Running a Great Real Estate Blog Is a Lot Like Selling a House
If you’re in the real estate business, you’re obviously an expert in the physical locations where you buy and sell properties. But are you familiar with the virtual locations?
Like most professions, the real estate industry has been dramatically altered by the Internet. These days, if you’re buying and selling houses, you need a strong Internet presence, because potential clients will be searching for agents online.
In order to connect with as many clients as possible, you should be active on social media, including Twitter and Facebook. It’s also highly recommended that you maintain a blog.
Fortunately, running a successful blog is a lot like selling a house out in the real world — something you should already be familiar with. Here are three key similarities.
1. Personal connection
As a real estate agent, you know how important it is to make a personal connection with your clients. After all, buying a home is typically the largest purchase a person will make in his or her lifetime, so the buyer will want a trusty agent to guide the way.
Reading a blog is certainly not as big of an investment — financial or otherwise — as buying a house. But if you want to court a regular readership, you have to be trustworthy, straightforward, and able to create a personal connection between you and your readers.
One easy way to foster that connection is to talk about yourself a little. While your blog is primarily about real estate, be sure to include some personal information from time to time.
2. Location, location, location
Location is key when it comes to real estate. Your virtual location is important, too.
First, you need a blog with a catchy title and URL. Ideally, you want something that, aside from being memorable, is also somehow connected to your name and the profession of “real estate agent.”
You also want the URL of your blog to be just your title. You don’t want “WordPress” or the title of any other site-creating software in there. Even if it costs a bit extra, make sure your URL is only www.yourblogtitle.com. It not only looks more professional, it’s also easier for your clients to remember.
3. Simple decor
Think about when you’re staging a house to show. You don’t go overboard with the decorations, since a sparsely decorated house is easier for potential buyers to imagine themselves living in. This same principle of minimalism applies to your web presence, too.
Check out this page on New York real estate. There’s a ton of information on it, but it’s arranged in a very clear, simple manner so the information is easy to understand at a glance.
There’s nothing overly complicated about the design, the text is quite readable, and overall the site looks very polished. These principles should apply to your site as well.
Ultimately, your skill as a real estate agent is going to determine your success. But your skill promoting yourself online is going to be a huge factor in how many clients you meet. If you follow these tips, your blog is going to stand out from your competitors and put your best foot forward.
