Interesting concept.  I don't see the pricing anywhere. Is this something that can be added to this post? Or, are we suppose to contact Kate?

Kathy

Hi John

There are two programs, the Broker Program and the partner program. The Broker is geared towards recruiting and training. The partner program is for service provider outreach. We just adjusted our pricing ont he program. So check it out if you are interested

All

Please call me or email me if you have interest in discussing this further.

206 453 9667. Kate@activerain.com

Thanks all

Kate

This sounds great, I hope it works according to plan.  Thanks for sharing.

Monetization of a website is important to it's overall health. I hope they're paying you big bucks to get in front of this many real estate practitioners at one time.

Given the comments here, I think there is some confusion.  I talked with Abe at AR today and, as I understand it, the Partner program would allow me (as a lender) to "buy" my city and I would be featured on any search for that particular city (either agent or consumer).  My understanding was that there would be two "blocks"...one with my smiling face and contact info and one that was not static and could be used for product announcement etcs.  (the latter I need clarification on).  The "Partner" would not show up on any agents blog.

I can see the value, IF agents are interested in connecting and interacting with AR members in other industries.  However, I am also a little concerned that some agents might feel like they are being "force fed".  I would love some feedback from agents on this.  Having been on AR for almost two years now, I have always viewed the AR community as a "hands off" approach.  We get to know each other and develop relationships that are built over time and interaction.  I am not sure these relationships can be rushed.  Again, maybe I am wrong.  I find the program very intriguing and I would love to know more AR agents more intimately (they are the best, after all!!!); however, I would not want agents to feel like they are being stalked.  Agents?  Thoughts?

Interesting new idea. I will keep my eyes open for this one, and see how it can help me!

The changes...so far, so good; I like it.

I'm sure there is value there for showing up in the pages where their services could be highlighted.

i love it handsome family on the bottom right of the image - lol

Is this the realestate.com aspect?

I wouldn't want another broker's advertising showing up on my page. How will this be addressed?

I will give Kat a call to discuss this.  Lots of questions but interested.  Thanks.

Richard and Jean, this is completely independent of Realesate.com

Nikki, 

On the terms of service agreement, "(d) engaging in activity that involves the transmission of "junk mail," unsolicited mass mailing, "spam," harvesting or otherwise collecting personally identifiable information about Site users, including names, phone numbers, addresses and email addresses without consent;" is prohibited but isn't this exactly what AR is doing to members? 

As a paying member, I would prefer not to be subjected to a barrage of advertising when I log on.  Advertising under the guise of "education" has been overdone already. 

I see how this benefits AR-the business,  I see how this may benefit some advertisers, how does this benefit AR members?  We are being converted into a captive audience for advertisers and I don't see that as a benefit. 

Please explain.

Thank you!

Marge,

Thank you for the question. Let me try to take a stab at answering your concern.

We have had advertising on ActiveRain for almost our entire duration. This program doesn't increase that advertising, it just allows our advertisers to be visible to a more local audience. Until this point, the advertisements you see (or maybe don't see, as is the case for some people, they just tune them out) were from companies that had national coverage. With the new ActiveRain Partners Program, local service providers will be able to advertise to people in their market.

That being said, we are NOT sending junk mail, spamming or harvesting ActiveRain member information and delivering it to these Partners. You have a chance to reach out to them, but this in no way gives them authorization to circumvent our community guidelines or terms of service.

For someone that has a complete handle on their online presence, the local partners may not be able to provide any additional value to your business. But every day we have between 100 and 200 new real estate professional join ActiveRain. That means there are still thousands upon thousands of agents out there that need guidance on building their online presence.

Our local partners will be equipped with education that they can share with people in their area in an effort to help them build their business. Agents can choose to take advantage of this education or not, but it will not be forced on them, and their contact info is not being sold to the local partner.

I hope that explanation helps a little bit.

Interesting cross-marketing Nikesh.  It could benefit us as members,  good luck with it =)

I did not see a response to the information gathering and sharing mentioned.  I understand income streams and marketing issues but how my information is shared and with whom should be addressed in a policy guide change if there is a change.  It looks as though targeted marketing and re-marketing will be a key component to the new advertising option.  This isn't just a hit every page as they are viewed based on impression marketing, is my assumption.  Thanks Gary

I would like to explore this as an option.