Many of you know I have done several posts in the past couple of weeks. I am a big fan of podcasting and think there are plenty of applications for podcasting in real estate. I just did a post on the Geek Estate Blog on some of the basics of real estate podcasting that is worth checking out for those interested!
My post touches on several podcasting applications and distribution strategies worth considering.
I just did a post on reasons to podcast on the GeekEstate Blog that I think is worth checking out!
I recently started podcasting and found that it has many applications in both real estate and blogging. My post summarizes some of reason I love podcasting including:
 |
Last week Inman New released a list of the 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers. Our good friends at Sellsius Real Estate, the thought leaders that they are, have put out an equally important list of top bloggers - 12 Top Women bloggers in Real Estate! (They did one in 2006 as well). |
I was very pleasantly surprised that I recognized at least half of the folks on the list as being as vFlyer “all star” users, including Missy Caulk, Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Kristal Kraft, Teresa Boardman, Laurie Manny and Maureen Francis. As I started speaking with some of them and listening to their great insight, I decided to turn my conversations into a podcast and to reach out to everyone on the list.
The result is 12 podcast interviews in which the 12 Top Women bloggers in Real Estate share their backgrounds, their intro to blogging, and their advice to fellow bloggers! All of these interviews were unrehearsed and most happened “on the spot”, some while busy agents where driving from a closing, or at a conference - so please excuse any inconsistency in sound quality and understand that some of the interviewees had time and other constraints working against them.
I will confess that I had a blast speaking with all of them and they all share great insight and advice in their interviews so I would strongly recommend listening to as many of them as possible!
Podcast Interviews:
 |
Diane Cohn (Chase International) Play: or  Diane has developed a great business slant on blogging after she discovered the lead generation potential of the Internet. Diane talks about valuable learning resources for bloggers, the need to develop focus, and other cornerstones of real estate blogging. Links: Blog | ActiveRain |
 |
Frances Flynn-Thorsen (RealTown/Realty World) Play: or I was impressed that Frances is currently involved with over four different blogs and is quite the blogoholic. Frances talks about the need to take a risk and really connect when having a conversation and worry less about SEO. Links: Blog | ActiveRain |
 |
Ines Hegedus-Garcia (Coldwell Banker) Play: or Ines got involved in blogging a little over a year ago after hearing about blogging from a professional photographer. She then joined ActiveRain before launching her own blog. Ines also recently did a great post on real estate blogging and stresses the importance of persistence and reading other people’s blogs. Links: Blog |  vFlyer Gallery | ActiveRain |
 |
Kris Berg (Prudential California Realty) Play: or Kris and her husband got involved in blogging after seeing the success of Rain City Guide, which according to Kris is the “gold standard” of real estate blogs! She was also determined not to be “left behind”. Kris shares a lot about the less tangible benefits of real estate blogging and the need to be “true to yourself”. She is also a contributor to the BlogHoundBlog. Links: Blog |
 |
Kristal Kraft (The Berkshire Group) Play: or I talked to Kristal as she drove around the city and she shared with me how she developed her blogging skills over the last 4 years. Kristal also makes a couple of great suggestions on being hyperlocal and keeping a journal of your blog ideas! Links: Blog | vFlyer Gallery | ActiveRain |
 |
Laurie Manny (Prudential California Realty) Play: or After playing a little phone tag, I was glad I got a hold of Laurie. Laurie has some great advice on getting started, the role social networks can play in blogging, the importance of SEO as well as the need to go local! Links: Blog | vFlyer Gallery | ActiveRain |
 |
Maureen Francis (SKB Sotheby’s International) Play: or Maureen has been blogging over two years and got first involved in blogging about 4 years ago when trying to create for her daughter’s baby book and got hooked! Maureen makes a great point about “finding your own voice” and using blogging as a social networking too. Maureen was one of our early users. Links: Blog | vFlyer Gallery | ActiveRain |
 |
Missy Caulk (RE/MAX Platinum) Play: or Missy shares her background and tells us now she got started in blogging. Like many others, Missy talks about the important role ActiveRain has playing in her blogging as well as her plans to add a local real estate blog to her list of blogs. Links: Blog | vFlyer Gallery |
 |
Rhonda Porter (Mortgage Master Service) Play: or Rhonda was almost “forced to blog” less than a year ago and suggests “not thinking about it” too much and being committed to the process. Links: Blog | ActiveRain |
 |
Roberta Murphy (Murphy Group) Play: or Roberta got into blogging on ActiveRain but soon with the help of Jim Cronin of Real Estate Tomato expanded into additional online properties and is now blogging on 3 platforms - wow! Roberta stresses the need for commitment and finding a honest voice - after all, blogging is about “having a conversation” with your audience. Links: Blog | ActiveRain |
 |
Sharon Simms (RE/MAX Metro) Play: or I spoke with Sharon late Friday (both of us where on our cellphones) about how she got started in blogging. Sharon learned about the success of blogging from one of the organizations she was involved in. Among other things, Sharon recommends getting involved in ActiveRain and Localism as part of the learning process. Links: Blog | ActiveRain |
 |
Teresa Boardman (Keller Williams Integrity Realty) Play: or Teresa has the additional distinction of being selected as one of Inman’s Top 25 Bloggers in Real Estate. Her blog is known for its tangible results and Teresa explains how she got involved in blogging as an experiment and gives some good advice to prospective bloggers. Links: Blog | vFlyer Gallery | ActiveRain |
Click here for page 2 of this post that contains a summary of some of the great insight these bloggers where able to share with me about real estate blogging.
My podcast with Drew earlier today, as well as my recent exposure to real estate podcasting solutions (this was one of the categories I missed in my original Real Estate 2.0 landscape post), got me thinking about one of the great features that all vFlyers have - the ability to integrate content via external links.
For those who don’t know, A podcast is any type of audio file that can be delivered via your computer, your iPod, or an MP3 player for playback. For real estate agents, podcasts are simply a new take on the audio narration. As with audio narration, potential buyers can play back the podcast while viewing property’s vFlyer.
Because a podcast is usually a link to an audio file (mp3, mp4, i.e.), you can add it to your vFlyer as an external link (Example). Adding external links is easy. Simply click Add Link in the Links section of your flyer and provide a title and the URL to your audio file.
You can check it out for yourself on this vFlyer by clicking here.
There are a number of free or inexpensive podcasting services that let you record an audio narration describing your property by simply using your phone or cellphone to call a toll-free 800 number. These services include Odeo, Gcast, and Podomatic. You can find a more comprehensive list here. You can also use professional real estate podcasting services like MLPodcast (MLBroadcast).
Technorati Tags: 
Podcast, vFlyer, Real Estate
Drew Meyers of Zillow was kind enough to invite me to do a podcast about vFlyer, the thinking behind the 62th edition of the carnival of real estate and corporate blogging in general, one of my favorite topics. You can listen to the by podcast by clicking the icon below.