Positive Real Estate Professionals

I recently had a chance to sit down with a Realtor® from Tulsa, OK named Lori Cain. As with all of these interviews, my questions were pointed at blogging. Below, you can read all of Lori’s answers to those pointed questions.

How did you start blogging?

I stumbled onto Active Rain and began reading blogs and learning how to blog. Writing actually comes pretty easily to me – it was just a matter of determining topics of interest and setting aside the time to blog. I had absolutely NO CLUE what I was doing when I started – and I’ve certainly seen an improvement with practice. It’s like riding a bike – ya gotta start out with training wheels until you feel confident enough to take them off. But, just “do it.”

The transformation that I’ve personally gone through in my “blogging experience” is almost indescribable. There is no better way to promote yourself, and if you’re not blogging, you’re simply missing the boat.

What happened then?

I began receiving positive feedback from my blog posts. I set them up to automatically go to Twitter and Facebook, but thought I was doing little more than “reminding” friends that I am an active, full-time Realtor. I was shocked when I ran into a former client who was reading my blog posts faithfully – she actually quoted some points I had made DEEP into a blog post. Then I posted a hyper-local blog post about a tree sculpture being crafted at a local park, and I received TWO inquiries related to that post within 24 hours – didn’t know these people at all – they just “found me on the internet.”  I picked up a listing that I can directly attribute to a particular blog post and also received an out-of-area inquiry in response to a tweet about a blog post.

I do maintain my AR blog, but it’s syndicated to go to my PREP site and personal web site. MY PREP site is so attractive and offers more features (event calendar, mortgage calculator, home search, text messaging, social media connections and more) that I have begun to ADVERTISE it instead of my AR blog. Do remember to advertise your blog in all that you do – in your e-mail signature, on printed ads, listing flyers, on your letterhead – everywhere you would normally advertise your phone number.

How did that help you?

The feedback definitely was incentive to continue blogging and treat it more like work – something I need to schedule time for daily, just as I would set aside time to write hand-written notes or make calls to my SOI. At first I felt like I was “playing on the computer,” but once I began to get positive feedback to my blogging efforts, I quickly realized that it was the cheapest and most effective form of advertising for me.  Seriously – it costs you NOTHING other than time and research; yet it’s the best bang for your buck (or time).   I concentrate on the geographic areas in which I farm. If there is a neighborhood meeting or festival, I will not just BE there, but I’ll take photos and blog about it. I constantly collect e-mail addresses and send links to my blog posts to remind people that I KNOW their area and am INVOLVED in their area.

What advice would you give other Realtors®?

Start blogging. There is no right or wrong way. Definitely seek advice/instruction about how to write your blog posts in order to get them indexed by the search engines, but in the beginning, just start writing. If one client doesn’t understand why earnest money is not held until closing, chances are other consumers have the same question. If Buyers have questions about what type of home inspections to do, what they’ll cost and why they should do them – write about it! Home Buyers and Sellers are hungry for information and they ARE searching the internet in an effort to be better informed. BECOME the expert that they’ll trust. Anticipate their questions and blog about them. Also do not just blog about your industry topics – write about your neighborhood, events and local topics of interest – even if it’s about a new restaurant or new locally-owned business. The more people see your name pop up, the more they are going to consider you a local expert. And, do keep a personal database of your blog posts – you will find that you will want to refer back to them in future posts and/or revise the information at a later date.

Is there anything you would like to add?

We all offer similar services. I may offer more personable and professional service than the next Realtor and I may offer more extensive internet advertising than the next. But, I think what will prompt prospective clients to call me is their trust in me – and their comfort level with me. If they’ve read a few of my blog posts, they’re going to feel like they already KNOW me and believe that I am a trustworthy person within my industry and knowledgeable about the areas in which I farm. So, I think blogging (and all aspects of Social Media) are about ENGAGING your target market and letting them get to know the personal side of you. So, go ahead and blog about your dogs or your children – blog about the parks you go to and what you are planning to cook for Thanksgiving dinner. Blog about a movie that you’ve seen and recommend. That may have nothing to do about selling real estate, but in addition to reading my industry-related blogs, readers are going to think, “she’s just like me,” and she would do a good job selling my home.

My “black cloud” is videos – I have yet to incorporate them into my blogs. But that’s my New Year’s resolution for 2010. I’m going to jump in and figure it out. A static photo just can’t possibly replace a 2 minute video explaining the components of contract negotiation. Videos, I believe, are the next logical step to TRULY engage your followers.

My last comment is that I think we could help one another by commenting on each other’s blogs and/or contributing articles. I have very strong opinions about what home inspections need to be done, what I would recommend my clients look for in a Lender and why I STRONGLY promote home staging.