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activerain: ActiveRain Continues to Work Its Magic for Me in 2011 - 01/23/11 09:58 PM
I just finished writing an offer for a client of mine who first found my blog here in 2008. We hit it off back then, and he and his family almost bought a home with a local builder, but the builder was a headache to deal with and didn't keep their word. Since then, he has continued to look at listings online on his own, and we appear to have found the perfect place. Time will tell with regard to our offer, but I was happy to realize that he has continued to read many of my posts since our original … (30 comments)
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activerain: What I've Learned On ActiveRain - 01/20/11 10:02 PM
This is post #1104 for me on AR. I started actively blogging here almost 3.5 years ago, then got addicted to the community and the process of blogging and commenting. I scaled back somewhat over this past year, but I'm trying to make blogging part of my daily routine again in 2011 and beyond.
What are some of the things that I've learned? Mainly, I learned that ActiveRain is filled with great, supportive, interesting people. As such, I've enjoyed the friendships I've made here since 2007, and the opportunities that I've had as a result. Of course, I've had referrals and … (71 comments)
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activerain: Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone) - My "Relationship" with ActiveRain - 05/03/10 10:45 PM
I graduated from high school in 1988 in Dallas. That same year, the hair band Cinderella released a song called "Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone)". The song didn't make a particularly strong impression on me back then, but I heard it a lot during a memorable time in my life, so I haven't forgotten it, either.
Where the heck am I going with this?
Well, over the past week or so, I was reminded of those 22-year old lyrics when I tried to get my daily ActiveRain fix. After weeks of proxy errors, intermission curtains, and rampant, free-flowing … (162 comments)
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activerain: Using my ActiveRain Blog with Current and Potential Clients - 10/29/09 09:12 PM
I have been here on ActiveRain for two years and two months (sounds a bit like the old Chuck Woolery "2 and 2" quote). During that time, I have been very pleased to see how many consumers have found my blog. I've written over 900 posts, and most of those are "public", meaning that they are indexed by Google and the other search engines.
One of my posts, Austin Texas Relocation Package, was the result of a contest that was the brainchild of one of my friends, Adam Waldman, and backed by Bob Stewart. It has been at the top … (42 comments)
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activerain: I Had a Big Week for ActiveRain Results! - 10/20/09 09:24 PM
Over the past week or two, I had two referrals from my friends here at ActiveRain, AND one of the biggest closings we've had in months. The closing came from a consumer who found my blog months ago and became a "fan". He liked what I had to say about the area where I live so much that he and his wife bought a place about 3 minutes from my home.
One of the referrals, from my friend Trey Thurmond in College Station, was a listing that went under contract after four days! The other referral is from Steve Shatsky in … (112 comments)
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activerain: Lunch with ActiveRain Friends! - 09/22/09 03:36 PM
Not too long ago, during the Keller-Williams Mega Camp here in Austin, my friend Ryan Shaughnessy of the St. Louis area had contacted me to see if we could get together for lunch. I also had a chance to meet Marie Westerman of Georgia for about an hour. Marie mentioned that I was one of two people that she really wanted to meet from ActiveRain, which of course is extremely flattering, and we enjoyed our (brief) time together. Later, I realized that I spent much of my time with her giving a critique of recent movies I had seen. Maybe next … (7 comments)
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activerain: Are you in Austin this week? Come meet us for lunch! You are cordially invited. - 08/26/09 06:42 PM
Several of my ActiveRain friends contacted me this week about meeting during the Keller-Williams Mega Camp event. Today, I had a chance to meet with Marie Westerman, and tomorrow I am meeting Ryan Shaughnessy for lunch.
If you are in town over the next few days, I would love to meet you! You are welcome to join us for lunch tomorrow near downtown Austin at Chuy's on Barton Springs. We are planning to meet at around 12:15 - 12:30pm. Go ahead and call me on my cell phone if you think you would like to come, just to make sure we … (22 comments)
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activerain: WOW! One of my ActiveRain posts garnered 7 of the top 10 spots on Google! - 07/18/09 05:36 PM
On July 3rd, my family and I were rescued by David Castilleja of Braswell A/C and Electric when our upstairs A/C unit stopped working. I decided to blog about my great experience in an effort to get him more business. He was quick, honest, inexpensive, and articulate.
This morning, I received the following email:
Jason - Thanks to your recommendation, I called Dave at Braswell last night with my AC problem. He showed up first thing this morning (Saturday) and fixed the problem. I was amazed at his immediate attention and how inexpensive his service was. Thanks for your Blog --Mike
… (83 comments)
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activerain: More media exposure from my ActiveRain blog! Interviewed by Realtor Magazine - 03/05/09 01:08 AM
Let me clear something up before we begin. The cover of "Realtor" Magazine shown below is not the current one. In fact, it is from the month that I started on ActiveRain - August 2007. Just FYI.
I recently taught a class about social media, and in order to answer the question, "Why do you do this, anyway?", I gave a sample list of publications that have contacted me for interviews since I started blogging here about a year and a half ago:
Austin American-Statesman Austin Business Journal Texas Realtor Magazine Realtor Magazine The New York Times The London Times Not too … (59 comments)
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activerain: How I Managed to Recruit Agents from ActiveRain, Twitter, AND Facebook! - 02/13/09 01:42 PM
Last week, I realized that I have managed to attract agents to our company from each of my personal top three social networking sites (AR, Twitter, and Facebook). I have found that agents who are already embracing social media have some of the best potential around.
SO, HOW DID I FIND THEM? I guess the quickest answer is to say that most of them found me. Two of my current agents, Christi Baylor and Marisa Ladd, came from my blog right here on ActiveRain. They were already AR members before we met, which made our "in person" connection that … (117 comments)
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activerain: How My ActiveRain Efforts Have Brought Additional Exposure! - 01/23/09 05:37 AM
I could easily write several posts on this topic, but since I've had so many different opportunities this past month that have arisen from my blogging lately, I decided to write a post about all of them at once.
And yes, that is a picture of my actual thumb!
REALTOR MAGAZINE I received a call from a reporter with Realtor Magazine late last month. She had seen this post of mine: How to Properly Leave a Brokerage - Am I wrong to expect a call?. She wanted to talk about my experience in two areas: agents who leave, and letting agents … (111 comments)
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activerain: Are YOU a part of the revolution? If not, be prepared to be left behind by those who are. - 11/13/08 03:51 PM
I realized recently that we are now in the midst of a revolution and a dramatic paradigm shift in the way that marketing is conducted. This may seem like a strong term for those who don't "get it" yet, but believe me when I say that it is nothing short of phenomenal.
In early 1998, about a year after I got my real estate license, my business partner and I decided to launch our own real estate website (www.austintexashomes.com). Despite the fact that we got a lot of funny looks and reactions from other agents in our office, we felt that … (153 comments)
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activerain: Blogging is a Long-Term Strategy with the Potential for Short-Term Results - 11/03/08 12:25 AM
The title of this post was a quote from yours truly during the recent Real Estate Barcamp in Houston during a discussion led by Paul Chaney about social media and its effectiveness. This pretty much sums up my personal perspective on the act of blogging as it applies to my business.
When I first started blogging four years ago on another platform, I used it just for personal opinions, rather than anything that I thought could actually help me make money. You may be surprised to learn that many of my posts were political in nature, considering the fact that I … (109 comments)
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activerain: How I Managed to Receive Leads from ActiveRain, Twitter and Facebook! - 10/21/08 02:56 PM
I don't consider myself to be a social marketing guru (yet), but I do spend a little time each week on all of the top social media sites that I know about. Sometimes, it's just a few minutes per week. Obviously, I spend the majority of my online time right here on ActiveRain, but I have become more active on Twitter lately - both are highly addictive, in my humble opinion. Facebook also seems to have some interesting potential as a business tool, if used properly.
I just wanted to take a minute to share some of my experiences with the … (144 comments)
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activerain: How ActiveRain Has Changed my Outlook on Referrals - 08/20/08 10:01 PM
I have been playing here in the Rain for just over a year now, and I have been fortunate enough to have received a good number of referrals from my friends here. For the past 12 years or so, I have been selling homes here in Austin, Texas. Since our primary company website gets decent traffic, I usually get a few referrals just from random agents looking on Google or Yahoo. ActiveRain has enhanced these numbers considerably.
As a result, I have a new outlook on referrals, and I hope other members here share this mentality with me, as it will … (85 comments)
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activerain: One Year at ActiveRain - What Have I Learned? - 08/05/08 10:41 AM
I was one of those people who set up a profile here on ActiveRain long before I started doing any blogging or commenting (about eight months before, to be exact). I was originally invited by a friend of mine in Myrtle Beach (Jan Chilton) who runs an SEO company. My first comment on ActiveRain was one year ago today, although I wrote a post the day before that. Either way, I have been here "actively" for one year now.
What have I learned so far? I have learned that I enjoy writing far more than I had realized previously. I enjoy the … (55 comments)
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activerain: A Good "Problem" to Have! My SEO and social networking successes this week - 07/19/08 10:01 PM
Today, I met with a buyer who was referred to me from an agent in Idaho who found my ActiveRain blog on Google. I think the agent had searched "austin texas real estate broker" or "austin texas real estate broker owner", and my ActiveRain blog appears on the first page of results for both terms.
The buyer and I had a great outing for a few hours this afternoon and we are planning to get together again this week once again, then we will spend next Saturday choosing a home once his wife is here with us. They are looking … (54 comments)
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activerain: My 500th Post! Learn a few new facts here! - 07/14/08 02:25 PM
I was somewhat surprised to realize that I have already composed 500 posts here on ActiveRain since starting here in August 2007. I will celebrate one year in "the Rain" on August 4th. Since I had one post before actively participating, I decided not to count that one, so this is actually #501. My profile shows 515, but some of those were directly to groups and some were deleted (testing different stuff).
At any rate, I would like to thank all of my friends, regular readers, and subscribers, and some who are in all three of these groups, sort of like a … (48 comments)
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activerain: ActiveRain Gathering in Austin, Texas - The Date is Set! You are cordially invited to join us... - 07/12/08 08:33 PM
I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago about the possibility of a gathering here in Austin in August. The response was even stronger than I had anticipated, so we will be getting together after all.
Please keep in mind that this is NOT limited to members in this part of Texas, or even within Texas at all. At least one out-of-state member is attending. If you are able to come, we want to meet you!
Here are the details as of today:
DATE: Saturday, August 16th, 2008
TIME: Probably all afternoon. I was thinking of starting around 11 or … (72 comments)
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activerain: My Perspective on the Great ActiveRain Content Debate of 2008 - 04/29/08 05:42 PM
DISCLAIMER: I apologize in advance for the sheer length of this post, but I had a lot to say apparently. I didn't want to include images this time, as I thought they might detract from the message I am trying to get across.
I have seen a bunch of posts with regard to what is "proper" content on ActiveRain lately. Unless you live under a rock, you have probably also seen these around lately.
I left the longest comment of my entire blogging career last night on Jessica Horton's featured post (Working the Net or Networking? Which has value? ). She gave me some … (137 comments)
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Jason Crouch, Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)
Austin,
TX
More about me…
Austin Texas Homes, LLC
Address: 3636 Executive Center Drive, Suite 210, Austin, TX, 78731
Office Phone: (512) 796-7653
Cell Phone: (512) 796-7653
Email Me
I write about humorous stories, family, things that are interesting to me, and the Austin real estate market.
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