How to Start Your Own Blog

Why should you want to have your own blog? Because today, 90 percent of home buyers are searching online during their house hunt, according to Google and the National Association of Realtors. In addition, more than twice as many people start their search online versus contacting an agent.

For real estate, building and maintaining your online presence is more important than ever.

The good news is agents can raise their online presence in several ways. You can enhance your online activity by consistently engaging on social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram. With local video content, you can build a following on YouTube or TikTok.

But if you want to boost your business and your online profile, your best investment of time may be starting a blog. After all, a study from Orbit Media shows that 54% of businesses who utilize blogging gain strong marketing results.

Know before you start down the path of blogging this one fact: you must love to write (or at least be a competent writer). If it's a struggle for you to develop new ideas or find you are always "too busy to write," then don't blog.

Where do you begin writing your blog?

If you enjoy writing, blogging could become your "go-to" marketing tactic.

But starting and writing a real estate blog means more than just whipping up a few paragraphs and posting it online to share with your audience. Successful bloggers recommend you avoid "writing just to write." Instead, focus on creating good quality writing rather than a longer word count.

And you will need to be patient. Having a successful real estate blog won't happen overnight. Instead, you will undergo a process of trial and error to determine what most appeals to your client base and makes them want to come back again and again.

The benefits can be well worth the time invested. A real estate blog can help you increase your online visibility while at the same time showcasing your talents and expertise.

Unlike visibility achieved on social media, people spend more time on your site as they read what you have written. Therefore, traffic gains from blog posts are much more meaningful than traffic generated by paying to boost a social media post.

The key to getting started is to create the proper foundation, invest time in planning a schedule, and find that unique "hook" your blog has that makes it stand out from others.

Here are 6 essential tips you need to know to start your own blog:

Write for your niche: When starting a blog, brainstorming is a core component to gather your ideas and figure out the best topics to attract readers. Therefore, you should write what you know. Focus on the real estate niche that's your specialty. It's easier to write a topic that you deep knowledgeable about, as it will help you avoid writer's block.

Use a catchy title and click-worthy headlines: For your blog title and headlines for subsequent posts, you want them to be attention grabbing. Keep in mind that potential readers will quickly glance at the headline before deciding to click or not to click. The headline for all your blog posts needs to hook people into wanting to read the content, or your work will be for naught. So, don't just rush into writing the title. Instead, take your time and iterate. Keep your title short (less than ten words), make sure it connects to your main topic or theme, and that your target audience understands it.

Maintain a schedule: Like becoming a perennial top producing agent, consistency is key. A lot of agents have started a blog with a single post and never wrote a second one. Committing to a schedule is critical when starting your blog. Create an editorial calendar or schedule with proposed topics and deadlines for first drafts and target dates for final posting. While you don't want to blog too frequently, you must avoid long gaps between your posts. Being inconsistent in posting is the fastest way to lose the interest of your audience: they will go elsewhere.

The most successful bloggers post two to four times a week, but you are not a blogger. You are an agent who blogs. Once a week is great if you can maintain that pace to keep your clientele engaged, and hopefully, wanting more.

Be straightforward: Good blogs are easy to read; they are not college essays. While it's important to provide in-depth information and be specific, you should avoid drag on. Be approachable in your posts. Sharing valuable info, focusing on your main idea, and not overselling or being self-promotional will earn a larger audience.

Resonate with your audience: Visualize your favorite clients with whom you have worked with. These types of people are the kind of readers you want to attract to your blog. Put yourself in their shoes: what information are they most interested in? What are the most frequent questions they have? You don't have to appeal to everyone, but you need to know who you want to reach.

Observe what other blogs cover: Top real estate blogs and news outlets like Inman, RE Technology, RISMedia, RealtyTimes, and others have a style and method for the subjects they pick. Pay attention to that. These firms invest a lot of money to create content that appeals to their target audiences: agents and brokers. Staying on top of real estate trends and industry news can help you write your blog. They also can help generate ideas, especially when you can find a local angle that relates to an important national topic or trend.

Finally, remember that a Tech Helpline expert is only a call or click away when you have any general tech questions!

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