The Social Media Handyman

In the offline marketing world, copywriters are a hallowed lot, at least the good ones. Not so much online. I recall a few years back reading about the different types of Internet-related jobs in terms of salaries paid, and copywriting was way down the list. In the offline world copywriters worth their salt can make a fortune!

What does this have to do with blogging? Simply that honing your blog copywriting skills can make your blog more popular and, if you're in the business of making money with it, more profitable as a result.

Two blogs I've found recently that can assist your growth in this area are Copyblogger and The Write Spot. Both blogs provide tips to increase your chances of success, whether those be an increase in the numbers of readers, revenue, and/or reputation.

Not to be outdone, here are a few tips of my own I've picked up along the way.

Keep your index page scannable.
One sure way to give your blog greater vitality is to keep copy on the home page short, so that readers can more easily scan the page and see more posts. Allow no more than two or three paragraphs on the home page per post. Copyblogger's author Brian Clark does this and his site is an excellent model to follow. Another good example is any of the Weblogs Inc blogs.

But, what if you have a longer post? Most blog platforms provide means by which you can write a longer post, yet keep the portion that appears on the home page short, what some platforms refer to as an "extended" post. Here's how it works on a couple of the more popular one:

• WordPress - Allow me to introduce you to the "more" button. If you're using the WYSIWYG version of the posting interface, it's an icon in the shortcuts bar that looks like a pagebreak. If you use what I do, the HTML version, it simply says "more." At the point where that option is inserted in a post is where it "breaks." The portion above the "more" insert (which looks like this by the way:<!--more-->) shows up on the home page. The rest does not.


• Typepad and Movable Type - Both Typepad and MT are products of Six Apart, and they work similarly. Using the customize option, which usually appears at the bottom of the posting interface page, you can set the page to have two entry fields, one of which is referred to as the "extended" entry. The part of your post you include in the first field appears on the home page, the part in the extended entry field appears when the post permalink is clicked.

• Keep paragraphs short - Long, ad naseum paragraphs make comprehension difficult. Best to keep them shorter.


• Use bold and italics to highlight certain words and phrases - Using them to emphasize main points will help the copy "flow" better and can draw readers into the details of the paragraph.


• Use sub-headings - When you change topics within a post, it's always good to identify that with a sub-heading. Using something called header tag is helpful. There are different levels of header tags, classified by number. An "h1" tag, for example, is used for main titles, while the "h3" tag is good for sub-titles and sub-headings.

• The Copywriter's Handbook


• The Online Copywriter's Handbook

I told myself I wouldn't use this blog as simply a place to repost from other blogs or as a means to get you to visit my other blogs by posting an excerpt. (While that's not an indictment of anyone else who might chose to do so,  it seems cheap and tawdry to me.) Everything I write here I want to be original content. However, there's a new social media app out now that everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) is talking about. Since part of my plan here at AR is to discuss social media, and since I figured some would rather read it here than on my other blog, I thought it worthwhile to bring this to your attention... 

Funny...one day you've never heard of something. The next day, it's all you're hearing about. Everyone is agog about Twitter, a new mini-blogging, real-time, SMS social media application that you use to send messages to all your friends (so long as they are Twitterites too), and on your friends list.

It's an app that's just been introduced to the masses, but is getting MSM attention, bloggers are all over it of course, and it's already been included in a marketing presentation as how social media should be done.

Twitter is a community of friends and strangers from around the world sending updates about moments in their lives. Friends near or far can use Twitter to remain somewhat close while far away. Curious people can make friends. Bloggers can use it as a mini-blogging tool. Developers can use the API to make Twitter tools of their own. Possibilities are endless!

What are the marketing implications, particularly as they pertain to real estate? As with most things Web 2.0 there have to be some. At least, I think there have to be some. I've got to do some more research before I pass judgment.

CNET has an interesting article on the history of blogging, saying that the technology is now 10 years old, believe it or not. It asks the question, who started the whole ball rolling? 

I have a more pertinent question for this community, two actually. Who was the first real estate blogger? And, how many real estate blogs currently live in the blogosphere? 

I know Hanan Levin has been doing this for some time, so I'd have to think he was one of the early ones. Other than that, I've no clue.

As to the second, in a recent panel in which I sat as a panelist, the moderator, Brad Inman, pointed that question in my direction. I gave him my honest answer, which was "I don't know." (That is often my answer.) That didn't seem to satisfy him, as he suggested the author of a book on real estate blogging should know better than anyone. So, to save face I made one up. (Frankly, I think he realized I made it up too!)

That confession now off my chest (and boy do I feel better), the question does remain. How many RE bloggers now inhabit the blogosphere? If you know, or would like to venture a guess, I'll gladly entertain your answer. I don't believe any empirical data exists at this point by which this could be verified. If you know of such, please point me to it. 

I did email Technorati's CEO, David Sifry, for a response, but never heard from him. I would think if anyone knows, it's David, so maybe Brad should ask him.   

A Google search on the term "real estate blogs" returns over one million results. Well, that's not accurate. A similar search on Google blog search returns just over 7,000. (In both cases, I put the search term in quotes. Not using quotes around the term brought an outrageous number of returns in both cases.) A Technorati search returns over 26,000.

How important it is to know this number, I'm not sure. I think it has bearing though, if only for historical sake. I do think there is validity in codifying the growth of this movement within the industry as well.

Again, if you know, or even if you'd be willing to venture an educated guess, please leave a comment. 

One thing you're going to learn about me is that I'm very evangelistic about blogging and all things Web 2.0. Often, you'll see me get on my soapbox and rail away at why Realtors need to be taking advantage of all the next generation net has to offer. 

Recently, I was at one of the realty conventions (can't recall which it was) where our company was an exhibitor, and got engaged in a conversation with a gentleman about the Internet. He saw it as a place to gather information, almost like going to a vast, virtual library. I had to counter his conjecture by saying the next generation net, what the Internet has become, is not about passive comsumption, but active participation.

If there is one point I want to press home over and over it is this: Consumers are in the driver's seat. They have been empowered to speak their mind, and they are. Our response has to be active listening and engagement. 

Let me recommend a couple of resources I've run across lately that bears witness to this. One is, believe it or not, an advertising supplement included with this month's copy of Real Estate magazine. It talks about the top 10 tech trends to watch for in 2007 and is presented by IMPREV. It's really a well-written, fairly comprehensive report in my opinion, and worth reading. So, go dig it out of the trash or that stack of stuff on your desk and give it a once-over.

The second is a book entitled Citizen Marketers by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. If you read nothing else this year, read that. Those folks have a better understanding of cultural trends in consumer behavior than anyone I know. If you're a skeptic, this book will convince you that something more is afoot so far as the Internet is concerned that what you might have realized.

Where does blogging fit in the next generation net? It's the forerunner of the movement and remains the centerpiece in my opinion. But, it's only one of many tools available to Realtors. Social networks like Active Rain are another valid channel. Podcasting is easily done now...compared to the early days...and video is hot, as I'm sure you know.

Of course, with all this sound and fury over the Internet, I still wonder if "boots in the sand" marketing efforts like old-fashioned farming is any less valid. Down here in the deep south where I live, I believe it is. Maybe not so much in large, metropolitan markets. 

Like I said, I'm an evangelist. My real goal is to get you to the door. Others will take you through much more expertly than I can, especially in the real estate arena. But, I want to make a believer out of you. A true convert. A kool-aid drinker! How am I doing?  

UPDATE: The book is now available for pre-order at Amazon. It's scheduled release date is Sept. 24, but I have a sneaking suspicion it will be available before then.  

I'm a huge fan of For Dummies books. Not only do I qualify (though sometimes I think "idiot," "moron," or "imbecile" are more appropriate terms for me) and, thus, collect a lot of them, I've had the distinct honor of serving as technical editor on several and even contributing author on one. (No, Realty Blogging was not my first rodeo!)

Well, I want to tell you about a new one that those of you who are WordPress users will absolutely love! It's called WordPress For Dummies and it's due for publication later this year. 

I'm serving as Technical Editor for the book, which is being written by a dear friend and colleague Lisa Sabin-Wilson, an awesome blog designer/developer. In fact, Lisa used to do design work for me back when I ran a business blog  consultancy.

I'm working through the book now, and though I can't say anything about what's in it, I can tell you it's one you will want to get your hands around if you're a WordPress user. Hold your breath! It won't be long. Lisa is a writing fool right now.