Blogging 101 Shailesh Ghimire Az Mortgage Guru CTX

Introductions • We are in the mortgage business • CTX Mortgage more than 3 years • Blogging for more than 3 years www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

So… You Want to Blog • Part One – – What is a blog? Self hosting vs. Free hosting The Wordpress Platform Setting Up a WP Blog • Part Two – – – Blog Topics Blogs as Networks Marketing your blog Search Engine Results What makes a blog great? Turning clicks into deposit slips www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

What is a blog? • A blog is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. • A blog provides commentary or news on a particular subject such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. • Source: Wikipedia www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Blog vs. Website • A blog is a type of website • Websites are typically more static with a brochure feel • A dialogue, a conversation with fresh content • One does not displace the other, they serve different functions • Lets look at a blog and compare it to a website www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

How to Set Up a Blog • Easy 1 -2 -3 step • Requires a blog software • Available platforms: – – Wordpress Typepad Blogger/Blogspot Live. Journal www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Setting Up a Blog • Free hosting – – http: //your-blog-name. wordpress. com http: //your-blog-name. blogspot. com Advantage: No cost to you whatsoever Disadvantage: Brand equity, ownership • Self hosting – – http: //www. your–blog-name. com http: //www. your-domain-name. com/your-blog-name Disadvantage: Cost? Advantage: Brand equity, ownership www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Setting Up a Free Hosted Wordpress Blog www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee

Free Hosting Setup • Go to www. wordpress. com • Click on the “Sign Up Now” • Select username and password and submit • Blog is set up as http: //username. wordpress. com www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Setting Up Self Host Wordpress Blog www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee &

Follow These Steps • Obtain domain name – Go. Daddy, Dream. Host • Select host for blog: – Go. Daddy, Dream. Host • Host will need to do the following: – Install Wordpress – Configure Wordpress access – If you already have a domain, then ask the host to set up WP in a subfolder www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

File Transfer and WP Folders • FTP Setup – To transfer files, themes, plugins etc. – Go. Daddy already has a built in FTP tool – Dream. Host – you need a FTP tool (Coffee Cup) • Three folders: – Plugins (to install WP plugins) – Content (to install themes) – Admin (admin – never need to go there) www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Wordpress Themes • Themes and design (thousands of free themes available) – http: //www. freewpthemes. net/ – http: //www. freewordpressthemes. com/ • Useful tips when selecting a theme: – Test your blog on varying platforms (IE, Firefox. . . ) – Check the load time (anything greater than 7 s is bad) www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Wordpress Plugins • Install some useful Plugins such as – – – Askimet Ultimate Tag Warrior Google Site Maps Flickr Photo Dropper Social Bookmarking Contact Form www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Final Setup Stage • Search Engine Optimization and Analytics – Install Google Sitemaps – Register with Feed. Burner – Register with Technorati, Blog. Catalog… – Register with Google Analytics www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Some Lessons Learned • Host your blog within your own domain name • Choose a web host experienced in hosting a blog • I’ve heard mixed things about Go. Daddy • Don’t be afraid to ask questions while setting up a blog www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Word. Press Tour • Dashboard, Write, Manage, Comments • Blogroll, Presentation, Plubins, Users/Options • STOP HERE……………. . . • You’re ready to write your first blog post! • Stand up and clap!!!!! www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Part Two: Content and Marketing www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh

www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For

Define the Goals of Your Blog • To be found on the Internet • To be read by peers and potential clients • To demonstrate your expertise • To maintain relationships with past clients • To turn clicks into deposit slips www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

What Do I Blog About? • Anything and Everything – – – – Start with an area of expertise Neighborhoods/Farm Area Parks/recreation Hobbies/Interests Customer stories Personal triumphs Controversial topics (if you’re comfortable) • Make it distinctly you, don’t plagiarize, don’t compare and don’t underestimate yourself www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Content is King • Write about what you want to be known about – Brush up on your writing skills if you need to • Keywords in your post title and story • Picture descriptions and title • Relevant tags and categories • Keep the blog fresh (3 -5 posts a week) www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Some Blogging Idea Tips • Subscribe to: – RSSPieces. com (A Years Worth Of Blogging Ideas) – Daily Blog Tips Website (dailyblogtips. com) • Read local newspapers and comment • Read industry publications and comment • Read blogs from outside of the industry www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Networking: Becoming a Blogger • Visit other blogs • Use a RSS Reader – Google Reader, Bloglines, Feedreader, Feed. Bruner, Pluck. . . • Leave comments on others posts • Draw inspiration from other blogs (don’t plagiarize) • Link to other blogs and posts – Trackback www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Links, links and more links • Links coming back to your blog (keyword rich links) help your search rankings • Deeplinking helps keep your readers within your blog • It brings new visitors to your website www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Congrats! You’re a Blogger www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire

Now That You’re a Blogger • Manage your Ideas – Make your blog predictable (Funny Friday, Monday Market Update. . . ) – Jot ideas down when you think of them – Save good articles you have read – Save funny cartoons you have viewed – Save You. Tube videos that may be relevant – If you’re on writing roll, then post-date a few articles www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Bloggers Creed: Common Sense • Become familiar with copyright laws • Backup what you say with proof, because they will question you • Never lie, never personally insult, never vent aimlessly • Respond to questions you receive about your posts • Read the comments people leave and respond • Be careful about what you write. Once you publish it’s set in stone. Google will find it one way or another! • Just be you! www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

Resources and Blogs of Note • Locally: – – Real. Estate. Weblogging 101. com Phoenix. Real. Estate. Guy. com (Real Estate) Blog. Arizona. com (Home Inspection) Christoph. Schweiger. com (Real Estate) • Nationally: – http: //www. reagentinct. com/blog – http: //www. brokerbryant. com/ www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”

I do mortgages on the side to support my blogging habit!!! Call Aimee at (480) 516 -1819 E-mail: aimee. ghimire@ctxmort. com Shailesh at (480) 516 -1851 E-mail: shailesh. ghimire@ctxmort. com On the web: www. aimeeloans. com Blog: www. azmortgageguru. com www. aimeeloans. com © 2005 -2008 Aimee & Shailesh Ghimire “Your Mortgage Team For Life”