{"id":11367,"date":"2018-08-31T16:41:18","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T22:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virtuance.com\/?p=11367"},"modified":"2018-09-04T13:33:06","modified_gmt":"2018-09-04T19:33:06","slug":"is-real-estate-blogging-really-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/blog\/is-real-estate-blogging-really-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Is real estate blogging really worth it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Teresa Boardman | Source Inman<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Are you creative, artistic or just looking for a unique way to prospect for business? If so, it might be time to consider starting a blog \u2014 doing so will change your business and your life.<\/p>\n

I started a real estate blog in 2005. Since then, I\u2019ve published more than 4,500 articles (about 5-7 each week), and if it wasn\u2019t working for me, I would have stopped long ago.<\/p>\n

I think it helps to consider blogging as art \u2014 something personal \u2014 rather than anything to do with search engine optimization (SEO) or technology. Your blog will attract readers who might become clients later, so you want to craft a warm introduction and real, honest advice and insights for each blog post. If you\u2019re an agent looking to establish authority and trust in your area, this is the way to go.<\/p>\n

Making social media<\/a><\/span> work for your blog<\/h2>\n

Real estate blogging was a major \u201cthing\u201d in 2007, but then social media kind of exploded and everyone shifted their attention to Facebook. And it\u2019s no wonder why \u2014 Facebook is easier. Even so, blogs are still one of the most useful tools for reaching new audiences and attracting new clients.<\/p>\n

I use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, but I use them to drive traffic\u00a0to my blog<\/em>\u2014 not the other way around. Many people try to use their blog to get people to follow and like their social media pages, but that simply doesn\u2019t work as well.<\/p>\n

Making your blog work for you<\/h2>\n
\n

One way to make a blog work for your business is to consider your target audience and publish content specifically tailored for that audience. For instance, if your ultimate goal is to attract people who need real estate services, you wouldn\u2019t want to publish content meant for other real estate practitioners.<\/p>\n

Instead, create content that would be useful for buyers and sellers in your area. Focus on sharing facts about the neighborhood, great eateries, information that would help potential buyers prep for the home loan process, etc.<\/p>\n

Always keep an eye on traffic and engagement by using Google Analytics \u2014 you want to be sure your content is indeed reaching more and more new eyes.<\/p>\n

Beware of alternative content ideas. Some say blog content can be about anything except real estate and somehow that content will generate real estate business. I am not exactly sure how that works. People who are looking for a real estate expert might not go to the blogger who knows where to get the best craft beer.<\/p>\n

Generating traffic<\/h2>\n

There is no set ratio between blog traffic and client acquisition, but if there is\u00a0no traffic, there won\u2019t be\u00a0any<\/em>\u00a0client conversions \u2014 and what good is the blog if it\u00a0never<\/em>\u00a0generates business in some way?<\/p>\n

There is no rule as to how long it takes to build an audience with a blog, but it can\u2019t be done in just a few days or weeks. Still, it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n

A site that serves a huge geographic area will get more traffic than a site that serves a smaller area, but not all traffic is created equal. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, specialize in a smaller area or a market niche. This works best.<\/p>\n

I have never made a sale directly from a blog post, but I have met people through my blog and have gotten the opportunity to work with them. When this happens, if all goes well, the end result is a closed sale or two and some referrals.<\/p>\n

Why blogs fail<\/h2>\n

Read the full article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Teresa Boardman | Source Inman Are you creative, artistic or just looking for a unique way to prospect for business? If so, it might be time to consider starting a blog \u2014 doing so will change your business and your life. I started a real estate blog in 2005. Since then, I\u2019ve published more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14503,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,47],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14503"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11367"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11383,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11367\/revisions\/11383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.virtuance.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}