I have been asked several times how I can think of so many different topics for blog posts...
It's easy. Seriously. Here are a few tips I would pass on:
Read several things every day. I read the daily and weekly REALTOR(R) Magazine Online emails, and go to the full story whenever something strikes me. I also read 20 or more blog posts here daily. I find that I need to read at least two posts to find one that I really want to comment on (not a quality issue, but a relevance issue. I don't want to post a "me too" or anything like that). I also surf posts in other venues. Some of these are real estate related, others aren't about real estate, but might spark a related idea.
Start a list. I might have 23 ideas one day, and none for the next week. So, I have a list of things that I'd like to write about. I keep it on my PDA, and jot down new ideas as the occur. Some of the ideas die a quiet death, others are resurrected to be written about.
Have a fallback. Think of a series of posts. I was talking to Angel Walker today at Showcase, and suggested that she might start a Staging A-Z series. The A-Z concept can be used by ANYONE to brainstorm for ideas. Just think, "A is for Appraisal","B is for Buyer's Market", etc. I have my real estate investing series. I find that the more I write about something, the more there is to write.
Just write about something. Do this for two reasons. The first is that it will get your mind into the creative mode. Secondly, it will give you the discipline to continue to write. The internet, and Active Rain are littered with blogs that started with great promise... and then slowly faded away. The work that was done to find an audience, and bring in new prospects is now just wasted. Blogs thrive on new material. I started blogging a couple of times before I got here and really made it take off.
Blog for points. If all else fails, remember the points. Set a goal to make the first page for your town, county or state... and then meet the goal. The points are my last line of defense against getting lazy and not writing a post. I want to be #1 in Gwinnett County, as well as Georgia. Right now, I am 35,000 points from one, and 75,000 points from the other. And those are moving targets.
Finally, blog for ratings and comments. You might learn some great things. Give comments, and rate blogs.
Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey.
I'd love to hear from you...
I like to cruise AR posts (starting with the featureds) for post ideas, too. Maybe it's because I'm a marketing solutions vendor, but I always get ideas for my own posts from reading about Rainers and their marketing challenges.
I also keep a special pad on my desk with an ongoing list of potential titles. I also picked up a small spiral notebook that I keep in my car. I get some of my best ideas when I'm out running on Sunday morning or sitting at my daughter's ballet class on Tuesday afternoons. Oh, to have enough time to write about all of my ideas....
Lane,
I read the paper everyday. It not only gives me something to possibly write about but I stay up on what is going on in the surrounding communities. I also have several ideas that are still being worked on and they will eventually get posted. And of course, you can't forget about the points :)
You are right you have to stay focused and on track. So I have begun compiling my list of subjects that I feel that would be of interest to others in the community as I learn my way around AR,
I'm laughing at some of these comments because I'm always trying to conjure a great topic while driving, putting on mascara and having breakfast at the same time! But then those great ideas slip away in the chaos of the day. I need to start keeping notes because I love to write!
Thanks for the inspiration Lane!
(I'm an IN-the-car person!!)
Lane - I really enjoyed this post - it gets my creative juices flowing. For points, I have to wait until the week rolls over, but I want to be ready to get the maximum! I have moved from about #50 up to #8 in the Austin market in less than three weeks. I am still about 82,000 points behind #1 (just for Austin and the county), but it is a big drop-off after that. I am 23,000 behind #2. I have been taking it one at a time once I started making progress. My next goal is to pass #7, which is less than 1,500 points right now.
Great Post!! Some great ideas here, thanks.
I prefer to use Topix.net, Google Alert, and topics generated by clients on a daily basis. You should write about the events and situations happening in your target areas. After all, blogging helps in the search engines and you will be providing valuable information to the community. Active Rain blogs are good because they tend to generate additional insights from others. Keeping a list is a must if you can remember where you left the list. I wrote a blog about keeping your blogs local and the best resources for blogs.
Regards,
Carolyn Nelson, NAR Certified Real Estate Assistant | Carolyn@OnlineREPA.com | http://www.onlinerepa.com/ | Bus: 877.717.4491 | Fax: 866.590.2269
Thank you all for the comments.
Carolyn - I think that we need to explore a variety of media to find subjects. Also, oddly perhaps, I find that many of my local clients want to see a national perspective on things, despite knowing that real estate is a collection of local phenomenon.
Vicki - I just started writing a list, and ended up with thirty blog posts that I need to do. Some of them are from my "Alphabet Series" that I'm in (currently up to S) and others aren't. BTW, I know what the X post was going to be about back when I was writing D...
And, for my Blogger Blog, I need to sit down and write a bunch of review blogs. I have basically added a new post there every day since the beginning of July. People that only hit it once a week or so might be overwhelmed. So, I plan on doing a recap each week hitting the high points.
Finally, I have talked Angel Walker into doing a guest spot on my Blogger Blog Friday. In true Sesame Street style, she'll be sponsored by the letter S (for Staging).
What it comes down to is that even if I didn't want to get creative, I would have at least another 40 posts I could pull out... and I'm sure I will come up with more stuff.
Thanks for the ideas and esp the tip about keeping it on your PDA - I am the worst let me say that again WORST about having a great idea for something and forgetting it because i never write it down! I never thought about keeping a list on the one thing I never lose sight of - my PDA! Thanks for sharing I hope to be a better blogger with fresh ideas and like you said a back up list IN MY PDA!!
Deborah Richter in Weddington NC
Deborah - I'm right there with you... I have hundreds of ideas that die every week.