You should start a blog. It’s easy. Or so they say… 

Yet most blogs fail to effectively generate any business (leads) and are doomed to be abandoned by their authors just a few short months later.

Poor design. Poorly written content. Each of these things and more are contributing factors.

So here’s my advice to anyone who’s starting (or thinking of starting) a new real estate or small business blog…

1. Be consistent. You need to create a consistent, predictable rhythm with your content otherwise you’ll lose people’s attention quickly.
• Create an editorial calendar (I like the Editorial Calendar plugin for WordPress).
2. Set your goals early.
• Who are you writing to (who’s your audience)?
• Why are you writing this? To deliver company news and announcements? To educate your clients on your products and services?
• How will you measure your results? (Recommended Reading: How To Set Proper Goals & Objectives)
3. Demonstrate your knowledge (a.k.a. prove you’re an expert). Make a list of everything you know about your industry, then, write about everything that’s on that list.
4. Build your list early. There’s tons of services out there. Some of the one’s I recommend are: Aweber, MailChimp, and MadMimi.
5. Make it easy to connect. I come across dozens of real estate sites that hide their phone number, email address and have a 10 line contact form as the only means of getting in touch. If your site’s purpose is to generate leads, please don’t make consumers jump through hoops just to try and get a hold of you.
6. Ask for the sale (often). Simply put, this means that every post and every page should have a Call To Action. What action do you want your readers to take? Comment? Register? Inquire for more info?
7. Be timely. In other words, learn to write about your industry, not just your service or your product.
8. Edit like a mad-man. Ther’s nuthing werse then wen a blawg haz a ton of typohs and spehlling errorz (yes, that last sentence was a joke).
9. Allow comments. This shows people that you’re approachable but only if you also respond to comments in a timely manner (see #10).
10. Be responsive. This includes email, phone inquiries, contact form submissions, comments, etc. Treat your readers like you would treat your best clients. Responsiveness shows reliability and that builds trust.
11. Make it easy to share your best content.
• How easy is it to navigate your site?
• Do you have social sharing enabled?
12. Make it easy to subscribe. Some people will want to read your content on the go, via email. Are you making it easy for them to subscribe to receive updates? (Also, remember #4).
13. FULL RSS feeds only. If people subscribe to read your content on the go it’s because it’s easier and convenient for them to do so via email. Don’t make them jump through hoops to read your content. If they wanted to visit your site to read the content, they wouldn’t have subscribed to begin with.
14. Measure your results.
• Are people commenting? If not, maybe you need to work on making your content more engaging.
• Are people sharing your posts? If not, maybe you need to work on crafting better headlines.
• Are people subscribing? If not, less pitching, more “How To” (remember, seek to be helpful, first).
15. Don’t start what you can’t finish. If starting a blog isn’t something you intend to stick to for the long haul, it isn’t for you.

These are just some of the things I think are important.

What did I miss? What else would you recommend to someone who’s thinking of starting a new blog for their business?

Like this post? Subscribe today!