A Blog A Day
A couple years back, I learned about blogging. I think the very first time I heard the term was from Dave Taylor – a Boulder online guru. Sigh. I didn’t put pen to paper (er, mouse to keyboard?) for a few more years. But, once I started, I got into this new concept in a big way.
A blog a day became an obsession. Thirty posts in a month were followed up by a blog a day. And then I repeated that for a second year. These days, it’s a tad more sporadic.
Like a Big Birthday or Something
While it’s been awhile since the heady days of daily blog posts, the professional growth I’ve experienced is on my mind just now.
Hitting 1000 posts is sort of like having a milestone birthday. Similar to a big birthday, I momentarily got stuck. I mean, what spectacular amazing post was I going to write to mark the occasion? In the process of being stuck, I accidentally wrote a number of posts and have quietly surged past one thousand and one posts!
So what comes next? Since you are still hanging out reading my story, I’m committed to blogging. Thanks for being here, giving me an opportunity, reaching out and letting me assist with your housing needs. I really appreciate the clients I’ve worked with that I met through my blog!
Hey – Readers aka YOU – Thank you!
Wow, this is a post about my Boulder Real Estate News 1000 post, if you can believe it. I hardly can. I never thought I would be here when I started out writing and blogging. It has taken a real dedication, effort, time and willingness to cross this threshold. I’m super excited.
Lessons Learned Blogging On Boulder Real Esate
Its not easy. Some days I can’t think of a story. Other days, I’m trying to incorporate all the sage advice I’ve been given. Working in the Search Engine Optimization. Coming up with great titles. Writing on subjects you the loyal listener are interested in learning about. And of course just throwing all the official stuff out the window to blog on coffee or some other Boulder nonsense.
I tell myself I’ll blog everyday on slow days. LOL. You know, when I first realized I was at the thousand blog mark,
My first thought was…
Holy [Bleep]!
I recall opening my website and reflecting upon the number of posts I’ve published and blurted out to myself, holy shit. I don’t often swear on my website, really don’t want to offend anyone. Of course, if you know me in person, I’m the guy that would benefit from a swear jar.
I’m just pretty excited to realize that with this post, it’s been 1000 posts since I started blogging.
How did I get here? Perseverance. Even as the website took forever to get some traction. I read other posts about achieving success. They said days, weeks, months. My experience has been, “it takes years and dedication!” Thank you for being a part of it all. Here’s a shout out to some of the genius characters who inspired me along the way.
The Award Goes To
Not me. The award, if there were one, would have to go to Kristal Kraft for helping me get truly started in Blogging. Kristal is a Realtor in the Denver metro market. I’m blessed that she was willing to be so informative and open in helping me get started in blogging. An honorable mention goes to Dave Taylor who planted the seed early on (mentioned above).
Kristal ran an informative series of informal classes out of the South Metro Denver Realtor Association several years back. I learned a lot through these programs. That was a fantastic group of Realtors to be involved with. Sort of an incubation tank for Realtors and technology.
Real Estate Search Engine Optimization
The craziest thing I learned – and have wisely never utilized – is Black Hat SEO. This is the sneaky stuff people figure out to make a page popular. And the zaniest example would be, writing the words “boulder real estate” several hundred times on a page (boring, right?) but then making the print white, on a white background. Sneaky.
My goal: a more ethical, mundane process suggested by a number of blogging peers. I’ve blogged on a consistent basis. The first two years in fact, I blogged everyday, nonstop. Dave Smith, a sharp web developer out of Arizona recommended this simple and effective real estate SEO course of action.
I’ve also worked with a couple of local geniuses. Anita Edge has a great newsletter all about Chili and some great ideas to improve websites. Tracy Schloss knows everything about Four Square and has a solid knowledge of WordPress and website design. Jim Kreinbrink hosts a Meetup and is another sharp resource when it comes to real estate search engine optimization.
I even tried taking a course on SEO. I recall I was dealing with a broken arm while in the course taught by Chris Raulf. That was more tech than I needed. Great information, just a little too Techie for me.
I’ve also picked up a lot of great insight from Social Media marketers. Topping this list has to be Susan Tucker, who really is all about connecting people through social media. But she wouldn’t be alone in the category. Going back to those courses offered by Kristal, there were plenty of Realtors offering and sharing some great insight.
Incredible Online Real Estate SEO Community
There is also this really incredible, ever evolving community of bloggers online. The de facto leader has to be Bill Gassett out of Massachusetts. He blogs consistently, has embraced early new ideas such as having a Google Plus page dedicated to the industry. And he has paved the path of making Realtor connections for articles and posts.
Some in the community include Karen Highland, Kyle Hiscock – all about back links with other agents, Ann and Jim out of Portsmouth New Hampshire and the list really does go on. It seems every week I’m discovering another agent that does it right and I learn some new ideas. I know I’m leaving out organizations. It feels like I’m giving my awards speech and getting the gong to get off stage.
So what’s next?
I am just as excited about the next 1,000 posts as having reached this milestone. Check back, read another post, share a post, give me a shout to talk real estate.
~ Bob Gordon