Assuming you had nothing else to go by, here are the only three things you’d need to start up a successful real estate blog…

  • A computer
  • An internet connection
  • A feed reader

If your face contorts at the last one, that’s is completely understandable, but may be the key to running a successful blog. In the online marketing seminar, I spend a good amount of time talking about how a feed reader can be used as a personalized newspaper that updates itself 24 hours a day.

Essentially, I view my feed reader (the free Google Reader) as my window into the blogging world. I use my feed reader to get updated every time my favorite websites are updated… Some of the things in my feed reader include:

  • news updates
  • blog posts
  • blog comments
  • photos of friends/family
  • videos
  • listings
  • key blog/news searches
  • local events
  • and more!!!

But the reality is that you can’t really understand how useful this tool is until you try it out… So, how to get started?

You first need to sign up for a free Google Reader… Then, all you have to do is start adding your favorite items with an RSS feed and you’re good to go…

Here is the universal symbol for an RSS feed: RSS

If you see this icon, then the website you are visiting offers a feed that can be “pushed” to Google Reader. (Again, more information at the seminar on how to make these feeds work for you!)

In the meantime, I’m going to give you a leg-up and provide you with the feeds that I read! Over the past two years, I’ve collected hundreds of feeds that provide the backbone for information that I consumer on the internet on a regular basis.

Dustin’s Massive List of Feeds!

*** UPDATE: If you click on this link and get a blank page, then see comment #5 for a work-around! ***

Here are the steps to using this file:

  1. Click on the link (this will open up a new page)
  2. Save the file to your desktop using the “save as” feature on your internet browser
  3. Log into the Feed Reader of your choice. Here are two excellent (and free) options:
  4. Assuming you’re using Google Reader, click on “Manage Subscriptions”
  5. Click on the “import/Export” tab
  6. Select the file you saved to your desktop in step 2
  7. Click Upload

Now, every time one of those feeds is updated, your Google Reader page will be updated as well! You will no longer have to search the web for content to write about, but rather, the content will be pushed to you!

Also of note, there are simply too many feeds for anyone to follow all of them all the time (I surely do not have the time). One of the ways I’ve simplified things is that I’ve made a list of the “A-Plus” blogs that I read just about every article! Again, assuming you are using Google Reader, these are the feeds that will show up at the top of the list:

Of course, there are hundreds (literally) of other feeds in the file from above… and I’m sure with time you’d develop your own list of “A-plus” feeds that you don’t want to miss! :)