A few reasons to blog..
June 11, 2008 by Nick Bastian
Filed under Blogging Tips
I began blogging about a year and a half ago. VERY slowly at first but it has picked up (slightly) as I learn more of the benefits for myself and for my clients. Yes, my clients. You see, I have never been a “writer.” (many will probably attest to that) BUT, for the past 15+ years, I have been a REALTOR. It is in my blood, it is what I do. Currently, the percentage of agents that have a blog is very small but I promise you, that percentage has begun to change. My clients benefit from my real estate endeavors (blogging) in several ways. The more successful I have become, the more people I meet. The more people I meet, the better chance they will be interested in what I have to offer. Everything we do is geared towards providing the best information possible to customers, clients and consumers. Blogs help people get to know you, they help with search engine optimization and they help drive traffic to your web sites. It is easy to sit back and rely on the “old school” way of doing things but, it makes more sense (to me) to change with the times. Heck, many of our clients have no idea what a blog is.. That’s ok too. Blogging just seems to create more opportunities to reach modern consumers. Everything is “Googled” these days.
In addition to the benefits of my business, I have made many friends while blogging. Some have been through the AZ Real Estate Blogging Network and others from reading other blogs, participating in social networks etc. I have met some great people and have learned a lot. Of course, I have a TON more to learn but it is time well invested in my business. For agents, lenders, inspectors, title companies and any business owner, blogging can be a great way to reach a whole new audience. This network was designed to help people achieve their blogging goals.
The pic below is from a recent meetup of geeks friends from “Twitter.” (You do “tweet,” right?) Luckily, the guys from Real Estate Shows were in town and it happened to be Sarah Cooper’s birthday! We had a great time.. Unfortunately, Sarah isn’t in the pic. :-(
Pictured from left to right are.. Jay Thompson, Dru Bloomfield, Nick Bastian, Candace Robinson, Bill Leider, Jeff Turner, Steve Belt and Christoph Schweiger
This was a great “meet up”. I posted a few photos on my Flickr page here
Nick, Even though I arrived later in the evening, I was watching the party beforehand on Twitter - what a great group of people. One of the most amazing things to me about most real estate bloggers is how much they want to reach out and help. Case in point: AZ RE Blogging Network!
Jay - Thanks for adding those pics for people to see how much fun we had!
Dru - You are so right. I even learned a few things while at the party. Talking to and hanging out with everyone was a blast.
Nick, think you could find a nice sport for a Rail Side meet-up in July? I’ll be there if you name a place and time.
Steve.. That would be fun. A couple of places come to mind. I’ll be in touch.
Nick… it was a great evening! It’s always good to meet the real people behind the online avatars. It’s even more enjoyable when they’re good people and good food is involved. Thanks for helping us set up the evening!
Nick - That was a great fun meet-up even though I came in on the tail end! I met some new friends that I had only known from reading or hearing their name in the ‘bloggingsphere’ and I was thrilled. These get togethers are getting to be my highlight of my evenings! Bring’em on! Did you say sports?
I sure appreciate you posting on the AZREBN and bring your well written posts here for all those to read about. You are doing a fantastic job!
Here are my pics on flickr at Grazie Scottsdale Az - Meet Up
Jeff.. I can’t thank you and Bill enough for making that evening possible. It was REALLY nice to meet and get to know you. My wife and I enjoyed it very much. I hope to see you around!
Candi.’ - Glad you made it. How cool to meet some new friends! I think Steve ment spot instead of sport. As in, a new spot for another meet-up. Maybe we can all brain storm to do this again, soon. Thanks for the kind words. btw.. I can’t get your pic link to work, can you re-try? People would probably love to see em.’
Nick - That is funny, that is what I have been thinking of yours! I see my picture fine, yours is just a big “?” Question Mark? So, not sure what the deal is… Can anyone else see my picture?
Candace.. I meant your Flickr link.. Not sure what the deal is with the avatar..
What a great blog…my husband and I are new to blogging about 6 months and I love it. My nickname from my husband is the blog troll…nice huh?! Just over the weekend we had an agent from Portland Oregon contact us regarding her clients are in need of help and are relocating to Chandler. Long story short she went through ActiveRain and found us there , read our blog, emailed us and then called us. With that happening, it pays to blog and yet has become a vital part of our business.
Our next expansion joining blog groups and making connections that last a lifetime.
Hi Cheron,
haha.. The blog troll, I love it. Congrats on your blogging successes. I hope you can make it to some of the AZREBN meetings. Thanks for stopping by!
Nick - Cheron & Mike were at the last AZREBN in May…we will see them again in June, this week!
As for my link to my flickr pics..hmmm not sure what happened. I will work on that.
What’s with the gravatars, some times they work, sometimes they don’t…kinda sounds like some agents I know!! hahaa
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