I was pleased to once again be invited to attend the local Active Rain Meetup held in North San Diego County, and co-hosted by Jeff Dowler and John DL Arendsen.
If you are reading the articles on AR, this week, then you may have heard that others in attendance were Matt Brady, John Meussner, Bill Roberts, Thomas J. Nelson, Realtor, CRS and Jill Murty, Realtor - Orange County, CA—these last two I had never met before. The conversation was about practically everything from seafood to escrow and everything in between. We tried out best to avoid politics, but with Donald Trump seated beside me, it became challenging.
Your Active Rain Blogging Strategy
One of the most compelling topics at my corner of the table was about the appropriate types of posts that agents, lenders, and associated professionals should write on Active Rain. Thoughts on that topic ran the gamut, and here’s what people had to say:
- Active Rain as a source of relationship-building and networking. Some folks at the meetup focus on ActiveRain as a source of networking and building relations. As such, these individuals write posts that are more personal in nature and hope to make connections and get referrals.
- ActiveRain as a personal blog and thought-sharing space. Remember when the word blog wasn’t in the dictionary? It is a web log, subsequently a blog. Traditionally used like a diary to track personal thoughts and feelings, some AR members in attendance prefer to use it in this way.
- ActiveRain as a lead generation tool. Many years ago, Jeff Dowler told me that he had written a few posts about a local pizza place, and actually gotten phone calls from folks who weren’t reading carefully and had actually wanted to order pizza. Many agents in attendance liked to write posts to generate leads and enhance their professional web presence.
If you are new to ActiveRain or if you have not spent a lot of time considering a strategy for your ActiveRain blog, I’d recommend that you decide what your goals are with respect to the platform. Once you decide that, make a deliberate and controlled plan and schedule in order to meet your goals.
A Blogging Strategy that Works
As for me, I’m a broker, a speaker, and an author. I started to get involved in AR when the Recession was hot and heavy. My team and I were helping agents across California to process short sales and I was writing lots and lots of articles for the consumer and for agents on the topic of short sales. I also began to write posts that were hyperlocal innature in order to enhance myloal web presence and that of my brokerage. I realized that I had arrived when I got a phone call in 2009 from someone who said, “Can you please come over and list my house as a short sale?” That’s when I realized that the strategy was working.
One of the other unexpected treats was making friends just like the ones at the Meetup yesterday. I look forward to seeing those friends again next season and meeting new ones at our next local meetup.
Pipeline Planner, a Place to Note Your Thoughts and Strategies
On another matter, those of you who have heard the news: I’m offering a brand new planner for real estate agents that is available via Kickstarter. I’m pleased to say that the project is already over 100% funded with 8 days left to go. If you are interested in a new agent planner (absolute lowest prices available only until the Kickstarter is over), I’d urge you to back the project and get one now. I know that this project has been a success because of all the friends I’ve made and things I’ve learned through my years as an active member on (in?) the Rain. Thanks to all who have supported the planner already!
If you’ve got no clue what I am talking about, watch the video here and please consider backing the project.
photo credit: Thomas Nelson
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