YEO, You Engaging Others Yes, the title gives it away! The secret to your blog success is YEO. YEO, a now popular term used by bloggers (coined by Jeff Turner) to describe the process of building your network and facilitating blog success via YOU ENGAGING OTHERS. I’m not even going to mention the other term that makes us sweat, and also has an “e” and “o” in it. That aside, what have you done lately to reach outside your real estate blog? Have you employed tools or strategies to keep your readers enticed to come back for more great information? What about making your blog more than just a resource but a REAL community of readers who interact with each other via offline, as well as online?

Finding ways to connect offline can be more of a challenge with a larger audience, say nationwide. However, with a smaller niche blog connecting in person is great way to get involved and build relationships in the community you work in. And, of course it’s much easier. Check out Jeff’s Rules of Engagement.

One way to throw yourself into the community mix is by joining the conversations that are happening at your local Starbuck’s, grocery store, hair salon, restaurant, etc. Listen and gather information. And casually let people know that you are doing something great! You’re a real estate professional looking to support and connect the community via your blog. Be sure to have business cards with your blog address on hand or obtain their emails and send them a link. And let interested business leaders know that you’d like to interview them or involve them in some way on your blog.

Schools offer a great avenue for discussion and community connecting. Education conversation will be happening in most households forever. If you live near or have a student in the school that makes it even easier to get more involved. But you don’t have to have students to participate. There are plenty of ways to reach out to your community using school information and local insight. And schools make for a great topic both off and online. Parents who turn to the Internet to find school scores and profiles are probably looking for homes online as well. So why not combine the 2, and throw in some helpful hyperlocal content that your market cares about!

If you are looking to utilize school data, reports, scores, and the people behind it all to create community in and outside of your blog, here are a few tips to get you started.

Building Your Offline Community:

Interview the school principal and find out their current “need”. Could be anything from needing more computers, musical instruments, or even hiring additional yard duty.
Interview teachers and get grade level homework tips.
Interview parents on school success stories or upcoming events/fundraisers.
Create your own Education Committee or Foundation (EX: Realtors Getting Real About Schools)
Volunteer for school food drives and walk-a-thons (take donations or help publicize).
Start a School Garden Project (get help and donations from local businesses).
Volunteer as a crossing guard and share safety tips both on and offline.
Create and distribute a print marketing piece with a snippet of school tips and scores…allude to more on your blog.

Supporting Your Online Community:

Write about the school budget, spending per student, and current needs.
Write about teachers making a difference one student at a time.
Write about parents and their educational concerns and expectations.
Integrate school scores and reporting with your blog. GreatSchools offers a framable version for $250 a year. Use it for your blog, as well as post it next to property listings to provide an overview of the community. So, the fee covers multiple uses.
Add an Educational Widget to your blog. Both GreatSchools and Education.com will be releasing widgets in the near future. Users will be able to search for schools, scores, stats and more.
Add podcast advice to your blog on how to read and interpret school scores, as well as other school facts and resources.
Write posts on school events (ex: School Walk-a-thon, Book Fair, Plays, etc.).
Offer a free e-book for “Understanding School Scores and Your Child’s Achievement” via email sign-up.

Schools or not…involve yourself with a section of the community. Utilize your blog as your relationship builder and start getting to know the neighbors. YOUR RESULT: (1) further your expert status, (2 ) gain trust by supporting shared interests, and (3) expand your network of friends, colleagues, readers, members, and when the time is right…new clients.