Good afternoon Rainers, I wanted to give you all an update about marti and to thank his friends here on ActiveRain for the emails of support.

 If you haven't heard, marti took a nasty fall off a ladder last night while setting up an elaborate April Fool's joke that resulted in a broken right hand and a minor concussion. It's nothing too serious but as a precaution he had to stay in the hospital for observation for the next 24 to 48 hours

 If you're one of our client's in need of tech help please contact Jason at techsupport@garaughty.com  Any projects in progress will be delayed until marti is back to work. I'm publishing this post that he began earlier this week and will give you updates as soon as I have more news.

 If you would like to send him a get well message, here is more information and an ecard with a direct link to his personal email address.

Teddy Bear Ecard

Giselle

GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com

4 Steps to a Successful Brokerage Blog

 As a manager, you have special knowledge of what’s really happening in your market, and a blog is the place to share that knowledge. Jonathan Washburn, cofounder and CEO of ActiveRain.com, the nation’s largest social networking Web site for real estate professionals, offers strategies for doing it right.  read...

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My Rule For Blogging: Always Be Yourself

 Over the past few days I have been in contact with several people who are starting up their own blogs. The question I heard the most was "What if no one wants to read what I write?" and "What can I write to make them want to read my blog"?  read...

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Matt Bailey on Advanced (Persuasive) SEO at SES NYC

 One of the most dynamic speakers to grace Search Engine Strategies, year after year, is Site Logic Marketing's President, Matt Bailey. Here are some highlights, most of which you can apply right away and see immediate improvements on your web pages.  The thrust of his talk is about on-page factors.  In others words, optimizing content out front and behind the curtain.  read...

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"Cheap" SEO tricks and how to use them

 "Cheap" is not a dirty word. Old school best practices for writing brand marketing copy have included the omission of terms that may reflect poorly on a company, including the term "cheap" to describe a product or service.  read..

 The posts listed below are just a small sample of the news,  ideas andresourcesfrom the past few days by some of thesharp cookies that hang out in The Art Of Marketing You group

- "A Camel is a Horse designed by Committee" - Should Developers Listen to Users?  Rich Jacobson

- ActiveRain Launches Google Analytics for Outside Blogs  Brad Andersohn

- Do you interfere when there is animal abuse?  Linda Greco

- We didn't know what to do with the furniture, so we bought the house next door  Melissa Marro

- Which Detective Is YOUR Website? Columbo?? Miss Marple? Or...  Alexsandra Stewart

- Google Analytics and What we can Learn from Tracking  Missy Caulk

- Google Analytics for Outside Blogs... Getting Traffic That Just Won’t Quit!  Shane O'Gorman

- Do You Have Broken Links On Your Website? Want Help Finding Them?  Lisa Udy

- HelpfulHannah Free Hints  Hannah Williams

- Would you shop just for a bag????  KIM WHITE

- In Praise of Disruption  Liz Moras

- 7 Texting Tips Etiquette  Justin Williams

- At Whitt's End?  Sheila O'Mara

- I don't wanna be a "Flash in the Pan"  Andrea Swiedler

- Ethics...Where Do They Come From?  Christine Wade

- Jeannette Neerpat Scared-Say What?  Midori Miller

- Get The Most Google Juice Out Of Your Web Links - Create A Link Chain!  Jason Sanders