I'm always looking for something interesting to talk about in this column. Someone asked me the other day, Do You Blog? I said, "excuse me". And then I started to do some research. What I found out is pretty interesting, so I thought I would share it with you. All of my information comes from realtor.org. It's a great resource for any kind of information that you need. So read on about "blogs".

A Weblog, or "blog" is a frequently updated Web site where entries - often no longer than a paragraph - are made in journal style and displayed in reverse chronological order. A real estate blog, unlike an online forum, is "owned" by an industry professional. This means that, if you're an agent, the blog is branded with your agent identity and you control the discussion topics and provide the main posts. These posts are then commented upon by visitors to the blog, and you have the option of approving all reader responses before they are posted to your blog.

A Featured Blog Web page will be provided by REALTOR.com^® to all REALTORS^® at no cost. The Featured Blog service launched June 19, 2007.

Additional Details and New Features

• An agent's Featured Blog can be a stand-alone Web page or be viewed within their own personal Web site, even if their Web site is purchased and managed from a vendor other than Top Producer^® or REALTOR.com^®.

• Select postings from an agent's Featured Blog content will be aggregated by REALTOR.com^® editorial staff and displayed to consumers on REALTOR.com^® under a new summary page called Let's Talk Real Estate! Consumers can access Let's Talk Real Estate! via a link at the top of the REALTOR.com^® home page.

• To sign up for a Featured Blog, members can visit www.featuredblogssignup.com. These blogs are only available to REALTORS^®, and require submission of a NRDS ID.

Benefits

• Blogging provides fresh content and fresh content raises an agent's personal Website's profile in search engine rankings. Done effectively, this can result in better results than if the agent purchased keywords.

• Featured Blog is an easy and inexpensive way for REALTORS^® to communicate with prospects in clients in a direct, informal, and genuine tone that will encourage interaction and build trust, all via a medium they are comfortable using.

• Featured Blog enables an agent to foster trust and cultivate warm prospects who are much easier to convert into clients and referral sources and to demonstrate professional expertise, local market knowledge, and community involvement as well as create a unique personal brand.

• The REALTOR^® had the opportunity to have a Featured Blog post viewed by consumers on REALTOR.com^®.

• There are many benefits of using a Blog, all of which involve helping you to provide better service, expand your client base, and increase your sales.

I have just scratched the surface with this article. Realtor.org has seven pages of "frequently asked questions" about blogs. I encourage you to read them.

Frequently Asked Questions about REALTOR^® Blogs (PDF: 372KB)

So let's get blogging!

See you next week.
Ronnie REALTOR^®

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