Don’t let your blog get to this state! Follow the rules of good structure and audience engagement. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
We know that we’ve spent a lot of time talking about blogs over the last few months, and we hope we’re not driving you crazy with it. But blogging is still one of the best ways to boost your brand, build social equity online and demonstrate your expertise. And it does this while you improve your message and grow your audience. Blogs also are a great funnel for leads and list building, and they boost your website SEO.
So with all that in mind, you can see why we spend so much time talking about blogging. Also, despite what you might think, real estate professionals are not heavy bloggers. Opportunities abound online for REALTORS® and real estate pros who take the plunge.
For those of you who are already blogging, you might be struggling with some parts of it, or maybe your blog hasn’t reached its full potential. Maybe you’re not seeing good leads or great engagement from it. Or maybe you suspect that you’re not doing something right.
Well, if you are committing one or more of the following blogging sins, you might be ruining your blog results (think leads/email subscriptions). That could mean that opportunities are passing you by, and falling into competitor’s hands. If you catch yourself doing one or more of these things, well… read on:
You don’t post regularly.
Any relationship is based on a balance of commitment, right? If I told my wife that I would only come home 3 times a week, I probably wouldn’t be married after that week! Blog visitors tend to behave the same way. If you’re inconsistent with your post frequency, they may get frustrated, or worse, they can get a sense that you’re not around—or open for business: Opportunity lost.
So post regularly. I’ve seen great blogs that run daily, semi-weekly, weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly. People will accept the post schedule, as long as you stick to it.
You promote yourself when you do get around to posting.
There is little in the world more irritating than seeing a blog that looks like an informercial coughed up used car salesman on my screen. Features and product benefits strewn every which way… it drives people away very quickly. Readers care about what you offer, but a blog is not necessarily the place to drive the hard sell. In most cases, prospects are trying to gather information. Some of the things people look for could be
- tips on getting ahead, moving to a new place or getting their house ready for sale
- real estate trends in an area/city/neighbourhood they’re looking at buying a house in
- upcoming events in that area that are happening
Another possibility is that they might be checking your blog to find out more about you. It happens more often than you think. Testimonials and blogs are still some of the best ways to learn about a vendor. Make it easy for them!
You have ‘flabby’ headlines
Lighten and tighten your headlines as if they’re Twitter posts.
Not everyone can dole out tight light and bright writing. For most of us, prose isn’t born sharp, smart and well dressed. It first comes out a little flabby and needs to get tucked. And headlines are especially tough. But we can try to think about headlines the same way people think about Facebook or Twitter posts. You want it to point to the topic, but you want people to click it first. Think about how you can make your headlines shorter, more fun, more sensational or even a little extreme. Would you click this blog if I wrote this?
“Six Things That Can Help Blog Writers and New Bloggers”
I wouldn’t, either.
Okay, so that ends Part 1 of the Six Blog Mistakes that can Ruin Your Real Estate Website. Stay tuned for Part 2, which covers the final three hazards to your real estate blog, and they ways to prevent ruin from ever happening to your site.
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