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Is Active Rain Worth the Cost? Does It Work For You?

By Dennis Dahlberg Broker/RI 623-582-4444

Mortgage and Lending with Level 4 Funding NMLS 1018071 AZMB 0923961

February 24, 2020 11:15 AM

Ten years ago, at 55 years old, I found myself homeless and living in a Ford Van with my wife. What happened? As I sat in the van I though about all the businesses, deals I’ve completed, and all of the money gone. But what went wrong? A lot of things. But I was determined to dig out of this mess and come back. The first realization I discovered was that the marketing approach I’ve used in the past, Post Cards, Business Cards, Flyers., is no longer working. Relator Meetings? Not working. What do you do?

I broke it down to one major problem. How do you get people to call you? If the phone is ringing, your making money. No phone calls and you will starve and end up living in the van. I needed to change my way of marketing and move in the new direction. I was clueless about Social Media, Email, Blog Posting, SEO, Google, but I was going to figure it. So, on with the quest -- go and figured it out.

Today, I consider myself an expert in SEO (I’m even certified), AdWords, Facebook and Blogging. I’ve finally figured out how to make my phone ring with customers. The good news is that you can do it yourself, it is not that hard. There are a lot of things you can do. When you consider all of the possibilities you quickly become overwhelmed about all of the tasks. Then you stop and do nothing. But don’t stop, it is easy to do, and you can make your phone ring. I’ve broken it down to 5 tasks that you need to do.

Blogging with back links to your website.
I use Active Rain as my main back link platform posting around 100 blogs/month.
Website that has the six keys to success. (see one of my websites https://level4funding.com)
Phone number on top of the page that’s linkable
Email on top header that is linkable
Contact Form on HomePage
Interactive chat session
Testimonial
Text that address customers’ pain points
Email Drip Program
Band awareness AdWords and Facebook campaigns.

Are you scared now? What do you do first? If you are starting out or maybe you’re a veteran in the business, I recommend that you first do Item #3 Email Drip Program. I use MailChimp as my primary email account and send (blast) out emails all the time. You probably have seen some of them. Why do this first? When it comes to marketing, I live by the following rules:

Once someone touches you .... never lose contact with that someone

ü It cost you something to find that someone

ü Money or Time – it cost you something

ü Why throw away money?

An automated Drip Email Program can keep you in contact with your potential and current customers forever. It works! Every day I get a phone call and the customers says, ‘I’ve gotten your email for some time, but until today I did not need you, but now I do’. Bingo-bango-bongo, I’ve been sending emails to this customer for 2 years, and finally I get the call.

So, get started on your email drip program and don’t stop. Overall it has the best ROI and ounce you set it up it just goes automatically. Do your email before you do any of the other 4 tasks.

Remember if your phone is not ringing - you are not making any money.

About the Author: Dennis has been working in the real estate industry in some capacity for the last 44 years. He purchased his first property when he was just 18 years old. He quickly learned about the amazing investment opportunities provided by trust deed investing and hard money loans. His desire to help others make money in real estate investing led him to specialize in alternative funding for real estate investors who may have trouble getting a traditional bank loan. Dennis is passionate about alternative funding sources and sharing his knowledge with others to help make their dreams come true. Dennis has been married to his wonderful wife for 43 years. They have 2 beautiful daughters and 5 amazing grandchildren. Dennis has been an Arizona resident for the past 43 years.