Being new is a great time to start making a niche for yourself and blogging really good posts. Find a segment of the market or neighborhoods you want to specialize in and make yourself an expert. Then write about them over and over and before you know it you will be getting calls about what is happening in your market. I get calls from other agents about the neighborhoods I write about. They know that I know.

Like Debbie Reynolds said, the world is your oyster.  Find a niche, look around the various neighborhoods, see where you would like to work.  Start a blog by describing the neighborhoods you visited for instance.  A

It's like chicken soup for a cold, it doesn't hurt.

Hi Norlyn,

Welcome to Active RAin!

It can be very effective, and the first set of posts that you need to write are the local neighborhood posts.

Become the local expert, google will appreciate it and so will potential buyers and sellers.

But none of this will do any good until you upgrade to a Rainmaker account so that your posts will be visible to the public.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

bob

300+ Blogging Ideas

Links for 100s of Blogging Ideas

If you don't find something there to inspire a post, you probably are going to have trouble writing :) 

You have some great answers. Especially about upgrading so your blog is visible to everyone.

Think of blogging as a living resume or sample of who you are & what you do & how you think. Those wanting to do business with you will research them

Norlyn Figueroa - You have so many great suggestions. I'd add one more to it - I'd suggest a RainMaker account here so whatever you blog is visible to the world.

Good Luck.

You need to staart reading many many blogs a day and then you will understand.

I say blog about your experience as a new agent. What have you done, what frustrations have you had? What positives have you seen?  I think you should always talk about what you know, never what you don't!!

Welcome to the rollercoaster!  It's not an overnight success thing for sure.  I blog about new listings and how the market is doing.  You can also blog about local events, neighborhoods, what makes you unique... the list really goes on and on.

Debbie Reynolds gave you some great advice.  I'd also recommend following Nestor & Katerina Gasset (Katerina) for valuable info on blogging and SEO and Barbara Todaro, she's a certified marketing genius.

Welcome to the rain!  Just make sure you have a "Rainmaker" (paid) account, otherwise your blogs won't be visible to the outside world.  Also seriously consider getting your own WordPress website.

Check out this months active rain contests (contests link at bottom of the page.) That will give you some ideas and motivation to get going. -Kasey

What is there not to blog about.  Yes, you need your own blogging platform. You need to create your own content ... not re-purpose what you may have a right to use. You need an online presence.  

Get out there ... take a lot of photos of communities and write about them. Link to IDX search pages. 

It's what you include in the blog that can help. You can start with " 10 New Agent Tips That Helped me Jump Start my Business"

I would blog about what you love about real estate and business will come

As a new agent you need to make sure everyone in your neighborhood knows you are a REALTOR. You need to be the neighborhoods go to person for info on whats happening within the community, the market trends, New builds, Kids baseball games etc etc. Use every Free tool you have first before you start laying out the big Buck$.

Hi Norlyn - welcome to the world of real estate and ActiveRain.   Like many forms of lead generation or marketing, this is a forum that will take time -- be consistent, participate, comment, ask/answer questions.  I use AR to complement other marketing activities.   

Blogging is not always instant although it can be. A blog stays around for ever so it has a lasting ability to attract clients. Write about your area, what events are coming up. Write about your market, what do you see? Write about favorite communitie sin your area, condo complexes or sub divisions.

There are a ton of webinars on Active Rain about what to blog about, how to kick-start your blogging, etc. I don't use Active Rain to "generate" business...it's there for street cred. Any business generated is simply a bonus. And it's not likely you'll kick start your business by blogging... it's a long term commitment.

Yes, I think blogging is definitely helpful. There have been a lot of good ideas already shared here. You could also do a lot of reading on ActiveRain to see what other people write about to get some ideas going.

Welcome to Active Rain.  It is a great place to learn and I think you can great ideas by reading blogs from other agents.

Once again, I agree completely with Debbie Reynolds!  YES it works and is WELL worth the time investment...WELL worth it!

You have some great ideas here, but consistency is the key!  

It can be effective if you make sure you blog with links and resources that people will want to look for.

Blogging is a great way to establish some credibility. Nearly every potential seller has Googled us before we showed up - Active Rain has helped to make us easy to find and demonstrates our professionalism.

the best advice I ever received was to write what I know.... and that's what I do.... I write to sellers.... offer free market analysis.... share market reports.... write about how to market new construction and land.....

Debbie Reynolds has your answer! 

It is always ongoing roller-coaster ride. Get comfortable if you want to stay in this profession. As for blogging. Post anything you feel important to you to say: about your listings and transactions, about your issues, about your community, about you too:) 

Give advice to what will make a home sell or items that buyers need  to know.

Good luck.

parked and reading...

Debbie Reynolds nailed this one!

Norlyn Figueroa  

You use AR as a platform to organially make yourself known.

They teach you how at AR University.  Nothing is free you need be have a paid member. If you want to be noticed quickly you can buy Adwords with a fixed budget. Have it linked to your website. You can also do it from Face book....  New agents must have to have a budget for marketing.

Organically requires consistent work 95% realtors do not have time and energy. The millionaires (pts) here have been at this site over 1 decade.

You must be consistent and professional.

Blogging will not kick-start your business. It is a long winding road to walk with blogging.

Norlyn Figueroa Can't say it any better than Debbie Reynolds said it.

It can't hurt but don't expect too much from it at first

Great question Norlyn!

In your business plan you identified those communities that represent the location of your preferred client. The total number of residences of these communities should not be less that 2,5000. You DO need critical mass.

Take my word for this, the #1 thing folks in these communities want to know, to have, is the resources to plan their weekend. On my websites the community calendar is my far the most visited page. WARNING: maintaining a comprehensive calender is labor intense, but so often the meaningful things are.

Event based marketing. Every time you 'see' something that those in these communities see, blog about it. New construction, fire, business opening, now hiring, gigs needed/offered, recognitions even the new sod installed because the mole crickets won. In the latter case, suggestions how to deal with mole crickets becomes a message that could save the homeowner $2,500.

Plan your blogging  based on how many you can create. I know you stated you have nothing to talk about. We are going to fix that.

Assume five blogs a week , translated that means three.

One is EBA, the second events. and the third REAL ESTATE. Other things that will flesh out your 'nothing to talk about' is understanding every homeowner is challenged with at least  these five things every year if not every month. Any one of these or all of them will day readers like moths to a flame. The five things are:

1. Healthier life style

2. Lose weight/eat better

3. Self improvement

4. Better relationship wife, family, parents, inlaw.

5. Save more money/Earn more money

If all the agents  talks about is real estate, the word THAT describes that agent is 'boorish.' 

Using any blog, including your Active Rain blog make certain the community name is included in a tag, title, first paragraph. Be aware 'news' and 'evernts' are the things folks are searching for and google confirms. Finding insightful, relevant and actionable information regarding real estate and the other challenging matter of life is a pleasant surprise.

You will know your success not by the leads generated but by those at events who will say, "Oh, you are the one on the website!" A celebrity is born.

Read up a bit on SEO and title generation. The latter is CRUCIAL.