Abandoned communities need Top Neighbors, another opportunity for localism success

This is great,

Something I never really thought about.

I'll be working to find some areas I serve that may not have a Top Neighbor. 

I'll also let you know if anything comes of it!

Thanks!

Brendan Winans

Thanks for posting this...I had no idea...I am curious too though how much it costs to sponsor a neighborhood and what that looks like...the link in the comment above doesn't work...

Someone said they wondered if localism is being found and read.  IT IS!!! 

Use something like Stat Counter, and you'll see how often your blogs are being found.  Be sure you post QUALITY content, with good keywords, photos where possible, and info about things newcomers (and residents) are wondering about.  

You won't always know right away that someone found you on Localism - I've gotten contacts through traditional channels that only told me later - "I've really enjoyed your articles about so and so, we started looking into this area 6 months ago!"

Thank you all so much! I feel like this will help me propel myself forward in this local market!

Thanks,

Jeffrey Dillon; Jackson Ms Metro Area Specialist

I sponsor a neighborhood in Seattle that still needs some love (meaning posts and pictures).  I went out one day to shoot photos but the day was so dreary, the photos were boring.  Waiting for a nice day...oh wait....the sun is shining now.

It is still hit and miss but I agree with you it is a great way to get involved and make the site more attractive

this is great we are working on featuring over 500 communities in our service area.

I just want to know how to load my photos onto localism...why does it have to be sooooo hard!

Gina

I too need to sit down and create and work a localism plan. Thanks for the idea.

Localism is a long term process just like blogging that sooner or later will pay off with that one single referral check or deal. Support it and plant the seeds, soon it shall bloom

Michael, I'm watching my area closely. Thanks for the reminder and the wake up call.

Later in the rain~Deb

Yes, missed opportunies. I started adding photos for "abandoned" neighborhoods in my aea and am now working on adding posts/info also. But am taking my time as want to add useful info.citron

Thanks for the blog on this.  I have been trying to figure this out for the area I work in mostly.  I will have to look into this further.

I think people are confused by Top Neighbor and sponsoring communities.  One is free and the other is not.

You can become a Top Neighbor just by posting regularly to a specific neighborhood.  It costs absolutely nothing to do this.  Add photos to your neighborhood and post there.  That's it.  Once you become the person with the most posts to a specific neighborhood, you become the Top Neighbor.  Of course, you have to keep posting there in order to maintain that position.

Sponsoring a community is as little as $9/community/month.  With this, you get all of your contact information at the top of the community page, etc.  It really is a sweet deal if you are trying to saturate a specific neighborhood.  You can't beat $9!

One is totally separate from the other.  You can be a Top Neighbor even if that neighborhood is sponsored by someone else.

Hope that clears it up for everyone!

~Renae

Every time I go to Localism and try to sponsor a community, it says that they are not taking any new accounts. Consequently, my Partner and I have kind of given up on it.

Thanks for the reminder. I have not posted anything to localism yet and today is a good day to get started. Me+digital camera+local attractions, here we go!