By Gretchen Wegrich
In the mortgage industry, professionals who have an engaged online presence have a serious advantage. After all, 80 percent of mortgage transactions originate online.
Blogging falls somewhere on the short list of activities recommended for web-savvy mortgage pros, along with being active on social media and having a mobile-friendly website.
Starting a blog or re-energizing an existing blog can feel like an overwhelming task, but the key to success here is creating small, measurable goals and celebrating each accomplishment, no matter how tiny.
Challenge yourself to create a new blog post each week for a month; by the end of the month, that weekly post will have become habit and you can up your productivity to two posts per week.
Need more followers? Try sharing your blog with your email contacts and Facebook friends.
Remember that following is a two-way street –spend some time browsing for interesting financial bloggers to follow and take the time to comment on their posts. They just might return the favor.
Strategy #1 – Be yourself
“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde
You’ve cleared time in your schedule for blogging and are sitting in front of your computer staring at a blank page and a blinking cursor –now what?
The key to mortgage blogging success is to create unique and relevant content that readers can’t find anywhere else. Think about the expertise, insight or point of view that sets you apart from your competitors.
Do a bit of soul searching to determine what makes you unique in the mortgage sphere. This is the first step to discovering your brand –how you position yourself –which will then guide every blog post you create.
Remember that great blog content isn’t always lengthy and in-depth –perhaps your true talent lies in YouTube video blogging, or creating hand drawn cartoons satirizing the experience of applying for a mortgage loan.
Don’t be shy; share personal anecdotes and engage readers with stories and details that reveal your true nature. Honesty and transparency are wonderful tools for developing authenticity and cultivating a loyal following.
Strategy #2 – Right place, right time
As in life, mortgage blogging success often depends on your location. Exposure is all about site traffic. If your own website traffic is still in its infancy, try getting your blog onto sites that have numerous daily visitors and editorial support. Offer to guest blog for leading industry media outlets in order to focus more attention on your site.
Don’t forget to promote you blog intensely on your social media. Finally, even SEO basics can improve your website’s search-ability. If you do decide to go the SEO route, consider hiring an SEO specialist to tackle this time-consuming task.
Related: 6 SEO Strategies for Higher Search Rankings
Strategy #3 – Write to your audience
Who is reading your blog? As a mortgage professional, you most likely want to target people who are initiating the home buying process and are researching their options online.
It’s okay to experiment with various writing styles and topics until you find a niche that suits your writing abilities and audience.
Writing style can win you many followers –or drive them away. Is your writing easy to understand or do you use unfamiliar words and long sentences? Do you present ideas in a logical order or skip around?
In general, keep your writing simple and to the point.
Related: Creating Valuable Web Content, A Step-By-Step Walkthrough
Strategy #4 –Blog smarter
What makes people want to read your blog posts? Put yourself in the mind of your target market. Think like a mortgage borrower.
Choose attention-grabbing headlines, but be careful not to deceive your readers. A headline is a promise to readers of what they will discover if they click on the article.
Make your blog relevant by including mentions of current events or industry trends. Not only will this increase your authenticity, but it can also help your site’s search-ability.
Add hyperlinks to your related blog posts and to other high-quality resources. Not only does this make your blog more useful, but adding links can help keep visitors on your website and can improve your page views.
Related: Taking Advantage of Sharable Content
LenderHomePage offers mobile website design, mortgage blog content, SEO and social media packages for mortgage professionals.
