As most realtors know, staying in front of their potential and current customers is a crucial part in closing a deal. A great way to do that is keeping up with a blog on your website filled with fresh, relevant content and targeted towards your clients. We’ve outlined a few tips that will help make your articles more engaging:  

Write about common pain points

First things first, get in your reader’s head. What are they searching for? What online resources would they find helpful? Remember, your reader will be a current or prospective home buyer that may or may not be ready to make a purchase. As a realtor, your best approach to engage home buyers and owners is to be a thought leader. Thought leadership is simply being the go-to resource in residential living for a specific audience. So how do you do this?    

 

There’s quite an array of pitfalls that come with homeownership and a need for online resources to answer them. Start by brainstorming topics that your audience may search on Google. Maybe they’re unsure how to navigate finances when buying a new home, which could lead to blog topics like, Which loan is right for your home?, How to save money on your first home, or The hidden costs in home repairs.

 

Inspire over advertise

Sometimes the best promotion is none at all. It’s easy to talk about yourself, the awards you’ve won, or how many happy customers you’ve found a home for. But when it comes to building thought leadership and engaging an audience, step down from your soapbox. You can attract readers with inspiring content. The rule of thumb in the marketing world is an 80/20 split of resources to promotion. Think of it like a cocktail party. You don’t spend the entire evening talking about yourself. Rather, you listen, respond, and carry a conversation, ensuring it’s two-way conversation.

Apply this to your blog writing. Listen to your audience and write towards their interests, hobbies, and lifestyle. Your blog should reflect their needs first and yours in far second. Like thought leadership, there’s an opportunity to simply delight your audience with engaging content that is lighthearted, and an easy, shareable read. You’ll become a trustworthy resource and find that readers will often subscribe or seek out your content the next time.

Consider topics like, 10 uses for aluminum foil around the house, Nature-inspired DIY holiday decorations, or 8 home hacks that take 10 minutes or less.

 

Welcome guest authors

Change up the tone of your blog by turning to guest authors. Guest authors can be anyone from clients, neighbors, or community members, to relatable blog influencers (i.e., recipe, DIY, or homeowner bloggers). Guest authors work for realtors twofold. One, it add variety and diversity in the content being shared on your blog from an expert source. Second, it helps create engaging content that the author can share with their network on social media, doubling the reach of your blog. Best yet, this saves you time from churning out all the content yourself, making it a win-win.

Use guest blogging as an opportunity to reach out to small businesses and the community to get them involved in your brand. Tap into your vendor network and turn it into a series. Ask a lighting specialist to write Home Interiors Guide: Creative ways to light your home, or have a paint specialist write on Home Interiors Guide: What your color scheme says about you.

Bonus Tip: Don’t forget imagery! The first sign of an engaging article is visuals. Often, a blog needs to be visually stimulating to keep the reader in. Given the nature of homeowner content (e.g., vibrant interiors, DIY techniques, infographics), it’s important to include images in the text.

So realtors, show off your marketing skills and boost your engaging blog content by using these three steps. Let us know your tactics for generating quality content in the comments!