Recently there has been a lot of focus on reaching out to help and to support our New Members in Active Rain. Some of our Ambassadors have been writing and publishing helpful posts in new Groups like Ask an Ambassador, and the sensational Sensei/Grasshopper Contest by Dick Greenberg has been very beneficial for many members, both new and seasoned. Then, there was the new group that Debbie Reynolds put together for new members seeking more comments on their posts. Debbie’s group was New AR Bloggerr Seeking Comments on Blogs, and another group is Safe Haven for Newbies-Survival Skills & How to Get Started.
With over 8400 Groups in the Rain, it’s somewhat of a challenge for any new members to know which groups to join, and which ones will help them learn “How to Play in the Rain”. That’s why I wrote the post, “Attention Newbies! Want to Get More Comments on Your Posts?” But, it all comes down to how well you learn how to build relationships and engage other members in Active Rain. The first thing I learned in the Rain was to write and leave meaningful comments on other member’s posts. It all starts with knowing who to subscribe too. Your subscriptions can be or should be your favorite bloggers, so you can easily see what new information they are sharing that particular day.
Next, if you haven’t already updated your personal profile page, you need to spend some time letting everyone know just who you are, share your experiences, and leave a few testimonies too. See Richard Yates’ post about “How to Improve your Active Rain Profile”. If you start commenting often, I guarantee members will start to view your profile page, and they will start to leave comments on your posts too. Of course, market reports and listings will get you the business you desire, but if you want comments from other members you will need to write quality posts that will catch their attention. So why not start with the classes from AR Boot Camp, and see previous courses at our own Active Rain University.
Remember it’s about building relationships, and engaging other members. Therefore, whenever you receive comments on your posts, you need to respond in a timely and reasonable manner if you expect to continue receiving comments. When you release a post be prepared to respond to a few comments, and especially if you get Featured. In the beginning, I made a commitment for “Playing in the Rain”by staying up late nights a couple of hours, and I used to get up early mornings for an hour or two before I got out the door to read and to comment on my favorite bloggers daily. I also like to check out the Featured posts, and Daily Drop too. You will noticed that many of your favorite bloggers will have written something that got featured or made the AR Daily Drop.
Now, that you have subscribed to over 100 bloggers, you should be very consistent with your commenting and blogging. Your posts start to improve, and you have built a solid online presence in the Rain. You might want to start adding associates, whom you have come to know in the Rain. This will be the first place you may want to look for those referrals lo send someone. So, have fun “Playing in the Rain”.
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