I am a Realtor in Steamboat Springs who decided it was time to BLOG. This was kind of scary for me. I love selling real estate, that's what I know and what I am good at. But blogging....where would I even begin?
Everyone said it would be helpful to write blogs. And it could help my clients. But no one really showed me how to go about it. So my first attempts were not that great. Someone once told me that a wise man learns from his mistakes, but an even wiser man learns from other people's mistakes. So this one is for all of those Realtors out there that would like to learn from MY mistakes.
Make your real estate blog easy to read
When I first started my Realtor Blog, I used every kind of fancy font out there. I mixed different fonts in my blogs because I thought it would make it look cute. I used an array of colors to emphasize different parts of the site. I really put a lot of creativity into my site. As a result, I had a very hard to read blog that resembled a coloring page like we colored in elementary school. And in my mind, it was cute. Until I read on a seasoned blogger's page about how all of these different fonts on a page can make it hard to read. And if a website is hard to read...people don't read it.
So, I went back to my old blogs and made them much simpler. I still like to use a different color than blue on my links, but I pick one color and stick to that color throughout the blog. I use one font, a very simple font, and change the text size or use bold to make my blog easier to read while emphasizing the different parts of it. What font do I use? I like "Georgia". It's easy to read on computers and mobile devices. But any simple font will work.
Don't write about just anything
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| My Cute Nephew |
One of my first blogs was about my cute nephew in a video. He IS really cute. And the video was precious. I assumed everyone I knew would want to see it. And I had permission from his mom to use the video. Plus, I was sure it would draw people to my page. So why was this a bad idea?
Well, my niece who is in marketing and does some S.E.O. (Search Engine Optimization) work explained it to me this way. I want people to come to my page that are looking for a real estate agent. My blog should be full of things that bring those people to my website.
And, she pointed out, my site should be full of "key words" that rank in the search engines. It would do me no good for my page to pull up when people search for "Cutest little boy in the world". I want my site to pull up when people search for "Here's the Realtor you want to use in Steamboat Springs"....well, you get what I'm talking about. So I took down my video blog of my very cute nephew. It was painful, but I knew she was right.
So what can a Realtor write about???
As a Realtor, you should be blogging about things that your clients would be interested in....or that other Realtors would be interested in.
I suggest topics like: cute home ideas, how to make your home easier to sell, tips for selling your home, questions to ask when buying a home, kitchen ideas, top 3 factors in selling a home, etc.
Also, write about your town, especially things like neighborhoods, schools, events, and anything that would interest someone moving to your town. I also write about things my family and I do in my town. I think that gives my blog a personal touch.
Some blogs, like this one, are really to help other real estate agents. I think using a blog to help each other builds relationships with other agents. I mean, I appreciate when I read something from another Realtor that helps me.
Add some pictures...but be careful
When I first started blogging as a Realtor, I did not know that you can't use any picture you find on the internet. You can actually get sued for using someone else's picture. This scared me.
I know that you can buy pictures to use, but those seemed so impersonal to me. So I decided to use my own pictures. I also use pictures from my friends and family, AFTER I get permission from them. This has turned out to be one of my favorite things on my site. And when someone mentions a picture they saw on my site, I can tell them the story behind it. For example,
when asked about this picture from one of my blogs, I can talk about my niece's weddings in Alabama. My daughter was one of the flower girls. The blog was Homes - Where Memories are Made.
Link to some of your other blogs
You can see that I placed links in this site to other blogs that I have written. That just keeps people looking at my site...and hopefully let's them get to know me better so that they will choose me as their real estate agent.
Share your blog on Social Media Sites
I think this was the scariest part for me. It was so easy for me to share other Realtor's blogs, but I was hesitant to share mine. It doesn't really do you any good though if you write something that no one reads. So be brave and push that share button. Make sure that when you share it that you include a picture with the link. It just looks better and people are more likely to click on it.
Well I hope this has helped someone. I'm sure there are other tips that I have forgotten to share. If you have some advice for new real estate agent bloggers, be sure to include it in the comment section.
And if you are looking for a Realtor in Steamboat Springs, here's my website. I would love to help you!
