But does all that blogging get you CLIENTS?!?
By Jay Thompson, The Phoenix Real Estate Guy
People — usually real estate agents (yes, they are people too) — frequently ask me, “Why do you blog?”
The short answer, one that leaves many scratching their heads, is “Because I have to”.
I need to write. I don’t know why, it’s just always been that way. I don’t write well enough to become the next mega-best selling author. I don’t want the deadline pressure of writing a column in traditional newsprint. So a blog is the ideal venue for me to write. For whatever reason, people seem to read what I put here. God only knows what possesses them to keep coming back.
Invariably after I say, “Because I have to”, the next question is, “But does all that blogging get you CLIENTS?”
The short answer is yes, it does. If I had to, I could produce documented evidence of procuring buyers, sellers, and even a small developer that became clients — paying clients — from what has been done with The Phoenix Real Estate Guy.
The immediate follow-up question from Mr. or Ms. Aspiring Real Estate Blogger then becomes, “How do I get clients from my blog?”
That is a difficult question to answer. I could spew thoughts and opinions on Search Engine Optimization. The simple fact is if no one can find your blog, no one will read it. Hence, no one will contact you to help them buy/sell/invest in real estate. I could write a post on SEO that would rival the length of War and Peace. If you want SEO info, just Google “SEO 101” and you’ll be presented with a lifetime of reading.
I prefer to answer the “How do I get clients” question from a more philosophical perspective.
Real estate is a “people business”. Yes, people chose a real estate agent based on their experience, qualifications and knowledge (incidentally, a real estate blog is the perfect medium for displaying all three of those qualities). But they also tend to chose an agent because they connect with them on some personal level.
So there is your short answer: connect with your readers on a personal level.
How do you do that? Let me count the ways…
Be you. Don’t try to be something you are not — it will come across in your writing. If you hate statistics and charts, don’t blog about statistics or put charts in your blog. If you love stats and charts, blog it!
Blog “off topic“. I’ve had many well intentioned people tell me my blog “lacks focus”. Some “experts” say a real estate blog should be about real estate — and nothing else. To those experts, I say, “fooey!”. I picked up a buyer client through a blog post about Vanilla Pepsi of all things. I’ve been contacted by potential clients from a post about my cat for Pete’s sake. Why did someone contact me from these posts that clearly have nothing to do with real estate? Because for whatever reason, someone could relate to them. Because they showed these folks that there is more to their potential agent than a brain full of home sale stats, knowledge of contracts, and other various and sundry real estate related subjects.
Be opinionated. No one wants a robot for an agent. They want an agent they feel comfortable with. They want an agent they can relate to. Humans relate to other humans that have similar thoughts, feelings and opinions. I wrote a post on some tragic “accidental” drowning deaths of children in the Phoenix area. I did not hold back, at all, my thoughts and feelings on the parenting skills of those involved. I received more than one private email from people telling me I had no right to say someone should go to prison. I received even more emails from people that agreed with me. Could I have lost a potential client from that post? Certainly. Could I have gained one? Absolutely. But I am not going to sugar coat my feelings and write a politically correct post in an attempt to appease everyone. That post expressed my feelings and people can either take it or leave it. I don’t compromise my feelings to try to gain clients.
That last sentence brings up an important point… TRYING TO GAIN CLIENTS. I’m of the opinion that if you blog for the sole purpose of gaining clients that you will likely fail miserably. Blogging is not easy. It takes time. It is difficult to quantify the benefits if you measure it solely in cashed commission checks. If you blog only to gain clients, it will be apparent in your writing — it’s going to feel “forced”. People are smart. If they feel like all you are trying to do is reel them in, they will run away in droves. Blog to learn, to become a better writer, to increase your web presence, to share your knowledge. Do those things, do them well, and clients will come.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:08 am
[...] The Phoenix Real Estate Guy brings us the first article to be added after the site has launched: But Does All That Blogging Get You CLIENTS?!?: Real estate is a “people business”. Yes, people chose a real estate agent based on [...]
June 21st, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Jay-
Excellent advice. Your weblog is your personality and holding back or being “corporate” is not going to connect you with potential clients.
Being opinionated, or controversial, or prolific will. If you can’t be the latter two, just start with being the former.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:58 pm
ou are so right when you say, “Blogging is not easy. It takes time.” It does take commitment.
June 24th, 2007 at 5:07 am
Jay… Thanks for adding to my Blogging education. You have , and I hope you will continue to provide great incentive to those of us that find writing a second language.
July 11th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
[...] of the real estate agent’s blog. Jay Thompson sums up the why exceptionally well with But does all that blogging get you CLIENTS?!?, and Greg Swann defines the how, as only Greg can, with Weblogging as if it really [...]
July 14th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Excellent post. some very good advice on how to write a successful blog. I am going to add more personality posts to my blog.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
[...] wrote this for a RE Weblogging 101 post, and it sums up my opinion of blogging fairly [...]
November 16th, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Jay…just wondering what you’d say to someone in my position about opinions and the like. I run the blog for my 1031 exchange company and so, since at the end of the day I get a paycheck and am not the one making the paychecks, how far into the opinionated realm would you venture? I have tried to be opinionated, but I always have the lurking thought of, ‘What would my boss think of me representing his company’s name like this?’ Your opinion?
November 28th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Jay
I am so glad I stared reading this! Your statement…about being told that “your blog “lacks focus” and that some “experts” say a real estate blog should be about real estate — and nothing else.” makes me fel so good because I was told the same thing. My blog is all over the place…I don’t have my focus yet and was feeling bad for not having it. Now, I feel better! Thanks
December 7th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Jay,
Only minutes after leaving a comment on one of your other articles I found this one. You’re just all over the place…with lots of good food for thought.
I do have to disagree on one point. You said “The simple fact is if no one can find your blog, no one will read it.”. That’s true. But your assumption is that the only way someone can find your blog is through the search engines or links from other blogs.
If all of the search engines went away, how would you advertise? I’m guessing that you would do some things you are already doing in addition to your blog. You would keep in touch through email or mailings with your SOI. You would advertise your website on every email you sent out and encourage your clients to utilize the resources on your site. When someone calls you to interview you to be their agent because a friend referred them to you, you would encourage them to check out your website & blog.
It’s not that I don’t think that SEO is important, but I think that the blog & website can be a resource for real people that found you from shopping listings or the more traditional methods of finding clients too. If my blog’s only purpose was to reinforce my professionalism to these people, it would be worth the effort.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
[...] through the Real Estate Weblogging 101 materials and would highly recommend it to anyone who thinks blogging doesn’t get you clients (it does) or that only other real estate agents read real estate blogs (not true!). Brian Clark of [...]
April 6th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
It seems to me that blogging has opened discussions as did websites in their infancy and still do today as to what one should attempt to present, and or accomplish with their websites. When I bult my first website at the start of my real estate carrer 4 years ( seems like 20) ago I didn’t know the first thing about computers,the Interent much less building a website,had never even sent an email. I did however have a creative talent and that is what motivated me to build my own website. I was 55 when I became a Realtor and all I knew was I didn’t fit into the template crowd. As ignorance is bliss I had no boundaries at that time and was too busy designing the look of it to worry about SEO or search engine ranking,organic results that would all come later. All I knew to do was to be myself, expose who I was a person, relate to people on a personal level and learn the real estate business as I was given the opportunity to do so. The first clients I was able to work with were not because of my astounding wisdom on real estate matters they worked with me because they liked what they saw in me personally. As I learned real estate my goal was to have the website where buyers and sellers could find anything they wanted or needed in one place. As I focused on being “The site that has it all” website on matters related to real estate I earned the right to be featured at the top of the search engine results for my area. It came naturally but not without a lot of hard work and sleepless nights as I researched, searched, and learned from what others had done before me. I just recently started to blog and much like when I built that first website I know very little about blogging other than it is my own blog, with my own personality,it has to be my personality, who else’s could it be? I will build the readership that is mine to have by being myself. I may not appeal to everyone but I will at least appeal to enough of the population to carve out a nice piece of the pie for myself and along with that the search engines will find me too. It’s inevitable. I am myself and no one else will have a blog exactly like mine and that is what people are attracted to, uniqueness, and that is what search engines look for too. Unique content! Viva La Difference. We have the best jobs in the world never boring, stagnant or predictable. It’s one new toy after another to play with and the only way we can not be successful is not to play at all
Sally Morris
July 16th, 2008 at 8:07 am
I am in the early stages of blogging, but am finding that some people are finding their way to my site. Thanks for your input on this subject.
August 21st, 2008 at 2:20 am
Bloging is an important part of business – although far too many people get it wrong. If you open a business blog you have to keep it updated and forget about selling blog posts if you want to appear as a professional business.
September 8th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Great! thanks! blogging is just one way of marketing and getting clients yet a good source of clients from other parts of the world.
December 22nd, 2008 at 9:23 am
I to am just starting to blog, We do have customers coming but not at the rate of most. I am really trying to get the agents that work for me to blog also.
December 27th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Jay, it sounds to me that you have been successful with your blog not soley because of excellent writing such as Greg Swan nor writing completely off topic. I think it is the aggregation of both real estate related information and your off the wall meanderings. I find myself reading your blog fairly often and occasionally commenting. I would like to say great job and keep up the work.