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April 30, 2008: Finding Time To Blog As A Real Estate Professional
Comments: 32 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman
This might just be the most ironic post we’ll ever publish here on the Vine. Teresa Boardman, the real estate blogging goddess from St. Paul, sent over this post to help us get some fresh content on our pages. It couldn’t have come at a better time. With all of my time spent on the recent growth of our company and the development of some very exciting projects, including an entire Tomato Makeover, it’s nice to have a few reliable contributors. Finding Time To Blog As A Real Estate Professional By Teresa Boardman I am contacted by people from all over the country who would like to start a business blog or who already have one but are struggling with it. People make the same type of comment about not having enough time, not understanding how I find the time or saying that is takes too much time. Marketing and...

January 23, 2008: Finding Your Voice as a Writer of a Real Estate Blog
Comments: 3 | Categories: Blog Content Creation , Blog Discipline , Blog Writing Tips , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging
Former real estate blogger Derek Burress who left blogging nearly four months ago to devote time to writing novels has kindly dropped by the Tomato to offer his advice on helping others find their writing voice. Writing at the Crossroads: Finding Your Voice as a Writer By Derek Burress Toni Morrison once said, "If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." Have you ever found yourself wanting to write a book or blog but found yourself not knowing what to write? If so, I have some good news for you. What should I write about? The answer to this question is simple; you should write about what?s been in front of you the entire time: the same stuff you enjoy reading. Write about the things you enjoy: If you enjoy reading romance novels, you should write romance novels....

September 25, 2007: Why Real Estate Blogging Makes You A Better Realtor - Part 3 of 3
Comments: 8 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Organization , Blog Participation , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
Today’s article is the final installment of a series called “Why Real Estate Blogging Makes You A Better Realtor” that has been inspired by conversations I have had with the hundreds of real estate blogging clients we train and ourselves learn from. The idea is that the act of blogging as a Realtor actually has the unintended, yet beneficial consequence of improving your skills as a Realtor in addition to improving the perception of you by your current, past and future clients. Click for Part 1 Click for Part 2 This final installment is focused on how there are certain disciplines required of a successful blog, and how the development of these disciplines will improve your personal skills and the perception of these traits by your audience. Dedication Blogging is a Marathon, not a Sprint. This point becomes all that much more clear the more you look around the real...

September 23, 2007: Why Real Estate Blogging Makes You A Better Realtor, Part 2 of 3
Comments: 7 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Lead Generation , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series, there are many unintended, yet beneficial consequences of real estate blogging. The one that continues to reveal itself to our clients is how their blogging efforts continue to improve their skills as a Realtor. It is said that good salespeople use their words, while great salespeople use their ears. While blogging is wordsmithing, great business bloggers use their ears. We train our clients to learn to wear a "bloggers hat" - to recognize that nearly every daily interaction with their clients and the community offers an opportunity for a blog article. How many questions are you typically asked to field during a real estate transaction? From 'A to Close'… is it 20, 40, 80? How many times have you had to answer these same questions? Wearing your blogging hat has you hearing your client's questions more clearly as an opportunity to...

September 22, 2007: Why Real Estate Blogging Makes You A Better Realtor, Part 1 of 3
Comments: 18 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
There are many unintended, yet beneficial consequences of real estate blogging. One that continues to reveal itself to our clients is how their blogging efforts continue to improve their skills as a Realtor. Blogging to an audience, for your business, forces you to approach topics much differently than a business conversation in person. A sound blog article is one that has been: Researched Had it facts checked Considered from all angles and Well organized. Take for example how one might explain, in person, the complete understanding of Closing Costs to a buyer, or the even the role Zillow plays in the perceived value of a client's home. Face-to-face, on your feet, these concerns may not be handled to the best of one's knowledge or ability. However, with the blog, you have time to research, consider and present your understanding of these topics in a clear and organized manner. You may...

July 14, 2007: Dear Apprentices Of Project Blogger
Comments: 11 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman
Some thoughts from our Real Estate Blogging Goddess, Teresa Boardman, on Project Blogger. I have been wanting to write this for some time and I hope that the apprentices see it. I want to say that I admire you all and I mean that sincerely. There is not one of you in the group that could not have a successful blog if you don't already. If I had been an apprentice I would not have made it through the project. You all did and I admire you for it. I have read the critiques from various judges about your blogs and about your posts. If I had been critiqued as much I am not sure that I would have had the passion for my blog that I have today. I am not sure that I would have found my voice either. There is more to it than a voice, after...

June 29, 2007: What Is The Biggest Barrier To Real Estate Blogging?
Comments: 22 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman
Teresa Boardman, our resident Real Estate Blogging Goddess, is back with some personal insight on what she has uncovered as the biggest roadblock to blogging. What Is The Biggest Barrier To Real Estate Blogging? By Teresa Boardman Earlier this week I conducted a kind of survey, and asked 25 real estate bloggers, which I defined as practicing real estate agents, mortgage, title and staging pros who blog, what they see as the biggest barrier to real estate blogging for agents. The answer was writing, and it was almost unanimous. What to write about and how to write it. That came as a surprise to me because so many agents believe that blogs require technical skills. This myth is perpetuated here and in other places on the internet as blog writers discuss SEO and merits of various blog platforms, and the rules of blogging. I would have guessed that they found...

June 11, 2007: The Little Real Estate Blogger That Could
Comments: 9 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Peers , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging
One of the biggest advantages to breeding A-List Real Estate Bloggers, is that now I have an army of talented and savvy bloggers willing to contribute incredibly useful content to the Tomato. Today’s debut comes to us from Denver, CO; Jennifer Steck is the author of new launched CentralDenverBlog.com. She has put together a piece relating her anxieties of trying the wrangle the blog as a real estate marketing tool. I think most looking into real estate blogging for the first time can surely relate. The Little Real Estate Blogger That Could By Jennifer Steck I think I can...I think I can... After doing a lot of research on technology and rainmaking for real estate, I decided late last year that a blog was the way to go to become a valued community resource in my area. A link led to an article from Inman News about blogging. Who's name...

June 8, 2007: Real Estate Blogging Tips From A Rural Real Estate Blogger
Comments: 8 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Blogging Peers , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging
One of the biggest advantages to breeding A-List Real Estate Bloggers, is that now I have an army of talented and savvy bloggers willing to contribute incredibly useful content to the Tomato. Our newest contributor, Daniel Bates of MyMcClellanville.net, has had to take the load less traveled in the real estate blogosphere. Rather than spoil it, I’ll let him tell it: Real Estate Blogging Tips From A Rural Real Estate Blogger By Daniel Bates Bright Lights, Big City The 2000 census reports that 94.6% of the US is rural open space, yet 79% of the population live in that remaining 5.4% (Don’t you guys feel cramped?). We can’t all live in the big city, and I gladly represent the 21% that said “thanks, but no thanks”. My home town of McClellanville has a population hovering below 500 and relies on shrimping as it’s main source of income. We draw a...

June 8, 2007: What Happens When You Take Two Weeks Off From Blogging?
Comments: 15 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
It (fortunately) hasn’t gone unnoticed that there have been no published blog posts to the Tomato in over two weeks. Have you ever wondered what the effects of not writing for two weeks on a regularly updated blog will have? We can’t speak for you, but this is what has happened to us. Missing Person (Blogger) Alert The very thoughtful concern for my well-being has been the most notable reaction to the absence of blogging here on Tomato. Thanks to all of you whom expressed your sincere concern. It is comforting to know that the friends I have made through blogging are just that, friends.Traffic Slump The daily traffic that is generated by the Tomato has taken a significant hit. What was regularly 330-350 daily unique visitors is now hovering around 185. That's a drop of nearly half. At a quick glance, it appears that the traffic source that is...

April 20, 2007: Young Blogs Be Free Tonight
Comments: 14 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Blogging Peers , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging
John Coley, my favorite real estate blogger in Alabama, has been making strides since his blog launched earlier this year. His strategy has been simple: Write about local topics to attract local interest traffic; Uncover an audience searching for the content he delivers. John’s blogsite content focuses on the interests of a somewhat small community around beautiful Lake Martin. His commitment and consistency to that aim inspired me to invite him to take a stab at calling it like he sees it when it comes to real estate blogging technique. Young Blogs Be Free Tonight By John Coley Are you considering starting your own blog, but think that you have to be a huge national player to make an impact? Wrong. One of the great things about web 2.0 is that anyone with good content can make a difference. Anyone that is willing to work hard and play fair can...

April 18, 2007: The 10 Biggest Mistakes Made By Real Estate Bloggers
Comments: 10 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
10. Poor Headline Writing There is a dichotomy on the blogosphere. Headlines that have you feeling like they are worth clicking on, and others overlooked. You clicked on this one. Why? Answer that question and you will stop making the mistake that has your articles being overlooked. - 7 Crucial Tips To Developing Real Estate Blog Copy That Gets Read 9. Rants Business Blogging is about building trust with your audience. Would you trust someone like Howard Stern's to help you buy a home? A rant here and again to stir the pot keeps you and your readers on you toes. Ranting to have your audience 'wondering what you're going to say next' is not always good business. Blog like it is your next listing appointment. 8. Burn-Out This one's easy. Blogging is a marathon. It's 100 marathons. It is not a sprint. Whatever you are blogging for, set the...

February 28, 2007: 96% Of All Real Estate Blogs Will Fail
Comments: 20 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging , Topics and Opinions
Recently Global Research Center published findings that 68% of real estate agents are going to be focusing on blogging as a marketing tool in 2007. I find that number hard to believe. In essence that stat is claiming that there will be the emergence of more than one million real estate blogs launched this year. As exciting a business opportunity as that would be for us real estate blog coaches, I don't anticipate such a tidal wave of adapters. In fact, I don't think that blogging will ever reach as high a penetration rate as 68% of active real estate agents. As effective as blogging can be as a marketing tool, it just isn't in the cards for most. Blogging is not the marketing tool of importance for most for these 4 reasons: 1. It’s Too Much Effort Blogging is a major commitment and the blog's success is a direct...

February 22, 2007: Stop Acting Like Blogging Is Rocket Science
Comments: 21 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman , Topics and Opinions
(Bear with me.) The avant-garde trend of Blogging Evangelism in real estate blogs has ironically turned quite blase in their ubiquity. What? Let me try that again. It seems that the giving of advice, and the posture of expert, has become so fashionable that it’s impact is lost. What? Let me try that again. Everyone thinks they need to share their expertise, no one is being heard. Oh. Teresa Boardman, our resident real estate blogging goddess asks us 21 questions, less as an effort to gain answers, than to point out how irrelevant the concern is. It seems lately everyone wants to learn from Teresa’s success by assuming they already know where it is coming from. Fancy talking interviewers are clouding the true point and focus of Teresa’s efforts in their own need to explain it all away. It’s not about being an expert; blogging is not rocket science, it’s...

February 13, 2007: You Need To Lose 25 Pounds, And Your Blog Is Dead
Comments: 15 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice
The 6 Reasons You'll Never Make It. The holidays passed months ago, and so did your New Year's resolution. It's getting harder to lose the weight you used to need to throw around. How many of us know that we will lose this weight that we find no comfort in? The answer is hard to swallow. The answer is almost none of us. Not on our own, at least. Creating a successful business blog is as difficult as getting back in shape after years of sofa-loafing. The dedication, focus, confidence and effort it takes is not for the weak spirited and easily distracted. Below is a beginner's checklist for those thinking of embracing the blog as a marketing tool. It is important to understand the commitment to being the author of a successful real estate blog, because starting and failing can reflect worse than never having started at all. 1....

January 24, 2007: Blogger Burnout And The Steps To Avoiding It
Comments: 10 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging , Topics and Opinions
Blogger burnout is the feeling that blogging is no longer worth the effort. Taking the time to develop unique content for a blogsite no longer outweighs the perceived pain of the effort. Burnout comes from one of three reasons: The blog is not successful enough of a marketing effort, the blog is too successful as a marketing effort, or you haven’t paced yourself (too much, too soon). Sure, outside life and business issues may have a crippling effect on one's passion and availability for blogging, but this should not be considered a burnout as much as a distraction. If your business blogging effort isn't paying off based on the expectations you had set, the willingness to keep the pace starts to seem unreasonable, even unnecessary. The lack of results can seem like you are shouting into a hurricane; the effort is great but the reaction is next to none. If...

January 20, 2007: He Asked Me, "Why Am I Blogging?"
Comments: 13 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Writing Tips , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging , Search Engines
Last week I was inspired to write an article about developing blog content because of a conversation I had with a client that we are training, well this week he asked the biggest one of them all: "Why am I blogging, again?" At first it struck me odd that someone who has made the financial commitment to have a custom blog developed and trained on, would ask me such a question. As I began to answer, it occurred to me that the most valuable reasons for blogging may not be so obvious after-all. Our clients receive intense training that covers a broad range of topics from article formatting to social bookmarking, to community participation and search engine statistic analysis. I can see how one may feel that there are "too many trees in the way to allow for a good view of the forest." His question was followed up by...

December 13, 2006: Business Plan 2007: Blog For Leads
Comments: 14 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Lead Generation , Blogging Peers , Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging
Teresa Boardman is back! Last week we were in the trenches with her, examining the challenges of embracing the technological side of real estate. Today we gain some perspective on why business blogging needs to be a big part of your marketing strategy for 2007. Enjoy! — It is that time of the year again. Well, actually it was that time of year last month; time to complete my business plan for 2007. I figure out how much money I want to make, and then I figure out how many transactions I need to accomplish my financial goals. The transactions are then broken down into buyers or sellers, and then I figure how many appointments will be needed each month to meet the goals. After I have my numbers I start planning the tasks that I will need to complete during the year that will generate the number of appointments...

November 27, 2006: How Often Should I Blog?
Comments: 16 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Topics and Opinions
Once the concept of business blogging is understood, the most common question I hear is: How Often Should I Blog? Before answering the question, we need to examine what the benefits of regular business blogging are and how to realize them 1. Search Engine Seeding Consistent blogging (at least once a week) helps you seed the search engines, making them regular visitors. Hence, the content you write is being spidered and indexed, creating a longer 'tail' of exposure for your blog. Take a few weeks off, and you will fall out of favor with the search engines, and the effectiveness of your efforts will diminish. Your relationship with the search engines can be recovered however through greater participation and a renewed fervor for article posting, but the best strategy is to maintain. 2. Maintaining and Building Readership Similar to the effect your regular blogging has on the search engines, a...

October 12, 2006: Being Business Friendly In Business Blogging
Comments: 12 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice
Business Blogging is not: Gossip Gossip is rumor. Good business needs good facts. A Journal The day-to-day events in your life are not business. Don't assume that your site's traffic is the same as having interest in you personally. A Story Stories that are not related to your business aren't providing the audience with what they come for. Stories, like journal entries, should be avoided. Personal Have you been busy? Been under the weather? Family in town? Your readers don't care. Those that do, and encourage you to keep writing about your life are not new business. Business blogging is blogging for business. Business blogging is blogging for leads. Business blogging is blogging for your current clients. Business blogging is blogging for your future clients. Business blogging is blogging for your past clients. Business Blogging is Gossip Gossip is breaking news. Being on top of your subject is good for...

September 29, 2006: No Time To Blog? Bloggers' Block? 6 Strategies To Developing Quick and Beneficial Blog Content
Comments: 12 | Categories: Blog Content Creation , Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging
After over 100 days straight of posting to the Tomato, you may (read: should) be wondering to yourself if there's a life outside of this blog? We're often asked, "How do you come up with all of that information?" "How do you find the time?" "How can you still manage to have a family, a job, a life?" I can't speak for Greg at BloodhoundBlog (Mr. 101 posts in 24hrs) but the short answer is that we have a strategies for consistently generating quality content. Being consistent with your expected posting schedule is crucial when it comes to maintaining an audience. Below are 6 strategies for populating your blog when you find yourself short on time and creativity. We use the top 4 to ensure the Tomato is fed its daily article. 1. Store Content For A Rainy Day If you were to log into our Writely account, you would...

August 14, 2006: The 8 P's to Blogging Success
Comments: 8 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging
I have tried to stick to the following formula since the Real Estate Tomato was launched, less than 2 months ago: Plan, Pay Attention, Post, Participate, Probe, Prepare, Please, Partner It seems to be working. Before I joined the blogosphere, I had as much knowledge about blogging as my mom. Now, after just a few weeks, I have hundreds of daily visitors and appreciative fans from all over the country encouraging and inspiring me to stick with my mission. I know that I personally could use some help with all the elements of this strategy, but I am excited about the success to date. I hope you find them useful. PLAN Blogging is taking over as the 'must do' in real estate internet marketing. If you are going to catch and ride this wave I suggest you have a plan. Plan Your Strategy: Determine if you can make the commitment...