I’ve been blogging about my real estate investing for over 2 years now and it has helped me out in a multitude of ways. If you haven’t started a blog yet, I would highly recommend it because the rewards are almost limitless. The relationships that I’ve created and the doors that have opened to me have really given myself a big advantage.
I wanted to share with you the 14 benefits that I’ve gotten from blogging since I started. Some benefits are realized after your first post, while others will happen randomly.
1) Makes you think about and understand what you are doing
Writing about a specific topic requires you to have some level of understanding. That understanding will allow you to put together a logical and smart post. I’ve had to research things like liens, financing terms and cap rates just to include those topics in my posts. I am much more knowledgeable now because of that research.
2) Holds you accountable
Even though this is mentioned second, to me this benefit is the top reason for creating a blog about your real estate investing. When I write down in a post what I’m going to be doing, I really feel the pressure to actually do that task. I don’t care if you have 5000 readers or just 1, it’s human nature to want to please others. I want to be a man of my word and always follow through.
3) Networking
I’ve met so many people because they’ve found my blog it’s hard to even begin to list them all. Let me list a few..
- My coaches, Jon Zorrer and Casey Smith
- My Investing partner Lance
- Shae Bynes (goodfaithinvesting.com)
- Steph Davis (flipthiswholesaler.net)
- and many many more…
I bet anything that I’ll sell a deal at some point because of my blog, it’s gauranteed!
4) Make some extra money
There is no shame in promoting products that you have used and recommend on your blog. Many of these products have affiliate programs that will pay you up to 50% of the product sale if they buyer clicked through your link to purchase.
5) Being part of a community – like minded people
Once you have a blog, go around and comment on other investor blogs. Do it long enough and you will notice that there is a definite community of bloggers out there who will do anything to help each other out. A part of being successful in anything is surrounding yourself with like minded people. It’s great to be able to shoot one of my blogger friends an email to chat about lease options, wholesaling REOs or other passive income streams.
6) Journal – Progress
If you post regularly to your blog (as you should), you’ll quickly create a history of your progress. From year to year you’ll be able to go back and recall events from the past and also learn from them. One of the best examples of this was Steph Davis’ blog. If you read from post #1 to now, you’ll see how struggles slowly turned to success.
7) Learn about online marketing
Just writing a blog doesn’t mean you’ll get traffic. You have to promote your product (the blog) in places where people will be interested. Put your blog web address in your email signature, Real Estate forum signatures, and comment on other REI blogs. If you do this and keep posting often you will eventually get traffic. Warning: it could take years to see decent traffic. My site gets 80 to 100 visitors a day and I’ve been at this blog for over 2 years now. I’ve still got a lot to learn.
8) Improve your communication skills
This is a no brainer. Writing posts requires you to be able to communicate your thoughts and knowledge to others through words. Not my strong suite by any means, in fact I dare say I used to suck at it. Now I find myself more open to talking and meeting people then I ever have.
9) Get questions answered
I used to go to REI forums to get my questions answers, but now I can simply just ask in one of my blog posts and I’ll have 100s of people who answer my questions. The more you help other people, the more they will be willing to help you.
10) Learn how websites work
You will easily learn the basics of how to put together a website. From regeistering a domain to figuring out what the hell a Host is. It can get a little confusing for sure, but it is not that hard.
11) Good discipline practice
To be successful in a startup business you have to have discipline. Writing a blog is no different in the fact that writing posts must be done on a consistant basis or the blog will fail. Many times I DO NOT feel like writing a blog post, but I know I have to because it’s been 3 days since the last post. An inactive blog will die a quick death. Momentum is key (sounds familiar huh??)
12) Expand your imagination
There are days when posts just write themselves. There are other days when I have to be really creative to come up with a topic. Thinking outside the box doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but you can train your mind to do so. A blog will help you.
13) Teach others
Even though I still have so much to learn about real estate investing, there are people who are just getting started and could be helped from my experiences. It’s awesome to get an email from a reader who has a question. I never give advice on something if I don’t have experience, but I’m surprised at how often I’m able to help out.
14) It’s fun!
At the end of the day, I really just plain enjoy having my blog. For all the things it gives me it is an invaluable tool that will lead me to great success.
Final Thoughts/Advice
Don’t get turned off because you’ve been blogging for 3 (or even 6) months and nobody is showing up and commenting. You never know when someone will discover one of your posts and really help you out.
If anyone ever needs help setting up a blog, send me an email or post here with any questions you may have.
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Comments 19
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Scott,
I fully agree. I enjoy the community aspect from blogs. I follow several blogs. They help inspire me and I am able to surround myself with like minded people that may be 2000 miles away.
Jason
Great post, Scott! I think #5 really resonates with me – I’ve encountered and learned from so many awesome real estate bloggers. It’s great to see what other folks are up to! 🙂
It’s definitely motivating to see people, just like ourselves, working hard and getting things done.
Real Estate Blogs will really help those aspiring investors. They must also learn the basics if they want to stay long in investing. My uncle has been investing for a few years now; many people helped him to get through when he started to invest.
Real Estate Blogs will really help those aspiring investors. They must also learn the basics if they want to stay long in investing. My uncle has been investing for a few years now; many people helped him to get through when he started to invest.
You couldn’t be more correct Shane. Investing requires help from many people and that is why building relationships is almost has important as finding good deals.
Playing a little catch up here….this is a great list, Scotty! I love blogging for many of those same reasons!
Author
You are gonna start losing your hold on the #1 commenter on my site 🙂
Very pin points mentioned by you here to initiate real estate blog. number 6 & 7 are most important point from in my view.
I understand everything you are saying, i guess i just need help getting started. I am asking for help. Please, everyone, anyone.
Thank You..
Edison
How can I help? Feel free to email me with any questions or post them here. You might get other people’s help if you post here as well.
I guess i am not that creative..
We are all creative, sometimes you just have to get a boost before the ideas start flowing.
Great Post! Is this blog updated regularly? I’ll bookmark this site so I can get the best plumber in my place. Thank you.
Author
Yes it is, pretty regularly
Shane,
Thanks for the great post. I have been wholesaling houses for 12 years and am continuing to build my online presence. It’s hard work, but well worth it. Check out my web site to see some of the things I am working on, http://thecincyhousebuyer.com/
Keep up the good work!
Author
Hi Mitch,
You should get in touch with a guy named Jon Zorrer. He is my coach and also invests in the Cincinnati area
Scott, thanks so much for your site! Ironically, I found it as a result of having just launched my own blog at the bidding, okay insistence, of my marketing partner, and I have to say, I’m still not totally thrilled about the prospect of committing the time I think it will take. One thing I struggle with is that because I’m so new to investing, it’s hard to see where I can offer value to a reader. I appreciate that you don’t oversell yourself or pose as someone you’re not. I don’t want to be that guy, either. I’m curious if you have any advice for me as I start this journey.