Wow, I can't believe it's been 5 years since I wrote my first blog post. What a whirlwind this has been.
As many of you know, when I started, I didn't even know what SEO stood for, let alone how to leverage it. I made it my mission to become a learner, and so I studied and read and tested and read and adapted...you get the picture.
I'm thankful that the Active Community had so much to offer and grateful that you all accepted this non-realtor who later became known as "The Flooring Girl."
A year later, based on encouragement from AR members, I started my own wordpress site...it was named The Flooring Girl. It was a random idea that popped into my head, and voila.
After 4 years of nurturing that and working it in conjunction with Active Rain, it now has 46,000 unique visitors a month. I have one article on there with over 100,000 clicks and in a week or two I'll have a second. I have 18 articles that get over 1,000 visitors a month, and of those, there are 3 with over 5,000 clicks/month.
But, does it bring in business? You bet! It is about 1/3 of my business (a segment that did not even exist before I joined Active Rain) and so far this year, it has grown 33%. On top of that, I have met several local realtors who have not only referred business to me (and became super friends), but they also introduced me to several other realtors who in turn have referred business to me.
On top of that, I have gotten so many great business and marketing ideas from this place. It's challenging to quantify some of those, but I know they are responsible for a big chunk of growth and added efficiency which helps our bottom line, too.
Thank you to all the Active Rainers that have helped me. You guys are like a 2nd family. I have met so many of you at RainCamp, at MeetUps, over the phone, and just commenting online. Thank you for all of your idea, your encouragement, the reblogs and just for being a friend. Thanks for helping me during my time in convalescence when I broke my foot last summer. You helped me heal faster and brought smiles to my face.
Soon, I'll be reaching the 2 million point mark. Wow, how did that happen? I'll prob. be there later this month. I'm one subscriber away from 700 subscribers. Again, how did that happen?
Enjoy your 4th of July weekend. 4th of July weekend will always be special to me as it is the the anniversary of when I discovered Active Rain. It was that weekend that I took a deep dive and dedicated myself to being successful online. And, it was well worth it. I try to use this weekend (and Labor Day weekend) as times to learn or implement 1 important thing (i.e. growth or efficiency idea) for my business.
For those that are new, you can do this too. Check out Active rain University. Study ...and very importantly, IMPLEMENT! Don't just say you will do it. Actually do it! That is why I am successful at this. I implement.
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