Pardon my gushing: I adore the Bloodhounds. It’s a honor, and yeah still a shock, to see my goofy real estate picture on the contributor’s panel, but I sometimes wonder what unique thing I can bring to the Bloodhound table. I’m not a top producer, I’m not the world’s most opinionated blogger, I’m not a big thinker, I’m not the funny Bloodhound, or an expert in my field, and I’m not Grumpy, although I have shown signs of being Dopey. Alas, I’m past the age of being either cute or perky, I’m not a geek, or even a new guy. But none of this matters anyway, as I do despise labels.
What do I bring to this table? Since there is a bit of anarchy here, I could bring whatever I want to the table, but in the end I’m gonna shake what my mama gave me and dance with them what brung me. Today I’m bringing hyperlocal blogging.
Somewhere someone is reading this who is a new-ish Realtor, learning the business, and learning blogging, and working in a bit of a broken down market. Am I the only real estate agent in this situation? Hardly, although I am the only Bloodhound in this situation. Am I speaking of you? You are working to set yourself apart, to improve your odds of lasting in this business, and wondering how to work it in your market? This post is for you.
Greg’s advice for local RE weblogging has always been to remember the people we write for, who are not neccessarily the people who comment, and certainly not the other Realtors who show up on MyBlogLog widgets. He also advised me to find local bloggers and link early and link often. All this advice is beginning to pay off for me, and in the Bloodhound spirit of sharing, I’m here to encourage the other hyperlocal bloggers to stick to your Be-the-Community guns.
In my neck of the woods, few people know what a blog is, nor do they care, and that disturbed me at first as I had some niggling thoughts about using a blog in Dayton to generate leads. On occasion, it was tough to hear about thousands of hits per day to some blogs, and still keep my head down and focused on blogging in the “be the community” way. Are you reading this and nodding your head? Let’s revisit this list of RE blogging objectives that Greg posted:
Here is a hierarchy of objectives you can pursue with a true weblog, as opposed to a hand-crafted keyword-packed splog:
- Readers who like what you have to say
- Enough to return to read future posts
- Enough to subscribe by email or RSS feed
- Enough to promote your weblog to their friends or associates
- Enough to use you for a real estate transaction
- Enough to commit to you for their future transactions
- Enough to refer you to family and friends
- Enough to refer you to strangers
- Enough to actively campaign for you with anyone who has a real estate need
Don’t you love that? It’s so Bloodhound.
A funny thing happened on the way to the online forum. What my blog is bringing me is opportunities to create leads, but first and foremost it’s relationship building. It’s Web 2.0, yes, but it’s also the same way my dad made connections- person to person. And being someone who really likes people, this is a fantastic thing. I prefer to step out from behind a computer and talk to people over coffee.
The surprising thing to me is I’m connecting with other bloggers. I do go to local meet-ups, I go to events, I get out and shake blogger’s hands and look them in the eyes. Some of these bloggers have begun to throw ideas and introductions my way, and I’m doing the same for them when I can. It’s using Web 2.0 to facilitate relationship building. TheBrickRanch is not a real estate splog and I think that is a key to connecting. The other bloggers in Dayton know I’m not blogging to shove real estate and ME down their throats. If my blog was all about ME, I wouldn’t be trusted, and I wouldn’t be welcomed.
There is a Dayton news forum to which I’m now contributing (I’d like to give a shout out to DaytonOS– Hey guys! I’m national, too! Have some link love). It’s an online alternative to the local Dayton fishwrap-masquerading-as-newspaper and gets about 600 hits a day- nothing to sneeze at. The forum is a lot of bitching about politics right now, but hopefully that focus will broaden a bit as it matures. And currently I’m the only chick on board. Do I get a prize for that? Seriously though, it’s another forum for what I’m doing- relationship building, not splogging, and it is fun, which blogging should be. My Dayton blogging buddies rock, and we support each other’s efforts. It’s a very cool thing that is happening.
If you happen to find yourself sitting in wherever, trying to create a blog that is more than a sploggy website, looking for the Web 2.0 viral sneezers- be the community- and know that you are doing the right thing.
Although my advice to you would be a bit more simple: Shake what your mama gave you, and dance with them what brung you.
Scoot says:
Amen sister, You’re preachin’ right at me. I love it. Especially about splogging and I would add that people know and understand you much more, and are willing to trust you more, when you’re writing about info they are looking for. And not about “how good lookin’ I am” and “I’m the one to sell you EXACTLY what you need”. Keep on truckin’
October 10, 2007 — 6:32 pm
Greg Swann says:
Good on ya’, Teri! You’ve worked out the hyper-local idea better than anyone. I’m delighted to see it paying off for you.
October 10, 2007 — 8:18 pm
Derek says:
Lussier: I was planning to email you tonight with an article suggestion but got carried away with other business. You know we have talked about the little stink smoke shop idea? Well I found a biggest interest in your area – the hot sauce shop with the great big fire truck. I want more coverage on that!
Does that place even have a website? I think it’s Jim’s Jungle or something like that?
October 10, 2007 — 8:26 pm
Kris Berg says:
Congratulations, Teri. I am so glad to see it paying off. Knock ’em dead!
October 10, 2007 — 8:36 pm
Brian Brady says:
Meetups are an awesome way to greet other bloggers. Your writing suggests that you are your father’s daughter. You’re just doing it a 2007 way.
October 10, 2007 — 11:23 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Scoot- Checked out your blog- Work it! That’s the same type of content I put in my blog. Don’t forget to share the link love with the local blogs.
Burress- http://www.junglejims.com/ Unlike any place else on the planet! That’s a day trip, and is on my list of blogging topics, although not hyperlocal.
Bloodhounds- You all rock, too. 🙂
October 11, 2007 — 2:28 am
Michael Cook says:
The first thing I happened upon when I followed the link to your forum was a kid playing a slot machine; its good to see you all do things a bit differently in the midwest.
Additionally, thanks for the opinionated blogger comment. Unlike most people here (or perhaps like most people here), I simply write for the joy of writing. The value for me is nothing more than pure unadulterated learning. With that I always love a spirited debate. It deepens the learning for everyone and it really gives me an appreciation for the great people we have reading.
Great article and though I do not comment, I certainly read your hyper local blog just because its interesting.
October 11, 2007 — 5:07 pm
Teri Lussier says:
Michael- That photo! Geez. No clue where that came up with that. It must have been taken in Kentucky. 😉
>I simply write for the joy of writing. The value for me is nothing more than pure unadulterated learning. With that I always love a spirited debate. It deepens the learning for everyone and it really gives me an appreciation for the great people we have reading.
All of that shows in your writing.
And shucks. Thanks for reading my home blog. You’re very kind.
October 11, 2007 — 5:33 pm