Sep
24
Is blogging right for you?
While I’m a big fan of blogging as a way to get content online, I don’t think it’s the ULTIMATE way of having a web presence for real estate agents.
Why? Simple. Blogs don’t suit every personality.
You might be a writer. Then again, you might not be.
You might be a good communicator. And you might not be.
You might prefer speaking over writing. Or not.
You might be a self-starter. Or not.
You might be starved for time. Or not.
You might have thick skin. Or not.
You might enjoy reading. Then again, maybe not.
You might have the stamina. Or not.
Where you fall in these two columns depends on lots of factors, but namely your personality. In other words, you have to decide that for yourself if blogging fits your personality.
However, if you’ve come to that point in your career that blogging, indeed, suits your personality, then this post is for you. Here are nine ways in which blogging can help you and your real estate career.
1. Attract a New Market.
No surprise here, but the new savvy home buyer and seller is online. Googling for homes to buy. And real estate agents to work with. And more.
People are also searching for answers. You have to be the person who answers those questions.
2. Dominate Search Results.
So, a blog will allow you to write content about how to buy a home, stage a home or finance a home…typical needs home buyers and sellers have.
In other words, you write posts about ways you can help people.
And you want a page from your blog to appear in the top ten of search results. More pages with more inbound links equals greater chance you land on that coveted first page for that keyword. That’s how you dominate search results.
3. Establish Your Authority.
Published online content–at first blush–equals instant credibility. But there’s more to it than this. I’ll explain in a minute.
4. Sharpen Your Writing Skills.
Within four seconds people decide if the page is worth their time and attention. The more you write, though, the better you become. And people start to recognize your talent. Thus, your credibility grows.
5. Engage Your Prospects in a Wider Discussion.
Did you touch upon an issue in a meeting you would’ve liked to have gone deeper but couldn’t because of time? Blog it.
Local issue that’s abuzz in your community? Blog about it.
Then there’s popularity contest you could play. A sure winner for drawing readers.
6. Clarify Points.
Maybe you said something in a networking event or negotiations that wasn’t clear. Or drew criticism. Blog it. Systematically and clearly. Why? See point 4.
7. Do More.
Wanna start a discussion about a topic but don’t want to mess with the logistics of actually bringing warm bodies together? Blog it.
You can use your blog as a forum and invite your prospects to join a certain topic–new development or a slumping market. Think online small group.
8. Build a Reputation.
This is similar to authority. The difference is that authority is instant credibility. The certificate you see on the wall certifies your doctor is legit. That’s authority. Your best friend raving about the best MD in town…that’s reputation.
You want both.
9. Stretch Your Skill Set.
Launching a blog is easy. Still, it contains challenges and new ground to cover–from the hard [minor technical tweaks] to the soft [replying to criticism].
Thus, rounding out your real estate career set with blogging skills can be an added bonus for younger generations who grew up with blogging and social media. Something to consider.
Please note that these are in order from what I think is most important to the least important. Building an online presence and generating more traffic is a good reason to start a blog. Better than simply stretching your skill set.
But they’re all good things–both professionally and personally.
I’m sure there are plenty of other reasons why or ways that blogging can help your real estate career. Can you share some?
Did you find this article helpful? If so, leave a comment or subscribe to the real estate marketing Blog by email or news feed.
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Sep
17
Why do so many real estate agents find it difficult to write? Do you find it difficult to write?
Your career–that is, as a real estate agent–demands you write. It demands you write emails. Ads. Descriptions. Letters. Voice mail messages.
You name it and you have to write it.
Unfortunately most of us are a product of an educational system that focuses on facts. And in most cases, the education stuck.
And that’s a problem.
Why is this a problem? If you’re a product of our educational system, then most of what you write is saturated by facts. Let me show you an example:
This house is less than 3 yrs old and has a 2009 appraised value of over $230,000. Nearly $30,000 in up-grades featuring the Waterford floor plan and the Colonial III elevation, hardwood floors, luxury kitchen and luxury master suite options, this house is priced for a quick sale.
Not too bad, right? Sorry, but the ad is limp and inert at best.
The Problem with Facts
Now, there’s nothing wrong with facts. Except that educators refused to let it go at mere memorization of facts. As a society, we plunged into wholesale fact-worship.
What’s at stake? When you glorify one thing, it’s generally at the expense of something else. In this case, the something else is “feeling.”
A feeling is as opposite a fact as you get. You can’t see it or hear it. Measure or weigh it.
Furthermore, feelings differ from person to person. Feelings are unpredictable. And faced with this unpredictability, educators cast a suspicious eye on feelings.
Again, this education–hold all feelings at arms length–stuck. We are, generation after generation, a population trained to reject decisions based on emotions.
In fact, we feel guilty if we make a decision based on an emotion.
Therefore, if you want to become a great writer–or if you merely want to inject more personality and life into your written communication–then you need a new approach to writing. An emotional approach.
The Emotional Approach to Writing
Instead of analyzing ads, deducing rules and then writing to fit these regulations, accept your own ever-so-finite limitations, take facts for granted and place your certainty in feelings.
Feeling is what drives you forward. And it’s what drives your prospects and clients forward. “What if” is your watchwords.
And the rules? They’re incidental.
I re-wrote the above ad based on feelings. See if it sings:
This 3-year old house is like a new build–except without the headaches of unpredictable contractors. Wide open floor plan and tall ceilings make this a big house. Add hardwood floors, professional kitchen and master bath–you’ve got luxury living on a small budget.
Do you see how you can still incorporate facts into your written communication? What did I do differently? I just spelled out the benefits for each feature. All I did was think about why the buyer would care about the facts. That’s really all it boils down to.
Now, let me talk to those of you who are afraid to write.
Communication of your feeling demands skill. But also heart. Yes, you will make mistakes. But to win at the skill of writing–or real estate for that matter–then you have no choice but to begin right where you are.
This very moment.
Remember: Whatever you do in life–writing or real estate or raising kids–you have to start on the bottom rung like the rest of us. That means you have to be willing to be bad–very bad–in this business if you ever want to get good.
In other words, only if you’re willing to make mistakes today can you hope to move ahead tomorrow. So, give it a shot right now: Write a comment below explaining why you thought this post was good or bad. And don’t forget emotion. Feeling.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot: I won’t grade you. I promise.
Sep
14
The ending is everything.
That’s why Greek heroes like Odysseus–who were able to look beyond the present and plan several steps ahead–seemed to defy fate. In fact, men like Odysseus mimicked the Greek gods in their ability to tell the future.
The comparison, today, is still valid.
If you can think further ahead and patiently bring your plans to fruition, you’ll seem godlike. And naturally be more successful.
Most people are imprisoned in the moment. Imprisoned by their emotions. They can’t plan with any kind of foresight. Neither can they ignore immediate dangers or instant pleasures…traps that ultimately strip them of their future success.
The Mistake Successful Real Estate Agents Avoid
Successful real estate agents, on the other hand, like those profiled in the Baylor study I wrote about last week, have the power of being able to overcome the natural human tendency to react to things as they happen. Instead they train themselves to step back and think about the larger things taking shape beyond the horizon.
Most agents believe that they are in fact aware of the future, that they are planning and thinking ahead.
They are usually wrong.
What they’re really doing is succumbing to their desires, to what they want the future to be. Their plans are vague, based on their fantasies rather than reality.
They’re not thinking to the end. Only focusing on the happy ending, which is nothing more than a figment of their imagination.
“The most ordinary cause of people’s mistakes,” Cardinal de Retz wrote, “is their being too much frightened at the present dangers, and not enough at that which is remote.”
Dangers that loom in the distance cause the most chaos. You only need to reflect on the housing bubble to see what I mean.
But if you can see those dangers before they take shape…how many mistakes do you think you could avoid? How many plans would you abort if you realized you were avoiding a small danger only to step into a larger one?
So much of success is not what you do but what you don’t do. The rash and foolish actions that you restrain from contribute a lot to the outcome of your future–whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate.
The Moral of This Post
Plan in detail before you act. Train yourself to step back and evaluate your future–in detail. Compare it to reality. Ask questions: What consequences could this have? Will I lose prospects if I do this? Will someone else be able to take advantage of me? Can I actually sell this house?
Don’t be swayed by the happy ending in your head. Unhappy endings are more common than happy ones. And the happy ones usually come at great cost–hours, days and months of planning, refraining, adjusting and executing.
Happy endings are product of hard work. And good plans. Where you confront the brutal facts. Doing this can be the difference between a good ending and a bad one.
See the ending. And tolerate no deviation.
Sep
9
Lead Generation Strategies: Seeker-Oriented v. Attract Oriented
Filed Under Real Estate Prospecting Ideas | Leave a Comment
Last year Baylor researchers asked real estate agents, “When it comes to lead generation–what works?”
These researchers discovered two things.
First, those real estate agents who reported doing better–or much better–in their market than most agents reported significantly higher lead conversion rates to appointments.
Second, these same agents reported higher conversion rates from appointments to a transaction.
What was their secret? Well, their secret pretty much boiled down to 5 characteristics that make up a compelling real estate agent profile.
Let me show you what I mean.
Real estate agents who reported doing much better in their market tended to:
1. Have higher lead and appointment conversion rates.
2. Spend less on open houses as a percentage of their total spending.
3. Spend less on promotional items as a percentage of their total spending.
4. More productive when using open houses.
5. More seeker oriented in their lead generation activities
One way to approach this information is to use it as a baseline for your own lead generation investment. The question is: Are your lead generating strategies seeker-oriented or attract oriented?
Attract-oriented strategies tend to be activities like print advertising or signage where the real estate agent puts out the ad or the sign and then waits for leads to come in.
These types of strategies tend to be passive. You sit and wait.
On the other hand, seeker-oriented real estate agents typically invested in the proactive strategies like networking, referrals and IVR technology.
These type of strategies are active. Aggressive. They put you in control of your leads. And your career.
Yes, I know. Aggressive strategies are nerve racking for the timid. So, the question is: If you could be in control and guide your career to success, don’t you think it’s worth the risk of sticking your neck out there a little to be more aggressive?
I do. And I hope you do, too. You and your career are worth it. Let me know what you think.
Leave a comment if this post was helpful or if you have anything you’d like to add. And if you like what you read, subscribe to the Real Estate Marketing Blog.
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