Blogging, like social media, is a form of self-promotion that its proponents claim you must do if you’re to survive in today’s real estate market. On the other hand, the nay-sayers claim that blogging is already passé, and if you haven’t already started to blog, there’s no real sense in it at this late date.
Do I think it’s necessary to blog to survive? Absolutely not. Just as you don’t have to cold-call, door-knock, mass-mail, Twitter or Link-In. Blogging is simply another avenue to build your business; if it’s right for you, it’ll work for you. As with any other prospecting method, blogging is right for some… and not at all right for others. If it’s right for you, it truly can be a significant source of business for you; many real estate agents are finding their blog to be their most significant business source. Others, well, not so much.
It’s not hard to determine if blogging is right for you, really. Ask yourself:
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Do I like to write?
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Am I a reasonably good writer?
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Am I a decent speller and do I have a grasp of proper sentence structure?
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Am I reasonably computer-literate?
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Do I enjoy communicating with others online?
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Does the idea of sitting down several mornings (or evenings) a week to write a 300-500-word blog sound like something I’ll actually do?
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If I were asked right now to come up with four or five topics to blog about, could I?
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If I were sent out to spend a day in my favorite neighborhood, taking pictures, previewing homes, visiting the parks, shopping in the stores, eating in the restaurants—do I think I would come home with a sweet little list of interesting things I observed to write about?
Some agents simply aren’t suited to developing an online persona and that’s just fine! We all know agents who are delightful in person, but put them in front of a computer (after you’ve dragged them there kicking and screaming) and all that delightfulness quickly fades. They lose their spark and it’s obvious they’d rather be doing anything other than sitting at that keyboard.
Others tend to be far more delightful online (Brad Paisley’s song, I’m So Much Better Online, comes to mind!) than in person and can happily sit at a keyboard for hours at a time…and have to be dragged away kicking and screaming to venture out into the “real” world!
Of course, those are the two extremes and most of us fall somewhere in between. But you probably already know yourself well enough to determine if blogging is something you want to invest your time and energy in…or if that precious time and energy are better focused elsewhere. Trust that feeling.
Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored multiple books and courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm. The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.com or attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.
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