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active rain: One Man's Change Is Another Man's ......Something - 02/03/12 10:50 AM

 
 
Change, Change, Change
This is a major theme here on Active Rain lately, actually for as long as I can remember. I joined in January 2009 and I think they were talking about it back then also. (Can it really be 3 years already?)
As a people, we like things to stay within our comfort zone. The ironic thing is that Active Rain is filled with the most technologically advanced group of real estate professionals out there. Post after post about new tools, Internet sites and SEO techniques populate the blog roll daily. We are an advanced bunch.
… (9 comments)

active rain: Back To Square One? Probably Not - 01/07/12 11:45 AM

 
 
I had a great December...personally and professionally!
I had successful closings of some transactions....smooth ones at that. My husband had some successful closings for his business. I had many wonderful family events for the holidays. It was a nice Christmas season.
I also started working out twice a week with a personal trainer and began a running program. I am very tired!
The first week I found that afternoon naps were making their way into my day....what about the extra energy this was supposed to create?
I'd run after carpool in the morning and then twice a week, … (10 comments)

active rain: My Thanksgiving Prayer......Real Estate Style - 11/21/11 01:21 PM

 
As we approach this Thanksgiving, I would like to share my Thanksgiving Prayer for Real Estate:
Thank you Real Estate "God" for the bountiful business this year.
Thank you for the Sellers who realized their home was not "special" and could sell for 25% more than their neighbors'.
Thank you for the Buyers who were willing to write offers which could be accepted.
Thank you for the Short Sale Negotiator who read my emails, looked at my comps and accepted our value.
Thank you for the BPO agent who took an assignment in the city they actually understood.
Thank you … (7 comments)

active rain: Adding To Your Day......While Keeping What Works In Tact - 11/18/11 10:53 AM

 
You might have noticed my absence from Active Rain last week (what? you had other things to do than notice I was missing....hmmmm, that's not good :)). I have been adding to my routine and not necessarily handling it all as well as I'd like.
Last March I realized my 50th birthday was looming (October 12th) and I was feeling tired and my pants were tighter than I liked. Normally this would call for a 9 day Wonder Diet right before bathing suit season....but this time I decided it was time for a lifestyle change.
I added an hour … (14 comments)

active rain: Rain In California.....I'm Active In The Rain Today - 10/05/11 07:52 PM

 
 
 
Active Rain is an interesting name for this platform. I never really gave it a lot of thought until today. We all use the term in creative ways in our blog posts and comments, but the term "rain" is an unusual term for what we do here.
I normally think of rain as something dark and cold. It's something which keeps us from doing what we want to do during a day. It makes the sky dark and gloomy. It makes my socks wet and sometimes my nose run. So thinking about such a negative term as … (8 comments)

active rain: Active Rain As Big Brother? The Points Debate - 08/26/11 05:21 PM

 
I read a featured post today by Bryan Robertson where he was advocating changing the points system of Active Rain to award points to only certain blog posts. Those which he considered to be real estate related.
I'm burning up!
I'm sorry Bryan....and I really do have a great deal of respect and affection for you...but you are exactly wrong. I believe what sets Active Rain apart from other "real estate sites" are the more personal posts. Whenever someone wants to find a real estate professional in another part of the country, I always suggest they get on Active … (93 comments)

active rain: Do You Have Even ONE Closing From Your Time On Active Rain? No? What Are You Doing Here? - 05/22/11 03:40 PM

 
Seriously? Not even ONE deal from the blogging and commenting and participating on Active Rain? Well....there must be something wrong with Active Rain...
I guess the Google Ranking has fallenI suppose the traffic has slowedI hear the membership is dropping
No? No.....none of that is true. So where is your deal?
"But I have points"
Sure...so does my son's video game. So what!!! What is the point of the time we spend on Active Rain?
Clients.....consumers.....deals....CLOSINGS!
I have closings I can directly tie to my blogs on Active Rain. Direct contact and direct comments about something I wrote … (19 comments)

active rain: I Just Can't Blog Today....I Just Can't, Oh Ok...Maybe Just A Little - 03/31/11 02:57 PM

 
I just need soup! I'm nursing a "summer cold." Yes, it's beautiful here, I just came in from tea by the pool. Even sneezing I didn't want to miss enjoying the beautiful sunshine we have today. 85°
But, I'm heading to bed. Just can't do it!
I'm grateful for a non-client day and I had planned to blog today, work on my SEO and catch up on some website work, but I'm not going to. I'm going to turn on the AC and head to bed.
Yes I said it....Air Conditioning!
So...carry on without me. I'm hoping to be … (22 comments)

active rain: 500,000+ Points With This Post....Wow, That's A Lot Of Exposure - 03/29/11 10:24 AM

Sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands. And that's what I'm doing with this post....this post will push me over the 500,000 mark.
I'm amazed by that number. I remember seeing those high points count when I first started and wondered how one does that...well, turns out you write and comment and participate!
And the best part is that those 500,000+ points represent so much more than a video game score...it's exposure, to consumers, to the Internet and to other professionals. Specifically it represents:
*Direct contact by consumers*Closings by those clients*Referrals by other ActiveRain Professionals*Personal Relationships*SEO advice*Technology … (27 comments)

active rain: Advice For Newbies......Breaking Into The Inner Circle Of Active Rain - 01/13/11 12:53 PM

 
 
Is there an Inner Circle of Active Rain....oh, well I suppose there is. But it's not exclusive in any way. There is no "Freshmen Rush," no interview process, no hazing (ok...some hazing).
But anyone and everyone are welcome! And easy to get in! You need to be noticed by more and more people and you need to impress upon them that you are interesting. So...if you aren't interesting, well, this might not be the right place for you :).
I'll let you in on a little secret......Active Rain is a very fun place to hang out. We learn … (93 comments)

active rain: Reflections As I Approach My Second Active Rain Anniversary - 12/24/10 11:19 AM
I don't remember the exact date I joined Active Rain, but I do know that late in 2008 as I was hearing doom and gloom in the office, I was searching for new opportunities for business. It was then that I heard of Active Rain. Our local Board Of Realtors was offering a free class on Internet Marketing, including Active Rain.
I can't remember the other sites they mentioned, but I do remember doing some preliminary research on Active Rain so that I'd have some experience prior to the training session.
I created a profile and started to read blog posts … (23 comments)

active rain: The Parade Passed Him By......The Death Of A Salesman - 12/15/10 10:33 PM

 
I tried to help someone today. I was in a local real estate office (not even mine) and I saw an older Realtor® that I knew. He sold one of our old homes....15 years ago.
He looked the same, maybe a bit more worn. Probably worn out. He was surprised to find I was an agent also..and that I was having a great year. He has barely been hanging on the past few years (the bust of the boom).
He asked me to go to coffee. Even though my day was very busy, I went. There was something in … (147 comments)

active rain: My "Suggest" Was Rejected.....And It Bothers Me! :( - 12/15/10 12:33 PM

 
 
I love the "Suggest" button! I think it's great when I see something roll by and can hit the button and hopefully get it some exposure. It's like a treasure hunt. I'm happy to say I have 35 accepted suggested posts to date.
But yesterday I suggested something I thought was great. I felt I had done my duty after the Suggest Button turned gray and I went about my day.
Then this morning a quick glance at my stats brought the realization that my "Called Shots" had not changed. Ah, nuts.
It was almost worse than … (17 comments)

active rain: The Great AR Point Debate......Would You Give A Referral To A Member With 2500 Points? Hmmmmm - 12/09/10 02:52 PM

 
 
 
Here's my question for the day.....would you give a referral to a Rainer who only had 2500 points? or 4500? or what? How do you determine who to give referrals to? Have you even thought about it?
Well....I'm sure you've thought about it. Let's face it, we work hard for our leads and when we decide to give one out as a referral....it reflects upon us too. It's very important that we give them to someone who is going to treat them properly.
Enter Active Rain
I love to give AR-ers referrals...in fact almost all of my … (30 comments)

active rain: If You Feature This Post.....I Hit 400,000 Points :) Guess I Need To Make It Interesting, Nuts! - 12/08/10 12:07 PM

 
 
 
Better make it good, right? A big milestone....or maybe not. If it isn't featured (and I'm mostly kidding about that....mostly) then it's just one of many blog posts. But that's ok too....I'm close!
400,000 points!
Wow...I remember looking UP at that number when I first started on Active Rain. It will be 2 years in January. I was thinking this morning what those points represent to me.
I started on Active Rain for the exposure and leads. And they have definitely come. I haven't checked, but I off the top of my head I can count numerous … (40 comments)

active rain: With All This Ranting.....One Might Think We Don't Love Real Estate....Here Is An Anti-Rant - 12/01/10 08:25 PM

 
 
 
 
 
 
We all need to get things off our chests...myself included. And lately have we ever ranted here at Active Rain!!!
We've taken down unresponsive listing agents, low-balling buyers, lazy buyer's agents, unrealistic sellers. We've complained about the lack of phone calls and (in my case) too many phone calls....or at least phone calls at the wrong time. We've basically just vented our end-of-the-year frustration. But......
Real estate is the best "job" in the world! And we know it. We've all read the heart wrenching posts from those who have decided to leave real estate. … (25 comments)

active rain: Cashing my $10,675 Check From My Junk Mail....Another Active Rain Success Story - 11/29/10 04:33 PM

 
 
I would really like to know why this came from my junk mail (Active Rain?) but I'd like to share my "Yippee"!
A mere month and a half ago, I thought to check my junk mail to make sure I hadn't missed anything....and there it was, a contact from my Active Rain site with an investor asking questions.
Again....why was that in my junk mail?
I didn't make it a habit of checking my junk mail, needless-to-say I do now. But it was someone who had read a few of my posts and saw a listing of mine and … (12 comments)

active rain: Here In Lake Arrowhead......It's Actively Snowing, Does That Work Too? - 11/28/10 02:38 AM

I've been fighting a flu-bug the past couple of days. Ok, maybe not fighting as much as completely giving in. Sleeping in my flannel sheets, watching tear-jerker romantic movies by the fire and allowing my sweet husband to do EVERYTHING for me. Hmmmm, maybe the flu isn't so bad? Especially when I get to do it in my cabin.
I intended to finish some Christmas shopping and cook a nice meal....but we've done fine on what we have here and my husband roasted a fresh chicken for us tonight. Really just a perfect couple of days...well, except for the flu … (9 comments)

active rain: "Will Someone Shut Off That Darn Phone"?.....Realtors Need Holidays Too :) - 11/27/10 12:49 PM
Oh I don't really mean that! Of course, we want the phone to ring. Preferably during my after-Thanksgiving nap, or the game-winning field goal, or the moment my niece takes her first step.....or, or, or....well, maybe not right then.
Oh don't get me wrong, that darn phone is the reason I can enjoy all these personal moments, but sometimes it's the ruin of them too. I hear it in the distance and my heart starts to pump...do I get up and get it? "I hope it's not Zillow" or do I let it go to voice mail, and then wonder about … (73 comments)

active rain: A New Client From Someone Else's Google Juice.....A Comment Leads to AR Success - 10/18/10 10:19 AM

 
 
 
 
 
A new prospect from Active Rain interrupted my planned evening last night.  Instead of reading in my bedroom by a fire, I spent a couple hours emailing listings and setting up an appointment with a new client. But this was an unusual situation for me......the prospect found me through a COMMENT I made on another post.
Yes, boys and girls, the comments we make are not just for points!!!
I even felt a touch guilty hijacking someone else's Google Juice for my own benefit (but I got over that very quickly). The truth is … (89 comments)

 
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