It Doesn't Mean Crazy Talk - Loco Musings - Featured Realtor® Blog
Perception: (overheard comment at REBarcamp Houston) You can't run a business effectively if you're spending time writing blog posts.
Reality: Our featured blogger balances life with a husband, four kids and a real estate career. She happens to write a kick ass real estate blog too.
It's All About Being Local
It's been a year I've picked a featured REALTOR® blog. It's not because I haven't been on the lookout, I have. I spend an evening or 2 every month just doing random searches on real estate blogs to feature and usually just give up and wait until next month to try again. It's not that they are not out there. It's just that there are few and most of the good examples have already been trotted out in so many places. That doesn't make for very original content.
The Background
Who knew that a another shining example of excellent blogging by a real estate professional was pretty much right under my nose the whole time? It's penned by Heather Elias and it's titled "Loco Musings". Heather is well known to those in the circle of digerati known as the RE.net. I've had the opportunity to hang out with her in SF and Las Vegas and we've had some great discussions on blogging and the future of the industry. I recall a great conversations with Heather and Danilo B (Heather's competition) on transparency and how different things will look just a few short years from now. It wasn't until she recently asked for my vote in the upcoming VA Association of Realtors "VARBuzz" blog wars, that I took the time to visit her blog. (Sorry Heather) (BTW - You should vote for her today, she deserves it she is in "Zone 1"}
It's Not Crazy Talk
Loco Musings doesn't mean crazy talk. It's all about Loudon County Virginia and it's a stellar representation of local content and pinpoint focused real estate information.
Keep It Simple
The design of the blog is easy to navigate and has a really calming feel overall. A nice touch is the photo in the header rotates each time you visit the page. I really like the regular feature of the "LocoPhoto" where Heather features a single photo. It's usually one she has taken herself, and has a story tell with it. How does that keep a potential prospect engaged? Let's say it's someone from the area that has less than a casual interest in buying or selling a home but they wait patiently for Heather to post a new photo and story. The branding that Heather is driving home with that simple feature is one that will remain with that person until the day they start to think about real estate. I promise you that when they do, they will think of Heather. By not over-thinking SEO, Heather is also building a great body of search friendly content by writing posts that include information that a person would be likely to search on at a later time. The best part, she doesn't have to think about it or pay someone for the privilege of "optimizing" her content to begin with.
Data With A Story
As I have written in the past, good blogging is storytelling. Data, any way you look at it, is pretty boring stuff. But it's important stuff. Heather does a tremendous job of taking the market trend data for an area and giving it a story. She speaks to her own personal analysis of it and in a way that keeps you engaged. This approach is critical to anyone who wants to be considered a true business professional. While the entrenched agents of old gripe about having to continually defend their compensation, pros like Heather demonstrate it's value without every having to broach the subject.
Part Of The Fabric
Writing posts about her involvement as a local Softball Mom or being nominated for the County Fair's "Kiss A Pig" contest give Heather the ability to demonstrate to prospects that she is a part of the local fabric that makes up her area. Prospects want to know they are dealing with someone that approaches "location,location,location" as something more than a tired old real estate phrase.
She has the ability to talk about the impact of local taxes and then pen a post about the local coffee shop being her second office. The result of her craft is a living document that exemplifies her easy going personality and solidifies her stature as someone who can be counted on to help a prospect from a trusted level of experience.
You can't do that by slapping a magnet on your car or putting your mug on a park bench. (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Previous Featured Realtor® Blogs:
Reality: Our featured blogger balances life with a husband, four kids and a real estate career. She happens to write a kick ass real estate blog too.
It's All About Being Local
It's been a year I've picked a featured REALTOR® blog. It's not because I haven't been on the lookout, I have. I spend an evening or 2 every month just doing random searches on real estate blogs to feature and usually just give up and wait until next month to try again. It's not that they are not out there. It's just that there are few and most of the good examples have already been trotted out in so many places. That doesn't make for very original content.
The Background
Who knew that a another shining example of excellent blogging by a real estate professional was pretty much right under my nose the whole time? It's penned by Heather Elias and it's titled "Loco Musings". Heather is well known to those in the circle of digerati known as the RE.net. I've had the opportunity to hang out with her in SF and Las Vegas and we've had some great discussions on blogging and the future of the industry. I recall a great conversations with Heather and Danilo B (Heather's competition) on transparency and how different things will look just a few short years from now. It wasn't until she recently asked for my vote in the upcoming VA Association of Realtors "VARBuzz" blog wars, that I took the time to visit her blog. (Sorry Heather) (BTW - You should vote for her today, she deserves it she is in "Zone 1"}
It's Not Crazy TalkLoco Musings doesn't mean crazy talk. It's all about Loudon County Virginia and it's a stellar representation of local content and pinpoint focused real estate information.
Keep It Simple
The design of the blog is easy to navigate and has a really calming feel overall. A nice touch is the photo in the header rotates each time you visit the page. I really like the regular feature of the "LocoPhoto" where Heather features a single photo. It's usually one she has taken herself, and has a story tell with it. How does that keep a potential prospect engaged? Let's say it's someone from the area that has less than a casual interest in buying or selling a home but they wait patiently for Heather to post a new photo and story. The branding that Heather is driving home with that simple feature is one that will remain with that person until the day they start to think about real estate. I promise you that when they do, they will think of Heather. By not over-thinking SEO, Heather is also building a great body of search friendly content by writing posts that include information that a person would be likely to search on at a later time. The best part, she doesn't have to think about it or pay someone for the privilege of "optimizing" her content to begin with.
Data With A Story
As I have written in the past, good blogging is storytelling. Data, any way you look at it, is pretty boring stuff. But it's important stuff. Heather does a tremendous job of taking the market trend data for an area and giving it a story. She speaks to her own personal analysis of it and in a way that keeps you engaged. This approach is critical to anyone who wants to be considered a true business professional. While the entrenched agents of old gripe about having to continually defend their compensation, pros like Heather demonstrate it's value without every having to broach the subject.
Part Of The Fabric
Writing posts about her involvement as a local Softball Mom or being nominated for the County Fair's "Kiss A Pig" contest give Heather the ability to demonstrate to prospects that she is a part of the local fabric that makes up her area. Prospects want to know they are dealing with someone that approaches "location,location,location" as something more than a tired old real estate phrase.
She has the ability to talk about the impact of local taxes and then pen a post about the local coffee shop being her second office. The result of her craft is a living document that exemplifies her easy going personality and solidifies her stature as someone who can be counted on to help a prospect from a trusted level of experience.
You can't do that by slapping a magnet on your car or putting your mug on a park bench. (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Previous Featured Realtor® Blogs:
- At Home In Scottsdale - Dru Bloomfield
- The HouseChick
- Harper Team
- State of Mind Real Estate
- Every Kid Deserves A Yard
Labels: featured realtor blog, heather elias, loco musings, varbuzz, virginia association of realtors
posted by Mike Price at 1:44 PM
2 Comments:
We don't call it "competition" - we call it "co-opetition". Better to work with a great agent who knows the area, market and the ins and outs of real estate than someone who doesn't have a clue. To be a good Realtor blogger, you have to know those things which makes it better for everyone - consumers and fellow agents in your area.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Mike. I love writing and I love real estate, so blogging is a natural fit for me.
And Danilo is right on about "co-opetition" not "competition"...the great thing about blogging is that you naturally attract the clients who respond to your personality. Sharing links and ideas with Danilo, whose writing style and focus is different from mine, allows people who might not respond to my writing, find his blog, and potentially help them find an agent who is a better fit. (Check out his blog at LoudounScene.com ,it's full of great information, too!)
I love that LoCoMusings allows my voice to come through in a very non-corporate, personal way.
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