Before I started Flat Rate Web Jobs, I used my own blog as a primary way to earn mortgage and real estate clients.
First at LiveJounral.Com (an old site), and then later with my own self hosted WordPress blogs. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing; I mostly blogged about the goals that I had, and I didn’t talk a lot about the nuances of my industry. I joined communities with other local people, and I became friends with folks. Some of these folks are still my friends.
And there’s the rub: I didn’t know anything about SEO, I didn’t know anything about landing pages, all I really knew was that I was talking about the industry. The mortgage business was sleazy then, it’s (less) sleazy now, and in both cases there are fascinating stories to be told. I told the stories, and people wandered in and became my clients.
Blogging Increases Transparency, Which Creates Confidence In You
Why? Because I was exposing part of myself to them. By talking about the way I did business in an unvarnished and honest way, people learned more about me. I was predictable to them. A little high strung, not so fast on paperwork, but at the end of the day, they knew that I wouldn’t sell them out to make an extra half point out the back. I was completely honest, a little bit profane, and at the end of the day, predictable.
People knew that I was a little disillusioned, and they bought anyway. I blogged a lot. And I sold literally millions of dollars in loans. They knew what they were getting, AND they also had some security: it was clear that I had a business relationship with people in a public forum, and if I was a jerk, my customers could hold that over my head.
Blogging is a way to demonstrate to your customers your commitment to the industry and the service that they will get. It’s a way of showing off, showing your commitment and making people feel safe. It’s a way that a small business owner can demonstrate what they know about their industry (without bragging). It’s a way of putting feelers out there and lines in the water to see what happens next.
That’s what blogging is. A chance to give out free samples for the service industry. A lawyer can’t exactly practice law on someone, but they can write about the practice of law. A Realtor can’t exactly show houses, but they can talk about how they negotiate on their client’s behalf. And that makes them a known quantity for their clients.
Beyond getting “traffic” and doing all the SEO wizardry (a skill that comes normally in the ordinary course of blogging), it’s a demonstration, pure and simple, for the service industry.
So, when you blog, keep this in mind as your primary goal. Engage, in a real way. Say helpful things, move the “free line” in your business.
Helping people is the point of what you’re doing for a living.
