Makes Me Think…
Every now and then I get asked a question that makes me think. Not that all questions are easy to answer but I do get asked some of the same questions over and over . . that is the subject for another post, I am thinking it would work best on the Real Estate Weenie.
I was asked to give a sample presentation today, to a group who is interested in having me do some web 2.0 type classes for their organization. I have a kind of overview presentation about marketing on the internet that lasts about an hour so that is the one I chose to present.
It went very well. When I was all finished the owner of the company asked me why I would share so many of my secrets with direct competitors. After I answered his question, he seemed satisfied with my answer but he asked once more, he may have asked three times. I am still not sure he understood my answer.
It Is Simple To Me
It is simple to me, none of what I do with my blog is a secret. Anyone can do what I do, and they can learn about it from many sources on and off the internet. I share my knowledge and experience with direct competitors in my own market place. Most never start a blog, and some end up starting but give up after three months because they did not achieve instant wealth fame and success. There are a few who take the information that I give them and add to it and end up building some mighty fine blogs.
There are bloggers in my market place who are very successful. They don’t take any traffic or business away from me and I am always happy to answer questions or share ideas with them. I learn just as much from them as they do from me.
The Peeps
Here is where the peeps come in. I did have a reason for putting the peep on this post. My blog is my unique voice and I am the only person who can write it. I am also the only person who can take my photos, and one of the few who would buy a package of peeps just to photograph them, without even really knowing what I would do with the photos. I think I have seven or eight of them scattered around the internet.
I recently found a direct competitor on Flickr. The other agent has different interests, belongs to different groups, and does not take the same pictures as I do, even when we both photograph the same subject. Who shoots a peep from behind, or a flower from the bottom up, or part of a building instead of the whole thing? Do other real estate bloggers write posts about socks and have photos taken of themselves wearing two pair of glasses? I do, and there is no rhyme or reason to it what so ever.
Some Try, But…
Some of my competitors try to imitate my blog, or almost copy it. My content is all out there for everyone to see, I don’t make any attempt to hide it. No one can have a blog just like mine, and would have more success if they stopped imitating and found their own voice.
Each of us has something unique and special to offer the world. There are so many ways to make connections through the internet we are really only limited by our imaginations and by how much time we have to generate content. There isn’t any one way, or one system that works for all. So no, I don’t worry about showing my competitors what I am doing and how it all works.
There are no secrets and I can not harm my own position by giving my direct competitors step-by-step instructions and by coaching them along the way. The blog works because it is real and helps consumers get to know me and trust me enough to pick up the phone or send and email asking for help with a real estate transaction. There is plenty of room for more blogs and enough business to go around.
