Blogging is just pure fun.  I mean it!  I love the fact that I am seeing more and more property management company’s jump onboard with a plan and a set of goals when it comes to blogging.  On my personal site I wrote about what makes it easier for me to share blog posts.  That post really was very general overall and applies to everyone.  There are a couple of items that I wanted to share with you that I have found helpful for traffic, SEO and conversation.

I have been using a plugin tool called BlogGlue for some time now.  It functions as an inbound link driver and once you build your network up enough it also serves as a great site referral tool.  There is a free version (which I use currently) available which provides you with some great analytics and opportunities to connect with other bloggers who use the same tool.  What I also love about it is its SEO checker.  You simply save your post as a draft and it actually gives you a grade on how SEO friendly your post is and it tells you where to improve.  You simply can’t go wrong with it!

There is also a little art involved in getting people to read your article period.  If you have a tough time with your opening words you may lose your reader entirely.  Not that I always use this method but from time to time I will use the BOLD and ITALICS option in my different paragraphs.  At the very least it attracts your reader to whatever you have highlighted and may encourage them to keep reading.  The trick is to use the bold and italics on the right keywords.

The latest Wordpress version allows you to do some nifty things with inbound links.  When you highlight material that you wish to insert a hyperlink to it pulls up a list of recommended articles within your blog for you to link to.  Internal links are important for a couple of reasons.  First of all it keeps your reader on your site longer if you have provided additional info that they may want to click through to and also as more of those internal links are clicked on it helps improve your overall SEO (search engine optimization).  Use them sparingly because they can also be a turnoff if overdone. 

I can’t overemphasize the importance of building up your online community in order to make those blog posts worth all the effort above and beyond the SEO relevance it has with the search engines.  Every time I run my analytics, Facebook, Twitter and Stumbleupon are almost always in the top ten of my referrals.  This would not be possible if I was not active with my online community.  The same goes for your community blog.  If you want the most success your blog has to be part of that circle of interactivity that keeps your community growing.  If you have your blog as a standalone item in your strategy then it will take more time to see projected desired results. 

This really just scratched the surface of some key elements that you need for your community blog sites.  The most important aspect to me is to just have fun.  Express yourself and work hard for your content to come alive so that it touches your readers and makes them beg for more.

If you have any tips to add to the overall multifamily blogging conversation, please feel free to comment below.  I would absolutely love to read your thoughts.

Written by Jonathan Saar--The Training Factor

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