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I'M CALLING MY OWN SHOTS! Plus a Few Others that the AR Gods Missed this Week

By
Mortgage and Lending with Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA

Well, this week there were some really great posts here in the rain by some of my fave bloggers as well as some other bloggers that I've recently stumbled across.  

There was I don't care WHAT you say....  by Andrea Swiedler, Are we really serving the public? I've got my doubts.... by Ruthmarie Hicks, and Agent Adultery: A Note from the "Other Agent"  by Tni LeBlanc for their gold star features that I was happy to "call the shot" on them.  These were all really great posts that also provided some really interesting comment threads.  If you haven't already done so, check them out. 

Then there were some other equally great posts that I suggested but that the AR Gods must have missed this week when they were bestowing those little gold stars.  I liked these posts because they really focused on how we can build better blogs for not only the consumers we're trying to appeal to but to other industry professionals as well. 

First there was Who's in Your Active Rain Sphere of Influence (AR SOI)? by Charita Cadenhead.  Charita reminds us that we're doing a lot more here than just blogging about our jobs or our clients or our trials and tribulations.  Charita reminds us that in addition of all the time and energy we spend blogging, we're also building relationships and not just with the consumers in our local markets. 

Just as we hope to build up our professional SOI with clients, friends, family and referral partners, we're also building an SOI here on AR.  Check Charita out and suggestions on how we can build and strengthen our AR SOI. 

Then there was Sharon Curtiss with Top 15 Ways to Build Your Subscriber List.  Sharon provides some really great tips and suggestions on how we can drive traffic to our blogs and our websites.  What are most of us blogging for?  Well, if you're anything like me, it's to increase my exposure to my local market but if they're not reading me, then what good is all this for.  Anyway, check our Sharon's post to learn some new ways to appeal to your visitors. 

Next was What types of Hyper Local Posts attract the most readers and Google searchers? by Rita Fong.  Rita illustrates how she discovered which posts of hers attracted the most attention, in other words, which one got the best google juice.  Rita proposes that in knowing which posts appeal to consumers and prospective homeowners the most, this will help us focus more on those kinds of posts.  By providing our audience with the information that they want and need, we can.  Check out Rita's post to see how you learn to find your best consumer posts. 

Lastly, was a post by Cindy Jones with Has Blogging Made You A More Observant Realtor®?.  Cindy explains how blogging has made here more aware of not only the events around here but of other matters that are of interest or of importance to her clients and community.  Blogging does that to some of us, I speak from experience when I say that.  I am definitely so much more aware of the things going on around me since I started blogging more.  Check out Cindy's post if you haven't already.

 

As always, I love "calling the shots".  I'm pretty picky and selective about whom I suggest.  I intentionally highlight my fave bloggers and then I look for new bloggers or bloggers that aren't on the feature board every other day.  Anyone can suggest all the popular bloggers but finding the hidden treasures and gems is so much better.  I hope you check them out and enjoy them as much as I did. 

Posted by

 

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 Donne Knudsen

Realtor® - CalState Realty Services

DRE#: 01364050 / NMLS#: 249822 

 

805.2069123

 

E-mail   My Blog  

Serving low-medium income individuals and families as well as first time buyers with both their real estate as well as their mortgage needs including down payment assistance

Los Angeles County  --  Ventura County

© 2010 - All Rights Reserved

Scott Petersen
Client First, Realtors - Canton, MI - Canton, MI

Hi Donne: Thanks for the list. How features happen is still a mystery to me. I agree that I read Blogs that I think should be Featured and are not.. so thanks for calling out some good Blogs.

Nov 29, 2010 02:55 AM
Tni LeBlanc, RealtorĀ®, J.D.
Mint Properties, Lic. #01871795 - Santa Maria, CA
Tenacious Tni (805) 878-9879

Hi Donne, Thanks for calling the shot on my agent adultery post!  I had fun writing it.  I have often said that this process is like dating and marriage and it was fun to put it together for a blog post.  Thanks also for taking the time to point out these other posts.  Some I caught but others I didn't.Tni

Nov 29, 2010 03:40 AM
Dee Bundy
Fort Collins Realtor @ C3 Real Estate Solutions - Fort Collins, CO
Helping You Make Colorado "Home"

Good Morning Donne!  I'd missed a few of these - thank you for sharing the 'gems'!

Nov 29, 2010 03:46 AM
Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED
RETIRED / State License is Inactive - Portland, OR

Love the list, as always.  Tni is getting to be an AR staple!!

Nov 29, 2010 05:14 AM
Jason Burkholder
Weichert, Realtors - Welcome Home - Lancaster, PA
Associate Broker, Realtor, e-Pro, CMS

Thanks for the list, I missed lots of those!

Nov 29, 2010 05:15 AM
John Elwell
CENTURY 21 Bill Nye Realty, Inc. - Zephyrhills, FL
You Deserve a Full-Time Agent, Not Reduced Results

Thanks for the list Donne. I get tired of seeing the same faces, literally every day and enjoy some variety. The AR gods have their favorites and I believe a coookie recipe could get featured :) That said, those whom the gods favor are good writers with things to say. But there are nearly 200,000 members on AR.  Certainly enough so that getting posted once a week should be enough for anyone, not every day.

But AR is not going to fix this issue and it has been over discussed in the past. So thanks to Donne for giving us a list so we do not have to waste valuable time looking for great articles that AR deemed unworthy. I like seening many different posts and topice, not the same ones over and over. Thanks agan Donne.

Nov 29, 2010 06:05 AM
Donne Knudsen
Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA - Simi Valley, CA
CalState Realty Services

Cheryl - I don't know how many you have to call to become a shot master. I'm sure you're not far off though.

Fernando - I'm glad you like the post.  I do my best to find the hidden gems here in the rain.

Charita - I'm glad you liked the post and I hope you enjoy the posts as much as I did.

Joyce - I really enjoy doing my calling the shot posts.  There are so many great bloggers here and it's hard to read them all.  I especially like find great posts by newbie bloggers who we don't see on the feature board every other day.

Cindy - I'm glad you like it.  I enjoy highlighting my faves as well as others that we don't see a lot of.

Thx for stopping by everyone; I really appreciate it.  Have a good day everyone and a wonderful week.  :)

 

Nov 29, 2010 06:29 AM
Donne Knudsen
Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA - Simi Valley, CA
CalState Realty Services

Scott - Features are truly a mystery to me too. With so many posts going up every day, it's got to be tough to pick the ones that are truly feature worthy.

Tni - You're welcome; I enjoyed your post.  I haven't been following you for long but what I've read so far, I really enjoy.  You have a great writing style and I look forward to reading more of your posts.

Danielle - I'm glad you like the post.  I try and really find the posts from the bloggers that may get overlooked among all the really popular bloggers.

Thx for stopping by foks; I really appreciate it.  Have a good day and a wonderful week.  :)

Nov 29, 2010 06:35 AM
Donne Knudsen
Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA - Simi Valley, CA
CalState Realty Services

Carla - I'm glad you like the post. I'm enjoying Tni's post too. Just kind of stumbled upon here but really like her writing style.

Jason - I'm glad you like the list and I hope you enjoy the other posts as much as I did.

John - I'm feeling your pain, my friend.  While I do agree that many of the popular bloggers are good writers, some of their posts are definitely not feature worthy.  Fortunately for them, they have so many groupies fans subscribers that will suggest anything and everything they post regardless of how worthy or worthless it may be.

While I do like to highlight some of my fave bloggers, I also like to look for newbie bloggers who don't have a gazillion people suggesting their posts.

Thx for stopping by folks; I really appreciate it.  Have a good day and a wonderful week.  :)

Nov 29, 2010 06:41 AM
Doug Reynolds
Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - Sacramento, CA
Realtor - Sacramento, CA

Great list, thank you for putting it together!

Nov 29, 2010 07:39 AM
John Elwell
CENTURY 21 Bill Nye Realty, Inc. - Zephyrhills, FL
You Deserve a Full-Time Agent, Not Reduced Results

Thanks for seeing my point Donne. I saw Bill Cherry featured today. He and I used to answer questions back when the Q & A Forum was more prominent (now, practically no one uses it). I was glad to see the wise broker get some space on the page for once. I once suggested that AR limit featured posts to 2 per week, etc. But got a very cold reception so dropped it. As I said, I now seldom write for colleagues and concentrate more on consumers who are considered to be the "non-experts" here and therefore need more good information. Personally, if I never get featured again that would be fine with me, but I would like to see some other faces get chosen. Otherwise don't we become basically what Dancing with the Stars and American Idol have become. Not good materially oriented but popularity oriented.  I prefer the former to the latter.

Nov 29, 2010 07:56 AM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Donne, I must say you picked some good ones there with your selections. Keep up the good work.....

Nov 29, 2010 08:05 AM
Donne Knudsen
Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA - Simi Valley, CA
CalState Realty Services

Doug - I'm glad you like the post and I hope you enjoy the other posts as much as I did.

JohnLMAO!!!  I echo your sentiment about the feature board being popularity contest some days.  I can't tell you how many featured posts I would see from the popular bloggers and after reading the post, I'm thinking to myself "this is feature worthy"?  This is why I rarely read the feature board anymore unless I notice I picked up a called shot and then I go and see who it was that called that got feature, otherwise, I just bypass the feature board most days.

Gary - Thx Gary; I'm glad you like post and I hope you enjoy the other posts too.

Thx for stopping by folks; I really appreciate it.  Have a good day and a wonderful week.  :)

Nov 29, 2010 08:40 AM
Andres Munar
Keystone Alliance Mortgage - State College, PA
Experience The Difference

Thanks for sharing. Congrats on your purple star :)

Nov 29, 2010 11:21 AM
Jim Frimmer
HomeSmart Realty West - San Diego, CA
Realtor & CDPE, Mission Valley specialist

I’ve kind of gotten to the point where I rarely look at the featured posts anymore. It’s always the same old stories by the same old people. I prefer just to return comment for comment, and if I run across a post like this one, days after it was featured, I don’t mind commenting on it and actually learn a lot from reading all the comments from everyone else.

Nov 29, 2010 01:01 PM
Rodney Mason, VP of Mtg Lending
Guaranteed Rate NMLS# 2611 - Atlanta, GA
AL,AR,AZ,CA,CO,FL,GA,IN,MI,MS,NC,NV,SC,TN,TX,VA,WA

Great lists of posts.  I missed quite a few  last week.  Time ot catch up some now.

Nov 29, 2010 02:26 PM
Ken Barker RealtorĀ® GRI, E-Pro Certified
Dilbeck Real Estate - Burbank, CA

Donne - Another great catch. I did not read one but I plan on it. I hope to make it on your list next week as the blogging fingers are going to be  rekindled next week.

Congrats on the gold star.

Nov 30, 2010 04:04 PM
Donne Knudsen
Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA - Simi Valley, CA
CalState Realty Services

Andres - Thx for the support; I appreciate it.

Jim - Like you, I too rarely read the feature board anymore unless I notice I get a called shot then I'll look to see who it was.  Other than that, I prefer to surf my subscriber list or the Professional list; I like supporting my fave bloggers as well as newbie bloggers.

Rodney - I hope you like the posts as much as I did.

Ken - Looking forward to reading your upcoming posts.  Thx for the support.

Thx for stopping by guys; I really appreciate it.  Have a good night guys.  :)

Dec 01, 2010 12:31 PM
Ryan Case
SCA Real Estate - Anaheim, CA
877-828-0710

I love it that you take the time to point out the great blog posts of the week that the AR gods missed!

Dec 02, 2010 03:25 AM
Donne Knudsen
Los Angeles & Ventura Counties in CA - Simi Valley, CA
CalState Realty Services

Tom - I'm actually really enjoying these posts.  I'm having fun highlighting my fave bloggers as well as some newbies too.  Thx for stoppng by Tom; I really appreciate it.

Dec 02, 2010 11:28 AM