The starting point for real estate bloggers (or any blogger for that matter) is enthusiasm for the subject. It isn’t necessarily a requirement that you currently work in the industry however you should have some personal knowledge and interest in whatever you’re going to write about. The beauty of real estate blogging is that you have a vast array of topics to choose from due to the vast scope of the industry. You can cover commercial, residential, local, national, finance…the list goes on and on. Topics abound in the real estate sector and are just sitting there waiting for you to come along.
Topic Development
So what are you going to write about? I happen to have some ideas for you. You might start a blog that focuses on government oversight and financial fraud within the industry. You’ll have all of the content you need to keep very busy while helping your readers in the process. Alternatively, your blog might revolve around a particular style of architecture. I personally love Victorian era homes so if you start a blog about them, send me a link. You might provide information on the best or most affordable locations to live or cover. How about covering the most exclusive luxury homes out there? Most people love to see mansions and dream about owning one. Two growing trends – eco-friendly buildings and homes suitable for retirement lifestyle also make good subjects for the aspiring real estate blogger.
Financial concerns can be basis of a blog providing tips and advice on getting a mortgage and saving money for those seeking to buy a new home.? Like to travel and have the means to do so? How about covering locations around the world of interest to other travelers? These are just a few topics that you might consider when starting out and there are a thousand others as well. You just have to jump in and start doing it.
Content Development
Publishing interviews with industry leaders and real estate experts or having someone in the industry write as guest blogger will add great value to any blog. In return, these folks (typically) will expect to get a link back and a strong recommendation for readers to visit their own website. You might not land Donald Trump for an interview but it never hurts to ask either. Seek out the biggest fish you can and go after them with a vengeance. Your credibility and exposure will grow over time as a result if you’re successful in gaining just a few expert interviews each year. There are even sites out there that will help you find guest bloggers. BlogWorld is (of course) also another great way to network and meet other bloggers that might be willing to write a few pieces for your blog. You’ll find that there are many very generous people in the blogging community that are willing to help beginning bloggers. All you have to do is ask!
More on Content
Content of real estate blogs becomes more relevant, original, informative, and compelling when images, video and graphics are used so make sure you use them frequently. These are as effective as text and equally as important for tagging with keywords. People enjoy viewing pictures and videos reflecting different lifestyle choices, design features and locations so this type of content is likely to stand out on social networks and various bookmarking sites.
Community Development
Blogging is an interactive occupation. When real estate bloggers invite comments, welcome opinions and encourage queries, more readers can participate and get responses. So make sure you get your readers involved on your blog. This is crucial to your long-term success.
Get active on those social media sites out there. Establish yourself as an authority on real estate (in whatever sector you’re covering) and offer advice to others frequently. Make sure you visit other industry blogs as well and get to know the owners. If you participate on their blogs, in most cases they’ll return the favor.
Advertiser Development
When a real estate blog has sufficient content and traffic to benefit from advanced monetization, you need to seek out advertisers to keep the lights on. Financial products and relevant industry services are most likely of interest to your readers so make sure that prospective advertisers know who you are. They’ll gladly pay well to reach your readers if you can provide them with some demographics and/or analytic data for your blog.
Conclusion
Real estate blogging is most profitable when a blog stands out for having content that is relevant, original, informative, and compelling. Create a niche blog and your audience will be well defined. This is particularly useful when selling advertising. With enthusiasm and originality it is possible to make an impact and achieve great success as a real estate blogger. Hopefully some of these ideas will help you along the way.
Jason Carr is the founder of urThots.com launching at BlogWorld 2010. Be sure to stop by Booth #417 at the show for some free stuff and to check out the new kids in town.
Image Credit: Fotolia
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