The Official ActiveRain Guide

It's been a while since I put up the last video tutorial.

So when Bill Herold sent me an email with a question about his comment signature, I saw it as an opportunity to do another. Bill wrote,

"My problem in looking at blog responses is that my name shows up as: Bill Herold edit delete and others show up with regular signature, company names, designation, etc"

Bill said he had searched and couldn't find out how to do this anywhere. A video tutorial is really overkill for this one, but I'm using a new screen capture software and truth be told, I'm looking for just about any excuse to use it. :)

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Marlene Sheffer sent me an email with the following question:

"OK, I am LOVING listingdomains.com. I think that RES provides a better show, though. I need to know how to do a RES show, and get a website address that is specific to that home, and do it quickly and easily for less than about $40 per listing. I have absolutely NO knowledge of html or code, except to know that I don't know it."

Well, in this day and age, you can register a domain name just about anywhere for less than $10, so the cost will not be an issue. I use Names Direct. Each domain name costs $8.95. But you can find them cheaper if you look hard.

Here's the term you need to know: URL Forwarding.

URL Forwarding is free with every domain registration service. So, that means you can point any domain you register to any other existing web page without any additional cost. All you need to know how to do is copy and paste the URL of the existing page into the right place. So, you will need to find the URL Forwarding edit field at your registrar. Typically you can choose standard forwarding or stealth forwarding. Stealth forwarding will retain your domain name when you land on the page, but the contents of the page will be hidden from the search engines. Standard URL forwarding simply redirects and doesn't hide the existing page's URL. I usually choose standard, since there is little SEO benefit from a single property domain name and the main objective is to make the URL easier to remember.

I'm going to show you how to do this using a Real Estate Shows Flyer. (But this will work with any URL) I registered 1234 Turner Road (http://www.1234turnerroad.com) this morning and forwarded the URL to this flyer page: http://www.realestateshows.com/flyer.php?id=0000001965.

Here's how I did it.

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How Do Your Create Image Links In Your Blog Posts?

This is a commonly asked question, with a very simple answer. You create image links the same way you create text links. Simply select the image, then click on the chain icon in the menu bar. Input the url you wish to link to and you're done.

Here is an image that is not linked.

Here is an image that is linked.

And here is the video that show how I did it.

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Ana Connell - Burbank Real Estate Expert asked for this tutorial.

And since she's not the first to ask me, I thought I'd get this one up as quickly as possible. Earlier today, she wrote:

"I would love to know how you type around an image that's been added to a post. I know it's possible because I see it all the time, just don't know how! I've noticed it in your and Laurie Manny's posts and really like the overall presentation it creates.

Right now I add an image and can only start my text either beside the image (on the very bottom of the image), or below it. Hope I've explained this well enough! If you have any questions, shoot me an email or give me a call, thank you!"

So, let's wrap some text around an image.

The image you see to the right has already been added to this post in a way that makes it wrap around the text in the post. The video below will show you have we did it, but the graphic is what you will see when you add a graphic and then click on appearance. I personally like putting my images on the right of the post. I think it makes for easier reading to keep the left edge justified.

Now, to make this work the way Ana wants it to work, we need more text.

If you have a small amount of text and your image is large, there is very little you can do to make the text "flow" around the image. The best that can happen is that the image sits to the right or to the left. But if you have enough text, as I'm attempting to provide here by rambling on and on and on, then you can make the text flow above and below the image as well as to either side.

Here's the video. Enjoy.

More often than not, numerical data is best presented visually, in a chart.

There's no question, a good chart can have tremendous visual impact and make boring data come alive.

So, a good 3d bar graph or pie chart can really help when it comes to illustrating numbers. Stephanie Edwards-Musa wanted to know if there was an easy way to get create chart graphics for inclusion in posts here on ActiveRain.

There is.

Google To The Rescue

The recently updated spreadsheet application from Google has a very cool feature that allows you to export charts to an image file (PNG) to use wherever you see fit. The graphic you see here in this post was created using a Google spreadsheet. Here is a link to the actual Tom And Jerry spreadsheet.

The video simply walks through the steps required to go from data to chart to graphic. It's ridiculously simple. And, the tool gives you visual feedback on the changes you make to your chart as you go.

Here's the video:

And For My Fellow MAC Users Out There... iWork's Numbers has amazing charting features.

Example 3d Chart from Apple's iWork '08.

The ActiveRain Video Tutorial List

Since holding open auditions for suggestions, many have submitted, both in public and private, their requests for tutorial videos.

Here is the list so far:

• How To Make The Most Of Your Profile's Real Estate
• How To Add Widgets And HTML To Your Sidebar
• How To Copy And Paste
  
• How To Add Links To Your Blog
• How To Flow Text Around Images In A Post
• How To Embed Anything In Your Active Rain Posts
• How To Add Your AR Blog Posts To Various Groups
• How To Create Image Links In Your Posts
• How To Create Custom Graphics From Stock Photos
• How To Set Up A Domain Name To Forward/Redirect To An Existing Web Page
• How To Make Great Looking Charts To Add To Your Posts
• How To Add Some Depth To Your AR Posts

This post will be continually updated with the links to posts and videos as they are created. You can also find the ActiveRain Video Tutorials here.

When shooting a very small room, there are several things to remember. 

First, take the photos at an angle as commented on by Dawn Shaffer.

Second, if you don't have a wide angle lens, get one. I like the Panasonic Lumix FX35.

And here is a tip I like personally: Take off the door. This is especially helpful in small bathrooms. The first photo below is taken with a wide angle lens with the door on. The second, with the door off. You can see the subtle, but important difference it makes. The room feels larger, less cramped. It takes only a few seconds to remove most doors and the sellers will be very impressed with the results.