Indiana Sifuentes (Las Vegas REALTOR and up-and-coming blogger) emailed me this excellent article from Business Week: Blogs Will Change Your Business - Look past the yakkers, hobbyists, and political mobs. Your customers and rivals are figuring blogs out. Our advice: Catch up...or catch you later. The article, written in May 2005, really drives home the power of why and how a blog can impact your business. "...you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they're going to shake up just about every business... Read more →

Here's an idea to help you with more content, more often... have guest contributors on your blog. In the real estate business, we naturally have a team of other professionals we work with. Think about it, do you know an escrow officer, loan officer, home inspector, appraiser, handyman or other vendor who could contribute to your blog with useful, relevant information? This is also a wonderful opportunity to cross-promote your team of professionals. Do you have an agent team? If so, have you considered creating a team blog? You may have hidden talent on your team - budding bloggers -... Read more →

One of the wonderful features of blogging is the experience of finding your own voice. I am finding that the more I blog the more I get comfortable with the whole experience and the platform. I've also been working on not being so technical and analytical about my writing - allowing my true personality and passion to start emerging. It's a journey that takes patience and commitment. When I think about why I subscribe to various blogs, I find that it's not only that the author has something interesting or compelling to say. I have also discovered these things are... Read more →

1. Choose a topic you are passionate about! Clearly define your core topics and focus for your blog and stick to those subjects. 2. Find your voice. Be transparent and authentic. Write in a human voice. Invite a dialogue. Be clear, concise and conversational. 3. Keep it Local! Write about your neighborhoods, local market, what customers/consumers want to know about. 4. Write for the audience you want to have. Know your audience. 5. Write your blog posts for web readers. Scanable, white space, shorter is better, package the content (lists, top 10…), use bullets and graphics. 6. Adopt a mindset... Read more →