Jan. 12, 2007: Blogs can help Realtors connect with communities
The year just past may have been the Year of the Real Estate Blogger -- or it may turn out that that title will belong to the year just begun.
We operate a site called BloodhoundBlog, and the Valley is considered by many to be the epicenter of real estate blogging.
What's a blog? It's a cross between a newspaper and an online journal, with entries exhibited in reverse chronological order. But more than that, a blog is a community, with posters and commenters creating a conversation within a blog, and, ultimately, a conversation among blogs.
About 20 Phoenix-area bloggers attended a real estate blogging forum hosted last Friday by BloodhoundBlog blogger Brian Brady at the downtown Phoenix public library.
The event was a sort of get-acquainted meeting, with the attending bloggers introducing themselves and talking about their blogging experiences. Brady anticipates coordinating events like this on a quarterly basis.
My wife and business partner Cathleen Collins and I were there, along with other Phoenix-area real estate webloggers. Many of the bloggers present wrote blog posts about the event.
I spoke at some length about the push toward local content and local interest for real estate blogs.
Until now, much of the focus of real estate blogging has been on national and industry-related issues. Bloggers are working hard to discover new ways to serve their local communities.
Afterward, Brian, Cathleen and I spoke about big-picture issues relating to real estate blogging. One thought we had was to emulate the "Bloginars" held in Seattle and other cities. The objective would be to help Realtors, lenders and other real estate professionals learn how to connect with the community through real estate blogs.
What's the benefit for the consumer? Eliminating the risk of the unknown quantity. You can shop for your next Realtor or lender from home, getting to know who they really are from their writing on the Web.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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Or: Steal this book: I've written over 200 of these real estate columns. They are consistently one of the most popular features on our blogs. Many of them are dated and/or entirely Phoenixocentric. But many others are timeless and generic. If you want to use any of my columns on your weblog or web site, feel free. Three rules: Don't change my text, credit me as the author and give me a link back to http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/ with appropriate anchor text. Something like this, perhaps:
Am I link-baiting? You bet. The quid pro quo is free content for your site that pulls eyeballs and excites interest.<a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/" target="_blank"> Phoenix Realtor Greg Swann</a> suggested I share this with you:
