Neil Kearney's presentation on blogging for Realtors at the Boulder Area Realtor Association. September 21, 2011.

1. Blogging for Real Estate Neil Kearney Kearney Realty Co. / Metro Brokers

2. Static Website vs. Blog Static Cyber billboard Not sticky No reason to come back At the mercy of a developer Lock and leave or post and cross your fingers Blog Easy to update Attract repeat visitors Be a “go to” resource Good Google juice! You’ve Got Options

3. Blogger.com Typepad.com Weebly.com Wordpress.com Squarespace.com Pro’s: Fast setup, ease of use. Con’s: sub-domain www.coolsite.blogspot.com (don’t own domain, poor Google linking), fewer appearance options. Which Blog Service?

4. WordPress.orgBenefits Ability to upload themes Ability to upload plugins Great community Complete control to change code if you’re technically minded You own the domain and email WordPress.orgCons You need a good web host, which generally costs $7-12 a month, or thousands of dollars per month for a high traffic site Requires more technical knowledge to set up and run You’re responsible for stopping spam You have to handle backups You must upgrade the software manually when a new version comes out If you get a huge spike in traffic (like Digg or Slashdot) your site will probably go down unless you have a robust hosting setup I use Wordpress.orgSame as Wordpress.com but

5. It’s easy to start a blog. It’s not easy to keep up a blog. The key to a successful blog is to provide consistent content. The key to consistent content is to have an clear idea of what you want to convey. Examples: www.ThePoineerWoman.com www.lovelylisting.com www.HuffingtonPost.com www.perezhilton.com Theme – What’s The Goal

6. Neighborhood news and statistics. Give good school information. The more detailed the better. Concentrate on a certain style of home and blog about listings and design. Both locally and nationally. Be the expert in a certain price range or area. Theme Ideas

7. You never know what might attract that “one” customer. Real estate is a personal and emotional business – it’s tough to connect on that level online. A blog gives you a chance to tell what you know and show the type of person you are. Going off topic is not a bad thing. It adds texture to the site as long as it isn’t distracting or in bad taste. The Long Tail

8. What is the goal of the site? For me my site is an extension of my service. I am looking to provide service and information not to capture cold leads. Lead Capture

9. Stuff that comes up during your business. Questions that you answer for clients. Statistics or areas that you are curious about. Real estate process questions. Contract questions… Outside sources: www.Houselogic.com www.activerain.com www.realtor.org Content Ideas

10. Good SEO Applicable keywords Local focus Consistency Share and Distribute One post can be shared via: Email Social Media Real Estate websites (Active Rain, Trulia etc.) I compile and send out via Constant Contact once per month. Getting It Noticed