My 6th Anniversary on Active Rain

Yes, today marks 6 years in the Rain for me.  I stumbled upon this place on July 3rd, 2010 back when I couldn't even pay my bills.  I was stuck at home and couldn't call any customers as it was a holiday weekend.  I needed to figure out how to make some changes in my business model.

 

So, I spent 3 days at home reading and learning everything I could about how to use Active Rain, how to blog and what the heck SEO meant.  I was lucky as a stumbled across a blog post from a local realtor who wrote about her success in blogging and what she had learned about SEO from Nestor & Katerina Gasset . 

 

From there, I read and learned and tried and read and learned and experimented and read and read and learned and adapted and kept repeating.  I did this all summer long.  And, it started to work.  At first, it showed up as more clicks to my website, then more leads, then more sales.  By the end of September  (and that original 30 in 30 day challenge), I was hooked and sort of knew what I was doing (but not exactly).

 

I had a big "a ha" moment in early October and started creating more detailed posts in October.  So every day between mid Oct and Jan 2nd, I kept writing and implementing.  I did a lot of work in December (one of our slowest months, but it was hard to tell if this was really going to make a difference, because no one calls us in December, so I went on faith.

 

And, voila!  Somewhere around Jan 7th, my asst who answers the phones called me and said, "What the heck did you do?"  I was stunned as I had no idea what she was talking about.  She said that all these people were calling and found my website and wanted to set up appointments.  I was stunned (in a good way).

 

From there, I blogged and read and learned more and got better and better.  I became a sponge for learning to blog and improve SEO.

 

We got busier and busier.  By the middle of the year, I was getting around 3 appts/week from blogging.  I shut off my paid lead source as we were getting so busy.  I was getting more appts and paying less for marketing.

 

At my 1 year mark, I created my wordpress site - The Flooring Girl.  I took some of the money I had made and reinvested in this site.  I paid someone to do this (and glad I did as I never would have been able to do myself).  It saved me a lot of time, so I could spend time closing customers and writing content.

 

Was it smooth sailing from there?  NO!!!!!

 

I got discouraged as my site wasn't doing much.  I felt frustrated that I had wasted my time (and a bit of money).  I would come back to AR as this community was so much more fun with all the interaction and encouragement.  I would write here and link back to my articles (and write a bit on my boring site).  Then, in November, as usual, my market slowed down.  So I spent November and December writing on my site.  I think I did about 1 strong post per week.  It was frustrating as traffic goes down in Nov/December, so I couldn't see the impact of my blogging.  Again, I went on faith and instinct.

 

And then, Jan 7th rolled around again and the traffic started to go up and started to look more substantial.  So I wrote some more (1-2 times per week).  And it grew some more.  I think I was at 1000 visitors by end of January and then it kept growing each month.  Then, I wrote more and it grew more.

 

At this point, my site is 5 years old and generates 65,000 unique visitors per month and generates LOTS of good leads, and in fact many of my customers that find me on my site are my best and most loyal customers.  When I realized that those who went to my sited BEFORE they met with me, regardless of where they first found me (e.g. referral from friend, realtor, biz partner, angie's list, etc) had a stronger close rate, I started directing people to my site.  I would include links to blog posts on my newsletters, we would send confimation emails before the appt to included relevant links to key posts.

 

So where am I now?  Well now, I get around 65,000 unique visitors/month on my site.  A few years ago, we got so many calls that I set up a google voice line to divert out of state callers away from my assistant so that she could keep up with the local callers.  I keeping adding and improving things.  I'm even starting to monetize the site a bit.

 

Advice to those who are new and/or just want to improve:

• Jump in - read, comment, write
• Check out Bob Stewart's webinars on activerainuniversity.com.  They are excellent.  Blogging itself doesn't do much.  But, blogging well does!
• After you've gotten your feet wet here, get your own site (not one owned by your franchise/company).  I had/have one from my franchise, but I was able to do so much more with my own site, and the cost is minimal, especially when you compare it to the extra business you can get.

 

Thank you to all that were here with me from the start and the encouragement you gave me.  Thank you fo all of you that I have met and learned from along the way.

 

So that's it for today.  I'm going to go to the pool soon (and tomorrow too).

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Debbie Gartner, "The Flooring Girl" and owner of Floor Coverings International, Westchester NY

 

Angie's List Super Service Award winners for 6 years in a row.

 

We install and refinish hardwood floors, carpet and runners, tile floors and backsplashes.  

Call us for a free estimate 914-937-2950.

"We bring the store to your door."

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If you're looking for a great hardwood floor cleaner, try Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaner

Check out my ebook - Top 6 FAQ's on Hardwood Floor Refinishing

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