Post on 09-May-2015
Why Blog For Biz
P3 Coachingstacey@peakpandp.com
I blog on
Wordpress
Patch
And Have Experience Blogging on
RealEstateTomato , Active Rain, Blogger.com
INTRODUCTION STACEY ALCORN
COACHING, TRAINING, AND MORE!
THANK YOU!
What is a Blog?Why Blog?
How to write a blog.Where do I submit my blog?
Marketing my blogBlog Topics
Your Blog Plan
WE WILL DISCUSS
"Blog" is an abbreviated version of "weblog," which is a term used to describe
web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog features
diary-type commentary and links to articles on other Web sites, usually presented as a
list of entries in reverse chronological order. Blogs range from the personal to the
political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects.
WHAT IS A BLOG?
Many blogs focus on a particular topic, such as web design, home staging, sports,
or mobile technology. Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of
other sites. And others are more like personal journals, presenting the author's
daily life and thoughts.
MANY BLOGS
A main content area with articles listed chronologically, newest on top. Often, the
articles are organized into categories. An archive of older articles.
A way for people to leave comments about the articles.
A list of links to other related sites, sometimes called a "blogroll".
One or more "feeds" like RSS, Atom or RDF files.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
WHAT IS A BLOG?
WHAT IS A BLOG?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI
Sort of a website, but different.Quick, easy to submit
“Posts” are read “newest first” to “oldest”Readers can leave comments and
“converse” with youCan include text, pictures, videos, sound
and slide shows, widgets & gizmos.Updated more frequently than websitesIndexed and captured by search engines
quickly.
WHAT IS A BLOG?
Opportunity to learn & perfect your skillsYou get to share your personality, business
practices and knowledge.24/7 Exposure…. All year long
Network with other professionalsYou become a search engine search result.
Buyers and Sellers will FIND YOU!Gives you “credibility” and “authority status”
on your listing & buyer appointments.
WHY BLOG?
Want an interactive website? Wouldn't it be nice if the readers of a website could leave comments, tips or impressions about the site or a specific article? With blogs, they can! Posting comments is one of the most
exciting features of blogs. Most blogs have a method to allow visitors
to leave comments.
COMMENTS
A blog is also a good way to keep track of articles on a site. A lot of blogs feature an archive based on dates (like a monthly or yearly archive). The front page of a blog may feature a calendar of dates linked to daily archives. Archives can also be based on categories
featuring all the articles related to a specific category.
It does not stop there; you can also archive your posts by author or alphabetically. The possibilities are
endless. This ability to organize and present articles in a composed fashion is much of what makes blogging a
popular personal publishing tool.
(from Wordpress Help)
ARCHIVES
Active Rain
Word Press
SAMPLE BLOG SITES
http://activerain.com/marieepisale
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
http://marieepisale.wordpress.com/
Ask yourself why clients might connect with you.
Knowledge
Personality
Your background, education & experience
Your business philosophy
Community Expert
Your market savvyThe Internet is ALWAYS OPEN
MORE MARKETING & PROSPECTING
Start with these:
www.wordpress.com
www.Blogger.com
www.ActiveRaine.com
HOW TO START A BLOG
www.wordpress.comClick on Sign Up Now
Choose User Name and Password
Blog will be www.username.wordpress.com, so
choose user name purposely. Best bet: use your firstlastname as user name
WORD PRESS
Click on hyperlink:
join # professionals on the world’s largest real estate network
ACTIVE RAIN
Fill out form and continue to follow instructions
HINT:
Have your photo and bio ready ahead of time, so you can just “copy & paste”
Save to your “thumb drive”Create folder labeled “bio stuff for
websites and blog sites”Write your bio, philosophy, about you,
business experience, areas of expertise, testimonial quotes from your clients etc.
Read other blogs - “google search” real estate blog
(topic or no topic) - read www.activerain.com blogs - read www.realestatetomato.com
blogsGet ideas from your clients or colleagues
Blog about what is important to youBlog about what is timely in the market
WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT? BLOG TOPICS:
Put your blog site everywhere
Flyers
Business cards
Website
Advertising
E-mail signatures
Mailings
Sign riders
MARKETING YOUR BLOG
MARKETING YOUR BLOG
Once you have content in your blog, its time to tell the world. The challenge is – ‘How do you tell prospective readers that your blog has what they are looking for?’ Social networking sites like stumbleupon, orkut, twitter, facebook and a zillion other websites are breeding grounds for finding prospective readers. Building your network can be a time consuming, never ending task, but it doesn’t end there, you need to make the effort to make your network aware of your blog. The benefits can only be exponential. Getting them to post comments is a completely different ball game.
THE PLAN Blogging and Social Media sites are the 'must do' in real estate internet marketing. To be part of this, you must have a Plan.
Plan Your Strategy: •You need to make a commitment to consistently blog.•Identify your mission statement and stick to it•Determine what return you want from your blog, then blog for those reasons.
Post Articles:Write as often as you can.
Schedule fixed time to write articles.Start as many 'good idea drafts' as you can -
this ensures a reserve of good content.Stay on subject (no one cares about the
weather, or how busy you've been).Don't be wordy
Many short is way better than a few long.
NEXT STEPS AND OTHER THINGS
Allows readers the ability to easily find content that interests them:
BuyersSellers
By CommunityTestimonials
Restaurant ReviewsPlaces to Take the Kids
SET CATEGORIES
I always set my blogs so that comments are not automatically displayed to the world. I recommend setting up an approval process so that you receive an email when someone comments on your blog. You simply click on
the email and approve the comment.
MONITOR COMMENTS
POSTS VIA EMAIL
• Post often, at least 2 to 3 times a week.
• Keep your posts short and on topic. Blog readers have short attention spans.
• Write with keyword rich content. Mention the town, area and local market several times in your post. The search engines will pick up these keywords.
Tips to Success with a Blog
• Use hyperlinks that will give the reader excellent resources: Official town websites, your website, demographics, school information.
• Put yourself in the shoes of the consumer and write for them.
• Online consumers will not respond to posts that are not relevant to anything or that are obviously just to advertise you. Consumers read blogs for information, so that’s what you must give them.
Tips to Success with a Blog
• Use spell check. If you have a lot of spelling errors, the educated consumer may look over you when picking an agent.
• Be yourself in your posts. Be authentic to yourself. This is the forum for that. This is your time and your space to be you and to share “The Professional You” with the world!
Tips to Success with a Blog
PluginsPlugins are cool bits of programming scripts that add additional functionality to your blog. These are often features which either enhance already available features or add them to your site. WordPress offers simple and easy ways of adding Plugins to your blog. From the Administraton Panel, there is a Plugin Page. Once you have uploaded a Plugin to your WordPress plugin directory, activate it from the Plugins Management SubPanel, and sit back and watch your Plugin work. Not all Plugins are so easily installed, but WordPress Plugin authors and developers make the process as easy as possible.
Broken Link Checker
Cool Plugins For Your Blog
Share This
Cross Linker
YOU ARE IN FOR A RIDE!
Do not expect an easy ride when you blog. You can put in a lot of hard work and then realize that nobody is commenting on your post. You will have days when you will be banging your head against the wall wondering what to post about and then there will be days you have so many ideas in your head that you don’t know where to start.
WHERE TO GET BLOGGING HELP
• High school• Colleges and Universities• Social Networks• Youtube• Blogging Books
Why Blog For Biz