How Do I Use Blogging?
One of my favorite “uses” for a blog is to educate my readers … my clients and my potential clients (and maybe even the occasional agent). However, sometimes drumming up new and educational content on a regular basis can be a bit challenging. Yet, I am CERTAIN that you are still replying to phone and email inquiries on a regular basis, right? How many times do get an email asking a question, go to your sent box and scan for the last email you sent answering that question, copy a bulk of that answer and send it as the answer to the new inquiry.You THINK you are clever and saving time by recycling a previous email answer … but you can do better.
Here is post #2 in the “Top 10 Ways to Use Blogging in Real Estate” series:
Answer Real Estate FAQ’s Just Once
- Write a list of all the FAQ’s that you answer on a regular basis. Some great FAQ’s could be:
- How do you get paid as a Buyer/Listing agent?
- What is up with [x] neighborhood? – I know you ALL have that “one” neighborhood that no one seems to “get”.
- What happens once the contract is accepted (buyer/seller)
- What are property taxes in that area?
- Why do I need to talk to a lender BEFORE I look at homes?
- How long does it take to buy/sell a house
- Tackle each question, one at a time, and answer it as a blog post. Not only does this help you answer that FAQ once, but this can be an excellent source of “blog fodder” for your blog.
- Link to other related FAQ’s at the end of each FAQ post. Once you have answered several FAQ’s, you can start interlinking them.
Wouldn’t it be nice to answer your frequently asked questions just once? Wouldn’t it be nice to say,
“That is an excellent question. In fact, I just wrote and published an answer to that very question.”
… and then direct them to the post that you wrote for their answers?
Survey says … YES! That would be very nice.
Using Your Blog to Answer FAQ’s Has Multiple Benefits
- You have just freed up more of your time to play on Twitter. No, I mean, you have just freed up your time to do MORE money making activities.
- You have impressed your client or potential client by directing them to something that YOU wrote and PUBLISHED.
- You have proven yourself as a competent and “on top of it” real estate expert – answering their questions before they even asked them.
- You have now pointed them to your blog. Chances are they will hang around there reading other things you wrote (like the posts that you linked to at the bottom of the post…). If they are not your clients yet, they may even jump on your IDX and look for homes … or request a CMA.
- You will now look at all the questions that people ask you as an excellent resource for blog ideas.
- You can now use your FAQ posts as a great “drip campaign” for your SOI (sphere of influence) and/or potential clients.
Even if all you do is answer FAQ’s on your blog (and maybe throw in a market report or two…) your blog will become a great and informative resource for your clients.
What are some of YOUR FAQ’s that would be a great blog post?
Other Posts in This Series:
Top 10 Ways to Use Blogging in Real Estate: Introduction
Top 10 Ways to Use Blogging in Real Estate: #1 Use Blogging as a Farming/Niche Tool
Note: Next week’s Top 10 Ways to Use Blogging in Real Estate post will be written by the one-and-only Jay Thompson. I am looking forward to his contributions!
