Whenever people ask me what it’s like running The Broke Agent they always ask the same two questions: 1) Are you insane? 2) How do you come up with all that content? The answer to the first is obvious, but the answer to the second is actually pretty interesting. In this blog I’m going to cover all the places I source ideas from and how you can implement the same strategies for your content!
Experience
When I first started The Broke Agent SEVEN YEARS AGO I got most of, if not all of the content from my own big brain and the experiences I was having as a young, inexperienced, realtor in Los Angeles. It was truly my inner monologue and a lot of it was honestly depressing. I would Tweet exactly what I was feeling at dead open houses and describe every awkward interaction I had cold calling, door knocking, and “playing the role” of a luxury agent. The ideas were FLOWING and never really stopped because as you know, something insane happens every day in real estate.
If I couldn’t post something on the spot, I would always try to “write” everything down in the note section on my phone to save for later. I knew that eventually the observation could be turned into a Tweet, a meme, a skit, or a podcast topic once I worked through the idea. You too should do this. Write down your observations, record what you’re thinking, film the crazy houses you see, and document your journey as a realtor. People love the behind-the-scenes, raw content. By the way, none of this has to be funny and you certainly shouldn’t take my angle of constantly complaining about your clients. Take it from me, calling yourself “The Broke Agent” and insulting all of your prospects with Tweets is the worst strategy of all time if you want to become a successful agent.
Consume Content
I got lunch with an agent in my office a few months ago and was telling him about Reels, TikTok, and all the creative content I’ve been seeing from agents. It was like I was speaking a foreign language. He had no idea what I was talking about because, understandably, he’s too busy showing actual houses and doesn’t have the time to flick through Instagram all day. But, it is imperative that you actually spend time consuming content.
Your Older Posts
As of writing this I have posted nearly 4,000 times on @thebrokeagent, which is objectively psychotic. You know who hasn’t seen all 4,000 posts? Everyone. As you know Instagram barely shows your content to your own followers and new followers don’t scroll back to see everything you’ve posted. I eventually got over the idea that every post had to be completely original and it changed the game for me. Pulling from old content has been one of my favorite strategies. I will look back through the years of posts, find ones that have performed well, and tweak it a little. Maybe one was a Tweet that I changed to a meme, or one was a meme that I changed to a Reel. Instagram just had another algorithm change that is going to suppress “unoriginal content,” but repeating your old content (if it’s original) should be fine. But, always try to change it up a little to make it appear new. Switch the caption, edit the video a little, or post it in different style.
The Comments
Even better than my own content are the comments from you, the people (Bane voice).
Facebook Groups
If you can stomach it, head to a real estate Facebook group and see what all the Boomers are arguing about. Usually, it’s just referrals and people asking what CRM to use
For example, this post was an idea from a real estate group:
DMs/Submissions
When I first started The BA nobody sent me anything. People thought my page was radioactive and wanted to just observe as I destroyed myself. But now people submit stuff all day and I love it. I wish I could read every DM because sometimes I will discover a hilarious new creator or post idea that would crush.
News
Go on Inman, Housing Wire, BAM, Keeping Current Matters and see what’s happening in the real estate world. Cover it. Throw an article on a green screen and turn it into a TikTok or Reel. Although I admittedly find real estate news extremely boring, I read it because it’s my job (wtf did I do with my life?) and because I know I can turn it into content.
Trends
When you’re done reading this checkout my Trendjacking blog. Creating content around what’s going on in pop culture gives you a massive engagement boost and non-stop ideas.
Coffee & Contracts
Yes, we have a content platform that literally creates content for you. All you have to do is brand it, customize it (if you want), and post it. We recognize that like the agent I got lunch with, a lot of you don’t have the time or desire to create and come up with content all day. So check it out, we have monthly templates for our members and we have an incredible community that’s constantly helping each other with content ideas, referrals, and actual real estate tactics.
This Simple Instagram Post Generated 97 Comments (and a Month of Content Ideas)