How to Create Lost Opportunities in Your Blogging
Agents and others in the real estate industry have known, for some time, about the advantages of blogging to grow their business, gain exposure, improve SEO and presence on the Internet, and to develop relationships…among other benefits.
Given what we know about the potential benefits, one could argue there are plentiful lost opportunities by not blogging. But that’s another post.
Consider the lost opportunities that could result due to your blogging, depending on what you write about and how well you do it.
Presumably, since you are writing on your AR blog (or elsewhere) to grow business, sharing important information consumers will be interested in, educating buyers and sellers and perhaps other real estate professionals, and trying to develop positive relationships for referral business, you don’t want to do things that could cause lost opportunities.
So what might these issues be?!
CONTENT
We know people will read what interests them, helps to solve a problem, and brings value, so sharing information that doesn’t do this will mean missing out on opportunities to attract buyers and sellers.
You certainly shouldn’t try to appeal to everyone, nor can you realistically do so. Thus, understanding your target audience, and creating a niche (or 2 or 3), and writing for THAT audience is essential to maximize your opportunities.
VISUAL APPEAL
Are your posts visually appealing? No one will likely want to read a wall of words.
And a post without visuals – photos, graphics, videos – might not grab the interest of those you want as readers, even if the content is good.
Readers will also not stick around if the content is not interesting enough or it’s hard to read and understand.
FONT SIZE
That brings up the issue of font size. If it’s too small there will be some who simply will not bother trying to read what you have to say, because it’s an unpleasant experience for them, and too tough on the eyes, even if you are wearing glasses.
Time is short and there are plenty of other options.
HOW LONG IS THAT POST?
The length of your post could play a role in creating, or driving away, opportunity. We hear that Google likes long posts, in excess of 1000 words, and that may be – yep, this post is getting long.
The question, though, is will a post that long be interesting enough to draw in, and keep, a reader, who will see what a talented and knowledgeable real estate professional you are, or will a post that is too wordy…despite a great topic…send them packing.
No doubt great content in a long post will keep them interested to a certain extent, but droning on and on may not.
DOES YOUR POST TITLE GRAB ATTENTION?
The title could result in a lost opportunity if it doesn’t grab the attention of consumers, and get them to click on your post and then read it.
Hopefully your post content warrants that clever title, or a disappointed reader will move on to better things.
Sadly, some great content may have such a bad title or one that is overly SEO’d (yes, I made that up) so that it rarely gets read, especially when people have limited time and have to quickly pick and chose what they want and have time to read. You likely only have a few seconds to grab their attention or they are gonzo.
ARE YOU ENGAGING?
Another way to increase lost opportunities is by not engaging with those who took the time to read your masterpiece (well, at least some of it) and then commented on it.
Granted, on ActiveRain the majority of comments are from members, but taking time to engage and respond to comments conveys an interest on your part in the conversation, as well as in the commenter (OK, forget those spammers) and can lead to a more positive relationship and potentially business down the road. And those relationships become friendships and there’s tremendous value there.
And consumers will likely also see how you are engaging, even if they are not commenting.
BLOG COMMENTS
Ignoring comments to your post could be a lost opportunity to further build relationships with those who are interested in what you have to say, and who could be a source of referrals in the future.
However, responding in a snarky, nasty or derogatory way will have the same result, perhaps worse since it can ruin your online reputation – others will see how you behave in public, and there goes any chance of someone wanting to associate with you, read your posts, or refer business.
YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION
Having a positive reputation as a blogger is likely to enhance your opportunities, both with AR members as well as with consumers who might read your posts.
If people like what they see, and you are authentic, they’ll likely be back. And if they like you personally and need help, there’s a better chance they will be in touch.
But you may lose the opportunity for business if you come across the wrong way in your posts, or in public comments.
If consumers don’t like you for some reason there goes that potential business.
And your fellow Rainers might add you to the “Don’t Refer" list.
So, are you creating opportunities in your blogging?
Or are your efforts resulting in lost opportunities?
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