What Real Estate Agents Should Know About Blogging

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If you all think that real estate agents have nothing to do with blogging, then you better think again. Do you know that it is in the blogging where you can catch more attention to your potential clients? Well, if you don't know, then yes! Blogging helps you get more customers. And the good news is, you don't have to be an expert in blogging for you to blog, for as long as you know the basics of blogging, then you are off to go.

Basically, it doesn't matter if you are selling any real estate properties; you can definitely still do the blogging. When you engage in blogging, you will eventually realize that you can increase your real estate sales and establish a positive image both to your clients and to the other professionals. Of course, that if you also do and a have a guaranteed SEO.

However, just writing random things on your blog will not get you to your desired outcome. Well, if you are one of those real estate agents and is planning to have a blog, below are the things you should know about real estate blogging.

Pick a great platform

For those who are first timers in blogging, picking a great platform plays a big role in making your blog known to your target clients. Basically, a platform is where you can publish or post your articles about the property that you are selling. One of the most popular platform that you can choose for business blogging is the WordPress. You can definitely write and publish your articles in that platform for free.

WordPress gives you all the tools you need to write. Of course, not just about writing your content but also, you can add pictures or videos to your blog. With that, it gives your blog higher possibilities that your potential clients will be intrigued and interested in your posts. Moreover, WordPress is also a user-friendly platform. So, it is easy for you to use.

Write about topics that encourage both local and national interest

Again, writing contents just for the sake of writing will definitely get you to nowhere. Of course, you are writing about real estate, so you are basically writing about houses such as home improvements, how can one successfully achieve a desirable home, or things a home buyer should know before deciding to invest in a particular property. Don't just write something that is way far from your main focus.

Moreover, incorporating keywords to your contents is also a must! It is in your keyword that helps your potential client find your blog easily. Of course, you also have to choose keywords that are usually or commonly used whenever one searches on the search engine.

Answer questions that people are asking Google

If you have just notice, there are actually thousands of questions that are usually asked repeatedly. However, there are some of the questions that are not answered properly, or people don't even have answers at all. It's a sad thing though, especially when one is desperate enough to know the answers, yet enough Google can find the right answer to their questions. However, the cycle will definitely be broken if you just have a blog where you can answer their queries.

Moreover, when one notices that you have the answer, people will get interested in your blog and of course, in you as a real estate agent. Again, blogging can increase your presence online and can boost your image as a realtor.

Become a local expert

Basically, you cannot write something if you don't have any idea at all. If you want to increase your image as a real estate agent online and to boosts your sales, you can start locally. Of course, you definitely know a lot about your area, right? So, better start with giving information based on the area or field of expertise that you have. With that, you know by heart what you want to say to your potential clients.

Get familiar with social media marketing

When it gets down to blogging, it is not enough that you only know things about real estates. You also have the need to know and get familiar with social media marketing and how you can promote your business online. Of course, knowing and learning SEO is one of the things you should know for you to gain your presence online.

Rules in Holding Meetings Effectively

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Team huddles, weekly conferences, business rendezvous, and project consultations— holding a meeting takes on so many diverse monikers, but one thing is for sure whether you are working in a medical corporation or a digital marketing agency, holding meetings is pivotal to having a functional and efficient workforce. Holding meetings ensure that every single individual involved in a particular project is updated with whatever developments and breakthroughs the team has been making.

Additionally, it is also an effective way to keep tabs on your co-workers with regards to your designated project and be aware of every involved person’s contribution.  However, all these will be for naught when meetings are held ineffectively and apart from that, you will be wasting valuable company time.

More often than not, companies no longer hold meetings as frequently as they did before because they view this as something that would eat time that could be designated for something that would ensure productive results. In essence, some companies would view meetings as an avenue for small talk without establishing any real breakthroughs and advances by its resolution. The sentiments are admittedly true when certain objectives are not ascertained prior to the conference, but when you complement thorough meeting objectives with certain conference rules, your meetings will not only be effective, but it makes for more productivity.

If you are wondering what some of these rules are, take a look below and see if there are some rules you would like to establish during your meetings.

RULE NUMBER 1: RUN YOUR MEETINGS AS YOU WOULD HAVE OTHERS RUN THE MEETINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO ATTEND 

In essence, this rules talks about consideration. This is the Golden Rule of Meeting Management and is probably the most fundamental meeting rule above all. Be considerate of your meeting attendees as they have designated a fraction of their times just to convene with you. To illustrate, say you are running the meeting, imagine what it would be like for your meeting attendees had the roles been reversed and you were the one attending this particular meeting instead of conducting it. If there is something that you do not like (perhaps the way you dilly-dally on small topics) then maybe you should revamp your technique.

RULE NUMBER 2: CREATE A REALISTIC AGENDA 

No meeting should ever be held without an agenda or else, you and your co-workers would not establish anything by the end of your convention. One thing to consider is that if it is not important enough to create a written agenda, then perhaps it is not important enough to attend. Remember, you are interrupting people from doing valuable work for the company, so be ascertain that your agenda is something incredibly significant or important.
Contemplate about the various topics to be covered and have a timeframe of how the meeting should flow and as much as possible, stick to the agenda and to the time frame you have established.

RULE NUMBER 3: TAKE WRITTEN MINUTES

Regardless of the number of people attending—whether there would only be as few as two people attending the meeting or as many as a dozen, a person must be designated to take the meeting’s written minutes. This would provide the meeting attendees with context. Additionally, it would apprise those who were not able to attend of the meeting’s developments. Do not record every single thing said in the meeting, instead, list the crucial decisions and action items. This would ensure that should anyone have a disagreement later, or would refute some of the items agreed on the meeting, misunderstanding may be cleared through a thorough review of the minutes.

RULE NUMBER 4: STAY ON TOPIC 

Remember, you are holding a business meeting, you are not interrupting people for a simple office chit-chat. Although going off tangent is inevitable during meetings, everyone has the equal responsibility to stay on track. When something like this occurs in your meeting, someone should gently direct the meeting back to the agenda items.


These four simple rules can drastically change how your meetings will progress, and it would make your meetings more productive. Remember, improving the quality of your meetings takes work, but if you think a meeting overhaul should be made then do it. Meetings consume a lot of resources and interrupt the flow of work after all. The more efficient your meetings are, the better you return on investment will be.

Five Ways to Find More Blog/Content Ideas

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Content creation is undeniably difficult: whether you are writing for a major newspaper, crafting content for social media or simply creating posts for your designated online marketing agency.

Creating fresh and riveting content is not as easy as some people make it to be and does not exactly have a straightforward formula for success. With the Internet teeming with so much blog posts and ideas similar to your own, it can be rather taxing and challenging to come up with innovative and though-provoking novel posts. Sure, it may seem like a great idea to find a trending topic online, exploit it by writing something similar to it on your own. Well, this might come as a disappointment but using that recipe for content creation is going to guarantee you disastrous results—not because you have written something analogous but more on the fact that you will have a lot of difficulties generating viewership and readership as your page will be buried beneath posts similar to yours.

So, with this pressing dilemma at hand, just how do you find more content or blogging ideas for your posts?

1.)    MAKE A MENTAL INVENTORY OF CLIENTS’ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Clients are inevitably going to ask you more and more questions as you continue to produce and generate more posts covering a wide array of topics. Some of their questions have a similar tone and in essence, share the same nature in the query. Once you have generated enough questions that are of the same trend, then capitalize on it by writing a blog post about it. If there is one way to guarantee you readership, this is it as your clients would want to be apprised of the answers to their queries. Start collating your clients’ frequently asked questions today and have an inventory of them so that when your idea well runs dry, you can pick it out from this hub of questions.

2.)    DO RANDOM GOOGLE SEARCHES 

You can never go wrong with randomly searching for topics on the world’s largest search engine. Suppose you are given a set of keywords to produce content for, do no simply write those keywords in the search bar and expect stellar results. Brainstorm on the topics surrounding a given keyword and contemplate about the interesting posts you can potentially write. When you are done, do some random Google searches regarding the idea formulated in your head but do not just stop there, loiter on social media platforms and sniff around for trending topics that might relate to yours.

3.)    WRITE A SERIES 

Take advantage of your past successful posts by creating a series that speaks of only one theme. In this way, you can guarantee that readers will always come back for more content from you and would gladly anticipate the next post of your series. Piggyback subsequent posts on past successful posts and expand on your success.

4.)    INSERT INFOGRAPHICS IN CREATING YOUR POST 

This has been trending recently, and more and more blog posts have been utilizing this novel technique. Insert infographic into your posts instead of telling your readers about the information you have gathered. They are as equally informative as a blog enriched with verbal explanations, but the bonus is that it is easier to comprehend read and has visual aesthetic value.

5.)    TRY LISTING "ABC" PROMPTS 

Craft an expansive list that covers a multitude of topics utilizing all the letters of the alphabet as first letters to your topic prompt. This is extremely valuable as it allows you to have at least twenty-six posts you can work with. Commence your list with the letter “A” and proceed down the alphabet. It may be harder to look for topics for some of the letters but with a little creativity, it is possible. Do this for any subject, and then once you are done, simply repeat the process.

 

Four Essential Skills a Content Writer Must Possess

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People seemed to be under the misguided belief that all it takes to be a brilliantly skilled content writer is to possess an excellent command of the English language, a notable flair for writing with just the right touch of passion to top it off. Well, being a content writer takes a lot more than those three combined it seems.

Not that any of those three attributes are not exactly as imperative as they were before or that they are of diminutive value--it is just that it takes more than just decent composition skills and a passion for writing to be a successful content writer nowadays. The true nature of content writing has evolved over the years, and this is especially true for content writers who specialize in link building services.

It seems that writing decent posts alone is a skill that barely scratches the surface of what it takes to be successful in content marketing. Succinctly put, a concrete definition of content marketing is the strategic marketing approach that is mainly focused on creating and distributing content for the end-goal of marketing that is to drive profitable customer action.

Now, you might think that generating content may be relatively easy. However, the creation of compelling content is much more difficult than it was before owing to the fact of content explosion online. Now more than ever, there has been a vast proliferation of content that for a single post you make there are about a hundred more so posts similar to it. So with the genesis of content superfluity, what kind of skills should a content writer possess in order to compete?

IMPECCABLE WRITING SKILLS 

This much is obvious.

After all, you are not only representing your brand through your posts but you are also working for an industry where the advertisements of your product are conveyed through your writing.  Decent writing skills will not get you very far; you are writing to drive profitable customer action into your designated websites—not your everyday English assignment or term paper. Impeccable writing skills would include a vast array of skills such as unimpeachable grammatical, spelling and spelling skills. Complement these skills with advanced skills such as the ability to create easy-to-read contents, the capacity to make seamless writing transitions, etc.

REASONABLE AWARENESS OF USER EXPERIENCE 

Content writers should be empathetic towards their readers by considering how their posts are perceived through their end. These posts are not only conveyed through a computer screen— but they are also translated through a mobile device, within a blog template, Twitter, etc. Although, many might insist that content writers should know everything there is about SEO and optimization, this is not necessarily what it means to be aware of user experience. In essence, having an awareness of user experience means that a writer should have a reasonable knowledge of how the users interact with their websites. With this in mind, writers should craft their posts by using their designated keywords in a way that it would make sense based on the user, topic, the main focus of the blog and other relevant features.

CATCHY HEADLINE CREATIONS 

This bears no explanation as it seems rather apparent as to why catchy headline creations are necessary. However, to elaborate and drive the point home it is important to realize just how much competition you have online that having your posts read by users may seem like an impossibility if they have to sift through hundreds of posts similar to it. So with that in mind, just how are you going to herd potential readers into your post? To illustrate, say you have a post regarding interior decorating; if you title this as “Ways to Decorate Your Living Room,” you are sure to find a dozen or more so posts similar to it that yours will be buried under several pages in the search pages. Instead, think of a creative way to make your headlines—make it catchy, play with words, be creative.

MARKETING AWARENESS 

The writer should be aware of his or her unique and strategic position in writing posts for marketing. They should be aware of how to gauge their audience and base their writings from their respective receptions to their posts. This is because content writers are not just simply writers with the creative freedom to write as they please but rather they are constrained to the position wherein they write about topics that would sell their products the most. This compounded with excellent writing skills would make for compelling content.


The bar is not set impossibly high for content writers that it would seem unrealistic to be a successful one. However, it is a reality that content writing is now immensely different than what it was before, and content writers need to realize that and make the necessary changes, acquire the necessary skills and polish their existing one in order to make it in this industry. Keep polishing your skills and never stop improving and you will get far.

From the Experts: Tips to Find the Right Office Space For Your Startup

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If you think that starting up a business such as an SEO Company is just a piece of cake, then you better think again. And whether you agree with me on this or not, it is in starting up a business when everything you do needs to have an extra time, effort and money for you to achieve the right start up. Of course, you have to think about the where you should put up your business, and what kind of employees are you going to hire.

Before you can start a particular business, you need an office space to open it officially up. Without such, it is impossible for you to deliver effectively the right atmosphere where a working place should be. Well, if you are one of those people who are planning to put up his/her business, then below are some tips and ideas for you to be guided on what to do to find the right office space.

Know how much space you need

Before you can decide on what kind of office space you want to have, you also have the need to determine the size needed for your office space. If you think that you are going to hire a few employees for a starting, then you also have a smaller or enough office space for you to effectively and productively accomplish a particular task. Moreover, if you don't need to have a bigger space for your office, then better choose just enough space for you. That is for you to save a lot of money when it comes to monthly payments.

Be considerate of your employees

A productive employee would also mean a happy employee. And one of the factors that contribute to the fact that they are in the mood for work is because of their working place that is near to the place where they live. You don't want to see them arriving too tired early in the morning, right? For you to avoid this kind of situation, you should also choose an office space where it is convenient for each employee to travel to and fro on a regular basis. With that, they still have the energy to do their respective tasks.

Be open to subleasing an office

Most business, if not all, usually don't have enough profit yet. Before you can have a particular office space, you have the need to convince the bank or the landlord that you are going to sublease the place. Well, you can convince them that you are going to pay in a month to month basis, or more rarely by week to week basis. With that, they will know and feel that you are determined to put up your business, and for you to achieve that, you still need an office space.

Work with the people you trust

Before you decide to have a particular office space, one of the things you should and never forget is to be cautious with who you ask with when it comes to your inquiries on a particular office space. Of course, there are people who tend to know something about it, yet they don't have any authority to over the place at all. Considering people nowadays, asking a particular thing to a stranger should be avoided. Well, for you to prevent such unfortunate situation, you have to make sure that you ask the right person. You should ask a landlord or straight to the owner of the office space. With that, you know that you are in good hands when you decide to rent their office space.

Make sure you don't end up with an awful landlord

If you think that all landlords are good and considerate, then you better think again. There are a lot of landlords who don't have any considerations at all, even if you are still starting a business. Well, before you decide to have that particular space, if you have a gut feeling that that landlord is not that good, then you should not pursue the investments. When you do, you, your employees and even your business might compromise because of the landlord that is not that considerate regarding the monthly dues and other things that need discussion.

Starting a business can also be fun when you know and sure of the things that you need to do. Of course, business is a business. And you need to do all you can for you to be able to achieve your business growth successfully. Moreover, never practice deciding impulsively. You need to think twice or even thrice before decide with a particular thing.

5 Effective Ways to Get Through Your To-Do List

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Everybody struggles with the time management. Right? Who doesn't? We all have a lot of things to do. And sometimes, we can't even determine which of our tasks is the most important thing to prioritize, since our tasks are all important. I'm sure, a lot of us here can relate to this kind of situation. Like us, even marketers who are working in a digital marketing agency, they also struggle when it comes to the time management.

Some of you here have already found ways on how you can achieve the desired time management that you are aiming. Well, they usually go with the to-do list. Of course, having a to-do list can help you in prioritizing your tasks. But let's still admit! There are just times that we can't avoid not following the things that are in our to-do list. That is why, some of you here won't go for the to-do listings.

However, if you are a kind of person who is determined to have a change in his/her time management, then below are some effective ways on how you can get your to-do listings.

Prioritize the list

Before starting your work each day, you should give a minute to reflect and determine which of the tasks that you are working that needs to be on the top priority. If you think that the tasks you are working are all top priority, then you better think again and again. There will always be particular tasks that need your attention first rather than the others. Well, weighing that of your task is more important is one of the things that you should do to make sure that you are listing it for the to-do list properly.

Estimate how long each item on your list will take complete

One of the reasons why we don't usually finish our task is because we don't have a timeframe on what particular time should you stop and wrap things for a particular task. Well, if you want to make things faster, you should know if this kind of tasks needs an ample amount of time since it needs some deep thinking and all. However, if you think that a particular task can be done in just minutes, then don't waste your time doing other things. You have to focus to make things done easier and faster.

Use your calendar

Aside from the time frame that you have, you should also consider using a calendar. With that, you will know the deadline of a particular task, and when you should finish it. However, there is a caveat, though, if your calendar doesn't match with the items on your to-do list, and then there must be some mistakes on listing your top priority. Scheduling your task on when you should do it is one of the things you should highly consider. Of course, you don't want to have some panic whenever the deadline of your task is drawing near.

Don't pack your schedule

We all understand that we have a lot of things to think and do, but it doesn't mean that you are going to do and finish it within one day. Well, if that particular task is so simple, then you can move on to the next task that you have. However, if you think that all you have a lot of things to work on within a day, then don't add another task to your to-do list. Let's be honest here. We can't accomplish all of our tasks within a day. Of course, we also need to take a break from work to have enough energy to do another task.

Get help

Whether you like it or not, we need to have a helping hand from our colleague or workmate. We can't do the task alone, especially when the task involves some technical matters and you don't have any idea about it at all. Moreover, if you ask some help with them, it will make your task easier and faster and with lesser mistakes.

And one thing, for you to successfully achieve all the things you include in your to-do list, you should also have discipline and the right attitude towards your work. If you are a kind of person who is determined enough to finish the task, then you will achieve the right outcome.

The Top Predicted SEO Trends of 2015

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The year is almost coming to an end, and before we officially wrap up the year, it is time to take a look back and review one of the most overlooked marketing strategies in the web that is none other than search engine optimization. For companies looking to build their product or specializing in link building services, SEO is quite a crucial aspect in their marketing strategies and this current year, we will review some of the biggest trends that have made an impact on search engine optimization itself and the digital world.

It is worthy to note that SEO has rapidly been evolving in the past four years where algorithms frequently change making search engine optimization even more necessary to match the new standards set. As the strategy evolved, it became more holistic and integrated almost everyone involved in digital media to assist in achieving the same task that is to optimize a website appropriately.

So before 2015 draws to a close, let us take a look back at some of the predicted trends of search engine optimization.

MOBILE COMPATIBILITY 

Seeing as how most users surf the Internet through their phones, access social media apps on smartphones and are basically glued to their phones, it is only inevitable that Google makes the pivotal move of penalizing any webpages that do not provide sufficient optimization for mobile. Simply stated, this was the year where a mobile takeover happened and where mobile optimization was far more frequent than desktop ones. Essentially, as mobile usage constantly decreases, SEO strategies need to keep up to suit the needs, demands, and requirements of these consumers.
Additionally, mobile and desktop algorithms are inordinately different making it imperative to comprehend how each works to have a competitive advantage.

CONTENT OPTIMIZATION VIA VIDEOS 

A picture may paint a thousand words, but a video can definitely say a lot more. In fact, as research would have it, consumers tend to purchase a product or avail of a service after watching a video. The creativity and ingenuity in crafting and creating videos may not be as easy as it is in writing written content, but they do go a long way. Quality audiovisuals complemented with the appropriate descriptions and hashtags will do well for a brand, and if it goes viral, the odds of purchasing power are even higher.

MORE IMPORTANCE WILL BE PLACED ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

Seeing as Google+ failed to generate that much-needed attention from users, Google is prompted to include other social media juggernauts such as Facebook and Twitter as determining factors of a company’s SEO strategy. With the integration of social media into SEO, it is not only essential but imperative to create content for various social media platforms rather than zeroing focus on one. Google is known to reward brands for this by pushing them at the very top of the search page.

BRAND MENTIONS

Brand mentions and citations have become as powerful as links. Fresh manuals from Google has shifted its focus towards recognizing brand mentions as more important seeing as that in the past link building was over exploited and utilized by brands. This year, it has become important to mention your brand in any content you post online whether it may be in social media, blogs or web content if you want it out there and recognized.

SEO FOCUSES MORE ON BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS RATHER THAN STRATEGY 

SEO campaigns are extremely varied. However, for this year, it has definitely been more rewarding to be more humanized. Building relationships with potential customers, users and consumers, internal clients, suppliers, influences and even the competition has become rather important. Considering that brand mentions are as big as links, it only makes sense that by building relationships, you can increase the frequency of mentions and your respective online performance.



2015 has introduced innovations in search optimization and from here on then; it only looks like SEO is going to progress even further in its evolution. Consider that SEO is a tool of constant change which is why it is essential to keep tabs on any information that might be useful in your marketing strategy. Always keep an ear out for any Google updates or anything that might be relevant to the progress of SEO and you will continue to stay on top of the game.