5 Reasons Your Real Estate Business Should have a Blog

Maybe you considered starting a blog for your business, and even stared at a blank WordPress template for a few minutes, before closing your laptop and returning to the day-to-day struggles of running a business and bringing in clients

After all, there are over 31 million active bloggers in the U.S. alone. Even if you come up with a great topic and take the time to write and edit a post, will anyone read it? 

Maybe not at first, but you started your business because you saw a need in your community that you could fill. 

Blogging essentially works the same way. If you can pinpoint the questions that your clients and potential clients are asking and provide an answer, people will not only read your posts, but seek out more content from you. This is a great way to build trust in your brand!

As a relatively new content marketer (I am coming up on a year writing in the real estate market), I am on this blogging journey with you. Here are the top reasons that I am starting a blog to promote my brand and why you should too:

Reason #1: Show Clients that you are an Expert

Real estate is an extremely localized business. You have to be familiar with the neighborhoods in your city to identify which houses will best fit your clients goals and lifestyle.

You want to prove to potential clients that you not only know local real estate laws and can help them close on time, but that you will get them into the right home and neighborhood based on your specialized knowledge of the area. (Just like I want to prove that I am a talented writer who understands marketing.)

Blog posts are an excellent way to demonstrate this knowledge, from general tips and tricks on buying and selling a home to articles featuring local businesses or neighborhood amenities. 

The latter, especially, are going to bring local searchers to your site, since there will not be much competition for those search terms. No one outside of Colorado Springs cares about amenities in the Briargate area, for example.

Reason #2: Bring More Traffic to your Website

You’re probably familiar with the term search-engine optimization or SEO, but you may not know that blogs are one of the best ways to boost your website’s SEO. 

Google is looking for websites that post consistent content that answers searchers’ questions. If you build your professional website, and then never post on it again, you’re not going to rank in search results, even if you’re an amazing real estate agent with a beautiful website.

Useful, high-quality blog posts, especially locally-focused ones like we talked about before, are going to bring clients right to your doorstep. Boosting your ranking takes time, consistency, and a bit of SEO knowledge, but will pay huge dividends.

Reason #3: Gain Email Subscribers and Social Media Followers

Most blog posts will end with a “call to action,” such as asking your reader to subscribe to emails from your company or follow you on social media. 

For example, you have a reader that wants to rent a house—they read your article on carpet replacement laws for landlords and want more information. You include a subscribe box with the text “For more tips on choosing a rental property, subscribe to our email newsletter.”

Voila! In addition to receiving updates on your new blog posts, the reader will receive featured listings, company updates, etc. In a year or two when they are ready to buy a home, they will likely choose you because they already feel connected to your company. 

The same applies for social media followers. Even if your followers aren’t immediately looking to buy or sell a home, they may be in the future, so you want to build those relationships now, so your readers know how wonderful you would be as an agent.

Reason #4: Provide Value and Build Trust

Blogs are a great way to build a company voice and show some personality that could otherwise be lost on your professional website. A great blog post, in addition to demonstrating your expertise, should sound like, well, you—personable, professional, and helpful.

One of the great things about content marketing is that it gives the illusion of being disinterested. Most blog posts will not mention your company or services until the very end (if at all), so while you are building brand awareness, the consumer gets the impression that you are just offering insider tips and tricks with no ulterior motive,

While this may sound a bit manipulative, it’s just clever marketing. The consumer gets to benefit from your knowledge via your blog, and you get to demonstrate your personality and prowess as an agent. If you can build trust and rapport with your readers, I promise, it will convert into sales.

Reason #5: Gain Client Feedback

We all know to be wary of the comments section, especially on Facebook and Youtube, but on a professional blog, the comments section can be a goldmine for client feedback and article ideas.

We talked earlier about gaining email subscribers by ending blog posts with a “call to action,” but another strategy is to ask your readers to leave a comment. Often the best way to increase engagement with your post is to ask a specific question of your readers.

The comments section also provides a place for former clients to express what they liked or didn’t like about your services or to ask follow-up questions on your post. If you see a question popping up over and over again, that could be a great topic for your next blog.

What now?

If you would like to start a professional blog but aren’t sure where to start, subscribe for more writing and marketing tips or reach out to me via email.