What kind of agent are you?

I have always been of the notion that my humor, rants, raves, wee people spoofing, music, art and other categories of writing would either connect with an audience or not...

As bloggers, we create original content to be discovered by random people using search engines to look for the things that they are interested in (that we sometimes may have in common). Other times, we may find ourselves simply writing for our regular readers, family and friends, perfectly content to let the global public in on the conversation if they choose to participate by clicking on one of our links.

Sometimes, as a blogger, the goals may specifically include answering our e-mail, clients or other bloggers in public while we prospect for business. Other times, it may be a straight up "I want your business" marketing agenda where we go on and on about why you need various professional services (especially ours - LOL).

So that there is no confusion, consider this a "it is simply to share about my day and answer some e-mail," post (LOL). ;-)

I promised in Facebook I would write something real estate related, so at some point I shall briefly sneak something useful somewhere in here that may actually emulate a serious conversation (LOL).

Some of you have been writing less because the recession has slowed your momentum to a crawl and unlike me you are too chicken to goof off and go on an extended vacation visiting your loved ones. You believe your business will fail if you miss that hypothetical "very important" phone call. Some of you also believe if you make a person wait for your return that (a) they will not wait or (b) hire you because you made them wait.

Hmm...

People are human and understand the concept of family time / fun vacation. You must have balance in your life. If you do not take some time off to share yourself with your loved ones, what kind of agent are you?

The more categories of interests the writer shares, the more opportunity the blogger has to be discovered, so you can still work by doing a few Localism posts. That sometimes includes photos and YouTubes of places to see, things to do and spots to enjoy eating while on vacation... You do not have to tell all, just share some of it (the comfortable parts - LOL). After all, we writers purchase and maintain various websites so we can have visitor traffic (and protect our domain names while we promote and advocate our stuff), so if you find yourself writing less due to stress or writer's block, how about simply saying a brief hello? Hello is always nice. :-)

I love blogging on ActiveRain because it is one of the platforms that hosts my work and my favorite digital home, Club Chaos. My friends and family are here and although I own 47 other websites, I always find myself checking in to lurk on my fave writers blogs so just because I don't always comment didn't mean I didn't read you.

Do not value your blog based upon how many comments you get or the fact that you believe your blog is more professional than another's. You must learn to value your silent readers just as much as the chatty ones.

It's my silent readers that drive my multiple revenue streams and contact / e-mail me real estate prospects (e.g. little kids / teenagers who buy my music telling me they are looking for a new place to live and could I please call their Mom and Dad to help them... and like the Florida electrician who told hubby and I about the older, $25k - $35k homes being sold FSBO by the elderly owners in our neighborhood who want to do a little work before putting them on the market). 

You can not buy tips. Tips are earned and provided by the people who like and trust you. If you are on a well respected, professional platform like ActiveRain then you've built your blogging house on a good foundation. However, the foundation is not the whole house and just as with a house you must maintain your blog or it will fall into disrepair.

Is it critical for a real estate professional to be on every possible social media platform digitally spewing business, business and more business for people to discover them and embrace their self proclaimed mantras? I think not.

Is it better to talk more shop than fun stuff? I don't know because I have a strong bias for fun and frequently incorporate work with play (LOL).

I think you should only hang out on-line where you are comfortable and do the things you can live with while being yourself. In fact, I think if you just show the public your humanity with some of the quirks that makes you uniquely you, you may discover your readers might develop a collective consciousness, turning you into their go to person when they need the services you provide... or just want to ask a question... like "where did you get those spanking cowboy boots?" and "I am in Queens, where's your bagel spot again?" (LOL)

Pssst... people who buy cowboy boots, bagels and music also sometimes buy houses. Seriously... (LOL) ;-) 

So... You gonna do this or what?

A lot of you haven't bothered to participate and I find that simply amazing. (1) Sign up. It's free. (2) Put your website or elevator pitch in the bio box (psssst... free exposure). (3) Did you know that everyone who gives them a picture gets to be in the magazine spread?

Hmm... Missed that little detail did ya? Yall need to stay on a site long enough to actually read the good parts (or notice that some business logos were inserted instead of faces - hint - hint - LOL).

ANYONE CAN DO THIS. Get your family and friends involved.

Don't you want to put that puppy on the coffee table as a conversation piece? I certainly do. The more people you influence to participate the bigger your picture gets.

Ask yourself this: Do you want to see your head get bigger or your BUSINESS Logo get bigger?

I have a little head that wants to be a big head so click this link and go sign up (LOL). :-)

April 28th at The Value Pages Group on Blog Talk Radio: Josef Katz

Josef Katz of Katz Direct Marketing LLC operates a full service direct response marketing agency which specializes in direct response marketing strategy and execution. His client roster is impressive and includes creating customized marketing plans for corporations inclusive of Trump University and Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions.

Other experience includes providing direct marketing and data strategy for leading brands such as Intel, NASDAQ, Nestle, Volvo, Philips Electronics, New Balance, and Rogaine while working for Draft Worldwide and Euro RSCG. Mr. Katz is an active member of the Direct Marketing community who is on the operating committee for the Direct Marketing Association's CRM council and is also an active participant in the e-mail marketing round-table. You can see an example of his work at http://www.straighterline.com/

According to Mr. Katz, "All our efforts are created using metrics and data driven strategy. We use a customized multichannel approach to media incorporating direct mail, email marketing, online marketing, social media, print and database marketing efforts. If you want to reach customers we will find them and bring them to your physical or virtual doors. With over 15 years experience in educational marketing we have a unique approach to for-profit education lead generation, customer acquisition and database marketing."

If you want to get in on the conversation and learn marketing tips to help you grow your business to the next level tune in to Get More Business On Blog Talk Radio at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/get-more-business Wednesday, April 28th 2010 at 11:30 AM Eastern Standard Time.

Wordy C Marketing 101

In a recession where viable does not necessarily translate to being visible, the goal is not to get trapped into using buzz words to describe a hypothetical forward momentum. Time travels forward despite your personal opinion on the matter. One can also travel towards bankruptcy or insolvency if one finds their firm is in the middle of a public relations nightmare where the price of shares is dropping faster than you can type your press releases. If you think you don't need to update your marketing strategy because your company is "doing well," think again.

The key to marketing is to always continue marketing.

The key to public relations is to always maintain your relationships and not wait for something bad to happen to make you consider contacting an agency to improve your image after it has been battered by negative press.

Start thinking that every day is a wonderful opportunity to evaluate your firms public relations initiatives so you can market them more effectively and efficiently. If you don't have a firm, treat your sole proprietorship as if it is the most important client you have and use social media to market yourself.

Need help? Call Josef. We will be providing valuable tips and basic social media strategies to get you started. When things are going well, we sometimes think we don't need to update our marketing and public relations strategy. In an economy as tough as ours, can we afford not to re-evaluate our marketing plans and ask ourselves a few basic questions like:

1. Am I in a marketing rut? When was the last time I updated my virtual, social media and brick and mortar campaign inventory for distribution?

2. Do I review my marketing campaigns by tracking analytics, interactions, advertising efficiencies and link backs?

3. Does it take me 30 days to respond to a comment left on my blog?

4. Do I have a blog? Do I need a blog? What the heck is a blog?