Up until a few months ago I hadn't even thought of blogging for business. I have had a blog on my site at www.melbournehomesearch.com for quite some time. I know that many of my customers read it and to me it was more of a way to talk to my current customers as well as a lead retention program to keep my site fresh.
I then started blogging on Homegains Blog and that lead to being asked to blog on a couple of other sites and then I ended up here on Active Rain and even starting my group of Lead Generation and Lead Conversion. So does this help in getting business?
Last month I would have said no until I had a discussion with one of my customers, a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. He had said that the reason he used me as his Realtor was because I played baseball still. Then, a few weeks ago I get another call from a guy who said he had been following me for a few months and really liked what I had to say. We are currently working on a few possibiities for deals. Not bad. So does this blogging thing help in getting business?
I searched Internet Lead Conversion the other day on Google and I came up number 1 in the rankings on something I had said on a blog. Wow! I thought that was very cool. So it does appear that you can use Blogging to help get ranked in the seach engines and you can certainly receive business from blogging. Are you going to get rich blogging, I don't think so, but I do think it will help solidify who you are in the Real Estate world and will most likely help get you noticed by consumers.
So does blogging help you get business? I have to say yes! Just don't tell my friends that whom I told blogging was a nice gimmick but wasn't worth much as far as getting leads! Even I can make mistakes and be wrong once in a while!
To learn more about my group go to: http://www.activerain.com/groups/MitchRibak
I get listings from Activerain. Exciting!
Teresa Johnson
Solid Source Realty
www.AtlantaHomeStore.com
Hi Mitch:
As a Florida Realtor, we've got to try everything legal, ethical, inexpensive, and being a lot of fun helps too. I'm also using this blog to keep my brain working. There is so much you can learn from just reading other blogs. Now I'm trying to write a little myself. I'm sure, eventually, yes blogging will help your business and hopefully mine.
Best Wishes,
Blogging consistently over time can establish the blogger as an "expert" in the minds of the public. It can also help humanize the blogger and make him or her less of a commodity (just another agent out to get my money) and more of a person (that guy who still plays baseball). Both of these are positive results and both of them take time to achieve.
However, too often I see an agent start blogging, keep at it for a couple of weeks, then stop. They havent seen any business from it, so they give it up. Not good. It would be better not to start than to start and quit after 2 weeks.
Posting does not have to be a daily event. Every 2nd or 3rd day, or even once a week, would be fine. The key is to find a time commitment with which you are comfortable and stick to it. Eventually you'll see results :)
Blogging is an effective tool for both buyer and seller conversions. I truly am not fond of the term "blog", but think of it more like an article I'm writing (at least the good ones, not the ones just for points...). I write for many of the local magazines and when buyers and sellers read those articles they come to me prepared to accept me as the expert. Blogging can be just as effective.
Blogging humanizes agents, it provides them commanality with the reader and establishes their expertise that's an effective three pronged approach for lead conversion!
Sorry, I just realized I put my websites into my comment on your blog. I think that's against the rules so I edited the original comment and now I think I'm legal. I just wanted to get your opinion of my websites as I appreciate all the help I can get from fellow Realtors.
Take Care,
My most recent closing was with a couple that found me on localism.com and actually contacted me through the localism interface.