Blog like a Real Estate Agent!

Blogging on your agent website is an excellent way to increase your leads. With the majority of real estate clients using the internet to find an agent, your blog is how potential clients get to know you and your expertise. Additionally, by adding new content to your website, in the form of a blog, you can increase your SEO. SEO determines how high on the list your website places when an internet search is done. Whether you have been blogging for years, or have yet to type your first post, read on to find out how to make a blog work for you.

The great thing about a real estate blog is, when done correctly, it does more marketing about your agency, listings, neighborhoods and yourself than any other form of advertising. Whether buying or selling, clients want to make sure the agent helping them is not only an experienced and knowledgeable agent, but want to feel they have a connection to the person who is helping them make one of life’s larger decisions. Your blog should invite them in.

Remember you are writing to reinforce your expertise – write about what you know. Rotate your blog content to hit your different areas of expertise: real estate terms made simple; local neighborhood highlights; homeowner tips and seasonal ideas. Not sure where to find all this information? Enlist the help of local governments, organizations and even your clients. Do you find yourself explaining some aspects of selling or buying to multiple clients? Write a blog to explain it. Not only does it educate your clients, it also gives you a written resource to refer future clients. Are there events such as school carnivals/musicals, art fairs, or new restaurants/businesses? Get yourself put on email/newsletter lists for the Chambers of Commerce, School Districts, and local governments and they will keep you informed rather than you taking time to go looking. If you tweet, check out the articles attached to those
tweets for more content
. If you are using content from somewhere else, address that in the blog. Either acknowledge your inspiration or include a link to the original content at the end of the blog. Just be sure the link opens in a new tab so potential clients do not navigate away from your website. You can also disguise listings as blogs. For each new listing, pick one feature that really makes the home stand out. Then write your blog about that feature – how to create it, why it increases value – using the home listing as an example. You can always get comments from local experts about costs to create or maintain. Ask the expert to post your blog on their website and you have a whole new marketing area.

Your main focus is to establish yourself as an expert, but you also want to make sure you come across as a real person. When you are blogging, use the same grammar and syntax you do when you are talking. Potential clients can establish a comfort level with your blog; you do not want them to lose that comfort level when they meet you in person. Give a little about yourself, especially in blogs about local events. Have you and friends/family attended an event in the past? What did you enjoy most? Be safe by not mentioning personal details that will be online forever, but show you are active within the community. If you do attend, take some photos you can include in later blogs.

Content is just one part of a successful real estate blog. Start gathering yours today by trolling your incoming emails and tweets. Create a ‘blog file’ where you can stash future ideas. Get yourself on community email lists and start taking photos of local events.

Want to find out if you have what it takes to be a Real Estate Agent or Broker? About Tom DavidsonTom Davidson is Vice President of Colibri Real Estate, LLC. which operates online education providers Colibri Real Estate, Insurance License Express and License Tutor. Follow him on Twitter.