This article contains 3 images. You will find them at the very end of the article.

This article contains 2191 words.

Writing tips for Realtors

When I talk to Realtors about their websites, one of the things I talk about is the importance of unique content—in other words—written content that is not boilerplate, that is not simply one copy of 10,000 copies out there on the web.

Boilerplate content is content that comes standard with most Realtor websites. But if you want your site to show up on the search engines, you need to either replace it or add significantly to it. Otherwise, your site will be exactly like the sites of the 10,000 other customers of that particular Realtor website factory.

I know that what I'm saying can be a little scary for those of you that don't enjoy writing, or don't think you have a knack for it. Not everyone is a born writer. So what do you do if that's the case?

I want to give you some tips on how to write better and faster if writing is something that scares you or intimidates you. You can do it, and I think you'll actually enjoy it once you do!

Writing doesn't have to be a chore

If you dread writing and think of it as a chore, you obviously don't see the value in it. To get traffic from the search engines, you have to have fresh content. A year from now, when you have traffic and leads coming in from Google and Yahoo due to taking your websites seriously, and actually writing content for your site, you'll see the value in it.

But until then, you're going to have to just trust me that if you keep it up, you will get better and actually come to enjoy it, because success inspires success. As you see results, you'll want to do more of it.

Overcoming writer's block

We all have writer's block sometimes. The blank page can be intimidating to the best of writers. There's a trick to overcoming it, and it's actually very simple. Since writer's block simply reflects a lack of ideas at the moment, just keep an abundance of ideas at your fingertips that you can write about.

That's not as difficult as it sounds, either. If you have any experience at all, you have things to write about that people will want to read. You just need to get over the self-doubt you feel when you sit down to write and wonder if there's anyone out there interested in what you have to say. Trust me, there is. And frankly, because many Realtors don't get the importance of writing for their websites, you don't have a lot of competition. Get out there and start doing it, and you'll be rewarded!

I maintain my enthusiasm for writing new content by keeping a list of topics on hand that I'm constantly adding to. One article frequently spurs ideas for another related article, and I just jot down a list in a Word document. Sometimes it's just a title, and sometimes I write a single sentence to jog my memory.

The value of doing this is that when you sit down at the computer to write an article for your website, whether it's a professional article on how to stage your home for a quick sale, or an informal blog post on a local restaurant, you will have no shortage of ideas. You just pick one that you can get the most fired up about at the moment, write a quick outline, and your off to the races.

The idea for the article you're reading right now came on a day when I was at the auto dealer getting my car serviced. I brought my notepad and started furiously brainstorming a list of topics for my site.

That was over two months ago. I then went home and typed my list into a Word document, along with a few bullet points. That one list will provide you with an ample supply of articles on web marketing to read this year!

Think about topics in your downtime, and make notes

If you are serious about keeping your website up to date with fresh content (and I hope this is not an "if" in your mind anymore), you need to keep a notepad, PDA, or computer handy. Some people might like to use a small digital voice recorder. It doesn't matter what you use. The point is simply to use whatever works for you to record your topic ideas and some notes about them for later use.

You will sometimes find that a topic you thought you'd be fired up to write about just doesn't inspire you when you sit down to write. Having a long list of topics with a few lines of notes serves two purposes:

It gives you a wider choice of topics you can get inspired by when you sit down to write.

It allows you the opportunity to think about the topic over a longer period of time in order to mull over ideas for developing it into an article.

So always be on the lookout for topic ideas, and when you stumble into some inspiration, whip out your notepad, PDA, laptop, or digital voice recorder, and make a note of it. Then don't forget to do something with it!

Make outlines…lots of them

Once you have your topic ideas recorded in a Word document, the next step is to make brief outlines out of them. An outline doesn't have to be elaborate—it should take you no more than a minute or two for most articles, unless it's one that requires some research.

You don’t need to carry it out to third and fourth levels. In most casts, for an average length article, you just need a list of three or more bullet points to help you organize your thoughts.

For instance, an article about the highest rated schools in Boise might be organized like this:

• The highest rated schools in Boise
• Elementary schools
• Middle schools
• High schools

Let your outline guide you

Once you have your outline, write a paragraph or two about each bullet point using whatever source information you can find. Cite it and link to it if possible.

That's it. You're done. You've just posted a useful piece of information on your site that potential clients might find really helpful in their search for a home. The next time they go to Google and type "Highest rated schools in Boise," they might actually find your site and contact you to find a home near one of those schools.

It took ten minutes to write the outline that is the basis for this article. Two months after writing that outline, I pulled up that file and decided to write about it. After about an hour total, it was finished. (Full disclosure: I spent another hour recording and producing the podcast, and another half hour editing the article for final posting to the web.)

Answer typical questions your clients ask you

If you're having trouble coming up with topics, one of the easiest way to find them is to pay attention to the kinds of questions your clients ask you. Do they frequently ask you what builders you recommend in the area? Write about it. Do they ask you what the highest rated elementary schools are? Write about it.

Write about anything that communicates your expertise and friendliness to potential clients, and your writing will be effective. You won't run out of topics, and better yet, your topics will be relevant to your core audience because they will be a natural extension of your day-to-day business dealings.

Practice makes perfect, and will improve your speed

If the process I've described above sounds at all intimidating to you, all I can say is that it becomes easier, more fun, and faster the more you write. It's like anything else in life: Practice makes perfect. If you can pass the real estate exams in your state, you can learn to write. It's just a matter of making the decision to do it.

If you have a strong fear of the blank page, you might need to force yourself to write at first. But remember that the beauty of blogging is that you don't have to be polished. There's plenty of time for you to become more polished once you get some practice at it. Soon, it won't be a chore, but something you look forward to.

Don't let perfection be the enemy of completion

This is an important trap to avoid. Don't let your insecurity about writing suck you into thinking that you can't write anything until you learn to write better. Nonsense. You learn to write by doing it, and if you let perfection be your standard for getting something posted to your website, you'll never complete a single article.

With each article I write, I can always find things I would like to change. Sometimes I do go back and change them, but often, I'll use my dissatisfaction as motivation to write another article and make it better.

Keep Strunk & White's Elements of Style handy

E.B. White, the author of Charlotte's Web, coauthored a handy little book that I ran across in a college writing class. It is one of the most useful little books on English grammar you will find.

In those moments when you are not sure whether to use a colon or semi-colon, or whether to capital the first letter after a colon, you can quickly find the answer and move on to more important things (like finishing your article).

Have a proofreader review your articles

It's always best to have a second pair of eyes take a look at your article and make comments. This can be an assistant, colleague, or spouse. It doesn't matter who does it, but give them free reign to make whatever critique they want, and then graciously accept their criticism. You don't have to take their advice if you don't agree, but you do need to make them feel comfortable telling you if something sounds wrong or unclear.

Another approach, if you don't have a proofreader handy, is to wait a day then read the article out loud to yourself. When I read my own writing to myself right after writing it, I find that I see what I intended to write, rather than what I actually wrote. When you hear your own words out loud a day later, there is a better chance you'll catch unclear sentences, typos, and grammar errors.

Set aside time to write regularly for your website

Discipline means to "train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way." This is what you want to develop in your writing. It should be a goal of your to write regularly, and this is best done by making an appointment with yourself on a certain day of the week. Just block out a period of time and commit yourself to getting it done.

If you don't care enough about your own website to write content for it, why should Google care enough to show it on their search results? Worse yet, why would anyone want to actually read it and decide to contact you? Take some pride in your content and your site will produce many happy returns.

A website should not be considered a business card or a brochure, but a source of information that people will find useful. This doesn't happen overnight. It happens when you make a commitment to invest it—with time, energy, and sometimes money. If your site is just an overhead expense to you, you need to expect more out of it in order to get more out of it.

Now accepting reservations for a free website analysis

This is not a machine-generated analysis, but an actual review of your website's search engine visibility using a number of important criteria such as content, structure, and popularity. I'll report back on issues that you might want to address to achieve better search engine rankings. 

First Last Company Name Street Address City State Zip E-mail Phone Type of Business Your website URL Comments or Questions? I was referred by Receive my free Realtor marketing newsletter = Required

Share this article with a friend

[ Close ]

Friends email:Your Name:Your E-Mail:Message Subject: '; //]]>

Hits: 51

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Subscribe to this comment's feed