OK, this isn't a post about posting naked pictures of yourself on Active Rain. This is a Real Estate blogging community after all. Aside from a few choice bloggers I know, I don't think anyone else would even think of doing such a thing.

No, I'm talking about getting exposure for yourself through your blog. I was recently asked in a comment on one of my very boring ad posts about a rental property if I had turned my high ranking on AR into exposure for myself and my business. My answer would have to be...yes and yes.

First off, let me say that I never considered that I had a "high ranking" on Active Rain. Heck, Jason Crouch got more points than I have now in his first 2 months on AR. OK, maybe it took him a bit longer, but certainly not much. Maybe it's just that Pennsylvania is a bit slow on the take and there isn't all that much competition out there. Right now, my almost 90K points has earned me a #10 spot in PA and #1 in Luzerne County. I'll take it.

You see, my ranking has earned me some exposure on the internet. Just today I received a call from a potential buyer interested in knowing about FHA loans and if she would qualify. It seems that Jeff Belonger commented on one of my posts quite some time ago. Jeff is the FHA expert in PA, you see, but because he commented on my post and this particular buyer searched for just the right combination of words, she got me. While I don't put "FHA Expert" in my claim to fame, I know enough about them to feel perfectly confident in talking with her about it and we are well on our way to forming a lasting relationship.

I love the exposure this blog has given me with the internet search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo. I get the calls all the time from the SEO guys wanting to sell me their optimizations, only to find that I am already on the first page of most of the search terms my clients use. Yes, that exposure has paid off very well with my business.

I have been exposed to some people who share my same beliefs, those who don't share my beliefs and those who couldn't care what my beliefs are. It is a community after all. I have been exposed to new ideas, countless hours of training on many subjects real estate related and, through the comment stream on many posts, a whole variety of different angles on how to view most any topic or tackle just about any problem.

I have also exposed myself to others, through my writing here, sometimes to the chagrin of more than a few readers who have made their opinions of my writing well known to me. I think if I have to write another MeMe, I'll die of writer's block and have to take up a hobby that doesn't require human interaction. I take the good with the bad. The truth of the matter is that I enjoy writing. An enjoyment I have taken less and less time to do as of late. I'll have to remedy that.

In the end, I have exposed myself and have been exposed to much more than I ever thought possible when I joined over a year ago. I have thoroughly enjoyed that exposure and hope to gain more exposure as time goes on.