2008 November | Real Estate Blog Lab

Entries from November 2008

Back Posting Why Would You Do This

November 28th, 2008 · 16 Comments

The post about handling Testimonials on your blog included the concept of back posting those testimonials so they would show up in the testimonial category but not show up on the home page. This way you get the testimonials on the blog but don’t seem to be blowing your own horn in the process.

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Tags: Blogging In General

Testimonials on Your Real Estate Blog

November 10th, 2008 · 10 Comments

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Do you have testimonials on your real estate blog? I know people like reading testimonials. I personally like a good roast better, but that’s just me. The question is how do you handle testimonials on your blog and not come off as egotistical. It you have never thought of that, then you have bigger issues.

If you do post a testimonial it can look very much like you are tooting your own horn.

You risk becoming the group member honored for their humility with a Humility pin. Then have the group take away the award because you wore it.

How then do we get testimonials on our blogs and not come across as egotistical.

How to Handle Testimonials

First get and install the Post Plugin Library.
Next get and install the Random Posts Plugin.
Activate the Post Library Plugin first then the Random Posts Plugin
Create a Category for Testimonials
Under Setting for Random Posts set the number of testimonials you want to randomly display a link to (5 is a good number)
While still in settings select the “Filter” option. Check include the Testimonials category.
Go to Design, Widgets and add the Random Post Widget
Position the widget where you want it on the page and Title it “Testimonials” (or something to that effect).

Options for Entering Testimonials

I personally don’t like testimonials showing up in my posts. My suggestion; enter the testimonials and when you publish them do so with the date of the testimonial. If it was written three months ago, then date it for that date. This will publish the post, it will appear in your category and on the widget, but will be far enough back in our post stream it won’t show up on the front page of your blog. And they won’t appear all grouped together by “salting” the dates throughout your blog.

If you get a new testimonial I would publish it with a date the goes beyond the posts that appear on your homepage. Some of display 5 posts other 10, others even 50. I display 5 post and would date any new testimonial to be back at least to the sixth post. Hint: Don’t title the testimonials “Testimonial One” “Testimonial 2″ etc. Don’t title them “Why Jan and Doug Think I’m the Best”. Get the idea.

Random Posts Plugin

There are lots of ways you can use this plugin, and it is very configurable. The help and instruction from the setup page is filled with variations on how to implement this plugin on your blog.

I looked at several different options for handling testimonials. This was the one I liked best. A quick search on Wordpress Testimonial Plugins will reveal a few other options.

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Tags: Real Estate Blogging

Embed YouTube High Resolution Video in your Blog

November 6th, 2008 · 18 Comments

Are you tired of uploading video to YouTube that looks great on your screen but like CR@P when you embed it on your site? Want to change that? Here is how you do it. And it is simpler than you might think.

Add &ap=%2526fmt%3D18 to the end of the URL strings just inside the final Quote (”) for BOTH URL Strings in the embed code.

Low Res

Hi Res

What’s the Difference

I noticed the other day when viewing one of my latest YouTube uploads there was a “veiw high quality” link I hadn’t seen before. It has been awhile since I uploaded anything to YouTube. When I did the mouse over going back and forth between high quality and normal I saw it went from the YouTube server to Google video server for the High Res version.

A little further investigation and I found the code to place inside your embed code to get the same high res version.

YouTube Tip if you add &fmt=18 to the end of any YouTube URL (While on YouTube) it will play a High Res version of the video. You can add this to a link if you are just sending the YouTube link to a friend and it will show them a higher res version than clicking on High Res will. Caveat: If the original video was uploaded in the small 320 X 240 resolution it won’t look good.

Youtube video has been a bane to me. I love the service but I hate viewing YouTube videos which look like I shot the image through a mosaic filter. From now on they don’t have to.

Yes, you can put a caption around an embeded video.

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Tags: Real Estate Blogging

PodCampAZ Day 2

November 2nd, 2008 · 11 Comments

I’ve never been involved with podcasting either audio or video. I bought a flip video about four months ago and even turned it on a couple of times. I made a short video of my Dad in the hospital so my little sister could see he wasn’t going to die. He didn’t. After that it sat on a shelf with no idea what to do with it. About two weeks ago I gave it to my son so he could make videos of the kids.

I’ve never had an ipod and the only apple related items in my house are golden delicious. I don’t listen to the radio except for NPR. The whole idea of podcasting has been one of a kid growing up and throwing dried up bean pods in the furrow to be plowed under. There you have it, my entire limited understanding of podcasting.

Yesterday was interesting as I attended my first podcampaz. It is like trying to put together a puzzle without a picture and all the pieces are on the table but the lights are out in the room. Picking up pieces and feeling them in the dark with no idea what you are feeling and have no idea how it fits in the picture of PodCasting.

For me it is an hour and a half drive up to Phoenix from Tucson. Obligations in Tucson, dinner at Zinburger, has me commuting each day to PodCampAZ.

I was up and on the road this morning by 6 am. well before the sun was up. As I got to Toltec the first McDonalds appeared on the horizon and the sun was just about to peek over the mountain top.

The day is filled with promise and I hope at some point some of the lights come on and at least an idea of what the picture looks like will begin to form some image or shape in my mind.