Active Rain is nothing more than another costly marketing gimmick

Active Rain is nothing more than another costly marketing gimmick.  When Craig Rutman tried to share with me the magic of Active Rain I just knew it was going to be another costly marketing gimmick.  It took several months and a small nudge from Craig to get me to take it a little more seriously. Once I did I realized how wrong my pre conceived notions were. Today I will tell you that Active Rain is the most productive marketing tool I have ever had in my career.

 

If you want the public to notice you, here’s your chance.  On my first attempt at blogging I must have stared at the computer for about 10 minutes. I started typing. I typed what I thought people wanted to read.  After a few months I started typing my thoughts and feelings allowing my personality to show.  It’s when this happened that my readership and friendships grew. I realized that the public is more interested in who I am than what I know so here is my chance to show them.

 

Active Rain is not just marketing, it’s group therapy.  Several months later I realized that for me this was much more than marketing.  I read about struggles and conquests that I have also experienced. Telling the people you confide in about your day at the office is helpful.  Telling others in the industry and having them acknowledge your issues and successes is very powerful. To me Active Rain is like a 12 step program for people addicted to real estate.

 

Birds of a feather flock together. AR is a place where I can meet like minded people.  Real estate professionals who care enough about their businesses to stay informed and network with others.   I find that working with agents who are actively involved on Active Rain makes my job so much easier.  The new rules surrounding lending are old news to AR agents.  When I work with non AR agents I have to explain the changes and how it can impact their purchases.

 

You will get out of it what you put into it.  Blogging and commenting on others posts is a great way to begin to build relationships.  I have had tremendous success with Active Rain because not only have I called most of the people in which I communicate with, I’ve met most of them in person. As a result Active Rain referrals account for 33% of my business this year. It was closer to 60% but in the last two months a lot of old clients have called me for refinancing.

 

I used to dread marketing but now I look forward to it.  When I make this statement to other loan officers not blogging on Active Rain they give me that stare.  You know the stare, the same one you get when you tell a fellow agent about how blogging really works.  I understand though because that used to be me!  My marketing and technology knowledge have exploded since joining this family.  I owe thanks and gratitude to all of the Active Rain members who share their knowledge. 

 

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