Enhance Your Blog

Sometimes, just having a blog isn't enough. You need to make it pop. If you get ambitious, we think this page will push you in the right direction. Some of the tips are for WordPress blogs only, and some are universal. Take what you need and leave what you don't.

Send weekly blog updates to your database

For existing clients, your blog can be your best form of marketing. The simple act of sending updates can keep you front-of-mind, week-in and week-out. Consistent Blog recommends MailChimp as a weekly update service.

MailChimp is free for mailing lists of less than 500 and it's intuitive, too. All you'll need to do is provide your blog's RSS feed (i.e. http://thenameofyourblog.com/feed) and MailChimp will handle the rest. You can use MailChimp to email your blog's daily updates, too.

Consistent Blog uses MailChimp for our member emails. We think you'll like them, too.

Improve your blog's search engine rankings the natural way

Strong search engine rankings won't win you new business, but it will expose your blog to more people. Don't pay thousands to an "expert" -- there's a much cheaper solution. Consistent Blog recommends Scribe SEO as an easy-to-use, do-it-yourself SEO solution.

Scribe is a WordPress-based SEO service that analyzes blog posts at the click of a button, reporting back with recommendations on how to tweak content for better search engine traffic.

Scribe's monthly subscriptions start at $27 per month. Pay-as-you-go, cancel anytime, and get better SEO.

Get a better blog design for better blog results

There are literally thousands of web designers these days and some of them are pretty good. They'll make your blog pretty, help it rank better in the search engines, and put you in a position to capture more leads. The trouble with designers, though, is two-fold. (1) They tend to be expensive, and (2) They rarely understand the real estate space.

To help you navigate, Consistent Blog recommends 3 design firms, each with practical industry experience and at different budget points.

1. $ : Flat Rate Web Jobs
2. $$$ : Dakno Marketing
3. $$$ : Real Estate Tomato

Each design firm is excellent and offers auxilliary services to make your blog even better. Comparison shop and see what you think.

Add local market statistics to your WordPress blog

Your clients want data and they want it now. Not the run-of-the-mill stuff you find in the papers, either. Details. Specifics. Actionable information. Enter Altos Research.

Altos Research is a subscription service that scours millions of real estate transactions daily to produce real-time, down-to-the-zip-code charts. Use its WordPress plugin to bring your blog to life. Altos Research is a market leader, serving real estate and mortgage pros, Wall Street, and the world's biggest banks.

Get a custom blog header and logo

First impressions matter in the online world. What's the first impression you would have when you visit your blog? If your website isn't up to snuff, consider a logo makeover -- it's a simple way to upgrade your image and increase your conversions. Consistent Blog recommends Logos For Websites.

Logos For Websites is an affordable service that crafts stunning blog headers and logos, plus backgrounds for Twitter, too. Prices start at $50.

WordPress plug-ins we believe in

Using plug-ins, you can extend your WordPress blog an inumerable number of ways. Here's a few of our favorite plug-ins. You'll wonder how you ever did without them. Search for them and install via the Dashboard > Plugins > Add New menu.

1. What Would Seth Godin Do? Prompts new visitors to your blog to subscribe via email. Works very well with MailChimp. After activation, replace the standard text with <p style="border:thin dotted black; padding:3mm;">Thanks for visiting Your Blog Name. To stay absolutely current on mortgage markets and important guideline changes, be sure to get my <a href="Your MailChimp Signup Form URL" target="_blank">free daily email alerts</a>.</p>. Works like a charm!
   
   
2. All-in-One SEO : The gold standard for Search Engine Optimization. This is a must-install.
   
   
3. Ultimate Google Analytics : Measure your web traffic for free using Google Analytics. Requires a Google account.
   
   
4. Link Juice Keeper : Redirects all "bad" URLs back to your blog's front page. Keeps you from losing traffic.
   
   
5. WordPress Database Backup : Because you never know when you're going to accidentally erase everything.
   
   
6. Amazon Associate Filter : Consistent Blog includes links to products on Amazon.com from time to time. This plugin will automatically add your Amazon Associate ID to every link so you can earn affiliate income when your readers buy. This is a terrific way to monetize your blog.
   
   

You can install and uninstall plugins at any time, so test them out and see what works best for you. And, meanwhile, if you have a favorite plugin, let us know about it.