Email is finally working smoothly thanks to Google Apps, jduncanrealestate.com is redirecting to realcentralvarealestate.com and I have some great ideas for both this blog and the new site. Ideas:Targeted pages to some of the strongest employers, specifically the National Grounds Intelligence Center which houses a large number of active military, government contractors and civilians…. Two of the pages I am most looking forward to developing are the ones for first-time home-buyers and luxury buyers. Two very different markets with their own idiosyncrasies and unique aspects.Real estate is local, and the information there will remain local, yet has to have an international reach, so writing ad copy with that in mind will be a focus as well.
Browsing Category Blogging
Poll results
As of 17 December, 2006 – these are the results.56% of all voters are either “Curious Consumer” or “Active Buyer or Seller.”39% of all voters are either “Real estate Professional” or “Related Real estate field”These results are better than I had hoped for, as they show me that more readers may be prospects that fellow real estate professionals. This gives me an opportunity to educate more people and potentially connect with more prospective buyers and sellers in the Charlottesville area, which has become a goal of this blog…. The more everybody knows – Realtors and consumers alike – the better my/our profession will be. Related posts:Why blog?Blogging’s expectations (it’s local)I took the following screenshots a few weeks ago – Where are my readers coming from?Of the readers in Charlottesville, how are they connecting?
More dogs in the kennel
When I think of Greg and his writings, I have to break out the good old Thesaurus to find new words to describe him – prolific, copious, astute, perspicacious – Building on his success, he is adding more writers to his stable and further cementing his place atop the “RE.net.”… As with most everything I read, I have a question regarding his stated goal:Our goal is to be daily must-reading for real estate professionals everywhere — Realtors, lenders, appraisers, investors, vendors and technologists.There is little doubt that anyone who wants to stay abreast of changes in national real estate trends will find tremendous value at the Bloodhound…. The early blogs may have fit that mold, but the the phenomenal growth in blogging activity and the growing general acceptance of blogs in mainstream consciousness shows that blogs have grown and will continue to appeal to more and more of the everyday reader/consumer. There are an awful lot of local real estate blogs out there – Teresa’s, Kristal’s, Fraser’s, Kevin’s – and while real estate is a national business with national trends, I would hazard a guess that many local consumers choose to read locally-focused blogs more than they would a national one.I’ll keep reading his/their blog every day, as I respect what they have to say and learn something each time (when I have time to read it all!)
Friday links 11-18-2006
Why single property websites are a waste of time and money. I admit that I have purchased the domain names for many of my listings, but this clarifies why this might not be the best use of time and money. Green building: the view from here5 essential blogging toolsNew hurdle for online listings – it seems those making these decisions have never heard of the FTC.
Links for 13 November 2006
Condo Buyers Take Developers to Court Over Failed Promises – I wonder if we’ll see any of these in the Charlottesville area.What to do when a Builder Offers to find you a loan – Read the whole thing with an extremely critical eye.Helping bloggers license content.UVA’s new nanotechnology center – Wisldorf Hall – will help cement our area’s status as a leader in this area of development, and likely will encourage some people to move to our area (Hint, hint 🙂 ). Surprisingly, finding information on the burgeoning nanotech sector and Charlottesville is somewhat challenging, but there are a few results in Google Scholar.
How to differentiate one’s blog?
I don’t have a better word to represent what this is, but I feel that “blog” just might be the most over-used word of the year.The Tomato folks query whether one should focus on national or local real estate blogging…. This was my comment:To be clear on my intentions – I started my blog with not as a reason to draw in business, but as a vehicle to fill what I perceived to be a void in the local real estate market commentary…. Those who read blogs appreciate candor; they know it when they see it and will keep coming back if they find it.I have two real estate search sites – but they do not get nearly the traffic my blog gets, nor do they serve to establish anything other than “hey, another Realtor with a website.” Putting myself out there – my personality, my skills, my opinions does differentiate me from the others – sometimes that differentiation is good, sometimes probably not so good.