Free Real Estate Blogs

After going through three developers I finally found a solution that delivers a quick, professional and free real estate blog – (see below).

It’s the perfect solution to the number one problem faced by most real estate professionals – lack of technical expertise.

So if you want a real estate blog, with a professional theme, social media icons and SEO ready with all the right plug-ins, you can get one at Free Realty Blog.

Note that hosting is not included but is available for as little as $5 a month.

Plus you also have the option of adding a Blog and Social Media Graphics package. I’m not sure if the package will be available when you order your blog but grab it if it is still under a hundred dollars.

Here’s the link again.

The Single Reason Real Estate Websites Fail to Deliver Business

I’m always amazed by how many real estate websites don’t do the one thing that they’re meant to do – convert visitors into clients.

Most real estate blogs and websites are nothing more than online brochures. They’re full of pretty images and links to local resources but they don’t have any compelling reason for a visitor to give up their contact details.

The only real exception to this is IDX or property search sites that promise instant access to listing inventory.

I’ve had this conversation with a number of internet marketers who shook their heads in disbelief when they viewed a number of real estate sites. Internet marketers understand that a visitor to your site is a complete waste if he or she moves on without contacting you.

But most real estate professionals don’t “get it” or are limited by the technical hurdles associated with publishing email capture forms, feeds and other interactive tools.

I’ve written a few articles on the subject but defer to Greg Clement, one of the best online real estate marketers, who wrote a great report on the subject.

You can download the report right here.

PhotoFunia plus Animoto – Cool Personal Branding

I started to play around with PhotoFunia and and Animoto and created this cool video in around 30 minutes using one simple head shot.

Photofunia (free) provided the stock images like the billboards and Animoto ($30 a year) converted the images into a video.

The branding and marketing possibilities are endless. You can use images of your business and your products and quickly convert them into a cool marketing video.

Cool Photo Makeovers

Here’s a fun tool to turn an ordinary head shot picture into a poster.

It’s by a company called PhotoFunia and it’s free.

You can use it as a cool way to spice up your regular profile photo and in your marketing material.

The best part for me was when I turned a number of images into a video using Animoto and showed the video to my children. They’re young enough to think that their ole dad is very cool and famous.

Bob Stewart on How to Rank on Page 1 of Google

Getting your Blog to Rank # 1 on Google

Session 3 by Bob Stewart at Rain Camp Denver #raincamp

Blog Title Rules

The Title is very important:

Geographically specific – use a geographically specific title. The more specific the better as it opens up long tail opportunities.

Short and concise – try to mimic what people will type in for search

Named after the phrase for which you wish to rank – use similar articles with different keyword phrases. Use Curtis Park Homes for Sale and the change it  “Homes for Sale in Denver’s Curtis Park Read more..

Marianna Wagner at Rain Camp Denver

Marianna Wagner

Blogging Tips

Marianna is a very active Active Rain blogger and Realtor from Colorado Springs

1.            Blog about your Local Market

Marianna uses blogging about neighborhood communities to dominate her local market.

Use keywords used by consumers like “Homes for sale”, “neighborhood name” and supplies real estate information about the area.

2 – Position yourself as the expert

Supply local real estate information, news and statistics

Focus on keywords that people are interested in like “Bank Owned Homes” and “foreclosures”.

Go after new home communities – write about the communities – easy to become the lead information source for a community.

Write in the language of the consumer and avoid real estate industry terms.

3 – Market and Advertise your listings

Promote your listings through your blogs

4 – Generate traffic and Create Links

Uses Active Rain and popular sites for links back to her blogs.

5 – Blog for referrals

The more I blog the more business I get. Other Realtors see her blog and trust her with their referrals.

Write about stuff that you like, write often and write in the voice of your customer.

Marianna’s tips for things to blog about:

www.budurl.com/reblogideas1

www.budurl.com/reblogides2

www.budurl.com/reblogideas3

Notes from Rain Camp Denver

I’m at Rain Camp #raincamp in Denver and thought I’d experiment with taking notes online and in real time.

I’ll update the notes after each session.

Read more..

Real Estate Blogging is a Mixture of Art and Science

Publishing a real estate blog is a mixture of art and science.

The art is your content, how you phrase your sentences and pen your words.

The science is the systematic checklist you use to make sure your blog is fully optimized for the search engines so it can be seen by your real estate customers.

I going to leave the wordsmithing (I think I just inventicated this word) and poetic language about your recently rehabbed 3 bed 2 bath to you.

I’m only going to help you with the technical stuff so here’s the “10 Step Scientific Outline and Checklist for Publishing your First Blog Post”: Read more..

Ross Hair is Bald!

Welcome to my newly revamped and republished website.