Ideas For Getting Readers For Your Real Estate Blog: Part 1
By NikNik · November 4, 2007
Is there a science to getting readers for your blog? Do you have a plan when it comes to gaining readership and blog exposure? Whether you pick and choose your strategies to create a thoughtful plan, or round up every tactic in the book…..there is a method to your madness. We may not go about it the same way, so I’ve decided to collect as many ideas for gaining blog readers as I can find, or stand. Take ‘em, leave ‘em or add to them. I’ll keep the list going as long as I can, and with that, here are the first 5.
- Add your blog address to your business card & other marketing. Whether you are farming an area, marketing to your sphere, or meeting new potential clients, this is a sure fire way to get the word out. And with the holidays approaching, be sure to have a stack of cards on hand for all those special events.
- Got RSS? You have an RSS feed on your blog, but are you making good use of it? I suggest downloading an RSS feed image that is obviously recognizable and place it toward the top of your blog so your readers can easily subscribe. Don’t make feed subscription a game of hide and seek. Try Feed Icons or Bittbox for RSS icons and trick out your feed with Feedburner.
- Custom Widgets: Create a custom widget and place it on your blog for your current readers to download and place on their blogs. Now your content is accessible to people that may not otherwise know what great info you have to offer. To get started creating your custom widget, visit Widgetbox or Spring Widgets.
- Social Bookmarking & Tagging: Using social bookmarking sites like Digg, del.icio.us and StumbleUpon not only allows users to store, organize, share, and search “bookmarks” of web pages, but there are other benefits to be had. Two possible benefits of social bookmarking are helping a website rank better on search engines, as well as increasing the amount of natural links to the website. And a fabulous benefit of tagging is that you can see how others have tagged their content and see which tags are most important. From here, you can see which tags are most popular, and how to incorporate those tags into your content to become noticeable to the most people. To learn more about Socical Bookmarking, watch this.
- Comments: If you are truly trying to create community centered around your blog, then you need to participate in the act of creating community. One way to do this is to join the conversations that are happening on other blogs. Visit other real estate focused blogs and make comments on articles you are interested in. Whether you support or disagree, let your voice be heard. The best commentators will take a stance and add upon it with another benefit or helpful resource. Before long, you’ll notice new visitors and comments on your own blog!
These ideas may seem simple and obvious to most, but they are only as good as the user that implements them. Stay tuned for Ideas #6-10 next week.
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Exactly what I needed. Can’t wait for next week!
I think some ideas on how to market the RSS would be great to learn.
Thanks Nik
Well, you asked Brian! And now my list is growing…looks like I may have to keep it going for awhile. Parts 2, 3, and 4 are already good to go!
As for getting your RSS extra exposure…creating a widget from Widgetbox will help with that. Additionally, BlogFriends on Facebook and your MyBlogLog community page display your feed.
But I would think more about your readers and the community you are creating on your blog. If you write for the people….they will come back again and again. AND if you provide them with the info they are looking for, they are sure to subscribe…just give that RSS icon the visibility it needs.
BTW-Love your new blog layout!
Nik
Great ideas! Something to add to #’s 1 and 2… make sure that you have, at the very least, your blog address on all your email correspondence. Even better? Plug in that feedburner link!
Very nice Sandi…I agree, make the most of every email! I have live links to my blogs and business website on my eStationery header, but adding the feed link would be a topper! Thanks for sharing.
Interesting stuff.
For may part, much as I enjoy having familiar heads pop by the blog, I’m not really in it for the readers. I want people to click and then ignore me and find the search tools, because then I get escrows. Readers are fun, but readers are for amateur hour. Home searchers are the ones with the money.
Sorry if I was obstreperous. I just do that so I get to say obstreperous.
John,
You can be obstreperous any time….I have 2 obstreperous kids running around here so I’m used to it!
As for gaining home searchers vs. readers, I want both. Subscribers, searchers, readers….whatever you call them….they are return visitors hoping to find useful niche information (Sacramento, in your case). If your visitors find you by searching for “Sacramento Real Estate”, they are interested, of course, in searching for homes in your area. But many times, potential clients may be preparing for a future move and in the process of collecting niche information about specific neighborhoods, schools, activities, etc. They may read your blog for several weeks, and yes, use your tools several times over, and finally make the call to you when they are good and ready….and they’ll be ready alright! I don’t know about your obstreperous self, but I’d be happy gaining the client who was well informed and ready to make the move.
Oh, and my Google word of the day was “octothorpe”. The only time I get to use it is when I’m calling Kaiser for my sick kids!
Nik
I use firefox and use the bookmark sync add on that really works great so del.ico.us is not the only solution.
I feel like I should be getting more traffic on my blog but not gettin at the moment. This post definitely helps out.
Thanks Hojin! I’ll keep the list of ideas growing. Stay positive…I’ve taken notice of you in the blogosphere…and if you keep building upon and implementing the strategies mentioned….the readers will come!
Great tips Nik. MyBlogLog is a good place to meet other like minded bloggers (and future readers). I also do the Meetup.com circuit (a lot of blogger groups).
We recently helped a broker set up her blog and she sent an email announcement to her clients telling them about her new adventure and asking them to stop by to say hello. Blogsigs in your email will also alert people to your blog.
Just wanted to say, love the information you have provided here.
I am an SEO’r based in Washington State and I have quite a few real estate clients. I will be coming back often for new ideas.
Thanks again,
Robert
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Thanks to NikNik over at MyTechOpinion for these tips on gaining readers for your real estate blog, tips…