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© 2008 by
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 Beginners Guide to Blogging
for the Hispanic Real Estate Market:
How to Blog Effectively Reaching New Clients and a Niche Market Online

© 2008 by Brian Requarth

Copyright holder is licensing this under the Creative Commons
License, Attribution 3.0.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
E-book design and layout by Adriana Mejia
Please feel free to distribute it, post it on your blog or email it
to whomever you think would be interested in reading it.
Gracias!

How to Blog
Effectively
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 1 of 18

Foreword
During my research in writing this e-book I spoke with many real estate bloggers.
( I spoke with only a few professionals that specialize in the Hispanic market the truth
is that there are not many. Others have gained notoriety in the general market with their
blogs). The practitioners that I spoke with ranged in success. Some generate 90% of
their business from blogging and others are just starting out. One thing that I want to
be clear about is that blogging takes work. If you are looking for a get rich quick scheme,
this e-book is not for you, but if you are looking for a resource to help you build your
business and you have a particular interest in the Hispanic market, then please read
on. I have decided to start the book off with a real life testimonial from a home buyer
who connected with a real estate agent through her blog ( Ines-Hegedus Garcia from
Miamism.com ). It is not a sensational story, but rather one that exemplifies what kind
of interactions can take place between an interested consumer and a professional who
understands how to blog.
I currently work in NY and spend my days dreaming of coming HOME, I
happened to stumble upon your website today as I was looking for real
estate info and was so impressed I had to write you. I recently got married
and have plans of moving next year. Reading your blog and comments
today, have made me feel like I've know you since childhood.
NOW with every cent my wife and I save for our first home, moving forward
I will anticipate the day when I contact you both and say, "Hey guys, you
think you can find us a home please?"
Great website and talk too you soon.
Luis Falcon ¹

Dear friends
Dear friends, my name is Luis Falcon, one day and what seems like an
eternity ago, I visited Miami on what was to be a weeks vacation, upon
stepping off the bus (La Cubana from Jersey) I looked up at the blue
skies and heard/saw parrots flying by, at that moment I realized, I would
be in Miami for a while... I stayed 14 years. I worked for City of Miami
Beach, News Café, Handy Van in Dade County, Miami Children's Hospital
and Club Nu (back in the day.) Me quise llenar como un baso llenándose
de jugo en un día caliente! I could not get enough of that place
Now, this contact didn't immediately result in a transaction, but “I feel like I’ve
known you since childhood”. Talk about building rapport! The bottom line is that
by blogging, your potential clients get to know you, the area, the market, the real
estate process and all this builds trust. This e-book provides insight into how you
can use a blog to expand your business. I have decided to focus specifically on
a resource tailored to those professionals looking to grow their business in the
Hispanic/Latino community, but surely it will help you even if that is not your focus.

¹ Source: http://www.miamism.com/miami-real-estate-blog-our-purpose
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 2 of 18

What is a blog?
“A Blog is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, "Happiness is not so much in having as sharing. We make a living by what we
descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly get, but we make a life by what we give.”
displayed in reverse chronological order.” 2
Norman Macewan

How does it help your business?

Establish yourself as an expert in your local market
We all want to work with experts. Experts instill confidence and trust. As a real
estate professional if you are seen as an expert, you will inevitably grow your
business. So, how can you do this through your blog? Let’s take a look at a few
ideas:

Give free, quality information

Free information is one of the things that make Web 2.0 and the Internet so
awesome! Your clients can research just about anything they want online. Why
do you think Wikipedia.org, the world’s largest online encyclopedia has been so
successful? That’s right, free, quality information. Once you visit Wikipedia, I
guarantee you’ll be back. Why? Because it solved a problem for you. There was
something that you wanted to know and Wikipedia had your back. It also allows
you to participate. Wikipedia can be edited by anyone.

Speaking of encyclopedias, in the 1990’s door-to-door selling of these heavy

books pretty much died off. If you use your blog as a sales platform more often
than not you will get the “virtual front door” slammed in your face. This is the first
mistake that real estate professionals make when they start to blog. Instead of Along the same lines of not selling, make sure you market your expertise and
talking about yourself or your product, engage the customer with something they
really care about. Let’s face it; it is not about the agent anymore. The classic I’m not your business. When people are satisfied with your market knowledge and
the best agent in town doesn’t cut it. How many best agents are there anyway? real estate expertise, they will contact you. Just make sure that there is an easy
The bottom line is DON’T SELL! The key is to share. By sharing instead of way for people to contact you on your blog
selling you will build a stronger brand.

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 3 of 18

What Should You Write About?

This is usually one of the most common questions people ask when they are getting started and I always turn the tables on the agent. What do your clients ask you?
What are the most common questions that they have? Probably there are a few that come to mind immediately. Those are great topics to develop on your blog because
they reflect the real concerns, interests and questions of your clients. Chances are if those people have a question, many others have the same one. When you start
to get into a habit of blogging (trust me, this can be addictive), you will start thinking to yourself…hey, that would be a good blog post. The key thing is to be consumer-
centric and anticipate the needs of your clients. I have included a list of 25 blog topics, some of which I have borrowed from Teresa Boardman who writes the St. Paul
Real Estate Blog. I sprinkled in a few that are more relevant to the Latino community.
1. A story about your neighborhood 13. Foreign buyers owning property

2. Go through your email; is there a question or comment on your 14. Home maintenance
clients that can be made into a post?
15. Moving to the United States from another country
3. Listen to your buyers, they give you blog food
16. Staging ideas
4. Listen to your sellers, they give you blog food
17. Local events
5. Conversations with other agents can be a source of great content
18. Things that go wrong with real estate sales
6. Language issues in real estate (translation/vocabulary)
19. Foreclosures
7. News affecting the Latino community (immigration)
20. Short sales
8. Architecture or housing styles in your area
21. Predatory lending
9. Market statistics for your area, including average prices and
absorption rates 22. A list of fun expressions “dichos” in Spanish

10. Buying real estate in Latin America 23. Cultural differences

11. Read other blogs and look for ideas to build on or spin a new 24. Publish a family recipe
idea from
25. Decorating ideas
12. Write about issues affecting the Latino community in your area
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 4 of 18

Blogging in Spanish
Blogging really fires me up! I have become infected by the Web 2.0 virus that is I believe that real estate blogging is still in its infancy, but clearly blogging in
spreading around the real estate industry, and blogging in Spanish gets me even English is more developed than blogging in Spanish. This presents a tremendous
more excited! OK, that might seem a bit over the top, but really this stuff is exciting. opportunity for those who are bilingual or native Spanish speakers. The U.S.
I must first disclose that I am not a native Spanish speaker ( maybe my name,
Hispanic population varies in language preference depending on generation and
Brian Requarth, gave it away? ), but I read and write Spanish pretty well. My
levels of acculturation. It is a good idea to provide content in both English and
spelling and grammar is not perfect, but I get my point across. You can read my
Spanish. If you do not feel totally comfortable in one language, it is a good idea
blog in Spanish at www.BrianRequarth.com.
to partner up with someone who is strong in the language where you are not.
So Why Should You Blog in Spanish?
1 There are millions of Spanish speakers on the Internet

2 There is a great lack of information available in Spanish about the real

estate process online

3 The Latino community in the United States is the fastest growing

demographic and expected to reach 25% of the U.S. population by 2050
(US Census)

Need more reasons?

I started blogging about a year ago (English only) with moderate success. Just
a few months ago, a co-worker of mine started writing a very similar blog in “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago.
Spanish. In just a few months he averaged about 3 times as many visitors as I The second best time is today.”
reached (averaged) on my blog with pretty much the same content. How did that Chinese Proverb
happen? It’s pretty simple, I was writing about topics that were interesting to
people, but there was already a lot more information out there on other blogs
about similar topics. Fabio was writing about the same stuff, but since there wasn’t
really anyone writing it in Spanish, he had less competition, reached a new
audience, and began to establish himself as an expert in a market less saturated.
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Pag 5 of 18

Finding Your Online Identity

- How Should You Write?
First and foremost, be yourself. People love authenticity and there is no exception
to the rule in the online world. People like real people who don’t try and put on
an act. Your blog is an extension of who you are as a person. If you are funny, be
funny on your blog. If you are serious and all about business, most likely you
attract people looking for that type of agent. When those people who read your
blog meet you in person, they will have an expectation of who you are, so you
should be consistent.

Authenticity can lead to real estate serendipity.

By giving your readers an accurate depiction of who you are (as a person) you
will increase the possibility that someone will be drawn to you. After all, many
times people work with you because they like you for who you are. People want
to do business with people they respect, and being authentic helps build this
respect amongst your readers.
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Connect With Potential Hispanic Clients
You are the expert in your local market. You provide great resources that create
value for your readers. By doing this you build trust and you continue to build
your reputation. The Hispanic population inside and outside the United States
are pro-actively looking for these resources in Spanish. Over 84% of the population
in the United States begin their search for a home online. I do not have any
specific data about the Latino community, but it is growing rapidly and will continue
to grow as Internet penetration increases across the world. There is a great lack
of information in Spanish about real estate online. The amount of people needing
or looking for this information is disproportionate to the amount of resources
available. For example, people will look for school information in your city in
Spanish. By writing about those topics of interest, you become a resource for
them. In another chapter I will talk about blogging for the search engines vs.
blogging for readers.
3 http://agentingenius.com/?p=2143
Page 6 of 18
So How Do People Communicate With You When
They Find Your Blog?
If you have run more traditional marketing campaigns the quality of leads can
vary. Often times you get tire kickers that are not totally committed to working
with you. With a blog, many times people start just by reading anonymously. If a
visitor likes the content that you post, they will come back. Sometimes readers
begin interacting with you by posting a comment or a question. Other times they
will send you an email, and, occasionally, you will get a phone call out of the blue.
What is really different about blogs is not how people contact you, but what the
communication is like. As you saw in the opening example, Luis Falcon mentioned
that he felt like he knew Ines and Rick (owners of the blog Miamism.com where
I got the opening quote) from childhood. We are talking about someone who has
never even had a conversation with them. Mariana Wagner a contributor to a
well known real estate blog AgentAgenius.com (AG) states,
"I began real estate blogging with a leap of faith, back in the fall of 2006. I had
no preconceived notions as to what I was doing or why I was even doing it. It was
a mere late-night-past-time. Then one day, I got the call…"
"Hi. I have been reading your blog. Please list my house.” 3
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 7 of 18

Managing Your Online Reputation "Juan Nieto" the first result sends me to the website at America's Most Wanted
where Juan is wanted for heinous crimes. Of course most people will figure out
Often your potential clients don't know very much about you. A major part of that this wanted felon is not Juan the Realtor, but I think that it is better to leave
your goal as a professional is to let people know that you are a trusted advisor, a positive impression on your potential clients.
but the truth is that most potential clients don't know you. Even when you receive
a referral chances are that person googled you to find out more about you. So
The example of Juan is extreme, but when consumers search for you online three
how is your online reputation?
things can potentially happen:
I have a friend in Germany who writes a blog about PR and Reputation > People have a positive impression of you
Management. He started the blog after discovering that his online reputation
was in shambles. One day he decided to look for his name in Google. The first > People have a negative impression of you
result in Google went something like this
Sasha Cremer went and was never seen again… leaving just a burn mark on > People have no impression of you
my carpet, a wrecked computer screen, and my whole collection of DVDs
destroyed [...] Well… he still owes me money for a very expensive computer [...] Whether you like it or not, our lives have become public. Before blogs, Facebook,
I won’t be threatened! And he will feel my anger if we should ever meet again! MySpace, linkedIn, YouTube and other online community building tools, it was
What would your clients say if they read something like this with your name harder to learn about people we met. You would have to ask a co-worker or friend
attached to it? Obviously my friend never did any of this. It just so happens that about that individual. Today people are searching online to find out what the
there is someone hundreds of miles on the other side of Germany with the same Internet says.
name, but how do we expect people to figure that out? Do we want to leave any
This presents a tremendous opportunity for you to manage your reputation and
doubt in people's minds? Generally we trust sources that are neutral, and in the
influence what people know about you. By creating a blog you are able to write
majority of cases we see Google as impartial (this is one of the ingredients to
about topics that you know, share information and create a reputation as a
Google's success). This lesson is not only useful for real estate professionals,
professional or change your existing reputation.
but for any person. We should all try and control our image on the Internet and
not leave it up to others. We have to tell our story. If you do not already own your
We are leaving the information age and entering the recommendation age. In my
domain with the URL as your name, e.g. www.BrianRequarth.com, I recommend
eyes Google has become the most powerful source of recommendations for
that you register it. You can buy this for around $10 a year, a small price to pay
billions of decisions people make. Think about that...billions of decisions! Reputation
to help control your online reputation. If you own a personal website you can plays a salient role in decision making. If you don't have a reputation, my
forward the domain to it. recommendation is that you start to build one. The Internet is not going away.
I like stories. For example, I know a real estate agent who manages his business
with strong ethics and professionalism. But when I look for his name in Google,
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Blogging And The Search Engines (SEO)
Let's face it, the search engines rule the online world. Nowadays almost
everyone's buying decisions are affected by the Search Engine Results Pages
(SERPs). Just think about how many searches you do in an average day. We
go to the Internet looking for anything from "Plumber in Dallas" to "Italian
restaurant in San Francisco". We hope that the Google Gods will steer us to
the best fettuccine Alfredo in the city. Real estate works in basically the same
way. We research real estate online. In a previous chapter I wrote about good
topics to include in blog posts and I asked, "what do your clients ask you?" The
same questions people ask you are often the exact topics that people look for
online.
Now, keeping in mind the search engines, I want to give you a few tips on how
to be effective. First, you want to identify the keywords that you think are most
often searched for in your local market. Online competition continues to grow
and positioning yourself for more generic key phrases like "homes for sale" has
become more and more difficult, however, going after what is known as The
Long Tail can be quite effective. An example of The Long Tail would be "top
schools in South San Francisco". You are much more likely to gain placement
in the search engines for hyper-local keywords or more detailed descriptive
keywords. There is less search volume for these terms, but you will start to pick
up traffic for these phrases since they are less competitive. At the time of writing
this e-book there were 49X more pages in Google for the key phrase "schools
in San Francisco" than "top schools in South San Francisco". As people become
more experienced online they begin to narrow their search to more specific key
phrases. This presents a tremendous opportunity for you to be the local expert
in your community. Go global, but act "hyper-local!"
Pag 8 of 18
So Should I Write For The Search Engines
Or For My Clients?
You should always write for your clients first. The content needs to be written
specifically for your clients or potential clients. Keyword stuffing is not a good
idea. There are numerous theories on the Internet about keyword density (the
percentage of keywords on a page). I would not even think about this. Write your
posts thinking about the content. After you are done you can pepper in those
keywords in your title and throughout the post. If you have someone read it and
they think it sounds natural then you are good to go. If you post content that is
filled with keywords, but doesn't sound natural your conversion rate will suffer.
Quality content is king!
Are You Engaged?
OK, I know the title of this section sounds like a proposal, but what I really mean
is, are you engaged in the online community? I recently read a blog post by Jeff
Turner (Real Estate Shows) that makes a lot of sense. I know you just read all
about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and I don’t want to send mixed
messages, but I think that Jeff makes a valid point. He basically says that you
shouldn’t get totally frantic about the search engines. It is not something you
should obsess about. The reality is that Google and other search engines have
hundreds if not thousands of factors that place websites at the top and your job
is to sell real estate. He came up with a phrase, YEO. The next page is straight
from Jeff’s blog on Active Rain:
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
YEO: You Engaging Others.
If you want to be successful in blogging, you need to understand how to engage
others in every aspect of the blogging experience.
Where Engagement Begins
Of course content is important, but it has to go beyond that. And it starts before
you begin to write a single word.
You live in the area you write about. So it's the people that really matter. The
relationships you develop as you go out and meet the folks at the new home
sites, at local businesses, at association meetings and anywhere else you
choose to focus your writing, those real, live human beings are your ultimate
target. Why wait for them to find you in a search?
Introduce Yourself & Your Blog
Before you write a single word, make sure you introduce yourself, tell the people
who are associated with your post that will be writing about them. Explain why.
Explain the purpose of your blog and why people want to read it and why you
think people will be interested in them, their business or their mission. Ask if
you can quote them. Take their picture. More often than not, they'll be more
than willing to talk to you and share information you may not be able to obtain
any other way.
Harness The Power Of Their Relationships
Obtain their email address and phone number, then send them the link to your
post. Be sure to use their name in the posts and a photo if you took one. Most
people don't get to see their name in print very often, so it's a big deal to be
written about by someone else.
4 http://activerain.com/blogsview/61829/It-s-Not-About
Pag 9 of 18
They WILL remember you for that. Here's something else they will do, they'll
forward the link to friends, family and business associates. You extend your
reach virally. And you don't have to just depend on someone finding the story
on Google to make it happen.
That's the point. Other people know other people. Connect with them and they'll
connect you. This works whether you're writing about a local restaurant
or whether you're writing about a historic building. Put the focus on them. If you
engage the people behind the stories, the chance that they will actively participate
in your success, in spreading the story, go up dramatically.
Follow Up... But Not Via The Internet
I'm an internet junkie. I love all the gadgets and goodies and ideas. But nothing
replaces a telephone call, a handwritten note or a personal follow up visit to
say "thank you." Treating them like your customer before they're your customer.
Show them, by your actions, how you would work with anyone they might
consider referring. If you can execute on the actions around writing the post,
engage them and keep them informed, they will rightly assume you'd do the
same thing in a real estate transaction.
Meet the people behind the stories and they'll be happy to share. Share the
stories with them and they'll share them with their friends and business
associates. Go out of your way to treat them with respect and those same
friends and business associates will hear about that as well. Your actions will
do all your evangelizing for you.
SEO is great, YEO is better
You Engaging Others. That's what this is really about.4
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 10 of 18

Growing Your Network business will be sent your way. So just like I was reading blogs of people who I
Over the last couple years I have lived for most of the time in South America.
wanted to help me get the word out, you can read the blogs of other professionals
This has been a big challenge for me to develop relationships in the United
with whom you want to build relationships with. By reading their blog posts and
States where most of my business is. While I was building an online real estate
interacting with them a few things happen. First, they become aware of who you
marketplace for the Latino community I wanted to tell my story to others to help
are. People will appreciate it if you stop by and add something to the conversation.
get the word out. So how was I going to do that? In college I had a job as a
Try and add value with the comments you make, as this will build respect. Once
telemarketer, and since the cost of making international calls was so low, thanks
you start building value by making insightful observations, you will start to be
to new Internet technologies, I figured that I would give it a try. After hitting the
recognized as a knowledgeable and competent professional. Your credibility rises
phones consistently, and getting hung up on enough to really smash my morale,
and other readers as well as the blog operator start to identify you as a trusted
I switched up the strategy. I realized that some of my strong social skills could
source in your area of expertise. I have met real estate professionals in the
be utilized online. I started reading and observing instead of interrupting. My
blogosphere that receive referrals from other professionals due to their level of
days of telemarketing taught me the importance of building rapport, and really
activity on important blogs in their area. They have incredible visibility, and by
the only way to do that is to listen to what people are saying. I started reading
being active on these sites, they build a name for themselves.
the blogs of those that I wanted to tell my story to. By reading their blogs, asking
questions about their posts, and adding my own thoughts, I was able to get on An important ingredient to social networking is building a community around
their radar without interrupting them during dinner. In fact, by contributing quality your blog. Check out Ricardo Bueno’s e-book: Build a community around your
ideas and making insightful comments and observations, I gained their respect. blog.
As we roll out more PR and marketing efforts, my new contacts will be more
open to communicating our new venture to their readers. So how can all this be
related to your business?

Whether you are a real estate agent, loan officer or a title rep, building your
network of professionals is an essential part of your business. Most successful
real estate professionals have a pipeline of referrals from either past clients or
other practitioners. Most other professionals who send you business do it because
they know that you are going to take care of the referral. They trust that you will
do the right thing and provide a high level of service, complete with good guidance
throughout the transaction. The more people who know this about you, the more
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 11 of 18

Here Is A List Of Useful Social Networks Where

You can Build Your Online Reputation:
LinkedIn - Social network for professionals

Facebook - Fast growing social network (to highlight the importance of information in Spanish, Facebook
has recently translated their entire system and launched in the Hispanic market. MySpace has done
the same).

Twitter – Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that limits posts to 140 characters. It has become
a popular tool for real estate professionals.

Real Estate Social Networks:

Active Rain - Real estate social network

Trulia Voices – Trulia Voices gives a platform for consumers to ask questions. Real estate professionals
can give answers. This is a great way to give solid advice and build a reputation for your business online.

Zillow Discussions – This is similar to Trulia Voices, but it is more of a forum format.
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 12 of 18

Blogging Helps You Become a Better Agent
Over the last several months I have been in contact with Daniel Rothamel. He
operates a website and blog called the Real Estate Zebra. He is one of the most
active real estate bloggers I have seen and he is constantly innovating with video,
podcasts and everything Web 2.0. I could cite him as an excellent example in
numerous sections of this e-book, but I recently saw a video that caught my
attention because it was something I had never previously considered. Basically
the premise of his video is that blogging makes you a better agent. He hit three
main points in his unscripted improvised (video blog) that he filmed from his
phone while waiting for a client to show up at an open house (that's pretty cool
in itself). His main points are that by being involved with blogging you:
1. Learn From Other Agents
Reading other blogs gives you great ideas about what you can do to be more
effective. The collective knowledge of a community gives great insight into new
ways of doing things. The Internet has brought about more sharing instead of
guarding all your secrets. People are starting to recognize that by sharing their
experience people are more likely to share back and everyone wins. The most
successful agents/brokers I have seen are totally open to sharing their knowledge
about what works and what doesn't.
Of course that same information is a resource for others that might have the
same question and now you have made the answer public for anyone to see
(keep in mind that you do not want to include the person in the blog post unless
you receive their permission. Most people prefer to be anonymous in these types
of situations). Along the same lines if you do newsletters or have other ways of
farming your past clients, blogs can be a cost effective way to stay in contact
with those people you helped years ago. It's cheaper than snail mail!
3. Improve How You Communicate
By writing a blog your writing skills will naturally improve, but you may be surprised
at how your verbal communication can improve. Most real estate professionals
communicate concepts verbally every day, but by writing these same concepts
you get to take a step back and reflect on what/how you are communicating.
Writing is an exercise that helps you refine your messaging and after doing it on
a consistent basis you will improve your delivery.

2. Provide Resources to Existing Clients

This could be looked at as a new way of farming your existing prospect list or
previous clients that you have worked with in the past. When someone asks you
a question, you can give them an answer, but if you write a blog post addressing
that question you can send them a link to it. They will feel special that you took
the time to write something specifically for them.
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Vocabulario
Post :
Every time you write in your blog, you create a post. The term can also be used
as a verb: You can post to your blog. Posts are also sometimes called entries.
Com ment s:
The opportunity for your readers to leave their opinion on your posts is most
often referred to as comments. Comments are usually identified by the author’s
name and most of the time a link to their Web site or blog.
Hype rlink :
A hyper link is a reference or navigation element in a document to another section
of the same document or to another document that may be on a (different)
website, also known as a link.
Page Rank:
This is the name given to Google's method of ranking pages according to a
number of factors such as link popularity. The Pagerank will display as a number
from 0 to 10 in a green bar on the Google Toolbar whenever you visit a blog or
website. The tool bar must be installed. Here is a link to the download
http://toolbar.google.com/
Title tags:
Meta information tag inserted at the top of your blog and displayed in the
browser bar.
Page 13 of 18
SER P:
A Search Engine Results Page is the listing of web pages returned by a search
engine in response to a keyword query. The results normally include a list of web
pages with titles, a link to the page, and a short description showing where the
keywords have matched content within the page. A SERP may refer to a single
page of links returned, or to the set of all links returned for a search query.
- Wikipedia.org
Conversion Rate:
In Internet marketing, conversion rate refers to the number or percentage of
visitors who convert casual content views or website visits into desired actions
based on subtle or direct requests from marketers, advertisers, and content
creators.
- Wikipedia.org
Hyper-local:
In blogging terms this refers to content that is community based or geographically
specific to a particular city, neighborhood or even street.
KeyWord stuffing:
Keyword stuffing is considered to be an unethical search engine optimization
(SEO) technique. Keyword stuffing occurs when a web page is loaded with
keywords in the meta tags or in content.
- Wikipedia.org
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 14 of 18

Cloud tag: 10 Webmandments for Real Estate Blogging

A tag cloud is a visual depiction of user-generated tags used typically to describe
the content of websites or blogs.
1. You should be authentic
SEO :
Search Engine Optimization the process of improving the volume and quality of 2. You should put yourself in the shoes of your readers
traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic")
search results for targeted keywords. 3. You should NOT sell
Vlog ging: 4. You should be truthful
Also known as video blogging is a form of blogging for which the medium is video.
Entries are made regularly and often combine embedded video or a video link 5. You should be consistent
with supporting text, images, and other metadata.
- Wikipedia.org 6. You should NOT steal content

7. You should check spelling and grammar

8. You should avoid posting technical jargon

9. You should be concise and clear

10. You should have fun!

Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 15 of 18

Where Can You Get Started?

There are numerous blogging platforms. Some are free and the paid solutions
are relatively inexpensive. Here is a list of the most popular blogging platforms
for real estate:

> Blogger.com

> Wordpress.com

> Typepad.com

> RSSpieces.com (real estate custom)

> TomatoBlogs.com (real estate custom)

Blogging Platform For The Hispanic Market

VivaReal.us, Su Casa Online is THE online destination in the United States
where Spanish speakers go to buy or sell homes. It has a free platform where
any real estate professional can create their own profile page and blog. It is the
only blogging community totally tailored to the Hispanic market. If you haven't
registered, you can do so here.

It also has educational videos about how to get involved and be effective with
your blog. The site will be rolling out some new tools very soon that will allow
you to upload your listings for free and answer consumer questions.

You can check out the official YouTube.com Channel of VivaReal.us which includes
educational videos for professionals and consumers.
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 16 of 18

To Wrap Up
Since the first real estate professional set finger in the blogosphere, the real
estate industry has never been the same. This new virtual voice has created
more opportunities for real estate professionals to connect with clients and
showcase their experience. Blogs help consumers identify who is qualified and
knowledgeable giving deserving practitioners a platform to help catapult their
business.

Understanding the importance of blogging and implementing the techniques

mentioned in this e-book have brought success to real estate practitioners
nationwide. Blogging will open new doors to your online presence, improve your
position on the search engines and build your credibility as a local market expert.

Mucha Suerte
and thanks
for rea din g !
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 17 of 18

Special Thanks
I want to send a special thanks to the following real estate bloggers and Andy Kaufman (http://myeastbayagent.com/)
technologist, some of which I have never met (only virtually). They have been
Pat Kitano (http://transparentre.com/)
a source of inspiration and are true innovators in their space.
Frank Borges Llosa (http://blog.franklyrealty.com/)
Lani Anglin-Rosales (http://www.rerevealed.com/)
Dustin Luther (http://www.4realz.net/)
Bill Arce (http://realestatelatino.com/)
Drew Meyers (http://www.zillowblog.com/)
Jesus Barrio (http://www.tecnologiainmobiliaria.net/)
Brad Nix (http://bradnix.com/profile/)
Rudy Bachraty III (http://www.truliablog.com/)
Jean-Paul Pangalos (http://inmosfera.com/)
Teresa Boardman (http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com/)
Mario Pineda (http://www.bayareainvestmentrealestate.com/)
Kevin Boer (http://3oceansrealestate.com/blog/)
Mike Price (http://www.mlpodcast.com/blog/)
Nick Bostic (http://www.nickbostic.com/)
Benn Rosales (http://agentgenius.com/)
Brian Brady (http://www.mortgageratesreport.com/)
Daniel Rothamel (http://realestatezebra.com/)
Ricardo Bueno (http://www.industry-report.com/)
Jay Thompson (http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/)
Joel Burslem (http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/)
Juan G. Tornoe (http://juantornoe.blogs.com/)
Beth Butler (http://blog.ewm.com/)
Jeff Turner (http://res.realestateshows.com/ )
Jim Cronin (http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/)
Cesar Villasante (http://www.inmoblog.com/)
Joseph Ferrera (http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/)
Mariana Wagner (http://www.coloradospringsrealestateconnection.com/)
Ines-Hegedus Garcia (http://www.miamism.com/ )
Eliud Gautier - (http://www.eliudgautier.com/)
Tony Grey (http://www.vidlisting.com)
Victor Montalvo - (http://activerain.com/vicswt)
Rob Hahn (http://robhahn.wordpress.com/)
Beginners Guide to
Blogging
For the Hispanic Real Estate Market
Page 18 of 18

About The Author

Brian Requarth is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bilingual Marketing Group, a real estate media company developing the largest

network of real estate community web sites tailored to the Hispanic market. Brian began his career as an Internet marketing

consultant in 2001 for Z57, Inc, a real estate web design company. Over the last decade Brian has spent 5 years living, working

and studying in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Spain and Argentina. He serves on the board of directors at NAHREP (National

Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals) and consults with the organization about online marketing and technology.

He has taught seminars about Hispanic real estate marketing online and blogging for the Hispanic real estate market.

Company Website: www.BilingualMarketing.com

VivaReal Network: www.VivaReal.com

Blog in Spanish: www.BrianRequarth.com

Blog in English: http://www.bilingualmarketing.com/company_info/blog/

Twitter Page: http: //twitter.com/brianrequarth