ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: BLiz's 8 "Secrets" To Less Active Rain Stress
- 01/06/14 10:34 PM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: BLiz's 8 "Secrets" To Less Active Rain Stress
We read a LOT of blog posts on a weekly basis and there's a constant we find in the Rain: a scattering of stressed bloggers and commenters.
But here's what we've learned over the last few years in the Rain:
Letting Features dictate your Active Rain experience is a HUGE mistake. Things you can't control: WHEN you will or will not get Featured, WHY someone else got Featured, WHO is getting Featured, the QUALITY of someone's Feature. If you've been paying any attention to the process, you'll figure out that … (79 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Too Busy To Comment? Go Local!
- 12/30/13 07:43 PM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Too Busy To Comment? Go Local!
Anyone who follows us knows we do our best to respond to each individual comment on our posts. And some days we have plenty of time (relatively speaking) to respond to comments, and other days not!
The Christmas holiday season is typically one of the times of the year that falls into the NOT side of the ledger. Holiday travel, family get togethers, dinner, guests, etc. dictate that we spend less time in the Rain and more time on the more important aspects of Life (and we suspect we have plenty of … (38 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Leverage Your IDX For Buyer Calls!
- 12/23/13 10:12 PM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Leverage Your IDX For Buyer Calls!
If you're blogging for business, you've got to find the topics that grab buyer eyes and clicks. And what do buyers want above all else when they're on the web? The ability to search for homes! Provide them an easy to use search capability with good detail and your chances of getting their attention goes WAY up.
What we notice checking our website traffic is that we get return traffic regularly. And sometimes that lurking buyer from _(fill in community name)_ calls. And when they call, they're serious about gathering even MORE … (59 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Don't Fear The Rain or The Rainers!
- 12/16/13 07:10 PM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Don't Fear The Rain or The Rainers!
Perhaps you just stumbled on Active Rain and you feel like a stranger in a strange land! Even though we're using English, it may seem kind of Greek! Hyperlocal, Ambassadors, Feature Posts, Gold Stars, Rainmaker, Members Only (wasn't that a jacket??). All those "foreign" terms may seems a bit intimidating.
Then you start noticing the point system, and you see these bloggers with 100,000 points, 1 MILLION points, why even a few people with TWO million points! And your first thought is how can I EVER get there? And those folks … (75 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Is Blogging Better For Buyer Or Seller Leads?
- 12/10/13 12:06 AM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Is Blogging Better For Buyer Or Seller Leads?
Of course this is all colored by our personal experience, but our opinion is blogging is far better suited to producing buyers rather than sellers. That's not to say we haven't received both as a result of our blogging, but buyers seem to dominate our leads.
Why do we think blogging is more suited to buyer prospecting?
Most sellers had an agent when they bought their home, so if that agent stayed in contact, the sellers aren't even looking for a listing agent. Sellers can look up and down … (75 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Beat ZTR At Their Own Game!
- 11/26/13 12:38 AM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Beat ZTR At Their Own Game!
Think what you will about Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, but we're not here to debate their merits. That pony has been pummeled MANY, MANY times. What we are here to say is that YOU can beat them, but it's going to take some work and you're going to have to blog smart! And Active Rain can teach you how to blog smart if you take the time to listen and implement what you learn.
And note, there's no major $$$ required to gain that knowledge. No gurus with their hands in … (93 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Should You Get Personal In Your Posts?
- 11/11/13 10:32 PM
Ask An Ambassador: Should You Get Personal In Your Posts?
There are two schools of thought:
1: NEVER be anything other than fully professional. Tell NOTHING about yourself. Post home searches, neighborhood summaries, market reports, open houses, listing ads, etc., all PURE real estate.
2: Mix in the personal with your real estate. Sure, you better have a fair share of market reports, subdivision blog posts, sell your listings, Just Solds, etc., but open the door a bit and let potential buyers and sellers find out there's a human on the other side of the computer screen and not just some … (72 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: What's The Expiration Date Of Your Blog Posts?
- 11/04/13 10:03 PM
Ask An Ambassador: What's The Expiration Date Of Your Blog Posts?
We all want more business from blogging, right? But one of the keys to making the phone ring is giving the consumers what they want, and as much as possible WITHOUT an expiration date on the material. I'm not going to say we're perfect in that regard as we've written a lot of subdivision posts that have "dated" material. E.g. "The last three sales of 2011 were from $259,633 to $451,750". We just made it pretty obvious that we haven't touched that post in a year or two to any … (33 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Want Blogging Clients Faster? Listen To The Advice In The Rain!
- 10/28/13 10:03 AM
Ask An Ambassador: Want Blogging Clients Faster? Listen To The Advice In The Rain!
We all want more business, and we want it NOW! The first thing every agent who's about to blog is wondering is "How long is this going to take?". You attended some conference, training, webinar, whatever your source and the speaker/trainer swore blogging would get you business, and that's why you're here, right?
And they ARE right, blogging can do tremendous things for your business, but you have to do it right to make it work! You need some method to your blogging madness! Now we're not … (29 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Real Estate Is Local, So Trust The Blogger
- 10/21/13 11:42 PM
Ask An Ambassador: Real Estate Is Local, So Trust The Blogger
If anything tempts us to press the Delete Comment button, it's the comment on a consumer oriented post that disputes the entire theme of the post. Face it, real estate is LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL.....and so is blogging. You don't even have to cross the state line to start running into differences in real estate custom. E.g. we're between Cincinnati and Dayton. Both have their own forms, and a couple of differences in practices regarding tax calculations, whether the refrigerator is expected to stay or not, etc.
Now as we venture … (31 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Don't Go To Active Rain Jail
- 10/07/13 11:37 PM
Ask An Ambassador: Don't Go To Active Rain Jail
If you want to incur the ire of the Active Rain community, there's probably no quicker way than to be perceived as a cheater. As a whole, we can tolerate someone acting like the exit end of a horse MUCH easier than a cheater.
Of course, #1 with a bullet on the list of cheating as far as the community is concerned? We don't even need the Final Jeopardy music for this one, it's plagiarism. You copy/paste material that is not yours, and make no attempt to point out that it is … (135 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: What's The Best Comment Response Practice?
- 09/30/13 11:39 PM
Ask An Ambassador: What's The Best Comment Response Practice? Cool! You wrote a post and someone commented! Now what? What's the best practice? The answer to that question totally depends on why you're here in the Rain.
Is this just a platform for spreading the word or is it your intent to build relationships? Because the answer to that question probably determines your action path.
If Active Rain is merely another platform to post listings, open houses, etc., all you want is the Google Juice and that is ALL you're after, then just ignore the comments. Don't worry, they'll stop … (28 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: How Do I Get The Most Value Out Of Active Rain?
- 09/23/13 08:26 PM
Ask An Ambassador: How Do I Get The Most Value Out Of Active Rain?
For starters, there's no one answer to this question: What is Active Rain & what is your primary purpose(s) for being here?
It's a blogging site obviously, and if you have a Rainmaker account a ticket to get your voice heard by everyone on the Internet. It's a social site too. A place where you can be Norm from Cheers. A place where others DO know exactly what you're going through on a daily basis! Virtual or in real life, you can make some true friends in … (63 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Thoughts About Blogitude
- 09/16/13 08:42 PM
Ask An Ambassador: Thoughts About Blogitude
The last 24 hours was one of my more "sucky" days in real estate. I got totally blindsided yesterday morning by a friend/seller asking for a listing release to hire a local, big name agent. Ooomph. And the "it's not you, it's me" bit didn't help an iota. Then an afternoon inspection, and I'm thinking it may make perfect sense for my buyers to opt out and have us look for another good fit. Then past buyers of ours chose the previous listing agents for the home to sell it now (that hurt, and for … (87 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Thoughts About Comment Deletion
- 09/10/13 12:37 AM
Ask An Ambassador: Thoughts About Comment Deletion
For many of us, the best part of a blog post is the comment exchange. New ways of looking at the same concept can change your viewpoint on a topic. Maybe the old part time vs. full time isn't as clear cut as you thought. Maybe the to hold or not hold open houses debate can give you some ideas to help boost your business. After all, for most of us, building our business is why we're here.
But sometimes the comment exchange doesn't go as intended, and there are some legitimate reasons the … (92 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Have You Written FAQ Posts?
- 09/02/13 11:39 PM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Have You Written FAQ Posts?
If you want to get extra mileage out of your blogging work, write FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) posts. We've had Active Rain challenges in the past that rewarded bloggers for answering questions that you get asked frequently. Face it, there are MANY questions you get asked over and over!
How much can I get for my house? How long will it take to sell my home? How do I appeal the taxes on the home I bought? How do I apply for a homestead exemption? What do I need to do to prep … (58 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Increase Your Blog's Worth
- 08/20/13 12:31 AM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Increase Your Blog's Worth
Congratulations! You've started blogging! Now all you have to do is kick back and wait for those anxious home buyers and sellers to call you until you're overloaded, right?!!
If only it were that simple, but for most of us it's not. Once you learn the best topics to attract business in your area, you still probably don't want your Active Rain blog to be your sole source of prospecting. Don't get us wrong, we LOVE Active Rain. We just closed our 3rd transaction of the year from Rain time, but the two listings … (88 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Just Keep Blogging, Just Keep Blogging....
- 08/12/13 11:54 PM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Just Keep Blogging, Just Keep Blogging....
Imagine you're a fish in a huge school of fish. You're a fresh little bitty fish just learning about the waters. You don't know all the dangers yet. Some of your neighbors swim too close to the surface and get picked off by a fishhawk. Some others swim up a side stream that dries up and they're stranded. Others get tired and fall behind and who knows what happens to them? Others keep swimming with the school, learning and getting bigger, getting stronger, but staying close to the rest. And some get … (79 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Is It Okay To Cover A Topic Twice?
- 07/22/13 11:12 PM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Is It Okay To Cover A Topic Twice?
Short answer: YES. Especially if it's a pure real estate related topic with a local focus that the consumers can only find if you write it. Another breadcrumb in the digital world to lead potential home buyers and sellers back to you. Another chance to occupy a Google Page 1 spot, to hear that lovely phrase from the caller "You're EVERYWHERE on the internet so I just knew YOU were the one to call to help us!" (Really, it happens, this isn't just some blogging myth).
Now that doesn't mean … (64 comments)
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ask an ambassador: ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Why Do You Blog About Non-Real Estate Topics?
- 07/15/13 11:20 PM
ASK AN AMBASSADOR: Why Do You Blog About Non-Real Estate Topics? You've heard the phrase, "Under all is the land" from the NAR(R) Preamble. Now is that why we write about the Warren County Fair, our favorite cafe, the Lebanon Farmers' Market and a host of other topics every year that aren't explicitly related to selling a home? Not exactly.
Here's our market, just north of Warren County (our primary market) is Dayton Ohio. Immediately to the south is Cincinnati Ohio and it's suburbs. Our Warren County population is a bit over 200,000, whereas there are literally millions of residents for … (52 comments)
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