A real estate blog is a great way to drive traffic to your website and generate potential leads. The challenge, however, is converting traffic into subscribers.
If you’re experiencing high traffic to your blog posts but not building subscribers as quickly as you’d like, you may need to rethink your content marketing strategy.
On the other hand, you may be struggling to find topics that appeal to buyers and sellers. Researching ideas can often be more time consuming than actually writing the blog!
Either way, we have a content marketing strategy that will:
- help you attract more subscribers from your farm
- expand your local sphere of influence
- improve your visibility in search results
- build higher engagement on social media
- cultivate relationships with prospects early in the buying cycle
Are you ready to turn your real estate blog into a content marketing machine that actually converts curious visitors into valued subscribers!
Let’s start with a brief look at the concept of content marketing.
How Content Marketing Works
Let’s say you write a lengthy blog article (1500 words) titled “5 Home Gardening Tips For Green Thumbs In Teaneck, NJ.”
You hit publish and share the blog article on your Facebook Business Page. In addition, you share a link to your article in a local Facebook Group for gardening enthusiasts in Teaneck.
There are, of course, thousands of other blog articles on the same topic, but not all of them are specific to Teaneck.
Search engines will match your article to anyone searching for ‘gardening tips’ in Teaneck. As long as the user’s IP address is local, the search results will provide local results.
Because your article is local, search engines will rank you ahead of articles that are not specific to Teaneck because they aren’t as relevant for the user.
If your article also includes links to local gardening stores and helpful information, readers are more likely to share it with friends or peers who share an interest in gardening.
Why Your Blog Shouldn’t Be Just About Real Estate
Covering the same old generic topics as all your competitors is not the way to stand out from the crowd.
Most buyers and sellers don’t research the real estate industry. They research neighborhoods and search for homes.
Expanding your sphere of influence locally will yield faster results than trying to serve prospects outside your farm. Since most of your business will come from referrals and repeats, use your blog to capture subscribers. You can then add the contacts to your CRM and build a database of prospects.
Subscribers Are More Important Than Traffic
Traffic is not as valuable to your business as subscribers. Subscribers can be marketed to repeatedly.
With a healthy list of opt-in subscribers, you can:
- Implement email marketing and automation tools to cultivate relationships
- Craft and schedule timely offers as well as messages to build rapport.
- gather data and insight into your audience and their preferences
- Appeal to different market segments strategically
- Save valuable time in marketing and promotion
Let’s say you get 1000 visitors to your site monthly. How many are you converting into subscribers? If your conversion is poor, more traffic won’t help you win listings.
Attracting subscribers is a strong signal that you are providing value. High volume traffic is only meaningful if your conversion ratio is high.
So instead of focusing on driving traffic, target your audience and focus on quality rather than quantity.
Standing Out From the Competition
Competition has become increasingly more difficult for online leads. IDX lead generation has become more costly and less effective as users become savvier. Anti-spam regulations have also established firm boundaries for interactions between brands and consumers.
Research the topics you want to write online before committing anything to paper. Check out your competitors on the first page of results and duplicate their tactics. Do they include helpful links? Are they using attractive images? Is the title descriptive?
Take note of the features of the top-ranking articles on any topic you choose. Then, be prepared to commit time to research, writing, formatting, and posting a blog article that outranks your competitors.
Defining Your Audience
Perhaps the most difficult part of launching a successful real estate blog is defining your audience.
Targeting generic home buyers and sellers is much too broad. You’ll face competition from national brokerages and brands with far more money to invest in marketing.
Landing on the first page of search results will be easier if you narrow your audience. In addition to focusing on the local market, you can:
- target a property type – ie, beachfront, condos, contemporary, lofts, single detached,
- appeal to readers based on lifestyle/career – health-conscious, artists, professionals, business owners
- focus on a unique demographic – families, singles, millennials, retirees, visible minorities
To entice subscribers, make them feel like you are serving them exclusively. If you serve anyone and everyone, it’s harder to make the reader feel special.
By narrowing your focus, you can write blog posts that are highly original and unique. This will make your blog more interesting to potential readers, even though your audience will be smaller.
Creating A Value Proposition For Your Blog
Your blog should clearly state your value proposition to visitors immediately upon their arrival.
Ask yourself, when people discover your blog, what will entice them to stay, share, or subscribe?
- How does my content serve my audience? (information, resources, solutions, support)
- What problem will your blog solve for the reader? (more money, better qualifications, more free time, better information)
- In what way are you different from everyone else? (experience, qualifications, persona)
- Provide proof of your value-proposition in quantifiable terms
Try to capture your blog’s value-proposition in one sentence or phrase that is easy to remember.
Here are some suggestions:
- A Comprehensive Resource For Growing Families In…
- Amazing Stories And People From The Streets of….
- Free Information And Resources To Help Millennials On The Road To Home Ownership
- Your One-stop Resource For Local Business Deals
- Stay Informed About Local Events Each Day
- Get the latest offers and deals from local businesses
- Living Healthier Lives In…
- Lifestyle Blog For Retirees In….
Display your value-proposition on your blog prominently. Each article you write should also have a clearly-stated value proposition.
Blog Topic Ideas For Your Real Estate Blog
There’s nothing wrong with writing about the real estate industry, but local residents search for a lot of things besides real estate.
By focusing solely on real estate, you’re missing out on prospects who are much earlier in the buying cycle, but still valuable referral sources.
There is an unlimited number of topics you could explore. Choosing a niche will be a real challenge for some agents, but here are some ideas:
#1) Local News
Do you have a background in journalism? Are you good at research and interviews? Publish local news articles that would appeal to residents in your farm.
Expand on a local article with more in-depth information. Consider partnering with a local journalist to produce regular content suited to your target audience.
If you are seeking to attract more listings from homeowners, for example, write news articles about:
- local housing market
- energy costs
- mortgage rules
- FSBO tips and advice
- home furnishing and repairs
- gardening and landscaping
Write blog posts to help local homeowners save on energy costs
Let’s say you want to appeal to more families who are seeking to upgrade. Write blog articles on some of the following:
- 5 Ways To Get More Out Of Your Living Space In….
- Where To Find The Best Storage Solutions In….
- Is It Time For Your Growing Family To Upgrade Your Home?
- Why Adding An Extra Room May Not Be A Good Idea
- 5 Tips For Financing Your Next Home Renovation
- The Fastest Growing Neighborhoods In…
- Top High Schools And Alternative Programs In…
- Youth Summer Camps And Programs In…
Again, the more narrowly defined your niche, the easier it will be to rank in search results. You’ll also generate more relevant shares if your articles are focused on a smaller audience.
#2) Local Interviews And Stories
People love stories, especially if they are motivating or revealing in some way. You could, for example, interview business owners in your farm. Publish the interviews as stories about local residents who are making a difference in your community.
Perhaps you’d like to focus on attracting female subscribers who are considering homeownership. Interview a local female business owner who carries products that appeal to working female professionals.
Share the interview as a blog article on Facebook, Instagram, and Medium to drive interest and shares.
Turn the blog article into a video by recording your interview on your iPhone/Android. Upload to your Youtube channel and create a link directing viewers to your blog.
Real estate agent Rick Baldwin interviewed his local school principal for his Parkbench neighborhood blog on YouTube:
#3) Local Deals
Consumers are always looking for savings. You could partner with local business owners to publish a list of weekly deals available exclusively to local residents.
Write detailed reviews of the businesses operating in your farm. Publish the reviews and share them on Facebook.
Subscribers could receive your updates weekly or ahead of releases on Facebook, to get an edge on the general public.
Local business owners will be happy to partner with you if it means free exposure and more customers!
For example, you could write a detailed review of the local coffee shop that includes an interview with the owner. At the end of the article, offer readers a coupon supplied by the owner that can be redeemed online.
To create a sense of urgency, set a limit to the number of coupons available and a time limit on their valid use.
Include a link from the article to a landing page that requires their contact information. Upon completing the required fields, the user receives a confirmation email, coupon included.
You can add their contact info to your CRM. Remember to designate your leads carefully so you can target segments with relevant, customized messaging and offers.
5 Key Takeaways To Get More Subscribers To Your Real Estate Blog
Patience, originality, and consistency will take your content marketing much further than an IDX website or PPC advertising. Remember the following key points and your blog posts will vastly improve:
- Focus on a niche audience.
- Display your value-proposition clearly.
- Share your content routinely on social media to build momentum.
- Include a clear call-to-action directing readers to subscribe.
- Seek out local strategic partners to increase your exposure.
Conclusion
Your real estate blog doesn’t have to be a generic list of topics being covered by every other agent.
Serve your local audience blog articles that address their needs and interests. Expand your reach to include homeowners as well as prospects who don’t have a need yet.
Define your blog audience as narrowly as possible, then deliver value by offering comprehensive, free content. Do this consistently to build rapport and brand recognition.
Subscribers who discovered your blog will share your content and generate referrals for you. You’ll build brand recognition with prospects long before they reach the zero moment of truth.
