It’s the 10 Blog Commandments – Tips on Blogging on Trulia Blogs

Image Source Courtesy of – Mariana Wagner  - Wearing our Markerman Outfit  at The Keller Williams Event

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 – it’s the 10 Blog Commandments

In addition to Trulia Voices Q&A, blogging on the new Trulia Blog platform is a great way for you expand your thoughts, ideas, opinions and tips to your readers. You can dive deeper by adding pictures, videos, charts and more. We want to see you succeed so we came up with this basic framework for you to follow when writing your blog posts.

1. Create a Blog Plan

Create a list of specific topics that you plan to write about. Things like local market conditions, local inventory, new developments, first time home buyer tips, home seller tips, home buyer tips, community report, building report, neighborhood news, local businesses and more. You can even create a calendar, either online using google calendar or in print – a simple calendar journal with specific topics for each day or week. This will help you stay focused and manage your time better.

2. Know your target audience

Are your writing to other agents or are you talking to the consumer. It’s ok to do either one but knowing who you addressing in a particular post will help you choose your words a little better.

3. Know What your area of expertise is and Own it

Are you a new construction specialist? Do you work with seniors? Are you a investment property expert? You get the idea. Blog about what you know best in the areas you know best. Get specific to your geography.

4. Keep it simple

You don’t have to write a novel. Think about the point you’d like to make with you post and keep it concise. One to three paragraphs is more than adequate.

5. Take your own local pictures

What better way to show a consumer that you know your area than by documenting it via photographs? Take pictures of anything real estate related. You never know when you will need a photo for a future blog post. I have my camera, two actually, on my hip at all times. Sometimes, a photo may be the inspiration for a blog post.

6. Use Video

This is more of an advanced technique to add valuable content to your blog. But anyone can do it easily. Shoot very short 10-60 second videos of your neighborhood, local businesses, parks, attractions and more. This will give the consumer, especially one relocating from outside the area a glimpse, your personal view, of what could be their future neighborhood. Then, you could even interview local businesses, consumers on the street, home sellers, buyers and get feedback on their real estate thoughts.

7. Use the Community for Ideas

Trulia Voices Q&A is a great resource to get ideas for blog posts. Find threads that you feel you can provide more in depth information on and then link back to that thread. It will expand the conversation to another level.

8. Be Original – Don’t Just copy and Paste

It may be tempting to just copy and paste someone else’s great article or post in it’s entirety, but it’s not the right thing to do. If you find such an article, copy a quote or a portion of it into your post. Then add your opinion and personal take on it. Make sure to include a link back and attribution to the source of the original article – this is proper blogging etiquette. By doing this, you are creating new content while crediting the original source. It allows you to give credit where credit is due while adding your original perspective to it. Be original

9. Create Optimized Blog Post Headlines

This is very important – for both getting readers attention and search engines. It’s one of the most important parts of a blog post – Voices Q&A question too. If you are writing about a neighborhood, make sure that neighborhood name is in the title. If you are writing about a city and town, the same applies. Ditto if your writing about one of your listings, buildings or communities – make sure you include them in the title.

Another angle could be to create unique and catchy post titles like – The 5 Best Reasons to Live in Manhattan or My Clients Can’t Stop talking about me – Find out Why. Try different things.

10. Write from Your Personal Experience

Share your real life real estate experiences. People love stories. It’s what conversations are all about. Your blog is a way to share these stories. Someone who is looking to buy or sell may relate to something you mentioned in your blog post which can lead them to call you. I am fascinated with the personal stories and experiences of people. It gives us an insight into who they are as a person and as a professional. Ultimately, it helps us decide whether we want to work with them, be friends with them or not. Your blog and Q&A contributions give consumers a glimpse of who you are. It’s your opportunity to make a good first impression on them. And, it gives consumers a chance to study you. The same holds true for consumers who will choose to write on Trulia. You will give agents an opportunity to see who you are too. It’s a two way street. Let’s meet in the middle and get to know each other a little better.

As you know, real estate is a people business. Be personable yet professional in your posts and don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through.

Good luck all.

Why does the world need another blogging platform?

Earlier this week was a big step for me as I’ve started blogging on our new blogging platform. You can read my first post here. Two posts so far this week and many more to come – I’m delighted to become a blogger!

In the post, I explain why I’ve started blogging and also why we’ve launched a blogging service on Trulia. I’m including an updated excerpt below.

So you may be wondering why on earth does the world need another blog platform. Here are my thoughts on why we’re launching Trulia Blogs:

It’s uniquely useful. Other than our Q & A service, Trulia Voices, there is no good national real estate site where you can have useful and interesting discussions about all things real estate between active consumers and industry professionals. Sure, I’m biased and there are some great local services, but Trulia Voices and Trulia Blogs are really a unique way to interact with a large and interested group of people. We see Trulia Blogs and Trulia Voices as complementary services.

It’s free and really easy. We have deliberately tried to make blogging as simple and accessible as possible. It shouldn’t be daunting. We know there are many options out there if you want to build your own blog, but Trulia Blogs is a simple service for you to get up and running as quickly possible in front of a targeted audience and learn the basics. We don’t have every possible feature you can find on other paid services, but we have the basic important tools and will be constantly adding new features.

It’s local. When it comes to real estate everyone knows that location is critical. We all love (or hate) our communities we live in and have an opinion about what goes on there. We are interested when new shops open up, roads are built, schools re-zoned, licenses granted and thousands of other things, Trulia Blogs is a way to share this information and begin the conversation with others in your vicinity. I’m truly fascinated to see what people use Trulia Blogs for and what conversations start here.

Trulia Blogs was launched along with our new home page and mobile applications. We’re delighted to have so many posts up and already and are looking forward to seeing many others up there soon! Join in, start blogging on Trulia today.

Also, we know it’s the community that makes Trulia popular and useful so..a huge huge thank you to the users of the community here on Trulia. It’s you that make Trulia’s community services great and thank you for showing up and participating. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with product ideas, bugs and suggestions. We’re constantly releasing new updates so will work on including them.

The full post here:

Guest Perspective: Trulia Voices – It’s not about the questions…

OK, so Trulia Voices is a little bit about the questions, but it’s really about the answers. It’s called Trulia VOICES for a reason. Let’s dive in a little bit further.

With Trulia Voices, a consumer logs on and types in a question like, Hi, My wife and I are working with a Realtor and… Before you rush off to answer that question you should be asking yourself WHY?

Perhaps you want to be the top answerer like Deborah (she’s really a machine, no really… no, I’m not jealous… OK… I’m Jealous, are you happy?). Or you could want to convert the question-asker into a potential client. Finally, you could be one of the poor souls who have been told blogging and “forums” are good for business – something that isn’t necessarily true.

So what is Trulia VOICES all about? THE ANSWERS.

Or better yet, it’s about YOUR VOICE. Again, it’s called Trulia VOICES for a reason. I’ll contend that Trulia is an interviewing platform. It’s a home search tool, a knowledge base (FAQ even), a developing social network and now with a blogging platform. But at the end of the day it’s a Real Estate agent’s blow horn. Do you want to be a whiner like I am about the low barrier to entry into Real Estate and sit on your rear end? Or, do you want to get out there and be that VOICE that is going to resonate with YOUR clients. Do you want to show the world (or at least the 5 million people on Trulia) that you have a relevant, sometimes professional opinion that affects their current situation?

And with a voice, you will get business…

The business you get will be Truli-a Golden. Here’s why. The people who contact you through Trulia do so because they READ YOUR ANSWERS – THEY HEAR YOUR VOICE. And they liked what they read. Don’t you think that might be someone that you would want to work with? Or would you prefer to call that FSBO that has that sign that says NO AGENTS. Exactly. (Well, you should want both, but that’s another topic.) The truth is that your “leads” from working with TRULIA will be less in quantity than other methods, but the business you do get is ready to go! I like working with people who want to work with me, and that’s what Trulia allows me to do.

So next time you answer that question, think about the potential client that might be viewing on the other end, because just like the question mentioned above, that “asker” already has an agent. That leaves 4,999,999 other potential clients!

Thanks for reading, now I’m off to boost my “BEST ANSWER” numbers… 6 best answers… ugh.

Want to know more about Joshua Jarvis? Check out his own blog, or Trulia profile.

(Note from Trulia… We’ll be featuring guest bloggers during the next week. Hope you enjoy the new perspectives!)

Social Media Karma: Be Proactive

Last month, I said to Guy Kawasaki on Twitter that, “Karma is a Mofo”. He tweeted me back and said, “That is a great quote. I am going to steal that”. Yes, I was totally stoked when I read that. It got me thinking. Many social media networking sites have sections for recommendations or referrals. And most people have very few recommendations or referrals from friends, clients or associates posted if not none. I am guilty of this myself. Many of my profiles have zero to a couple at most. And I have given out very few myself. But Rudy, you have so many friends and contacts on these networks. What gives? I don’t know but I want to change that.

As the Social Media Guru of Trulia, I have over 500 “friends” on facebook, 227 on Linkedin, 947 followers on Twitter. If I can just complement one person or or share a positive experience or story about them every now and then, it would be great. I’ll try. But being as busy as I am, I should be finished in a couple of years or so. So please don’t feel slighted if I don’t get to you until next year Acknowledging our friends and business associates that we so dearly cherish can go a long way. It might help them get their next job or impress a potential client. Lot’s of work to do.  This will be interesting. 

Since Linkedin serves as our virtual resume, I’ll start there.

I just recommended 2 people I admire on Linkedin today Can you guess who they are?

Update: If you have an iPhone, download the native Linkedin iPhone app here.

The President has a Spokesperson, Shouldn’t Your Company?

Mike Price from MLBroadcast has written a fantastic post which I think every real estate company should read called – Scouts of the New Frontier: Social Stewards & Custodians of Community. It’s a type of post I have been wanting to write for some time now -the reason every company should have a spokesperson. Ok, so maybe the word “spokesperson” is a little old school or web 1.0 but the point still stands. Your company should have an easily identifiable and accessible face and voice both online and offline that your fans and critics can interact and communicate with.

The Front Lines of Conversation

The reality is that the new frontier is most certainly upon us. Conversation is what drives relationships. And when building and maintaining the reputation of a brand, it is absolutely essential to build trusting relationships everywhere you can. This includes on your own site, blogs and the most popular social networking sites like Twitter, facebook and Linkedin. People are talking about you and your company whether you like it or not. If you do not have a dedicated person to participate in these conversations, your are missing the boat.

Those Who Get it

By being proactive and engaging others you are being real. Now your company no matter how small or large has a voice and face that the consumer can identify with. In addition to the companies Mike Price mentioned, here are some companies who have people on the front lines. Just look at Active Rain who has 3 Community managers – Rich Jacobson, Brad Andersohn and Bob Stewart – they all do a fantastic job. Let’s not forget Glenn Kelman of Redfin who has two official hats – President & CEO and one unofficial hat as the Social Media Maverick for his growing company. Then there is a new wave of social media brand management on the Brokerage level evolving being led by Sherry Chris and her outstanding team at Better Homes and Gardens. On the hybrid blog/brokerage level, Greg Swann of Bloodhound Blog and Lani – first name only required – of Agent Genius successfully serve as the voice and face of their companies/brands. Last but not least, on the blog/mortgage level, we have Brian Brady of World Wide Wealth Advisors, America’s self professed #1 Mortgage Broker getting sh%$ done everywhere you look and Todd Carpenter of Lenderama who is now getting into the real estate trade show business. They all get it. They all do it. When it comes to representing your company and brand, first impressions matter. Make them count.

Represent, Represent!

I represent Trulia and everything we stand for. It’s quite an honor and I love it. We are all about creating the best user experience for both consumers and real estate brokers and agents. We strive to help you connect with each other in an efficient way. Our entire team is passionate about what we do. We are here for you.

It’s all about relationships!

Building and maintaining relationships with agents, brokers and consumers is part of what I do on a daily basis. Whether I do it via email, phone – yes, I still use the phone, text, IM, blog comments, in person or by smoke signal, at the end of the day, I hope to have answered your questions, informed you more about who we are and how we can help you and your business and ultimately, made a meaningful connection. Being the social butterfly that I am, I crave people’s opinions and and always look forward to getting to know people I meet. So if you have any questions or comments about Trulia and what we’re all about, just google me or follow me here.

So what do you think,  should every real estate company and brokerage have a dedicated Social Media “spokesperson” to represent their company? Does yours?

Vote in the poll here

Update: Just added this Poll Daddy poll as the Toluna poll was not embedding correctly

Should every company have a Social Media Spokeperson?
( surveys)

Trulia Mobile – Real Estate Search On The Go

As Jamie reported on Monday, we’re very excited to launch our Trulia Mobile initiative. I’d like to tell you a little bit more about our mobile products and how they work.

Americans are on the go now more than ever, and almost everyone takes their mobile phone with them everywhere. Its always been frustrating to get detailed information on your mobile phone from the internet. But the iPhone is redefining what can be be done on a phone and Apple’s competitors will have to keep up. That’s great news for consumers and will spur innovation.

I’m a big believer in mobile real estate search. I’ve definitely wanted to see homes for sale nearby when I’ve walked around or drove through a neighborhood. And when you’re actively in the market, finding Open House information wherever you are is super helpful. By bringing Trulia to mobile devices, we can help buyers, sellers and real estate professionals find very useful information when they want it. All of our mobile products are free from Trulia, although standard service rates may apply from your carrier.

Trulia on your iPhone

With Trulia on your iPhone, you can find homes for sale, including Open Houses, in just one tap from the home page using iPhone’s location awareness technology. Or you can create a custom search for the exact home you’re looking for. The results can be viewed on a map and you can email a property to a friend, save it to your phone, get driving directions from Google and even contact the listing agent directly from the phone.

Check out this video demo for more information:

Trulia on your phone

The iPhone is great but its certainly not the only mobile phone out there. And we couldn’t leave everyone else out in the cold! Trulia on your phone brings Trulia listings to your BlackBerry, Blackjack, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and many other devices from all the leading carriers. You can find homes for sale and the Open Houses near you or in another area, see the results on an interactive map, see a photo, share or save properties to your phone and call the listing agent directly for more information. We worked with our friends at LightPole, a leading mobile content platform, to bring you Trulia on your phone. You can see a list of supported mobile devices here.

Trulia in your car

Most people drive through the cities and neighborhoods they’re thinking about moving to before buying a home. Now you can use Trulia in your car to find homes for sale and Open House information while you’re on the road. Just search near your current location or a specific destination and see the results nearby. You get the property highlights, Open House information and listing agent contact info. You even get driving directions to help you through unfamiliar areas. Trulia in your car is built for the Dash Express GPS device.

Check out this video from Dash to get a feel for the Trulia in your car experience:

As a special bonus, Dash is making its device available for sale to Trulia users for $50 off the retail price ($249.99 instead of $299.99). Just use this promo code – TRULIAGIVE08 – when you contact Dash at (888) 949-DASH. All new customers get three free months of Dash service. The code is valid through 9/30/08. For more information, please contact Dash at the number above or visit their website.

The reception for these products from our users has been really great. And we definitely want to hear your ideas and suggestions for new Trulia Mobile products. Feel free to leave a comment on my blog or contact me directly (rcross at trulia dot com) with any feedback. Thanks!

Homes with benefits

It’s basic economics that when supply exceeds demand, the price goes down. But in the case of real estate, the incentives just get more creative. From free cars to buy-one-get-one-free deals, agents and sellers on Trulia.com are using some imaginative tactics these days to stand out from the crowd.

Of course, you want to read the fine print with any special offers. But for many home buyers, these bonuses could be just what the financial adviser ordered. Using keyword search on Trulia.com, we found four amazing examples that cannot be missed.

A Florida dream home complete with ‘Fairy Tale Princess’

Home is where the heart is, especially for one enterprising home owner in South Florida. Selling a sunny, four bedroom home with ‘Princess Bride’ included, Deven Trabosh also placed ads on Craigslist, Ebay and her own blog. Now that’s a deal. See the full listing here. Tip: To find more of these homes with benefits, enter your city, then use keywords like ‘credit’, ‘incentive’, or ‘loan’ to sort through your results.

The straight-up price discount Los Angeles, CA This bank-owned foreclosure near LA city college includes a three percent discount on the purchase price as credit toward the buyer’s closing cost. Bonus, you could walk to class and save on gas.

The early bird bonus Dallas, TX Time is of the essence, especially in this market. This builder is offering a $20,000 buyer bonus for closing before the end of September. Plus, scroll down to see the Google Street View during the renovation.

The future credit Tampa, FL Buy it and then redo it. The seller for this Tampa pad on a golf course comes with three fireplaces… and $25,000 toward renovations. Other potential perks include owner financing based on the buyer’s credit history.

Your city wasn’t featured? Don’t fret, enter a U.S. city to search your neighborhood for deals.

Advice & Opinions Ι Get insightful, fast, and FREE advice on home buying & selling

The Housing Law, continued! Where’s the market headed? Can I still get a loan? How should the Housing Law affect my home buying or selling? If you’ve got questions, you can ask buyers, pros, sellers, and locals on Trulia Voices for answers. Here are two popular goodies worth the read.

Q: We own a Condo in my name. Can we still qualify for the $7500 tax credit if we buy a house in my wife’s name? Asked by Eric, Home Buyer & Seller in Okemos, MI A: What is the definition of a first-time home buyer? The law defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during… see more

Q: Can Fannie Mae and Freddie MAC run out of cash? If so, how do you get a conforming loan? Asked by David, Home Buyer & Seller in Lake Forest, IL A: Looks like the fed is ready to institute a 3 prong approach to prevent the implosion of Fannie & Freddie…. see more

Real Estate Eye Candy Ι Trulia picks

Three years after the devastating Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, New Orleans is looking on the up and up. Known for its cool combination of French, Creole and Victorian styles, many of these unique properties have been rebuilt with the same detailed finishes and exquisite touches. Check out four of our user favorites in the French Quarter, University Uptown, and more. From standalone fireplaces and patios with fountains to travertine floors and hand-tiled pools, these colorful picks are sure to be inspiration for your own home.   New Orleans, LA $825,000 3br / 3ba / 2,740 sqft   New Orleans, LA $487,000 3br / 2ba / 1,200 sqft     New Orleans, LA $899,000 5br / 5ba / 4,262 sqft   Belle Chasse, LA $879,900 4br / 4.5ba / 5,785 sqft

Happy House Hunting

The best place to start your real estate search Trulia Inc. 208 Utah Street #310 San Francisco CA 94103

Stay tuned for more house hunting and savvy selling techniques… or see them all at www.trulia.com/newsletter

Know where your traffic comes from?

We’re constantly connecting with more Trulia users to get your thoughts and feedback. Recently, I spoke to tech-savvy marketing specialist Savanna Sparks. Savanna manages a Trulia Pro account for a Realtor in the northwest, and monitors relevant online activity. When asked about the results she sees from Trulia Pro, Savanna told us:

“I’m so happy to report my experience with Trulia has been totally positive! We’ve had tremendous numbers of page views in just the month since we’ve signed up. I’ve linked this Realtor’s website to her listings in Trulia, and when I go into the back pages of her website to see who’s visiting, the majority of URLs are from Trulia.”

But before she signed up for Trulia Pro and saw the views to the Realtor’s website increase, how did they know that Trulia Pro would be effective? As much as I’d like to say it was our brilliant marketing, it’s really because they already had proof that consumers are turning to Trulia as their first source for real estate information. Savanna’s team was first introduced to Trulia by the Realtor’s son, who was using the site to look for homes for sale before a cross-country relocation. His fondness for Trulia showed that consumers haven’t just heard of Trulia, they are actively using the tools and finding the real estate info they need – and enjoy experience.

All around a great story about how Trulia works for both real estate professionals and consumers. Pretty cool.

If you have a similar story that you’d like to share, please drop me a note at Katie (at) Trulia (dot) com.

Breakfast of Champions

Sami (Trulia’s co-founder and COO) is a professional Triathlete. He generally takes first in his age group in Ironman competitions and sometimes first overall. Swim, Bike, Run. As you may imagine, the diet of professional athletes is somewhat amazing. Take for example the fastest human in the world Usain Bolt, when asked what he ate the night before he broke the world record, he said “chicken nuggets”.

While Sami may not be able to swim as fast as Michael Phelps or run as fast as Usain Bolt, I am willing to bet that he would take both of them in a Triathlon. Where they may have some sort of tie is on their diets. Michael Phelps for the sheer volume of food and Sami for his creativity.
Below are examples of the diets of champions:
Michael Phelps:
Breakfast:

• 3 fried egg sandwiches
• 2 cups coffee
• 5-egg omelet
• bowl of grits
• 3 pieces of french toast
• 3 chocolate chip pancakes

Lunch:

• 1 pound pasta
• 2 ham and cheese sandwiches
• energy drink (1,000 calorie)

Dinner:

• 1 pound pasta
• 1 large pizza
• energy drink (1,000 calorie)

Sami Inkinen:
Breakfast:

• 2 ½ cups oatmeal with pumpkin puree
• 4 raw egg whites
• 3 cups of (fresh or frozen) spinach added to fruit smoothies

Lunch:
Canned chicken noodle soup prepared the following way

1. Open the can and drain all juice
2. Add 3 packets of sweet & low, 2 tablespoons ketchup, and a handful of sliced pickles
3. Mix and enjoy

Snack:

• I slice bread with peanut butter, sprinkled with pepper
• Tuna salad with peanut butter

Dinner:

• None of us really know…

While we admire and respect our fearless leader, we are often perplexed by his creativity in the Trulia kitchen.
Several of the employees at Trulia are inspired by Sami’s energy alone and have accomplished amazing physical feats outside of the coding wizardry you see on Trulia.com. Take for example our data-analyst who did 250k pushups in 16 months, or one of our product managers who recently did the escape from Alcatraz triathlon or the man in charge of special projects who took up boxing only to step into the ring with some heavy hitters.

We are inspired, energized, and excited to come to work everyday, especially when we are working side by side with champions.

E#48

July Foreclosures

The number of bank-owned homes hit the three-quarter million mark in July, according to the latest report by RealtyTrac. It is estimated that bank-owned homes currently account for 15 to 20 percent of all resale inventory on the market, meaning cities that are swimming in foreclosure inventory could have a long road of recovery ahead.

We took a quick look at the median list price of homes for sale on Trulia, and the median list price of REO, or bank-owned, homes in five cities with the highest number of foreclosures. We found that sellers in areas like Phoenix, Vegas and Bakersfield may have a long wait ahead of them as the median price of REO homes in those cities is lower than the median list price of non-REO homes by 12 percent or more, while would-be bargain hunters in cities like Riverside and Cape Coral may have a more difficult time finding a large selection of below-market deals.

Foreclosures can be complicated – whether you are trying to avoid one, or trying to buy one. Got a question about foreclosures or the foreclosure process? Get answers on Trulia Voices, a Q&A forum on Trulia.com where consumers and professionals can exchange information and ask and answer questions about their local real estate markets.