tips: "What, How-N-Why?" This was How Our Day Flew By... - 10/04/07 06:51 PM
Blogging was QUITE a popular topic yesterday at Emagine 2007 Expo... and educational event Coldwell Banker held for its agents in Chicago.
I'm happy to report back that the day FLEW BY as ActiveRain's Caleb Mardini and I answered questions about blogging in the "Blooger's Lounge" set up at the Expo. I gotta admit it was very clever and forward thinking of Coldwell Banker to devote an area to where its agents could come and inquire about blogging. The Blogger's Lounge was very, very popular. (See Photo - Left) In fact, at one point I actually thought I was going to loose my voice as we answered over and over again the same 3 questions about blogging, … (20 comments)
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tips: EMAGINE... Education is Part of the Silver Lining in a Slow Market - 09/28/07 04:17 PM
So the market is slow... ok its VERY slow. So what can you do? Well I think with every dark cloud there is a silver lining. One "upside" to a slow market is it provides an opportunity for rapid professional growth and development... and in that opportunity lies the possibility to be successful in any market.
Next Wednesday, (October 3rd) Coldwell Banker has put together an amazing day full educational opportunities for their agents in and around Chicago-land. The Emagine 2007 Expo is a day for CB agents to come and learn of ways to increase their business by learning from marketing experts, top-notch panels … (34 comments)
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tips: SELL the TOUR to Sell the House! - 09/10/07 07:55 PM
Whether it is in our work life or in our personal life, each day we are all hit with a ton of advertising messages. Because this is so, the trick for those of us in sales is to find new ways to cut through the all the noise and get our message out to our respective markets... which is not always easy.
However, I have found, in this age of constant "screaming" advertising messages, I have a knack for creating ways that help others to cut through the noise. Typically I do this by taking some approach/medium people are familiar with and change it up a bit. … (24 comments)
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tips: People Like Touching Our SIF Stuff - 08/14/07 05:51 PM
Just a quick update...
This past August 4th the Stage It Forward (SIF) widget was created & released.
Since then, I am happy to report, it has been doing well and is attracting a nice amount of attention in the way of clicks. 2,176 clicks to be exact!
Considering it is just the first 10 days this is NO shabby start. This means we are averaging 217 hits a day coming in from all the SIF widgets placed out there.
You may wonder WHY to install the SIF widget to your website or blog site?
Well, as you know, (because sometimes in life you are one too) if a consumer is interested in something they … (9 comments)
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tips: Another new "TOY" for Stage It Forward Members - 08/04/07 11:19 AM
With Stage It Forward on the Go and on the Grow... I thought it might be good to have yet another new FREE "toy" for members to use to show their affiliation to one of the busiest groups on Active Rain.
This new "toy" is a custom widget... which is a little tool that you can add to any blog or website.
The Stage It Forward widget will continuously and automatically update and display the most current posts written and published in Stage It Forward... including yours!
The default widget color, dark blue, can be seen under my profile on the right side of this post. (This is a live working … (12 comments)
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tips: I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours! - 06/19/07 06:40 AM
Revealing how I approach and how I actually study what I see working with my blogging here in the Rain is what this post is all about. (Its NOT about the goofy picture to the left... that is just to make you smile a bit.)
First I know that blogs that have fresh original industry related content reigns in the Rain. Yes, the fun and quirky personal posts add an interesting dimension and they do help to reveal your unique personality and differentiate you from your fellow bloggers. But all in all, industry related posts that inform are the posts Active Rain Moderators like … (31 comments)
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tips: Become a Paranoid Blogging Narcissist... in 3 EASY Steps! - 05/20/07 04:00 PM
One of the interesting dynamics about Active Rain is that it is a COMMUNITY of bloggers. Daily thousands of people log-on to read and learn from and of each other.
However while your blog informs, it might also inspire and/or provoke another blogger to write more. That "MORE" might be more about what your had to say in your blog, or about you personally and specifically in their own personal blog. Either way, they might make mention of or reference YOU, by name.
With so much blogging activity, how will you know if or when one of your fellow bloggers ARE saying something behind the front of your back here … (39 comments)
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tips: Good Photography Tells the Story the Media Wants to Tell of Us - 05/17/07 03:21 PM
This is a story that bears repeating... I know I have blogged before about how important good photography is to tell your own story but now I have proof as to how it can help you tell a BIGGER story.
National print media uses the web as a means to find good photos to use in conjunction with the feature stories they are publishing on the home staging and interior redesign.
Home Magazine recently found our website http://www.realestaging.com and contacted us, asking if they could use photos of our staging work for a feature story they were going to be publishing in their June 2007 issue. Of course we agreed.
But the … (35 comments)
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tips: For a QUICK DIVE in Blog Readership... Go on Vacation! - 05/05/07 05:30 PM
I have read of the frustration that new Bloggers here on Active Rain have regarding not being able to "stand out" amongst the "power house" Bloggers who always seem to get all the attention.
One thing I don't think new Bloggers see is that fact that many of the best-of-the-best Power Bloggers have worked hard to work their way up to the top of the this Blog Pile. It takes time and commitment to generate good content that readers connect with and like to read. BUT Bloggers need to also understand the brutal fact that while it takes time to get to the top, it take MUCH … (29 comments)
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tips: Getting MORE RETURN for your Blogging Dollar - 04/04/07 06:59 AM
If you have blogged, for ANY amount of time, you know it is an investment IN time. However, one of the "PERKS" I have found in blogging is it gives me a means to capture and articulate, in a concise manner, just what I do want to communicate to my clients. So now instead of saying someday I SHOULD write something about XYZ topic... I find I HAVE written about that topic.
Which is all fine and good.
But... did you ever notice that ONCE you posted your blog it quickly becomes "yesterday's news?" And all that investment seems a little lost. I have... and that bothered … (54 comments)
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tips: THINK CRUSTY THOUGHTS... When Taking Listing Photos - 03/06/07 09:38 AM
Realtors you'll notice that while I am a home stager, a number of my blog postings have to do with taking better photos of listings. This is because I KNOW that what a home buyers SEES influences their desire to purchase... or NOT. But what a buyer SEES often starts BEFORE they drive up to your listing or walk through its front door.
With each passing day the Internet becomes more and more of a resource for buyers to PRESCREEN your listings by looking at the photos YOU have provided. So with digital photography being so easy and inexpensive... Realtors you have the responsibility to feature PERFECT images … (56 comments)
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tips: Staging Training Pride - 02/10/07 11:40 AM
From the moment I found Active Rain I knew it was a very special site. It was amazing to see how Realtors from "rival" companies reached out to colleagues to freely share information to help and better their "competition". I believe because of this generosity, Active Rain is the success it is for ALL who participate.
In the beginning of Active Rain, there were only a handful of Home Stagers. Over time more and more Stagers found this site and began contributing. Amazingly, Stagers from across North America (YEAH CANADA!) started sharing, ideas, frustrations, challenges, successes, tips and approaches to staging homes and running home … (29 comments)
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tips: 1 Golden Rule and a bunch of Lemmings - 01/28/07 08:29 AM
One of the things that attracted me to Active Rain is the way ideas flow freely back and forth.
There is room and need for a variety of opinions on MANY subjects here. Disagreement is the fertile ground for growth. Let's face it, if we all just "Lemming-ed" our way through life, we would all without question go over that big cliff.
Quite often people hold on to their opinions as if they are GOLD. But here on Active Rain I believe that the real GOLD is the open dialogue and understanding gained from it. The real Gold can be found as each of us as individuals chooses to apply, adapt, … (36 comments)
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tips: Standing Out in the Rain... a Lesson to take to Localism. - 01/04/07 01:10 PM
Yesterday it was announced that of the 27,229 blog entries* posted on Active Rain since its début on June 25, 2006 my "very personal" post entitled "The Gift of Tears" was voted the Most Memorable post for the year. First, I have to say WOW and huge thank you to all who voted!
And while I am flattered and grateful, it got me to thinking... Why? Why THAT post? Did that post REALLY have anything to do with Real Estate?
As a professional in the Real Estate industry I know that working with people is at the core of what I … (40 comments)
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tips: I can’t hold it any longer… this old Blog-Dog is gonna hit his 100th Post. - 12/08/06 09:25 AM
Well I am about to a hit a personal milestone here in the rain. My next post will be #100!
And while that may not seem like a lot for some bloggers here in the rain... it is for me. You see prior to joining Active Rain I barely knew what a blog was... let alone write one. (Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?)
Anyway, now that I have been a part of all this am I am grateful for all I have learned AND the fun I have had. Yes... FUN! Fun has been for me part of my personal Return-On-Investment … (33 comments)
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tips: Tic-Toc !Tic-Toc! How much ACTIVE TIME do you clock? - 12/06/06 06:20 PM
While ActiveRain has proven to be a down pour of good and insightful information to and for the real estate community... it is not free.
Well, actually the information is "free" in the fact that it costs nothing to be a member, post a blog, read a blog, or write a comment. But being an ACTIVE participant in the rain can be a huge INVESTMENT in time.
Lately. searching for images, researching and writing original blog material, inserting links, and reading other's blogs seems to be taking more and more time.THEN on top of that... I feel a bit obligated to comment on other's … (26 comments)
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tips: Sometimes it feels like somebody's (just) watching me. - 12/04/06 08:14 PM
I've noticed something lately... well actually I have been watching since the rain gods have provided us with the VIEWS & TIMES CLICKED ON counters. (Which are just to the left of the "Bookmark" button.)
And something feels a bit off.
Considering there are over 10,000 rainers, why are so many just "SEEING" what we say and choose not to comment. The number of comments and commenters seem to have stalled out.
I ask this because I find comments VERY helpful. They help me understand what is "connecting" and what is "DIS-connecting" with those who read my words.
Comments are also a GREAT way for someone new to Active Rain … (36 comments)
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tips: A BUBBLY WAY... to share your thanks & your message - 12/03/06 07:19 PM
I know I talk a lot about staging. But my REAL passion is advertising and marketing. I LOVE to find new ways to break through the typical "advertising noise" and connect with people. (Staging just happens to be an amazing marketing tool that does this too... that is why I am so adamant about it.)
Anyway, a few years back we decide to divert some of our advertising dollars away from print and find a ways to connect to our clients and potential clients in more creative and effectiveways. So what did we do? We throw a party!
Well, actually we always had a personal holiday party... we … (13 comments)
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tips: TRIX FIX 12 PIX - 12/01/06 08:22 PM
For both the realtor and a stager... GOOD photography of the property for sale is a necessity. For the realtor, the photos you take of your listing show the product you are trying to sell. For the stager the photos of your work capture and chronicle your staging skills.
Therefore it is to BOTH the realtors and stager's advantages to take and display the ABSOLUTE BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES you can... especially NOW that more and more people use the internet as a means to determine evaluate a home or the abilities of a stager.
With that in mind... last night I went on line and looked at … (38 comments)
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tips: Canned Cranberry Sauce… the jiggly symbol of an industry? - 11/21/06 07:17 AM
This Thanksgiving every Realtor and home seller should be thankful and contemplate Canned Cranberry Sauce. As it/they sit/s on your plates, know that it/they symbolize/s what staging has to offer.
Here is my scholarly list...
7 ways Canned Cranberry Sauce embodies Real Estate Staging!
1. Canned Cranberry Sauce does not cost much, but can have tasty results.
2. Canned Cranberry Sauce visually appeals to almost everyone.
3. Canned Cranberry Sauce takes the right tools and skill to get it out of a can properly.
4. Canned Cranberry Sauce is memorable without overpowering the rest of the food.
5. Canned Cranberry Sauce isn't cluttered with complex flavors.
6. Canned Cranberry Sauce is best served with the entrée, … (26 comments)
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