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Ricardo Bueno

Ricardo Bueno

Online Marketing Strategies for Real Estate

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July 15, 2011   |   by Ricardo Bueno   |   Get free new post updates HERE.

15 Business Blogging Tips

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?

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About Ricardo Bueno

I specialize in marketing and technology for the real estate industry. Currently: Marketing Technology Director at West (a Williston Financial Group company) West. Previously: National Trainer at W&R Studios.

Get more from me on and .

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy Putkonen says

    July 15, 2011 at 9:42 pm

    A good list. How timely is timely for responding? Do you think it has to be the same day?

    Reply
    • Ricardo Bueno says

      July 15, 2011 at 9:47 pm

      Hi Amy, 

      The sooner, the better! Partly why I use Disqus… It has a nice “reply by email” function that I can use to address comments. 

      In business terms, when someone submits an inquiry to for more info, they’re in a “I want an answer now” mode. If you don’t respond in a timely manner, it’s likely they’ll submit an info request with someone else (a competitor). He who responds first, wins. 

      Reply
      • Words Done Write says

        July 15, 2011 at 11:26 pm

        Speaking of Disqus, I notice you’re using it again. Why no LiveFyre?

        Reply
        • Ricardo Bueno says

          July 15, 2011 at 11:29 pm

          There were a few minor issues (nothing major). I polled subscribers and most folks opted to have Disqus back so I flipped the switch and turned it back on.

          Besides, now I can read the comment emails on my blackberry and respond like I am now. I couldn’t read Livefyre emails unfortunately and that was a big deal.

          Reply
          • Words Done Write says

            July 15, 2011 at 11:31 pm

            Ah, good to know. Thanks for being my virtual guinea pig 😉

            Reply
            • Ricardo Bueno says

              July 15, 2011 at 11:33 pm

              lol, no problem 🙂

              Reply
  2. Condos Puerto Vallarta says

    July 28, 2011 at 12:57 pm

    Excellent blogging tips. Thanks Ricardo for sharing this valuable one.

    Reply

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