Friday Links for 1/11/08

I haven’t done much linking recently, as I’ve been so focused on content creation. To make up for it, I’ll be doing link roundups once a week or so from now on. Here’s the first link roundup of the year.

• On Blogging - I’ve been slowly making my way through the Real Estate Weblogging 101 materials and would highly recommend it to anyone who thinks blogging doesn’t get you clients (it does) or that only other real estate agents read real estate blogs (not true!). Brian Clark of Copyblogger provides A Three-Step Approach to Strategic Content Development which discusses how to create innovative content that your readers will want to read and talk about. (Hint: it’s not about stuffing your posts with keywords.) And Darren Rowse offers some advice on Learning to Think Like a Blogger.
  
  
• On Conversions - Real Estate Weblogging 101 also has a nice complement to a post I just wrote about Internet Marketing - The Big Picture which discusses why traffic is about conversions. Other good articles: Carlos del Rio at SEOmoz asks Which Do YOU Need: Traffic or Customers? and Jim Cronin of The Real Estate Tomato explains How A Strong Finish Has A Real Estate Blog Article Generating Lead.
  
  
• On Organization and Cashflow - Leo Babauta of ZenHabits has a great post on decluttering your life. Though it’s not specific to business, all tips can be applied to your office as well as your home. Some great tips include: designating a home for everything and make sure to put things away (we waste so much time looking for things that aren’t in place!) and creating a 30-day list for everything you’d like to buy. It’s so easy to spend money frivolously in business, yet too often we buy stuff we don’t need or will never use. His advice is to add your item to your 30-day list along with the date, then evaluate whether you still need that item after 30 days. Speaking of finances, here are 50 Ways to Improve Your Finances Today
  
  
• On Outsourcing: - Elance is running a contest where you can win a virtual assistant for 2008. To enter, just answer the question: “How would you use a virtual assistant to grow your business or improve your personal life?” Running a business doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself - you’d be amazed at how having an assistant (virtual or at your location) will make you a lot more productive.