Yet again Mark Schaefer offers a thought-provoking post, this one on the use of “ghostwriters” for online content which has stimulated quite a bit of conversation. I’ve had several real estate agents and brokers ask me if I would write their blog posts for them. Essentially, would I “ghostwrite” their blogs, posting content that appears to come from them.
While you can see in Mark’s post (and the many comments that follow) the topic is controversial, and both pros and cons are presented, many great points. My answer (as you can see in my comment on his post), as always, is “it depends.” (Well I didn’t spend a year in Psychology grad school to miss out on that phrase of choice.)
One place that I know this is non-negotiable however, is in the world of real estate. When YOU are your product you cannot afford to have hundreds or thousands of potential clients getting to know and trust your ghostwriter, only to learn when they meet you that they’ve not been interacting with “you” at all. Your potential client base will drop faster than the stock market in the middle of a bank crisis, and your credibility will be shot.
I have never said “yes” to an agent or broker who asked me to provide their personal content. I do say “yes” to teaching them how to set up their blog and/or learn how to set up a regular schedule for providing great content. And I find it’s just that initial bump in the road to understanding how efficient they can be at keeping quality content updated on their blogs that holds most of them back.
Get past the fear, the self-doubt, the false belief that you don’t have enough time, and then blogging is a snap. The only thing that holds you back is what you tell yourself. Do NOT tell yourself you need someone else to write your content. Tell yourself the content already in your head is of great value to your potential client base, and it’ll take no time to write it down and post it! Be authentic! Be yourself online as well as in real life, and clients will naturally be drawn to you.
Disagree? Tell me why I’m wrong…
Ok, I’ll be the first to say that I kind of disagree. Maybe I don’t understand completely but I think it could pay to have a ghost writer or at least have someone to help do your website. It seems like a lot of extra work to write a blog about all your listings when there are other sites you can put them on where people are looking for them. Why not just get somebody else to make these pages for you so you can concentrate on selling real estate and making web pages?
Thanks for the nod and for adding to the discussion on this topic, Jen.
I think you have identified one of the biggest obstacles to successful blogging – self-confidence! If you can tell a story or write a compelling email, you can write a blog (with a little practice, persistence and patience!).
Beautifully written post … and a cool picture! Thanks!
Mark, thanks for the great feedback!
Dave, thanks for sharing your thoughts as well. I recommend you check out some of our previous posts on blogging. Readers know to find your listings on your website. The purpose of a real estate blog is to post regularly updated information about real estate in your market. The blog allows you to establish credibility and authority with potential clients, and engage them in a way a website cannot. We encourage you to subscribe to this blog, and review the Real Estate Paradigm Shift, a report you can find on our home page. Best to you, Dave
Jen, you’re right on target. The difference between a blog and a listing website – which I don’t feel is the best use of a blog as there are about 1,234,517 sites where listings are presented – is the opportunity for an agent to show the knowledge and experience that makes using an agent a good idea. As I wrote before, one might as well outsource showing the properties because the person one reads on your blog better be the person one meets at the doorstep. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Right on, Casey! As evidenced by your blog, you’re one of the few savvy agents that understand your real value proposition as a real estate agent, and provide it to your community. Good for you. Thanks for your feedback!