Blogging With Benefits

Meet custom builder and guest blogger Matt Risinger, who shares how blogging has boosted his business.

3 MIN READ

Courtesy Risinger Homes

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We recently talked with Custom Home guest blogger, Matt Risinger, to find out why he started blogging, what topics he likes to cover, and how blogging has yielded benefits beyond what he ever hoped.

Why did you decide to take the time to blog?

I started about five years ago initially as a way to increase my presence on the web. I had attended a seminar that inspired me to start blogging. That quickly led to video blogs, which were very popular. I started to get more and more feedback from people commenting online. I also quickly realized that there are so few people doing this on home building. I’d see people at meetings or conferences and they’d say, “Hey I just saw you yesterday on your blog when I Googled XYZ topic on home building techniques or products.”

What have been the benefits to your custom home building business as a result of your blog?

It’s made me an expert in a lot of people’s eyes, so I’ll get jobs over people that have been around 20 or 30 years. It takes that long to develop a word-of-mouth reputation and my blog is word of mouth on steroids. It’s been great for my business.

I probably only have one client that found and hired me through the blog, but it’s won me a ton of business when I interview against other people. There’s so much information about me on the web when people Google me. That makes the decision easier for them. They feel like they know me because they’ve watched me on my videos. Although, I feel that would be the case for builders writing a blog as well.

The other benefit is that my blog also allows architects to recommend me as an expert and about 90 percent of my business comes from architect referrals.

You’re known in the industry as a longtime proponent of green building, but you recently changed the tagline of your blog from ‘the green building blog’ to ‘a blog dedicated to building science and fine craftsmanship.’ Why the change?There’s so much green washing and so much misconception. I dropped the green building from my company and blog. I much prefer talking about high-performance or building smarter rather than building green. Shouldn’t every house last longer and have low energy bills and be low maintenance?

We even stopped rating our houses through the local green building program, which is one of the oldest in the country. They’ve really made it difficult to get rated and they award a lot of points for things that don’t make sense. I think it’s dumb for sourcing something from a few miles away to gain you points if that product is going to have to be replaced in a few years. There’s more marketing hype and less smarts that go into these certification programs every year.

The other part of my tagline refers to fine carpentry, craftsmanship, and quality. I’ve had a lot of mentors over the years that have helped me learn the business. I look at my blog as a way to be a mentor to a wide audience. There are several younger builders out there who read my blog and look at me as a guide. And a lot of clients who are building a home and want to know more about a product or how things work.

What do you consider building smart?

Let’s build a better house first and then let’s talk solar. You should put a metal roof on long before you put on solar panels. I fell into building science a few years ago as a risk management issue—avoiding risk by building a better, longer lasting, resilient house. There’s an endless amount of knowledge on this topic and there’s not enough information out there.

About the Author

Shelley D. Hutchins

Shelley D. Hutchins, LEED AP, writes about residential construction and design, sustainable building and living, and travel and health-care issues.

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