As a Realtor, in order to sell houses, you need to sell yourself first. Finding and keeping clients means establishing yourself as a local expert on housing matters, financing, neighborhoods, community relations and more. The best way to do this is to share your knowledge and keep people coming back to you for more. Your blog is the perfect way to put your knowledge and expertise out where the highest number potential clients can find it, and once they start coming to your site for information they will continue to come to you for all their real estate needs.
A recent article from Realtor Magazine includes blogging as one of the top ways to become a real estate expert in the public eye.
Blog What You Know
Think of the blog as the 21st century newsletter. It’s a written conversation with the public and potential clients about your thoughts on real estate and what they should know as a seller or buyer. Don’t make it sound like an ad: Your blogs should be conversational in tone and informational in content. The more a reader of your blog learns about real estate, the more readily they will give you a call.
Your blogs should be as specific as practical about the areas of expertise you’ve chosen. A blog on how to buy a new home is too general to stand out in an Internet search. A blog on what to look for when buying historic homes in the Midwest will bring in readers who are really interested in just those types of homes, while identifying you as an expert guide. The more you write on the specifics of your market, the more you attract people with the motivation to enter that market.
Also, be consistent. Writing once a week is a good target, but you don’t have to write long. Breaking up topics into a series of two or three blog posts helps bring people back to your site. Continue this way, and your archive becomes a ready resource for new clients.
On the technical side, use a blog service such as WordPress and Movable Type that automate the formatting, layout, archiving, and indexing of your blogs so you don’t have to be a Web wizard to publish online or be found by search engines. You should focus on the content of your blog, not the technological minutiae.
via Become a Real Estate Expert in the Public Eye | Realtor Magazine.
Of course, your blog is just your first step. Once you have it on your website, start the networking process by sending it to facebook and other social media sites and by sharing it on professional network sites where users go to ask and answer real estate related questions.
Worried about sharing too much information? Well, chances are if a client has a question or curiosity about a subject, they will find their answer online, so it might as well be from you. And the more knowledge you share, the more you will be seen as the ‘go to’ realtor in your region.
For more on sharing your secrets read… How giving away trade secrets makes for a successful blog
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