Build Your Own Mortgage Blog Part 7

Avoiding Negativity
A couple recent blog posts have given me a good example of why negative posting can incite negative readership. RSS Pieces is one of the premier blog design/coaching firms in the real estate industry. Their training content is an excellent resource and their talented staff have done an excellent job in designing some of the best looking blogs on RE.net.

It’s because I hold this company to such a high standard that I was disappointed to read this recent post. In an effort to instruct her readers on what not to do, The Fairy Godmother (I don’t know here real name) decides to blast some poor guy’s personal blog, a completely non-commercial venture. After noting his lack of RSS, Social Bookmarking and Search Functionality, she asks, “Who’s ready for me to pick on a Real Estate blogger?” My first thought was, “let’s take a look at RSS Pieces”.

First off, the website is not cross platform conformant. While viewing the home page on a Mac, the “Email Subscribe” box spills over the margin, onto the orange background. I took a screen shot of this to illustrate. Click on the picture to zoom in. It’s not the worst offense a web designer could make, my site has been guilty of far worse. Heck, my blog is a mess. However, I’m not peddling blog design here.

Also, while I was visiting this site a few days ago in search of new blogs for REMBEX, I noticed that the portfolio page has some examples that seem like odd inclusions. First off, I don’t think I would be bragging about the Best of Flagler Real Estate site. By comparison, Wayne’s Running blog looks sublime. Something must of gone wrong with that site because RSS Pieces is usually capable of building truly professional looking sites like Homes By Marriott. But even then, look at the dates, this blog has been abandoned after only two months.

Now if I were a business site that promoted professionally built blogs, and the coaching to make them successful, I don’t think I’d feature dead and broken blogs in my portfolio. Nor would I publish my own web site without checking it across different platforms. And on top of it all, I wouldn’t go around bashing non-professional bloggers along the way.

Unfortunately, to illustrate this point, I had to be negative myself. Quite possibly, this may garner me the same ill will that RSS Pieces has earned in their own bashing post. I hope not. My nitpicking is only to illustrate that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

Now let’s equate this to the Mortgage Blog. As a mortgage professional, it’s your job show your readership why they should work with you. Don’t equate this showing them why they shouldn’t work with others by bashing the competition down the street. Readers are likely to tune you out or lay a more pessimistic eye on your own work. Even worse, they may decide you are being disingenuous and decide to check out the very lender you were warning them about. No doubt, there are plenty of snakes in our industry. But the goal to building your readership is to explain the bad practices they employ without making it a personal attack.

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