Mary Pope-Handy, CRS, ABR, E-Pro, SRES

• Manage |RSSCalifornia Real Estate Bloggers
• Manage |RSSReal Estate Bloggers

There's great advice above about linking and putting your blog URL on everything. The one that counts the most, though, is Google. Write so that Google can find you and so that people asking questions can find you. -forget the comments (I have lots of clients from blogging and NONE of them ever left a single comment) -you need lots of great content - once you have a hundred or two hundred posts that have "substance" you will start to get leads, if not have clients and sales -answer QUESTIONS in your posts. What are your most common questions, your FAQs? Do a post on each. BE DETAILED. -the gurus often say to keep your posts at 300 words or less. Forget that. Do long posts with excellent content. More is better. -Write posts that will not be obsolete in a week (posts on neighborhoods, for instance). My blog mentor, Frances Flynn Thorsen, taught me about the value of these "evergreen" posts. -write about community events. During the Christmas holidays, my readership triples because I write about the happenings. It is an easy way to introduce people to your blog. -do market reports. They want the numbers and the data. -finally, be patient. From the time you have 100 or more good posts up 'til you start getting leads, it might take 6 months. But keep blogging and you will see the leads continue to flow in. -write good, LOCAL stuff...keep writing...keep writing...don't give up! Mary Pope-Handy Byron & Associates Co-Author, "Get the Best Deal When Selling Your Home in Silicon Valley" www.PopeHandy.com (site) www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com (site & blog) www.LiveInLosGatos.com (blog)

Many excellent points here regarding putting the consumer's needs first. One tiny correction, though. If in 2006 there were 2 million agents and 6 million transactions, it would not be 3 transactions per agent. Most often, there are two "sides" per transaction, so that's 12 million sides for those 2 million agents. Most likely, the number of transactions that agents did in 2006 is between 5 and 6 each (since some transactions would have only one agent involved). Mary Pope-Handy Keller Williams Co-Author, "Get the Best Deal When Selling Your Home in Silicon Valley" (sites) www.PopeHandy.com & www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com (blogs) www.LiveInLosGatos.com & www.SanJoseRealEstateLosGatosHomes.com

Hi Dian, Twice recently, I've run into this scenario - someone wants to hire one agent for two transactions not in the same market area. The reason? The desire to get a piece of the agent's commission. The thinking is that if one agent gets two deals, a little of that money should go to the client. It gives us quite a bit to talk about.... Mary Pope-Handy Keller Williams Co-Author, "Get the Best Deal When Selling Your Home in Silicon Valley" www.PopeHandy.com (site) www.LiveInLosGatos.com (blog)