any specific comment that you don’t like, along with a number of other useful settings.

Minimum Comment Length – I’ll say it right now — Joost de Valk is the man. Not simply because of this plugin, but because I’m currently rocking 3 of his WP plugins and 2 of his Firefox extensions. Minimum Comment Length does what it says — you set a minimum comment length and you frustrate the daylights out of spam commentators. Continue reading this post

Posted by: Eric Bramlett on October 14th, 2008 under Blogging and Social Networking

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What’s in My Feedreader?

The number one thing that has helped my real estate career has been reading blogs.

Through my years in real estate, I have gotten almost no help from my colleagues or brokers. The philosophy was that we were in direct competition with each other so we could not share our ideas or expertise because it might hurt our career. Almost no agents would divulge any of their so called “secrets”. If a real estate agent would give up any of their knowledge, it was at a price.

I am so glad I discovered Web 2.0. What I learned was it is ok to share knowledge and ideas. It will not hurt me. It will help build a supportive community and it will help the real estate industry as a whole.

Here are some things I have learned by reading blogs:

Social media, especially Twitter
About blogging and blogging ideas
All about video
Virtual tour options
Moo cards
Marketing techniques
Advertising
Real estate news
What to put on my website
How to treat clients

And much, much more.

My favorite real estate blogs are: Continue reading this post

Posted by: Heather Lawson on October 10th, 2008 under Blogging and Social Networking

6 Comments »

HomeGain Blogging School Update

AgentView exclusively features agent listings, profiles and blogs as well as HomeGain’s Home Sale Maximizer and instant home valuation tools all in an advertising-free environment.

HomeGain understands that blogging can be a challenge. That’s why when we started the HomeGain Agent Blogging Network, we soon added free blogging training at the HomeGain Blogging School.

Classes are conducted weekly by HomeGain Blogging School Professor, Joseph Ferrara. Each lesson provides useful blogging tips and a critique of some of the blogs that appear on the HomeGain Agent Blogging Network.

Check out a sample HomeGain Blogging School lesson.

Louis Cammarosano Continue reading this post

Posted by: Louis Cammarosano on September 30th, 2008 under Blogging and Social Networking, HomeGain

1 Comment »

10 Reasons NOT to Add Podcasts to Your Blog

You really shouldn’t try podcasting. Why bother? Tech-savvy youngsters are the only ones downloading files from iTunes. And, that’s exactly what you should believe. Please ignore reports from comScore Networks that indicate 35-54 year olds makeup a sizable portion of podcast listeners.

Apparently, many top podcasts are in the business and educational genres and appeal to the more educated and higher-income consumer segments. But that should be of no interest to you…because you don’t need to podcast.

You’re a real estate agent, not a radio broadcaster. You need to spend your time in the field with your clients. Don’t bog yourself down with a phenomenal social media tool that can spread your message, your brand, and your expertise like wildfire.

And here are 10 more reasons why you should absolutely, positively, NOT add podcasting to your real estate blog:

Don’t do it….you will increase your online visibility.
Don’t do it….you can gain a new audience for your blog.
Don’t do it….you can strengthen the community bond with your current audience.
Don’t do it….it may show off your expertise to your target market. Continue reading this post

Posted by: Nicole Nicolay on June 15th, 2008 under Guest Bloggers, Technology

8 Comments »

It’s Showtime! Our Next Guest Blogger Is…

Please welcome Tom Townsend as our next guest blogger!

Tom has over 20 years experience in engineering and technology in companies that include Synopsis and TransDataNet Corp, and has solid insight into the real estate industry from being the former VP of IT for New Homes Realty, Inc. out of Tampa, Florida.

Today Tom is the owner of Virtual Interactive Systems and blogs regularly on his wife’s real estate blog, The Greater Tampa Bay Real Estate Blog.

So, in addition to Tom writing about current real estate trends in local markets in Florida, he will be contributing quite a bit on the technology side. He’ll also cover the Media side of the Social Networking spectrum with a niche area devoted to the real estate industry, which I’m really looking forward to.

Stay tuned for Tom’s first post tomorrow! Continue reading this post

Posted by: Jessica Gopalakrishnan on April 3rd, 2008 under Guest Bloggers

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Invasion of the Guest Bloggers: The Third Wave

We have been very fortunate to have attracted some of the top guest bloggers in the country to the HomeGain real estate blog.

Quality attracts quality and we have received numerous requests by bloggers all over the country to contribute. Next up we have two established bloggers: Carole Cohen and Mike Farmer.

Presenting: Carole Cohen

Carole, a former school teacher, blogs about real estate in Cleveland and the Northeast Area of Ohio in her blog, Cleveland Real Estate News.

Carole is passionate about the Cleveland area and returned to her native city 10 years ago after an extended period away. She is committed to working with first time home buyers and those relocating to the Cleveland. Carole considers herself an expert in the Cleveland area and we expect her to be contributing posts that share her real estate knowledge as well as expertise regarding her beloved hometown.

Presenting: Mike Farmer

Mike Farmer is the owner broker of Mike Farmer Realty in Savannah, Georgia. Mike is also an accomplished blogger contributing to the BloodHound Blog and the Bigger Pockets Blog. Mike loves philosophy, poetry, writing and real estate. He covers all of the preceding topics at his own blog the Bonzai Real Estate Blog. We look forward to Mike’s first blog post on how to manage online leads later this week. Continue reading this post

Posted by: Louis Cammarosano on March 17th, 2008 under Guest Bloggers

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