We have posted another audio recording about A2STalk.com our exclusive blogging platform for franchisees.    

 "I set up my A2STalk.com account/blog, now what?"    

Dave Crumby, Erin Campbell, and Ryan Elliott discuss taking the next steps in setting up your blog. Topics include, what to write about, what not to write about, places to get good ideas for posts, and much more.  You can also get more information on my blog at  The recording is posted on the franchisee resource center under the "A2S Talk Blog Series"  section about halfway down the homepage on the resource center. The link is called "A2S Talk.com next steps audio."  The audio is in MP3 format and can be downloaded by right clicking on the the link and selecting "save  target as," and chose a location to save the file on your computer.   

 As always, if you need any assistance let me know.

Happy Blogging!  

Ok many have asked me what blogs I follow. So here is a list of my top real estate and business blogs in no particular order.

Future of Real Estate Marketing. http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/

This blog is about technology and its application to the real estate industry. The writer, Joel Burslem, is great and the blog is a great read.

1000 Watt Consulting Blog http://www.1000wattblog.com/

This blog is about web 2.0 and marketing. The focus is on the real estate industry.

Real Estate Tomato Blog. http://www.retomato.typepad.com/

Great blog about a number of topic but mostly about blogging for real estate.

Up 2 Date Real Estate http://www.up2daterealestate.com/

This is written by one of our franchisee Doug Willis in Pasadena, CA. He has done a great job with this blog. This is good example of how to blog effectively.

Blog for Author Seth Godin http://www.sethgodin.typepad.com/

Seth Godin is a great writer with many best selling books on business, marketing and customer service. The blog is great and thought provoking

4 Hour Work Week Blog. www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog

This is the blog for the best selling book The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris. This blog always has great ideas on time savings and cost cutting as well as great studies.

In addition to the above I follow a news feed/ blog for our local news paper in Reno.

One of the biggest concerns I get from franchisees looking to start a blog is finding good topics to right about. It is a valid concern because you need to write about topics and issues your audience is going to be interested in.

I think the best approach is to put yourself in the shoes of your readers, or soon to be readers. What are their interests and concerns? One way I come up with topics is to pay attention when someone asks you a question about your market. Questions like, Is now the time to buy? Should I sell now or wait? Is the bottom of the market here? Are interest rates going up or down? What price ranges of homes are selling the best? Do you have any deals? What services do you provide at Assist-2-Sell? Why is Assist-2-Sell a better choice? Answering these questions is a great start and will give you plenty to write about.

Another idea is to pick out a neighborhood you are interested in or do a lot of business in and write about it. How many homes are for sale in the area? What makes the neighborhood unique? Highlight new subdivisions in the area including price ranges and features. Find interesting stories about the area. You may actually learn more about the area in the process.

The internet is becoming a powerful tool for real estate sales, but will never replace your experience and expertise. People want to do business with an expert, someone that will watch out for their interests. Blogging gives you the ability to leverage your expertise. The hardest part is getting started. Don't wait start today.
Happy Blogging!

Many people ask me about blogs, and what all the fuss is about. Below is a video I found with an excellent explanation about blogs and the potential they have. There are some major benefits blogs have. There are millions of blogs out there on just about any topic you can think of. They are written by millions of "reporters" that bring you their perspective on very specific topics. I don't have to follow all the different trends, news stories, web sites, etc., I let the bloggers do it for me.

I like the fact that there aren't restrictions on what blogs can write about. Instead of a newspaper or magazine telling me what stories I should read, I can decide for myself. It's "user generated content" at its best.

Blogging is a excellent platform to tell your story and share your expertise with your customers.

Below is an interesting presentation about blogging. The video talks about strategies for developing your blog, and the importance of having a plan. What are you trying to accomplish, who are you trying to attract to your blog and once they are there will they come back?