your mortgage team for life © 2005-2007 aimee & shailesh ghimire blogging 101 shailesh ghimire...

www.aimeeloans.com© 2005-2007 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire

“Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Blogging 101

Shailesh GhimireAzMortgageGuru

CTX Mortgage Company



Introductions

• We are in the mortgage business

• CTX Mortgage Company (3 years)

• Blogging for almost 2.5 years

• More actively since earlier this year



So… You Want to Blog

• Part One– What is a blog?– Blogging Platforms– Blog Topics– Blogs as Networks

• Part Two– Marketing your blog– Search Engine Results– Social Media/Networking– What makes a blog great?– Turning clicks into deposit slips



What is a blog?

• A blog is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.

• A blog provides commentary or news on a particular subject such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic.

• Source: Wikipedia



Blog vs. Website

• A blog is a type of website

• Websites are typically more static with a brochure feel

• A dialogue, a conversation with fresh content

• One does not displace the other, they serve different functions

• Lets look at a blog and compare it to a website



How to Set Up a Blog

• Requires a blog software installed on a host server

• It needs a domain name or a subfolder within an existing domain – For example, www.yourdomain.com/yourblog

• Available platforms:– Wordpress– Typepad– Blogger/Blogspot– LiveJournal



Let’s Take a Tour

• Once installed this is what it will look like on Wordpress

• This is what a Blogspot environment will look like



Setting Up a Wordpress Blog



Wordpress Setup

• Themes and design (thousands of free themes available)

• Test your blog on varying platforms (IE, Firefox ...)

• Check the load time (anything greater than 7s is bad)

• Install some useful Plugins such as– Askimet– Ultimate Tag Warrior– Relevant posts plugin



Final Setup Stage

• Search Engine Optimization and Analytics– Install Google Sitemaps– Register with FeedBurner– Register with Technorati, BlogCatalog…– Register with Google Analytics– Decide whether you want to be known with or

without the www



Some Lessons Learned

• Host your blog within your own domain name

• Choose a web host experienced in hosting a blog

• Do not use a proprietary blog software

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions while setting up a blog



How to Generate Blog Topics



What Do I Blog About?

• Anything and Everything– Start with an area of expertise– Neighborhoods/Farm Area– Parks/recreation– Hobbies/Interests– Customer stories– Personal triumphs– Controversial topics (if you’re comfortable)

• Make it distinctly you, don’t plagiarize, don’t compare and don’t underestimate yourself



Content is King

• Write about what you want to be known about– Brush up on your writing skills if you need to

• Keywords in your post title and story

• Picture descriptions and title

• Relevant tags and categories

• Keep the blog fresh (3-5 posts a week)



Some Blogging Idea Tips

• Subscribe to: – RSSPieces.com (A Years Worth Of Blogging Ideas)– Daily Blog Tips Website (dailyblogtips.com)

• Read local newspapers and comment

• Read industry publications and comment

• Read blogs from outside of the industry



Networking: Becoming a Blogger

• Visit other blogs

• Use a RSS Reader – Google Reader, Bloglines, Feedreader, FeedBruner, Pluck ...

• Leave comments on others posts

• Draw inspiration from other blogs (don’t plagiarize)

• Link to other blogs and posts– Trackback



Links, links and more links

• Links coming back to your blog (keyword rich links) help your search rankings

• Deeplinking helps keep your readers within your blog

• It brings new visitors to your website



Marketing Your Blog

• Register with:

– Technorati (the premier search engine of blogs)– MyBlogLog– BlogCatalog– FeedBurner (for syndication)

• Install Google Site Maps

• Register with Google Analytics

• Cross-marketing through Facebook, MySpace, ActiveRain ...



ActiveRain

• Community of Real Estate Professionals

• Blog platform is available

• Positives:– Automatic reader base– Great exposure – SEO love

• Negatives:– Crowded– (Talking to peers)– Addictive



Milking Active Rain for Search Engine Placement

• Tips on Active Rain:– Keyword-rich titles– Add descriptions and titles to pictures – Make sure your profile headers are descriptive– Effectively use tags and localism– Link to your website and your other blogs– Read Karen George’s blog on Active Rain

– Shameless self-promotion– Doorway to my blog



Other Social Media

• Facebook– Publish your post snippets on your profile page

• MySpace

• LinkedIn

• Twitter and many, many more



Congrats! You’re a Blogger



Define the Goals of Your Blog

• To be found on the Internet

• To be read by peers and potential clients

• To demonstrate your expertise

• To maintain relationships with past clients

• To turn clicks into deposit slips



Now That You’re a Blogger

• Manage your Ideas– Make your blog predictable (Funny Friday, Monday

Market Update...)– Jot ideas down when you think of them– Save good articles you have read– Save funny cartoons you have viewed– Save YouTube videos that may be relevant– If you’re on writing roll, then post-date a few articles



Words of Wisdom

• Become familiar with copyright laws

• Backup what you say with proof, because they will question you

• Never lie, never personally insult, never vent aimlessly

• Respond to questions you receive about your posts

• Read the comments people leave and respond

• Be careful about what you write. Once you publish it’s set in stone. Google will find it one way or another!

• Just be you!



Resources and Blogs of Note

• Locally:– RealEstateWeblogging101.com– PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com (Real Estate)– BlogArizona.com (Home Inspection)– ChristophSchweiger.com (Real Estate)

• Nationally:– http://www.reagentinct.com/blog– http://www.brokerbryant.com/



Questions



I do mortgages on the side to support my blogging habit!!!

Call Aimee at (480) 516-1819

E-mail: [email protected]

Shailesh at (480) 516-1851

E-mail: [email protected]

On the web: www.aimeeloans.com

Blog: www.azmortgageguru.com

your mortgage team for life © 2005-2007 aimee & shailesh ghimire blogging 101 shailesh ghimire...

Documents