The Official ActiveRain Guide

Email has become an important part of our life.  It is so important but left untamed, it can also take over too much of our time.  If you are like me, and have multiple devices for checking email; smart phone, note book, netbook, desktop and iPad (whew!) just keeping all devices up-to-date can be a full time job!

Time management is important to me so I started looking for a solution.  I researched a simple, readily available option that is also FREE!  My solution was Gmail.  Over the past year Gmail has become my main email platform.  I no longer use Outlook and frankly can't believe it took me so long to convert!

Gmail offers personalized configuration options, multiple accounts can funnel into one dashboard, each account can be responded to by it's own address and you never have to delete anything!  Use the power of Google to search for keywords in mails you need.

In addition, once you have a Gmail account you have the passport to dozens of powerful Google applications, documents, photo sharing, calendar, Groups, maps and on and on!

To get started, here's a slide show of what you can do to begin organizing your life in the Google cloud.  

Kristal Kraft LOVES Google!  Here's Why...

Gmail Offers  passport to Many FREE Services

Google Has a Voice and I Love it!

Relocate to Gmail - A Step by Step Story

Funnel Your Email Address Through Gmail

Gmail, I Bet You Didn't Know It Did This!

Broker Associate, ABR, CRS, GRI, ePRO, PMN, PNG
The Berkshire Group, REALTORS
3801 E. Florida Ave., Suite 400
Denver, Colorado 80210
720-279-4599 ~ direct     303-953-5362 ~ fax

Selling Colorado Since 1984, Serving the Following Areas:

Denver Home Search	Highlands Ranch Home Search	Parker Home Search	Englewood Home Search
Littleton Home Search	Search Denver Foreclosures	Greenwood Village Home Search	Relocation to Metro Denver

Since this Friday I am teaching a webinar for ActiveRain University titled Customizing Your ActiveRain Blog that it was time for me to share about the importance of building your brands across all social media platforms.  Instead of writing a 3,000 word novel to cover all of the different platforms that exist and tips to customizing each, I figured I would break this down into a series. 

The first network I want to talk about today is Customizing your Facebook Page.  But before I get into what to customize and how, I first want to share the difference between the three main categories Facebook offers. The first is a Facebook Profile.  A profile is your personal page on Facebook.  It is where you have "friends" and can connect with people on a personal level.  What many do not realize about these profiles is that Facebook frowns heavily on you doing any business on them.  In fact, section 4.2 of Facebook TOS says this: "You will not use your personal profile for commercial gain." Pretty self explanatory.

A Facebook Group is the second category of Facebook that I wanted to discuss.  These pages are limited to the number of members you can have.  Also, they normally require each person to be accepted into the group.  They also have several limitations to the customization end of things. So while these might be good idea, they have some major limitations when it comes to being effective for business.

The third Facebook category which I want to talk in detail about is Facebook Pages.  These are designed for businesses.  They allow many customizations and also unlimited number of fans.  Many times though, when I look at Facebook Pages, I see so many things that could use some improvement. 

Here are my 4 most important things to do when customizing a Facebook Page.

1.  Fill in the about me section on your main page.  Facebook pages have a small about me section on the main area of your page.  Make sure you fill this area in with a brief description of what the page is about.  The other thing that is good to do here is add a link to your website.  You can do so by just typing out the full URL to your site.

This is a quick and easy way to share a little bit of information about the purpose of your page and also your business.  Like I mentioned, keep this brief.  Don't try to get into a sales pitch here or you will lose the consumer before they even take the time to click to become a fan.

2.  Custom avatars-  Did you know that you can create your own custom avatars for your Facebook Page?  Instead of using a standard 200x200 photo, you can actually have something that is up to 540 pixels long!  One of the big advantages to the larger custom avatars is that they will stand out from your competition when someone is searching for pages to join.  If the logos for all the other pages are small and yours is over twice the size, you have a much better chance of them noticing you.  Here are a few ideas for other things to incorporate into your avatar.  You can add additional text, graphics, & colors to it.  While the links you add are not going to be able to be clicked, you can give people valuable information like a quick reference to your phone number, twitter account, etc.

Here are a few that I recently designed for clients.  You can see what I mean:

The key though to making these larger avatars is that you have to keep in mind the logo that will show up on your thumbnails on the wall.  So it is important that you use the correct spacing, sizing etc for your main logo/image. If not, you will end up with half of your head, or logo showing up on the thumbnails and that doesn't always look the greatest.  If you are graphically design challenged, I can help.

3. Integration of Blog- There are several ways to integrate your blog into your Facebook page.  While some work better than others, you have to go with the process you prefer.  I personally like mine coming in as an RSS feed through social RSS, but you can also use the notes function if you wish.  The key though is to feed in your blog information so that there is a steady stream of content other than just your regular wall posts.  One word of caution though, remember when you set up the RSS feed that it feeds everything posted to that domain.  So if you set it up & then place a blog post that is off topic or slightly offensive, it will be visible to your Facebook page as well.

4.  Custom Welcome Tab-  This is by far the most effective thing you can have on your Facebook page.  You can set this to be the tab that greets every single guest to your site.  That way they can get to know you immediately.  Our Facebook Page which was built by Mike Mueller, has a nice welcome video from myself & Jason Crouch that greets every single fan to our page.  We kept our video under a minute and just thank people for visiting & encourage them to become a fan.  In less than 10 days, it has been viewed 100 times! 

These custom tabs can also have all types of things added to them.  Including good keyword rich content, links to pages of your website, links to other services you offer.  If you know FBML, you can really do some awesome things on a page.  But, if you are like me and are not an expert on FBML (Facebook Markup Language) then I would HIGHLY recommend you contact Mike Mueller to build your page.  He has done over 200 of them & is really up to date on all the changes in specs to the pages.  That way you do not have someone build a great custom page for you to find out the next week that Facebook is making major changes to size allotments & other specs.  If you want a page, contact him here.  Also, because he likes me so much, he told me I can offer a 10% discount if you mention my name.  So tell him Jeremy sent you!

Take these 4 simple steps, place them into action, and you can really have one really awesome custom page that is branded to your business.  This means that if they find you on a website or on Facebook, it doesn't really matter because both sites look, feel & act in very similar manners. If you don't believe me, take a look at our website & Facebook page.  You will definitely see the correlation in our branding between the two.

If you want to learn more about how to customize your Facebook Page, feel free to contact me directly or register for our workshop on 3/17/10 at 2PM EST. Mike is going to teach you more on how to build awesome custom Facebook pages like ours!

How To Create HyperLinks to Anchor Text

Many of our Members and Bloggers have heard, read, or been told that it's not good to include links in your Blog posts to other sites.  Nonsense!  In this post, I'll share my difference of opinion, then show you how to do it.  Creating Hyperlinks to Anchor text can be very powerful and beneficial to your Blog for multiple reasons. Useful and informative links bring more value to your readers and targeted audience, they increase your SEO, and they drive traffic back to your blog from those who you are linking to.

According to many experts, creating anchor text boosts your search engine rankings and can make all the difference in the world to your Blog. "It tells search engines what the page is about.  Used wisely, it boosts your rankings in search engines.

What is Anchor Text?  Anchor text is the hyperlinked word(s) or phrases on your blog or website page - the words that you can click on to be taken to another site, Blog, or web page. 

What is a Hyperlink?  A Hyperlink is the underlined word which is commonly referred to as embedded text or an embedded link.  It's usually a blue underlined word that turns purple once it's been clicked on.  When you hover your mouse over a Hyperlink on a page, the arrow of the mouse will turn into a hand, and the URL or web address of that Anchor Text Hyper Link will appear in the lower left hand corner of your browser.

Hover your mouse over this Anchor Text Hyperlink but don't click on it, you'll see the Web address displayed at the Bottom of your Browser.  If you click on the Anchor Text Hyperlink, you'll end up right back here at this post.  Why?  Because that's how I've setup the hyperlink for that Anchor Text phrase.

How do you create hyperlinks and what is considered good Anchor Text?  Here's a couple tips:  Words like CLICK HERE, and READ MORE are not the suggested anchor text to use on your Blog posts.  They carry less value, and even moreso, they're less likely to get clicked on.  Also creating URL Anchor text IE: http://activerain.com/blogs/activebrad is less valued than using keyword(s) Anchor Text like "ActiveBrad's ActiveRain Blog"  If you want to see what other members have written about this Anchor Text topic, check out ActiveRain Anchor Text Blogs.

Now it's your turn!

Creating a hyperlink to Anchor Text is really easy. 

1. Type the keywords or phrase (Anchor Text) you want to use as the hyperlink within your Blog post.

2. Highlight the word(s) or phrase with your mouse so that it's
(only highlight and select the keywords or anchor text you want to use for your link)

3. Click on the "chain link icon" located in the toolbar at the top of your Blog Entry
(if there is no chain link, then you are most likely on the HTML tab)

4. Once the "Insert/Edit Link" box pops up, type in the URL or web address that you want to link to:
Example: http://activerain.com and be sure to add your "Keyword" or "Phrase" as the Title

The default on ActiveRain is to open a new window when your hyperlink is clicked on. You can change that option by clicking on the black arrow located at the end of the "Target" box.  I suggest having it always open in a new window so that your Blog post stays open, and your readers can come back to your post.  If you want the linked site to replace your Blog post page, then select "Open In Same Window."

5. Now click on the "Insert" button and your Anchor Text will be Hyperlinked to whatever URL or Web address you've entered.  If you hover your mouse over the new link, this is where you'll see the "Title" you created pop up over the hyperlink.

This should help get you started creating Hyperlinks to Anchor Text and key phrases, and understand why it's important that you do this on your Blog posts.  Don't get carried away with these though, if not used wisely, too many hyperlinks to anchor text can do more harm than good. The recommended amount of Hyperlink Anchor Text ranges depending who you talk to, I suggest no more than 3 or 4 per Blog post.  So what type of links are you thinking about now?  Maybe Local Schools?  MLS or IDX sites?  Chambers, Restaurants, Local Businesses etc.?

Just for fun, here's an Anchor Text that's sure to get clicked: DON'T CLICK HERE! :-O

Branding your image is one of the most important aspects of any business.  You need to have an image that depicts you and the business you are involved in.  Many sites require complex steps to customize a theme and make it the way you wish.  ActiveRain offers you a really great option on how to customize your blog to represent your image better.  Unfortunately, very few really master how to accomplish this.

Have you ever seen a blog on ActiveRain that looks like this?

I know I surely have.  While this type of theme might be acceptable on this network, it really doesn't convey a professional branding that you would wish to associate with your business.  On Friday March 19th at 11 AM EST (8 AM PST) I will be teaching at ActiveRain University on how to customize your your blog on ActiveRain.  This 1 hour webinar will cover the following:

• Creating a Custom Header that has Pizazz.
• Uploading a Header to your ActiveRain Blog & Outside Blog.
• Customizing your ActiveRain Background to compliment your header.

Now, in case you were wondering why ActiveRain chose me to teach this class, let me show you a few examples of headers I have created in the past for clients:

And here are a few more examples of member blogs that I have customized:

These are just a few customizations on ActiveRain that I have done for clients in the past.  In this webinar, I will show you step by step how to take your blog customizations to the next level.

To register for this class, visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/752157441.

ActiveRain Training and Support - Your Virtual Classroom

We are now offering RainMaker members an opportunity to join us for some "informal" on-line training and support.  Our ActiveRain Training and Support Program is where you can phone in, join a classroom environment, ask your questions, see live examples and get detailed tutoring on "how it all works!"  The best part is that you can do it from the comfort of your home or office computer, and classes will be available three times a week for your convenience.  Time for the teacher to give YOU an apple.

There's no formal agenda, no formatted sessions, no rules, and no reason for you to not be getting the most out of your experience here on ActiveRain. We'll go over any requested details, and provide you information on how to use many of the AR tools and services.  We want to show you how to get the best results from areas of AR that you may not understand or just simply need some help and support with.

This is a great opportunity and chance to learn anything you want to know about ActiveRain, and do it in a non-threatening and fun environment.

Training and Support sessions will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for approximately one hour each day.  *Holidays, *RainCamps, and other *Real Estate Industry events that conflict with our ActiveRain training and support classes will take precedence, sessions will not be held on or during those dates and times.

Our dates and times selected for the first come first serve training and support this month are as follows: (ALL Times listed below are PST)

For ALL Classes, Support, Guests Speakers/Trainers, and Daily Events:
Go To: ActiveRain University

To Register in Advance - Click on Calendar

           
You'll also find a link on the Main ActiveRain Home Page under "More Information"

Over the past few weeks, we've been sending out emails discussing what RainCamp™ is all about and why we think you should be there. With the tickets being donation based, meaning you can pay whatever you can afford, you'd be crazy for not joining us.

I'm serious, you would be crazy!  Just yesterday, Garrick Werdmuller, a loan officer in Alameda, CA who joined us last month in San Francisco, posted to his AR Blog and said "I would have to say it was the best event I have ever attended as a mortgage professional and I have attended most of the big mortgage and real estate marketing events. If you get a chance, GO!"

What had Garrick so excited?  I'm sure it was that he learned how to get his content on the first page of Google. Or maybe it was the techniques he learned to help him actually get business because of his interactions on Facebook and Twitter. Maybe it was some of the connections he made and relationships he built with the people that surrounded him.

I'm certain those all played a part in forming his opinion of RainCamp.  But for a Real Estate technology lover like myself, who just can't get enough of staying on the cutting edge of marketing, it was a chance to immerse himself with 450 other Industry professionals with the exact same mindset and goals.

Sites like Facebook, Twitter and ActiveRain give us an incredible opportunity to exchange ideas from the comfort of our living room. Still, there is no way to replace the real life networking opportunities afforded by being in one location with 450 of your peers, all with a common goal, maximizing their online effectiveness while still connecting in real life.

Next week, I will be in New York, along with four of the most influential people in real estate: Jonathan Washburn, our CEO and Founder, Bob Stewart, AR's Chief Evangelist, Spencer Rascoff, COO of Zillow and Ben Kinney, Mega Agent from Keller Williams in Seattle. We'll be talking about a variety of strategies to improve your online presence and help you get business using the web and Social Media.

Next week at RainCamp, we will:

• Show you how we have helped thousands of our members rank at the top of the search engines for searches in their market.
• Share how Donna Harris, a RE/MAX agent from Austin, Texas used her blog to make $122,000 in commissions over the last two years doing something you can do in your own market right now.
• Reveal how a plan and some guidance can help you use blogging to impact your business and get the same results as Donna.
• Provide you with a full day of great info to take home with you and implement immediately!

At the end of the day, Real Estate is a people business, and no amount of technology will replace old fashion networking and sharing, in person.

Come Join us on Tuesday, January 12th in New York City for RainCamp to learn and build cohesive, meaningful relationships with colleagues that will carry you into 2010 and beyond. Click here to register today, we are filling up fast and the last seats will be gone before you know it. I can guaranty that you don't want to be the one that didn't take the time to learn this stuff. 

I'm excited and looking forward to seeing you and connecting in NYC.

Each time I teach a webinar class, one of the things we spend a good amount of time covering is how to claim the domain name for your outside blog.  When you become a Rainmaker, a custom domain URL is part of your benefit.  You do not need to go to godaddy.com and purchase a domain name. So, I decided that I would take a  moment tonight and do a brief tutorial on how to claim your domain for your Outside Blog through ActiveRain.

Also, if you were wondering if an outside blog would be a benefit for you, you may want to check out a few great features of the outside blog.

First, a few of the awesome themes available:

• Business Casual Theme
• Easy Going Theme
• Blue Days
• Real Estate Red
• A Day at the Beach
• Granite

And here are a few of the awesome widgets available:

• Local Posts Widget
• Google Search Widget
• Feedburner Email Subscribe Widget

So, if you have not yet become a Rainmaker and started your Outside Blog, try it today!  Also, if you would like to learn more on how to optimize ActiveRain & your Outside Blog, see if my Blogging Basics 101 class is right for you!

As I have shared over the past few weeks, I have been extremely busy with Webinars for our new members teaching them how to write posts effectively for search engines & also to be appealing to consumers.  In the classes I share how to write posts to rank well in the search engines as well as making your posts appealing to a consumer who comes to read what you have written. 

During the webinars, one of the questions that normally comes up is Why do I need to be a Rainmaker?  While there are thousands of reasons why everyone should be a rainmaker, I decided to just share 6 of the most important ones.

• Google Dominance-  This is a no-brainer.  If you write it properly, it will rank well in Google.  It doesn't take months and years to start ranking well in Google.  If you don't believe me, read about one of the members who became a Rainmaker in less than 10 hours of sending two posts public was #1 & #2 on Google!  If you take the training that ActiveRain offers our Rainmakers and put it to use for you, the same results can be yours. 

• Blog views get a steroid injection.  If you are trying to figure out how to get more traffic to your blog, then a Rainmaker is a great option.  Did you know that our Rainmakers Average 500 views per post?  Here are some really interesting stats from a member who recently became a rainmaker.

                   Before                                                                         After

These stats were taken immediately after becoming a Rainmaker and you can see the results.  In an instant their blog traffic increased 4 times what it was on posts before being a Rainmaker.  This happens instantly because when you become a Rainmaker you get to have your posts show up in the search engines and also be read by consumers. 

• Increase of Income- This is probably my favorite reason for becoming a Rainmaker.  Once you become a rainmaker, you can really increase your revenue.  I don't need to prove that a Rainmaker Membership can increase your income, many of our members already have:

Over the past week or two, I had two referrals from my friends here at ActiveRain, AND one of the biggest closings we've had in months.  The closing came from a consumer who found my blog months ago and became a "fan". -Jason Crouch

While almost 60% of the members who joined Active Rain at the same time I did, have not used  this amazing marketing tool, I have garnered close to sixty (YES, sixty!!!) new clients through my blogging on AR.  I literally credit ActiveRain with saving my business during these trying times. -Mirela Monte

• Posts show up on Localism.  "The World's Most Complete Neighborpedia"  When you are writing content about your local area this gives you a great secondary avenue to share your information & increase your Internet exposure by double instantly.
  

• ActiveBlogs- Think of the endless marketing opportunities by having your blog show up on it's own domain name.  For example, which would you prefer seeing on a business card? http://activerain.com/blogs/jeremy or http://activejeremy.com?  Just how Localism gives you another avenue to share your content exponentially, your ActiveBlog does the same thing by offering a third place to syndicate your content to.
  

• Top Notch Training- The training & knowledge you can obtain on ActiveRain is alone enough reason to become a Rainmaker.  Between the webinars offered by ActiveRain and also the great information shared by members you can learn enough to revolutionize your business and take it to the next level.

So if you are not yet a Rainmaker, what have you been waiting for?  Get started today for only $5.00 for the first month. Or, if you would some training on how a rainmaker can increase your business, feel free to sign up for my Blogging Basics 101 Webinar where I will teach you personally how to get the most out of your membership. 

What are you waiting for?  Let's take your blogging career to the next level today!

Kids of ALL ages, It's Time To Send Your Parents To RainCamp!

That's right kids, if your Mom or Dad is in the Real Estate Industry, just hanging around the House or Office pouting, pacing, misbehaving, biting their nails, or cussing while sitting at their computers, it's time to send them to Camp.  RAINCAMP!  We can help your folks become more productive, attentive, and obedient if you send them to us. We'll even bring the "CAMP" close to you!  (Watch for RainCamp Calendar Coming Soon!) 

If you want to help make life normal again, and see your parents come home with smiles on their faces and doing the Happy Dance, then RainCamp is the answer.  Just look at what these kids parents had to say who were among the first to ever attend "The RainCamp!"

Parents Responses Prior To RainCamp:

JoSoss: hahaha @campingworld is now following me -must be all my tweets about RainCamp! I am not a camper- lol! But I am attending RainCamp #raincamp

todderific: fully aware that my lack of recent tweets will make me a target at #raincamp tomorrow.

benkinney: Packing up for raincamp.com tomorrow in Seattle. I am ready, swine flu, and all.

alltechmortgage: Heading to Raincamp.com tomorrow....Hopefully learning new skills. Can they still teach old dog's new tricks...

JohnPayson: Looking forward to Raincamp today!

Parents Reactions During RainCamp:

mallinawilson: sitting in an active raincamp in Seattle! I should come out brilliant!

victoriarealtor: @CoachKaterina Wish you where Here :O)) Brad and Bob are awesome #raincamp

activebob: @bradandersohn never has a camera more than one foot from his reach #raincamp

pmcmortgages: At Active Rain's Rain Camp-lots of excitement! #raincamp

chrispenner: #raincamp just getting going here with Ben Kinney and Active Rains first ever raincamp. Rock on guys.

DuaneHopper: Sitting in Active Rain "RainCamp" Seattle Bell Harbor Conference center. http://post.ly/7c9v

JordanCoxRE: Just got picked to video RainCamp #raincamp

juliannahind: I accidentally entered the men's bathroom when I went on a much needed break at raincamp!

tara_camp: 67% of peeps are more likely to respond to Twitter, facebook, & linkedin than a email #raincamp via @benkinney

Lizmoras: Sitting at active rains first RAINCAMP in Seattle - with bob Kiney - bob stewart - brad andersohn - hey and scott leaf - amazing!

pmcmortgages: Ben Kinney is on stage-this guy understands social networking! #raincamp

victoriarealtor: Top 10 keywords are 19.8 % of all your search terms http://hittail.com twitter#raincamp

findrebecca: Go for the less commonly searched phrases for your targets to get the 80% of your clients that are not using most seared phrases. #raincamp

depmodechick: Wow, these fancy Aeron chairs at Bell Harbor conference center in Seattle are amazing! :) #raincamp #activerain

victoriarealtor: Wow...250 Realtors are at Rain Camp today!!!

mikelovesrobots: At #raincamp. This place is packed! Also, I've never watched an agent use Activerain before live! #spy http://twitpic.com/km8sv

JohnPayson: http://twitpic.com/kml4j - Panelist at #raincamp

elaineAcook: in the most fantastic workshop...Active Rain, raincamp! Ben is doing great! Fabulous information!

findrebecca: Listening to the Social Media panel with Jim Reppond, Rhonda Porter, Courtney Cooper and JO Soss #raincamp 2009 Seattle.

concentriconlyn: #raincamp Do you promote your blog posts on any social bookmark services such as stumbleupon or del.icio.us?

RealtorSandyN: @BradAndersohn sharing his wealth of knowledge at @ActiveRainCorp #RainCamp.

KitsapAgent: @jososs is one of the better examples of what you can do with social media tools. Her quality content dominates our local market #raincamp

clockhours: #raincamp showing Social media video.. fad or revolution.. always give me goosebumps!

RebeccaChandler: http://bit.ly/OIIs2 (expand) @danielrmccarthy embracing social media to increase consumer engagement - a new way of sharing #activerain #raincamp

jimreppond: Find what's happening at the moment right around you on Twitter with your iPhone using "Buzzd" app. #raincamp

urownlo: listening to @activebob about twitter. #raincamp twitter helps get out my information i enjoy to share

GabeSEO: Twitter TweedDeck tip: Use the filter button in columns to only display Tweets with "?". Result, only question related Tweets. #RainCamp

Design29: Very moving video. Ben Kinney talking about sharing with others, amazing stuff!! #raincamp

Parents Testimonies After Attending RainCamp:

pmcmortgages: Wrapping up the first ever Active Rain raincamp. It was invaluable! Thanks to all! #raincamp

ChristineandCo: Loving what i am learning at #raincamp

victoriarealtor: Brad...Sharing is a good and positive thing ...Thanks for Coming and sharing!  :O)) #raincamp

dalekreiser: Great turnout at Seattle #raincamp. Good info to boot! http://twitpic.com/km1eo

Pamstages: The information here at Rain Camp is great, not just for Realtors I think it's for any small business #raincamp

chrispenner: @BradAndersohn Hey Brad thanks so much to you and your team for ripping up the #raincamp yesterday, just super.

DuaneHopper: @clockhours yep, another great show by #activerain at #raincamp. See you at the after hours for a video ;-)

victoriarealtor: Thanks to our Panel at Rain Camp Jim Repond, Rhonda Porter, Courtney Copper and Jo Soss with Active Brad #raincamp

clockhours: @DuaneHopper Hey Duane.. so you are in this crowd.. awesome conference, huh?! #raincamp

cheridiehl: #raincamp Looking forward to using what I've learned to sell Long Beach WA real estate

urownlo: i have so many great ideas from #raincamp that i will be implementing asap

jimreppond: @mortgageporter more like "getting charged" :-) #raincamp

RealtorSandyN: @benkinney The 10 Days of Pain for internet lead generation! You really missed a ton of info if you didn't attend #raincamp

eComprehend: #raincamp thanks for an awesome day of learning!

RollandJLS: Had a great time at raincamp, awesome to see so many positive good people there! #raincamp

kimcripe: #raincamp What a fantastic day! Thanks for making geeky sexy again....

RentonHomeFinde: #raincamp in Seattle social media and how do we sell Renton homes great stuff for our clients and business

depmodechick: My brain is percolating truckloads of ideas, thanks to the first ever Rain Camp in Seattle (put on by Active Rain). Thank you #raincamp !!!

JoSoss: No matter what level blogger you R- #raincamp has to be a must! I picked up lots of stuff Thx @activebrad @activebob @JonWashburn @BenKinney

Ricklie: Fantastic day of learning at Active Rain's Rain Camp. Thanks to all the planners & contributors for an inspiring six hours! #raincamp

JoSoss: Just posted on ActiveRain: ActiveRain- RainCamp - Thanks the Behind the Scenes AR Crew http://activerain.com/t/1274811

renefabre: #raincamp 1 Seattle... thanks Ben Kinney, Bob Stewart, and Brad Andersohn... AWESOME JOB! ActiveRain team, you're fabulous!

Dinah Lee Griffey Allyn - "I have seldom in my career been as inspired as I was today [at RainCamp]." http://bit.ly/luWJJ

skynnard: Most amazing day of learning and sharing. Thanks #ActiveRain for making #RainCamp possible. Well done everyone. Can't wait for the next one.

BrettTousley: Had a good time at Active Rain's #raincamp today. Great speakers and a lot of useful info. Catch it if it rolls through your town.

DaleKreiser - @JonWashburn It was good to finally meet you last night. Thanks for putting on such a great event yesterday #raincamp Cheers!

JonWashburn: I am gushing with happiness after seeing such a positive twitter response to #raincamp - http://bit.ly/4qqssZ

So as you can see kids, getting your parents to one of these RainCamp events is worth while, and will literally change their life. A Happy Parent is a productive, Socially connected and educated Parent.  If you're still not sure about "RainCamp" or if it's right for your folks, just listen and watch this video below.  Hopefully, you'll be convinced why you "MUST" get your parents to an ActiveRain RainCamp in your area.

We promise to take good care of them, and are committed to making sure that each parent who attends a RainCamp, will come out of it renewed, refreshed, energized and educated.  They will never be the same parent again. :-))  Looking forward to seeing your folks at the next Summer Camp RainCamp for Parents. C'mon Kids, it's really all about them!

 

 

          

 

Tutorials | Training | Mobile | Widgets

"May this blog be just one more planted seed of wisdom that helps you or your business blossom today!"

73 comments • Brad Andersohn • October 09 2009 04:10PM

How to Add Custom Links to Your Blog Sidebar

Jeff Dowler wrote a great post regarding "How To Use His Blog - A Road Map" showing Buyers, Sellers, and Visitors how to navigate his Blog on ActiveRain.  This was a fantastic idea, so I wanted to expand on it, thanks Jeff.  As with any Blog roll, as content is added to your Blog, the previous Blog is moved down the roll allowing for the most current post to be at the top of your Blog.  In this case, Jeff's great post will eventually be pushed down the Blog Roll and end up off the page. (it's already dropped down to 3rd place)

In the event that you create a post that you wish to remain visible, there are two ways to do this.

First: You can create a link to the post using the "Add/Remove" links on your Blog sidebar.  The only thing with this option is that the links appear down below the "Tags" menu bar on your Blogs sidebar.  The more widgets and gadgets you have, the lower these links will be pushed down the side of the computer screen.

Second: You can create a custom link to remain at the top of your Blog sidebar, or you can place it wherever you feel is the best location anywhere on your sidebar.  The choice is yours.

OPTION ONE:

To add a link using the "Add/Remove" links option:

1. Scroll down on your Blog sidebar till you come to the "Add/Remove" Links

2. Click on the "add/remove" link located next to Links

3. In the "Link" Box, add the URL of ANY page you want to direct your visitors to. IE: http://activerain.com

4. In the "Link Text" Box, add the TEXT that you want to appear as the Link.  IE: Real Estate Network
(Suggestion: Use some enticing text that will create the desire for visitors to want to click on it)

5. Click on the "Add Link" Button and you're done.  TIP: Be sure to always test your links to make sure they work.

 

OPTION TWO:

To add a "Custom Link" and "Text" to your Blog sidebar using the "Settings" page:

This is a bit more advanced, but you can do it if you follow these simple steps.  I'll use my most recent post as an example of how to add this to the Top of the Blog sidebar.  This will apply to any custom link you wish to create on your Blog sidebar.

1. Click on "My Home"

2. Click on the "Settings" link located on the left hand sidebar

3. Here is the secret and most important step.  You will need to use this HTML code below to create a custom link.  You can use any URL or web address where you want the link to go.  Then just add the custom text you want displayed on your sidebar.  The HTML must be exactly as shown.  Just use YOUR URL or web address and text and replace what I have used as a sample below.

4. All the HTML Codes for custom links will go in the SECOND Box on your "Settings Page", see below:

Quick Tip: If Using the <b> to Bold text or <i> to make italics, they must be closed with these </b> or </i>
EXAMPLE:  <b>Makes Text Bold</b>    and     <i>Makes Text Italicized</i>

5. Now just click on the "Update" button on your settings page to save your work. 

If you have other custom created widgets and links on your sidebar, then the placement of this custom link will depend on where you decide to place the link (code).  Just place it above or below any existing links or widgets you may already have.  The final result should be a link on your Blog sidebar that looks something like this.

See my sidebar for "Live" link sample.  There is something new to learn here everyday that can enhance and add more value to your Blog.  This may seem really advanced for some, but once you do it a couple times, it will make sense and be easy to do in the future.  I hope this will simplify adding links to your ActiveRain Blog Sidebar.  Jeff Dowler's post would be an excellent example of something I'd want to have a link to at the top of my Blog sidebar for ALL visitors to see.  Thanks for sharing that Jeff, it's what inspired this tutorial.  :-)

 

 

 

          

 

Tutorials | Training | Mobile | Widgets

"May this blog be just one more planted seed of wisdom that helps you or your business blossom today!"

65 comments • Brad Andersohn • September 14 2009 06:06PM

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