WORD MAGIC:
(full story)
To Blog or Not to Blog — the Real Estate Agent’s
Question (PART II) ...
Last month we talked about whether or not a blog
is in your business future. If a real estate
business blog is on your horizon this month’s
column will show you how to get started!
Blogging should be a joy,
not a chore. Selecting the best blogging tools
for your level of expertise is the first step.
If you must wrestle your technology to begin,
your chances of effective follow-through
diminish.
Let’s face it… you are busy!
You want to blog, you want to inform potential
clients about local real estate issues, you want
to keep a good “front line” as a resource – the
place to turn – but you can’t afford too much
time away from revenue-producing activities to
do it. Make blogging easy to help ensure your
success.
If you aren’t a geek, and
you want a quick easy-to-use blog format,
consider a blogging platform hosted elsewhere.
Some remotely hosted blogging options are free,
some require a small monthly fee. Either way,
these will permit you to blog without knowledge
of HTML, database setup or any other technical
aspect of “how it works.”
The following information on
blogging tool options was compiled by
Jodi Diehl, a database driven website
specialist:
Remotely Hosted Blogging
Blogger –
www.blogger.com
Blogger has been around
since 1999 when it was first launched by
three friends looking to make their mark on
the Internet. Purchased by Google in 2002,
Blogger is now one of the largest, free blog
engines available.
Key features:
-
Free for all users
who sign up
-
No programming
required
-
Instant access upon
sign up
-
Mobile option for
posting on-the-go
-
Templates available
for selecting colors/layouts to suit
your needs
-
Syndication options
(exports to RSS / XML file for
distribution)
Yahoo! 360 –
360.yahoo.com
This is a new service
Yahoo! has recently launched. The service is
still in Beta mode, meaning changes are
inevitable as a result of user feedback
during this period. The Yahoo service allows
multiple profiles assigned to one master ID,
letting you keep your business and personal
identities separate.
Key features:
-
Free for Yahoo!
users
-
No programming
required
-
Mobile option for
posting on-the-go
-
Photo album
integration
-
Multiple permission
settings to control visitor access
-
Syndication option
to create RSS 3.0 feed for distribution
MSN
Spaces –
spaces.msn.com
Offered by MSN, the MSN
Spaces offer blogs, photo albums and
“favorites” lists. This service is also
still in Beta mode, meaning you can expect
some changes and tweaks after the initial
Beta period.
Key features:
-
Free for MSN users
-
No programming
required
-
Mobile option for
posting on-the-go
-
Photo album
integration
-
Customizable color,
layout and themes
-
Multiple permission
settings to control visitor access
-
One-click access
through MSN toolbar
Locally Hosted Blogs
Geeklog –
geeklog.net
Content management system
Geeklog is distributed
under GNU General Public License, meaning it
can be used, modified and shared among users
at no charge. It is the content management
system I recommend most often to my clients.
The learning curve is less than the other
scripts available and the tools included in
the core package are ideal for the small
business owner.
The basic package
includes the ability to create topics, post
articles, display a public calendar of
events, post polls and manage a web links
directory. Additional plugins available
(requiring separate installation) include
http referrer tracking, photo albums,
forums, live chat and many more.
Requirements:
WordPress –
wordpress.org
Blog engine
WordPress is a basic
blog engine I recommend for users wanting
only a blog engine for their own website.
This script provides an easy-to-use
interface, including formatting options
similar to a word processing program.
While the basic packages
offers only blogs and links, there are
several hundred plugins available offering
everything from moblogging (posting from
your WAP-enabled mobile phone) to click
counter to monitor traffic.
Requirements:
Additional free PHP
blog scripts available:
NOTE: All locally hosted
scripts will need to be installed on your
hosting account. Check with your hosting company
to ensure your account includes the required
items. To minimize installation problems, it is
recommended you hire an experienced PHP
programmer to set up your selected script.
What I use and recommend
There are many options, but
these give you a great place to start. If you
want more control over your blog, and are
willing to host it locally, I highly recommend a
custom solution.
Personally, I use Geeklog –
I love it! And, although I’m a geek, I hire
Jodi Diehl (www.SunfrogServices.com)
to do my Geeklog customization and security
upgrades, to add in new plugins and options, and
to develop any custom scripts I need. She’s the
person I call when I have a question, a problem
or want a new bell or whistle on my blogs.
I tend to be a little
demanding where my blogs are concerned. I want
my blogs to work – that’s a given, but I also
want it to be easy…to the point of intuitive.
And, I like to have a lot of control over the
way my text appears and the way my visitors can
use my blog site. Since my blogs are only a
small part of my overall business model, and
they don’t produce direct income, I can’t afford
to spend income-producing time to learn how to
do everything there is to do with Geeklog. Jodi
stays on top of how it works and keeps my sites
singing. I spend my time tweaking layout, adding
content and making sure all my sites “play nice”
with each other.
If you aren’t willing to go
this far, begin a blog on a remotely hosted site
and pull the RSS feed over to your main webpage
to get exposure for your blog and to enjoy the
Internet marketing benefits of regularly updated
text on your main site. Later, you can get a
custom blog hosted locally. The most important
thing is to begin blogging – sooner rather than
later.
Blogging on the Fly
If you want to be able to
blog from the road (something that’s important
to me) you need to be sure that option is
available and compatible with your blogging
tool. Depending on which platform you select,
and which device you plan to use to blog, you
may have a conflict.
I use my Treo to enter blogs
on my Geeklog without any problems, but I did
have an access problem in an earlier version of
Geeklog – so you may want to test before a
set-up.
If you are set up to do so,
and your blog platform can accept entry from a
mobile device, the “time-cost” of blogging can
be kept extremely low. I use “lost” time to
blog. If I’m stuck somewhere, I can pull out my
Treo and blog right then, right there. A lot of
blogging can be done in this type of “found”
time. If you are set up to do so, and make your
decisions based on the ability of your blog
platform to accept entry from your mobile
device(s), it keeps the “time-cost” of blogging
extremely low.
Where to Submit Your
Business Blog
Once your blog is up and
running, you will want to take full marketing
advantage of the blog. Like a website, your blog
will need to be advertised to be effective. You
can do this by submitting it to blog-specific
and RSS-specific search engines, directories,
and indexes. A few resources to review include:
Weblogs Compendium
DMOZ Open Directory List of Blog Directories
Yahoo! Weblog Directories
Other Blog Directories, Search Engines and Index
Resources
Now you are ready to pick a
platform, start a blog and submit it to the
search engines, indexes and directories.
Blogging is a commitment, but it can pay big
dividends in your online marketing and in
service to your clients. Just remember to keep
the blog process simple and easy to use, hire
the help you need to get things set up the way
you want them, and then blog regularly.
Happy Holidays and Happy
Blogging!
|
