Home : Blogs : Robert B. McArtor, REALTOR, AUCTIONEER, BALTIMORE, HARFORD, CECIL MARYLAND : Maryland's REALTOR®/Auctioneer Choice - Robert B. McArtor, Real Estate Agent

SURE YOU CAN WRITE AN ARTICLE - JUST BE ORIGINAL !!!

Many of us take pride in writing ORIGINAL Blogs. It seems Ms. Harley has come just short of that with her recent blog concerning the Utilization of Keywords within your descriptive paragraphs to gain exposure in search engines. Her ability to describe this is very thought provoking and truthful. If Activerainers were to write a Blog using this suggested content and approach, it would leave many in the public scratching their heads when looking at the Bloggers abilities as a Realtor, Lender, etc.

Example:

I would have Titled it "How to write Original Blogs to Establish Yourself as an Industry Leader"

Step #1: Since "word processing" is an 80's term, I would simply use Word or Mac to develop your thoughts. I would not use email since it would be difficult to save...maybe as a draft...and then...um...email it to yourself?
Step #2: Everyone knows you should type your name, the most important thing is start your Blog with a Title that is Search Engine Friendly such as.. "Maryland Real Estate Market Conditions, Robert McArtor, Realtor"
Step #3: I would not think of the first thing that comes to mind and start typing.....you will have a jumbled mess that you will not be able to organize later. Start with a subject you have knowledge of or a recent experience you had. Maybe do an outline..A, B, C.

Finish your Blog with your information, how people may contact you,etc. Don't hide from the public...remember, you are a MARKETER!! Market Yourself. (Have you ever seen a small "golden arches" sign outside McDonalds?)

Establish yourself as an authority on the subject you are speaking of. The public will catch on to that and will contact you for more information...

I would not type about what you had for breakfast....?? Someone looking to Buy or Sell a home does not care.

You are in the Real Estate Business, Talk Real Estate, Anything that has to do with Real Estate. This is what prospective Sellers and Buyers are looking for. They will contact you FIRST in your market area if you prepare a good, clean article/blog.

You choose....You can be a Swimmer and have a great out-look for your future OR kick the ground with the bottom feeders and write un-original Blogs.

Posted by Robert B. McArtor, REALTOR, AUCTIONEER, BALTIMORE, HARFORD, CECIL MARYLAND on 03/16/2007 01:10 AM

Comments (43)

maryland, real estate, blogs, homes for sale, realtors, baltimore county, baltimore city, harford county, cecil county

Originally posted at: Maryland's REALTOR®/Auctioneer Choice - Robert B. McArtor: SURE YOU CAN WRITE AN ARTICLE - JUST BE ORIGINAL !!!

43 Comments on SURE YOU CAN WRITE AN ARTICLE - JUST BE ORIGINAL !!!

MAR

2007

A kindler, gentler response would have worked better with me. I enjoyed Lenn Harley's post. I suppose you could have posted without commenting on her post.

Thank you for your response Miriam, I am glad you feel the same as I did when my post was recently hi-jacked. I received emails with your same thoughts. "When you are a self proclaimed Bottom Feeder and have a desire to swim with Sharks, just make sure the Divers Cage is nearby" :) It's all in good fun right? We are all learning a great deal on Activerain! :)

Robert I have no idea what you are talking about. Who hi-jacked your post and which post was it. Who's a bottom feeder? Care to explain? I read your post. I read Lenn's post. I thought you criticized her post and "corrected" her in a way that was not appropriate. Is there more to this?

I posted the Swimmers post. This quickly became a featured post under members only with favorable responses, I enjoyed it, everyone moved on and that was that. Along came Ms. Harley's Post which was meant to twist every positive thing I said into a negative. Several responders to my blog sent me emails ranging from disgust to embarrassment for Activerain

I did not appreciate her approach, Swimmers are now Sharks? was my response to this and you can read what others had to say. I received several emails and promised not to reveal names because of their long standing "referral" relationship with her (bottom feeder mentality). All in good fun.....believe me, I type this with a smile on my face, she has great thoughts and ideas, I enjoy reading her posts, just don't walk by my cage and poke a stick into it....this time the cage door was left open! :)

Robert, I read all of the links to see what you are so upset about. I really enjoyed how Lenn took a different angle on your swimmers post. How is that hijacking your post? She referenced your post and took a interesting angle that I would have never thought of. To me, that is very original. If all that you see is Lenn trying to ridicule you, then you are letting your anger from a previous run in with her cloud your vision. I haven't met Lenn in person but from what I have read in her blogs and comments, we can all learn a lot from her. You can either listen and learn from her or you can get mad and miss a lot of free wisdom she has attained from working in the trenches for years.

MAR

2007

Robert: You really need to let this go. She didn't hi jack your blog she wrote a spin off blog. Happens all the time here. If you don't like this venue or the way it operates, maybe you should consider your own blog on your own website?

Hmmmmmmmm this is going to be interesting.

Hmmmmm.....I can hear that you are upset. I have read both articles and all the comments and honestly, I don't think Lenn's article was written maliciously. I agree with Renee in that she wrote a spin off your blog. I don't think what you wrote here is doing anything good for you or her. Just my .02.

I don't like the negative spin---aren't we all in this together? All cars are styled differently but they can all accomplish the purposes people need them for.

When someone offends us we have a choice. We can take the offense and make it part us, or we can let it run off our back like water off a duck.

If she didn't plagerize but wrote a spin-off then let it go. Don't attack.

Hmmm I posted before reading all the history. Seems there may be intent in her spin-off after all. I really don't know.

Still, we can just let it go if we want to.

Robert- I think you are taking this way too personally.. I don't believe Lenn is after you.. or deliberately hi-jacking your blogs. What you wrote hit a chord with her and she did a spin... happens all the time..

After re-reading this post and Lenn's original post on writting a blog it seems to me you just did what you are accusing her of doing to you.. except you didn't do a spin off.. you got a little rough and a bit nasty..

Blogging is very public.. and once you choose to enter the public arena there are people who will agree, disagree and possibly put a new spin on what you write. You have to expect that and not get so upset when it happens.. I just had a blog really hi-jacked by some group called Greek Ninja's or something close to that..I still haven't figured out exactly what to do about it.. Now that's annoying and a real problem. It is something we may all have to contend with downline.

So truly.. if I were you I would let it go... If it's not nuclear war.. let it slide.

Thanks for filling me in. When I posted on your blog little did I know it would lead to anything. I will add my .2 cents. I have been a member of Active Rain now for a little over a month. I greatly enjoy all of the posts and thoughts that are contributed here. Some make me laugh, some teach me and some are so-so. But people are taking their time to participate. I think it is great. Lenn Harley writes for the e-Pro listserv as well as Active Rain. For quite a while I have been reading what I consider to be very informed and, you see that she has been doing this for a while, experienced articles. Perhaps you read her article after a bad day; because it would seem to be an over reaction. She put a different spin on your article, perhaps you should be flattered. First of all she read your article and must have liked it. She writes original content, informs us and I appreciate her efforts. She doesn't need to "hi-jack" your articles. She does quite fine on her own. Life is short.

One more thing, the people who emailed you with disgust or embarrassment for Active Rain over this have just got to be kidding. Such strong emotion over a blog post!!!!!!Embarrassment for Active Rain?? What? Are they in your area and want referrals? It just can't be about this blog. Active Rain is a wonderful resource.

Miriam, I woke up this morning thinking exactly what you just said. If there are a lot of people here who are embarrassed over this, this community must be made up of a lot of hyper sensitive children. How boring would it be to have everyone just post super positive reinforcement for everyone. What I find interesting and educational is hearing various takes on things. Lenn actually had the more sensitive post. Finding compassion for the "bottom fishers". Robert comes back with something about rattling shark cages. Who is being more confrontational?

Robert,

Thanks for the post. There is a place and space for each and every one of us here at ActiveRain.

Peace be with you.

Well, that post was a little contentious...

Robert

Good tips --you have been rolling the past two weeks --you must have gained 20,000 points over that period.

Kudos

I appreciated Lenn's post And as far as adding more understanding and content on the same idea, I appreciate your posting. I guess I missed something and pray that we can keep things friendly in our community.

History - This began with my first ever Blog on Activerain "Buyers Agent has my Seller Sign an Extension Behind My Back"

If you scroll down the Blog you will read Lenns response, very crass, not helpful at all "get a cell phone?" I understand though, no one dare to respond to her posting......:) understood.

I was a new agent, new to Activerain, In Lenn Harleys market (Maryland) and was immediately blasted! Back and forth this went. Her comments were basically "I deserved it, forget ethics, once you lose control as a Listing Agent, it is fair game" Commenting on my blog was not enough though. She had to start her own Blog my topic and continue to share her negative thoughts on MY dilemma.

You can imagine, as a new agent, this was scary thinking from someone with such wisdom on this board. Even the seasoned agents in my office realized this was an ethics issue. Forget the "losing control as a listing agent" We ALL abide by the SAME ethics.

I started to receive emails early on, not sure why. I started to ask around, NOW I know why and NOW I understand many of your responses.

Lets just say, from THISActiverainer...if I disagree with your Posting, I will comment Directly on YOUR Blog and open debate, dialogue so we both may learn each others thoughts. You deserve that respect, you worked hard putting together those thoughts.

Now, I am off today on another listing appointment in Baltimore. Out-of-State Referral. They asked that I be a "Shark" on this one and be aggressive in marketing. They want to get paid!! :)

Have a profitable day!!!

BTW - Just so everyone knows, I sent Lenn an email just after my first posting apologizing if I came off strong, giving her the respect that I know she deserves. No Response.

I still respect her, will continue to read her posts, will learn from what she has to say, soak it with a sponge, and gain much needed knowledge in this marketplace. It's just that as a newbie.....being shot down out of the starting gate from someone in your own state simply leaves a bad taste in your mouth......thats all. Point taken?

Robert,

I remember your original article.... how did that work out?

oh.... and when i started with a company one time.... my trainer told me to ignore the old guy in the back office...... because he was just "swimming in circles." LOL. thanks for making me remember that guy. he had a lot of great advice(and a lot of outdated/old/wrong advice)..... too bad i was too new to tell the difference.

Might I say, this should be a member's only post. If I were a consumer I would be really turned off by this entire post, and certainly think it was unprofessional.

So, so embarrassing for our profession.

Active Rain is here to help us network and meet new folks. It is here to help us learn more about the different areas of the country and how those folks do business. It is a resource for our thousands of questions in an ever-changing market-place. We will not all do business the same way. We will not all get along. That's okay, roll on.

Active Rain is not a high school. It is not a popularity contest. It is not a public cat fight.

Tsk, tsk!

Virginia - "It is not a popularity contest." could probably be debated. :^)

This reminds me of someone here in the Rain that was ready to call the Real Estate Police because someone lifted a photo from his web-site. Instead of calling the offender he was getting every one up in arms and name calling. Not the best way to handle things.

Virginia - Yes, treating a newbie in this manner from a seasoned professional is embarrassing for our profession. Cat Fight? No, It started with Swimmers....Len turned it into "Sharks"...no fight on my end!

Tom Burris - Agreed 100%

Allison - Your right! My post was for members only, Lenn decided to post hers to the Public!

Timothy - I Agree. That is why I emailed the "Offender" with No Response. The best way to handle things is respect someones Blog and comment on them directly. Don't be afraid to engage in conversation openly with back and forth dialogue.

Robert, spin off blogs are a normal part of what goes on here. When you want to develop an idea in a different way, you create a post of your own. I think it is nice to reference what might have motivated your post. It lets readers know where you are coming from.

To me, hijacking a post is getting the comments to go off topic on to a different topic in which the original poster did not intend to go. Many times a post or a comment will spark an idea that I want to develop more fully. I just go and write a post.

Tim - THANK YOU! MY POINT! I did not wish for my post about Swimmers to go off onto a topic of "Swimmers being Sharks, pooping, making more Sharks, and eventually being loaners....."

I think that is the "different topic" you are referring too.

Concerning Spin-Off Blogs, I have read several Blogs that deal with the same subject, very few that intentionally site others Blogs, making rude comments about them and their ideas. If so, please site them....or maybe just one for me. I would enjoy reading it. This Blog was simply to make a point. My Point has been made. Now I, my friend, will continue to be original and strive to rise above the bar that has been placed before me!!

Have a Great and Prosperous Day!

I went back and read "Buyer's Agent has my Seller SIgn an Extension Behind My Back". Your description of Lenn's response and that it wasn't helpful and that she only suggested you get a cell phone only shows that you really just don't get it. The response was informative, complete and was meant to train a newbie in how to not have that happen again. Did you miss all of that? Being new in the business is a series of missteps. She was completely correct. My seller's would never sign anything without consulting me. It was not the buyer's agent who was at fault. Where were you. Why did your seller not call you? It should have been a learning experience for you. Do you get that??????Why do you wait days to reach the agent to get the forms? Why didn't you march right over to the buyer's agent office? Why didn't your manager get them for you right away? Why, why, why??? A day off? Lucky you.

Real Estate no matter what facet of it you are in is a contact sport

Active Rain is another valueable vehicle that allows you to make that contact

Eddy

I have to agree with Bill Collins that there is a place for everyone here on the network. However, taking shots at each other in the public forum does put a rather negative spin on things. Can't say I approve of that but my opinion is just that - my opinion.

I don't think she was talking to you in a negative manner, unless you have something to tell us otherwise. It seemed she was spinning off the fish theme. Who cares really and why are you obsessing on this? Remember: Negativity hinders creativity. It took me quite a while to let only sticks and stones hurt my bones because names never hurt me. Move along, you will feel free :)

I must be missing something; both posts seem different to me. It's usually taken as a compliment when someone gives you a shout out that your post inspired one of theirs. So I'm a tad confused. It's called sharing, brainstorming learning? Dunno.

Miriam - again, blame the Listing Agent. "When the Mouse is Away, The Cat Can Play" that frame of mind is why we we have ethics complaints in this business. "Here Ms. Seller, your agent had an unfortunate accident and its unfortunate he is not here at settlement to advise you so I need you to sign this extension I pre-printed before settlement knowing my buyers did not have the funds today, thank you for driving from New Jersey to Maryland for this...OH, BTW, while your at it, I am missing some initials on several pages here...." I will not argue on this board about this. I have been in contact with his District Broker and his Broker is 100% in agreement HIS AGENT WAS WRONG. PERIOD. END OF STORY. Regardless of what everyone believes, etc. If there is a Broker other than Lenn Harley that thinks otherwise, I would be very interested in your thoughts on what ethics mean to you and your agents.

Lisa and Robert - YES, your right, I would have rather kept this in the Members Only section as I started.

Renee - I have moved along...LONG ago...I enjoy this. Nothing Negative? How did you get "Pooping Shark that is a Loaner" from the word "Swimmer"? Your a big fan so there is nothing else I can say.

Eddy- I love Contact - You Contact Me, I will most certainly Contact You - Professionally, In The Open, In Your Arena, Commenting on Your Blog! Thanks

BTW - My listing appointment went great! the auction will be on my website shortly - The out-of-state referring agent should be proud of this "pooping...loaner shark" :)

Can we cry some more. It's almost halftime in the Nova game.

Hey Rob - How are those pair of Wildcats Playing tonight! I am enjoying time with my kids on our ATV's in the snow! My weekends are FREE - working 45 hours a week now!!!!