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What's Holding You Back From Writing Your First Blog Post? Newbies On Active Rain- Take The First Step!

What's Holding You Back From Writing Your First Blog Post? Newbies On Active Rain- Take The First Step

Are you new on Active Rain? How long ago did you join Active Rain? Some people jump right in with both feet all at once and some don't. What is holding you back from pressing that very first submit button.? I received comments on my post; How Can You As A Newbie On Active Rain Get Ahead? from members of Active Rain who tell me they have been reading for a while but have not written a post yet. These comments made me realize there is a need to somehow encourage those who do not blog on Active Rain to start blogging.

For most of us it is the fear of the unknown that we do not take the first step.
Blogging Active rain newbies

Remember, the first step to doing anything is the hardest but just as when you fell as a baby from trying to learn to walk and taking your first step, each step after the first one was easier and you had amazing staying power. Nothing was going to come in your way of learning how to walk. Of course we can not remember taking our very first step but there are other memories of firsts that you can call upon. Recall a memory of one of your firsts and how great it felt once you did take the plunge.

F alse
E xpectations
A ppearing
R eal

So if fear is false expectations appearing real than it is an illusion. Look at this illusion and see it as what it is. Then take the steps to move past this point. JUST DO IT! Because once you do, believe me, there is no turning back!

So what are you going to write about? And how do you know what you write about it going to mean anything to anybody? We all had to start with the first blog post. Every single one of us. There were no short cuts to take along the blogging path. I know because I was once a newbie and I was once scared to press that publish button on my Active Rain blog. I was afraid that I would not write appropriate content, I was afraid of what my peers might think of me, I was afraid I would not get any comments. I did not know how to insert images and I did not know how to bold my words.

My very first post was introducing myself to the community here on Active Rain. I received one comment on that post. I did not have a clue about Localism or about groups or featured posts, associations or subscriber lists. I did know how to write and I did blog on other subjects and platforms. But every community is different and has different rules and protocol. I have come a long way from that first post to what I know now and how I post now. But this is to show you that we all must start at the beginning. If you wait until you know it all before you start blogging, you will never start!

The best way to get some action going on your blog is to write your first post. Go ahead and title your post that you are new on Active Rain or that this is your first post. There are many of us that are on the lookout for those kinds of posts so we can go and say hi to you too. If I had made my first title more explicit about being new I would have received a larger response. We want you to feel welcomed here on Active Rain. There is such a great bunch of nice people hear just waiting to get to know you.

Once you write your first post and get some comments; return each one of those comments and thank those that have stopped and took their time to write you a welcome comment.

Be aware that in order to get an audience of consumers and Active Rain members you will need to write at least 3 to 5 posts per week. You get 200 points for each post you write up to 10 posts per week. You get extra points for the quality of your post and if it gets featured you get a total of 500 points. This is to encourage you to write good quality content.

Make sure that you do not copy and paste other people's work without their permission. That is unethical and also illegal. It also will not do much for you in the search engine rankings.

Do not stop with your first post. If you just post that one post people will come back a few times to see what you are up to and if they see it is nothing, well, you will lose their attention. You want to keep the attention coming back to you to build your readership to make friends, network, get referrals, get listings and sales and make money. You can do all of this and more if you will but take the first step.

Stay tuned as next week I will post about the different areas of blogging that you need to cover and how to write to the different audiences you need to reach.

Katerina Gasset Real estate coaching

Katerina Gasset, CIPS, Realtor ®, Business and Life Coach, Speaker and Author. Reach Katerina at: 561-753-0135

Copyright © 2008 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights Reserved. *What's Holding You Back From Writing Your First Blog Post? Newbies on Active Rain- Take The First Step.* Contact Katerina Gasset for Customized Business and Personal Coaching.

Posted by Nestor & Katerina Gasset Realtors® Wellington Florida Luxury Homes on 03/09/2008 02:46 PM

Comments (90)

newbies, blogging tutorial, blogging for business, active rain community support

Originally posted at: South Florida Real Estate and...: What's Holding You Back From Writing Your First Blog Post? Newbies On Active Rain- Take The First Step!

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90 Comments on What's Holding You Back From Writing Your First Blog Post? Newbies On Active Rain- Take The First Step!

MAR

2008

Hey Katerina, you are so kind to encourage the new people. Everyday it's nice to click on the new members and comment on their blogs. I try to do this as often as I can. Great post!

Actually, I was extremely apprehensive at first myself. I waded in, it felt good, and I think I am going to soon be addicted! My wife is still a bit shy, but I push her in that direction everyday. I hope to see more agents getting involved in this, as I truly think this is a great tool for us to sharpen our skill sets!

Thanks for the post!

www.InsideArizona.com -=Dan

Life's A Grin!

It's also very therapeutic :)

Tracey Thomas Calabasas, CA Real Estate

Tracey- There is a real need there. When I was new it was like fumbling around in the dark I did not even know there were guidelines! I wrote a post last week about how to put in your profile and add your name, etc. It was very well received and I was surprised at how many people said they could not find any instructions anywhere. That post received close to 200 comments so far. So I thought I should continue, there are over 20,000 members who have not written their first post yet.

Dan Grammar

Dan- Thanks for commenting! Yep, it is highly addictive in a good way as long as you drink the google juice! :) Katerina

Thanks Katerina, for continuing to make such great posts! I dove in with both feet and in fact, hit my First 10,000 Points today and am Ranked 10th in Arkansas! So it can be done and it is VERY rewarding!

Thanks!

Susan

Renee Burrows - Las Vegas NV Real Estate

Renee- That it is, very much so, indeed. Thanks for adding that to the list! Katerina

Susan Davis, Fort Smith Real Estate ~ Loan Officer & Realtor(R) in training

Susan- Congrats on your 10,000 points today! It can be done, you just have to jump in and do it. Thanks for sharing your success.

Katerina, Good Post. Motivational. AJ

Alan 'AJ' Nisen California Contra Costa Mortgage Officer

Alan- Thanks! Your comments are always appreciated.

What are the benefits of the points????

Lisa Toledo

Lisa- Lots of benefits to points. I will post on that next week, so stay tuned. If you are not one of my subscribers,I invite you to subscribe so you won't miss the tutorials and coaching posts. I love to have a carrot dangling in front of me, so I really get addicted to earning the points. They move you up in your town and city, then county and then state. If you are on the front page of your state, that will usually have a google page rank of 4 or 5 and that gets linked back to your blog of just a 2 or 3 or nothing when you start. You want good links to you. I will write another linking post so you can understand this concept better. There are some other reasons for the points which I will cover in my post next week. Katerina

How do I become a subscriber?

MAR

2008

Hi Katerina...Wow,...Some great pointers for Newbies, I just had to dig out my first post, I'm on my 200th this weekend, my first post never had any comments you did better than me, what's New, you're a girl.!

Cheers, remember to turn your clocks ahead one hour!

Hi Katerina - I've read several of your posts in the last 6 months and I think they are very helpful. I just recently (this past week I think) started blogging. I also had a huge fear and I have to admit my first couple of blogs haven't gotten many comments, but I'm going to keep blogging and learning how to improve on my content as I go along. So thanks for the post - it's encouraging and inspiring.

By the way..I'd love to become a subscriber as well. My guess is that I just click on the subscribe button and then go from there?

I just arrived last week. Although I had an idea of what I wanted to post I certainly didn't want to create a mess of violations and wasn't sure about groups and dressing up the blog for a little zing. All overwhelming, but once I took the plunge and received a couple comments I felt fine and am trying to pull it all together to get some more posts ready to launch. (And the points just kill me, I'm a little competitve that way!)

Thank you for this great post. You are very encouraging because I am new to blogging and trying to figure out my niche without making a mess.

Good morning Katerina..........great job of encouraging new people on the Rain. It does become easier and easier as you write to people you know are out there and reading. The best way to get to "know" the other Rainers is to write and comment, write and comment. Big hugs to you my friend, and now I'm off to "you know where." ;-)

Katerina: You are so wonderful--that is an excellent post and should be re-done each week to be brought back to the top of the list for the newbies to read! I was extremely apprehensive about posting for the first time and preferred to just comment for awhile until I got the courage to post something myself! I actually had butterflies about it! Now, mind you, I've never met a stranger and write to clients all of the time about my area (via email) but, was SO worried about what my peers would think of me! So, I KNOW that feeling of apprehension quite well.

Katerina~Beautifully said and what a difference you are making for our Newbies. You definitely shine the light so brightly on all of us and never limit yourself on giving back. Have a wonderful day!

Katerina - Active Rain's in good hands with people like you taking time to welcome and encourage the new members - keep it up girl, you're the best!

Katerina - Thanks for being an encouraging presence on AR. You are generous and helpful, and I know you really inspire people!

Great post Katerina. It is almost a shame how many members never post. We all have so much to share and so much to learn. I still think Active Rain has done more for the industry than any other social network. And you are one of the best of the best!

Lisa Toledo

Lisa- You go to the top of the blog on the right hand side you see our photo, or anyone's photo that you wish to subscribe to. Above the photo there is a box that says, 'subscribe'. Just click on that box and then it will come up with some red words at the top of the blog that says, 'subscribed to blog'. You can also unsubscribe the same way. Although I have only unsubscribed one time in my whole time on AR thus far.

When you click on blogs on your home page you will come up with a page that has all the blogs being posted as they are posted on your left side of the page. On the right side of the page will be all the blogs that you subscribe to. Each time someone posts on their blog you will see that they appear at the top of your list, the newest post to the oldest post, and then you can also see the date and time of their last post. This is to help you not to miss any posts they write.

Hope this helps. Katerina

This will surely give that extra nudge to the new member so they don't be fearful of trying. We all have learned along the way :)

Katerina, it is funny that I am reading this post because I was jut thinking the same thing. It amazes me how many newbies are today and how few have wrote a blog.

It's true. I have about 20 folks that I sponsored and only a few ever post. It's sad. They could benefit greatly by spending just a short 1/2 hour on ActiveRain a day.

It's the best bang for the buck in town.

Some of us have been "on the net" for years and cut our teeth on RealTalk. But, even for newbies, the interface on ActiveRain is so intuitive, I don't know why they don't give it a try.

Works for me.

Fred Carver,Victoria BC Realtor

Fred- Good for you Fred! WOW, 200 posts! You are such a star student in SEO; you do everything I tell you to do and then you see the results, which are amazing! Keep it up!

Jessica Bigger

Jessica- You need to keep blogging. One day you will catch on fire. It takes 3 to 5 posts per week. Right now, it does not matter so much if you get comments or not. That will come. It will come by you commenting on the same people on their posts over and over again. Choose 10 to comment on every day until you are in sync with that and then you can add on some more, a few at a time.

Here is my answer to your subscribing question and it is copied and pasted from my comment back to Lisa:

You go to the top of the blog on the right hand side you see our photo, or anyone's photo that you wish to subscribe to. Above the photo there is a box that says, 'subscribe'. Just click on that box and then it will come up with some red words at the top of the blog that says, 'subscribed to blog'. You can also unsubscribe the same way. Although I have only unsubscribed one time in my whole time on AR thus far.

When you click on blogs on your home page you will come up with a page that has all the blogs being posted as they are posted on your left side of the page. On the right side of the page will be all the blogs that you subscribe to. Each time someone posts on their blog you will see that they appear at the top of your list, the newest post to the oldest post, and then you can also see the date and time of their last post. This is to help you not to miss any posts they write.

Hope this helps. Katerina

JoEllen Stranger-Thorsen, Lake County, FL

JoEllen- My post next Saturday will be about points, so stay tuned. I love the points, I am very competitive when it comes to things like that. I am glad you just took the plunge. I didn't know what to do either. What is the worst that will happen, someone will tell me I can't do it like that. Well, I have read some very mean people on other forums online so I thought, they could not be meaner than that here! :) Katerina

Robin Ganong

Robin- You won't mess up! Just go for it and keep on blogging until it clicks, it grows on you and get better with age in blogging, I mean your blogging age.:)

Mesa, Arizona Real Estate ~ Teri Ellis, Broker

Good afternoon, Teri, yes, commenting is the key to getting to know people and to get them to come and read your blog. I was just laughing the other day because right after our talk on the phone, your scan post got featured! :)

Debe Maxwell

Debe- I think most of us are much more worried about what our peers think of us then what consumers or clients think of us. It is a scary thing to push that button. That is what holds 90% of the people back from posting that first post. There are over 40,000 members who have not posted a post, 20,000 of those joined but never filled out their profile, the other 20,000 filled out their profile and that was it.

Julie Neerings

Julie- Thank you very much, my dear! We need to get on the phone, we owe each other a call! ;)

Clearwater Florida Real Estate - Tampa Bay Homes & Condos - Cyndee Haydon

Cyndee- Good to see you here girlfriend! Missing you! Thank you for the compliment.

Sharon Filbig | San Diego County Real Estate

Sharon- Thank you so much for your wonderful and kind words. Make this week a great week!

Ken Cook's IRA Investor Loans

Ken- Thank you SO much! I don't know if you got to read my post that was member's only with all that came our way this past week; so I did not get the chance to learn the linking thing on your blog. And I promise I will post my post on 24 blog this week. I appreciate your compliment. :)

Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman (RA) Century 21 Liberty Homes *Hawaii*

Sally- I was amazed to find out how many people joined and don't blog. I hope they do get encouraged just to try, just do one, then the next, baby steps. Congrats on your anniversary of one year on AR!

Danny Thornton

Danny- There are those that are afraid and then those that think all they have to do to get referrals is just fill out their profile and then those who just use AR for the link to their website. It is sad, because this is a powerful blogging platform.

Homefinders, Real Estate in MD & VA, Lenn Harley, Broker, New & Resale Homes

I have not invited as many as you, but the same thing, they don't post. I agree, sad. But the #s are much larger than this. There are 40,000 members who do not blog. 20,000 never even filled out their profile. Maybe this post will reach even a few of them.

If you are a first-timer... just do it. The best way to get better is to write more... and get feedback. There isn't anything that you can do wrong that hasn't been done wrong before... I probably have it all covered in my blog. I make a lot of mistakes. But I just keep trying.

Lane Bailey - The REALTOR for Car People

Lane- You are right, if you do make a mistake, well, you learn and write some more. My first posts were quite novice but you have to take the first step! Thanks for your contribution.

I did my first blog a few days ago for members only and one for consumers. It is so overwhelming when you haven't done it before. I was thrilled to get 9 comments... do you respond to comments, if so how, e-mail, another blog, a comment inside the blog? Also I cannot figure out how to insert a picture into the blog and where do you get your pics? There is so much to know and so little time!

Great points presented here! I was on AR for almost a year before I started writing. I just sat back, watched, read, and learned. Now that I actively participate, I really regret my silent time.

Hi Katerina, Another great info from you. It took me over 2 years to write one post. Thanks to AR and Irina who kept me pushing me to get started.

Thanks for your encouragement for all of us. It's great to see positive posts for new folks.

Katerina, What a good idea to write a post/series like this. And, you are just the person to do it right.

Jennifer Samountry-

Jennifer- First of all- you did not log in before you made this comment, you will not get points unless you are logged in. Go back to Activerain.com and click the log in at the top on the right. Then make sure you are logged on by clicking on your home page. The tab that says, My Home.

I suggest that you do not write for members only, if you do, just on very rare occasions. You will not get the google juice you need by writing member only posts. I have written 3 or 4 out of 380 posts as members only.

You respond to the comments that people write on your post by answering them back just the way you see being done in this post, right in the post. I suggest recognizing each person individually.

See that little tree at the top of the editor when you are writing? On the tool bar? You click on that tree image and then upload your image and inserting it into your post. There are some great tutorials on inserting images in the newbie group.

There is plenty of time! Say to yourself, I have all the time to do all that I need to do each day. What you focus on expands and this is the toughest thing we say and then it comes true. Katerina

Lissa Uder, Your Lebanon MO Real Estate Agent

Lissa- There are no regrets. The past is a cancelled check. You did what you did and you are now doing what you are doing! That is what is important! Great going, I am glad you are blogging!

Bradenton Florida Real Estate - Dan Forbes REALTOR®

Dan- Thank You! I hope this encourages some people to start blogging. Make it a great week!

Charlottesville, Monticello Real Estate> >Karen Gentry, REALTOR/ Virginia

Karen- You are very welcome. I just heard of how many members are not even trying to post their first post and thought maybe we can encourage some of them to post!

Ellie Viray, Realtor

Ellie- It is great that you finally took the plunge and started blogging. Everyone has a story, everyone had something to give and to offer. Active Rain is what it is because of the sum of its parts. Katerina

I do need to write more for my blog. I get writer's block. <g>

False Expectations Appearing Real!

That is so true! I'm anticipating your next article on this. Can't wait!

Chrystina Tovani - Sacramento, CA Realtor, e-PRO

Chrystina- You won't be getting writer's block after next week's post about who and what to write about. Thank you for commenting!

Katerina, I remember being so afraid when I joined that I would not have anything worthwhile to contribute to this community. Now, I know that we ALL have something to give in return for the knowledge that we take from here everyday. Another great job and example of teaching us how to succeed here!

Thank you, Katerina! You have given me the encouragement I needed to take the plunge!

Hi Katerina. All you newbies need to heed her advice.

I see you are working the HTML. You go girl!

Really it is easy. Write about whatever you have feelings about and it will flow.

Lisa Heindel, New Orleans West Bank Real Estate

Lisa- It is good to say so because so many people are afraid and they think none of us were afraid! Everyone has something worthwhile to contribute. Thank you for your comment.

And after you write the first one, it will start happening again. Lots of good ideas come of commenting at least 10 times a day too.

Paul Slaybaugh, Scottsdale AZ Real Estate

LOL! You of all people do not have that problem! :)

Katerina... you should add this post to the Goal Setters group!

Susan

Susan Davis, Fort Smith Real Estate ~ Loan Officer & Realtor(R) in training

Susan- It is not about goal setting so I did not think that it would be appropriate for your group.

Portland Oregon Real Estate >> Wayne B. Pruner, GRI

Wayne- Yes, I am working on Nvu. It is about as complicated as I want to get right now. It is fun to add color and splash and bigger font for baby boomers such as myself!

Gayle Balaban/Norris Lake Tn. Real Estate

Gayle- the hardest thing for most people is just getting over the fear and just doing it, it will come, let it flow, like you said, if you write from your heart, you will never run out of things to say or say the wrong things.

Gary Bolen (CRS) Lake Tahoe Real Estate Information

Starting with 10 comments a day really helps get you to the point where you can blog. Thanks for that. I almost missed you, you got sandwiched in between my reciprocating comments.

This is my first vgisit to ActiveRain. My visit was prompted by an article in Realtor magazine. I am beginning to see great potential for both personal and professional growth by using a blog site.

Tell me more!

MAR

2008

I agree just staet, I did and my first blog was I am a blogging fool or a fool blogging and haven't looked back!

Hi, I was new a few weeks ago and have written several blogs; writing about situations you see every day in real estate is a good topic. Writing about products you've tried that work is also good. I tried to write a blog about "Tips" thinking it would really be read a lot and lots of great ideas would flow; but alas, just a few comments...and I appreciated every one of them. Is there a way to get to "be" a Featured Blog; it is what I now aspire too! :-)

Great job encouraging newbies to blog!

Katerina,

Your post was so easy to read. Mind if I ask what platform you used to write your blog?

GREAT INFO! I am new to AR, new to blogging, and somewhat new to real estate (1 yr). After talking about my community, which I LOVE, I have found that I'm at a lost for what else to talk about. I've talked about the market, my city...what do you talk about?

HAPPY MONDAY!

YVETTE

HAPPY MONDAY!

YVETTE

How/where did you get that "subscribe to my blog" icon? Thanks again, Yvette

Phil Minor

Phil- Get started! Active Rain is a great place to learn and to get business if you blog and pay it forward. Katerina

Dick Betts

Dick- You are no fool, and that is great, I am glad to hear that you just did it! Just do it and you will not look back!

Cindy Marchant

Cindy- That is great! You are doing great by writing about your area. Localism is very powerful. To get featured you need to keep writing, make sure you are using graphics, nice spacing, no walls of words, break it down to scanable paragraphs and choose topics that will benefit the community enough to get noticed. Just keep working on it. My first featured post was a total surprise and then I was hooked! You have to feel what others feel and appeal to their emotions.

Christina Moock

Christina- Let's hope it does get them moving along, thanks!

Diane Bell, Hilton Head Real Estate, Bluffton

Diane- I like to add color and also the larger fonts so that us babyboomers can read it easier. I use nvu. I will post about using it and give the link to download. But you can also use dreamweaver or front page. Katerina

YVETTE SMITH

Yvette- Stay tuned, I am writing a post this week about what to write about and who to write to. Write from our heart, anything from your heart. Your heart will not lead you wrong. I will also add a link to some posts that contain tons of ideas of what to write about.

The subscriber button, I got from mycoolbutton.com. It is very easy to make there. Then you just download it and save it as an image file and add it to your post the same way you add and image and then link the code of your ID into it. There are 2 great posts about this. One is by Brad Anderson and he just was featured for this post. Katerina

Great post. I loved the picture. It reminded me of the kids' first steps. How wobbly and unsteady they were. Now they run, jump, skip, and everything else. I think we are all like that when it comes to something new.

MAR

2008

KATERINA - This is great advice for newbies, but I think that there is some hidden advice in there for all of us as well. The FEAR acronym is something that we all deal with it in one way or another in various aspects of our lives.

Christy- That is funny. I responded to your comment yesterday and it is not here. Strange. I believe that we go through learning to walk to use that experience for the rest of our lives. IT is just sad that most of us don't.

Adam- Thank you! We all deal with FEAR, those who say they have NO fears are just in denial. Katerina

MAR

2008

I am still fairly new, have done a few posts, but I actually will follow your advice and post a blog about myself. Thanks

Tatyana- Write from your heart, your heart will not fail you.

MAR

2008

Hi Katerina!

I always enjoy your posts. I am trying to get better at this blogging thing. You wrote to write from my heart and that's what I've been doing, but I don't think anyone is enjoying the fruits of my labor! How did you conjure up the "right stuff" to blog about?

Thank you,

Yvette