Grab your glass of Chardonnay, kick off your work shoes, and gather ‘round — we’re diving into the juicy topic that’s been at the forefront of your mind for countless years: blogs. Oh yes, one word, so many hot takes. Whether filled with witticisms, puns, and awful yet endearing alliterations, or profound diction that could make even the coldest adult cry, all blogs may not be created equal… but they certainly share one purpose. 

To get to that purpose, we’d like to propose some questions. What do you blog about? How important is blogging? And lastly, do people really read blogs? (Hi! Are you reading this right now? If yes, you’re reading these words right here, right this moment, there’s your answer to the last question. One down, two to go!)

We’re going to take it from the top — and if you’re wondering who “we” is, we can’t reveal that top-secret information to you, but we can say that the writer works very hard and deserves all of your accolades for this brilliant and really funny blog you’re about to consume. Okay, now to the content you came here for…

How Important is Blogging? Like Come On?

Blogging is really important, promise! In short, blogs may seem like just a bunch of sentences put together (because they are…), but they truly give you the opportunity to show off your sparkling personality. Or quirky personality. Or bizarre personality. You get it. Whatever it is that makes your company unique, whatever values encapsulate your one mission, your blog content plays a big role in expanding brand awareness, building trust with potential buyers, and ultimately easing those buyers down your sales funnel .

Blogs also make a lot of sense from an SEO standpoint — with the right searchable keywords, your blogs can significantly increase your website’s visibility (I mean, who doesn’t want to just be seen, you know?) Once you’ve got buyers on your website, having “evergreen” blogs that can be referenced continuously, like “5 Things to Look For in a Builder” and “The Advantages of Buying New Versus Used,” ensure that you’re always giving buyers the information that they actually need. Every buyer wants (and needs) to know these things! 

When you put out smart, reliable content that’s helpful to potential buyers, then you become the expert; which means business, baby…

What In The World Should You Blog About?

Different types of blogs correspond to different parts of your sales funnel, ultimately working toward a specific goal. The top of the funnel is like a first date — you establish trust, build interest, and introduce your sparkling/quirky/bizarre personality. 

When buyers go searching for a new home to settle into, they’re also searching for a new lifestyle. From community amenities to interior design that allows for more opportunities, what your homes and communities offer make for incredible top-of-the-funnel blogs. Are your open floor plans prime for entertaining? If so, try something along the lines of “8 Theme Ideas For Your Next Dinner Party,” “End-of-Summer BBQ Recipes,” and “Decorate Your Open Living Space For Labor Day.” 

Go down a little bit further to the middle and bottom of your funnel, when you’ve already proven your brand and demonstrated your expertise, and buyers are shifting from curiosity to intent — a blog about a community grand opening or a featured home with a summer incentive attached to it can light a bit of a fire underneath a buyer on the fence. These kinds of blogs are intended to pique interest with a little urgency, and mostly, show off just how incredible and extraordinary life would be in one of your communities and homes. 

But while there’s a time and a place for “Buy That” and “Buy This” blogs, too many of them at once are a major turn-off. Make sure to mix up your blog topics so that when a potential buyer scrolls through your page, they’re offered a variety of resources and incentive-driven content, and not solely getting hit with in-your-face sales.

A Little Advice (Not the Conclusion Yet, One Sec)

Okay, now that you’ve got some ideas for your “blogtent” (ha ha!), you can start to get to the fun part… writing! Just make sure you understand these crucial guidelines before you begin:

Don’t just write to write. Make sure that every single blog has a purpose (to inform, to build excitement, etc.) and stick to it. And while most, if not all, blog topics you write about may have been written about before, that doesn’t mean you can’t be original. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but you do have to put your own “spin” on it (get it)? Write something concise and engaging that reflects you and you’re on the right path.

Put time and thought into your blogs. Believe it or not, blogs don’t always get the love they need. But when you think of them collectively like a precious library of resources that buyers can always turn to, then you’ll know that each and every blog has to be thought out and written with care. The books you’d find in a library weren’t pieced together in a matter of minutes with little to no thought, were they? 

If your blogs are interesting, well-written, and tell something new, buyers will read them. If they’re dull, unoriginal, and written sloppily, well… then you’ve done nothing to expand your brand. Nothing! As a matter of fact, you may have harmed your expertise in your potential buyers’ eyes.

Final Thoughts — Now It’s the Conclusion!

If you’re still unconvinced of the importance of blogs, that’s totally fine. But we can tell you first-hand just how successful they’ve been for our own builders over the years. For some of our builders, ten percent of all of their website page views are to their blog alone. That means that a lot of buyers are really paying attention to their blogs… which is why we make sure that they always say the right things.

Did you just start a brand new podcast that you know will be a hit? There’s a blog for that… Did a gorgeous new community just open up? Write an equally gorgeous blog about it! Is one of your homes perfect for hosting Sunday night football parties? You can whip up a blog about how great your open space is for the big game (but try to keep your football bias to a minimum… GO EAGLES). You always have something to say, and blogs are your vessels to say it. Why not write something right now? 

Now that we’ve spent these lovely moments together covering blogs, we sincerely hope you’ve learned something new and are completely elated to start ramping up your blog page. We really love blogs here at g2, and while we wish this one could go on forever, we know that attention spans are shorter than ever, so we should probably just stop talking soon. Probably now. This is the right time to end a blog, right? We should know the answer to that… Okay, thank you for reading! This was a lot of fun.

Fin