With the amount of traffic/business that a website or a blog can generate it is no wonder there are so many people creating blogs and websites these days. Blogs happen to be one of the fastest growing forms of website out there. This is something that many people have adopted as a form of marketing for their company or personal business. Real Estate Agents are no different, Real Estate Agents have quickly picked up on the blogging world and are utilizing it as a way to generate leads and promote themselves.

With all of the rules and regulation that govern most of todays online use of logos and trademarks I thought I would take a second to go over the widely used REALTOR® logo and trademark. I, like most people, have always known there are rules to using such logos but have never dug into the actual manuals and taken the time to learn what they have to say. Now reading through one of these manuals it not something that can be very enjoyable but it is something that can be useful if you are starting to create a website or if you plan to use this logo in your printed advertising.

A few key points:

1. The term REALTOR® may not be used with a descriptive word or phrase.
   incorrect example: phoenixrealtors.org, thebestrealtors.com etc.
2. The term REALTOR®, when used as part of a domain name must refer to a member or a member's firm.
3. The REALTOR® logo (block R) should not be used as a hypertext link at a website as such uses can suggest an endorsement or recommendation of the linked site by your association.
   exception: Linking to the NAR, REALTOR.org or REALTOR.com website
4. Using REALTOR® in your domain name or email address, the word REALTOR® does not need to be seperated from the member's name or firm name.
   example: johnsmith-realtor.com, johnsmithrealtor.com (both are ok)

For a complete list read over the REALTOR® Trademark Manual. There you will find the answers you need for using the Logo and Term in the correct manner.

The REALTOR® trademark manual can be found here: REALTOR® Manual
If you are looking to use any of these logo's for your website or for any printed material you can download them here: REALTOR® Logo's

It is important for a Realtor to make an impact on their buyers. Word of mouth is a very important part of the Real Estate Industry.

"Today 85% of people who buy a home don't even remember their Real Estate Agents name only 2 years after buying their home."

Consider referrals and how leaving a lasting impression on a buyer can influence them to refer their friends or family to you. You are Marketing You! 

Over the past couple of months I have been researching a multitude of blogs and blog websites. I have been looking to see if I can find one that would work hand in hand with my ActiveRain.com blog. After the research and countless hours of reading I started a Blogger.com blog, only to cancel it within a week or so. I did not find the satisfaction I was looking for out of it. You know the feeling when you just don't like something, well that was it.

So I began researching what it would take to run or start a blog. Well I have come up with the idea that I am not quite ready for that.

So the question is; What blogging websites out there are you using?

The way I look at it, why not have two blogs. Wouldn't two be better than one. Now I am not talking about posting the same posts on two different blog sites but posting different posts on two different sites. Wouldn't this help in driving traffic to your potential destination. This would be helpful in utilizing keywords and other blogging strategies. Maybe I am wrong with this idea but I just haven't found that out yet.

Elves you say. You know them, these are the little guys inside your computer that often end programs when you have been working so hard for the last hour. Than all of a sudden its gone and all your work is lost! Its those elves! These little guys often cause computer users to put in extra work on projects because they were cut short without saving. This is where shortcut keys come in handy.

After about an hour of work the other night ... yes, on a blog. I was all of a sudden cut short, for unknown reasons my computer program shutdown. Now after the thoughts of winning world records for the longest computer toss cleared my mind, I wondered. Did I save or did I just devote an hour of time to nothing? The answer was simple ... I was typing for the the fun of it. Thanks to the great powers of autosave I only lost a portion of my document. This made me think. Why didn't I just sit Ctrl-S? It would have been so easy and saved me so much time.

The next day at work I was relaying this story to a friend when I realized he had no idea what Ctrl-S stood for. I started to think about how many times I have had to walk my dad through steps while he is on the computer trying to get something done.

"Dad, just hit Control A."
"What do you mean Control A."
"If you hit Control and the A button it will select all."
"Do I push them at the same time?"
...You get the point.

These all so powerful shortcut keys that Microsoft Windows has come up with can be a very helpful and a time saving tool. As a computer Geek if you will, I have known many of them for a long time and utilize many of them on a daily basis. I will probably use them countless times during this post. So I have decided to put together a little list of the shortcut keys I find very handy.

There are many shortcut keys available and doing and quick Google search will return numberous websites that give you complete lists. If you are an apple user, which I happen to be. You can find a great list of shortcut keys at this lovely website. Apple Computer Shortcut Keys.

So here we go, a little learning for those that may not know these keys.

Shortcut KeyDescription

Ctrl + S	Saves current document.
Ctrl + A	Select all text.
Ctrl + X	Cut selected item.
Ctrl + C	Copy selected item.
Ctrl + V	Paste item.
Ctrl + Z	Undo.

Now this is not a extensive list just a short one showing some of the basic shortcut keys. For a more complete list take a look at a few of these pages, they can be a huge help!

Google Search for Windows Shortcut Keys

A couple of nights ago I was reading a blog wrote by "The Lovely Wife"...Broker Bryant's...Wife! titled: Have Your Considered Reciprocation Your Comments? Hmmm? ROAR!.

This brought to my attention something that every blogger should think about. The simple fact that: We All Make Each Other Successful! I am not talking about the type of success that shows up at your doorstep one night banging on the door and waking you up from a quality night sleep. It is the type of success that we see over time.

Blogging has quickly become a wonderful tool for everyone to use to promote their business and/or their way of life. But blogging is only useful when we work as a team. I am not saying that you need to join hands and sing together but I am simply trying to state that without each other we would not be as successful. Yes, we could always blog without each other but would we see the benefits that we see when others join in! I tend to think, NO!

Food for thought:

Comments: Use comments to promote yourself. Your words are all most people ever get to see of you! In the blogging world, actions don't speak louder than words". It's our words that speak of who we are and how we do business in this world. First hand experience on AR has shown me that most individuals here are willing to help. People are willing to go that extra mile to help you be successful. This to me is one of the reasons that AR is so valuable. Its the people you find here!

Read: What is the old saying ... you have to walk before you start running. Blogging is similar (personal experience here). You need to read before you start blogging. I have read countless blogs, many before I ever attempted to write my first one. This is not a must, but wouldn't you rather get a feel for your atmosphere before you jumped right it. Dip your toe in the water and see if the water is hot. Reading helps inspire thought, with thought you will begin to develop ideas. From these ideas you can create your blogs! Just don't forget; don't copy, instead reference! Point people in the direction you would like them to go or the idea you want them to pick up. This will in-turn help give credit where credit is due. Most AR members will be grateful for the link and comment on your blogs. The favor than goes full circle and comes back to help you and your blog!

Reciprocate: As "The Lovely Wife"...Broker Bryant's...Wife! points out, reciprocation pays for itself. If you need more proof. Take a look at 7 Mistakes to Avoid on Active Rain Brad Andersohn gives us quite a few points on what we should avoid as bloggers.

Blogging: Sit down, work on that first blog! Pick something you have learned by browsing the internet. Let others know how you feel about a given topic, or just point something out. I find blogs are very enjoyable to read, even if it is something I already know I still enjoy reading the blog. You get to meet someone new with every blog you read!

One Last Thing: When composing your blogs I have found using Notepad or Word-pad for writing can be a frustration saver. This gives you the option to review, re-read and edit your blog, this will also help with those pesky little Internet errors. If its your first blog, you can use this as a chance to read your blog a couple of times, helping with that uneasy feeling you get right before you click on that submit button.

Happy Blogging

Every weekend we have the wonderful option of watching NFL football or maybe your more into NCAA football, being a fan of either one the weekend can be a glorious time. Now, you may not be a football fan but we all know one, so you can relate a little to this. So me being a football fan, (being from Nebraska you can guess what I am a fan of) I was a little tossed between AR and these wonderful little things called television. I had all intension of watching all my favorite games on Saturday and Sunday (oh and don't forget Monday ... you can almost hear that wonderful background music) when suddenly I was drawn to the computer. For what? Your a member of this group so you already know what I am going to say. Yes, activerain! Even writing this it sounds a little silly but I just couldn't help it. I had this overwhelming erg to check the blogs every couple of minutes .. which honestly seemed like hours.

"My name is Jared. I am addicted to ActiveRain.com." The statement echos in my head!

At one point I was sitting at the computer and I busted out laughing. Only to have a friend look at me with disgust. See, the Washington Redskins game was on and we (the Skins ... I picked them to win) were down and just threw an interception. He looked at me like "Dude, what is your problem." I quickly explained. Than all I could see was this look on his face ... "You are a Geek!" I continued on to read my many blogs that I read that day not thinking much of it. A few hours later most of the games were ending or over.

This began my thought process. I began to think about how I had procrastinated the entire day away. Whether it was to read blogs or just to browse the internet, I was pulled away from the one main goal I had for the day, to watch football. I am not going to sit here and say that I have never done anything like this before because I have. I am terrible at it, I will pick some of the worst things to procrastinate about. It is almost like eating Ice cream before dinner when your a child, you just have to do it.

Why?

What makes us as a society want to push things off and "do today, what we can do tomorrow". I don't have an answer for that and probably never will. In my case it was an equal of two evils. I did get what I wanted to do done or at least partially done and I accomplished some very "active" reading.

I can almost guarantee that next time I won't be so lucky. I will end up doing something that has no value while pushing a valuable thing to the side! Don't we just love that human nature.

So how do we deal with the fast pace life that most of us live today. One minute we are working on a very important project only to turn around and find ourselves chit chatting with our buddies. Where is this happy median? Is this happy median really something that exists or is it that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Me personally, I am probably never going to find it, or maybe I will once it no longer matters anymore and I get to spend the whole day golfing. Until my days of golfing arrive I will just fight the inner battle of doing what I should verse doing what I want.

For a great blog regarding procrastination, read Procrastination and What You Can Do About It! posted by Nestor and Katerina Gasset, it is well worth it!

I would like to introduce you to the new "Nuts" in town. You may think, what is this about? Not another website joining the ever growing list of overnight sites that make all these great promises that never seem to produce results. All these wonderful ideas that seem to get tossed by the way side. In the back of every one's mind is the thought, another political speech that is soon forgotten. PropertyNut™ is not your regular site. We keep it simple and clean, no pop ups, no annoying banners nothing to cloud your thoughts and make you stray away from your intentions. Just a simple, easy to use website that lets you post ads, look at properties and move on. That is it, simple!

I have been part of a new website called PropertyNut™. This company has been a 4+ year work in progress. It is created by a group of Real Estate agents as well as home and land owners that are tired of seeing websites with so much advertising and pop ups that you soon get tired and go elsewhere!

To pull a small quote from our founders...

"We realized that with all the real estate sites on the Internet, what was actually missing among this sea of sites was a simple, effortless, efficient, low cost place to find and advertise property to sell or lease. So we started PropertyNut™; like the real estate newspaper classified ads on the Internet but for ALL cities and states. We're in the real estate industry and or home owners, just like you; trying to find the best and most cost effective way to find, to buy, or advertise to sell properties. What's different about PropertyNut™? To start with we offer space for creating a classified advertisement for all sellers, landlords and Realtors at a price that is just "Nuts", and we don't care if you're a for-sale-by-owner, real estate agent, investor, home builder, already working with an agent to find a property, or on your own. The world's Internet real estate marketplace™ is designed for you."

We have been working round the clock for the last couple of months to make this site grow to meet the demands of the ever growing Real Estate Market. As one of the marketing managers for the site we are continuously looking for new ideas that are outside the "Nut Shell". This is where you come in! Since we are a growing company, we would like to hear what you have to say.

We are always looking for new ideas and new ways to make the site a user friendly place for Real Estate Agents to list properties. Take a look at the site, PropertyNut™ give it a try (after all it is free for a limited time). Let us know what you think. We are here for you, the Real Estate Agent. We are always looking for new and refreshing ways to improve our site and make it part of the Real Estate wave. We hope you will go a little "Nuts" with us!