ActiveRain Success Stories

"Two RainCamps, NYC and DC have given me a drive to step up my social networking efforts. Many AR University classes have given me great education. My ranking on search engines is rising and with that my business is flourishing. I have made huge strides this year in my Home Staging projects. UP 500%! More and more agents and owners are calling and emailing Staged Home Decor. I am truely excited and grateful for the gang at ActiveRain and all of the encouragement and inspiration! I know that my Active Rain presence had to be the main reason for this success!

I can only attribute it to ActiveRain"

"My ActiveRain Success Story Just Got Featured on the 88.1 WAY-FM Business Network

Here's the Post:

Blog more! It's good for business!

I recently started participating on a network called ActiveRain. It's for real estate pros and has over 175,000 members. I thought I could help others understand more about marketing and PR since I have a background in that field from IBM, DiVosta Homes, and Pulte Homes.

I wrote a blog post: "How Will Technology Change Real Estate Sales & Marketing in the Future?"

Within 48 hours it took off on the network, with over 2,400 clickthrus and an astonishing 96% clickthru rate. The post was featured by ActiveRain on their homepage and was the #1 story in their e-blast.

Since then, I've received over 500 emails from technology providers that want my input/business, realtors, and potential clients. People have called me from Utah, Chicago, Indiana, and California to talk about consulting projects. Funny, none from Florida.

My message to you is, blogging generates a few things:
- It helps others
- "Google Juice" Your blogs, when written with networks in mind, with links, images, keywords, etc, your ranking in Google will rise.
- Traffic: To your website, to your phone, to you!
- Business!"

"Since joining AR a little over a year ago, I've had many success stories with AR. I can't even count the new business I've gotten from AR friends. This can be quantified in dollars. The sharing of information and advice cannot be quantified so easily, but is my greatest success story. At the end of the day (or the beginning), I find I learn a new marketing strategy, website tweak, inspection tip, or just a good laugh!! Thanks!"

"THANK YOU to Active Rain for helping my website get to the top of the search engine lists! I love what I do!"

"I have received a listing in the $300,000 range from a Seller that enjoyed reading my blogs in Active Rain. I have also received a listing referral in the $700,000 range from another Active Rain Member."

"I have been on ActiveRain for a relatively short period of time and can already tell what a difference the network makes! The online community is a great resource to have at your fingertips."

"I have posted several blog entries from which I have recieved many repies to. I have recieved several referrals from my profile and have found that many potential clients have found me here just by searching my name and by doing so this profile comes up first on the page."

"This morning the phone rang and there was a gentleman on the other end. Good morning he said, I'm planning on moving to seacoast NH and was hoping you could help me." With that I immediately asked him where and how he found me and his reply was, on Active Rain. I heard about Active Rain through friends of mine as so I decided to check it out. Portsmouth NH area is the town/towns in and around Portsmouth and that is how I found you. YIPPIE!! This must be my lucky day for sure. The gentleman and his wife are meeting with me in two weeks to go over what they want and need in a home and hope to purchase a place by June. Will wonders ever cease!! Stay tuned for the next exciting episode for Portsmouth NH Real Estate..........This is my "success story finally after being on AR" for 2 1/1 years." Patience is a virtue!"

"My success story starts the day an agent from Texas called me and referred one of her relatives to me that lived in the area I work. She decided to call me after she saw that I was an activerain member like her that was a short sale specialist. She thought I could help. I did list the relatives house and sold it in 3 months. They were relieved that the process went smooth. Thank you activerain for the connections I receive from being a member."

"I've met and done business with many clients, colleagues and service providers through my networking at ActiveRain."

"I wrote a blog on Range Pricing and received messages from Realtors saying it was the best explanation of how to do range pricing and how to explain range pricing. Some asked if they could use the explanation and tools I provided. Grateful to be able to share with people to improve their service and real estate experience."

"My ActiveRain success story is special to me because it was so much more than just a real estate deal.

A few weeks ago I got a call from a woman who had seen my contact information in my hyper-localism post about the Morgandale Condominium complex in Lansdale, Pa.

She spoke accented, but perfect English, and proceeded to tell me about a refugee family from Iraq that had just arrived in the United States five days prior. They were temporarily staying with a cousin who had come to the United Stated three years ago. The refugee family consisted of mom, dad, their 20 year old daughter, 15 year old son and 10 year old son. They needed immediate rental housing – preferably in the same Morgandale development as their cousin, who would be helping them acclimate to their strange, new land.

My challenge was to find a home for a good sized family who didn’t speak any English, who had limited funds, looking in a popular neighborhood with limited vacancies. Oh, and they needed to move immediately!

Well, I’m up for a challenge!

Let me tell you, this family has helped me understand the Iraq war like nothing else could. Except for different clothes and language, they couldn’t be a more typical suburban family. Educated, friendly – we were able to communicate with the help of a cousin who translated.

To have a human face put on the horrors of war is amazing. This family lost their home, their livelihoods and any semblance of normalcy that we take for granted.

This was a very challenging transaction for me. First off, I encountered a few agents, or perhaps the landlords behind them, who I could just tell didn’t want to rent to an Iraqi family. Fair housing laws be damned! There are always other ways to turn people down . . . I had to deal with social workers and charities. Had to help the family understand utilities. And most probably did ten times the work I’ve ever done on a rental.

But the rewards I received yesterday when the family got the keys to their new home were not monetary. They were inspirational. I wish this family great success as they settle into their new home and country. Their strength is amazing – their good will and eager spirits are moving.

ActiveRain does help you build your business. It works for me. And this time, I got something very special along with the deal."

"My Active Rain Success Story is just beginning to unfold. I am new to the site and new to blogging. My goal is to build relationships using this site and to learn the ropes from the other professionals here at Active Rain. My business is built on lasting relationships so the idea of joining another community where I have the opportunity to build and grow even more relationships makes perfect sense. Thank you to those who have already welcomed me and thank you in advance to all of those who will be offering advice in the future......"

"In recent dark days of the Second Great Depression we have seen prices tumble down. I have helped more first time buyers this year than ever before! One couple really fell in love with a particular home and their offer was not accepted as the short sale fell apart. Well it was auctioned, came back around as a bank owned property and we were able to submit a successful offer!!!They are so happy AND they saved several thousand dollars!"

"Phoenix, AZ real estate overview. Phoenix home values, real estate market trends, schools, community info, neighborhoods, and homes for sale."

"Active Rain has promoted my business to a new level. It has greatly improved my natural search-ability every business desires on the major search engines."

"Online trophy store offering engraved crystal awards and plaques with free deep-etch engraving and 5 biz day service nationwide, and more from http://www.diyawards.com/ ."

"Active Rain allows me to learn from others throughout the country on topics relevant to NOW. Reap the benefits of knowledge and different markets while enjoying the interaction."

"I drove by an FSBO and decided to call and the homeowner explained his situation and told me that he would call me if he ever needed my help. One of the things we talked about was the possibility of doing short sale. It was about 2 months later that he called and said he was ready for me to explain what a short sale is and get his house sold. Got his house listed for sale as a short sale, submitted all the paperwork to the bank. Finally got an offer and submitted that to the bank. During the process the negotiator on the file would not return any calls or email. With constant calls to the bank's short sale department , the negotiator finally called and said that she was going to let the house go into foreclosure because of the amount of money the buyer needed for closing. I told her thanks. I send a letter to the president of the bank and chronicled every contact I made with the bank including names/times etc. The president realized that something went wrong and had the foreclosure rescinded. We were able to close the deal and my client, the buyer's agent was very appreciative of the fact that I did not take no for an answer. I am always willing to fight for what I believe is right on behalf of my clients. - Thanks for Mr. McCormick for giving me the opportunity to get his house sold, so that he could move on with his life."

"Using Active Rain, I successfully found a great realtor to sell my Sister's home in Virginia. The home was listed and currently has three offers. Thank you Active Rain."