Then head on over to The Real Estate Tomato.  This blog is full of juicy tips written especially for real estate bloggers.  Sign up for their RSS feed or read posts via e-mail.  And make sure you read the older posts that are listed on the left and right columns.  There is a lot of great information on blog writing, organization, marketing, SEO... everything you need to know to get started.

If you work in the real estate industry and you blog or are thinking about blogging, you really should be reading The Real Estate Tomato. 

Like any Web site address, your blog's URL can make a big difference in how you are ranked with search engines like Google and Yahoo.  It can also peak people's curiosity and draw visitors to your site. 

Your blog's name should convey what the site is all about.  What are you going to write about?  Who is your target audience?  Make a list of relevant keywords and see how you can weave them into a Web site address.  But don't go crazy with keywords.  You want the name of your blog to be short, simple and easy to remember.

Assist-2-Sell franchise owners should consider using keywords related to their local market, real estate, buying and selling a home, and/or Assist-2-Sell.  Think narrow.  If you practice real estate in Carlsbad, for example, you should use "Carlsbad" and "Real Estate" in the name of your blog, not "San Diego" or "California."

When you sign up for an A2S Talk account, your user name automatically becomes your blog's name.  Your user name probably isn't relevant to search engines or to your target audience, so spend a few minutes and change the name of your blog.  Just follow these steps:

1. Login at www.a2stalk.com.
2. Scroll down and click on "Edit weblog."
3. Run your cursor over "Weblog" in the top left and scroll down to "More options."
4. Click on "Title and description of this blog" and change the name of your blog.  You should also enter a brief, keyword rich description so readers know what your blog is all about.  Click "Save."
5. Once again, run your cursor over "Weblog" in the top left and scroll down to "More options."
6. Click "URL for your blog."  Your URL should be the same as the title of your blog.  Click "Save."  All A2S Talk blogs will have www.a2stalk.com in their URL, followed by the name of their blog.  For example, the name of my blog is "Assist-2-Sell Publicist" so my blog's URL is www.a2stalk.com/Assist2SellPublicist. 
7. Congratulations!  You've renamed your blog!

For the last few months, we've been encouraging Assist-2-Sell franchisees to jump into the blogging arena.  I'm happy to see the A2S Talk "blog list" growing but there are still only a few franchisees who are actually blogging. 

I understand.  It's intimidating.  I thought about it for a long time before I actually did anything, and I still hesitate before posting anything online... "Will anyone care about what I have to say?"  If you're experiencing some of the same anxieties, all I can say is, go for it.  Just get started.  If you post something less than stellar today, you'll make up for it tomorrow.  If you're consistent, you'll get into a groove and each post will be better than the last.  

Here are some resources to help inspire you:

• The Real Estate Tomato is a great blog with "juicy blogging advice for REALTORS."

o A recent post by Jim Cronin actually prompted me to write this post. Read "Real Estate Blogging Business Plan For 2008" to learn what you should be thinking about when you blog.

o Spend some time on Jim's site. I could give you a list of posts to read but that would take up too much space. Just start by reading the posts he's listed on the left and right sidebars.

• I've posted some ideas on my blog in a category aptly named "Blogging" - http://www.a2stalk.com/Assist2SellPublicist/weblogCategory/1rq65ztz0x5nt.
• Realty Blogging is a book for REALTORS who want to build their brand and find new customers using blogs. It's pretty short but has some good information.
• Read other blogs. Get ideas that you can apply to your own blog and stay in the loop with trends and industry gossip. Here are some categories to help get you started:

o Advice: Blogs like The Real Estate Tomato and RSS Pieces offer blogging advice to REALTORS.

o Consumer-Oriented: These blogs are trying to capture the attention of home buyers and sellers in their respective areas. If that's what you're trying to accomplish - and I think it is - think about how you can apply what they're doing to your area. Some blogs that stood out as I was looking for examples: up2date, DallasA2S, renorealtyblog, Greenville SC Real Estate, Curbed Los Angeles and Boise Real Estate Blog. You can see plenty of examples at ActiveRain and REALTOR.com's "Let's Talk."

** Don't get discouraged by the numbers. There's plenty of room for you! There are millions and millions of people searching for millions and millions of different things. What you write about may appeal to just the right people.

o Trends: Blogs like The Future of Real Estate Marketing offer insight into, well, the future of real estate marketing.

o Professional: There are a lot of blogs (ActiveRain comes to mind) that have REALTORS getting together to talk to and about each other. Kind of a virtual water cooler.  I wouldn't get too caught up in the discussion because you want to spend your time blogging for buyers and sellers, but you should know what the industry is talking about. 

There are a lot of resources available to you, but don't wait until you have a blogging degree.  Get started today and learn along the way.  You have nothing to lose-except a little time-and you have a lot to gain.

By now you know that I think blogs are an important way for real estate pros to promote themselves with would-be homebuyers and sellers.  I wanted to share a blog posting I recently found from RSS Pieces.  This real estate blog knows that one of the biggest challenges is finding something to write about.  Not anymore!  They've taken care of it for you with "A Years Worth of Real Estate Blog Ideas."  (The link takes you to the bottom of the page, so scroll up to the top of the screen.)  The great thing about these ideas is that RSS Pieces gives real-world examples so you know what they're talking about.  Here are just a few ideas:

• Cover a high dollar home sale in your area
• Give 10 tips for getting more money on the sale of a home
• Explain local market conditions using data from the MLS
• Review restaurants and other local things to do
• Guide consumers through specific elements of the home buying or selling process (like closings, open houses, staging, etc.)
• Dispel rumors spread by the media, your competitors, TV, etc.
• Find relevant videos on YouTube and embed them on your blog
• Offer tips for choosing a REALTOR
• Take a hot topic (like the subprime mortgage market) and offer your opinion
• There are many more ideas at http://www.rsspieces.com/a-yearrs-worth-of-real-estate-blog-ideas

No more excuses for not getting started today!

We're already a month into the New Year.  Why not use the rest of '08 to build your online presence and position yourself as a local real estate expert?

Some of my previous posts looked at blogging at a high level.  But what about actual content?  Here are some ideas shared by panelists at Real Estate Connect: 

1. Write about specific neighborhoods, not just "San Diego real estate."
2. Don't be clever with your titles.  Make them direct and keyword rich.
3. Use questions as titles and in blog posts, because most people search Google by entering a question.
4. Think about your readers and their interests.  One REALTOR® noticed a big spike in traffic when she listed places to watch fireworks in her community on the Fourth of July.
5. Post your Web site and blog URL everywhere -- business cards, e-mail signatures, letterhead, etc.

What are you writing about on your blog?  Which of your articles attract the most attention?