Part of what I do as an Ambassador is to check out the newbie bloggers here on ActiveRain, looking for possibilities for a weekly post that I write each Sunday. Some of the first posts are just terrific. Others, not so much so - although not necessarily for the reasons you might think are bad. So here are some of the things I've noticed that you can avoid:
1. Posting material you did not write: if you are doing a cut and paste or using a ghost blogger service, one of the moderators is likely to catch it. How? They do a very simple Google check, and if the same basic language is showing up on a bunch of different results, you might get your points zapped and a gentle message from whoever has found you out. Oh, and you could get a nastygram from the original writer asking you to pay a chunk of damages for a copyright violation. Oops!
2. Making your post one big paragraph with no breaks. The mountain of text will make it hard for people to read, and you might get a bunch of comments on your first post, but by Number 2 or 3, your readership could drop off.
3. Disabling Comments on your post: The whole idea here is to get into a conversation with other bloggers, and you can't do that if you don't let them write comments or stop by to welcome you to the Rain.
4. Writing about any kind of rant about politics or religion: It's best to stay away from politics or religion until after you have a feel for this place and what you can get away with. This is a real estate site, and we do share a lot of personal stuff about our values and our lives, but if you want to write about all politics all the time (or all religion all the time) you might find a better venue than ActiveRain for getting your message out.
5. Waiting until you think you have the perfect post before you publish anything: We all expect that you're a good real estate professional, but we don't expect you to be a great writer, at least not at first. Try to find your voice, writing like you were talking to us. Just be real. But not publishing sort of defeats the whole thing!
6. Leaving your mug shot and name off your profile: If you are using your logo or just your company name, it's harder to relate to you. Your name and face are two attributes that will help you to get known around the site.
7. Friends don't let friends blog drunk: You could be cited with a "BWL" or "Blogging While Loopy". It can be awfully, awfully embarrassing. Binge blogging is OK, but binge blogging and binge drinking do not mix.
8. Comment! Comment!! Comment!!! Right after you publish your first post, take some time and comment on a bunch of other blogs. When you comment on someone else's post, they are likely to reciprocate, and it helps if you have a nice post waiting for them. Comments can get you more attention than your actual posts.
But the most important thing is to just do it! Jump into that big old Rain puddle and jump around. Blogging here is fun, and if you need help, you can always go to the list of ActiveRain Ambassadors, find a friendly face and pick up the phone!
And blog on!
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