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Associates in Progress Page 27
Page 25 OCTOBER 2016 • VOLUME 21 • ISSUE 6
Is blogging a worthy promotion tool for REALTORS? By Riki Markowitz
few more words, blogging is not for everyone.
t’s only been about 20 years that real estate agents and brokers have had more options than ever to attract potential customers, convert them into clients, and close a deal. Before the Internet came along, there were newspaper, radio, yellow pages, and TV ad spots. You could also show up to events to shake hands and hand out flyers. The Internet has completely changed the promotion landscape for everyone – most would say for the better. Now agents can pinpoint thousands of potential clients by blogging, vlogging (video blogging), and developing a social media presence on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and more. In a word, blogging is a worthy promotional tool. But in a
Blogging is a full time job
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Jude Galligan, a REALTOR, broker, and publisher of DowntownAustinBlog.org, says, “It is a ton of work and very easy to do a bad job.” In this day and age, most individuals write scores of emails and text messages before lunch. So what’s so difficult? For one thing, says Galligan, “If you don’t live and breathe a specific subject matter, you’re just going to flounder.” It will be more of the same regurgitated information that gets published everywhere. Blogging is extraordinarily time consuming, says Steve Crossland, a member of the Austin Board of REALTORS (ABoR) and CrosslandTeam.com founder. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you like what you do. “If you don’t keep up, though, it just looks like your blog is abandoned or dead.” When you start a website, you need to write no less than two or three posts per week so that you can grow and keep a following. “But it’s definitely not a good idea for people who can’t write well or don’t have something to say.” Rather, those agents should capitalize on other strengths. For example, there are real estate agencies in town that throw wine and cheese parties or organize social events. Jason Crouch, Austin Texas Homes Broker and Co-owner, started a real estate blog in 2007. He agrees with Galligan about playing to your strengths. “It helps if you are a decent writer, and if you have something of value to share.”
Otherwise, you’re going to be putting 20 to 30 hours into a pet project that won’t gain traction. Or worse, because some people tend to forget their manners when behind a veil of anonymity, an earnest, hardworking, blogger can end up with a comment section that’s just NSFW (not suitable for work).
one point, he had 360 subscribers (not counting those who logged in without subscribing). To widen his reach, Crossland also cross-posted on social media platforms and got click backs from social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and more.
When blogging works
So how does a blog post convert a reader into a client? Crossland explains, “If you write, then people start to gain insight into how you think and how you approach business. They then start to feel that you’re credible.” The best part about blogging for Crossland is that, “the leads that come in are self selected. They’re buyers or sellers that already want to work with us, rather than a cold lead that we have to sell. Subscribers come pre-screened.” Some agents may be comfortable on a smartphone keyboard, but self-promotion doesn’t always come as easily. “My goal,” says Galligan, is for word-of-mouth to encourage people to check out my website.” So say Galligan posts an article online, he’ll cross-post that link to Twitter or Facebook, then watch the hits to his website stack up. Keep in mind, though, not all of blog posts resonate. Crouch has written more than 1,300 posts. “One post had over 100,000 views. It was about relocating to Austin and it resulted in several sales.” Crossland has more than 600 posts to his name. Two had received hundreds of clicks.
If you fall into the camp for whom blogging is a good promotional tool, there are some simple guidelines for developing a successful following. First, pick a niche, says Galligan. And write every day. “You can go to Wordpress and start writing immediately for free,” he says. But know that web hosting is not cheap – especially if your blog becomes successful. “When you’re starting off, it doesn’t need to cost you anything,” he says. “When you scale and get traction, it can get expensive and you have to do your own analysis to determine whether it’s worth it.” And how long does it take to build traction? For Galligan, it was 10 years. So tip No. 3: have patience. Finally, proofread and spellcheck everything.
Track your subscribers When Crossland starting blogging around 2004, he was producing about two or three posts per week. He also set it up so readers could subscribe to his blog. The benefit of subscribing was that clients were notified when a new article was posted. For Crossland, he would analyze blog activity and return on investment (ROI). At
Convert readers to clients
Front Page: Continued on page 28
Upcoming Events Wednesday, October 19th ABoR: Realty Round Up Palmer Events Center - 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Wednesday, October 26th HBA: Parade of Homes Preview Party Caliterra/Dripping Springs - 6 - 9 p.m.
Thursday, November 10th HBA: Parade of Homes REALTOR Day Caliterra/Dripping Springs - 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Wednesday, October 19th CRS Bi-Monthly Meeting Westwood Country Club - 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wednesday, November 2nd AMBA: Monthly Meeting Austin Country Club - 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Tuesday, November 15th ABoR: Affiliate/REALTOR Happy Hour ABoR Headquarters, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday, October 20th WCREALTORS: Annual Business Meeting WCREALTORS OFFICE - 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Thursday, November 3rd HBA: Parade of Homes REALTOR Day Caliterra/Dripping Springs - 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
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