Successful blogging takes an investment of time and energy. A commitment to creating content often and consistently.
The more consistent and useful your content, the quicker you’ll develop an audience and the quicker you’ll establish yourself as the local market expert.
With that in mind, today’s post is a quick reference guide for the newbie real estate blogger and the type of content you can and should be creating for your new real estate blog.
12 Things To Write About on Your Real Estate Blog:
1. Write about a local restaurant or business. If it’s a new business, take a photo of or with the owners and let them know that you’ll be covering them on your site. They’ll appreciate the publicity and they’ll tell everyone they know to check out the great press coverage on your site.
See: A Taste of the Hi-Life in South Pasadena.
2. Cover local and holiday events. Grab a calendar from your local high-school or the local community center. Look at events that stand out and that you think folks might be interested in attending (like a local wine tasting event for example). Also, holiday’s make for some good blog content. Everyone is looking for something to do on a holiday.
See: Halloween Events in Pasadena this October.
3. Write about the specific area you work in to showcase your expertise. This is a great to show off your knowledge of an area and it’s also great for SEO.
See: About Long Beach California
And: Pasadena City Guide
4. Write about your listings (a “Just Listed” announcement post). Again, this is a great way to showcase your expertise, hi-light your work and it’s great for SEO. If you don’t have any listings, write an area “Market Report.”
See: 4161 Hathaway Ave, #46…
And: California Craftsman – New on the Market in Altadena
5. Write about a recently sold listing or a first time homebuyer purchase. Include your buyers in your article as a testimonial. If you’re a stager, write about a recently staged property.
See: Home Staging In Pasadena for A Small Affordable Housing Condo
6. Write a “How To” post. Buyers and sellers are always looking for information on-line (they’re always seeking advice). Hi-light your expertise by offering solid How To advice via your blog posts. Things like Prepping Your House for Sale or Winning the Multiple Offer Game. Another great example from the financing side comes from Loan Officer Dan Green (author of the Mortgage Reports): How Loan-Level Pricing Adjustments Keep You From Getting the Lowest Advertised Mortgage Rates.
7. Write a list post. Lists posts generally tend to be very popular. Why? Because they’re easy to skim through and read. After all, people have a short attention span as it is. So the next time your offering advice, make a list of recommendations that you would offer a buyer or seller as they prep to sell their home.
See: Eleven Expert Tips to Make Small Rooms Feel Larger
And: 6 Pricing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
And: Top 3 Most Expensive Home Sales – February 2010
8. Write about the Home Buying or Selling process and or define real estate terminology that the average consumer might not otherwise be familiar with. Buying a home can be a particularly intimidating process. After all, it’s the biggest financial commitment in a person’s lifetime. What they’re looking for is a ton of good advice to familiarize themselves with the process so that they can feel confident in their decision to buy. So break down the buying or selling process into terms that the average Joe can understand.
See: Home Buying Process – Back to Basics!
And: What the heck is RESPA and why should I care?
And: What Can I Expect from A Home Staging Consultation?
And: Does Home Staging Really Work for Pasadena Real Estate Sellers?
9. Put yourself in the consumers shoes and write a post offering them advice. Think of it this way, the next time someone asks you a question, write it down and blog your response. Then publish it and share it often.
See: Help! My House Has Termites!
And: What to Put Away and What to Leave Out
10. Every now and then, it’s OK to have fun and get off topic. Successful blogging requires consistency. The following examples are from bloggers who have turned a fun off-topic post into a fun series (Miamism Friday’s is delivered weekly and so is the Sunday Spectrum). Think of something fun that you can blog about and blog about it often.
See: Miamism Fridays
And: Mojito Review – Novecento, Brickell Ave
And: Sunday Spectrum – Pasadena’s Parrots
11. Cover industry news (financial updates, etc.). The most common question people ask me is “can I just copy and paste news from other sources?” The answer is no. That’s a violation of copyright. What you can (and should) do on the other-hand is quote a section of the article in question and inject your own opinion into the article. Tell me why you think this is important or how you think this news is going to impact the local real estate market.
See: Spring 2010 FHA Changes – Higher Fees, Bigger Downpayments, and More Mortgage Insurance
And: California Offers a New Tax Credit for Home Buyers
And: Condos Available for Pasadena Low to Moderate Income Program
And: The Future of Miami Mortgage Rates
12. Write about a particular complex or properties within a given price point in a certain area. Here’s the thing, you’re going to attract the kind of business that you write about. So if you want to work with buyers, write articles for buyers. If you want to attract buyers in a certain area, write about that particular area often. Make sense?
See: Brickell Key Condos
Certainly I’ve missed a few topics. If that’s the case, offer your suggestion(s) in the comments below and if you’ve written an article along one of these topics or one that you suggested, link to it in the comments below and I’ll do my best to update this post.
What kind of things do you find it easy to write about?
[Flickr Photo by: Markus Rödder]
