Paragraph 2- Tell me what you’re telling me

Paragraph 3- Call to action

1. Blogging Takes Too Much Time-Well, this is not so much a myth as it is a simple truth…in a way! Time is relative to how much effort you want to put in to something. Very few of my clients like to blog, therefore, it seems like it takes forever to publish a post. Blogging does not have to be just about you typing words…in fact it shouldn’t be!

2. I Can’t Blog Every Day-One of the biggest myths out there. Do you have a list of vendors or folks that you rely on to assist you in your business? For Real Estate Brokers, we’re talking Lenders, Appraisers, Inspectors, Title & Escrow and even Attorneys! I bet they have something of value to contribute to your blog! How about grabbing an inspirational or humorous video from YouTube and posting one of those a week? Run a poll or survey…and the beat goes on!

3. No One Wants to Read My Blog-With an attitude like that…you’re probably right. But, if you are interested in building multiple relationships and separating yourself and your business from your competition, you’d better stop worrying about who’s not reading your blog and start worrying about who’s blogging in your industry and getting those customers!

4. Without SEO, My Blog Won’t Get Any Traffic-Getting the attentions of the Search Engines is a vital part of this process. That said, there are ways to create your own traffic and drive people to your blogsite…even if you ain’t on the first page of Goobinghoo. Syndicating your blog articles on Social Media Networks is always the first choice. Bookmarking is another great way to get your stuff read.  Building a subscriber base is paramount and using offline Marketing pieces like mailers, brochures and flyers with your sites address also helps with traffic. And of course, there is always paying for clicks and hiring someone to backlink the hell out of your site!!

5. I Just Don’t Think Blogging Works-I love this one! And for the 1.5% that are doing the 98.5% of the business out there…you have my permission to believe that! However, if you are looking to do more business or expand on an already successful marketing campaign with Blogging, let me give you these 6 thoughts…Blogging allows you to create: 

• Top of Mind Marketing-Daily interaction with your readers insures they are talking about you with their friends, family and co-workers.
• Pattern Interrupt Marketing-Shake up your database daily grind and give them a reason to think about you.
• Permission Marketing-Those who subscribe, fan, friend, follow and connect with you are giving you a big fat ‘Green Light’ to talk with them about your business.
• Word Of Mouth Marketing-Instead of hoping your database willhand out a few of your business cards, now they can simply give people they’re talking to your URL or Blogsite address!
• Return Marketing-Your articles will be read for days, months and years to come with the help of keywords and search terms you use. I get readers everyday from articles I wrote long ago!
• Credibility Marketing-Very much like return marketing, what you say sticks around and if your articles and posts have validity…you become viewed as an expert in your field…can’t be that!

What is Rapportive? 

As simple as they come…Rapportive is a sidebar piece that shows you everything about your contact right inside your inbox! Once set up, you can see multiple Social Media links, info and profile pics of the very person you are emailing at that moment. I think this is a great tool for networking and getting to know a little about the people who you converse with on a daily basis.

“Loaded with links so you can easily friend, follow and connect right from your inbox, Rapportive is a dynamic tool to simplify your inbound and outbound marketing world and filter it into a simple one-stop side bar area.”

Simply go to Rapportive.com and add it for FREE. You will not be disappointed and certainly will come to rely on this innovative tool for all your email needs. You’ll wonder how you ever got along without it once you see what this fun Social Media application can do.

If Social Media and Online Marketing are in any way a part of your mission to get more business…shouldn’t you have a business plan to achieve your goals?Unless you actually know where you’re planning on concentrating your marketing efforts the most, how many dollars you’re willing to spend on your Online Marketing and HOW MUCH TIME YOU’RE WILLING TO SPEND ON SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING…the answer is a resounding, YES!

“Always look to outsource any and all the stuff that takes up too much of your time and/or brain cells…both are in short supply as it is already, no need to lose anymore of either.”

Most every business has a plan…most every business owner does what they can to follow that plan…a majority of businesses fail because they didn’t follow that plan! If you have a Social Media Business Plan, what does it look like?

• Do you have a system in place to measuring your ROI? 
• Have you set up a daily posting schedule?
• Is your Online Marketing Platform too automated…or not automated enough?
• Are your tools adequate to handle your inbound/outbound needs?
• Can you handle the constant updates/upgrades/new products of the Social Media Networks you utilize?
• Is your Offline Marketing directly tied-in to your Online Marketing?

This has been a long time coming but over the next few days (or weeks) I will be moving mySeattleblogs.com from the FREE WordPress.com hosted platform to become a self hosted WordPress site (using BlueHost as my web host provider) and in the process, I will be documenting my travels. 

Fact is, the reason this has taken so long is that WordPress.com is such a fantastic service and has been so innovative in supplying upgrades and technological features that I’ve found little reason to move on! But, the time has come. I’ve always said in my classes and coaching engagements, “It’s about the content, not the platform!” Of course, having a nice site is a huge factor but it’s really the freedom to explore and utilize some cutting edge plugins and technology that has lead me to this point. Best part of all of this…I’m totally immersing myself in a new and more flexible way of offering a better product and service to those of you out there that are feeling like they are ready to grow too!

Stay tuned…this learning curve may have a few bumps along the way! I’m not a web developer or designer, far from it! No, I’m just a hard working Real Estate Small Business Owner with a deep desire to learn how things tic! And believe me, once I do, I’m going to share what I learned with all of you!!

Easy Question…Hard Answer! Doesn’t it seem interesting how some are doing so well and some are just having the toughest time? What sets these two situations apart? Is it marketing? Is it knowledge? Is it just plain ole’ hustle and fire? Maybe all 3. What’s the 1 thing you’d do to change your real estate market?

1. If I could do/have more_______________, I would make more sales!

2. I’d really like to concentrate on doing________________for my business.

3. I’d love to know how to__________________.

Take a few minutes (or as long as you want) to contemplate what you’d do to increase your sales and your market share! I’d be very happy to hear from as many as possible so don’t be shy! 

1. IT’S FREE!!!-This could be inserted anywhere on this list and should be the best reason of all…I guess that’s why it’s number 1. contemplating for a moment the amount of money I used to spend on advertising and offline marketing, it’s no wonder I embraced online marketing and Social Media the way I did! Fathom the amount of people you can reach on a well positioned Social Media Marketing Platform and it’s really a no-brainer!!!

2. IT’S EASY!!!-Yes, let the excuses fly! “I’m not tech savvy”. “I don’t know what to do”. Or my favorite excuse of all…”I don’t have the time”. Anything is hard the first couple of times you do it.  But, stick with it! You’ll find out you don’t need to be tech savvy and you will find out what to do if you just ask! And for excuse number 3…Here is the best part of Online Marketing…it will actually save you time! Don’t believe me…contact me and I will invite you to one of my classes to show you how!

3. IT’S EDUCATIONAL!!!-I often say, “Blogging and Social Media make you smarter.” Here’s why…your competition knows what you don’t! Now you may not care, but your future clients do! And guess who they are going to eventually work with?

4. IT’S INSTANTANEOUS!!!-There is no amount of offline marketing that can reach this broad of an audience at this speed and with this much efficiency! Creating an online platform to Communicate with a larger and larger Community to convey your Credibility and Create long lasting Business Relationships is so powerful…it simply cannot be ignored!

5. IT’S NOT GOING AWAY!!!-Today’s version of Social Media may not be the same in a few years…but it will be around! The way we interact and engage with our current and future business relations is here to stay! Avoiding or ignoring its implication in todays marketing landscape and the impact it will have on real estate in the future should be enough to send you running to learn all you can about how you can cement your place on a Social Media Marketing Platform!

CALL ME IF YOU NEED ANY HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PLATFORM…I’M HERE TO HELP!

Have you thought about hiring someone or outsourcing your online marketing? If you balance out the amount of money you could be making if you had an effective Online Marketing Plan vs. how little it costs to have a professional assist you and drive your social media fun bus…it’s kinda a no brainer!

Think about what it takes to have a successful and consistent online marketing campaign.

• Answering emails and focusing on your inbound traffic
• Writing in depth blog posts and concentrating on your outbound traffic
• Creating and sending enewsletters and getting a headache trying to figure out if you need more inbound and less outbound or vice versa!
• And of course, making sure you are always on the cutting edge of all things online marketing which changes ALL THE TIME!

My new business venture will of course have something to do with helping folks develop, create and publish content for their Blog and Social Media Networks, so naturally, I want the word ‘BLOG’ or ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’ in the name. Easier said than done! I’ve spent WAY TO MUCH TIME searching for domain names with those particular words and man oh man alive…they are few and far between. Even some really abstract variations on those words have been snatched up!

And the funny things is, when you actually punch some of these domain names into your browser…they’re not even live sites! Just folks buying up Domain Names and squatting on ‘em hoping someone will need them someday…well, I ain’t that desperate…yet!

Is the name of my new site that important? I think so! So I will continue looking for the name for a bit longer…I’ve been on GoDaddy for so long, I’m starting to see Danica Patrick’s image in my coffee! Or, perhaps I’ll just make up a crazy name like everyone else and let the chips fall where they may! What would you do? I’M ALL EARS!!!

$45.00 for 4 CE Clock Hours…Or, $25.00 if you don’t need clock hours and still want to learn the best practices for Blogging and Increasing Your Business!

In this Brand New 4 Clock Hour Class, we uncover, debunk and explore the science to creating your (real estate) blog posts. We will focus entirely on the art of Blogging including: