Are you selling yourself or providing information?

When I started blogging for my business about five years ago I did it for a variety of reasons, none of which was to gain business. Surprised? I’ve always said to people that anyone can do their own SEO as long as they take the time to research what works and stay consistent with it but, it is time-consuming and tedious. The information I provided was something that anyone could do but usually those that are doing their own SEO are doing it for another business and not for the sake of doing SEO. So basically it’s as if they are doing two separate jobs; one marketing and the other selling whatever it is that they’re selling.

I also got into the blogging business to promote my existing clients by providing high quality back links in addition to good content. It’s the idea of attending the goose that lays the golden eggs rather than just focusing on the golden eggs. I was caring for my existing customers all the while providing great information and the end result was more clients and interest in what I actually sold.

So how does this relate to real estate agents?

If you constantly put yourself out there with a call to action without any solid information people are going to think you’re just a blowhard and a spammer. By providing information as you go either with real estate or local news, you consistently prove that you not only know the market but the area as well and are a reputable person to call should they need real estate services in the future.

For example; my clients in Alamogordo New Mexico have a great website with a lot of information but many of their pages don’t talk about real estate at all. One such page delves into the keyword “Where is Alamogordo” which really has nothing to do with real estate but is more informative. Once the reader gets to this page they can continue to search around the website and perhaps call them should they need real estate services.

Another client deals specifically with sellers and regardless of whether they can be called upon as a listing agent or not they still provide valuable information on staging and how to sell your Las Cruces home faster.

One unique client of mine is very specific on a variety of different types of properties and she focuses all of her attention on the design and location such as condominiums, townhomes, bank owned homes, land or acreage, affordable homes, homes near specific school districts, golf properties etc. She has specific pages for all of these and while none of them shout “CALL ME, CALL ME” she offers all of the valuable information that one could possibly want in Flagstaff real estate.

So how do you provide information without begging for a lead?

Write how-to articles and FAQ posts. Expand on a news article, event or activity in your area. Excite your readers by recording an interview or doing a video of an area or perhaps a step-by-step tutorial on buying or selling details. Engage your readers and be practical. People don’t want a lot of legal jargon or content that’s hard to comprehend and read. Conduct contests and talk about any charity work or local benefit auctions. And in the end make sure you give your blog readers a way to contact you so that when the time comes they’re not hunting around your website and feeling frustrated that they can’t get a hold of you for what you actually do.