Archive for Real Estate Blogs
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Ah, yes, I’ve been reading posts from Active Rain again! This one is from Karen Druschka. She talks about how she uses blog posts on local communities to make money!
You need to read the post. She identifies the categories of information she uses in each hyper-local post, and shows an example of a post that generated a phone call that ended in a closed transaction.
And, the client even had a friend who is an agent! You can’t get a better recommendation than that for a particular marketing tool!
If you’re not a member of Active Rain, you may not be able to access the post(s) mentioned above. So sign up for Active Rain now. If you’re not a member of Active Rain, you should be anyway.
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What have you done with videos lately? Do you know you need to get more involved with providing videos, but you just haven’t found an approach that you will stick with? I’m trying to help!
A big problem for a lot of folks is the idea of filming themselves. To film yourself, you need:
- a video camera
- a good location for filming (quiet with a good-looking background)
- a script or at least an outline so you sound like you know what you’re doing
- to look good so you look like you know what you’re doing
The camera isn’t a big problem. I’ve heard lots of great feedback about the Flip camera; it seems to do videos quite easily. It’s the other three things that slow people down.
If you have a problem with numbers 2-4 above, relax. There are a variety of ways you can make videos without putting yourself on the web.
Create Videos without Putting Yourself on the Web
Recently, I wrote a blog post about Screenr.com, a website where you can create real estate videos using your computer as the “star”.
This post discusses Animoto.com, a website where you can easily create videos from photos and videos you already own. It’s easy to do and the result looks professional, at least to my eye. There’s an example of an Animoto video shown below.
This solution isn’t free, but it’s not overly expensive, either. There is a free version that you can use, but it has a severe limit on the length of the video: 30 seconds. I used that version to make the 30 second video below. I wouldn’t suggest that the video below is a good informational or marketing tool, but it went together quickly and it gives you the idea.
The next level, as of this writing, gives you the ability to make full length videos and costs $30/year. If you want more capability, such as having your videos unbranded, the cost is $249/year.
There are a number of ways you can use Animoto to interact with your social media sites. You can export the video to You Tube. You can post it on your Facebook wall, share it on MySpace, Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Posterous, and the list goes on for quite a while.
Don’t be hesitant to make the most of videos for your business, there are tools out there that make it easy to create real estate videos!
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
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Since I’m always on the lookout for great real estate blog post approaches, I decided to stop in to Active Rain and see what Lenn Harley is doing on her blog.
Some of you may know Lenn from RealTalk or Active Rain. For those of you who don’t know her, Lenn is a successful broker in Maryland and Virginia. She has years of experience, a lot of good ideas, and she speaks her mind.
The blog posts I want to point out are the ones Lenn writes about homes for sale or sold homes in her area. To me, it looks like when Lenn is writing about a new construction neighborhood, she posts homes that are currently available, like this one for Chantilly Town Homes.
You’ll notice that the first line of that post promotes the 2% home buyer rebate that Lenn is offering. Interesting, eh? If you were a serious buyer and you happened on this post, or on a compelling proposition for this rebate on Lenn’s website, would you be likely to complete a form or make a phone call?
Next, Lenn added a chart of the new homes for sale, with an indication of the Rebate she offers. By now, a serious buyer should be drooling. She continues with what look like professional photos of the models.
The call to action is clear, and she paints a small picture for the buyer: “I’ll meet you at Brookfield Homes…” She reemphasizes her special offer of the rebate and describes the eligibility requirements. Below that, she has listed a number of links to other places where she may have another chance at turning the visitor into a lead. And, by the way, those links do great things for her SEO. You’ll notice all the links are done with keyword search phrases.
On another post, Lenn is providing real estate market statistics for a larger geographic area, the city of Leesburg. After a brief introduction, you’ll find another chart. This one shows a Leesburg list to sold report for the month of August.
I love the fact that the next thing is the post is a photo of homes representative of moderate, average and luxury prices. Nothing like giving the visitor something concrete to relate to.
And the post is closed with another call to action, another significant offer of a 1% rebate, and more links related to Loudon County real estate.
Nothing amazingly fancy, nothing that any agent/broker couldn’t do, probably didn’t take hours to put together, but how effective do you think these posts are??
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If you’re not a member of Active Rain, you may not be able to access the post(s) mentioned above. So sign up for Active Rain now. If you’re not a member of Active Rain, you should be anyway. 
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Everyone knows that videos are good for websites. People like videos. Search engines like videos. And, if you have the time and equipment to make videos, I encourage you to do that.
But, what if you don’t have time, or can’t find the Flip camera, or you’re having a bad hair day… or, what if you want to illustrate something on a computer, not a flipchart?
In any of those situations, a screencast may be just the alternative you’re looking for. Here’s an example of one now:
The screencast above was done using the free service at Screenr.com. And, there are some great features incorporated into this screencast recording service.
- The first great feature, of course, is that the service is free right now.
- The screencasts can be viewed on iPads and smart phones like the iPhone.
- You can download the .mp4 file if you know what to do with it
- You can publish your screencast to YouTube.
- You can embed the screencast on your website or blog.
Why Would You Want to Make A Screencast?
Since your Internet presence is so critical, I can see several reasons why you’d want to use a screencast. For example:
- You’ve got a killer MLS search on your website. But, to get the most benefit from it, there are a few things you want people to know about how to use it. How about making a screencast? Put it on a separate page on your website and have it open in a pop up window.
- You’ve got a lot of great information on your website, but you’re noticing that some of your key pages aren’t getting much traffic. Make a screencast introducing visitors to the best pages on your site.
Those are only a couple of applications. I’m sure you can think of many more. If you’re using screencasts yourself, let us know how!!
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I got introduced to Liz and Bill Spear from a featured post they wrote about blogging on Active Rain. You need to read their post about real estate blogging, then take a look at some of their other posts.
Liz and Bill (collectively known as Bliz) blog every day. Wow, that is impressive. Of course, there are two of them, and not everyone is cut out to be a daily blogger. But, it has done some good things for them.
What Blogging has Done for Bliz
Blogging for Bliz passes the critical test: they’ve gotten business from people who read their Localism blog (Active Rain’s “external” blog for consumers). And, they have gotten a lot of good exposure in the community, which should, of course, lead to more business.
Another benefit came from an unexpected source. If you were going to blog every day, you’d have an even harder time coming up with topics than you do now. The answer for Bliz was to get tuned in to local issues and local activities. You can see examples in their Top 100 places to live post. Then there is one about a sale at a local garden store.
A Primer on Real Estate Blogging
Read that sale post carefully. It’s an excellent example of how you can get your keyword phrases into a post that seems to have nothing to do with real estate. Do you need your keywords repeated 5 times in a post? No – a couple times would be fine. Take particular notice of the P.S. at the bottom of the post. Did you notice the second instance of their keyword phrase?
You’ll also notice that the posts are written the way you would talk to someone. Just hearing the topic of the post about a local sale, would you think that a 500+ word post could be written about it? And, be interesting enough to hold people’s attention? The key for this one is that the post was written mostly as if they were chatting with a friend, telling them about the sale.
You can skim through a few pages of their blog and get a feel for the other local news items that they use as topics, whether it’s the football schedule for the local high school, or a piece about the fireworks that will signal the end of summer.
Another thing I like is that when there really isn’t a good place to put their keyword phrase in the body of a post, they don’t try to do it anyway. Remember the old rule: write for people, not search engines! But, did you notice how they offset that problem without making the post sound silly?
Ideas for Blog Posts and Featured Listing Descriptions
Finally, take a look at one of their listing posts for one of their Warren County Homes for Sale. This one is a real tour de force!
- They grabbed attention with the “first look” promise. They made sure readers know that they have single property sites for all of their listings, and invited the reader to visit that site.
- Then, they described a bit about the location of the home – the roads and activities that are easily accessible. They talked a bit about the home, and made the HOA fee sound like a blessing.
- They included a call to action that is respectful of the rules of engagement for real estate professionals.
When I read listing posts and especially featured listings, I find that they fall far short of the standard Bliz has achieved. For example, when you have the chance to put your listing into a “featured listing” list on your website or single property site, why is it that so often the only thing that is communicated is how many bedrooms and baths the home has?
Surely, those listing agents could say a few words about the neighborhood, and highlight some of the best features of the home. Couldn’t they? I often wonder if the lack of detail is due to laziness or a real lack of understanding of the product they are selling.
My thanks to Bliz for setting such a great example. If you can’t blog every day, don’t despair. Just make sure you are making the most of the posts you do write!
