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.jpg) I wrote an article about whether to blog or not for the most recent newsletter for our Southern California Chapter of the CRS. Here it is, in case you missed it, or are not a member of SoCalCRS and don't get the newsletter.
This really is directed toward those who are not blogging yet, since those of you who do already know this stuff. It's simple and straightfoward, and hopefully will give you some things to think about.
The article was rather long for a post on a blog so I broke it up into a few smaller pieces, but it is word for word what I wrote. I'd love to hear your thoughts and questions.
Jeff
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I was pondering this article while sitting at the airport getting ready for my flight back to San Diego, and thought it might be useful to elaborate on what the fuss is all about. My intent here is to educate, not convince you that blogging is the next best thing to sliced bread and that you need to get on the bandwagon. Some of you should not. And many of you won't. According to NAR only about 4% of all REALTORS blog, so the odds are against you. And therein lies the competitive advantage if you choose to take the plunge. But you should know what blogging is and how it can benefit you, so you can make an informed decision to be involved, or not.
Here are a few thoughts.
A blog is essentially an on-line newspaper or journal that you publish on-line (i.e., a website) for the world to see, with regular updates perhaps several times a week or even more frequently. And it allows readers to comment, to interact with you. A blog can be about anything you want, since you are the publisher, but you will certainly want it to be related to your business. And it's free, unless you use a blog platform like TypePad that charges a monthly fee. Certainly there is the investment of personal time, but that's true of many things that are worthwhile.
As publisher, you can choose what you want to write about and how to say it. No one is going to tell you when you should write or nag you to do so. More on that in a moment. A good practice is to focus on things that interest you and that you know about. Who wants to write about stuff that is boring or unpleasant? You won't enjoy writing, and no one wants to read it either. A blog is not about you, and how wonderful you are. It is not a personal press release or an on-going self-promotional marketing piece. It's for and about consumers and what they want and need. Keep this in mind…always.
A primary focus in your blog is to communicate information about your market to readers in a friendly conversational format. Why is this important?
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Well, first it allows you to develop a relationship with folks who are looking on-line before they are actually willing to commit to an agent for assistance
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Second, some readers will ultimately see you as the area expert, and may therefore call you for help. That's a good thing, isn't it? Plus you will become more credible and a better communicator.
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Stay tuned for Part 2
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