1. Blogging for Business
A Low Cost, High Return Marketing Tool
Juanita McDowell
President and Owner
InMotion Real Estate Institute
GAR Instructor of the Year 2010 and 2011

2. Course Objectives
● Learn how to set up a blog
● Learn about blog publishing tools
● Learn how to use a blog for real estate leads
● Learn how to use Wordtracker tool to discover niche
subjects
● Learn how to network and link yourself to others
● Learn blogging tips
● Learn how to make money from blogging

3. What is a blog?
● web + log
● Regular entries of commentary
● Descriptions of events
● Website where entries are commonly
displayed in reverse-chronological order.
● Provides commentary or news on a
particular subject
● Evolved from personal online diaries

4. Anatomy of a Blog
Title – the title or name of the blog
Tagline – a brief description of
what the blog is about
Blogroll – a list of links to other
blogs and websites; helps to share
readers and increase the bloog's
Google PageRank.
Archives – links to past articles;
stored based on the date published.
Definitions adapted from: (22) Debow, Brant. Blog Terminology. Graphics - 2004, Emerging Blogs

5. A Typical Blog Combines
● Text
● Images
● Links to other blogs or web pages.
● Interactive format
○ Video (vlog)
○ Music (MP3 blog)
○ Audio (podcasting)
○ Photograph (photolog)

6. REALTOR Example

7. First Things First
● Determine Your Strategy and Goals
● Establish Your Niche
● Research and study first
● Wordtracker tool (free)
● Write…Write…Then Write some more

8. One REALTOR’s Strategy

9. Who Blogs?
● Someone with something to say
● Someone eager to disseminate info
○ Individuals
○ Corporations
○ Non-profits

10. Why Blog?
● Communication
○ Branding
○ Marketing
● Community Building
○ Conversations

11. When should you blog?
● Frequently
○ Weekly
○ Daily
● Regularly
● When you have something to say…

12. Getting Started
● Blogging publishing tool
● Strategy and goals
● A Niche
● Content
● Links

13. How can you blog?
● Blog Publishing tool
○ Free
○ Fee
○ Software

14. Publishing Tools
● TypePad
● Blogger
● Blog Harbor
● Wordpress
They all have their advantages but one of them is a clear winner -
Wordpress. JGM

15. Using Blogger by
● Easy and Quick
● Good Place to Start
Demonstration
● Advantages
● Disadvantages

16. Why Wordpress?
● It’s FREE
● Very powerful
● Runs on a mySQL database quick
● Hundreds of FREE themes to
download
● Hundreds of plug-ins
○ Extra functionality

17. Getting started is as easy as
1-2-3
● 1. Buy a domain name and hosting
pkge
○ Hostgator
● 2. Select the one click installation
option
● 3. Install your blog. Done!

18. Strategy and Goals
● What do you hope to accomplish?
● How to grow your audience?
○ Who will your subscribers be?
○ What will you offer them?
● Exercise

19. A Niche
● Geography
● Occupation
● Buyer type (first-timer, move-up,
luxury, empty-nester)

20. Content is …
● … the foundation of everything
● … what will get you good
quality traffic
● … KING
Build it and they will come?
NOT

21. Getting Links
● Comment on other blogs in your niche
● Use a service like Twitter to get into a
conversation
● Create Top Tens (linkable content)
● ‘Skimmable’ Format
○ pictures
○ bullets
● Networking

22. Blogging Essentials
● Tracking mechanism
● Participation in forums
● Google Adsense
● Affiliate Relationships
● Advertisers
● Register your blog

23. Tracking Mechanism
● Tools to help you understand how people
are finding your site and which key words
are working.
○ Google Analytics
○ Site Meter
● FREE

24. How to Find Forums
● Google your niche
● Add “forum”
● Social Networking sites
○ Facebook
○ Twitter
○ Digg,Meet-up
○ MySpace
○ LinkedIn

25. Adsense
● How it works
● Easy to set up with Blogger
● Plug-in for Wordpress.org
● Not all blog publishing
tools allow
● First set up Google
account
● Cut and paste Google
code

26. Affiliates
● Sprinkle recommendations in your
entries
● Hot links to your recommended sites
via your affiliate link
● You get paid when your visitor makes
a purchase
● You must track this

27. Advertisers
● Legitimize your blog
● Must haves first:
○ a large readership to attract
○ consistent entries
○ valuable content
○ subscribers
● Now you have a money making blog

28. Register Your Blog
● Blog Search Engine
● Blog-specific directories
Handout

29. 3 Tips to Writing a Good Blog
Post
● Create a great title (aka Headline)
● KISS is back – Keep It Short and
Simple
● IEEE – Inform, Educate, Entertain,
Empower
Taken from SEO Blog - www.seospring.com

30. What is an RSS Feed?
● Real Simple Syndication
● Makes a section of the website
available for others to use
● The RSS format contains elements
for:
○ Link
○ Publishing Date
○ Category
Taken from (31) Hamman, Robin. 3 Types of Blogs

31. How to add an RSS Feed
1. Go to Blogger Dashboard
2. Select Layout
3. Click on “Add Page Element”
4. Copy the RSS link URL
5. Paste the RSS link URL
6. Save Changes

32. Success Stories
Forbes Web Celeb – TOP 5
1. Jessica Lee Rose - YouTube star
2. Perez Hilton - Celebrity gossip
blogger
3. Markos Moulitsas aka KOS - Political
blogger
4. Matt Drudge - News web site editor
5. Seth Godin - Marketing guru

33. Making $$ from a Blog
● Advertising
○ Google Adsense, Microsoft Adcenter, Text Link Ads
○ 43% of blog visitors noticed advertisements
○ 33% of bloggers have clicked on an advertisement while
blogging
● Product or Service Sales
○ Find new clients, advertise yourself
○ Merchandising, e.g. ebooks, t-shirts, etc.

34. Making $$ from a Blog
● Perks
○ Free books and products, access to events,
interviews
● Paid Assignment
● Affiliate Commissions
○ Recommending CDs or Books, e.g. Amazon

35. Final Thoughts
● Determine strategy and goals
● Be yourself
● Impart humor if you can
● Update consistently
● Accept feedback
● Content before $$
● MOST OF ALL
● KEEP IT SIMPLE ...Have fun

36. Contact
Juanita McDowell
Technology Real Estate Instructor and
Speaker
To Book Juanita
404-955-9740
Online:
Facebook.com/InMotionREI
LinkedIn/in/JuanitaMcDowell