How can you accomplish this without spending money and time you don’t have? The answer is by incorporating a content marketing (blogging) strategy into your real estate marketing.

“But I’m not a very good writer. How will I be able to come up with new topics?”

This is one of the most common objections / questions many Realtors have when it comes to blogging. But fear not! The Internet allows you to easily access real estate information and topics that are readily available to anybody who can operate an Internet browser.

The following are some great resources for you to get inspiration for fresh and continuous blog content.

1. FrogPond – Here you can find a wide array of real estate topics written by some of the industry’s smartest minds. This is a great place to get inspiration from. But remember, always cite your sources!
2. REALTOR Content Resource by HouseLogic – This is a great all-in-one resource for ready-to-use articles and content related to home buying and selling.
3. Inman News – One of the best sources for Real Estate news and related topics.
4. Your local Convention & Visitor’s Bureau website – An area’s dedicated tourism website is geared towards getting people interested in what the state has to offer. Many of these sites also have specific pages dedicated to entire neighborhoods. This is the perfect place to get ideas for neighborhood-focused articles to show Buyers what the area has to offer! Remember to always cite your sources, and don’t take anything word for word.

What are some of YOUR favorite resources for collecting ideas for topics on your Real Estate Marketing blog?

The post 4 Ways to Find Free Content for your Real Estate Marketing Blog appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Whatever the reasons for lacking a blog, “content marketing” is essential to add to your site to set you apart from your competitors.

The following are 4 reasons you need to incorporate content marketing in your real estate marketing strategy:

1) It builds TRUST
It’s hard for potential home buyers to go an entire day without being bombarded with some type of advertisement to buy a new home. This has caused potential buyers to always have their guard up, wondering, “What’s the catch?” Providing consumers with helpful content shows that you are genuinely interested in helping them, and also allows them to find your content when THEY want it. If you write content based on what you know and what you are good at, the consumers will be able to see that you are a trusted resource instead of some greasy salesperson with malicious intentions.

2) Content Marketing is FREE
Not only is blogging a great real estate marketing technique, it also requires no monetary investment on your part. The only thing it will cost you is the time it takes you to research your desired topic and type it out. What’s better than effective marketing? FREE effective marketing.

3) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Blogging isn’t just a platform for you to get your opinions in front of potnetial buyers, it’s a way to boost your website’s search ranking as well. If you have already begun a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) program, incorporate your target keywords into your blog posts at least a few times. Not only does this show the search engines what your article is about, it also helps you keep your content on-topic and relevant for your target market.

4) People like to share good content
By adding social media buttons to your blog posts, you allow people to share your content with their social networks as well. WordPress and many other blogging platforms automatically include these buttons in your blog posts in order to make it as easy as possible for others to share your quality content. A well written blog piece can take on a life of its own after people begin to share it!

When it all comes down to it, the best rule of thumb to remember in your new content marketing is to write about things that people want to hear, and stay focused on your target market. If you are a Real Estate Agent, writing articles on video games will likely fall on deaf ears. Keep the content interesting, unique, and beneficial, and you will see great results for your real estate marketing!

The post 4 Reasons you Need a Content Marketing Strategy in your Real Estate Marketing appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.

Early on, agents building a blog might feel like they are speaking to an empty room

For all the benefit it has for agents, the Internet can also be a brutal place. And agents wbo blog are agents that put themselves in the center of the storm. Blogs take a while to mature, and along the way, every real estate blogger will deal with languishing in obscurity, cutting criticism, and a lack of motivation. Here’s a guide to handling the growing pains along the way, but keep this in mind too: the payoff is worth it. Those bloggers that can weather the rough, early days, will be rewarded with a collection of strong content that attracts new readers, promotes discussion and feedback, improves search engine ranking and ultimately generates new business.

1. Get used to speaking to an empty room.
If there’s one thing that kills a blog in its early days, it’s this: agents put tons of effort and research into a post only to look at the stats the next day to see that no one read it. Discouraged, they quit blogging altogether.

This is the wrong approach to take, and it’s the only sure way all that hard work put into those first posts is wasted. Blogs take a while to get indexed by a search engine and to develop a following. Those first posts are always going to fall on deaf ears, but they’re the necessary steps to building an audience. Keep at it. In time, your work will circulate and you’ll develop a following. Try to make your first posts evergreen- write about content that’s relevant at any time. That way, when you do develop a readership, you can link back to the early content and get it read then.

2. Develop a thick skin.
There’s something about the anonymity of the Internet that brings out the worst in people. Undoubtedly, you will get “flamed” at some point, the victim of a scathing, personal diatribe posted to your blog that probably goes so far to question your worth as a human being. Get used to it. It’s the cost of doing on the business on the Internet. And just wait until your content gets picked up by sites like Digg and Reddit– you’ll be subject to the most vituperative attacks you’ve likely ever seen. Accept that the benefit of getting on these sites – lots of new traffic and inbound links – is well worth the insult.

A cautionary note: don’t over censor your blog. Separate careless attacks from thoughtful criticism. Readers can sense when your blog is filtered; remember, you don’t want this to be a pure PR piece for yourself. Respond to criticism and learn from it, but don’t be afraid from putting it on your site.

3. Keep posting.
You’ve worked hard to develop readership and subscribers, and nothing loses them faster than an extended hiatus in your posting. So give them fresh content. Generate new ideas for features – links of the day, ask the expert – anything to keep them coming back. The search engines notice, too. Stop posting too long and your new content will stop getting indexed and your rankings will fall. It’s important to post at least three times a week – anything less and you may struggle to keep your readers.

The post Dealing with the dark side of real estate blogging appeared first on Real Estate Marketing and Property Marketing Blog by Single Property Sites.