Ask An Ambassador: Does It Pay The Bills?

Blogging has made my phone ring with referrals, though not steady enough to make a living, Bliz.

Remaining civil online can, at best, be challenging but can be done as most of us prove every day!

Good evening Bill,

No one wants to work with a grumpy, agitated person! You said it so well: "Understanding the sandbox rules for ActiveRain helps bring you business.  Kicking sand may get you noticed, but it doesn't pay the bills!" Absolutely on point!

I applaud your efforts to encourage us to dial it down and stop kicking sand

Liz and Bill Spear 

Bill, a post like this one gives other Members in the Real Estate Industry hope. All you have to do is understand the AR  rules for blogging, know your business, remember content matters, respect your colleagues, be nice, and something will result from being in the RAIN. 

I love the thought that we don't want to pull in grumpy clients because we've written a grumpy post or comment. Keeping our writing on who we want to attract is an important point!

Hello Bill - it's long been interesting to me to understand the source of things of many sorts.  And, of course, contacts from this platform or anywhere else, can lead down many a rabbit hole. 

Was it some kind of relationship goulash that has now ready to be served, presence here/there or some kind of cosmic connection.   Each contact may not be connection.  But such introductions have to start somewhere, right?  Sometimes, we know and on countless other occasions, it remains somewhat mysterious.  And that can be quite satisfying in valuable ways.  

People that we don't even know are following our blogs and it certainly influences their decisions on who to call for real estate advice when the time comes.

You are definitely the poster child for evergreen posts that pay the bills.

I have found over the years ore people move away from here than move here, so referrals have been lighter, but I also know that many clients tell me they found me on line, through videos I have posted or something else they do not remember. So I agree, blogging can cause the phone to ring, and if you have a well developed niche like you then all the more so.

No grumps allowed in my world! 

I'm with Carol! Grumpy, negativity has never resonated with me. Those who reflect those attributes are those I choose to stay away from.

Such great info.  Thanks for sharing..

Know your market and your marketing goals. My primary goal was not to have the phone ringing with sales leads, but rather to build relationships with fellow AR members for referrals. Building relationships is an investment of time. Secondary goal was to learn about real estate knowledge I may be missing. Third goal was to have fun.

Many of the thousands of posts we write will not make us money. That being said, they all add up. I have made multiple six figures since 2007 from AR referrals (including one from you!).

That’s the at least $100,000 question these days…

. I hope everybody’s doing well and taking care of themselves. :)

I’m with you, Bill.  I try for evergreen posts and to educate.  No grumps allowed.  It’s always nice to give  and receive referrals, but that’s not the primary reason for staying in this awesome community for 15 years.  It’s the people

As you mentioned, so much in real estate is a numbers game. Whether it is blogging, dialing, door knocking, sending our flyers, etc. Just do it and do it and it will pay off.

It's all a numbers game. And If anyone is ever leaving the Central Florida area for Cincinnati you'll be getting a contact form from me.  

Thanks Bill and Liz for sharing great thoughts!!! I look forward to your posts.

Topics also matter, and here's where recognizing what content can increase your business and which posts you just write for the fun of it.  Maybe a fun post leads to a relationship built and a referral down the road.