Ideas For Getting Readers For Your Real Estate Blog: Part 1

By NikNik · November 4, 2007 · 12 Comments 

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

5. 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.

Real Estate Bloggers Participate In Blog Action Day

By NikNik · September 30, 2007 · 4 Comments 

If you have been thinking about ways in which you can make a positive environmental impact, then I have a simple suggestion for you….participate in Blog Action Day.

What is Blog Action Day?
On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite by publishing posts which call attention to our environment. Major blogs have signed up to participate, including Lifehacker, Dumb Little Man, and Lifehack.org. Real Estate blog friends include: RE Revealed, Agent Solutions and Every Kid Deserves a Yard.

How can I get involved in Blog Action Day?
The best way to participate is to publish a post on your blog which relates to an aspect of our environment that you are passionate about. For example, if your blog focuses on real estate technology then write about a new technology which makes real estate more environmentally friendly, or perhaps sustainable real estate practices. There are numerous articles on the web about real estate going green. Or check out the following ideas:

1. Smart Home Improvement
2. Products and services for an eco-friendly household
3. Realtors Go Green (businesses making a difference in their local area)
4. Homeowners Go Green: tips real people can do to make a difference everyday
5. Green architecture and changes made in housing developments
6. The Green Commute: lessening your fuel impact on the environment
7. The Green Roof: Urban dwellings establish green roof system
8. Solar Powered Credit for Homeowners offered by PG&E
9. Local Threatened or Endangered Species
10. Developers face eco-friendly rules for building

Register your blog
Before writing your post I urge you to visit BlogActionDay.org to learn more about this environmental call to action, as well as register your blog. The site is keeping track of all the blogs that have committed to participating. Visit http://blogactionday.org/commit to register.

Other things you can do
You can also participate in Blog Action Day by posting a banner on your site or by donating your day’s blog earnings to an environmental charity of your choice.

Why Ubertor For Your Next Real Estate Website?

By Reggie · September 27, 2007 · 2 Comments 

Occasionally here at MyTechOpinion - Technology for Real Estate we will invite a guest writer from a top real estate technology company. This week I am pleased to announce that Stephen Jagger from Ubertor has the spotlight. (By the way…Ubertor also provides SingleProperty websites that allow you to keep all the data within your original site, while having a domain go directly to your single property site.)

Reggie asked me to write a post about what makes Ubertor real estate agent websites so different from our competitors. Here are a few points that make us different. To really get a feel for it, feel free to order a website on our system and you will get the first 30 days free. What a great way to try us out.

1. Google Webmaster Guidelines
We have built our real estate agent websites to follow Google’s http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35769
http://www.brianbecker.ca/
http://www.sellwithstratton.com
http://www.loftsvancouver.com
http://www.jameswarren.ca

3. Integration
Our system has the ability of being integrated into Google Sitemaps, Google Maps, Feedburner.com plus you can post any widget that you like into your website. It is quick and easy to manage.

4. IDX Compatibility
We have created the system so that any agent anywhere can use it. Want to have your areas property search built in? No problem, you can use our MLS tab within the control panel to add your MLS property search or the IDX feed of your choice. Here are some examples:
http://www.sandiegocastles.com/ - San Diego, CA
http://www.jeffandsteve.com/ - Palo Alto, CA
http://www.moveuputah.com/ - Draper, UT
http://www.historicmodern.com/ - Okeechobee, FL

5. Flexibility
Without using CSS you can add pages, delete pages, change page names, add banner images, remove the banner completely, flip the template colors, plus much more. The system is built to give you as much flexibility as possible so that you can have a unique look and feel for your website.

There is so much that can be done with an Ubertor website and so many reasons why you should have one. From a dollar point of view we are so confident that you will love our product we will give you the first 30 days free. Plus there is NO Setup Fee, No Contract and No Obligation. Check us our here http://www.ubertor.com/

Here is an interview I did with the Real Estate Channel that answers some more questions about Ubertor:

Here are some testimonials about our product:

“This is just a little note to let you know how pleased I am that I made the move to Ubertor. As you know I had a website designed, built and marketed professionally some years ago. This site was and is a great source of business for me so I was really nervous about changing anything. I wondered, why mess with something that is working? However the site was hard to work with and I had to pay people to do changes to the site, upload photos, etc. etc. I was not skilled enough to do my own work on it. My new Ubertor site is great! It doesn’t take much training to be really good at managing my own site! I am really happy with it.
I still stay up were I was in the search engines too.”
Trish Anderson, RE/MAX All Points
Burnaby, BC

“Ubertor is a small Real Estate software provider based out of Vancouver, Canada that is definitely worth checking out if you’re looking a simple, all-in-one solution to get your real estate business on the Internet.”
Joel Burslem - FutureOfRealEstateMarketing.com
Portland, Oregon

“Ubertor’s product was the first I found that offers the flexibility I desired. The sites are simple enough for the novice yet offer the more sophisticated user the tools required for full content control, such as access to code and the ability to add and edit pages and site navigation. Of course, your featured homes presentation software is among the best I have encountered.”
Kris Berg, Prudential California Realty
San Diego, California

“This has become the best RE sales tool that I have ever invested in! I have referred other fellow agents within my office to their services & they all have been equally impressed. I must say I LOVE my website & the results it gets! Ubertor was so easy to work with in tweaking my site & their support is super! Their excellence continues to exceed my expectations. Use them they are GREAT!!!”
Steve Church, The Muljat Group
Bellingham, Washington

Real Estate Bloggers: Increase Your RSS Subscribers with Facebook

By NikNik · September 12, 2007 · 6 Comments 

If you are a member of Facebook, you have most likely been hugged, poked, or even superpoked by now. With over 2000 applications available on Facebook, it can be a daunting task to uncover the ones actually worthy of installing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for fun and interesting…and covet my iLike Music Expert status. But recently I’ve taken advantage of a fairly new application that real estate bloggers may enjoy and benefit from. The Blog Friends application allows you to share your blog and feed with your Facebook friends, and your friends’ friends.

With Blog Friends, you can:

1. Track blog posts made by friends—on topics that interest you
2. Display those blog posts on your profile page
3. Increase your network of friends with additional blog exposure
4. Increase your RSS feed count with RSS feed icons on Facebook

So real estate agents, if you are already on Facebook, this seems like a win-win application to take advantage of now! Viral marketing techniques are often criticized and the word “viral” alone calls out for hand sanitizer. That’s why I prefer the term “spiral”. Spiders work quickly and efficiently when making their webs, so why shouldn’t bloggers do the same. If a spider can utilize the wind to effectively to carry its adhesive thread…then its only fitting to make Facebook’s technology work for real estate bloggers. So consider installing the Blog Friends application and let the wind carry your thread.

RSS Feeds: Double the Fun with the Common Feeds List

By NikNik · August 13, 2007 · 2 Comments 

Now when you build your subscription list of RSS Feeds in Internet Explorer 7, you can access the same list within Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. Access your important real estate information (like Real Estate Tech Tips from MyTechOpinion) in both places by sharing one RSS Feeds subscription list via the Common Feeds List in Microsoft Windows. The Common Feeds List is used by programs such as Office Outlook 2007 and Internet Explorer 7 as a common location for RSS Feeds information. So, when you add an RSS Feed to any program that uses the Common Feeds List, that RSS Feed is available in all programs automatically. If an RSS Feed is deleted from the Common Feeds List, it will also be removed from Office Outlook 2007. You can change your current settings within the Advanced Options dialog box to begin this synchronization within Explorer and Outlook (see directions below). If you have not started a RSS Feed subscription list you will be prompted to synchronize by a dialog box with the first RSS Feed you choose to add.

Synchronize my Outlook RSS Feed subscriptions with the Common Feeds List

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Other tab, under General, click Advanced Options.
3. Under General settings, select the Sync RSS Feeds to the Common Feed List check box.

Stop synchronizing my Outlook RSS Feed subscriptions with the Common Feeds List

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Other tab, under General, click Advanced Options.
3. Under General settings, clear the Sync RSS Feeds to the Common Feed List check box.

Know any real estate bloggers?

By NikNik · August 3, 2007 · 9 Comments 

Well, we sure do now! The MyTechOpinion team made their way across the bay to take part in the Inman Bloggers Connect festivities and conference. The usual suspects were present (Reggie, Chad, & myself). But in hopes of turning my business partner (and virgin blogger) onto blogging, I brought along my collaborator in crime, Sarah.

We arrived at the Beers & Bloggers party at the Thirsty Bear in San Francisco to find the shindig in full swing. There wasn’t much room to really work the crowd, so we corralled ourselves into a little corner up front and considered ourselves greeters. At any rate, it turned out to be a great spot, as Louis Cammarosano from HomeGain was the first to connect with us. As we suspected, Joe and Rudy from Sellsius, were a kick in the pants…literally!!! We enjoyed a few “small world” realizations as Trulia’s Jamie Glenn and I appreciated our hometown charm gone wild, and Pat Kitano and Sarah initiated a high school reunion for 2!

Joe and Rudy offered us a ride on the BlogTour bus to the Trulia party at John Colins …but we passed after they said Sarah could drive. After arriving safely (via Bill the taxi man), things turned dangerously hot upstairs with condo kings Tony from CondoDomain and Adam from Condo.com. Canada was well represented with pro bloggers Stephen and Mike of Ubertor, and Sara and Sheldon of The Edmonton Real Estate Blog. A special thanks to Stephen, as his out of town insistence on after party hot spot, The Clift, proved to be one memorable evening.

As for the conference the following day, we found Mary McKnight’s advice and tips to be on point. So I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more questions for post titles here in the future. Overall, it was great experience for enthusiastic real estate bloggers of any level. Sarah (our virgin blogger) came away with enough helpful information and inspiration to want to jump into the blogosphere with both feet! I’m sure she’ll have a few friends along the way to support her.

See more photos here.

Jott: Voice to Text Service

By Reggie · April 8, 2007 · 3 Comments 

Does your Real Estate business keep you moving? If you’re like most real estate agents, you could use an assistant for recordkeeping alone. Although often times the expense is too big of a barrier. Introducing a new FREE service by Jott Networks! Jott allows anyone to send email messages to themselves, colleagues, customers or groups by voice. Registered users simply dial 877-568-8486, 24 hours a day. Once the system answers, say the name of the person or group you want to email. Jott will then confirm the name back to you. Then simply speak your message and Jott will use a combination of machine and human transcription to convert your voice to text. Jott records in 30 second clips.

Interested in the technology, but still wondering how this can really help your business? Imagine going through your day, calling Jott from your mobile speed dial as you need to record important expenses, create to-do lists, set goal planning ideas, or send important emails. You may even record a personal memo as you preview a home, commenting on specific features your buyers will appreciate. How about logging the FSBO you drive by and create a reminder for follow up later that day. Maybe even write your next blog article as you are stuck in traffic.

If you would like to review a previously recorded Jott message, simply access the “JottBox” by calling 866-JOTT-BOX. From there, you can listen to all recorded messages and forward them out to your contacts as needed.

If you‘re a frequent reader of MyTechOpinion.com, you’ll remember an article we covered on a similar technology called E.V.A. The EVA system uses pure human translation via a dedicated transcriptionist. However the service has a monthly cost, similar to a cell phone. For those that do not want to undertake another reoccurring bill, Jott is worth looking into!

Searching for the perfect domain name for your Real Estate Website

By Reggie · March 1, 2007 · 2 Comments 

PacificIT on Blogging for Brokers

By Reggie · February 17, 2007 · 1 Comment 

Robert Sanzalone has a wonderful presentation developed for Insurance Brokers on the benefits of Blogging. After reviewing this PowerPoint, you’ll too learn what Robert realized…the included concepts can relate to almost every business sector, especially real estate. Read Robert’s article titled “Successful Online Marketing Strategies and Blogging For Brokers”

Be My Blogger Valentine

By NikNik · February 14, 2007 · 6 Comments 

Does your real estate website provider supply you with prewritten content?

By Reggie · December 19, 2006 · 6 Comments 

Thanks to the Blog Swap RSS Pieces put together, Stephen Jagger of Ubertor is our guest today. Ubertor serves the real estate industry with agent and broker software. I would like to thank Stephen! Here is his post:

Stephen Jagger, Ubertor - Many of real estate website providers supply prewritten canned content on the web sites they sell to real estate agents. This canned content comes in many forms:

• Free Reports
• Top Tips
• Buying Tips
• Selling Tips
• plus much more…

Google says “we try hard to index and show pages with distinct information“.

What does that mean?

Canned content, generic content and content provided to you is not helping you… but actually hurting you.

Write your own Free Reports, Top 10 Tips, Sellers Bonus Material, etc… be courageous, be opinionated, take a risk, tell people what you think and be UNIQUE.

Google, Yahoo and MSN are looking for unique, quality content that they can provide to their users. Someone searching for Vancouver Real Estate is looking to find the best website about that topic. The search engines are looking to find that website (actually the top 10 under than term). To get your website to come up under the keyword term you are trying to target start by reviewing these points:

1. Start Blogging
2. Google likes sites of at least 100 pages and pages of 300-500 words/page
3. Get rid of your canned content and write your own
4. Write about the term you want to be found under
5. Write about the term you want to be found under again
6. Comment on other blogs that compliment your industry
7. Use WordTracker.com or a service like it to view actual searchers searching for that term
8. Engage your visitors, request comments, feedback, questions
9. Keep your solds within your website - never delete or hide them
10. Blog, Blog, Blog and then do it again

Blogging has proven to be the most effective way to gain exposure within the search engines.

The real key: Write for your readers - then review for the search engines! - not the other way around. Google’s mantra is “Be Good Not Evil” Bloggers’ mantra is “Write for your Reader, Good will follow”

Take a look at what the other real estate bloggers had to say that participated?

Transparent Real Estate’s Pat Kitano vs. Zillow’s Drew Meyers

RSS Pieces’ Mary McKnight vs. Future of Real Estate Marketing’s Joel Burslem

St Paul Real Estate Blog’s Teresa Boardman vs. Phoenix Real Estate Guy’s Jay Thompson

3 Ocean Real Estate’s Kevin Boer vs. SLC Real Estate’s Nigel Swaby

Issaquah Undressed’s Larry Cragun vs. Maury Properties’ Andrew Maury

Chicago Home Weblog’s Geno Petroche vs. NY Houses 4 Sales’ Christine Forgione

Jonathan Dalton’s Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Blog Jonathan Dalton vs. Bonnie Erickson’s Real Estate Snippets Bonnie Erickson

The boys of Sellsius vs. Real Estate Tomato’s Jim Cronin

ML Podcast’s Michael Price vs. FamousAgents.com’s Elise Wright

My Tech Opinion’s Reggie Nicolay vs. Ubertor’s Steve Jagger

Redfin’s Glenn Kelman vs Rain City’s Ardell DellaLoggia

CondoDomain’s Anthony Longo vs. miOaklandCounty’s Maureen Francis

The San Diego Home Blog’s Kris Berg vs. Urban Dig’s Noah Rosenblatt

Podcasts Demystified - Part 2

By Reggie · November 25, 2006 · 2 Comments 

Ok, so in “Podcasts Demystified - Part 1” I talked about Podcasts and the brief history behind them. I also looked into how consumers find published Podcasts. So it seems logical that in Part 2 of this article I should look at how a Realtor would go about creating a Podcast?

Self Production
If you are on a tight budget, and would like to try producing your own Podcast you will need a few things. To start you’ll need a USB Headset Microphone, MP3 recorder, Web host & RSS Feed.

1. Start by connecting your USB Headset microphone to your computer.
2. Install a MP3 recorder. If you need one, try Audacity, a free software for recording and editing sounds. Use Audacity to record and save your message. Remember to make sure your audio adds value. For example, in Real Estate you may want to cover broad aspects of real estate and the economy, home buying and selling tips, and most importantly local market conditions.
3. Upload your newly created MP3 to your Web host. (Try Podblaze if you need a free host)
4. Now create a RSS feed. If you’re not sure how, try TD Scripts RSS Feed Generator or FeedForAll.

Professional Quality Production
To maximize the quality of your messaging I recommend the following route. One company that I’ve been watching is Real Pro Systems. They feature a product called “The Agent Webcast” that enables real estate agents to have a high quality audio production for their website. Real Pro Systems provides questions that emphasize the agent and their market. The agent simply answers the questions they’ve received from Real Pro Systems over the phone. The call is recorded and converted into a high quality production that has the feel for a live radio show. Click here to listen to a demo of “The Agent Webcast”.

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