Real Estate Blogging 101: A Guide for Real Estate Agents
Personal anecdote: My whole life, I avoided English. The hardest class I ever took was a required freshman composition class. I actually built my university major around how many additional English classes I would have to take. Where am I now? Writing blogs for a major software development company.
If you happen to really enjoy the process of creative writing, then you are in luck. If you are anything like me, however, you will have thought you were sneaky and somehow managed to get around using composition skills in your everyday life. Unfortunately, you were wrong. Of course, it is not a requirement for realtors to have blogs, but it is a great way to help your business grow. If this is news to you or an overwhelming idea, this article will serve as a crash course in real estate blogging. As someone who used to loathe writing, I assure you, it is not so bad.
WHY YOU SHOULD BLOG
1- SEO Benefits: The number one reason to blog is to increase the traffic to your website which will (hopefully) translate to an increase in converted leads. Blogs full of keywords, tags and original content will boost your website’s ranking on Google.
2- Original Content: Original content will make you stand out from competitors. Give your leads a snapshot of who you are and what your capable of. Successful realtors are personable and blogging original content is a great way to get that across.
3- Marketing Yourself: Blogging is a free and easy way to market yourself! It is just another platform you are able to express yourself with, as well as market your best listings. The best part? Others can share your posts as well!
4- A Helpful Realtor: We know that a good realtor is a genuine, helpful person who is trusted by many. Blogging is a great way to exhibit these qualities by writing posts necessary and helpful to a client’s home search.
HOW TO GET STARTED
1- Add to Website: First you will need to add this function or section to your website. Blogging is fairly common, so you probably already have this option readily available.
2- Choose Theme or Niche: A successful blog has a theme or niche. This is a sure fire way to get better SEO rankings. If you already have a real estate niche, this will be easy for you, if not, consider what you are passionate about and who your audience is.
3- Easy To Read Layout: After you have created your blogging channel and theme, you will need to determine the layout and style you want in your blog. Keep things easily readable with headings, subheadings, numbers, bullet points, different fonts, etc. Try to keep this style consistent through all your posts.
4- Get Creative: Now it is your time to shine. You have the technology and you know your audience; all that is left to do is create the content. In the next section of this article, you will find helpful writing ideas.
5- Share Blogs: Remember, a key point to real estate blogging is the ability to share them. Introduce your first blog on your social media accounts and invite people to read and share it. Keep your followers in the loop of your blogging highlights!
6- Repeat: Do it again! To have a blog that ranks and creates traffic, you must consistently post. Choose a time interval for posts and stick to it.
TOPICS AND IDEAS
1- Top Lists: For some reason, people respond to numbers. Interesting “top lists,” keep readers engaged and also give you an opportunity to market your listings or give advice. Example: Top 7 Beautiful Backyards You Will Want to Barbecue In!
2- How To/What Is: All those silly, seemingly redundant, questions? Answer them! If people are asking you personally, that means they could not easily find the answer on Google. Help them out and write these kind of blogs. They are especially useful for your SEO and gaining leads’ trust.
3- Guest Writers: Give your content a splash of color and ask someone to write a guest post for you. The change in content and tone will be refreshing for your loyal readers and also give you a chance to network.
4- Videos/Creative Content: A theme and niche is good, but you do not have to follow it 100%. Stepping outside of the box with some kind of featured content might be an interesting thing to consider. For example, make a music video or share a real estate related comic. Hint: Holidays are a great excuse for special creative content.
5- Interviews: Like a guest writer, if you have a connection to an influencer related to your content and what your readers want, interview them! This can come in the form of a video or article, but will guarantee to be interesting.
OTHER TIPS AND TRICKS
1- Narrow Your Theme/Niche: Do not be too general. The more narrow you can make your overall theme or niche, the better. To make this easier, think about your location, your target market for readers, and your passions.
2- Time Intervals: You need to be consistent with your posts. I do not suggest weekly posts if you know you cannot commit to that. Start slow, stay consistent and gradually increase your volume.
3- Be Selective: It is important to invite people to read your articles the first few times you post, but once you increase your volume, be selective about which ones you share on your other accounts. Social media is precious for real estate agents and you do not one want saturate it with one thing.
4- Add Tags: If you want to rank on Google, you must use tags! Most blogging platforms will give you an option to add custom tags. This directly affects your SEO, so remember to include searchable keywords. 3-5 good tags will do.
5- Include Photos: Block texts with no visuals are not engaging. Add photos, graphics and videos to spice things up.
6- Be Efficient: Make things efficient and create templates or outlines for your posts. If you have a series on answering similar questions, or a specific way to write “top lists,” make things easier on yourself and save a template or outline to use in the future. You never want to waste your time if you do not have to.
7- Engage: To retain and gain readers, you need to engage. Be proud of your work and respond to any comments. Whether this is a simple, “thank you,” or an elaborate answer to a question, do not skip out on this step!
8- Mix It Up: Do not post the same things. It is a good idea to mix up your content. The contrast between the types of posts will bring in different kinds of readers and engage the loyal ones.
Real estate blogging may be something you never saw yourself getting into, but here you are! The idea can be intimidating, but it does not have to be time consuming or difficult, especially with these tips. The main thing, is to show your personality, and push content that readers want and need. With these things in mind, your success is ensured.
Happy blogging!
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