We can’t change the past.
Last week, I announced my impending birthday celebration here at AgentGenius. Yesterday came and went without much hoo-ha, jubilee, or commemorative speeches. I’m okay with that as I spent the day thinking about something Ken Brand said in the comments. The Brand Challenge. Ken wrote the following:
It’d be interesting to hear what you thoughts are about your very first posts. How your style, structure, approach, etc. has evolved. I’m saying you should write a post about it, I’m saying it’s crazy to look back at what you wrote a year ago and think about how you’d write it now.
But we can learn from it.
Ken’s idea caught my attention and I thought it might be a good exercise. Of course, I write at three main blogs, so I wondered how I should go about choosing which one to talk about. Being a blogging overachiever, I decided to dissect all three. Each one served a different purpose as I started them, so I thought perhaps the different perspectives of each might give a little insight into the who, what, why, how of each blog. In some cases, I skipped the first post (and will note that as such) as they weren’t quite posts, but rather introductions.
AgentGenius – The Stigliano Chronicles
Will the real Matt Stigliano please stand up?
My first ever post on AgentGenius (written September 22, 2008). I was nervous as hell writing this one. I had been speaking with Lani and Benn about the possibility of writing, but when it came down to it, I felt out of place. I was a new blogger surrounded by names that people talk about when they’re trying to quote the experts (my use of the word, not theirs). I didn’t know what to say, how to say it, or even how to use WordPress all that well. My first few posts probably drove Lani nuts as I would call her often to ask her “How do I do this?” Even then, I know she would sneak in at night and correct some of my more glaring mistakes in layout and coding. I had a lot to learn.
The post itself remains one of my favorites. I wanted to layout the direction for The Stigliano Chronicles and introduce myself to the readers and writers here and I think I accomplished that.
What do I like about it?
Definition: The post defines me rather quickly. The guy who writes lengthy posts. The former rockstar turned Realtor®. The battle of trying to find some sort of personal branding. The new agent.
What don’t I like about it?
Drab: The post doesn’t scream “read me” in any sense of the words. Although Lani designed the excellent header graphic, it looks stale by itself. Later I would take to finding pictures to adapt and place the banner over them in an effort to beautify the look. Lack of links. Links aren’t just good for SEO power, they also help give some decoration to you blog. They look nice and stand out. They make people want to know why you chose the link.
ActiveRain – San Antonio’s Rockstar Real Estate Agent
My second post on ActiveRain (written November 6, 2008). My idea in joining ActiveRain was to “cut my blogging teeth” so to speak. I had been blogging at AgentGenius for awhile, but my focus there was around new agents. ActiveRain was to be more about real estate. I had written a post on AgentGenius, “An Open Letter to New Agents…” and used this to build my second ActiveRain post. Same theory, different audience.
What do I like about it?
Concept: I like the theory of this post. I may actually revisit it soon in an attempt to bring back the idea, because I think it’s one that’s worth attention. One of my goals as an agent has been to speak to consumers from their viewpoint. I know it, because I’ve been there. I’ve been on the side of real estate where everything went wrong and the agent wasn’t so great and I wound up thinking that all agents behaved like this. I know differently now and I want the world to know.
What don’t I like about it?
Execution: The layout sucks (no justified text – ewwwww). There is nothing that makes me say “I wonder what this post is all about?” It reads like a rambling daydream with no clearly defined goals or ideas. I do tend to write somewhat rambling posts, but even for me this post is confusing. I wanted to squeeze everything into one paragraph and seem to randomly break each one into pieces so I wasn’t one continuous stream of words – but it didn’t work.
RErockstar.com – Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate.
One photo does not sell a home.
My second post on RErockstar.com (written September 2, 2008, but not truly published until January 4, 2008 when I launched the site fully). This post was actually inspired by something I had read by Matt Wilkins. This was my first post in which I used someone else’s writing to inspire a post of my own, something I do quite often and find very useful in my blogging. By reading other bloggers, I constantly find inspiration for my blogs. Seeing their thoughts and then asking myself, “How does this apply to my local area and my readers?” It has proven to be invaluable to me as a practice (especially when I’m stuck for a topic).
What do I like about it?
Conviction: This was probably the first post that I had some very strong opinions of something relating to what I think about the state of real estate. I was frustrated when I saw the listing mentioned and how it was presented to potential buyers. I hated that the client wasn’t getting what they needed in order to help sell their home and what I thought could be done to help present it in the correct light. (Interesting note: This property still has not sold.)
What don’t I like about it?
SEO: I missed the opportunity to take full advantage of SEO in this post. I made vague references to our “local” MLS, but never defined what was local. The title was good, but with some quality keywords, could have had more impact. I was attempting to sell myself without saying “Pick me! Pick me!,” but I didn’t take advantage of my ability to be known as a “San Antonio real estate agent” or other key phrases and words. The content is good, but with keywords and some work, this post could have been noticed more by the search engines and with that – people searching for agents to list their homes in San Antonio.
The Brand Challenge
So who else will take The Brand Challenge and take a look into your past to see what you can learn? It’s simple, costs nothing, and if you take it as an opportunity to improve upon past success and correct past mistakes, you’ll benefit in the long run. Just by looking back, I’ve come up with three good post ideas that I think I will cover in the near future. I was also able to remind myself of the importance of SEO-minded thinking in my posts (without going overkill) and what compels me to read a post (and hopefully a consumer). Each on of these tidbits will provide valuable resources today and tomorrow as I continue on my blogging expedition.
photo courtesy of IDS.photos
P.S. I have stolen Ken’s last name for the exclusive use of the new term The Brand Challenge – by no means have I stolen his soul, wit, or way with words. Now that I am finished with it, I relinquish his namesake back to Ken for his own use. Thanks Ken!
