One of the things I’ve found is that people will return over and over and then one day let you know they are ready to do something. I find people coming to my open houses because of what they are reading on my blog that’s hard to translate into a fixed number.

You bring up an excellent point. Ultimately, ROI is rarely perfect. If calculated with discipline it will give you an accurate sense of performance, including the pipeline.

For example, in the spreadsheet there are columns for visitors and commenters. These would be two segments that probably fit in the pipeline. The cost for these segments is calculated automagically.

By observing relationships (if any) between these two segments and actual sales, you will learn how much value is in your pipeline (which will in turn inspire you to keep that pipeline moving and growing).

At the end of the day, ROI is never going to be as accurate as your balance sheet. But it can be a useful indicator to inform decision making and measure your progress.

Here’s the problem I have with accurately calculating the ROI of my blog.

First, the line between my static site and my blog is very blurry. I use the same IDX search on both, and it’s not sophisticated enough to tell me if a direct contact comes from the static site, or the blog.

Second, how do you value a “pipeline” of prospects. I’ve several hundred on auto-listings, some of which may not become prospects for many (many) months. But that pipeline is very valuable. I just don’t know how to put a dollar value on it.

Finally, it’s possible (probable in fact) that someone may read the blog for months on end before reaching out and making contact. There is a lot of value in those types of readers, but quantifying that is impossible.