A blog is a website ... really:
The first thing that you need to do as a real estate professional is to get out of the trap of thinking that websites are one thing and blogs are another. They can be, but some of the most successful websites out there are built on WordPress, a blogging system and software.
While blogs, or weblogs, were designed to be personal online journals, they have evolved and suit business needs very well as they can be totally indistinguishable from any other "website" out there. Using page design and themes, a WordPress blog will appear as any other website to the visitor while allowing you to take advantage of the blog format.
If you have static pages, WordPress Will Look the Same:
As there is information that rarely changes on a real estate website, WordPress will allow you to do exactly the same as you would with any website; build a page that displays your information and graphics the way that you want.
So, a WordPress site can have static pages that the visitor will see as a normal website, not a string of "posts." However, static websites don't get a lot of SEO clout, simply because they are static. You need new and fresh content to make the search engines happy. That's where combining your static content with blogging benefits will make your site a better sales lead generator.
With categories, a blog arranges your material:
One reason blogs became so popular so fast is that they allow the blogger to set up categories and apply one or more categories to a blog post. A "post" is the same as an article. The blogging software generates website pages for each category, so the blogger doesn't have to get involved in page layout or how things will display. All they have to do is write a post and assign it to one or more categories.
What you need to realize right now is that you only need to break out your content into logical topics (categories), and WordPress will lay your pages out automatically, with each post on the proper category page.
This is the BEST way to get business from the Web:
Too many real estate professionals shy away from blogging because they see it as a commitment to "being a writer," and having to write new articles several times a week. They don't see themselves as writers, and it is too intimidating to set up a blog website that requires regular new content to be successful. REMEMBER: It really isn't a choice. If you have a limited budget and want to compete in the Internet real estate search world, a blog is the ONLY way to go!
Some of the biggest template site vendors will disagree mightily, and some of those provide blogs, but I'll stick by my statement.
The independence and control factors:
I'm not saying that a template site that provides a blogging component can't be as effective as a self-hosted WordPress blog. However, you've just injected another entity between you and your valuable content. The template provider is hosting your content and site, and could make changes that impact your site, or even go out of business, leaving you with a marketing disaster.
While you will still have one vendor between you and your content with a self-hosted WordPress blog, it will only be the website host providing the space, like GoDaddy or Yahoo. It won't be a third party who is hosting & giving you a blog site.
Flexibility & customization with WordPress:
I've used a template site with a blog component, and it worked well. However, I became disenchanted with the limitations in design and theme that came with using their template blog setup. I couldn't do things that I knew would make my site more visitor-friendly and bring me more business.
Using a self-hosted WordPress blog site, I can choose from thousands of themes, then customize more from there. Whether it's colors or special "plugins" that add features and functionality, there are almost no limits on how my WordPress real estate website can look and function.
Self-hosted WordPress.org vs free WordPress.com:
Without a lot of technical jargon, you have two choices for a WordPress site setup:
1. You get a free site at WordPress.com, and you can point a custom domain name at it. You must choose from one of their offered templates, or themes. And, you are not able to choose from many thousands of "plugins" that enhance your site's look and functionality.
2. You pay to host your site at an ISP (Internet Service Provider) like GoDaddy or Hostgator. Because you're paying for and controlling the Web space, you can use any plugin you want and choose from thousands more themes. Cost? Under $100/year.
I only recommend self-hosting.
For the ultimate in control and prospect leads, get a WordPress blogsite:
This entire tutorial series is based on your acceptance of the value of having your own self-hosted WordPress website. Call it a blog or a website, but I suggest not calling it a blog on the site. Too many of your would-be visitors may have pre-conceived notions about what a blog is, so just call it a site or a website for their eyes. There really is no difference, but they may not know that.
Once you've accepted the idea of a WordPress site for your real estate business, it's just a matter of getting started. You can have a basic site ready for your content up in hours, and your cost will be somewhere between $4.95/month and $9.95/month depending on the host you select and their offerings. I recommend Hostgator.com or GoDaddy.
Both of those hosts have an easy setup for WordPress that installs all of the WordPress software for you, and you're ready to start entering your content.
