3 Years Of Real Estate Blogging – The Gift That Keeps On Giving
A very special post on the Real Estate Tomato today: Teresa Boardman takes a look at what 3 years of blogging on StPaulRealEstateBlog.com has done to her and her business.
3 Years of Real Estate Blogging – The Gift That Keeps On Giving
By Teresa Boardman
There are not many places where a blogger can write about blogging, except for here on the Tomato which is about blogging so once again I send my post to Jim.
A year ago I sent a list of 40 observations I had made after two years of writing a blog.
The observations still apply but the list is so 2007. My neck still hurts but not as badly; I found an exercise that helps. The only thing that has really changed from last year is that I don’t talk anymore I just blog. I am kidding of course.
Now that I have hit year three I realize that my blog is the gift that keeps on giving. Posts I wrote three years ago are working hard for me as readers search through Google and find them. Some of the posts just never go out of style.
When someone sends me a question via email, I almost always have a link to my blog to send back with an answer to their question. When I need most anything in writing, I can usually find it in my blog. If I can’t, I call it ‘blog food’ and write a new post.
I face new challenges these days. When I go to write a blog post, and I already have 1300 of them, it isn’t as easy to come up with new ideas. Sometimes I write the same thing twice and don’t even realize it. Sometimes I just recycle old posts. Occasionally I am truly inspired and write something decent.
The blog was redesigned this past year. I wanted something a little fresher without changing the brand or making it look too commercial. I learned a lot through the design process and Jim was extremely patient with me as I shared my vision. He laughed when the design was ready and I didn’t want to pull the trigger. He told me that he expected me to resist. He knows that my blog is my business and that it isn’t easy for me to let someone else go in and change it. I am lucky to have a friend like Jim who gets it and isn’t afraid to give me a kick in the . . . you know what I mean.
I am very happy with the new look, and my readers have responded positively. It looks more professional and it handles photos better which is important as they are a huge part of what makes the blog work. It doesn’t look like anyone else’s blog which is also important to me. Like me, it has it’s own personality.
The blog is now the center piece of my online presence. A couple of years ago it was my online presence. Today it is like a hub in a wheel of my ever expanding online business portfolio. The wheel is made up of memberships to social networks, and photographs. There are also thirty two separate pages in my blog, five photo albums, and two other blogs.
It may sound like all I do is write my blog, but keep in mind this is content built one word at a time, one day at a time over a period of three years.
The blog is still an experiment, and I continue to learn and grow. I know my writing skills have improved as have my photography skills. Doing something everyday is a great way to fine tune one’s skills. Writing is still my biggest challenge. . . oh and I still can’t spell.
Has it been worth all the work? Yes it has been. The content keeps brining me buyers and sellers, and the blog still has a higher ROI than any other marketing piece. I seriously doubt if anyone is reading post cards or newspaper ads that I published three years ago, but they are certainly still reading my blog posts.
Thanks Teresa! Happy Blog Birthday.
Teresa Boardman is an exceptionally professional Realtor in the St. Paul, Minnesota area.
Her website:www.TBoardman.com
Her blog: www.StPaulRealEstateBLOG.com
Voice: 651-216-4603
