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July 3, 2009: 50 Sound Real Estate Blogging Tips
Comments: 11 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
Most of my blogging efforts revolve around delivering sound real estate blogging advice. The articles generally take me at least a couple of hours to develop, format, publish and broadcast. I have dozens and dozens of ideas that are just waiting to be developed and published, but as we all know, the most challenging thing about blogging is carving out the time. Then it strikes me. Micro Blogging on Twitter would be a fantastic solution to my dilemma: a ton of ideas, and no time to get them into blog-shape. So, on April 25th, 2009, I started posting Real Estate Blogging Tips to Twitter, under the hashtag #reblogtips. Only having 140 characters with which to deliver sound advice forced each one to be clear and definitive. The following are a collection of 50 of those first two months of tips. 1. Near holidays, timely posts can drive HUGE traffic to...

June 25, 2009: The 11 Most Common Pitfalls For New Real Estate Bloggers
Comments: 5 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
We’ve trained hundreds of real estate agents to make the blog an effective marketing tool. We run them through a dozen hours of personal training classes, aiming to keep them on track to success. The following represent the most common issues that we help them recognize in or to keep them focused. ___ 1. Worrying About Design Before the Writing ___ This is akin to planning a wedding before you have even met your husband/wife to be. Before you even ‘deserve’ a great looking home for your blogging, you need to have shown a solid commitment to The Writing. Our process with our new clients is to get them to start thinking and acting like bloggers while their custom design is being developed. The process usually takes around 4 weeks, providing us with ample time to establish a strong commitment in the form of 10–12 well written articles. Not to...

March 19, 2009: The Death of a Real Estate Blog.
Comments: 24 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Collaborative Articles , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging
This edition of the Tomato Collaborative Blog Article is an effort to tackle the topic of *gasp* Quitting Blogging. Do you foresee an end to your regular blogging? How does the story end? Blasphemous, right? I mean, are we not RE.net’s biggest proponent of, and cheerleader for maintaining a thriving real estate blog? Darn right we are! But we also recognize that: 1. Most Real Estate Blogs Will Fail. 2. Careers Change/End 3. Blogging Can Become an Unwanted Distraction from Business. 3. Some Have Written All They Want To Write. Retiring – Quitting – Failing I see 3 ways in which bloggers head off to pasture. They retire, finally hanging up the keyboard, and perhaps their career. They quit out of frustration, feeling that the reward of all their blogging hasn’t been worth the effort. They fail, unable to keep up with the commitment to writing. We threw the above...

January 6, 2009: 8 Things That You Are Not Doing On Your Real Estate Blog, But Should Be.
Comments: 40 | Categories: Blog Discipline , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blog Writing Tips , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
1. Microblogging Twitter is all the rage… and yet most blogging agents aren’t using it because they don’t grasp the value. Here’s another way to approach the Micro-Blog: Instead of catering to the audience in a Twitter Community, consider those that are actually coming to read your blog. Short updates from you about the market, your efforts as an agent, new listings, and news flashes are just the sort of thing that your readers will appreciate. Now pop them on your blog, and syndicate that back up to Twitter instead of the other way around. (More on this in coming weeks) Hot tip: When it comes to your blog, avoid the community babble that gave you the creeps when you first looked at Twitter: “Having a hard time deciding what cereal to get.” Your audience came for tangible real estate topics, not the stream of consciousness that you feel the...

December 13, 2008: Inman Connect NY Real Estate Blog Makeover Contest - One Day Left!
Comments: 2 | Categories: Announcements , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
Our gift to Inman Connect NY this year is the complete makeover of one lucky, yet necessitous real estate blog. Be certain that the re-skinning of a blog is by no means a guarantee to improve your blogging, nor your ability to generate business from the effort. This is precisely why our approach to this makeover effort is going to go way beyond first impression aesthetic. In addition to a fancy new look and feel, the blog makeover is going to include (at a minimum) Constructive Suggestions regarding: 1. Headline Writing 2. Article Aesthetic 3. Article SEO 4. Calls-To-Action and Lead Generation 5. Sidebar Management 6. Widget Management 7. PlugIn Management 8. Meta data SEO 9. Comment Aesthetic 10. RSS and Email Subscription 11. Category Organization and much more… until they kick us off stage Wednesday. If you are interested in being in the running to be selected as the...

October 7, 2008: Hey Real Estate Bloggers, Where Are You Aiming When It Comes To Subscriptions and Subscribers?
Comments: 3 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging
Today’s post is a special treat! Dave Smith of the Real Estate Blog Lab (and many other blogs) has found that he has so much to say, that he needs yet another outlet… and we’re happy to be there for him. We are looking forward to publishing at least a couple of posts a month from him, focused specifically on our most popular topic of Real Estate Blogging Advice. So, without further adieu… Subscriptions and Subscribers: Where Are You Aiming? By Dave Smith Much is made of getting Traffic, Readers and Subscribers to your blog. However, not all blogs should have the same goals. If your blog is monetized then it is clear that you want as many readers and subscribers as possible to see your pages. But how many of us who are Real Estate Bloggers have actually monetized our blogs and are looking to make money from traffic...

July 28, 2008: People Really Do Want You To Tweet About Your Cat.
Comments: 28 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging
We’ve got a special treat for you this Monday after the Inman Connect Conference in SF. Guest blogger Todd Carpenter from Lenderama.com and DenMod.com has delivered a quick and hard point about the use of Social Media in the Real Estate Industry. Thanks for the post Todd… but now I am going to have to explain this whole Twitter thing to our base. I didn't even make it through the first session of Inman Blogger's Connect before posting to Twitter with discouragement: "I can't spell, have bad grammer, don't care about comments & am intensly personal on twitter. Maybe I'm not cut out for this." Yes, I can see now that I misspelled "grammar" and "intensely". All the better to prove my point. After all, I'm writing this post and you're reading it. I guess I am cut out for this after all. For the most part, the advice covered...

January 27, 2008: 3 Reasons Your Real Estate Blog Loads So Darn Slow, and the Solutions
Comments: 11 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging
Want to lose the interest of a new visitor to your blog? Ensure that it takes more than a few seconds for your blogsite to load. Not only will you lose their attention, but your site will give the impression that it is not user-friendly. Both are the kiss of death. The challenge is that many of the offenders have no idea that their site is taking so long to load. By regularly visiting their own blog, Temporary Internet Files get collected onto the site owner’s computer, facilitating the speedy display of their site, keeping them oblivious to the ugly reality. A new visitor to your site has no 'build up' of temporary files, so their first experience entails loading all the files on your site upon visit. If you have any of the following challenges, your site may be guilty of turning off new visitors. 1. Image Size. It's...

January 22, 2008: Three Letters I Don't Think About When Writing A Post For My Real Estate Blog
Comments: 24 | Categories: Blog Content Creation , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blog Writing Tips , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman , Topics and Opinions
Our favorite “Tell-it-like-it-is” correspondent from the real estate blogosphere, Teresa Boardman, is back with her first Tomato contribution of 2008. Recently there has been some discussion as to what approach we should take when it comes to considering the search engines with a real estate blog article writing style. Teresa, a proven success with her straight forward approach, serves up a spoonful of perspective, keeping us all in check: The Three Letters I Don’t Think About When Writing a Post For My Real Estate BlogBy Teresa Boardman There are three letters that I don’t think about when I write a blog post, they are S, E and O. I consider my posts and photographs to be a kind of creative endeavor and I can’t be creative if I am thinking about Google. I do need to attract search engines but my main goal is to attract the people who are...

January 17, 2008: Dichotomy of the Real Estate Blog - Do You Please the Readers or Search Engines?
Comments: 13 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blog SEO Advice , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging , Search Engines
A little knowledge is dangerous thing, as can be a lot of it The Challenge: How to be found in Valley of Search and write Compelling Content that has you building relationships with your readers. This article is not about helping you be more compelling of an author, but rather an effort to keep you from overstepping the comfort level with your readers and the search engines. There are two very different concerns that people discuss, with all sorts of conflicting opinions. What is the tipping point of including relevant keywords that will a. Have you being found, but not enjoyed? b. Have you punished for over stuffing? They are not the same. What your audience may find bothersome, can still be acceptable under the Google Guidelines to creating a Google friendly site. That said, the understanding I have gained in order to stay within the comfort levels of both...

October 15, 2007: Looking For Ready To Act Buyers? Blog These Proven To Succeed Real Estate Topics
Comments: 31 | Categories: Blog Content Creation , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blog Lead Generation , Blogging Advice , Collaborative Articles , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging
As promised last week, Monday Real Estate Blogging Advice Posts will now be the result of the collective collaboration from our own Clients, the Tomato Bloggers. This Week’s Collaborative Blogging Advice Topic: What Should Realtors Be Blogging About In Order To Attract Ready To Act Home Buyers? As a disclaimer, I don’t know that there is an objectively correct answer to the question, given that every target market is different, be it urban or rural, or beach front or mountain living. Nonetheless, it made for a fascinating conversation in the Tomato Forum. Here’s what we made of it: The Internet Lead is generally considered to be a lead that is going to take some time to incubate. The length of time thrown around is usually 6–18 months. Can real estate blogging help a lead develop more quickly, or rather can blogging attract leads that are further along in their own...

August 30, 2007: Photos and Real Estate Blogging, It's What Makes This Fun and Easy
Comments: 14 | Categories: Blog Content Creation , Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Blogging Peers , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman
Before going up on stage in front of 3500 Realtors last week, I was speaking with Teresa Boardman about what she enjoys to most when it comes to posting on her St. Paul Real Estate Blog and her ActiveRain blog. “Photos I shoot and my Fridays Are For Fun posts,” she quickly responded. “I know that I need to be posting about the local real estate market and other topics around that subject, but I really enjoy the pictures and the fun stuff.” “I also know that my audience enjoys them a ton too.” So when I got back from the big event, to an over-stuffed, under-managed inbox, I wasn’t surprised to find the following article from Teresa, ready for the Tomato. Photos and Real Estate Blogging, It’s What Makes This Fun and Easy By Teresa Boardman It has been fairly well established that through our business blogs we build...

May 15, 2007: The Use And Consequences Of An Avatar As Your Blogging Identity
Comments: 7 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman
Our friend the Tomato Man took liberties with my face and included it as a graphic on my last post, The Unintended And Unexpected Consequences Of Writing A Real Estate Blog. He did ask my permission, probably because he knows me well enough to know that I don't always appreciate surprises on his blog while I am drinking my morning coffee. The two hour time difference between St. Paul and California means that I would be calling him at 3:30AM to express my displeasure, before his bed time but annoying just the same. The graphic Jim used more or less hi-jacked the post. Graphics can enhance a post, or they can become the post. Most comments were aimed at the graphic not at the words. My observation, led to a rare conversation with the fruity guy. I tried email but as he often does he responded by indicating that he...

May 1, 2007: 10 Misconceptions About Real Estate Blogging
Comments: 14 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman , Topics and Opinions
Recently, both Teresa Boardman and I took a stab at what we saw as mistakes on real estate blogs. You may have noticed, we don't always agree on what we feel is the best of advice for the Tomato audience, and neither does Kris Berg. This is what makes it such a pleasure to have active participation in the blogosphere. Below is an example of Teresa and I taking the same above headline and having our way with it for your enjoyment. We alternated our items to mix it up a bit. Who’s who? 1. High Traffic = Success Why: Having people come to your site is always a positive thing, certainly. Large numbers should mean large success. Why it's not: Quick success with a blog generally indicates that you have either: 1. Uncovered a popular topic or 2. Piqued the interest of the mob.Popular topics are softballs when it...

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...

April 12, 2007: Microsoft Word Is Like Gum In Your Blog's Hair
Comments: 28 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blog Writing Tips , Blogging Advice , Marketing Solutions , Real Estate Blogging
Formatting issues will persist in your blog if you continue to copy and paste from Microsoft Word. Everyday we come across 'broken blogs'. The reason the blog 'broke' is always the same: Microsoft Word was used to compose an article and now the formatting is jacked up, and in some cases the formatting throughout the rest of the blogsite is also affected. The most common issues are challenges with font styles, sizes, bolding, italics and underlining. Other challenges include indenting, bulleting and numbering and total sidebar destruction. Here's why there is a problem: Microsoft Word is a desktop publishing tool, intended for standard, offline word processing. Microsoft Word is best used for items intended for printing or sharing offline: essays, business cards, menus, etc. The proprietary code that Microsoft has written for their word processing program IS NOT HTML. Below is an example of what their code can look like...

April 10, 2007: 7 Compelling Reasons Google AdSense Will Ruin Your Real Estate Blog
Comments: 31 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blog Marketing , Blogging Advice , Real Estate Blogging , Search Engines , Topics and Opinions
1. Advertisements Will Cheapen Your Blog Nothing makes you look cheesier than having a bunch of ads next to your honest message. Especially ads that you really have no supreme control over. I can forgive some solid sponsorship that directly relates to the visitor's needs and interest. We showcase BlogJet on the TomatoBlogs site because we personally use it, and feel that it is a great tool that our readers should experience. 2. Lack Of Control Will Lead To Some Surprises Browsing around a real estate marketing blog that uses Google AdSense Advertisements to supplement their income, we stumbled across this completely off topic ad: Image to right. The message may mislead your audience. In an environment where readership and subscription are the goal, establishing the focus of your message is essential. 3. Your Keywords Attract Ads From Your Competition The GoogleAdWords ads are often generated by relating keywords from...

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 9, 2007: 7 Myths About Real Estate Blogging
Comments: 41 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Topics and Opinions
I have dedicated today, and the rest of the weekend, officially as “Guest Author Soapbox”. Marc was first, Roberta second and now we have the honor of presenting a controversial piece from a (self-proclaimed) dedicated reader, Sacramento area Realtor, John Lockwood. I expect this piece to generate some discussion, so don’t let me down. And now, John’s piece: 7 Myths About Real Estate Blogging I've been thinking of submitting an article to the Real Estate Tomato for some time. The Tomato is probably the only real estate blogging related blog that I read regularly. Webmaster Jim Cronin and his frequent contributor, Teresa Boardman, do a really good job of putting up with my somewhat twisted world view, and this tolerance has emboldened me to twist it up into a more full length article form. I've been blogging for awhile, since the launch of the web site that now accounts for...

January 21, 2007: 10 Things Not To Do On Your Real Estate Blog
Comments: 23 | Categories: Blog Dos and Don'ts , Blogging Advice , Guest Author , Real Estate Blogging , Teresa Boardman , Topics and Opinions
Normally I don’t write articles about other articles online. It just seems sort of bandwagon-like. Today I have to make an exception due to the timeliness of an article written by our own Teresa Boardman over on ActiveRain. The article was written in the Members Only area of ActiveRain, but I feel that the content is very much public worthy, so we’re bending the rules and delivering it to you. Teresa, who has recently made a stand on Localism in Real Estate Blogging, was driven to write the following real estate blogging guidelines as a surge in inane content plagues ActiveRain. 1. No one cares about you or your health or that your father just died. They don't care that business is bad or that a client just screwed you over. Who wants to read about another's misfortunes? We all have our own to deal with. Leave it off of...

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...