Article of the day : Local realtors reach out to new clients with blogs

I would so blog if I were a real-estate agent.

I've often thought that I might eventually try my hand at real estate. A couple of years ago, I went house hunting and visited about 75 of them before finding the perfect home (ok, I'm picky). I had a blast scouring MLS listings, checking out foundations and rooftops, imagining potential and scoping out neighbourhoods. Then I flash back to the amazement I felt as a ten year old, that the real estate agent presenting an offer on my family cottage was at our house at midnight. Crazy.

Then again, sometimes I'm working at midnight...

Either way. I would so blog if I were a real-estate agent. It's a perfect mix, allowing not only the promotion of properties, but, maybe more importantly, self-promotion. Convincing someone to list with you depends so much on the image they have of you and the confidence you're able to inspire. I'd blog about properties, of course, but also give those house-selling and house-buying tips that can be touchy to share when you have your clients in front of you. Like telling them their 100+ doll collection, chintzy sofa and floral wallpaper have to go. What better way than a blog to share the kind of advice that will help sellers unload their properties quickly, at the maximum possible price?

With this in mind, I was interested to come across this article on real estate bloggers.

Check it out here.

(ed.note: fixed the link on 20080115 - hope this version of the article stays online more than 24 hours!)

Last minute social media Xmas shopping : doing it 'barefoot' with the figure skater

Looking for a stocking stuffer for that hard-to-buy-for social media afficionado?

Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo of Capulet Communications have just launched Getting to first base : A social media marketing playbook, a book they describe as :

(...) a 100-page ebook filled with tricks, tips and case studies that show
you how to:

- Bring more visitors to your website
- Increase your company’s visibility online
- Approach bloggers and other online influencers
- Create compelling viral campaigns
- Get your website social media ready
- Craft a potent social media pitch
- Market effectively inside Facebook
- Avoid campaign killers and online faux pas

Now what's a social media book launch, without the proper accoutrement, you say?

Try this on for size:

A blog with an RSS feed and all the right bookmarking tools

A YouTube video or two (or several : if you check out their individual YouTube profiles, you'll see that they've even included personalized pitches to some heavy hitters (pun intended) like Robert Scoble and Steve Rubel. Clever, clever. Strange .. the Michelle, a Quick Message from Malta video must have gotten lost in the shuffle ... )

A Facebook Fan page

You can even read some sample chapters.

Walking the walk.

Oh and how cool is this : $1 from the sale of each copy is being donated to the David Suzuki Foundation.

Ed. note: Hey. Does that too-clever-for-its-own-good blog post title sound a tad naughty to you too? Totally unintended. Hrm. No wonder Santa brings me coal every year.

La rentrée

Bon, c'est officiel! Malgré les températures records et l'humidité, c'est la rentrée. Les clients me le disent, mes collègues me le disent. Il faudrait maintenant que mon corps le comprenne. Je suis toujours dans le beat relaxe qui est propre à Vancouver, mais j'en sors, tranquillement. Il le faut bien, un jour.

Une fin de semaine de travail avec bon mélange de plaisir en perspective. Quelle joie retrouver les amis autour d'une table lors de ces dernières belles soirées d'été, dans le jardin chez nous!

Tel qu'espéré, je ressens les vibrations de plus en plus frénétiques des médias sociaux à Montréal depuis mon retour. On en parle plus fréquemment qu'il y a même 3-4 mois. Les collègues m'approchent pour se renseigner. Même ceux qui, il y a de ça quelques mois seulement, étaient sur leurs gardes face à tout ce qui ressemblait à blogue/podcast/Facebook/ Twitter et al. ne semblent plus nier l'influence grandissante du phénomène et cherchent à en savoir plus.

On me solicite maintenant en tant que conférencière. Super, ça.

En parlant de conférenciers, Infopresse en fait venir un grand. Chris Anderson, auteur de l'incontournable The Long Tail, sera à Montréal le 9 octobre prochain.

Détails ici. Si vous avez les sous, ça vaut la peine.

Geek Dinner, Mitch Joel? On ne peut faire autrement que se croiser les doigts. Et merci d'avance, en passant, pour celui pour Tod Maffin - ça devrait être génial.

Vidéo du jour : YULBiz

On se fait parler de nous!



Également disponible sur le site montreal.tv ici

Vancouver Blogger Meetup : Charming bunch!

Just got back from tonight's Vancouver blogger Meetup meeting. Such a nice bunch of people, all very welcoming and friendly ... and chatty, which is great! Had fun chatting with everyone about their blogs and their business and got into a heated (Vancouver style) debate about the wisdom of integrating blogs into professional websites. Some had no qualms about it, seeing SEO advantages, while others preferred separating their websites from their blogs as a way of minimizing risk.

And found a Mitch fan! Yes, the influence of Montreal's favourite social media marketing guru has spread to the West coast. One of tonight's participants was impressed by a presentation Mitch made in Vancouver recently ... without slides. Apparently nothing, not event technical difficulties, fazes Mr Joel.
Thanks to the Vancouver crew who opened their arms and welcomed me into their circle:

Isabella Mori , psychotherapist, and Meetup group organiser

Jan Karlsbjerg, tech guy (ok, he has a PhD ... very tech guy?)

Gene Blishen, Credit Union general manager and philosopher extraordinaire

Pete Quily, Adult ADD Coach (apparently marketers are prone - take his online quiz today!)

Al Pasternak, composting innovator

Carola Goetze, gallery owner and MySpace fan ... ponding a jump into the blogosphere

May our paths cross again!