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How to Market Your Blog Offline: Follow the Spider

Published by Joseph Ferrara April 21st, 2008 in Marketing tips.

how to market your blog offline

Bring traffic to your blog or website by marketing it offline. This traffic may also increase your odds of getting transactional visitors, those folks who want to buy, rent, sell or otherwise do business in real estate now or in the very near future.

Undressed for Success

The idea comes from Larry Cragun of Real Estate Undressed (and other Undressed blogs), in Issaquah, Washington. (You may know Larry by his trademark spider icon.)

I had been a fan of Larry’s blog, and of course, Lar, for a long time (still am). I met Lar in Seattle during the Blog Tour. It was there that he showed me his method for marketing his blog offline in his community— a brochure, with photos and text about Issaquah and Larry’s blog. Larry was distributing his Undressed blog brochure throughout his community to attract visitors to his site. And it worked. I thought it was a great idea and have shared it with other bloggers. You can follow the clever spider’s lead to get your blog or website more visibility where it counts most— in YOUR market.

NAR says 80% of home buyers AND seller move within 12-15 miles of where they currently live (2006 Study). The stats probably hold true for renters who become first time home buyers. If these statistics are true, this marketing method is targeting within the home buyer and seller sweet spot and putting your brand where it has real value.

Flaunt It

People want information that can help solve a problem or meet a need. Here are some suggestions for brochure content to promote your blog offline. The idea is to provide useful information and avoid the hard sell, just like your blog. (Add your own suggestions in the comments).

  • use plenty of photos
  • have useful information for buyers, sellers, first time buyers (maybe a few insider tips and the invitation to get more information at your blog)
  • sample blog posts (lifestyle, neighborhood) or bullet those blog pages offering useful info (market stats, neighborhood resources, etc). Use the shirt skirt guide.
  • your blog name and URL
  • your name and contact information
  • free giveaway: (visit the blog and get your free copy of “10 Ways to Sell Your Home Faster for a Higher Price”). Hey, maybe a rebate coupon — Glenn Kelman, are you listening?

Where to Put It

OK, you have a general idea on what content to put in the brochure so folks visit your blog. Next, where to you place these brochures to reach transactional visitors?

Here are a few suggestions where to distribute your blog brochures (please add others in the comments– do you know the secret spots?). Remember to get permission first (and strike up a conversation when you do it).  (And don’t go slipping them between the pages of those free real estate listing books– you know, the ones in the plastic boxes on the street. )

  • Coffee shops (folks always linger there, esp. if there’s wi-fi— that much better for you– they can look you up over a latte)
  • community centers
  • gyms
  • pre-schools
  • home repair places like Home Depot and Lowe’s (folks looking to move may be fixing up the place)
  • laundromats (a lot of renters hang out there)
  • day care centers
  • banks
  • supermarkets (there must be a reason Realtors advertise on the carts)
  • major commuter stations (folks like to read on the bus, train or subway)
  • your referral network’s offices (you know, that mortgage guy you send clients)

To print and help with layout and design, there are some great online resources (with reasonable pricing) like gotprint.com. Or contact Lar for some tips.

Image: Maman, spider sculpture outside the National Gallery of Canada

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  • Thanks for the brochure article--good ideas (sometimes we overlook the obvious).
  • This is a great, simple way to build traffic. I have several places around town that proudly display my business cards, so why not put out a brochure too... Thanks for sharing!
  • Great advice, I agree 100% that offline promotion of your blog is a great marketing approach. I think that real estate agents and Realtors alike can benefit greatly by following your suggestions. One note I would like to add, is that if agents can promote their blog as an online resource of information regarding local real estate... their potential clients may be more inclined to go there for advice, where then the chances of converting them into a client will be much higher.
  • I've brainstormed various ways to promote the blog offline, but had not come up with the brochure idea. The only thing I don't know about it is that it is so hard to measure the ROI. I do know that I run across people that positively mention my blog all the time, so apparently I'm doing something right. It certainly seems to follow that if you can drive more visitors to the blog, you should get a few more sales.
  • Ryan,

    If you try it, please let me know the response.

    Good point, Rick. If your blog can be a local source of information, it makes sense to make it available to the local community.
  • "NAR says 80% of home buyers AND seller move within 12-15 miles of where they currently live (2006 Study)."

    The newest, 2008, study shows that 80% of that 80% are licensed real estate agents moving into smaller homes. :)
  • I have never thought of using a brochure to market my blog. I have my blog address on all my cards, flyers etc.. Certainly something to think about..
  • I like this brochure idea to promote my blog. I use Moo cards that I include in mailings and note cards, and I leave those in different places. I do really like this brochure idea - I'll have to tinker around with that and see what I can come up with.

    Love it!
  • Thanks all. I hope some of you give it a try and let me know if it helped you in any way. Give Larry a call--- I'm sure he could offer some suggestions based on his experience.

    If we all help each other and share ideas that work maybe we can reduce the statistic Mike Farmer mentioned in jest.
  • When I was in Pasadena I put together some fliers (front & back) on 8.5x11 sheets of paper. On the front was a screen-shot of my blog with the words "Visit my blog" at the top in bold and the blog address at the bottom in bold. On the back was a screen-shot of one of my posts.

    It worked well initially, I met a few local contacts... But yes I could have followed up on it better.

    I posted the fliers at the more local coffee houses and distributed them at the local caravans (this was a hit). Oh and Robeks is pretty cool because they have that community bulletin board. I won a free office party :-)

    Here's a sample of the flier I created for Bridget Armstrong in Eugene Oregon. She put it this little piece together for her local morning bagel shop (she writes some GREAT community posts).
    http://flickr.com/photos/25250804@N03/2438448832/
  • If you try it Ann, will you come back and tell us the response?
  • Sue
    Thanks for the tips. There are a few places I hadn't thought of advertising. Lydia, as far as tracking ROI, its often hard. I always ask clients how and where they found me.
  • I actually used a post card to promote my neighborhood blog that had just a photo of the "front page" and an brief announcement on the back of a new blog designed just for this neighborhood. (I've promoted my professional blog differently since it's not intended for a specific neighborhood). The postcards worked great and I'm sure the flyer method would too. Thanks for the great ideas!
  • Again, this goes to the 'not enough white space' effect that the 'Internet-Based' advertising effect has had upon the Real Estate Market.

    It is most certainly true that the inflated values, the HELOC irresponsibility from the banks down to consumer have played the largest role in the market normalizing... I cannot help but to wonder how much 'over-analysis' of the web as a marketing tool played in this mess...

    I just brings me back to the last point about print being a medium that is really in the pole position. All this over speculation in the web has left the door right open for the agents who need, and or want to brand themselves through a nicely printed marketing piece.
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