You know how it goes, right? You meet someone and somewhere in the midst of the conversation Active Rain comes up. It's usually in the course of comparing marketing methods and real estate stuff. You talk about how great Active Rain is and how much you learn from everyone else and how your business has been transformed by blogging, but you can tell that the person isn't listening. All that good advice is going right in one ear and out the other. Or, if they are listening, there is the protest. "Oh, I'm not a writer!" they say. Or they'll say something like, "I don't have time for that!" And then there's the classic line, "I don't know anything about that blogging stuff." What they usually mean is that they not only don't know about blogging, but they really aren't interested in knowing either.
If you're like me, you can think of lots of people whom you've invited to Active Rain only to have them never respond. Some may show up here for a while, but then they fade away, never to be heard from again. Most never accept your invitation. I used to tell everyone about AR and blogging, but not anymore. Today I look for intuitive people who are open to change and hungry for business.
Take Lisa Stafford, for example. I told the story yesterday of how she called me up and we met over breakfast. Now, here she is today with her first blog at Active Rain. And it got featured! How cool is that!? The student smoked the teacher. I love it!
Maybe those of us who blog here in the Rain are lucky. Maybe blogging comes naturally to us. Or maybe we just had hidden talent lying deep inside us. Or maybe we're smarter than the average business professional...at least in our own field. I'm not sure which it is, but here are some things I am sure of now that I've been a member of Active Rain for a couple of years.
1. Not everyone is a writer blogger. I have a friend who has tried to blog here at AR. It is a struggle for him. It doesn't come naturally. He still blogs at times, but the ebb and flow of good writing just isn't there. But that's okay. At least, he tried it. That goes a long way in my book.
2. Even if you don't write, you can learn in the Rain. Like I told Lisa, AR has been the place where I have learned more about real estate than anywhere else. The availability of information here is incredible. Often, I know things that are happening in real estate before anyone else in my office because I read about here at AR.
3. Active Rain gives me a huge advantage in my listing presentations. All I have to do is show a seller a blog I wrote about another property and how it pops up high in the Google search results and suddenly I've got a huge advantage over others who do not understand or invest in Internet marketing and/or blogging. Even if someone invests in Internet marketing, those of us who blog listings still have the advantage.
4. Finally, those who don't take the time to check out AR are missing out in huge ways. When I am connecting with Realtor Magazine and Zillow and friends from across the country, many are sitting around the office playing games on the computer hoping the phone will ring while they are on floor duty. Sure, I pull floor duty too, but when I do I'm busy working with clients or learning at AR and working on blogs.
As some really smart person once said, "Never quit learning." Thanks to AR, I won't!
Oh...and don't forget when you are telling someone about AR to send them the invitation. You get extra bonus points if they join up. Lisa moved so fast that I didn't get her invitation sent. Guess I'd better stay on my toes from now on!
Want to know more about the world of real estate in the Greater Tulsa area?
If so, you can find me in these places:
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