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No Blogger Left Behind is a Webinar-based blog coaching program for real estate agents. This blog supports the coaching program and other real estate bloggers.
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Sep. 2, 2008
Categorized in: Webinar Video
 We are happy to offer a playback of Week One Webinar, Develop a Blog Business Plan.
There is still time to register here for the remainder of the session. This is the final eight-week series in 2008; the price for No Blogger Left Behind will be $297 starting in January, 2009.
Here is a handout for Week One.
We are pleased to announce that we are making a $25 contribution for each No Blogger Left Behind registration to CARE for humanitarian relief.
Sites and sources referenced in the Webinar are hyperlinked in the PDF handout. Other sources mentioned in the Webinar include:
Aug. 25, 2008
Categorized in: Blogging Q & A
There is a very interesting discussion thread in RealTown’s RealTalk community. Industry veteran Jack Harper asks, “OK – So I need your collective knowledge on blogs.” Most of the comments correspond to thoughts supporting the wisdom and good sense attached to the growing number of real estate agents who choose to blog. There is some interesting dissent, curiously enough, from a real estate web designer. The challenges to support a case “not to blog” are compelling enough for me to take this discussion from the RealTown Communities page, a general social networking arena, to a more appropriate platform -- the Blogosphere. Today’s announcement that Trulia launched a new blog platform is likely to drive a stampede to its site in coming weeks. I urge REALTORS to take advantage of social networking opportunities that are likely to post a significant return on investment; early adopters of technology are the first to reap the bounty in buyers and sellers. Win Singleton (Summit Web Design):
 “.. I'm not so sure that consumers are looking for or even expecting a Web 2.0 experience in growing numbers when it comes to purchasing something, especially when buying or selling a house! This seems to be another "myth". Rather than real estate being a "social" interaction, it is what we have always referred to as a "sales" situation.”Frances Flynn Thorsen:
 It is hardly a myth. The National Assn. of REALTORS report that 92% of home buyers used the Internet in 2008. Real estate Web 2.0 giants Zillow and Trulia each report traffic in the neighborhood of 5 million unique visitors each month. Modern real estate professionals are happy to trade outdated “sales” descriptors for consumer-centric words that reflect service and consultancy expertise. Win Singleton (Summit Web Design):
“ Think about it. When buying new tires, are you really going to read a blog at GoodYear? No! You came to look at replacing your tires... and GoodYear hopes to make a sale today with the price information they display on their site instead of you going to Bridgestone instead. If you want a new Lexus, do you plan on interacting on a blog with the local dealer? No. And once the "sale" has been made, will the consumer really plan on coming back often to see their sites again... even if they have a blog? Probably not for many months or even years! If you just bought a Kenmore washer & dryer at Sears, do you keep coming back over and over to look at washers & dryers again?”Frances Flynn Thorsen:
I don’t know much about Goodyear … but take a look at GE, maker of Supra lockbox products and numerous product lines. They have an excellent blog.
The Lexus media team thinks that blogs are very important and this company flexes some creative muscle in a blog to sponsor a US Open Podcast.
Real estate mogul Donald Trump is a man with a household name and a record of accomplishment. Guess what? He blogs!
Win Singleton:
“… The main reason many, many agents don't "blog" is because very few can actually "write"! I'm not being sarcastic when I say this, but all you have to do is visit lots of real estate agent sites and read their content to confirm this. Very few of us would be considered "authors" by others ...”Frances Flynn Thorsen:
You do not have to be Ernest Hemingway to blog. If you can write an e-mail or a business letter, you can blog. Do some people blog better than others? Certainly! Bloggers can improve their skills with some short-term blog coaching. Superb writing skills are not required to blog successfully. In fact, a conversational writing style is probably the best approach on a blog.
The industry has always had its share of naysayers and early adopters.
There were people who thought the Internet was a fad in the early and mid 90s. Others saw possibility on the Web and acted upon it. Blogging is a Web trend with increasing traction.
Is blogging a passing fad or is it evolving as an important business tool?
People who asked that question in 2004 could ask that question with a straight face. In 2008 it sounds utterly foolish!
HAPPY BLOGGING!
Aug. 24, 2008
Categorized in: Typepad Blog
Enough is enough!!!
 I have been inspired by recent Laser Blog Coaching sessions, including one about reclaimed blogs and I have decided that it is time to reclaim and rejuvenate my own The FAT Lady Blog. over at the Typepad blogging platform. This poor blog has been neglected and ignored. The screen shot on the rightilustrates the blog in a skin that it wore for more than three years.
I decided to opt for a two-column format that offers a much wider text width and lends itself well to parger graphics. I installed a category cloud and a Twitter feed and later I will review the links that were installed and bring the links up to date.
 A screen shot of the new and improved blog appears at left. I need to work on a new banner for the top, but a simple text solution is good for now.
I like the narrow measure of the headline text ... it looks and feels so THIN! ;-)
I'm going to spend more blogging energies there to journal some much-needed attention to weight and cholesterol concerns. Funny how health and blogging interests intersect ;-) I welcome all suggestions about the blog format AND recipes and ideas for health and wellness that I can share on this blog.
In the meantime, I am going to commence makeover projects on the remainder of my blogs, including this one! Stay tuned.
Aug. 15, 2008
 It's been a year since Australian real estate coach Karin Hanna posted an entry on her I Love My Agent blog. She's been travelling around the world, teaching real estate agents on three continents how to build their reputation.
Today she engaged in a 12-minute Laser Blog Coaching session that rejuvenated her neglected blog.
Listen to the session here.
We will watch this blog closely as Karin accomplishes a general blog makeover next week.
The next eight-week series of No Blogger Left Behind Webinars starts August 29, 2008.
Aug. 13, 2008
.jpg) Barbara Gaines is a well-known real estate CyberStar. She has a triblogular presence on Blogspot and profiles on LinkedIn and Facebook and ActiveRain. Until today she did not know that she is still a member of the RealTown community. (Time to update your profile, Barbara! ;-)
Barbara is a superb REALTOR who remains upbeat in a tough Michigan real estate market.
We spent 24 minutes today exploring an exit strategy from writer's block and a way to make social networking both FUN and profitable.
You can listen here.
Meet Barbara online:
Sold Team USA
Ann Arbor Real Estate Blog
Milan Real Estate Blog (This is in Michigan, NOT Italy!)
Top Agent Blog
The next eight-week series of No Blogger Left Behind Webinars starts August 29, 2008.
Aug. 13, 2008
 REALTOR and educator Sharon Koziel and I spent 16 minutes exploring ways to increase traffic to her blog, Dreaming of Real Estate.
Whoops, Sharon, I did not notice that you attached a domain name to the blog. www.koziel.com needs to be uncloaked to let your readers send permanent links! When you uncloak (or unmask) your domain name, the domain name will "evaporate" when the page is launched and open the possibility for link sharing.
Each blog post creates a separate URL and readers can click the Link or Permanent Link and send posts separately. That is one of the internal features of blog architecture that makes blogs so wildly appealing to search engine spiders.
Hear our Laser Coaching Session here. There are a few tech hiccups but don't worry, I am going to get this right soon!!! Sharon is a dynamite pro and it was fun to play with her this morning.
Learn more about Sharon at her other web sites:
Golf Homes of South Corona (CA)
Education Plus
The next eight-week series of No Blogger Left Behind Webinars starts August 29, 2008.
Aug. 11, 2008
Join me for an all-day blog coaching marathon on Webex. I will be taking calls and sharing mouse controls with bloggers from 9 am - 9 pm EST all day on Wednesday, August 13, working in 10-minute segments, scheduling calls every 15 minutes through the course of the day. Calls and Webex sessions will be recorded and posted as an EXTREME VALUE offering of No Blogger Left Behind.
Do you want to brainstorm abouit - Content, news and topics?
- General design and a makeover?
- How to increase traffic to your blog?
- How to connect your blog to your web site?
- How to use social networking tools?
- How to choose a blog platform?
- ... anything else?
If you are interested in particpating, send me an e-mail with your time preference, and the area(s) that you would like to cover. -- Frances Flynn Thorsen, Blog Coach
Jun. 27, 2008
Categorized in: RealTown Blog
A RealTown Blogger will win a Full Conference Registration to the Inman Real Estate Connect Conference in San Francisco, July 22 - July 25, 2008, one of the most highly touted real estate events of the year.
Write a winning blog post on a RealTown Blog within the next week for a chance to attend ths event! There is no limit on subject matter or length of post. Entries will be judged on the merits of creativity, inspiration, and construct. Judges from the Publishing Team at RealTown will select a semifinalist winner each day next week, Tuesday through Friday. The winning entry and Grand Prize Winner will be selected from the semifinalists on July 7, 2008.
E-mail the link to your blog entry to Editor@RealTown.com. (Multiple entries are allowed.) If you see a great blog post next week, collect the link, send it to us as a nomination!
If you do not have a RealTown Blog yet, you can get started by visiting http://RealTownBlogs.com.
GRAND PRIZE: The contest award will be 1 free “Conference Package” to attend Inman’s conference and 1 workshop (Internet Marketing or Bloggers Connect or Foreclosures) an $859 value.
SEMIFINALISTS will each receive an autographed copy of The Real Estate Technology Guide by Saul Klein, John Reilly, and Mike Barnett.
Conference Highlights:
RealTown Blogger Mary Pope-Handy will be featured on a panel at Bloggers Connect, "Case Study: How Four Bloggers Are Closing Sales -- What tactics work for generating business?" Mary was last year's winning Blog Apprentice and Frances Flynn Thorsen was the winning Blog Coach in the Inman News/ActiveRain Project Blogger competition.
Frances Flynn Thorsen, Managing Editor of RealTown.com, will be a featured panelist in a session titled, "How to Help Homeowners While Closing Business" in a Foreclosure Workshop moderated by Bernice Ross, Ph.D.
Saul Klein, CEO of InternetCrusade and Point2 Agent Technologies, will be featured in "Change or Die - Does the MLS Risk Becoming Irrelevant?"
Jun. 18, 2008
Categorized in: Webinar Video
Webinar Handout
Podcast (Audio Only)
Yesterday's Webinar with Blanche Evans (Realty Times) and Hilary Marsh (Realtor.org) offers valuable information about online publishing rules, including copyright considerations and new Blogging Guidelines being developed by the National Assn. of REALTORS. One of the most interesting issues in the guidelines is the position that the NAR legal eagles are taking about comments. They are insisting that the NAR blogmasters moderate their comments:
"If you have a blog, accept comments. Develop a comment policy outlining the types of comments you WON’T publish: e.g., those that are offensive, illegal, irrelevant, or are sales pitches."
The webcast, podcast, and handout contain information that real estate agents and brokers will find valuable in developing a Blog Business Plan.
The following resources are mentioned in the Webinar:
The next 8-week Blog Coaching Webinar program starts next week. Join us and take your blogging to the next level at No Blogger Left Behind.
-- Frances Flynn Thorsen and Joeann Fossland
Jun. 11, 2008
Categorized in: Blog Tips
Tired of Negative Headlines? Write Your Own!
Hilary Marsh of The National Assn. of REALTORS offers a preliminary peek at NAR's new Blogging Guidelines in next week's FREE No Blogger Left Behind Webinar. Real estate brokers, agents, and bloggers will gain valuable insight into an online publishing tool that is changing the face of online real estate. The Webinar will be held June 17.
Hilary joins Blanche Evans ofRealty Times, Joeann Fossland, Master Certified Coach, and Frances Flynn Thorsen, RealTown.com. (Joeann and Fran are the Co-Creators of the No Blogger Left Behind Blog Coaching Program.)
 Hilary Marsh, Managing Director, Editorial Development for Realtor.org, is a Web content guru. Before joining the National Assn. of REALTORS® , Hilary led Content Company, an online consultancy specializing in Web content strategy and management. Among the clients were the American Hospital Assn., the University of Chicago, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. A frequent national speaker on Web content issues, Hilary founded NetContent/Chicago, an organization for the online content community, and is a founding member of CM Professionals, the content management community of practice. She is a graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. (Courtesy Realtor.org.)
Register here.
Jun. 5, 2008
Categorized in: Blog Tips
Tired of Negative Headlines? Write Your Own!
Join three award-winning journalists for a hour of tips and advice in a FREE No Blogger Left Behind Webinar about how to engage real estate consumers with the real facts! Use blogs and newsletters and online publishing tools to establish yourself as the local expert. Register here.
 Blanche Evans is Editor-In-Chief of Realty Times, Dallas. A perennial favorite real estate journalist among the REALTOR ranks, Blanche provides informed analysis on the latest trends in real estate to some 500,000 consumers and practitioners each month. Author of numerous best-selling books on real estate, an award-winning journalist, and an industry expert whose opinion is sought by CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Associated Press, Blanche Evans has that rare ability to break down complex topics into understandable prose. As the editor of an independent online real estate news service, which she says reaches the industry’s influencers, Evans is a staunch, often feisty, defender of organized real estate. She doesn’t pull any punches in poking holes in what she deems agenda-laden, spurious attacks by outsiders. ( courtesy, Realtor.org.)
 Joeann Fossland, e-PRO, GRI, SRS, PMN, is a Master Certified Coach and and award-winning real estate journalist and blogger. She was winner of the 2007 Women's Council of REALTORS' Connection Magazine Article of the Year. She has written numerous articles for Realty Times, RealTown, BrokerAgent News, and she publishes several blogs, including Relaxed Real Estate for Magnificent Agents. Joeann is the co-creator of the No Blogger Left Behind blog coaching Webinar program. She is a national speaker, a Certified e-PRO Trainer, and the senior GRI tech instructor in Arizona.
 Frances Flynn Thorsen, e-PRO, SRS, is Managing Editor of RealTown.com. She has been a licensed REALTOR for more than 22 years, following a career as newspaper report and magazine editor. She publishes numerous blogs and was the winning Blog Coach in the national Project Blogger competition sponsored by Inman News and ActiveRain. She has been featured in Investors' Business Daily, BusinessWeekOnline, Inman News, The Philadephia Inquirer and The Orlando Sentinel. She is a member of the National Assn. of Real Estate Editors and the co-creator of No Blogger Left Behind.
May. 31, 2008
Categorized in: Blog Tips
 Real estate news is LOCAL! News articles about a national real estate market are as relevant as a national weather forecast!
This is what Web 2.0 is really all about! Blogs and online publishing tools give real estate agents a chance to tell consumers the REAL story as it applies to local markets. Moderator Frances Flynn Thorsen is a member of the National Assn. of Real Estate Editors.
- What online publishing tools are available?
- Learn how to write a powerful headline.
- Learn how to write a NEWS story.
- Learn how to write a FEATURE story.
- Conduct (wo)man-on-the-street interviews.
- Build your business at the same time that you build your brand and build your repuation.
- Learn how to attract the press.
Join us for this special, FREE No Blogger Left Behind Breakout session on Tuesday, June 17.
2 PM EST
1 PM CT
12 Noon MT and Arizona
11 AM PDT
8 AM Hawaii
Register here.
May. 30, 2008
Categorized in: RealTown Blog
 One of the bonuses of traveling to meetings around the country is the chance to meet fellow bloggers and e-PROs in person. Last week Joeann Fossland and I were in Ocean City, MD, to present an e-PRO Workshop for local REALTORS and we had the good fortune to meet e-PRO Susan Pruden, who drove up from Prince George's County. Susan has been an e-PRO for years, blogs at RealTown (Real Estate Bits and Pieces), is a No Blogger Left Behind alumna, and she uses a Point2 web site quite effectively! Susan is doing things right!
Joeann and I will be hosting additional workshops in June. We hope to meet more e-PROs and bloggers as well as REALTORS taking the next steps to advance their tech expertise.
Joeann's June schedule (Arizona):
Fran's June schedule (New Jersey):
Sign up and meet us in person. If you would like to get a head start and save $25, sign up here and use the code: 9378.
Apr. 19, 2008
Categorized in: RealTown Blog
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Join us for a Webinar on April 25
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Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
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Learn how to create a RealTown blog with Frances Flynn Thorsen, Managing Editor of RealTown.com and award winning Blog Coach. Watch as she launches a new blog in RealTime. Learn how to use new RealTown social networking tools to attract more visitors to your web site and more buyers and sellers.
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Title:
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No Blogger Left Behind - RealTown Blog Breakout
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Date:
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Friday, April 25, 2008
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Time:
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2:30 PM - 3:30 PM EDT
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System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
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Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer
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Apr. 18, 2008
Categorized in: Blog Tips
 Mary Pope Handy was a brand new blogger last spring. She launched her first blog, LiveInLosGatos.com as my Blog Apprentice under the watchful eyes of thousands of real estate agents and bloggers during the Project Blogger Contest sponsored by Inman News and ActiveRain. I had the privilege of working with Mary as her Blog Coach. She won the contest handily and she reflects upon the last year at her ActiveRain Blog.
Mary has numerous blogs now. One of my favorites is her Haunted House Blog. She launched another gorgeous new blog last week. ALMOST everything about that blog is perfect: design, illustrations, writing!
I confess that the title of this blog has my Blog Coach hormones raging out of control, however, and I have to give Mary a shout about her URL:
www.SanJoseRealEstateLosGatosHomes.com
Mary, What are you thinking, girl! You have the keenest, most wonderful style in the Blogosphere ... your other blogs are wearing finery from their domain names to the smallest detail of their construct. Haunted House Blog is wonderful ... Live in Lost Gatos is easy to remember ... but San Jose Real Estate Los Gatos Homes???? This is a name that speaks to SPIDERS, not PEOPLE. It has no heart, no soul.
I beseech you to shed that awful, boring URL for something that befits a Mary Pope Handy blog. Your blog needs a more elegant name, something that reflects YOU.
Feb. 25, 2008
Categorized in: Webinar Video
We had a No Blogger Left Behind Breakout Webinar last week are we are happy to present it here. Resources and links cited in the Webinar appear below the Video Player. Grab a bag of popcorn, get cozy, and enjoy!
Resources and Links: (If we missed any, send me an e-mail and I will include them.)
Profile of REALTOR Julie Emery, Virginia
Julie Emery's Blog
REALTOR Marty Millner's web site, Bucks County, PA
Marty Millner's Blog
REALTOR Dee Marie Fisher's Blog, California
REALTOR Mary Pope-Handy's Award Winning Blog in Los Gatos, CA
Feb. 20, 2008
Categorized in: Blog Tips
 Invite interactivity on your blog in more than just the COMMENTS section. Invite guest authors to write stories that you can share. Mary Pope-Handy, a REALTOR in Los Gatos, CA, publishes Live In Los Gatos for her local market. She was the winning Blog Apprentice in last year's Inman News/ActiveRain Project Blogger competition (photo at right l. to r: Mary Pope-Handy, Frances Flynn Thorsen, and Joeann Fossland hold check for CARE, the grand prize in the contest). Mary also publishes a niche blog, The Haunted Real Estate Blog. I wrote a piece for her yesterday about a an experience that I had when I was showing a house in eastern Pennsylvania.
Teresa Boardman publishes a highly successful blog, St. Paul Real Estate. She has a regular contributor, Erik Hare, who writes a post for her every Sunday. It is one of the many ingredients in Teresa's formula for a highly successful real estate blog.
In 2006, Joeann Fossland popularized Blog Guest Posting with her Coachadelic Blog Tour for CARE. She visited numerous blogs over several months with guest posts to raise money for humanitarian programs around the globe. Her Web Women Giving Circle raised about $25,000 for CARE.
RealTown Blogs has a multi-author, time-saving function that lets you grant author privileges to others.
Feb. 14, 2008
Categorized in: Blog Tips
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NO BLOGGER LEFT BEHIND Roundtable:
Converting Visitors to Clients
(Special Breakout Session)
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Join us for a Webinar on February 21
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Join a roundtable discussion about Real Estate Blogging. How do you capture and convert leads from your blog? How do you identify bona fide prospects?
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Title:
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NO BLOGGER LEFT BEHIND Roundtable -- Converting Visitors to Clients (Special Breakout Session)
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Date:
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
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Time:
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12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST
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System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
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Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer
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