• Voicemail Transcriptions,
• One Phone Number That You Can Forward Calls Through,
• Personalized Greetings,
• Call Screening,

…and more.

If you don’t already have an account, I recommend you get one (it’s free). At the very least you should have a Google Voice number published on your website or blog so that prospective clients have access to you. And look at it this way, you can screen calls through Google Voice so you don’t need to worry too much about dealing with incoming spam calls.

How To Add A Google Voice “Call Me” Button To Your Blog

In this video tutorial, I’m going to walk you through the process of setting up and adding a Google Voice “Call Me” button to your blog. First you’ll need a Gmail account and then you’ll need to register at Google Voice. Once you’ve done that, you can follow the steps in this video to add a Google Voice Widget to your blog.

If you find it helpful, pass it along by hitting the RT button above

Learn What’s Being Copied Off Your Site

Tynt is a cool new application that allows you to track what’s being copied/pasted off of your website or blog. The way it works is it tracks copy and paste activity and automatically adds a link back to your site content when it is pasted somewhere else.

Pretty cool eh? That’s one way to stay on top of who’s using your content.

You can register for a free account here: http://www.tynt.com. Then, you can reference this page for instructions on how to install Tynt on various blogging platforms (WordPress, Blogger, etc.): http://www.tynt.com/support/setup-blogs.

Will You Use It?

Though Tynt doesn’t necessarily protect against someone scraping your content, it does make the effort to track copy and paste activity and link back to it. It’s not full-proof but it’s interesting data nonetheless because it says: “This is the content people are resonating with the most.” Do you see how that’s useful? If you use Tynt, I’d like to hear how it goes after about 1 – 2 weeks of tracking…

• authors one of the most popular marketing blogs in the world,
• is author of (12) best-selling books,
• speaks to audiences around the world about marketing (American Way Magazine calls him “America’s Greatest Marketer),
• and he’s the founder of Squidoo.com, a fast growing recommendation website.

If you haven’t read any of his books, you should. Amongst some of my personal favorites are: Permission Marketing (affiliate link), Tribes, and Linchpin. And his blog, is the only blog I subscribe to via email. Mainly because I think the information is always timely, focused, thought-provoking and relevant.

Listen to the Recording:

Below is an un-edited version of our call with Seth (we had some technical difficulties in the beginning). I hope you enjoy the call and I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments!

PHOTO CREDIT: Seth Godin

Here’s a sample interview with Broker Associate, Irina Netchaev. Irina’s with Keller Williams Realty in Pasadena, CA and has done a fabulous job of establishing her blog as the local resource for not only real estate, but the lifestyle and culture that is Pasadena. She’s authors multiple blogs and is very savvy not just about real estate, but how the social web plays into marketing and her bottom line.

Interview with Real Estate Blog Blazer, Irina Netchaev

@Ribeezie: what defines a successful blog for you? Is it site traffic, number of subscribers, number of comments, revenue, etc.?

@PasadenaViews: A successful real estate blog is one that generates leads.

@Ribeezie: When did you decide you finally reached success with your real estate blog?

@PasadenaViews: I am still working on the success part. However, I think my blog is moderately successful – it’s increasing in readership and the number of leads that I’m getting. For me, a minimum of 5 to 8 leads a day is a successful blog.

@Ribeezie: What do you consider to be your most successful blog post ever?

@PasadenaViews: My annual state of the city post seems to always get a ton of hits: http://www.pasadenaviews.com/state-of-the-pasadena-housing-market-and-california-real-estate-forecast-for-2010 This year, as of April 15, it had over 1,000 unique visitors – on average 10 per day.

@Ribeezie: What’s your best advice on writing a successful blog post?

@PasadenaViews: It has to be a combination of what consumers want and calls to action.

@Ribeezie: What’s your best advice on developing content and writing consistently on your blog?

@PasadenaViews: It finally dawned on me that I had to look at developing content as prospecting time. I made a decision to allocate an hour a day for research and writing. My goal was to have 3 to 5 posts a week, especially when my blog was still a baby.

@Ribeezie: How important do you think headlines are when writing content for your blog?

@PasadenaViews: Critical… Titles or headlines can make or break your post. You have to write for SEO and readers. Tough combination, but a skill that you need to acquire.

@Ribeezie: Do you spend any time and money marketing your blog?

@PasadenaViews: I spend time by marketing my blog on social media networks. I have not spent any dollars yet for PPC or other types of advertising. However, I also use my blog’s domain in my email signature, business cards, flyers, and every piece of marketing material that I produce.

@Ribeezie: How do you measure results (if at all)?

@PasadenaViews: I look at site stats and the number of leads that I get. My leads are separated into Home Search memberships, phone calls and emails. I then track the number of leads converted to appointments and the number of closings that I get from those leads. For example, 17 of the 21 2009 transactions were internet produced leads. I had close to 59,000 unique visitors on my sites last year. For every 57 unique visitors, I had a registered home search user. I generated 1 sale for every 48 registered users. My goals this year is to continue to maintain and increase registered home search users and to convert more of them into sales.

@Ribeezie: What’s your best success story or experience that happened as a result of the blog?

@PasadenaVeiws: I can’t think of one particular experience, but my blog certainly exploded my production levels and changed my approach to prospecting and marketing.

@Ribeezie: In your opinion, what are the elements of a successful blog design?

@PasadenaViews: Keep it clean and crisp.

@Ribeezie: What are your best Top Five tips for better blogging? (In 140 characters or less).

@PasadenaViews: 1. Be consistent. 2. Be timely… Write about topics of interest today. 3. Don’t get off on too many tangents. It’s okay to have fun with your blog once in a while, but if you’re in real estate, write about homes, real estate statistics, community, etc. 4. Stay positive. 5. Don’t give up.

@Ribeezie: What do you think are the most common mistakes newbie bloggers make?

@PasadenaViews: Expect to see immediate results and give up too early.

@Ribeezie: If you knew then, what you know now, what would you have done differently?

@PasadenaViews: I’d reach out to more experienced bloggers earlier and ask questions.

@Ribeezie: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their first blog?

@PasadenaViews: Just do it… start on a free platform like WordPress. Attend REBarCamps. Join ActiveRain. Explore and read other bloggers sites to get a feel for what you like and do not like.

@Ribeezie: What are some of your favorite blogs? (“Must Reads” that you visit daily).

@PasadenaViews: Honestly, I don’t have time to visit blogs daily… I like www.bubbleinfo.com, problogger, and Inman.

@Ribeezie: What are some of your favorite books that you recommend to other (especially newbie) bloggers?

@PasadenaViews: Books get outdated too quickly… I just read lots of articles and follow links on twitter and facebook.

Download your free copy of Real Estate Blog Blazers here to read interviews with 7 other top real estate bloggers…

Our first site belongs to Irina Netchaev, Broker Associate with Keller Williams Realty and author of PasadenaViews.com. She’s had her own website designed in the past but this one is her own creation so she’s put a bit of work and thoughtfulness into to. Overall I think that Irina’s blog has a good visual design and a thoughtful user interface. Taking into account that most of her readers are people interested in buying or selling Pasadena Real Estate, she does everything to emphasize her listings and properly places her CTA’s (Call to Actions) above the fold. Some forms are placed below the fold but as her primary CTA’s appear throughout the site, that’s ok.

I’m using an application called Notable to present my critique. If you click on the “view interactive screenshot” link below the image, you’ll be able to see a full-version of the site along with my notes on the specific location to which I’m referring or you can also download a pdf version of my critique.

Would you like me to critique your website in this series? Send an email to ricardo (at) ribeeziemedia (dot) com.

Site Critique: PasadenaViews.com

Click Here to View the Interactive Screenshot | Download a PDF of this Critique

1. [Note: This is a Key Element] Site navigation should always be placed above the fold. Take into consideration large computer monitors and growing screen resolutions. “Above the fold” is generally considered to be within the top 500-600 pixels of your site design. If you have a large header design, you might place your primary navigation above the header.

2. The primary reason readers come to your site is to search for homes. In this case, Irina does a great job of emphasizing her current listings and showcasing recent properties she’s sold. Readers tend to read websites like a book (from left to right) so placing this image on the right-hand side is appropriate and stands out.

3. [Note: this is a Key Element] If you’re website offers content on a consistent basis (and your real estate blog should), it’s important to offer readers an easy way to subscribe to your blog for new updates. Though the design here isn’t your typical RSS or email subscription icon, it’s pretty evident in the wording what Irina wants the user to do. The only thing to consider here is that this “Call to Action” item should typically be placed above the fold.

4. Here’s a bonus feature on Irina’s website. Her primary Call to Action (CTA’s) are emphasized throughout the blog as your scroll down to read more content. Since her intent is to engage with site visitors who are interested in buying/selling real estate, placement of this icons is important. Not only are they displayed appropriately above the fold but they’re also emphasized further down the site as well (good job!).

5. Here’s another bonus feature that I’ve seen on few real estate blogs (websites). Irina has a chat feature enabled on her website that allows site visitors to connect with her when she’s online. It’s like having someone manage the front desk when they come into your office (only here she’s gone digital with the idea). Great job!

6. [Note: this is a Key Element]. Amongst the more popular pages on any real estate blog are the Home Page, the Search for Homes page and the About page. It’s simply because people are curious. They want to know who you are, who’s behind the company or blog. Lots of agents make the mistake of providing as little information as possible. Not Irina. She not only includes her phone number, but also is very descriptive about her notable achievements and licensing information.

7. Irina has always branded herself using this logo (it’s on her print materials, her business cards and has always been a part of her brand identity on the web). It’s important that’s she’s consistent in placing it here on her header design.

8. Form fields (which I’m not sure you see here but it’s on the live design) should typically be placed above the fold (not below or on the footer). Again, think about how readers read a book (from left to right). It’s a bit unconventional that it’s placed on the footer. If it’s working, great. If not, it might increase subscriptions to if it were placed above the fold.

• 12 Things to Write About On Your Real Estate Blog – a thorough list of content ideas for your real estate blog (from list posts, to market updates, and more).
• Case Study: A Successful 365 Things to Do Facebook Page – this is one of several case study posts we hope to hi-light here from Agents and business owners who are using social media to marketing their businesses successfully on the web.
• How To Create A Unique Password for Each Site That You’ll Never Forget (in 10 minutes) – this is one of several “How To” posts that we’ve hi-lighted here on the site. So many sites and so many passwords, this technique is awesome at getting you to generate a unique password for every new site you join.
• Adding Custom Tabs To Your Facebook Page – this video tutorial has been viewed 12,000+ times on YouTube and is one of many video tutorials that we hi-light here on the blog.

If you’re not already subscribed to the blog I’d like to encourage you to do so now. Here are some of the most popular ways to subscribe (for free)…

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Lastly, if you’re interested in receiving updates to the upcoming webinars (like our WordPress 101 series) and other tech tips, take a moment to subscribe to our newsletter. All new subscribers will receive a free copy of Real Estate Blog Blazers: 8 interviews with high profile real estate bloggers.

PHOTO CREDIT: (from a second story)Mike Bailey-Gates

I liked the concept (a lot) and I thought they had a great line-up of speakers delivering some solid advice. There were some points where I wish a presenter had the opportunity to elaborate on his/her thoughts and at some points it felt as if the speaker was rushed, but like I said, all in all, some solid advice there.

If you missed it, don’t worry, there’ll be an mp3 and transcript available for download shortly. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of the points that stood out for me…

60 Ways to Increase Your Influence Online:

I listed to the conference in it’s entirety but missed a few points here and there. That’s ok because the audio and transcript will be available for download at a future date. In the meantime, I wanted to hi-light some of my favorite points and expand on why I thought they were great insights. I’d love it if you shared some of your favorite points in the comments below.

What you need to do is stop talking about your products and services. Everything you create on the web should be valuable information for the people you’re trying to reach and should focus less on your products and services. People care deeply about solving their problems. – David Meerman Scott

David opened up the mini-conference with some important and accurate insight. As a business, you should focus less on shouting the greatness of your product through the loudspeaker and focus more on finding solutions to people’s problems. People don’t care about your product, they care about how it’s going to fix their problem.

Consistency. Consistency demonstrates commitment. For the people that you serve, if you are consistent, they’re going to keep coming back. – Michael Port

I always tell people that the success of their blog is dependent on their ability to develop good content consistently. Here, Michael emphasizes the fact that consistency is key across all aspects of what you do. If you want people to connect with you and come back time after time, focus on consistently delivering good content.

You have to know where you’re going. Nobody’s going to want to follow you if you don’t know where you’re going. Then stand up and look at the people around you and make it all about them. – Liz Strauss

Liz Strauss is brilliant. Period. And she knows what it takes to build a thriving community. Here she offers some straight-forward but incredibly effective advice. Before you can lead a tribe, you have to know where you’re going. What’s your mission? What’s your purpose? Then, you have to empower your audience to share in that mission (by making it about them).

Make connections with people online and then go meet them in person in the real world offline. Combine the two together.  - Scott Porad

Social media is great for it’s ability to connect people with a larger audience. But it’s even better when you can turn on-line connections into off-line connections (a point hi-lighted very well by Scott Porad). You should be doing everything you can to solidify your on-line connections by looking for opportunities to connect with those people off-line.

No matter who you are, you need to look under the hood of the technologies that are available. Each month, assign yourself three digital trends you’ve been hearing about and do a test-drive. – Laurel Toby

Laurel offered a solid tip for staying on top of the digital trends curve. Each month, pick out a few new technologies and give them a test-drive. If you find something you like, and it’s effective, go with it. If it’s not, ditch it. Either way, you know that you’re staying on top of today’s trends.

Storytelling. People are buying the story. They either connect with your story or they don’t. – Michael Margolis

Michael hit on an important point. And that is that every business should get better at storytelling. Why? Because people connect with stories and they are either connecting with yours or they aren’t. So what’s your story? And how can you work on communicating that story better?

Find people who have your audience already but are not selling them the things that you’re selling. Partner with them and co-sell. – Dave Navarro

If you’re selling an information product or can partner with someone to deliver a better service offering, I think this is a great approach. And Dave’s right, by partnering with other people, you’re opening yourself up to other communities that you’re not already tapped into with a testimonial from the partner that essentially validates your service offering. It’s a great strategy and makes a ton of sense!

Give it wings and give it roots. Ground your content solidly in who you are. Also give it wings by making it easily shareable around the web. – Ann Handley

I loved Ann’s parenting analogy here and from a content creation perspective it makes a ton of sense. Understand who you are, what your about, and always write content from that perspective (with your own personal touch to it). Then, make that content easily shareable. People who connect with who you are and what you’re about, will spread your message easily.

Get very, very good at filtering and aggregating content. – John Janstch

This wasn’t all of John’s messaging; I missed the last bit but I understand his point. We live in an age of information overload. The only way to stay on top of the game and get sought after as a leader and information resource is to get good at filtering content to weed out the bad stuff and share all of the good stuff. The better you get at filtering content and consistently providing value, the more influential you’ll become.

Share good content consistently. – Jason Falls

So simple but oh so effective. Jason is somebody who consistently provides valuable content to his community (through his blogs and his social networks). People see him as a reliable information resource because he’s consistent. How consistent are you? Can you work on providing more value consistently?

Over To You:

I missed some of the conference but these were some of my favorite points that stood out. How about you? What were your favorite tips or bullet points from the speakers? What’s one piece of actionable advice that you took away and that you’re going to implement?

Fast Company has a new project that seeks to identify how influence on the social web is defined.

Influence is not only about having the most friends or followers. Real influence is about being able to affect the behavior of those you interact with, to get others in your social network to act on a suggestion or recommendation. – Fast Company, Influence Project

Brands, companies and marketers always want to exert some type of influence over people. Whether it’s buying a new product, supporting a new campaign, getting you to take action in some way, shape or form. The goal is to exert some level of influence on you to get you to take action.

In the social media space, many people seem to think influence is determined by the numbers (how many followers/subscribers you have). Others argue that influence is determined by the quality of relationships that you have with your followers (however large or small). The Influence Project seeks to determine whether influence is determined by relationship, by number of followers/subscribers or some other means.

The contest is simple, register an account at the Influence Project which will generate your own unique URL link to the site. Then Tweet your link and share it on Facebook; the more people click on the link and register, the bigger your influence will grow. The contest runs through midnight EST, August 15, 2010. The winner will have their picture appear in the November issue of Fast Company magazine. So head on over and register your account and enter to win!

• Permalinks and Title Tags,
• How to upload posts/pages,
• Publish your listings,
• Customize your site using plugins and widgets,

Webinar Dates:

Tuesday, 6/29: 2:00 – 3:00pm PDT
Friday, 7/2: 2:00 – 3:00pm PDT

To register, simply fill out the form below and you’ll get a GoToMeeting confirmation email. Space is limited to the first 15 students.

[contact-form]

There’s always someone around the web trying to sell you something. But without any back-story… No digital footprint… Good luck. People don’t know who you are and they won’t relate or have any interest in going further.

Your job for winning new business is to get people to know, like, and trust you. So start by asking yourself a couple of questions:

• How are you communicating your story? (Blog, video)
• Are you connecting with clients on-line? (Facebook, LinkedIn)
• Who’s your target audience? And how are you connecting with them both on-line and off-line?
• Can people find you on-line easily? If not, how can you do that better?