I’m glad you’ve made it here, and I hope some of the folks here do visit your blog. Of course, you should know that if you’d listed your blog address my CommentLuv program would have picked up your last post title; that’s something else a blog can do, help others get more publicity for their blogs.

Firstly, Mitch, thank you for including this blog in your **18** for 2008, otherwise I would never have found it (shameful, I know!)

I have read, with great interest, the comments above and thought I’d throw my hat into the ring, thereby putting a slightly different spin on things:

A couple of things you need to know about me before we start:

1) I am in Real Estate
2) I am an avid writer
3) I taught technology for 23 years but now only teach Real Estate and Blogging for REALTORS (R)

One of the things I teach my blogging students is that there are two types of REALTORS(R) ~ those with time and those with money. Those with time (also those who have no money) blog themselves and those with money (because they used their time to sell property) pay others to blog for them!

99% of REALTORS(R) have either never heard of blogging or take the escape route of ‘I don’t have time’. I can relate to this because my own day is 16 – 17 hours long and I work a 7-day week, so not even my own blog is added to on a regular basis!

One has to examine WHY we blog. What is the goal and what is the reward (or, simply put… what’s in it for me?)

Blogging, in my opinion, is intended to drive traffic to one’s web site(s) so as to attract more business. Therefore, the indirect purpose of blogging is to increase ones bottom line. SOOOoooooo many people can’t see this!

In order to make this work, one has to tailor ones blog to ones target audience – ie. drop your pole where the fish are, because in many industries (not all), creating blogs of random content, will garner many replies, but can drive the wrong kind of traffic to ones web site.

For example: Responding to this blog might well drive many of your readers to my blog and in turn to my web site, but how many of those readers can become clients of mine? The answer is: less than 1%.

There is a forum called ActiveRain, which is geared specifically to Real Estate and is populated by REALTORS(R), their affilliates and prospective clients. THIS is dropping the pole where the fish are, because the audience is far more targeted. Other blogs include (for me) California Association of REALTORS(R) and National Association of REALTORS(R) on LinkedIn.

Why would anyone want to blog in an environment where there are so many competitors? To build a network of referral REALTORS(R) in other States, as each one of us (or most of us) are licensed to sell in only one State, so what do we do with clients who want to relocate? The answer is that we refer the business to a professional in our referral network. By sticking to industry specific blogs, we are able to build rapport with other professionals in the industry and select the best ones to refer our clients to.

My blog is therefore centered around real estate and home maintenance, the propety market etc and my responses are placed in real estate related blogs. This way, I am driving a target audience to my web site!

This concept must be working, because although I am not high in the SE rankings, I derive at least 4 new clients a week – I know this, because I can contact them via phone and I can see view their searches.

See? … it’s pointless driving meaningless traffic to ones web site – you might get a lot of hits that way, but how many of those hits result in real business – ie dollars in the bank? Do the math: Compare your bank balance today, to your balance before you started blogging – THAT’s where you’ll see if your blog is working or not!

Another thing: It DOES get lonely if people don’t respond to your blog – no doubt about that, but my blog, as an example, is designed to be informational and people go there to be educated. In my business, 80% of my effort goes to educating the client! The fact that I don’t get responses on my blog is sad but doesn’t mean that my blog is not successful.

Reference has been made to the fact that people read blogs but don’t comment. Lack of time is not the only culprit here ~ in order to obtain comments, one has to ask questions. Try ending your blog with a topic-related question directed at your readers. In order for this to work, you must have created content so that your readers can say ‘Yes, that’s ME!’

I understand that much of what I have written here, could come under attack and I ask only that your readers understand that I have chimed in purely and simply to offer insight as it applies to MY industry.

Know this: just because a blog has no comments, does NOT mean that it is not good in content! Some of the BEST blogs have no comments at all!

You’re the best, Mitch!

–
Althea Garner
REALTOR (R) MBA, MCI, e-Pro
Executive Real Estate
House Of Homes Online
(714) 264-3458

Search over 50,000 listings at my web site:
http://www.HouseOfHomesOnline.com

Just saw your recent comment on my blog and wanted to check out what you had going on here. Loved this post, it is a shame that some bloggers get trapped in their own world and don’t take the time to embrace the community.

I am definitely guilty of it at times. It can be pretty time consuming running a blog, as I am sure you know. Spending the the time to converse with your readers and fellow bloggers is essential though.

Thanks for checking out my blog. Hope you are doing well and keep up the great posts!

- Jack Rugile
Simple Sapien

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