Getting started with a free blog

Pat Hiban a successful Realtor in Columbia, Md., realized he needed to take action. And soon. Real soon.
See, his agents were experiencing a growing problem. They kept meeting with home sellers who were in denial about the true value of their homes. Nothing his agents could say or do would have home sellers realign their expectations around current market conditions. So Pat decided to launch a new campaign: Hiban Tells the Truth.

Comfortable with technology for business and marketing use, Pat decided that creating a “Hiban Tells the Truth” blog would be a timely idea where he could self-publish his perspective and market conditions to a local audience. So he called me. Actually, a new Facebook user himself, he sent me a message via FB and asked for a meeting.

In my assessment, Pat is an excellent candidate for becoming a blogger. Here’s why I think this.

He has been journaling daily for over 15 years and is accustomed to writing regularly and in a personal tone
He wants to be open and transparent about the market.
He already has a functional company website.
He has a support team for admin, tech and marketing
He has an aptitude with technology and new media. (He’s already using YouTube for some fun marketing.)
He’s committed, focused and goal-oriented.

These words are not just fluff, not just PR stuff. I’ve done blog projects for clients that have flopped because my clients didn’t share the attributes and inclinations Pat has. And I didn’t know enough back then to steer them away from doing a blog. But that’s another story for another day.

Anyhoo. I felt I could help Pat and that creating a blog was a smart next action for him. Typically, I offer an hour of social media coaching for $250, and my clients can select either 1) 30 minutes of coaching plus a wrap-up document articulating suggested next actions or 2) an hour-long conversation where they are responsible for taking their own notes. Pat opted for the 30-minute session and patched in his assistant, Rosie, to be on the call. They both agreed to let me record and post the conversation, which is offered here.

The recorded conversation.(approx. 34 minutes).
Listen to the recording here. FYI: As we’re talking, Pat and Rosie are looking a local blog I write called Hometown Columbia. There’s a point when I’m talking about the pages vs. posts, it’s a bit confusing because one of my “pages” is called “Comments.” And I inaccurately call the pages, “categories.” Unscripted, live text. It is what it is
Sequential action recommendations.
This doc articulates my recommended next actions for Pat to take to get his blog launched.
Hey, thanks to everyone — individuals and businesses — whose openness and forward-thinking is allowing this information to be made available, free, to others.
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Jessie Newburn is a social media coach, generational consultant, speaker, hula hooper and Iconic GenXer living in Columbia, Md.