The Power of Blogging on ActiveRain

Be careful what you wish for

A friend of mine turned me on to ActiveRain a few years ago, and I loved the interaction, the shared knowledge, the camaraderie, the family that I found here. And the added bonus was that I learned how to blog, and my business took off in new and totally unexpected ways.

For the past few days I've been getting my feet wet to get back into the blogging rhythm, so I've been taking Bob Stewart's classes on ActiveRain University regarding Blogging Blueprint Templates.

My niche is pretty specific, and I've done a good job of keeping my phone ringing over the years by continually mentioning my niche. Bob has said in these videos that you aren't just writing for 'now,' but that your posts can be timeless. If I'd known then what I know now, I would have been a lot more specific in all of those posts I was writing. If you don't believe it, let me give you two current examples.

In March of 2011, I wrote a post about Caretakers of America. It garnered some interest then, but nothing too exciting. They are a unique business that provides a useful service to Realtors. For the past year, I receive an average of three to five calls per month from people wanting to sign up for the service. I have no affiliation with the company except that I've used them and I continue to use them, but all I did was write one article about them four and a half years ago.

But here's the one I wish I could monetize. Whether you're pro or con, it's no secret that marijuana sales are good for a state's economy. When Colorado legalized medical marijuana many years ago, our local and state economy went from red to black in a month, so I wrote a cute little piece called Medical Marijuana Makes Money Magically Materialize. Again, I got responses, but it's not like it was a huge blogging success. Until . . . 

About eight months ago (don't ask me why) my phone started ringing. Not just ringing, but R.I.N.G.I.N.G. At least ten to twenty times each month I get a call or an email from agents or 'people' who are looking to rent "MMJ friendly property." First off, I have never dealt with rentals. Secondly, I have never written about MMJ except that one article.

Agents from around the country continually call me and say, "We understand you're an MMJ-friendly Realtor and we'd like to send you a referral." Say WHAT?? Every time I hang up from one of those calls or respond to one of those emails, I wonder how I could be making money from all that traffic, and I'm constantly reminded of the power of the internet.

So listen to Bob! Blog about your areas. Blog about things people in your area want to know. Write, write, write. Get your phone ringing. Trust me, it works! 

(and click on the pretty green Victorian house below to follow me on ActiveRain)