Debbie Ward-Terry

Archive for the ‘Today’s News’ Category

1. Make your opinion known

People like blogs, they like blogs because they are written by people and not corporations. People want to know what people think, crazy as it sounds they want to know what you think. Tell them exactly what you think using the least amount of words possible.

2. Link like crazy

In every post, do not forget to put some links to free useful resources relevant to post topic. It will make your post extremely popular. You can provide links to articles, free e-books, free web tools and links to similar hugely popular posts.

3. Write Less

Give the maximum amount of information with the least amount of words. Time is valuable and people are busy. Blast your knowledge into the reader at the speed of sound.

4. 250 words is enough

A long post is easier to forget and harder to get into. A short post is the opposite.

5. Make Headlines snappy

The headline of your post makes immediate impact on the reader. Pick a startling title with keywords in it. Keep it 5 to 10 words long and capitalize words. If your title is impressive you will attract more readers to your post.  Needless to say, search engine optimization plays a major factor in every part of web publishing system. Make sure that your post title includes at least one important keyword or phrase related to post topic.  Check out National newspapers to see how they do it.  Or, Google has a great web site that will give you suggestions of what keywords to use based on the subject of your blog, click HERE to see that.

6. Include bullet point lists and photos

We all love lists, it structures the info in an easily digestible format. People are also very visual. Using imagery can be very effective in enriching your posts. Photos immediately lets readers know what the post is about without reading a word. Your photo doesn’t always have to be at the beginning of the blog either. Using photos throughout the text will drawing the reader’s eye down a post beyond the first few lines.

7. Make your posts easy to scan

Every few paragraphs insert a sub heading. Make sentences and headlines short and to the point.

8. Litter the post with Keywords

Think about what keywords people would use to search for your post and include them in the body text and headers. Make sure the keyword placement is natural and does not seem out of place.  Remember you are writing your blog for both humans as well as search engines.  Go back to the Google site mentioned in #5 if you are looking for keywords to use in your blog.

9. End with a question

This isn’t a gimmick, it works really well.  Ask questions from your readers and get them involved in active and lively discussion in the form of comments to your post. Allowing the readers to interact and take part in the discussion popularizes your blog.

10. Edit your post

Needless to say, before you click the publish button make sure you have checked the grammar, punctuations, commas and other mistakes in text of your post. Remove all the clutter and arrange the lists properly. Making your post free of any typographical and grammatical errors makes it good reading experience for your readers.

Not sure what to write about…click HERE to get 101 Real Estate Blog Topics.

The Federal Reserve’s latest region-by-region analysis of the national economy, the so-called “Beige Book” released last week, has an important message for anyone interested in real estate: It’s a gradual recovery out there, but it’s for real and it should prove durable. Tim Becker, director of the University of Florida’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies said, “Results of our first quarter survey indicate that the real estate market in Florida has hit bottom and is in the process of stabilizing across most property types”

The Fed’s report, which is based on detailed assessments from 12 member banks spread around the country, noted that the home purchase tax credits stimulated sales as they were intended to do. And, most economists in the Federal Reserve System think that low interest rates and fairly low prices will continue to make the (housing) market attractive for prospective buyers.

Now, no one is predicting a break-out of big-time home price appreciation across the country anytime soon. But the IAS (Integrated Asset Services) numbers suggest that home buyers and owners can at least be confident that we’ve reached or passed the bottom in most areas.  UF’s recent report says Florida real estate markets show the first tentative signs of being on the verge of recovering from the most painful recession in the state’s history.

Of course there are still some major roadblocks in the way of any full economic and housing market recovery. Topping the list is the high and persistent unemployment numbers. So, does the Federal Reserve have it right?  Are we on the road of a gradual recovery?  As usual, the picture is complicated, and we all wish we had a crystal ball. But overall, we are seeing more activity, so I think the Federal Reserve probably has the outlook pegged about right.