Articles

4 Topic Ideas to Get You Back in the Blogging Game
If you're looking for a reason to start or get back into blogging... we've got your motivation right here. Every November, writers of all stripes participate in events that encourage them to kill the excuses for a month and just put pen to paper (hand to keyboard?). The idea is to create a writing habit that will last into December and beyond. National Novel Writing Month, where participants attempt to write a 50,000 word book draft in 30 days, is the original and most well known event. But for real estate purposes, we think National Blog Posting Month is the challenge to take on. While this event requires participants to write one blog post every day, we're going to make it simple with a mini-challenge--commit to writing just one post a week to shake the dust from your blog. We promise you'll feel accomplished by the time Nov. 30 rolls around. Like I said, we want to make it easy for you, so we've conjured up a list of topics that you can use to get the blogging juices flowing again. Week 1: Do You Need a Permit for that Remodeling Project? Many agents focus on topics relevant only to consumers currently in the buying or selling phase. Don't forget your past clients, though. Topics that are relevant to them as homeowners are the best way stay connected with them through your blog. In this post, provide a list of home improvement projects that do and do not need a permit. Explain why some projects do, and how they differ from those that don't (generally, projects that require significant changes--wiring, plumbing, additions--need a permit; cosmetic ones like new paint or countertops don't). In your list of projects that do require a permit, be sure to say who needs to obtain that permit--the homeowner or the contractor? Also, if you have knowledge of the average time it takes for a permit to be granted, include that information to help your readers plan ahead more effectively.

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4 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Real Estate Blog
Companies that blog have 97% more inbound links and generate 67% more leads per month. Just having a blog, though, doesn't mean it will automatically produce leads. A real estate blog is no different. If you are going to spend all that time designing a website and creating content to publish, it just makes sense to do it well. 1. Know Your Audience Part of having a blog people like and share virally is posting good content. Keys to good content: Aimed at the right audience - You need to decide who you are primarily targeting. Whether that's other agents, home buyers, or a specific subset of home buyers, it's good to know who you are talking to, for it will affect your writing and how you market your content. It's relevant - If your audience doesn't care about your content, they won't read it. A good tip here is NOT to post "Pick me!" articles all the time. Once in a while is okay, but if your main aim is to promote how good your services are, it will be a big turn off to readers. For example, first time home-buyers care about how to navigate the home buying process and will gravitate toward insider tips and "what to expect" pieces. Agents, on the other hand, have different needs than clients and will therefore care about different things – like "How to manage your time well" and "What to do when your client goes crazy." Timely posting - Timing matters when publishing content. What time zone is your primary audience in? You worked hard on your content and you want the most amount of people reading it. Once you find a good time of day/week to post your content, stick to it. Readers respond well to consistency. Try to post at least once a week – you want familiarity. The more your posts get out there, the more people will remember you. If you start posting more than four times a week, though, it starts getting a little too post happy – you need a happy medium. You want people to pay attention to your posts, not ignore them because it becomes more like white noise.

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10 Tips for Writing Effective Real Estate Copy
We spotted this great article on the Member's Edge blog from the National Assocation of REALTORS®. You can view the original post here. Writing clear copy in real estate listings is more important than ever. Often the first contact a REALTOR® has with a potential homebuyer comes through a home listing. With the speed at which shoppers are able to jump from one listing to the next, especially online, it's essential that your listings are written clearly and are engaging. And since the first contact you'll likely have with a potential homebuyer will come through a real estate listing, the copy is your first chance to build a reputation and a relationship. 1. Write clear, catchy headlinesDescribe the house factually, but add a sense of urgency so the property appears to be highly sought-after and desired. Nearly everyone will read your headline, while relatively few visitors will read the rest of the copy ... unless you can capture their attention immediately, that is. A good rule of thumb is to spend half your time working on the headline. 2. Cater to the local marketThe more specific you can be about school districts, local parks and businesses, and cultural attractions, the more effective your copy will be. The specifics paint a clear picture of the house while at the same time showing your expertise and familiarity with the local market. 3. Proofread and avoid typosNothing can ruin a great headline like a typo in the body of the listing. If you have time, set the listing aside and work on another project so you can proofread with a fresh set of eyes. Even better, read the listing out loud. Not only will you catch typos, but your ear could help you identify a better word or phrase. 4. Highlight your contact informationOne of the main goals of a listing is, after all, to schedule a showing. Make sure your phone number and email address are easy to find in the listing.

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Budget Season: Will You Be Making These 3 Marketing Expenses?
I recently spotted an article on Mashable that listed three marketing expenses as "must-haves" for the upcoming budget season. I'm going to discuss each and then ask you to weigh-in on whether or not they'll appear in your budget. 1) Social Media What should you be doing? According to Mashable, you'll want to look at your current social media presence to determine if you are optimally represented. If you don't have a profile on any of the primary social networks, or if you've been inactive on any of these networks, it's time to step things up. Begin to post regularly. This may mean creating content on your blog or website and then feeding links to that content to social media profiles – that's content marketing, which we'll talk about next. You may also want to consider advertising on social media (i.e. "promoted posts" on Facebook). Where's the expense? For many agents, there may not be any direct costs associated with social media marketing; instead, the expense lies in the resources you'll need to allocate. For instance, you'll need to spend some of your own time or that of an employee in order to build your social media presence. Direct costs might come from advertising on social media, if you decide that makes sense for you. 2) Content Marketing What should you be doing? Content marketing is exactly what it sounds like – creating and sharing content (i.e. on a blog or website) to educate and inform, while at the same time marketing yourself, your services, or your individual listings (in the case of real estate professionals). This content may take the form of a written article, a video, a podcast, photos, an infographic, or . . . (you take it from here; let your imagination run wild). Where's the expense? If you don't have the time or the inclination to create content on your own, you may need to hire someone else to do it. If that "someone" is already a member of your staff, the expense is represented in the use of their time. However, it's not uncommon to outsource content creation. RISMedia's RESource is a great example of a service that can help with this.

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