The Real Estate Tomato

13 months ago, John Lockwood dropped a post here on the Tomato that inspired 40 comments from our audience. Now a year later, he’s looking for as many as 101 of you to help him reach a lofty, but attainable goal. Read on. 101 Subscribers in 30 Days by John Lockwood My original title was "Strategic Blogging, Going Beyond Real Estate, and Getting 101 Subscribers to a Brand New Blog in 30 Days or One Long Title, Whichever Comes First." I shortened it considerably out of respect for my host. Who am I to stand in the way of my own self-improvement? Jim Cronin was good enough to ask me to rematerialize here on the Real Estate Tomato. He mentioned that people enjoyed my earlier post, Seven Myths About Real Estate Blogging. Egomaniac that I am, that praise would normally be enough to get me to start typing up a...

Because the clients we work with have such a positive experience with their blogging, they commonly express the concern that they would prefer us to not educate others in their geographic areas of focus. Sometimes they ask in jest, other times they are actually dead serious and willing to pay for exclusivity. As unwise as this is from a business growth standpoint for us, this is not the reason I discourage this manner of thinking. Below are 7 arguments in favor of the growth of the real estate blogging community, in your town. And, selling more custom blogs and training is not one of them. 1. Coke Needs Pepsi. McDonalds Needs Burger King. Why? Because the consumer should not be discouraged to get more of what they want, just because they can't have their preferred product. Coke can't be in all places at all times. So Pepsi is there to...

Blogs are meant to be a two-way street. We are blogging for an audience. Engaging that audience to participate is a huge part of the the motivation and an element that can define a blog’s success. So where do you draw the line? What do you consider acceptable behavior by the audience, on your real estate blog? For a lot of real estate bloggers, their blog is an extension of their business. This means that their reputation, credibility, personality, works, message and even their career are potentially on the line with every article published. What are you doing to protect the above? The following are a number of items that range from mildly unacceptable to extremely offensive when it comes to the behavior of those leaving comments on your site. Setting a proper comment policy for your real estate blog can be used as a deterrent and for piece of...

I was thrilled to find the following post in my inbox yesterday. It being Thanksgiving today, it makes for an appropriate time to say that I am thankful for Teresa Boardman, and all the other generous guest authors that have contributed to the Real Estate Tomato this year. 2 Years Later… By Teresa Boardman My business blog is now two years old. Not the oldest blog out there by any stretch but older than many of them. This is a kind of short re-cap of experiences I have had because of the blog. My blog is my business, or my business is my blog. My blog is my number one and most valuable business asset, and prospecting tool. My marketing costs have gone way down, but I have less free time. The amount of time I spend on the keyboard has gone up, and my neck hurts. The amount of...

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...

As the Tomato had mentioned, blogging is a marathon and does take commitment. By now everyone knows that my blog is for lead generation, and that it seems to be working. Our market in the twin cities is a bit slow, and we have plenty of Realtors, if not for the blog brining in business I would be considering a new career at Wal-Mart as a greeter. This post isn't about lead generation. it is about what I call the unintended and unexpected consequences of writing a real estate blog. 1. Speechless In St. Paul There is not need to talk anymore. I just direct people to one of my blogs. Clients send emails with questions I send a link to a post on the subject. It wasn't until I started my blog that I discovered talking is highly overrated because I can't use pictures, tags or links. I can...

Commenting is the lifeblood of a blog. The author feels a sense of recognition and acceptance when their audience makes the effort to participate by leaving their two cents. The potential exchange that can take place in the comments serves many benefits: 1. Increases content depth for the article: Search Engines will eat this up too. 2. Helps audience recognize the humanness behind the blog. 3. Develops sense of community through participation and encouragement. 4. Hones article's message to a collaborative "truth". Here are the Tomato, we love to see people leave comments on our articles. It let's us know that people are not only reading, but finding value in our content. We also love following up on comments that have been left by other members of this community, letting them know we are here to engage. However, there is a challenge. How can our audience stay informed of updates...

In an earlier post I wrote about how to jump into oncoming traffic as a way to increase targeted visitors to your blog. The main concept is to get out into the blogosphere and start making an effort to leave comments on other blogs that already have an audience that you would like to target. The comments you leave (if approved) will not only show your participation and contribution but also offer a link back to your own site. The basic idea is that this will present an opportunity for the audience reading your comment to visit your blog through the link you have left. When successful, a comment should accomplish at least 2 things: 1. Offer some contribution to the original article. If you agree with the article, but feel there is something that could be added to enhance the message - say so. If you disagree with the...