Why I blog
Jay Thompson, The Phoenix Real Estate Guy, properly criticized an article as totally off target regarding the purpose of real estate blogging. The article by Rusty Lindquist of a la mode, Inc. and quoted extensively by Blanche Evans, editor of Realty Times said "If blog visitors aren't being treated as leads, then blogging is really a waste." Their premise is 180 degrees from why I blog and I was delighted to see Jay's take on the subject.
Jay said, "I just don't think my blog is the place to *blatantly* market and advertise. That’s just my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, one real benefit of blogging is it allows you to demonstrate expertise, it is fabulous (if done correctly) at building a 'web presence' and it may be the single best way to get ranked very well in search engines for very relevant real estate related search terms. All of those things are a tremendous asset in any marketing/prospecting plan.
So yes, there is some marketing going on here. But *no one* visiting this blog has been put on a drip email, no postcards have been mailed, and no phone calls have been made (unless a contact from the blog has expressly requested such things — and some have). I suppose you could call it 'passive marketing' vs. 'active marketing'."
Great points, Jay and since you were an early inspiration to me when I began blogging, I have taken the same path as you with my blog, providing helpful information and hoping to build a relationship with my readers. If someone turns into a client as a result of getting to know me a little better through my writing, great. But I get a great amount of enjoyment from finding and writing about a wide variety of things that I hope readers will enjoy.
And no registration is required to comment on my blog.
Unless you want to. 