What do You Call a Broker who Blogs? A “Broker Blogger”

With the explosion of real estate blogging occurring — and consumers reading them — it means the cost of building a identifiable brand are decreasing for real estate agents. As a result, I think more and more bloggers who have built recognizable online brands will turn those brands into their own brokerages. The result is a “Broker Blogger” — an agent who runs a brokerage and is blogging (& participating in online communities) to build their brand. Some agents, such as Kevin Boer, have already transformed their blog’s brand into their own brokerage (3 Oceans Real Estate, Inc in Kevin’s case).

I decided to ask Kevin Boer, who is one of the early “Broker Bloggers“, about his motivations and aspirations of running his own brokerage. Kevin recently left Alain Pinel in favor of his own brokerage — 3 Oceans Real Estate, Inc.

Q: What made you want to start your own brokerage?

A: Two reasons: 1) Looked over my book of business over the last 18 months and realized that not a single transaction had come about as a result of my affiliation with APR. 2) I have started a consulting business (Domus Consulting) with Pat Kitano and it was very awkward to be an Alain Pinel agent while simultaneously providing consulting services for APR’s competition. Being independent removes that conflict of interest.

Q: What are your future aspirations for your brokerage?

A: Buy APR in 5 years. No, just kidding. My brokerage ambitions are actually fairly modest for now. I have a number of interesting marketing initiatives that I will be launching shortly in my local market, targeting my sweet spot: mid-to-high level execs in Silicon Valley companies, analytically minded, looking for a more professional approach to real estate. I will also continue to cherry pick the referral leads that come my way as a result of my blogging.

Q: Was the decreasing cost of publishing and marketing yourselves online a significant factor in your decision?

A: Absolutely.

Q: Do you think bloggers who have built online brands for themselves will continue to start their own brokerages?

A: Absolutely. In my mind, there are several reasons for associating with a large traditional brand: Branding, training/mentoring, and marketing. Thanks to technology, all three of these are becoming easier to do as an individual. The 3 Oceans brand is becoming more recognized. I get plenty of training/mentoring through reading other blogs. As for marketing, my clients NEVER read the local newspaper (at least not the print version) and spend absolutely ZERO time on my old broker’s site.

Kevin is among the many real estate agents who are building themselves powerful online brands utilizing  blogging. So, what do you think — will the decreased cost of publishing online lead to a new wave of Broker Bloggers? If so, will this effect larger brokerages/franchises in any way? Which agents are next to follow in Kevin’s footsteps?