Since the most prominent bloggers out there are blogging every day – sometimes multiple times a day, many beginning bloggers think they have to match that pace. Not exactly true.

I recommend beginning bloggers commit to at least three posts a week, 5 if you can.

Surely you can come across three things worth telling your readers over the course of seven days. If you can't then I'd say you aren't on the pulse of your target audience – which is a different matter entirely.

Anytime you email something to a friend or colleague or make a mental note to read an article later on – BLOG IT.  Add to your online storehouse of knowledge.

Many blog tools allow you to schedule your blog's posts ahead of time. You can schedule a week's worth ( even a month's worth) of blog posts in the time it takes to drink a pitcher of Long Island Iced Tea (which is neither tea nor required to be from Long Island – discuss!).

If nothing else… remember these two things:

1 – In the Beginning… these blogs you are doing are not really meant to be read by humans. They are purely for "Search Engine Bait".

2 – Put anything in your blog you would say to a prospect who is asking you about whatever it is you do.

Once you get the hang of blogging each day… you'll find something to blog about. Then, don't forget to Tweet on Twitter that you just posted a new blog. It will help your blog in the search engines! REALLY!

Have a good weekend!

Ed

(Follow me on Twitter)

Let me explain.  The system rewards the conversation.  The conversation is the back and forth that can happen from a blog responding to another blog thru commentary, trackback, or a blog post.  Or all of the above.

AR rewards you for anything you post.  The more you post the more exposure you get.  So each post usually gets comments.  Many are obvious attempts at what we in the off AR world would call "comment spamming".  It makes for a very retarded conversation.  It also makes for a very incestious community of self focused blogging as opposed to consumer focussed blogging.

This is not the only example of a multi-user blog, but AR was the first to come onto the scene (I say scene and not market because a market implies trade of usually dollars) with its unique ranking system.  And true to the predictions of the book "Positioning", being first to market usually wins.

Win what? is my concern.  Move.com killed its buyout of AR.  Did they figure out that free means no revenues?  But I thought free is the new empowerment model that Web 2.0 is all about.  I question that one all the time.  Its hard to demand restitution from something you never paid for.  AR should offer unique blogs as a revenue model, and it is wise to have your brand on your own URL as blogs at sites like AR can be used as brand extensions.

The Consumer Asks Why Do You Matter?

When I consult I teach that the web is becoming more and more about proof of your relevance in the marketplace.

Active Rain has created a nice model to cause agents to create content.  These agents are only too happy to comply and create in many cases (not all), junk content.  I can only wonder what the consumer sees in the many posts I've seen at Active Rain illustrates.

Many of the posts I've seen there are far removed from anything real estate, and is more relevant to an IVillage discussion group.  The bulk of comments I see there that could be at all interesting to a consumer (other than a consumer looking to confirm the cultural view of a Realtor) are ones that briefly allude to a particular market.

This is what the industry as represented at AR is saying is their relevance to the single largest asset that the consumer/visitor owns.  Can you understand why there is a demand for a Really Good Blog in the marketplace?

Those of you with Blogs that we maintain for you, can be proud of the fact that your blog is on your own domain, and contains 100% pure relative content.  A consumer finding your blog will not see BS posts that are put there just to fill up space.

Is Active Rain worth doing?  Maybe.  Would I spend a lot of time posting there?  No.

More later on other Social Networking Spots.  Have a Good Thursday!  WOW… where did January go already???

Ed