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WRAP UP NOTES 2013 BIG Blog Jumpstart Challenge

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Real Estate Broker/Owner with Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside

WRAP UP NOTES 2013 BIG Blog Jumpstart Challenge

WRAP-UP NOTES
2013 BIG Blog Jumpstart Challenge


FIRST:  
Thanks to everyone who has participated! 117 AR Members  signed up during the Challenge - 88 on or before the official 3 week start date of January 11, 2013. A further 29 signed up on or before the official 2 week start date of January 17, 2013.  Another dozen* signed up after the deadline to sign up had done come and done gone. Total as of January 31, 2013, 129 participants total. 

During those weeks, I have been enjoying Arlington, VA, exploring Key West, FL, and living in beautiful Buckhead Atlanta GA. Thanks to the marvels of internet access, all flowed soothly wherever I was at the time!

SECOND:  Thanks for reading the guidelines carefully as you started. Each time I enjoy sponsoring a Challenge, I learn more about giving and following directions. One thing I learned this year is that if folks don't read the guidelines and they will run into problems!

THIRD:  If you completed 21 posts in 21 days or 14 posts in 14 days, scoring your Challenge entries should go smoothly. *However, if you didn't follow the guidelines, post to the GROUP itself, started late, missed days or had any complications, I will consult with AR staff about the points for your entries.

FOURTH: If you have any issues, please let me know.<<Link to email address.

For me, the Challenge is about learning and if you had a "glitch" - like the member who had no electric power for a day - we can try to work it out.

I answered every email I received during the Challenge and I will answer yours as well if you write. Loved hearing from those of you who wrote.

Have a happy day -
Lynn 

Comments(23)

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Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375
Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside - Atlanta, GA
Concierge Service for Our Atlanta Sellers & Buyers

Sondra  -  You are more than welcome. Sponsoring a Challenge is fun.
Bill  -  
I will look for your email.  
Praful -  Glad you both enjoyed and completed!
        Bye - Lynn

Jan 31, 2013 02:51 PM
Tamara Schuster
Naperville Glen Ellyn Lisle Plainfield Wheaton Illinois - Naperville, IL
Realtor Broker - Naperville

Contests are inspiring for all of us. This is great to do and learn a lot along the way.

Jan 31, 2013 03:11 PM
MichelleCherie Carr Crowe .Just Call. 408-252-8900
Get Results Team...Just Call (408) 252-8900! . DRE #00901962 . Licensed to Sell since 1985 . Altas Realty - San Jose, CA
Family Helping Families Buy & Sell Homes 40+ Years

Thanks for the inspiration to be a good daily blogger.

Jan 31, 2013 03:58 PM
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

Thanks Lynn, just got the last one posted a few minutes ago. I went back through a few days ago to make sure that they all had all of the features that you were looking for to make them bonus worthy, I hope that you enjoy reading them and learning about the area that we work in.

Thanks

Bob

 

Jan 31, 2013 04:04 PM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Thx Lynn for hosting.  I think one of the key learnings is to try to make things simple.  Lots of people don't read the directions and when things are too complicated they often choose not to participate.  This year's was much more straight forward than last year's.  

Jan 31, 2013 08:05 PM
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Thnak you for the contest. It inspired me to post daily.

Jan 31, 2013 08:52 PM
Ed Silva, 203-206-0754
203-206-0754 - Waterbury, CT
Retired Real Estate Broker

We start a new month with new challenges, but yours was the one that should set the tone for the year. Being attentive is always a good way to start

Jan 31, 2013 10:14 PM
Erna Neal
The Viking Team, Realty - Winter Park, FL
A Knowledgable Central Florida Realtor

Lynn, uh oh, I might be in trouble. I missed 2 days of blogging as I was sick and could not get a coherent blog together on 1/29 & 1/30, but came back on 1/31 with my final entry. I'm going to e-mail you about it.

Feb 01, 2013 12:18 AM
Bridget "Mortgage Mama" McGee
SWBC Mortgage 410-960-2061 - Baltimore, MD
Maryland Mortgage Mama NMLS#196068

Lynn, I am so grateful for this challenge and appreciate being allowed to start after the official start date. 

I am back in the habit.  I found my voice again! I met some great agents and made connections in and out of the Rain. I was able to co-teach a class with Ellie McIntire at Keller Williams on blogging in the Rain and feel very good about how it went! 

The class I took on ARUniversity was great and I think it helped that post and the ones that followed.  I will definitely make time to schedule in more classes.  There is so much to learn!

I got TWO calls THIS WEEK from folks who read my ActiveRain blog.

Extra points or not, my take-away from this challenge is WORK WHAT WORKS!  For me ActiveRain WORKS!!!

Maryland Mortgage Mama

Feb 01, 2013 01:49 AM
Robert Bob Gilbert
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties - Katy, TX
Your Katy TX ( West of Houston) Real Estate Expert

Hi Lynn,

Thanks for your hard work with this Challenge and it was  agood one to start the year. The instructions were clear.

Feb 01, 2013 02:02 AM
Ellie McIntire
Ellicott City Clarksville Howard County Maryland Real Estate - Ellicott City, MD
Luxury service in Central Maryland

Lynn, how do I make sure that I was signed up for the challenge. (I am guilty of not reading all the details!)

Feb 01, 2013 02:09 AM
Beth Atalay
Cam Realty and Property Management - Clermont, FL
Cam Realty of Clermont FL

Lynn, I've completed the contest and so glad you've organized it. I for one need that "extra" push to blog every day!

Feb 01, 2013 05:11 AM
Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

Lynn, your challenge was great and has gotten me back in the habit of blogging daily. So--it's now 4:30 PM on Feb. 1 -- gotta go write a post; the day doesn't feel complete, and that's a good thing.

 

Feb 01, 2013 08:34 AM
Barbara-Jo Roberts Berberi, MA, PSA, TRC - Greater Clearwater Florida Residential Real Estate Professional
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor

The contest was great, Lynn. I know from experience how long it takes to get the points counted!!!

Feb 02, 2013 08:12 AM
Toni Weidman
Sailwinds Realty - Trinity, FL
20+ Years Selling Homes in New Port Richey, FL

Having fun yet, Lynn :)

Feb 04, 2013 12:11 AM
Lynn B. Friedman CRS Atlanta, GA 404-617-6375
Atlanta Homes ODAT Realty - Love our Great City - Love our Clients! Buckhead - Midtown - Westside - Atlanta, GA
Concierge Service for Our Atlanta Sellers & Buyers


Enjoying the comments and your positive feedback!
Scoring in progress ... hopefully by Valentine’s Day ...
What else? 2014 BIG Blog Jumpstart next January!

TAMARA - So True. Join us next year!
MICHELLE - You are very welcome. Always glad to see your comments.
BOB - you don’t know how much it means to a Challenge Sponsor that someone READS the guidelines!
DEBBIE - 2012 was an intellectual exercise to learn the philosophy and values of ActiveRain as a community. 2013 was focused on SEO and learning how to optimize visibility.

FOR 2014, the Challenge will be a COMBINATION of learning the founding philosophy and the values of ActiveRain along with SEO optimization.

AND - following the directions will be a requirement. We expect our Clients to follow directions, don’t we?

BIG Blog Jumpstart scoring dispensation for not following directions ends with 2013.

GITA - Glad to hear it helped!
ED -
Setting the tone for the year is exactly the goal!

ERNA - ANY CONSECUTIVE 21 posts or ANY CONSECUTIVE 14 posts will qualify a person for the 80 points extra daily.

To qualify for the BONUS 111 POINTS, the posts - a maximum of three - MUST have a reference to the learning option - Tutorial or Webinar - used as a technique in the post. The goal was learning and then sharing with others WHERE your learning can be located when they read your post .

BRIDGET - You were not “late” - you joined when the Challenge was still open! Glad it helped.
BOB - Thanks! I think it is a good way to start the year as well. Next year you can help me with the directions!
ELLIE - As you approach your 1,000,000 points, I know every one counts for you. You are in the Group.
BETH - And I enjoyed seeing your smile every day! Glad it helped you.
LOTTIE - Gets to be a habit - that’s the goal.
BARBARA JO -
Yes, the scoring is a major effort for sure. Another time-consuming issue is all the folks with special issues. But --- you’ve been there and you know what that means, don’t you?
TONI - Actually, yes, I am having fun! Hope you and your wonderful business partner are enjoying 2013.

Feb 04, 2013 01:18 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hi Lynn -- thanks for hosting this contest -- anything that can improve both the consistency and quality of writing posts is a good thing and one that should be encouraged.   

Feb 04, 2013 11:04 PM
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

Nice job sponsoring this contest - hope it goes well for all.  It's a great way to focus down & produce a blog a day in order to get into a good habit.

Feb 05, 2013 02:29 AM
Rebecca Gaujot, Realtor®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

Hi Lynn, this was somewhat of a challenge this year...but, I made it!  I forget, where we suppose to send Kerrie all our posts....or just add them to the group...having a senior moment here...but I do believe I followed the instructions right :)

 

Feb 08, 2013 08:25 AM
Inna Ivchenko
Equity Union - Calabasas, CA
REALTOR® | Residential & Commercial

Thanks  Lynn for hosting the challenge! 

I'll join you next year. Looking forward to it!

Aug 18, 2013 05:22 PM