The first thing Greg did as my coach was to throw me at the wall of Bloodhound contributors to see if I stick. His request was for me to write about the Project Blogger experience. Gulp. Deep breath. Here’s an update.
My inexperience coupled with my polite Midwestern upbringing, have caused me to hold my tongue about Project Blogger. However, the last few weeks much has been written both in public and privately to me, about blogging styles and what makes for great real estate blogs. So I figure what-the-hell, now is the time for a pup to speak up.
Two months ago I didn’t know what an RSS feed was. I read two blogs on a regular basis. Now I have about twenty blogs in my reader, half have been added in the last few weeks, and only 3 are real estate related; yes, one is BHB. The blogs that move me and fascinate me and don’t bore me to tears are for the most part, not RE and the reason is, move in closely- I’ll whisper it to you: Real estate blogs suck (that’s four words, 5 syllables). But hey, I’m just an apprentice here, what do I know?
This pup thinks it’s a big world out there, that outside-of-real-estate world, and in her inexperienced opinion the world out there is much more fascinating blog-wise than the world of RE blogs. I read blogs to grow- to see new thoughts and ideas and new ways of expressing those. Following some bland blogging formula is uninspiring. If it’s a formula, then what’s the point? Leads? Somewhere Peggy Lee is singing… Is that all there is?
Jim Duncan’s realcrozetva blog, Greg’s post about weblogging and dancing on bridges, Brian’s post about selling lifestyles, and Daytonian David Esrati’s thoughts about creating community– that is blogging that inspires, moves, and fascinates me. So when I sit down to post, that’s the advice I work with and I don’t see any formulas there. But hey, I’m just an apprentice, what do I know?
Here’s where I’m at blogging-wise: If blogging and Project Blogger are only about following formulas for capturing leads, then you will have to look for me here, trying to run with this pack at Project Bloodhound (I guess I stuck to the wall). There is plenty of room in the world, even in the teeny tiny real estate blogging world, for all sorts of blogging styles and in the end I gotta go with the one that speaks to me.
What I’ve learned the past two months: I’m not blogging for a contest. Yes, I’m in a contest, but I’m not blogging for the contest or the judges or other real estate professionals. The last few weeks I’ve had to shut out the noise of this contest and really focus on my goal for TheBrickRanch, and ultimately my goal is for that blog to be my gift to my community.
But hey, I’m just an apprentice, what-the-hell do I know?
Greg Swann says:
Good on ya! Keep your own counsel — or not. 😉
For my own part, I am always amazed that people send me writing advice. I’m pretty sure I know how to do this, and I intend to do exactly as I please in any case. I don’t care if no one likes what I write — so long as I like what I’ve done. The contrary would be hell unending.
June 7, 2007 — 2:38 pm
Steven Groves says:
Follow your muse Teri – it’s the only one that matters…
June 7, 2007 — 2:44 pm
David Esrati says:
I’m honored to be mentioned in Teri’s post- and as someone who has been pushing blogs as a much more viable solution to RE websites for years (mostly on dead ears)- it all comes down to this: it’s not about you.
Same for advertising- it’s not about you.
Are all you Realtors listening?
It’s not about laundry lists of baths, beds, fireplaces or square footage- it’s not about price-
it’s about connecting people.
Using your skills and knowledge to connect customers with homes- the right homes.
Knowing what a community has to offer- who the neighbors are, how to buy a home, not a house.
And your website is there to share your passion and knowledge with the people who may or may not choose to do business with you.
So- make it interesting, make it insightful, make it valuable- and it will reward you.
And- don’t bite the pups- help them run with the big dogs- we’re all on this earth together.
June 7, 2007 — 5:20 pm
Teri Lussier says:
My own muse- I’m thrilled to have found it and no way am I ignoring it now. That would be hell unending.
June 7, 2007 — 5:23 pm
Teri Lussier says:
David- Ya made me think! There’s the reason I read your blog. 😀
June 7, 2007 — 5:32 pm
Jim Duncan says:
I’ll echo David’s thoughts and say how honored I am that my little local blog is mentioned in such a manner. Thank you.
June 7, 2007 — 6:49 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Jim- your blog is a real pleasure to read. Thank you.
June 7, 2007 — 7:12 pm
Phil Hoover says:
Teri ~
Just stay the course.
I am doing some politically-incorrect stuff with my http://www.BoiseBlog.com, http://www.EagleBlog.com, and http://www.OurBrookwood.com ~ I am actually suggesting that people do BUSINESS with me instead of just informing them.
And, it is working far better than I ever expected.
People whom I hope to do business with are telling me that they can HEAR what I am saying ~ that I am a human being with thoughts, feelings, and emotions they can relate to.
I think that’s the true purpose of blogging ~ to CONNECT with people we could ultimately do business with.
June 7, 2007 — 8:56 pm
Ines Hegedus-Garcia says:
Teri – pretty awesome, I must say. I think we have all come a long way in these 2 months and although I was bloggin in AR not knowing what I was doing, at least I was improving my writing skills. I’ve learned to differentiate the 2 audiences, AR vs. the consumer, and that is key.
As for the actual competition, I think I have gotten some constructive criticism, but for the most part the judging has hurt me because I felt at times I was loosing my voice trying to get “the scoring”. I am doing what you are saying, sticking to my goals and writing for my Miamism community. Thanks for doing this.
June 7, 2007 — 9:57 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Phil-
Thanks for the encouragement. “CONNECT” -Yep, I can do that.
Ines-
One beef with this competition is that so many apprentices lost their “voice” at some point. I don’t know if that would have happened without the pressure of being judged? Does that happen to those playing along at home?
We have all come a long way. I hope those playing along at home have too. This competition has been invaluable to me because it really pushed me to focus on my goals, but my goals have nothing to do with the competition- which is an extraordinarily funky and weird place to be.
June 8, 2007 — 5:43 am
Wade Young says:
I wonder how much business bloggers get from blogging. I don’t think it’s talked about much. If you’ve been blogging for two months solid, has it paid off?
November 27, 2007 — 10:27 pm
David Esrati says:
It’s not two month thing Wade- it’s a business model choice- you either live it- and engage- or you play at it. It’s not something you do half-ass.
Of course, my feeling is that most Realtors do what they do in a total half-ass function. Don’t be like them.
Either you are a true expert, in love with your craft- or you are just another hack.
If you do it right- you will receive back ten fold.
November 28, 2007 — 12:05 am
Teri Lussier says:
Wade- That’s the big question, always. And it’s talked about quite a bit because that’s the bottom line for most. It has paid off for me, but I want to be honest with you, I can’t answer that in $. My blog has brought me more opportunities to grow my business and my SOI than I ever would have without it. Very briefly, I have several specific goals for my blog, all take time to percolate.
If you are pushing your blog in your adverts, then you should definitely see business, and fellow Project Blogger apprentices have. If you are in a tech-savvy market, leads should be there. Bloggers discussing the ROI is out there in the blogiverse. http://www.activerain.com is one place to go for lots of success stories at one location.
Brian Brady, Dan Green, Morgan Brown, all mortgage brokers and BHB contributors, have very successful business blogs. If you haven’t checked out what they are doing, you might want to. They are bleeding edge mortgage bloggers. Find them right here on the sidebar with links to their home blogs.
November 28, 2007 — 5:26 am
Wade Young says:
What I wonder about is if these guys put as much effort into building their websites, that too would pay off — and maybe much more. For example, I don’t know if Dan Green even has a website. I have only seen his blog. Most of these blogs are read by industry professionals. Yes, a few consumers stumble upon some of the blog pages, but those same consumers could stumble upon website pages if the effort were placed into writing consumer content for web pages every day instead of blogging every day. I guess If I have two choices: 1. blog every day to real estate professionals or 2. write consumer content every day to post on my website — which do you think will pay off in the long run?
November 28, 2007 — 7:22 am
Greg Swann says:
The way to do what you’re talking about is with a blogsite: The main page is the hyper-local consumer-focused weblog, the other pages do the same jobs your web site is doing now. You can find out how to build a hyper-local consumer-focused real estate weblog at Real Estate Weblogging 101.
November 28, 2007 — 7:43 am
Teri Lussier says:
Greg beat me to the punch, but I was going to say the same thing. Bloodhound is industry focused, so we try to discuss industry issues here. There are plenty of consumer focused blogs out there that focus on RE in one community. Here’s one (shameless self-promo alert): http://www.TheBrickRanch.com .
Brian uses social networking to generate leads from RE agents as well as consumers, and has posted about that here on multiple occasions.
November 28, 2007 — 7:56 am
David Esrati says:
Wade-
There is no difference between a blog and a website- they are one in the same. The difference is how you update and manage them- the blog will get you automatic SEO- the “site” won’t.
The public will find your blog/site if the information is relevant and useful or interesting. If you just talk about yourself- it won’t do a damn thing.
November 28, 2007 — 8:20 am
Brian Brady says:
“1. blog every day to real estate professionals or 2. write consumer content every day to post on my website — which do you think will pay off in the long run?”
Excellent question, Wade. The answer is…both. Networks are more easily established in the Web 2.0 world. A B2B mortgage originator (like me), simply MUST talk to Realtors- it’s the lifeblood of my business.
There is value to Realtors talking to Realtors. Consumers are mobile- they move from city to city, across cities, etc. I maintain that a Los Angeles Realtor can find the top ten “feeder” cities and look for REALTORs within those cities for referral relationships. If every three REALTORs equals a transaction, and you want to do 30 transactions, then have 100 close friends in feeder cities.
November 29, 2007 — 5:51 pm