Today I am spending some time catching up on blog reading and one by Seth Godin caught my eye.  He posted a holiday shopping guide and one recommendation was not to buy from big brands or big stores.  The reason he gives is that they don't care about you, or the things you care about and that there are alternatives to every 'big' category.  Toms Shoes is an alternative to the shoe category and they have an interesting mission.  Watch this video for more info.

 

 

Interesting right?  Great video too.  I was moved to grab one of their banners and help spread the marketing message.

 

Shoes, who would have thought you should be thankful for shoes?

Now off to check out their shoes and see if they have my size...

 

 

 

 

If you look at the post I reblogged yesterday you can see we launched a new book. C Tann-Starr took the initiative to share the info with the AR community (thanks again).  Today (and I probably should have done this a few days ago...) I wanted to share some of the behind the scenes info on our book marketing effort and ask for your help.

I have participated in a number of book launches over the years. But this one is shaping up to be different. When we checked the Amazon ranking for Commercial Real Estate 101a week or two ago the book was ranked #335,105 overall.  Not very high but the book was not available for shipping. Today is a different story thanks to our marketing efforts.

Our goal is to get the book to #1 overall but at a minimum to #1 in Business and Investing and the Real Estate categories.  The second goal has since been accomplished.

So how are we going to hit #1 without spending any money on media?

There are two main efforts. The first is a very direct approach to our clients and customers offering them bonus material for helping us out.  Feel free to check out the promotion for Commercial Real Estate if you have an interest.

The second is to try and maintain our rankings and sales volumes by utilizing PR, social media, and networking. 

So what does this all mean to you? Why should I care?

OK I'll get to the point.  We are looking for some people to help spread the word via social media and networking.  If you are interested in helping us out and learning more about our marketing efforts or you are just interested in having some fun then we can talk about the following:

• Inside scoop on our marketing plan
• Content for a blog post
  
• A gift from Trump U. (to be discussed offline - sorry I can't give everything away...)
  
• Bragging rights to say you worked with me… (OK Trump University)
• and most importantly my/our gratitude for your help…

If you are interested in playing along leave me a comment or send me an email.

I will be Twittering sales rank info during the day and week to keep folks updated on our progress.  Feel free to follow or join us and tag your postings #CRE101 so we can find you in our searches.  I will share some results once the effort is completed.

So do you want to help us out?

 

 

Just wanted to share a post from my friend C Tann-Starr who wrote this great post and beat me to the punch... about our new book.  Thanks Carolyn.

 

 

I talk a lot about my AR experiences at work.  My boss is bound to ask me at some point what I am actually doing on the site …so I thought it would be good to have a list of reasons why Active Rain is worth the time I put into the community. 

So here my 9 reasons (10 seemed so cliché…) for hanging out in Active Rain as often as possible. I wish it was more but work is work and someone has to do it.

 

1. I created my Active Rain account because a friend said “you won’t believe how powerful the SEO is on that site and it is all about real estate. You got to check it out.” So I did and the rest is history.
   
   
2. The SEO hopefully translates into increased qualified traffic to the Trump University site and eventually into new members and clients.
   
   
3. Trump University offers a number of programs in real estate education and I figured I could learn a thing or two from those in the industry.
   
   
4. I thought it would be a good place to share some Trump opportunities without being a ‘sales guy’.
   
   
5. I started following and reading a few really smart, knowledgeable, and interesting member’s blogs and now check back as often as possible.
   
   
6. I love networking with other professionals.  Since joining AR I met a few folks I started discussing partnership and business opportunities with.  Yes networking is work but it pays off.
   
   
7. It seemed like a good place for me to build my personal brand and to share some of my learning from Trump University and the world of real estate marketing.
   
   
8. Active Rain is my Google for real estate topics I think it is a great place to search for information on all aspects of real estate.
   
   
9. We ran some advertising on the network and I always try to get a feel for a site before placing a media buy (more on this topic in a future post).

 

So why do you use Active Rain?

What other reasons can I use for hanging out in AR?

 

 

Related Posts

Show Jason Schauer Some Active Rain Love
Real Estate Success Story

Jason Schauer is a Trump University coworker of mine.  He finally created his Active Rain account after hearing me talk about the network for months.  I am now his AR mentor so to speak and I want him to be successful.  He has posted his first two blogs.  If you have a second pop over and give him a warm welcome.  Let him know I sent you so he can see the power of the AR community.

Help me mentor him. 

• remind him "to upload a photo"
  
• point out a few groups he should join
  
• share your AR successes
• give him moral support
• let him know people are reading his work, we are here to help and network
  

Thanks for taking the time to help me help him.

 

Related Post

Real Estate Success Story

 

Last week I posted about Marketing Sherpa's free report on Online Strategies from Real Estate Marketers: Tactics to Survive a Struggling Economy. 

Well, the second part is now available Online Strategies from Real Estate Marketers take a look through it.  Most AR members probably have or know a lot of this already but I always find something new in reports like this. 

The second part of this report focuses on blogging, seo and social media. The report even directs people to our beloved Active Rain to learn more about blogging.

Reminder - Marketing Sherpa reports are usually available free for a limited time and then are sold for a small fee.  So, if the titled caught your attention check it out before you have to pay for the info.

Enjoy the report.

 

I normally try not to share Trump University event information on this blog but we are running a free webinar that I thought might be interesting for my readers.

On November 12th at 8pm EST, Trump University will feature a FREE time-sensitive webinar, Protect and Grow Your Assets. Wealth expert and attorney J.J. Childers (author of Trump University Asset Protection 101) will discuss wealth creation and wealth protection--must-have information in today's turbulent economy!

Space for this webinar is limited, register for the Asset Protection webinar and reserve your spot.

 J. J. Childers will teach you how to:

• Weather the Economic Storm
• Successfully Start Your Own Business
• Pay the Absolute Least in Taxes
• Keep Yourself and Your Family Financially Secure

Here are the details for this event:
DATE:  November 12, 2008
TIME:   8:00 p.m. EST

Register for the Asset Protection webinar and get the login information.

I am happy to post other member events on this blog if there is an interest, just let me know.

 

Marketing Sherpa has a new special report titled Online Strategies from Real Estate Marketers: Tactics to Survive a Struggling Economy.

This is part one of a two part report.  Marketing Sherpa reports are usually available free for a limited time and then are sold for a small fee.  So, if the titled caught your attention check it out before you have to pay for the info…

The report focuses on search sites, lead buying and lead nurturing. The report even mentions our beloved Active Rain.  When I get an alert about part two and what it covers I will make sure to let you all know.

Enjoy the report.

Next week is Election Day. Don't forget to take an hour and cast your vote. We are lucky to live in a country (assuming you live in the US) that gives us the privilege of voting for our leaders. We may not always get our choice of candidate elected but we have the ability to be heard. This video sums up the importance of voting next week. The leaders of these companies think it is important and are giving their employees an hour off.

It won't even take an hour... so don't forget to vote.

I have been "playing around" with Twitter (you can follow me if you would like) for almost a year and there always seems to be something new coming out for Twitter.  In addition to meeting some new folks and following some interesting people there are some definite business uses for the application. Mana Tulberg recently did a great post on some of the Twitter tools available to add to your Twitter experience.

Today I found Twitter search which allows you to track what others are saying about you, your brand, your company, your competition or whatever you think is important or interesting to follow. You can set up an RSS feed for your search term(s).  This will allow you to always be updated with what's going on without having to remember to go back to the site (this is similar to a google alert as discussed in our first Marketing Tip - Monitor Your Brand Online).

You don't even have to have a Twitter account to set up the RSS feed.  Go ahead give it a try.

 

Related Posts

Marketing Tip - Monitor Your Brand Online

Marketing Tip - Monitor Your Brand Online Part 2

5 Big Social Media Wins Last Week

Twitter Research