I can think of a few excuses why I stopped writing posts over the last couple months (too busy, holidays, & not enough topics) but the real reason is lack of commitment to blogging. I don’t think I am the only one who has done this. I have noticed a few other people, including some real estate agents, who have started a blog only to stop writing posts a few weeks into it. From what I can tell, blogging, like exercising & dieting, requires dedication and discipline to be successful at it. It is my hope that by putting this out there, I will be more committed and held accountable to doing this.
Over the last few weeks, I have been visiting several of the well known real estate blogs to get some ideas and see how these people are doing it. Some of these sites include Zillow’s Blog, Rain City Guide, The Real Estate Tomato, Real Central VA, & Bloodhound Blog, just to name a few of them.
Is it me our can you spend 2-3 hours everyday just going through these sites from link to link and site to site finding out incredible amounts of information? How are you supposed to doing any business when you are trying to keep up on all of this "stuff?"
I really want to focus my blogging site on Big Bear real estate and the dynamics of our local market. Because let’s face it, real estate is all about local market conditions. Just because price are up or down in one place does not always hold true for another location. I find myself trying to educate consumers on this all the time.
I have been in the real estate business 8 years (started in January of 1999). It has been my experience that to be successful in this business, a real estate agent needs to know their inventory, know their product. That is the number #1 rule I try to teach all of the new agents I talk with. The confidence you gain from knowing the product you are trying to sell gives you the ability to communicate effectively with your clients. As with the law of attraction showed in the movie "The Secret," it is my belief that knowing your inventory attracts the type of clients who need your services. When you combine your knowledge of the inventory, along with the ability to listen to your clients needs, their desired outcome will happen. This may sound a bit simplistic but, to me, that is real estate sales in a nut shell. All the other stuff (gadgets & new technologies) are just excuses for not doing your job. Real estate is always going to be a people business. Any thoughts?
Blogging well is most assuredly a commitment – reading other blogs, writing good material … it’s not for everybody, but for those who commit themselves, it can be rewarding. I look at blogging as a way to first and foremost increase my knowledge, and a distant second as a means by which to increase my business. Everybody who asks me is surprised to find just how much time I spend every day on this – usually at least two to three hours. But it’s worth it, in my mind.
Thanks for the feedback Jim. My only wish is that I started my site a couple years back like you did. Great site, thanks.