I am a Realtor - I Sell Homes
Published May 24th, 2007 in Beverly Hills MI Real Estate, Birmingham MI Real Estate, Blogging, Bloomfield Hills MI Real Estate, Buyer Information, Dmitry and Maureen, Metro Detroit, Real Estate Opinion, Royal Oak MI Real Estate, Seller Information, Troy MI Real Estate.
A few weeks ago another Realtor in the Birmingham MI real estate market referred to me derogatorily as a “blogger”, somehow implying that blogging is not something that a real estate agent does to sell homes. Oh, how wrong he is. And I am OK that he does not know better. Another victim of “Old School” thinking that traps many agents into using ineffective marketing tools. Great for me.
Yes, I write about real estate on this blog. Is that a bad thing? I write about the local market, a bit about our business practices, and I closely track the newest trends from across the nation in real estate technology and marketing. I don’t care if the people who read my blog actually buy or sell a home from me, though that is certainly appreciated. When we go on a listing appointment I always tell the prospective client that they can interview us on-line at miOaklandCounty.com. Most of our “secrets” can be found here.
How does this blog impact our business?
- It has given us great “Google Juice.” We listed a home on Poppleton Park in Birmingham on Monday this week. It is right on the park, which is a great selling feature. We put up a post about the house on Monday night on another blog we maintain, and a day later we were on page one of Google (more than once) for the term Poppleton Park. Kind of cool. If a prospective buyer were to google Poppleton Park, there is no way they would miss our listing. Compare that to using the term Poppleton Park in the newspaper. Not so effective, right?
- Google loves us for some big time key words like Birmingham, MI real estate and Bloomfield Hills real estate. There are hundreds of agents and brokerages competing to be on page one of google for those extremely competitive terms.
- This blog has introduced us to a wonderful network of agents across the US. We have an outstanding referral database.
- We are frequently testing out the latest real estate technology products. That helps us to expand and improve our services.
After two years of engaging in this activity, I know it is not for everyone. It is hard work and it has taken more hours of effort than I could begin to count to get the results we have gotten.
Long story short, I hope some day that gentleman will see that blogging is something that Realtors do as part of their business activities. It keeps clients informed about the market. It helps prospects understand the process of buying and selling a home. And it gives those interested in the process a place to ask questions and get answers.
Technorati Tags: blogging, real estate, birmingham mi real estate, poppleton park, real estate marketing
Photo “Slightly Confused” courtesy of Dano.
______________________________________________________________Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
Visit Website
Search for homes in Oakland County
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16 Responses to “I am a Realtor - I Sell Homes”
- 1 Pingback on May 29th, 2007 at 1:03 am
- 2 Pingback on Jun 1st, 2007 at 1:42 pm
- 3 Pingback on Jul 12th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Maureen- HOW TRUE! You’ve written a comprehensive mini-thesis on “why to write a RE blog” and I love it!
Look, many people in the industry don’t even KNOW what a blog is. There are people who snub their noses- but those are the people who couldn’t define SEO on a pop quiz, so it’s the blogosphere’s gain. Realtor Magazines are still teaching how to do a freakin’ signature on an email… there is a small minority that is on top of ALL of their marketing possibilities!
Great article, Maureen!
With a volume of thoughtful, informative and focused blog posts, I would say adding ‘terrific’ to the word blogger is applicable.
ARW, Thank you. You are right. This industry is being dragged along to use technology.
3c You are the best!
I love it when fellow “professionals” don’t understand blogging and underestimate “bloggers”. There is lender/real estate agent who emailed me to ask why I had a neighborhood blog and felt she needed to tell me that I was wasting my time… “people who blog must have too much time on their hands and not enough business”. This was a couple months ago…now she’s contacted me offering to write for my blog! It cracks me up.
Let the nay-sayers continue to under estimate the power of a well done blog.
Maureen - I think individuals that make such remarks are not comfortable with the paradigm shift that is taking place within the industry. When they make comments like that, it is only a statement of either fear or their hidden insecurities.
Keep on blogging and you will only be that far ahead of the curve.
Amen, Maureen! About six months ago, a local broker was overheard saying about my blog, “I would rather spend my time serving my clients and generating business”. I just last week took a listing where I competed with this broker. With all of the time that was freed up by his not blogging, you would think he could have perfected his listing presentation. Yet, my listing presentation addresses this very behavior he finds so ridiculous, in the context of the residual value that network, knowledge and exposure bring to my clients. He missed the clue train.
Maureen - Well written. Two months ago I would have doubted blogging. I am finding that it is a valuable tool to every day learning. Though some topics are beaten to death, they still draw attention; like Zillow or Redfin. Others are refreshing and informative. As with any level of intilectual communication, there are some that are simply out there. Where, I don’t know, offspring of Timonthy Leary. But, that’s part of the mix.
For the most part, I have learned more through blogging than I have in many formal classes. Keep up the good work.
Doug, I too have learned much through blogging. It has definitely exposed me to some great ideas and kept me on top of the latest developments in the industry. Glad you have joined the team!
Yeah, they are completely wrong. Blogging is one of the best ways for exposure in real estate, these days. I think I heard that upwords of 85% of people search for homes online. Why wouldn’t you want to have a realty blog? Keep up the great work!
MF, you have been such a force in the blogging world, and for that I am grateful!
Maureen: Really enjoy your thoughts. You are selling in my old stomping ground as a teen. Used to hang-out at some drive-in’s on Woodlward Blvd. Interesting to see the changes in the area.
Maureen, fantastic post. You speak the truth. Let the old schoolers think what they want… they’ll be out of business sooner than we will.
Blogging is one of the best ways for exposure in real estate, these days. Over 80% of people search for homes online. Why wouldn’t you want to have a realty blog? Keep up the great work!