Every morning across the nation, if you listen carefully, you can hear the wail of bloggers. “W-h-a-tttttt do I write about today?” I have some ideas, including a list or two that you can link to for inspiration from other bloggers.
Today’s topic is topics, so let’s move right into that.
Always remember to give value to the reader. How can you do that? Write, video or podcast about what is happening in your area. Think – News, views, restaurants, schools, local sports, weather, festivals, music. The possibilities for blog topics are endless. Focus on the community. That is what your potential clients are looking for. They are looking for someone they can relate to.
I honestly don’t know where I found this and I’m sorry to not give credit, but the ideas fit right into this message. The following are some simple things you can implement to make your blog more “local”:
- Drop your local keywords in your posts and titles often. Instead of writing “I love helping sellers”, write “I love helping home sellers in _______”.
- Write topically about the area.
- Share a favorite spot or highlight a business.
- Share photos. Not enough time to write a huge post? Start something with just photos. Snap some along your way and then the post can be a continually updating source of information on the topic.
- Cover events. Taking your kids to a community event? Snap a few pictures, grab a quick video and later that night write a summary post on the day’s events. Bonus points if you interview or photograph local “celebrities” and then share the post with them! They will take your post and share it with their sphere.
- Share other bloggers posts.
- Use the content curation idea. Share news stories, videos, other photos, etc. around a local point of view (with proper credit of course!).
Some real estate licensees have made major ‘names’ for themselves by “being who they are.” Their sites are not polished, nor perfect. The cameras sometimes jiggle and people make gaffes. It’s real and readers relate to it. When you are sincere and truly intend to provide quality information the imperfections show you as a real person.
Cardinal Rule #1. Do not use your blog site to market your listings! Yes, you can assign pages to each of your listings and potential customers and clients can be given a link to those pages, but don’t plaster your blog with listings. You can even have a tab so that interested visitors can scan through local listings through your site. Your main page is about your community – your market.
Following are some fill in the blanks borrowed from a Chris Brogan post. Be sure to check out the entire post – 20 Blog Topics to Get You Unstuck.
How ___ is like _____.
How do I _____?
Here are some new ways to ________.
My personal recipe for ______.
If I ran the _____.
Your first steps into ______.
If you find yourself stuck, try _____.
Restarting now would _____.
25 Ways to Use the Web to Find Content for Your Blog by Danny Brown
http://bestbloggingtipsonline.com/25-ways-find-blog-content/
Another post by Danny Brown on Free Blog Topics and Ideas for Blog Posts
http://bestbloggingtipsonline.com/free-blog-topics-ideas-blog-posts/
Does this make sense? Can you do something with this?
What are some of the ways you find content for your blog?
Please leave your tips in the comments!
