I love the old cliche, “Do something even if it’s wrong!” I am a broker who needs to be creative and diligent in connecting with buyers and sellers, and rather than sit around scratching my bald head, I decided to launch my own small town online newspaper. I have a huge Internet presence already with my real estate sites, but I was convinced consumers wanted a good online newspaper that was easy to navigate, had good content (without the regular diet of negative stories), offered free classifieds (that are more powerful than Craigslist), offered a free online business directory, and gave non-profits the opportunity to publish articles and news so they can connect donors and volunteers with the needs.
Of course, the exclusive rights to advertise a real estate brokerage are mine. But this site is about so much more than just connecting with potential clients. It is about community service, helping local businesses, providing a very powerful forum for readers and writers, and much more.
I got on this before the Seattle PI shut down, and before we learned they would continue with an online presence. I’d like to think they are following my example, but I’m not so arrogant. It’s more about consumer demand and preferences, but I am having a ball with this online newspaper that has taken off like a rocket.
Call me crazy if you want to, but I’m going to do something, even if it is wrong. Oh, the newspaper, if you want to see what it looks like, is at Sequim-News.com.
ryan hartman says:
Chuck,
It’s awesome. Really. Tons of juicy content — your long tail should be wagging hard soon…but where’s the property search box ? 🙂
How do you rope them in?
April 11, 2009 — 12:22 pm
ryan hartman says:
Oh sorry…I see. The Real Estate page…
April 11, 2009 — 12:25 pm
Chuck Marunde says:
I put the MLS search in a little banner on the inside pages, right side. Advertising is changing with the Internet, and so banners are not the most effective way to advertise, but a few subtle banners with popular subjects are good I think. Otherwise, articles are the best way to advertise with educational content. People don’t mind a soft sell at the end or within an article they are enjoying.
April 11, 2009 — 1:18 pm
Pat Kitano says:
Brilliant work! Wonderful to see such initiative Chuck… we’ve been working on similar initiatives to fill the void of community news/info/advertising as local press begins to disappear. Realtors are well positioned to be community hubs organizing this data.
April 11, 2009 — 2:38 pm
Marc Grayson says:
Ditto what Pat said. Amazing.
April 11, 2009 — 5:35 pm
Tom Royce says:
Great site.
My only question is where is the content coming from? If you are creating it, excellent. If you are buying it, even better. If you are borrowing it, be careful. That could be full of landmines.
Still love the initiative.
April 11, 2009 — 8:16 pm
Greg Swann says:
Good on ya! Al Lorenz, whom Brian and I met in Seattle and who comments here, is doing similar things in his local market. He’s basically become the hometown media mogul because no one else was doing it.
April 11, 2009 — 8:40 pm
James Boyer says:
Wow, look at all that content. You must have enlisted some help with all of that. All I can say is wow!!!
April 12, 2009 — 7:16 am
Daniel Aloy says:
I couldn’t agree more! Consumers want to be presented with well researched and intelligent choices. I run a small residential painting business and I go out of my way to inform and educate my visitors; as opposed to many of the other websites about painting and construction work (“best quality, low prices, yada-yada”).
I provide my visitors a guide on the salient aspects of the house painting trade, from the inside out.
I also inform them of newer painting technology, such as paints and coatings that save energy and help mitigate the effects of global warming.
So, yes, do something even if it’s the wrong thing. However, by better informing and interacting with your prospective clients, you can’t go wrong!
April 12, 2009 — 8:48 am
Chuck Marunde says:
Everything we do is original on this site, and for the few articles and photos that have not originated with me or one of my writers, it is by permission. We are not a news aggregator, but an original news source. Readers seem to appreciate this. Since I write so many articles, it is a tremendous amount of work. I admit that. But then that’s why I don’t have much to worry about from my competition. Hard work is not that popular anymore. So if you are creative, intelligent (I drink espresso to get my IQ up to average), and willing to work very hard, there isn’t much competition. That’s my opinion.
April 13, 2009 — 7:54 am
Greg Swann says:
> Hard work is not that popular anymore.
Love it.
> I drink espresso to get my IQ up to average
I’m watching for Jeff Brown to file the serial numbers off of that one.
April 13, 2009 — 8:23 am
Curtis Reddehase says:
Great idea! There is nothing worse than doing nothing! There is no better time than a slow market to try new ideas.
April 13, 2009 — 8:50 am
Daniel Aloy says:
“Everything we do is original on this site”
Original content is hard work, but it does wonders!
Believe me, I know what you’re talking about.
April 13, 2009 — 9:37 am
Al Lorenz says:
Chuck, Check out our efforts at http://www.golakechelan.com which was started by my colleague 8 years ago! If we think about it, there must be some cross promotion available here!
Al
April 13, 2009 — 11:08 am
Al Lorenz says:
Chuck,
I teamed up with a gentleman who started his online paper 8 years ago! It has a history of being the place to go to keep up with what is happening at Lake Chelan. Check it out at http://www.golakechelan.com
There must be some opportunity for cross promotion! Cheers and good luck. It looks great.
Al
April 13, 2009 — 11:13 am
Al Lorenz says:
Chuck,
We have another local news site for Lake Chelan. In 8 years, it has become the place to go for finding out what is happening at Lake Chelan. Its archives are the history of the valley for the last 8 years, google searchable!
Do you see opportunity for cross promotion?
April 13, 2009 — 11:19 am
Chuck Marunde says:
Hey Al, that’s a great site. Very people friendly and full of helpful info and links. I’ll follow up with you. Thanks. Where will technology take us next? Probably something wild and crazy like online dating. Oh, I guess they already did that one. Hmm.
April 13, 2009 — 4:43 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Incredible effort!
I’ve thought that a brokerage could kill with something like this. Combine Ryan Hartman’s brokerage domination plan with this? No one could touch you.
April 14, 2009 — 4:37 am
Kevin Sandridge says:
From Greg: “He’s basically become the hometown media mogul because no one else was doing it.”
I’m continually amazed at the way some folks are able to take hold of a market niche (especially a needed one) simply because there’s hole to fill!
Excellent job on the paper, Chuck! As per my usual, I’ll see about co-opting your great idea for my market as well! 🙂
April 14, 2009 — 9:18 am