Real Estate Blog Service

REBlogGirl: So, let's start this out with a little background on you and your blog. How long have you been in the real estate industry?

I got my license in 1991 in Pasadena CA and have been a full-time REALTOR every since. I moved to the Lake Norman area of NC in 2005 so basically had to start from scratch in a new community, state and region of the country!

REBlogGirl: And when did you start blogging? Where are your various blogs?

I am an avid reader of daily real estate news.  When Inman News had a conference call about blogging in March of 2007 I sat in and listened to you and three other panelists and was hooked.  I didn't truly start blogging on a regular basis until last June.  By that time I had set up my own blog: Lake Norman Real Estate (www.BestRealEstateLakeNorman.com) with RSSPieces and started writing and participating daily on ActiveRain.  I am a member of numerous social networking and blogging sites like Digg, MyBlogLog, Technorati, Inman, Facebook, My Space,  Sellsius, Trulia Voices, Real town Blog, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Quassi, Plaxo,, Hubpages, Utterz, Twitter, but am not very active on those sites.

REBlogGirl: We hear a lot about lead generation and the real estate blog. How has your blog been able to directly generate leads for you? (How about telling our readers about your 2Million Dollar Buyer!)

I have several closings due to direct referrals from agents who found me on the Internet but the most exciting results have been in the last several months when I got three multi-million dollar buyers for the Northeast and Midwest!  I also have quite a few "backburner" buyers.  Without exception, these buyers said they had gotten to know me thorough my blogging and then chose to work with me.  None of them have interviewed other agents in the area.  That is what makes blogging stand out from static websites!


REBlogGirl: And just to give people an idea of what your net strategy is really doing for you. How much business/leads does your online presence generate each month?

Honestly, I have just begun to get regular leads.  Each month is better than the previous one but as I said, last month I got three high-end buyers.  There is another perk that few bloggers mention.  I find that my past clients subscribe to my blog so it is a great way to keep in touch with your warm farm.

Passion, commitment and interacting with other bloggers...I have a stack about 4" thick of information about blogging so I am never complacent but keep pushing to get better and learn more.  I also have a very clear target market/audience.

REBlogGirl: What is the number one thing you would suggest a Realtor just jumping on the blogging bandwagon do?

Create your own blogsite AND join ActiveRain or some other site that will push you to write, comment, share ideas and learn.  When I wrote my first post I didn't even know how to upload a picture let alone embed a video.  Take it one day at a time but make a commitment to do something every day and take advantage of all of the expertise out there.  I highly recommend that they start their own blog right away so that they can start building Google Juice for their own site.  Then join ActiveRain to help shorten the learning curve and meet some of the best bloggers out there.


REBlogGirl: Now, here is a really personal one.  You and I have had some "talks" about writing about real estate more than community pieces.  Why does your market need more community pieces than most and how did infusing your blog with more real estate pieces improve your rankings and lead generation?  

From the beginning my target market was relocation.  There are two reasons for this: 1. I just relocated so I knew exactly what I wish my agent had taught me about buying real estate and about living in the Lake Norman area. 2.  75% of the Lake Norman residents are "transplants" from the northeast, Midwest, Florida and California.  My initial focus was writing about what it is like to live in the greater Charlotte area and how the real estate process differs from other states.  I get the most hits on posts announcing we are getting a Trader Joes or my restaurant reviews.  I also do regular sales analysis but I would say about 50% of my posts were about the community and not real estate.  Several months ago I started to truly focus on my SEO and I noticed I was on page 8 or 9 with a lot of really weak sites in front of me.  I realized I wanted to be #1 and that changed my whole approach.  Thanks to your pushing and tweeking I have become much more focused and vigilant about SEO.  The past several weeks my blog has been on page one for Lake Norman Real Estate and I don't intend to let it slip backwards!

Read also: Real Estate blogs are stores, not newspapers - so blog like you are selling houses, not writing for your local paper

REBlogGirl: I know you get a lot of search traffic. What do you do to optimize your site and what can you attribute your success in climbing the engines to?

Basically, I follow you advice as best I can...focusing on SEO, backlinks, keywords and writing about 80% real estate and 20% community.  I try to make my posts fun and different.  I do a lot of research which enables me to write unique and hopefully interesting posts.  I also write about hot topics in my community like our drought, traffic, growth and development.  What is most amazing is how many people here find me while searching about local events or history.  I walked in to an historic home tour meeting to applause because I wrote some articles about historic Mooresville and our new museum so I came up on page 1 many times and they couldn't have been more appreciative.  That's the fun part.  My success with SEO is mostly due to following your direct advice and steps!

REBlogGirl: What would be your advice for bloggers, regarding content ideas?

Train yourself to think a bit like a reporter.  Take your camera with you wherever you go.  Read local and real estate news on a regular basis.  Think about each transaction and what might be a good topic.  Most importantly, write about what you are passionate and have fun!  Seriously, I am overwhelmed with how many ideas I have for posts.  I have files set up:  For Buyers, For Sellers, Sales Trends, Mortgage and Finances, Community Growth and Development, Traffic and Transportation, Community Events, Local News, The Environment, and one I call "Just for Fun".  I clip articles out of our local papers and print articles from the Internet for background research.  It becomes a natural part of my thinking process as I go through a day. 


REBlogGirl: I figured I'd wrap this interview up with a wacky question that might give people a little better look into the mind of Diane Aurit, so here goes:. "Imagine you could trade places with anyone for just a week. The person could be famous or not famous, living or from history, real or fictional. With whom would you trade places?" 

Eleanor Roosevelt.

REBlogGirl: Diane, thanks so much for giving me the time to interview you. Now, get back out there and sell some Real Estate!

Related Posts