Where readers ask and we try to answer:

Dear Front Steps, [It's theFrontSteps, but we'll let it slide.]

I am a Realtor in Daly City and I read your blog almost daily. I think it is a great resource and I’m wondering if you can give me some advice on how to start my own, and wondering should I even start a blog in the first place.

Thanks,

CD

Thanks for the question. I’ve always known we had a bit of Realtor traffic here on tFS, especially considering the turnout of votes for our Sexiest Realtor in San Francisco contest, which we’ll likely do again, but I never imagined we’d get a question like this. (It’s funny, I actually met with the head of MyTechOpinion the other day and talked about this very thing.)

This is a tough one to answer because tFS has been a great source of business and leads for me, but also an enormous drain on my time. There are many days I think I should pull the plug on it, but simply enjoy it too much. I never intended it to be a lead generator, and never started it with the same intentions that most Realtors start a blog (marketing). I wanted instead to provide a platform and place for as many SF Realtors as possible to post information about the market without the sales pitch. But we won’t go into the reasons why I think that ain’t happenin’.

With that said, I would suggest you do start a blog, but not a real estate blog. (Check out wordpress.com or blogger.com for easy platforms.) Start a blog about you, or something that is important to you in your life. A perfect example of one of the most successful “real estate” blogs out there is Grow A Brain. The editor is clearly a real estate agent, but does not focus on real estate, rather has fun with blogging, with a little “Census Realty” type thing on the side.

Most important is to do your own thing and keep it simple. The shorter the post or article, the better. Don’t write a novel, because very few people will read it online (think 1-2 minute maximum attention spans). There are a lot of agents out there now doing exactly the same thing, and it’s getting tired. Don’t just look at a successful site like this and try to duplicate it. Do something new. It will be much more successful.

That’s my $.02. Hope it helps.