The other day, I mentioned in a post that I had earned FREE membership to Active Rain, and a few people asked me how to do it. One of them said that it was challenging to find the info here on Active Rain, so I thought I would help spread the word. Unlike some of the people who have been here for a long time and were "grandfathered in," I started at the bottom as a paying member and as I accumulated more points, my monthly costs decreased.
At the time I started, it was $39/month. I believe it's more expensive now (not sure if it's $59 per month...or $89, but if you take the AR courses it's $59 and once in a while there are some specials). They have some different plans where you can try 1 month free and then it's a certain rate or 2 monhts or something...I'm not sure....BUT, regardless, if you are not yet a Rainmaker, the most cost efficient option is to sign up and prepay for 1 year for $389. That comes out to $32/month and it is the best option for your first year. Some are not willing to take that risk, so they opt for the 1 or 2 months free and then do the higher rate. In retrospect, I should have prepaid for a year, but c'est la vie. But, take it from experience...this place works....if you work it. And, it's well worth the money regardless of whcih option you choose.
Now, here's the good news...over time, as you accumulate more points, your monthly rates will decrease...and you can earn FREE MEMBERSHIP. Here's how it works:
100,000+ points $39/month
200,000+points $29/month
300,000+ points $19/month
400,000+ points $9/month
500,000+point FREE membership for life
Active Rain made this shift in April 2011 It's time for us to Give Back: RainMaker Price Breaks. This truly is a win win. The more you blog, the better for your biz and the better for Active Rain (and for all of us, since as AR grows, it helps us all with search/page rank). The more you blog, the less you pay, so the more you want to blog and the more it helps AR and the whole community. The deductions to your membership are automatic; you do not need to request it.
So how do you earn more points?
1. Log on every day (100 pts) = 700 per week
2. Blog away - each post can be = 225 pts (if you select a channel), up to 10 posts a week = 2,250 pts per week (for those above 10 post a week, you only earn points on comments/channel once you have 3 or more comments.
3. Blog well...the better you blog, the more people will comment and reblog your material (and the more points you get). Sometimes, you may get bonus pts for being featured, too. But, more importantly, potential clients will call you.
4. Comment (and comment well) - 25 pts each up to 10 per day = 250 pts/day or 1,750 per week. Also, as you comment more, you'll make more friends (and maybe more subscribers) and you'll learn more.
5. Reblog someone else's post - you get 25 pts (and they get 25 pts) up to 10 per week = 250 per week. (I typically reblog 2-3 times per week).
6. Enter contests - varying amounts of bonus points...some are quite high. Check out the contest tab to see what is running this month. I don't participate in all of them, but try to do the ones that fit in with what I'm already doing...or should be doing.
7. Invite new members - This one can be huge. You get 250 pts if they accept the invitation/join + 10% of their future points. I think I have over 40,000 pts from invited members which is good...but nothing compared to a few members where I think they may have over 300,000 pts from inviting others. It's very impressive and a nice way to keep earning extra points ongoing.
8. Report spam comments. If you see some of those spam comments (and lately they've been on most of the featured posts), you can get 10 pts each time you report them up to 100 pts per day. (just hit the "report a concern" on the bottom right of the comment). You could earn up to 700 bonus pts per week (although I'm not sure if they award them each day...so practically, it may only give you an extra 500 or so pts each week.
Now, I'm not saying to just focus on points. Clearly, I think quality content is much more important. And, of course, more quality content is better. And, when you comment, comment well, not just copy and paste which really does you no good in making relationships. The points themselves are meaningless...but for me, they are a measure and motivator of the blogging I'm doing and the business that will come. And, when they announced the reduction in prices, you bet that I tried to earn that free membership just a little bit faster.
I hope this is helpful. Blog on...and Blog well.
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