Blogging Systems Group, the leading provider of blogs and social networking technology, has partnered with Buy Property In Israel (BPII) to offer blogs, social networking and MLS-like tools for the first time to an international real estate industry.BPII is the leading website about all things related to buying property in Israel and helps put buyers around the world directly in touch with real estate agents in Israel."

Here are 7 tips to help you improve your blog writing skills from an article I wrote recently published by RIS Media.

One of the most difficult tasks faced by new bloggers is learning to write in a manner appropriate to the medium. Here are seven tips to help you improve your blog copywriting skills:

1. Write Informally and Conversationally
You're not writing a formal article or essay. You're speaking from your heart as much as your head and often conveying emotion as much as reason. To one degree or another that's exactly how a blog post should be written, as if you are writing to a friend.

While the need for Realtors to use the Internet is well-established, based on the fact that over 77% of prospective home buyers use it as a research tool, the need for real estate developers is less well documented.

According to this article, developers are faced with a different set of circumstances so far as making use of the Internet is concerned.

RIS Media included an advertising supplement along with their latest edition of Real Estate magazine dealing with major technology trends that will impact the real estate industry this year. While I've already written on this subject, I thought this list was worth referencing, even though it is an advertising piece (featuring IMPREV, the company powering the new Real Estate magazine site).

Another question often asked of us at tradeshows and conferences is, "What do I blog about?"

To answer that question, we have to step back for a moment and determine the job of the Realtor. While it is to list and sell homes, is it not also to establish yourself as a neighborhood expert or representative? I mean, who should know the neighborhood(s) he/she represents better than the agent?

One of the questions often asked by Realtors who are considering using blogs for marketing purposes is, "When will I find the time?" That's a valid question. Here's a valid answer: "When you have the time."

Here's some interesting statistics gleaned from an article at Inman News...

In the latest National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, based on a survey of 7,500 home buyers and sellers, 80 percent of home buyers used the Internet in searching for a home, up from 77 percent in the 2005 survey and 74 percent in 2004.

Meanwhile, a 2006 survey by media research firm Borrell Associates Inc. found that 61 percent of real estate agents do not advertise on the Internet and 87 percent of agents do not buy keyword advertising from the Google or Yahoo search-engine companies.

To say lead generation is important to real estate professionals is tantamount to saying sunshine is important to plantlife. (No, I'm not comparing Realtors to plants! It's just an analogy.)RIS Media has a great article that outlines six strategies you should consider deploying this year to increase or enhance your online presence with a view toward accruing more leads.

I have to admit I'm a little late to the dance with this one, but a few weeks ago (three in fact) Inman ran a story about an audio conference that was held dealing with advertising strategies.

The thrust of the story was that Realtors are still spending the lion's share of their dollars in traditional offline marketing, despite the fact that consumers are moving more and more toward the Internet for homebuying information.Coldwell Banker is spending about 30-35% of its budget online and Real Living about 20%, according to the article. But the yard sign is "not going away" anytime soon it adds.

If you are an agent (or broker) and don't have a strong presence on the Internet, you're missing out on a significant amount of new business, plain and simple. Don't believe me? Read on...

A lot has happened since we started Blogging Systems Group just over a year ago, November of 2005. It has been a whirlwind experience and we've been very fortunate as a company to have made some inroads into the real estate industry, with many good things coming as a result.

I dare say none of it tops what just happened. Blogging Systems Group has been included in the Swanepoel Real Estate Trends Report 2007 as one of the Top 10 Trendsetters in the real estate industry for 2006!

You know, the usual suspects...eat less, exercise more, spend five minutes a day in silent meditation, that kind of thing. I've managed to do none of the above."?I mean, I have six kids and a business to run, so I wouldn't know where to begin to find five minutes.

A friend who was having some trouble keeping resolutions of his own was kind enough to send me a link to a U.S. News and World Report article on ways to improve your life in 2007. To my pleasant surprise, I found one of those"?is to start a blog. I'm not kidding.

RIS Media carries a good article on search engine optimization (SEO). I say "good" not great because, while the article covers a number of key factors, it fails to mention one strategic tool for gaining search engine ubiquity, blogs.

This post, the last in the series on using blogs for internal or associational communications, covers ways blogs can be used in actual practice.

I'm pulling some information straight from our book, Realty Blogging, for this post. It outlines several more benefits to using blogs for internal communications.

This post comes as the result of an answer to a comment left by a reader named Robert. He thanked me for the answer and suggested that in addition to emailing it to him, I answer via the blog. So, here is my answer for all to see.

In my last post on the subject, I discussed some of the obvious benefits to using blogs as a tool for internet communication...an "intranet" if you would. A recent article from Business Week, A Company Blog Keeps People Connected, reinforces that notion quite well. "Blogs can help businesses communicate internally more effectively and cheaply than e-mail and workflow management software," it asserts.

One chapter of our book, Realty Blogging, covers the use of blogs as a means for internal communications. I'm thinking of real estate associations, large brokerages, and franchises. How do they communicate effectively with members and stakeholders, particularly when those members live in disperate locations obfuscating their ability to meet face-to-face.

Some have sophisticated intranet systems to be sure, but others depend largely on email, which is fraught with its own set of problems problems. Still others are forced to depend on largely static websites for information. Say it ain't so!

Realty Blogging the book is on a great run again. A few weeks ago it was the 354th best selling book on Amazon, number one for weblogs, web marketing and real estate. Today, it's risen to the overall 856th best selling book and number one in weblogs, web marketing and #3 for real estate. The rankings change often so by the time you read this it might be different, but we're thrilled and excited and thank everyone for your interest and support.

Altos Research CEO Mike Simonsen cites a recent Pew research study that says the trend in consumers using the Internet as part of the home buying cycle continues to rise, 39 percent in 2006. He recites a litany of real estate technology companies that have cropped up to meet this growing demand. Best of all, he joins the chorus of those who tout blogs as having the most significant impact.

In a post on Active Rain, Sharon Simmons commented that it would be helpful if authors writing about technology would create a list in the appendix of all the websites and blogs referenced in their book.

Well, Sharon, we can't republish Realty Blogging quite yet (though it's been selling quite well, for which Paul and I are very grateful; link here if you haven't purchased yet), but here's the next best thing.

By now, you've probably seen or read a number of news articles about the now infamous Gartner report announcing the death of blogs. The technology research firm says the meteoric rise in the number of blogs is about to taper off and should plateau in 2007. I beg to differ. In the real estate industry, blogging is just getting started.

An article at Clickz.com says social networking is moving beyond the bounds of the PC and onto mobile handsets. It adds that the users are teens and college students.

Don't turn you nose up just yet. Teens and college-age adults have been the early adopters of just about every new internet technology in the last six or seven years. Along with the techies, they were the first bloggers. Look at that space now. Blogging has become an accepted business communications genre and is experiencing a dramatic rate of adoption in real estate circles.

Real estate trendsmaster Stefan Swanepoel has made a prediction that is certainly good news to those of us that provide blogging services to the industry. In a recent interview with RIS Media's Maria Patterson, Stefan was asked to pick one specific technology that is changing the real estate industry. His answer, blogging!

How do you define the word, advertising"??In the old days (not sure how long ago those were), advertising could be characterized as repeated messages which emphasized"?a product or services desireable qualities in such a way that it captured the consumer's attention and aroused within them the desire to buy. The more"?mass-appeal marketing"?that was done,"?the better"?the chances of selling that product or service and building a customer base. "?

Those days, however long ago"?they"?were,"?are gone. Mass is out; niche is in, and"?the consumer"?is the real advertiser in today's market.