Last weekend marked my one year anniversary on Activerain.  I can honestly say...it's changed my life, and the way I look at things.  It's affected my confidence, and my "self talk."  I was introduced to it during an all day conference last September on "Using the Internet to Market Your Business." 

I've always been skeptical about marketing plans that did not start with "networking," and up until then, I thought that meant looking someone in the eye.  In our industry, tons of people make money by dialing for dollars or sending out postcards to people they've never met - but that's not the way I built my business...So I was skeptical.

Plus... I'm in the last years of 40, and I'm a complete idiot when it comes to "techie" things.  I figured "techie and 50" were not very sexy, and I wasn't sure I wanted to go there!!  And so I sat in that all day class where they talked about CSS and PHP and the pros and cons of "hosting your own"... and I wondered why I was there.

Then a fella' got up and started talking about how he'd "met" people on Activerain, and how you could use it to recruit, and prospect... "Thousands of people go to National Real Estate Seminars every year, and if you ask them why they go it's going to look something like:

• To Learn More
• To Meet People who can refer business to me

Not necessarily in that order.  Well, that's what Activerain is all about - without leaving your home, or changing out of your pajamas... and it's F-R-E-E"   THAT I could understand - and so with no other information, I set out to learn about ActiveRain. 

I've learned about long distance friendships.  Growing up in the State of North Carolina, I've got friends in other cities... but up until a year ago, most of my friends were people I'd met, eye to eye, beer suds and all. The friendships I've made on AR have been every bit as fun, deep, and revealing. I'm not talking about leaving comments for someone. I'm talking about picking up the phone and talking - text messaging a friend on a Sunday night in August when you're laughing so hard you could cry because your favorite rock station is playing all night CHRISTMAS MUSIC just because the DJ was "in the mood!"  I'm talking about a friend who will help you do research on a 400 year old golf club...talk to you at night when you're worried about (fill in the blank), and have a virtual party on a Friday night - with high heels, cosmos and lots of "zingers."

I've learned about the various strategies that work (and don't work) on AR.  One strategy is "Pick me to be Your Agent!"  To be honest - I don't this one is a winner.  Another one is to provide information for folks moving to your area, or folks looking for activities in the area - this works well for many, and flows great into Localism.  Some people are just "here" on Activerain to Network, and make friends (I often fall into this group - afterall, I'm subscribed to 89 people)... and others are here to learn (techie stuff, home staging, marketing tips) or teach.

And I've learned that you need a balance.  When I first came to AR, the markets were down, people in our office were depressed, real estate wasn't selling very well, people were having trouble getting loans approved... it seemed like a safe place to hide - a great place to be learning while all of that "other stuff" was going on... Well, it's a YEAR LATER, and that "Other Stuff" is still here. It's going to be here.  So fortunately I've learned how to make friends (who refer business to me) AND create my own  leads by writing about those things folks in my area are interested in.  I've learned how to set up 3 outside sites, and I'm busy connecting all of that. I've joined Tweeple Groups, and SEO Meetup groups... and yes, I was the oldest kid in the room - but now, a year later - I can at least follow the conversation!

Maybe Slightly Techie and Leaning Towards 50 CAN BE HOT!  Thanks AR!