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My 5 year anniversary in the Rain!

By
Home Builder with The Flooring Girl

Wow, I can't believe it's been 5 years since I wrote my first blog post.  What a whirlwind this has been.

 

the flooring girlAs 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. 

 

the flooring girl

 

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.

 

active rain meetup at Dagny'sThank 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?

 

4th of july fireworksEnjoy 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.

Comments (94)

Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Add me to the list of Rainers happy that you joined! I consider you a friend and THE flooring authority and without this crazy place we wouldn't know each other!

Funny you joined 4th of July. I joined New Years!  Something about holidays I guess!

Jul 06, 2015 10:36 PM
Raymond E. Camp
Ontario, NY

Good morning Debbie,

Congratulations on the two milestones.

Love the post on flooring.

Make yourself a great day.

Jul 06, 2015 11:32 PM
Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

Debbie - a big congratulations to you. Indeed, you are a learning - and an implementer - so important for success. Here's to your big 2M soon, very soon.

Jul 07, 2015 01:08 AM
Debbie Laity
Cedaredge Land Company - Cedaredge, CO
Your Real Estate Resource for Delta County, CO

Congratulations on five years with ActiveRain and blogging. That is a wonderful milestone. 

Jul 07, 2015 01:45 PM
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

Happy Anniversary Debbie, after only a few years of this you are the queen of seo and probably the most famous flooring girl in the world!

So glad that I got to meet up with you this summer!

Jul 07, 2015 02:37 PM
Gary L. Waters Broker Associate, Bucci Realty
Bucci Realty, Inc. - Melbourne, FL
Eighteen Years Experience in Brevard County

Quite the success story and tribute to the power of blogging consistently on AR!

Jul 08, 2015 12:49 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Chris - Thx so much.  Yes, some day, you will be, too.

Doug - thank so much for saying that.

Sharon - thx so much. I'm so glad I know you, too.  I think there's a lot of people who join during the holidays as it is some downtime and thinking time for many.

 

 

Jul 08, 2015 01:35 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Raymond - THx so much.  Yes, I'm close on the next one.

Lottie - Thx so much.  And, maybe I'll be there later this week.

Debbie - Thx a bunch.  It's been a great journey.

Jul 08, 2015 01:38 AM
Barry Kessler
Pinnacle Estate Properties, Inc. - Simi Valley, CA
Barry Kessler

Debbie,

I truly enjoy your posts and you are an inspiration to all the bloggers out here!

Jul 08, 2015 04:43 PM
Debra Peters
Referral Realty - Manorville, NY
NY Real Estate Salesperson

Congratulations Debbie Gartner 

You truly bring value to the Active Rain Community.

Jul 08, 2015 10:31 PM
Keith Whited
RE/MAX Gateway - Alexandria, VA

Congratulations!! They say that some folks are to dumb to come in out of the rain - - but then others are smart enough to just keep getting wetter!

Jul 09, 2015 01:36 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Barry - Thx so much, and so glad to hear that.

Debra - thx.  That is so nice of you to say.

Keith - That's a great phrase.

Jul 09, 2015 01:39 AM
Anne West
Coldwell Banker - Chicago, IL
Your Guide to Real Estate on Chicago's North Shore

congrats Debbie!

 

Jul 10, 2015 07:27 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Anne - Thx so much.

Jul 10, 2015 07:31 AM
Sybil Campbell
Fernandina Beach, FL
Referral Agent Amelia Island Florida

Debbie Gartner,  You have really been busy for the last five years, congrats.

Jul 10, 2015 11:50 AM
Mike Rock
Complete Design - Granite Bay, CA
Granite Bay Luxury New Construction...For Less

congrats!! i cant seem to do anything for 5 days, much less 5 years! :)

good job with 700!! (i was one of them lol)

Jul 10, 2015 12:39 PM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Sybil - Yes. The blogging has brought in a lot of business.

Mike - LOL.  try this place...it's addicting.

Jul 10, 2015 01:12 PM
Claude Labbe
RLAH / @properties - Washington, DC
Realty for Your Busy Life

Debbie, you've reached top-of-mind status with many people here, and I've got to believe most of the tri-state area.

Nice work, and at 2M, do you think of yourself as a veteran now?

Jul 10, 2015 03:32 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Wow I could have sworn you have been here longer, now with that said your footprint is much larger on AR Debbie, Congrats again for being in that exclusive club Multimillionaire:), Endre

Jul 13, 2015 10:53 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Endre - Thank you so much.  I really appreciate the kind words.

Claude - LOL, maybe I am now.

Jul 13, 2015 10:56 AM