The Official ActiveRain Guide

The ActiveRain Point System

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:35:25 -0600

The ActiveRain Point System

ActiveRain awards members points based on participation and their individual involvement within the network and community. While there is a much more complicated and technical explanation of how the point system works, this post is to provide you a general overview of how points are earned and distributed that to ALL ActiveRain members.

ActiveRain points are earned based on a members individual activities and efforts. Points are accumulated over the duration of the Calendar week which "Starts Monday morning at 12:00am Central Time, and Ends Sunday night at 11:59pm Central Time."

The following are some ways you can earn points and move up the "Featured Member" ladder in your Local Area.

200 Points for each Blog Post
(Max 10 per Week) (50 Word Minimum Required)
25 Additional Points when Post is added to Channels with a Topic
400 Points for Featured Post on ActiveRain.com
(Excludes Posts Featured in ActiveRain Groups)
25 Points For Each Comment
(Max 10 Per Day) (Comments on Your Own Posts Excluded)
25 Points for Each Reblogged Post
(Max 10 Per Week - These do not Include Your Own Posts)
ActiveRain Profile Points
(Building Your AR Profile will Build points)
Received Comments on Blog Posts
(No Blog Post to exceed 475 pts.)
100 Points - Logging In To ActiveRain Each Day
(This applies 7 days a week)
250 Points When Someone Accepts Your AR Invitation
(Must Sign Up under Members Invite Code)
10% of Total Points Earned By New Members Invited By You
(IE: Invited Member Earns 1000 pts. - You Earn 100 Pts.)
ActiveRain and Member Approved Contests - Points Will Vary
(These show up as Bonus Points in your Point Summary)
Staff Awarded Bonus Points - These are issued by the AR staff
(Member Humanitarian, Paying It Forward, Helping Others etc.)

Weekly Point Scenario: The potential of points available per week, per member would be as follows: 1750 for max comments, 2000 for max Blog posts, 700 for logging in daily, 250 for adding to Channels/Topics, and 250 for max ReBlogged posts. The Weekly potential of points would be 4950 (this does not include featured posts, comments received, invitation and percentage points, contests, and staff awarded bonus points.)

Point Disclaimer: The Points System created by the ActiveRain Network was developed and implemented to motivate, inspire, and reward members for their participation and involvement within the community. These points are subject to change at the discretion of the ActiveRain Mgmt. Team, with or without cause, warning, or notice.

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15 Quick SEO Tips for Real Estate Bloggers

Justin Smith | SEO, SMO & Blogging Consultant (Searching Solutions) — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:17:40 -0500

Block Duplicate Content - With the nifty All In One SEO pack for Wordpress, you can easily set your category and archive pages to be noindex/follow… meaning that Google will follow the links to the individual articles, but not index those pages which will help guard against the duplicate content problem. For those of you not running Wordpress, try turning off your archives, and not placing posts in more than one category. Read more about: Multiple categories & Onsite Duplicate Content.
Keyword Research Before You Post - This little tactic has helped me tremendously. Before you get ready to hit publish, run the keyword phrase that you used in your title through a keyword research tool like Google’s Keyword Tool. You may often find that with just a slight variation, you’ll be targeting phrases that get a higher volume of searches. For more help on keyword research, read this post I wrote about the money tail.
Internal Link Juice - In order to properly pass Page Rank, and link value to deep pages of your site (like older blog posts), you’ll want to link to these posts often. This can be achieved through a related posts section, or by simply linking back to previous articles as resources. Sometimes a few basic internal links with proper anchor text can have a great effect on that page’s ranking. Andrew Shotland gave a great tip related to this when I interviewed him about local search marketing.
Keep Your Link Count Down - This can be a problem with some blogs… too many links on one page. It can water down your internal Page Rank, and cause problems with full indexing. Generally, try to keep the number of links on a single page below 100. Google has said that it may not crawl any links past the 100 mark. So be careful with your categories, archives and blogrolls. These are the things that can eat up your links fast especially on the home page and category page.
Use Unique Titles For Blog Posts - Diversify your ranking potential by using unique titles on blog posts. I’ve written about this topic extensively here: Keyword Cannibalization.
Each Post is a Ranking Opportunity - View each post you write as a new opportunity to rank for a unique keyword phrase. Each post has it’s own content, title, title tag, and URL slug making it a prime candidate for unique ranking for certain phrases. Don’t try to target the same phrases over and over in each post.
Use Heading Tags - Not only is this important for usability, it’s vital for search engine ranking. If you are targeting a phrase in the title of the post, try to incorporate that phrase somewhere in the post within a heading tag. This will also break up the article nicely and make it easier to read.
Label Pictures Properly - Each picture should include the tag that can be used to describe a picture with text. Be descriptive, but try to also include keyword phrases that you are targeting.
The Perfectly Targeted Post - When you are attempting to rank a post well, you must do the following: 1. Identify a keyword phrase 2. Place the phrase in the post title towards the front 3. Place the phrase in the first sentence of the post 4. Use at least one subheading in the post that includes the phrase 5. Place the phrase in any images on the page using the alt tage. 6. Let the phrase flow naturally throughout the post.
Write a Linkbait Post - This is a post that is written for the sole intention of building more links to the website through viral popularity and interest. It could be something funny, something controversial, a hoax, insider news, a free resource, and more. Just about anything can be linkbait if it ends up getting other people to link to you.
Create Link Clusters - Each post has it’s own keyword phrase ranking potential in the search engines (usually based on the keywords used in the title and body). Create extra links to pages like this in clusters. Example: you have a post that is targeting: “blue widgets”. Create 10 links to that post from other related articles with that exact anchor text as the link: “blue widgets”. This can dramatically increase the ranking of that page for the chosen keyword phrase.
Leverage Strong Pages - Every website has a few strong pages. Usually these are the most popular posts that have the most incoming links and comments. These pages can be leveraged to help build the authority of other pages on the site that may not be performing to their full potential. Link generously. Try using this tool for finding your strongest pages.
Monitor 404 Error Statistics - Using Google Analytics and Google webmaster tools can help identify error statistics. Keep your eye 404 errors for pages that get consistently accessed. It probably means that there is an old link to that page that is bringing traffic to it. You’ll want to set up a 301 redirect for the 404 error page, or talk to the webmaster of the other site to have them change the link to a working page.
Check Status of Outgoing Links - Many times the pages we link to get moved, taked offline, etc. It’s important that all of your outgoing links work properly so your readers can be taken to outside resources that actually work. Try this dead link checking tool.
Find Missed Link Opportunities - Many times, your company or website can be referenced online without the actual hyperlink. It can be an effective strategy to find these references and ask the webmaster to turn them into a link. Use this query to find pages with these references.

How to Add Facebook Fanbox to Your ActiveRain Blog

Jeremy Blanton (210 Consulting~ Social Media Advisors) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:55:14 -0500

**THIS TUTORIAL IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO FAN PAGES. IT DOES NOT APPLY TO A REGULAR FACEBOOK FRIEND PAGE**

Since Facebook announced the ability to have your own personal url for your Facebook Pages, there has been an amazing increase in Fan Pages. One awesome feature that has recently been released is the ability to add a Facebook Fanbox Widget.

Like most new and cool things, I immediately had to try & add it to my page. So, I visited Facebook and noticed that the code was giving as a <script> which is not on the approved widget list yet on our network. But, as I scrolled down a little further, I found a version of the code in <iframe> which is supported by the network.

So what are Facebook FanBoxes?

The fanboxes are almost like mini versions of your fan page. It allows people to become a fan of your Facebook page right from your blog. It also shows some of your fans on rotating basis. The other fun thing is that you can bring in your wall from your Facebook page to show what is happening on Facebook on your blog.

How to install Facebook Fanbox on your ActiveRain Blog.

The <iframe> widget is rather generic and if you just copy & paste the generic version of the widget, it will be too wide & look funny on your blog here on ActiveRain. But, like any good community builder, I have taken the time to make the necessary changes so that the widget will look right on your page.

Two Versions for Your ActiveRain Blog.

The first version includes your stream from your Facebook Page Wall into your ActiveRain Blog. The finished product will look very similar to my personal widget over on the right. The first step is to copy this piece of code in it's entirety:

After you have copied the code above, you will then go to My Settings on your ActiveRain Blog. Paste the code into the Blog Description box. Once you have copied & pasted the code into your blog, it is now time to alter the coding to make it your personal page. Start by opening up a new tab on your web browser & bring up your Facebook FanPage. You are going to need to tab back & forth between the 2 pages to get all the information needed to customize your page.

You will notice 3 parts of the code above that I have placed in BOLD print. The reason for this, is that these three sections you must enter your information or the widget will not work properly. Also, it will be very generic & not customized to you.

The first section you are going to change is Your ID Number. This is found by visiting your facebook fan page. Under your profile picture there is a link to add a fanbox to your site. Click on that link. DO NOT USE THE CODE THAT APPEARS NEXT ON FACEBOOK.

Once it opens, you will want to copy 12 digit id number that is at the end of the URL. This is YOUR ID NUMBER.

Once you have that ID number go back to the code and replace the words YOUR ID NUMBER with the 12 digit number.

The next step is to get the link for your page. If you are lucky enough to have over 100 fans already, You have a custom URL. Mine is http://facebook.com/socialmediatips that would be the URL I would place in mine. But, if you do not have the vanity URL yet, your URL would look more like this: http://facebook.com/Real-Estate-Client-Referrals/101152061373. The number at the end of the URL is very important as that is part of the URL identifier so make sure you include it as well. You will paste the entire URL into the YOUR FACEBOOK URL section.

The third & final customization to the code is to title the fanbox widget at the bottom of your widget. I titled mine Social Media Tips, but yours might be Miami Real Estate, or Denver Locals, whatever you want to name it. The choice is yours. I would keep it to less than 5 words.

After making these changes to the code, make sure to click Update to save changes!

Some of you may not wish to have the wall included into your widget out of fear of what some of your friends might say, or to just make things simpler, so I have also customized the widget without the wall feed included. To make this widget on your blog, you will want to copy this code:

As above, follow the 3 simple steps to Customize your widget on your blog by changing the ID Number, URL & Fanpage Name. Once the changes have been made, DO NOT FORGET TO CLICK UPDATE ON YOUR ACTIVERAIN SETTINGS PAGE.

I will leave you with this final thought. While it seems like this is a rather complex & long laborious process, it really is not. I have already taken the hard part out by making the customizations to the html code to make this widget work properly and look good on ActiveRain.

My guess is that if you follow the steps above you can add this widget in less than 5 minutes. When Clint Miller Contacted me yesterday to add the widget to his Real Estate Client Referrals blog on ActiveRain, we were able to have it up & running in about 2 minutes time.

Also, if you are familiar with HTML codes you can make a few more customizations to this widget. For example, you may not want 12 of your friends showing at a time, or maybe you wish for none to be showing. This coding is fully customizable. If you would like some of those changes but are not familiar with HTML codes, let me know in the comments section and I will try to make the changes & post them below. One suggestion is this. Make sure to keep your friends showing on the widget in multiples of 3. If not, you will run into issues.

Lastly, if you have not already joined the ActiveRain Page, what are you waiting for? Use the Fanbox on the right of my page & become a fan today!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am the Co-Founder of 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors. If you would like more information on any of the topics discussed in this blog, please contact me directly.

Feel free to subscribe to my blog to keep up to date with my latest posts of tips & tricks to enhance your experience on ActiveRain. If you would like, you can sign up to receive updates via email directly in your inbox.

Also, lets connect on these great social networks:

How To Use Your AR "Settings" Page

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:38:00 -0500

Here is some information on "How To" use your Active Rain "My Settings" page. I have tried to make this as simple as possible, for you to get the most out of your Active Rain experience. To access your settings page, go to your "MY HOME" link at the top of the page next to the "Logout" option. Make sure you are logged into Active Rain before you try and modify your settings. Next, click on the "My Settings" link on the left hand side of the page just under the "My Ads" link. The rest is detailed below for your use. You might want to print these instructions so you won't have to go back and forth from this post and your "My Settings" page.

This is your Blog's Title. Be sure to give this some thought, it is the theme of your entire Blog. This is what will appear when anyone clicks on the "Blogs" link at the Top of Active Rains main homepage. You'll see this title under your Blog Subscriptions. You can use any Title you want for your Blog, I suggest make it interesting, and not just your name like "Brad's Blog" or "My Blog". Your Title will attract readers and your name in it will help search engines find YOU easier. You can always change it if you come up with a better idea later.

Your Blog Description. This is an important area of your "My Settings Page" and it has multiple uses and values. First, this is where you can add HTML code to your Blog. For example, I want to have the search engines come see my Blog every 7 days to check for new and fresh content.

A. Here's the code I added for that.
<meta NAME="robots" CONTENT="ALL"/><meta NAME="revisit-after" CONTENT="7 days"/><p>

B. I also use Google Analytics for tracking, so I added their HTML code as well.
<script src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript">_uacct = "UA-XXXXX2026093-1";urchinTracker();</script>
QUICK IMPORTANT TIP: Be sure to register your Blog or Site at Google Analytics to get your own code, the one above is a sample! This code once added, will not make anything appear on your profile or sidebar, it is a hidden code. All the reports and information gathered from your Blog have to be obtained from your Google/Analytics account at their website.

C. Add Meta Tags, or keywords for your Blog. I use the following for my Blog:
<meta name="keywords" content="Title, Escrow, Technology, Solano, Contra Costa, Title Insurance, Agent Assist, Target Marketing, Marketing, Blogging "/> Yours will obviously vary.

D. Lastly, this is the section where you add the HTML code for widgets, gadgets, graphics, on vacation messages etc, that you want to appear on your sidebar under your photo. There is an instructional page on "How To Add Widgets" to your sidebar in Active Rain. If you want your graphics and widgets to be centered, be sure to use <center> code at the beginning, and use </center> at the end of the code.

Here is your Blogs Description. (Text Only - NO HTML Allowed Here) This is where you should describe your Blog, it's content, and it's value to your readers, but remember this is your HUGE SEO opportunity. You are limited to 100 words, so be direct and focused with your description and keywords. FACT: This is the most overlooked area by new and existing AR members. Want maximum SEO (Search Engine Optimization? You need to read this!!! Trust Me!

Allow Non-Member comments. Be sure you have this box checked, otherwise readers who are not members of Active Rain will be unable to comment on your post. Unless all your posts on your Blog are (members only) I would make sure it's checked!

Sharing your comments. Your comments are already shared in the posts where you've made them. If you want other members and readers to access "All" your comments in one easy access location, you can check this box and allow them access. It's really a matter of preference.

General Settings. There is currently only "One" option under general settings. Let others know you are on-line or not! If you notice at the top of the page right now, you'll see "Members: 53,842 - 1,270 On-line Now" in the upper right hand corner. Out of 53,000 members, I have never seen more than 1600 members on-line at a time. If you click on the 1,270 On-line Now" about every 5 seconds, you'll notice that the numbers change, funny thing is, the numbers never add up. This is very interesting. Regardless, ONLY check this box if you want to be seen by others that you're on-line. Not sure why this is an option, who'd want to hide? :-)

Your Email Settings. This is a very important part of Active Rain and your settings page. You have to decide how you want your email notifications to work and be managed here. Do you want to get emailed every time someone adds you as an associate? What about the comments you'll receive on your Blog Posts? What about the groups you've joined, the founder or administrator can do mass emails to the group, do you want to be notified? There is even Manual Score Adjustments and Link Status notifications. This is really up to each members discretion. You can see, I like to be notified about anything that's going on with my Blog or posts! :-)

Your Referrals. Use the Active Rain Referral Exchange to find the best Real Estate Professional match for your clients. You can also use the associates that you have added to your personal network here. This is NOT for just advertising your listings. This area of Active Rain is for "REFERRALS ONLY!" Please review and follow the instructions when you click on this link.

My Comments. This is where you can go back and track every comment you have ever made on Active Rain. Maybe you commented on another members post, and then had a change of heart and wanted to modify or change it, but you can't remember where that particular post is. Use the "My Comments" link to go directly to any post you have made a comment on. Most members don't even know this is here.

Your Points Summary. This is a link to your total breakdown of points earned here on Active Rain. Every point you'll ever receive will be found here. It's a great tool to see your total points on Featured Posts, comments, regular points, inviting new members points and more. ONLY YOU can see the breakdown of individual points, keep in mind other members can see your over-all points breakdown. TIP: This page can tell a lot about you or other members. Take a look at it, or someone else's, you'll see what I mean! Are you about points or content? Do you comment as much as you receive? Where is your focus here on Active Rain? This link will tell!

Your Blog Statistics. How many comments do you receive? How many views do you get on your post? How many clicks are your posts getting? It's all here at this link. Another great feature of the Statistics link is that you can see every post you've ever submitted on one page! I like using this page to see what's hot and what's not! Using the statistics page will help you determine many things about your Blog and each of the post's you've written.

Your Active Rain Bookmarks. This is the link that will take you to ALL the posts you have book-marked here in Active Rain. We all get the comments from other members that say "I've Book-marked Your Post!" This is so you can refer back to them at a later time when posts get get moved down and buried into a members Blog. The sad thing is, just like "Toy Story" I'm not sure how many of us actually go back and utilize or read the posts we've book-marked. I have hundreds, and am guilty of neglecting them as I am sure you will too. :-)

Inviting Others. Use this link to send an invitation to someone who is NOT currently a member but that you'd like to invite. When you use this link to invite other Real Estate Professionals, you will be credited for their membership and get points for everything they do on Active Rain. You will get a percentage of their points on any activity they have while Blogging here. You also will get points just for them signing up from your invitation. You can also sent an Active Rain Invitation on your own, just be sure to use the proper link or graphic so you can get credit for inviting them.

Links To Active Rain. This link will give you options and graphics to place on other websites and Blogs. This allows you to promote your membership here and the network. You can use the HTML codes here to on outside websites and Blogs. You will receive "Bonus" points when you add these links to other Internet pages. Here is an example of some I have added to my Outside Blog at TechKnowBabble. I suggest doing this not for points, but to help promote our Real Estate Network Community to others!

Your Associates/Associations. Here are all the other members that have added "YOU" as an associate. When you add someone as an associate, don't forget to put a comment in the box at the bottom of the page. When someone adds you as an associate, this is privilege and an honor. Don't just add them without commenting, others want to read why you've added them, this adds credibility and helps them determine if they want to add them too. This in my opinion is one of the best tools on Active Rain. I use it as my Referral Network Resource and would truly refer business to those who I've added and who have added me.

The Final and MOST IMPORTANT TIP HERE: Don't forget to click on the link when you're done making your changes. Trust Me, we have all learned the hard way!! LOL!

Feel free to modify your settings now with the hopefully, a better understanding of what each of these areas and links provides. If you have any questions on how to do ANYTHING here on Active Rain, there are hundreds of instructional posts available, or you can ask right here, I will try to answer or find the answer to your questions or comments. I hope you'll find the same value and relationships that I have. There's nothing quite like being a member here at Active Rain.

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ActiveRain University Training & Support Classes

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:43:48 -0600

The ActiveRain University on-line Campus is one of the best ways to learn everything about the ActiveRain Community and the Social Media World. Every day, we are offering classes for our members and guests. It's not just for new "RainMakers" either, it's for you too. We've added intermediate and advanced classes and are having experienced members and outside experts come in to present, share, and show you their tips and secrets.

Each class is about one hour using our ActiveRain University (ARU) on-line platform so you can access these sessions from just about anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection. Every day we're offering sessions like: New Member training, Open Q&A Sessions, Guided Tours of the Community and more (listed below). A variety of classes are now available, you can pre-register on the ARU Calendar.

Announcing our NEXT class, you won't want to miss it, so come join us!

NEXT CLASS:

MONDAY - March 8th, 2010
10:00 -11:00am (PST)
Growing & Building a Following

Presented By: Jason Crouch
Jason is the #1 "Most Subscribed" to Blogger on AR

We'll have Mike Mueller Teaching - "7 Secrets To Facebook Page Success" this Thurs. at 10:00am (PST)
Mike Mueller knows Facebook Better Than the 400,000,000 existing users on the site!

Future classes include: Intro to Blogging - Introduction to ActiveRain - ActiveRain Community Tour - Growing a Following - Zero to Page 1 on Google - Copyright & Plagiarism - Facebook for Business - Twitter for Business - LinkedIn for Business - Building Your Private Referral Network - Taking AR into the Real World - Adding AR to your Listing Presentation - Advanced SEO Tips & Techniques - Vendor Advertising on ActiveRain - On-line Marketing - Putting Your Business on Google - Meet The ActiveRain Team - Creating and Maximizing Outside Blogs - Lead Generation with Hit Router - The Power of AR Groups - Time Management & Blogging - Reaching Your Real Estate & Financial Goals - and more.

Visit the ActiveRain University Calendar for details and to register.

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Links That Will Rock Your World... Seriously.

Justin Smith | SEO, SMO & Blogging Consultant (Searching Solutions) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:52:34 -0500

I don't have much time to blog these days, but I wanted to do a quick post on sites that have revolutionized the way I do business as a coach/SEO consultant/website marketer, etc...

Ready??

1. Google Website Optimizer 101 - (Absolute Must Read!! It will change your entire outlook on web marketing)

This page is from the Conversion Rate Experts. It explains the wonderful world of "Conversion Rate Optimization" (CRO). Get used to this phrase, I guarantee you will be hearing more about it... it's taking the SEO world by storm right now and revolutionizing the way most web marketers look at websites. Bottom line: you can generate traffic all day long but do you know how to convert it?

2. Wiep.net - (The best up to date link building information available)

You may think that link building is outside your area of expertise, not worth your time, or just plain confusing. Wrong. IMO, this is one of the most valuable and often overlooked weapons in your RE marketing arsenal. It can provide instant qualified traffic, and more importantly, increase the ranking and traffic of your entire website (not just the page linked to). Read this site carefully, and bookmark religiously. His link post roundups are especially good, and there is some great buried treasure in there...

3. Local SEO - (An often neglected topic in the RE.net world)

Local Search Optimization Video on SEOmoz

[This] is what you get when you pool all of the best local SEO talent in the world

4. Social Media Automation (Some will cry foul here, but I don't care. They are valid tools)

Twollow.com - Autofollow based on keywords (I suggest starting with your location)

Twitter Karma - Auto-UNfollow people that aren't following you back

Twitterfeed.com - Automate part of your posting process with relevant RSS feeds. Property feed Twitter account anyone??? The sky is the limit here folks... seriously.

Disclaimer (be careful with all of these. They are great tools, but can be mis-used. I only use them to help supplement certain social accounts for clients because I have a life and can't be on twitter every 5 minutes)

I hope these were fun and useful for you. I love "broadening" my arsenal of tools. Enjoy...

An ActiveRain Conduit - Toolbar for Your WEB Browser

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:30:14 -0600

The ActiveRain Conduit - A Nifty Toolbar for Your Internet WEB Browser

This may be one of my coolest and greatest inventions EVER!! If you can believe that... lol~

ActiveRain members and even non-members should consider adding this toolbar to their Internet WEB Browsers. It will work with Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. The toolbar gives you easy and instant access to some of the most viewed pages and important helpful tools on ActiveRain. I think you'll find it to be a very useful tool. Here's some of the features and cool stuff it has:

The ActiveRain Real Estate Network Toolbar - Will help you "Stay Connected" easily and instantly.

Access ActiveRain.com with a single click
Pull-Down menu to select from ALL Industry Affiliates
Search the AR Network for members or any topic
One Click Access to Important Member "Must Read" info
HELP Menu for Manuals, Guides, Training & Support
Easy Access to AR Features from an RSS menu
Link to Search and Sort ALL ActiveRain Blog Posts
One-Click Access to the ActiveRain Staff and Team
Live Updates, Announcements & ActiveRain Broadcasts

You can easily download the toolbar for your specific browsers and remove it just as easily if needed. Take a moment to try it out, see some things you may not have known existed, and let me know what you think? Once you download the toolbar and add it to your browser, you'll see how easy it is. Most likely, your "wheels" will start spinning and you'll be wondering how you can create a "custom toolbar" for your Site, Services, Blog, or Clients Browsers? I'll show you how, and the best part is that it's easy and FREE!

I hope you'll check it out, I'm really excited about this one... :-)

Select YOUR Browser below to Install the AR Toolbar

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Effectively Posting Your Listings To Your Blog

Jeremy Blanton (210 Consulting~ Social Media Advisors) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:54:06 -0500

Effectively Posting Your Listings to Your Blog.

Posting your listings to your blog is something that any agent loves to do. It provides exposure for the listing which makes the seller happy & also gives your blog an additional posting of content. However over the past few months of being on staff I have encountered this question more times than I can count. "How do I post my listings on my blog?" Because of this I have written this post that will walk you through what you should & shouldn't be doing when posting your listings on your blog.

What Not to Do When Writing About Your Listing

Before I share how to effectively post your listings to your blog, I want to start with a few things not to do. The biggest No No is to just copy & paste directly from your MLS. Copying & pasting can cause coding issues to your blog where giant paragraphs of funny text shows up. Also, this a violation of our Community Guidelines. The second way many post their listings is through using some sort of outside service where you input your listing information & are provided with a piece of html code that creates a pretty flyer like the one to the right.

While there are plenty of wonderful services available to place your listings on your blog, (postlets, vflyer, realbird, etc) they are not always the best way. Before I go any further, let me make this statement: There is nothing wrong with using those services! They are a great for posting your listings to many social media platforms like craigslist, twitter, & facebook. But in order to make your listings more attractive to consumers & also search engines, using those sites hold you back on your blog & here is why.

Lack of content: Many times those services have a limit on the number of characters you can use in the description. They also do not allow you include links in the flyer. Since you can't link you are missing valuable opportunities for link juice.
Lack of Creativity. While they create really pretty looking flyers that can be visually appealing, they hinder you from using any type of creativity in the layout or added features to your listing because of the set template. The ability to add extras to the flyers in out of the question.
Layout Issues. Have you ever placed one of these flyers on your blog & the entire layout of your blog goes haywire? You know what I mean, your profile picture is at the bottom of the page, your post title runs over a picture, and text is going everywhere? Well this is caused by the html coding you inserted having the incorrect dimensions. Most everything you post on ActiveRain needs to remain under 550 pixels wide to keep from encountering this issue. Unfortunately these flyers are normally set for wider dimensions that the maximum allowed on ActiveRain.

Tips to Writing an Effective Listing Post.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, the best way to write bout a listing is to write an original blog post about the home. This way you are giving unique content about the property. You are the creator & can make it look & feel however you want. Here are 4 simple tips to increase the appeal of your listings for both consumers & also search engines:

Include Community Info. Before you take the time to write about your listing, I would suggest taking time to write about some of the other local things in the community. Write about local attractions, amenities in the neighborhood, restaurants, & anything else about the neighborhood. By writing these hyper local posts before writing about your listing you will then be able to incorporate these things into your listing post. This provides great ways to link posts together & build some major google juice.
Post plenty of Photographs. Pictures help showcase your listing. Adding these to the post bring things to life. Remember the importance of labeling your photos when placing them into your post.
Don't be afraid of giving too much information! Many times agents fear that if they give you all the details of the listing that consumers will not contact them. Posts that include more content than the average listing posts will be the blogs that consumers come back to again & again. Because of new technologies, consumers can find just about anything they want to know about a property online. So if you do not give them the information they are needing, they will move onto someone else.
Try adding a slideshow or video for an extra wow factor. Slideshows & videos give just an added dimension to the post. It allows the consumer to take a break from reading & just watch. Be careful though to not make the video too long or you can lost their interest. I would suggest keeping both around 2-3 minutes max.
Title the post correctly. One of the biggest problems I see when looking at a post that is for a listing is that the title is done all wrong. It is so important to Address your listings properly for search engines. If you just title the post "Reduced 3BR 2BA home to $389,000" you are definitely not helping the search engines to understand what your post is about.

Add these 5 simple tips when writing your next post about a new listing & watch the difference in results. Consumers will spend more time reading & learning as well as google will like it more.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am the Co-Founder of 210 Consulting- Social Media Advisors. If you would like more information on any of the topics discussed in this blog, please contact me directly.

Also, lets connect on these great social networks:

Do You Want to be the "Featured Member" Here's Some POINTS!

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 16:02:46 -0500

There is only "ONE WAY" you can be the featured member. It's Points! You have to have the most points... period! It is not based on your successes, your experience, your moral or ethical values, it's all based on points. I will tell you from personal experience, that points don't get you leads, and points will not get you referrals, it's the content of your Blog that is the most important of all. However, points do determine where you are placed both on ActiveRain and on Localism.com.

If you are not in the top 10, you will not show up on Localism.com in your area. If you are not on the first page in your area, will you get lost in the crowd? How do you get enough points to be in the #1 spot in your area? Maybe even just being in the top 10 could be to your benefit! Let me say this, you're going to have to work very hard. How hard, depends on how many members there are in your area, where you want to be, and where you are now on the totem pole.

This is the best way I know to help you become the number one "Featured Member" in your area. I owe this post to the guests I've invited. Here is the recipe for your success on ActiveRain based strictly on points:

First, your profile page is the starting point and foundation for your initial points. I quote the FAQ section that states, "We've incorporated a unique scoring system into the ActiveRain Real Estate Network to reward contributing members. When you create your profile it is automatically scored based on thoroughness, and also will be manually scored by a reviewer for quality." Build your profile as you would your own webpage. Remember, a web-page will pass away when you do, but your Blogs live on forever!!

Point Summary - By checking your points summary the first time (located on your "My Home" page), you will automatically be given 50 points. there are some other "secret" areas on ActiveRain that will award points so click around on everything and explore. Navigation on the rain is the key to getting around quickly and efficiently.

Invite others to ActiveRain- When they join, you'll get 50 points and then 10% of all their points forever. There are various ways to invite others, be sure to use the "referral link"when doing this. You must use this link to get the points. Then help those you've invited to be successful Bloggers, it helps their business, and gets you more points.

You must Blog! You get 200 points for every post you place on your Blog. Make it a good post, because you'll get 1 additional point for every comment made. You are allowed 10 posts per week. If your post is selected as a "Featured Post" on ActiveRain, you'll get 400 points plus 1 additional point for every comment made. Content is king, so put some thought and effort into your posts.

Commenting on others Blogs and posts. You are rewarded 25 points every time you comment on someone else's Blog. You are allowed up to 10 comments a day. That's an additional 250 points per day. If you comment on theirs, they'll comment on yours. These are the most important points of all. You will learn from other members, and establish great relationships in the process.

Uploading Photos to Localism.com. You used to get 100 points for the first photo to an area, 50 points for the next 10 photos, and 25 points for any photos after that. This has been changed due to the mass amounts of photos that were being uploaded just for points. The quality was over-run by quantity. There are no points available for uploading photos, but there is the benefit of sharing "Quality Photos" of your area with visitors and viewers. Plus, when someone sees "Your" photo, it has your name and links them back to you. USE ONLY YOUR BEST QUALITY PHOTOS for uploading.

Helping Other Members gets bonus points. When ActiveRain sees examples of members helping each other they may reward you points. This could be just answering questions, making referrals, etc.

Promoting Active Rain. If you promote ActiveRain, let them know and they'll reward you with points for it. For example writing about AR in your off-site Blog, adding a link, or mentioning them in one of your marketing pamphlets, etc. ActiveRain rewards creativity.

Contests and Challenges: From time to time, you will find various contests put on by ActiveRain and it's members. In many cases, there are points awarded for the winners. See examples:
(and sometimes you'll get points at random for acts of kindness to others in the community.)

All this to say, if you create a post, (get featured), comment on 10 posts each day, that's a potential of 650+ points a day. My disclaimer on all of this is that it's about quality, not quantity. Remember that readers and other members will be able to tell if you're just after points, based on the time and effort you put into your work here. You can have the best of both worlds if you do it right.

Here is MY POINT! To become the featured member in your area, and to use ActiveRain as a tool to increase your business, your network, and be successful, you need to become skilled in the art of Blogology. You have to become a blogger, and just Blog, Blog, Blog! You will get out of it, only what you put into it!

All Content Copyright Protected © 2007

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The ActiveRain "HELP" Toolbar for Your Browser

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:43:28 -0600

The ActiveRain "HELP" Toolbar for Your Browser - was created to help members and non-members find important pieces of information in and around the network, and to give additional assistance to newer members who aren't sure where to look or find help in the ActiveRain Community. It's an additional "help" source available for you if needed.

In this post I'll breakdown each section of the toolbar and show how it might be helpful. The "Toolbar" is not just for AR members, it's also for anyone who wants to keep up with what's happening in the world of Real Estate on and through the AR Network. It works on Explorer, Firefox, and Safari browsers and it's FREE.

The first section of the toolbar allows you to access AR with a single click on the logo. Next to the logo is a pull-down menu where you can login to AR or Join. You can also search by member "category" which helps save time if you're looking for a specific type of Industry professional.

There are 28 Industry categories to choose from, this makes it quick and easy for members and consumers to access any category with the single "point and click" option.

The "Read" button IS for ActiveRain members and those interested in joining the network. Unlike most boring community guidelines and terms of service, ours is unique and is a "must read!"
Can you say Weltanschauung?

The "Help" button and pull-down menu gets you access to the ActiveRain Manual, The ActiveRain University, The ARU Training Calendar, the Help/FAQ Group on AR, Information about Real Estate RainCamps, and member contributed guides and how-to articles and posts. This is one of my favorite parts of the toolbar and may be the most useful part for members needing "help" and tutorials about ActiveRain.

The "Daily Drop" is for those who want to be kept informed via AR's Daily Newsletter. Click To Subscribe.

The "Featured" pull-down menu gives you "live" real-time access to what's "Featured" on ActiveRain right now. You can browse ALL featured posts right from the toolbar and do it from any website or page you're on. Whether you're a member of AR or not, this is a great tool to be kept informed of what's going on in and around Real Estate all over the Country and Canada. (Your neighborhood included)

The "Blogs" button is a direct link to ALL AR Blog posts which can be sorted using the built in ActiveRain sort options. This makes getting to the newest and freshest content fast and easy.

Many networks, blogging platforms, and social media sights make it difficult to try and reach staff members. With this button, the entire AR Team is only "one-click" away.

Member support on ActiveRain is something we take seriously and are very passionate about. Our members' satisfaction and our reputation have been built on how well we support our friends on AR. The "Support" button pull-down on the toolbar shows we listen to our members, and we care. You are literally one click away from contacting AR support, making suggestions, sending us your feedback and comments, and emailing us directly.

The "Message" button is for communicating important messages. This will ONLY be used to make important announcements. IE: New AR features, Upcoming special events, RainCamps, Trainings and Classes etc. The message board has its' own set of built in tools for users to manage and respond to incoming messages.

The "Facebook and Twitter buttons" give you direct access to ActiveRain's Facebook page and to our "live" Twitter stream. No need to even leave the toolbar to see our latest tweets, but to become a friend or fan on Facebook, you will need to click the Facebook Icon.

This covers most uses for the AR Help Toolbar. It is completely customizable for each user. You can remove/hide any of the above predefined components that you don't need or aren't using by selecting the "toolbar options" in the main menu and checking the box next to those items you'd like hidden. If space on your browser is an issue, there's a "shrink toolbar" option that will minimize the space used. I hope you'll find it to be a useful addition to your browser tools and an efficient source for interaction and help on ActiveRain.

Select your browser below and install the ActiveRain Help Toolbar.

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How To Get Your Blog Posts "Viral" Exposure on Twitter and Facebook

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 10:29:32 -0500

How To Get Your Blog Posts Viral Exposure on Twitter and Facebook

As important as Location, Location, Location is to Real Estate, so is the importance of Exposure, Exposure, Exposure to Bloggers. Some Bloggers offer their subscribers, readers, and visitors the ability to "share" their content with others via Twitter or Facebook. ActiveRain has the ReBlog Option, just like Wordpress and Blogger are doing now, but that only works for other AR members. Here's a way to help get your "Voice Heard" and your "Posts Seen" on two of the other Largest Social Networks in the World, and here's how others can help you do it.

"Tweets" and "ReTweets" are quite popular as is "Sharing on FaceBook." I've just discovered a way that you can now do both. I think you're going to like this. It's simple. Just create and add a "Tweet" button, or a custom "Share" graphic, then create a link to it just like you would any other photo or image. You can even use text with a hyper-link. Here's the secret: you just need to replace the "BOLD" URL below with your page that you want shared. You will need to keep the underlined portion of the code below for each button to work.

Tweet Code: http://twitter.com/home?status=http://PlaceYourPageURLHere

For A ReTweet Code: http://twitter.com/home?status=RT%20http://PutYourPageURLHere

Share on FaceBook Code:http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://AddYourPageURLHere

Now some of you may be thinking, why not just use the "Sharethis" or "AddThis" widget? Well you still can, and they do have more options, but the millions of Social Networking consumers out there are probably more use to seeing the Tweet, ReTweet, and Share on FaceBook buttons. Familairity may play more of a role here than we think. Not to mention, using this method is quick, easy, and only "one click" away from accomplishing the readers goal. To Share!

So starting right now, you can begin letting the 100 million members that logon to Facebook each day, and the 14,590,000 Twitter accounts (guesstimation) share your great content with others on Facebook and Twitter. Word of Caution: This will not work for "Members Only" and "Associates Only" posts on AR. It will work on any "Public" Blog, Post, or Website.

Taking the idea one step further. If you have an AR Outside Blog, make sure that the Link you provide to your "Tweet" and "Share on FaceBook" buttons go to the post on your AR Outside Blog and not to your Internal AR Blog. This will help increase exposure and traffic to your Outside Blogs. All your "outbound" links should always go to your Outside Blog posts. Getting SEO and traffic to your Blogs is a great thing, but letting others share, and making it easy for them may be just as powerful.

Now let's talk about the 35 million members on LinkedIn?!? :-O

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ActiveRain ReBlog Gets A FaceLift - Time To Incorporate It

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:04:42 -0500

I'll be the first to admit, I didn't really like the previous ReBlog graphic/icon as I felt it was too big. It moved my text around making my posts look funny, and it was completely useless for me as the author of my Blog. The value seemed to only be for the ReBlogger. I know there are still mixed opinions about "ReBlogging" and the value of it, so like "open houses" I'll let that controversy continue onward and upward, but not here.

You'll notice this morning that the ReBlog icon has in fact changed, and in my opinion, for the better. I can finally see who has been ReBlogging my posts. The best part is that now you can also Link to the ReBloggers post to see what they might have said about it, or others that may have commented. Think of all the comments you've been missing about your post that was ReBlogged! :-O

This is a great new feature and I really like the look of the "NEW" and "Improved" graphic.
(The AR Tech Team redeems themselves)

You can also ReBlog members posts to appear on your Outside ActiveBlogs. No other Network offers a tool like this, ActiveRain continues to be on the cutting edge of social networking and technology.

HOW TO USE THE REBLOG OPTION:

If it's green it's clean, but if it's Grey with green dots then you've been REBLOGGED!! To ReBlog another members post, just click on the ReBlog button. To view a ReBlogged post and the ReBloggers comments or additions, just click on the green dots below the button. (Just fyi...You cannot ReBlog your own posts) To add the ReBlog option to your Blog posts, when creating the post, just put a check mark in the box that says: then submit post.

HERE'S THE NEW REPORT YOU GET FROM YOUR REBLOGGED POSTS:

IMO - A ReBlogged Post is one of the finest compliments you can give another ActiveRain Member!

I never thought I'd say this, but now I don't mind going back to all my posts and adding the ReBlog option to every single one of them. Especially now that I can see who has ReBlogged me, and what they had to say. Now we can follow the chain and threads on our ReBlogged posts, and the new face-lifted graphic won't affect the layout or design of our posts. I personally like the change and want to thank our guys for listening to the community and for making it happen. Kudos Gents!! :-)

If there were one single Blog post on AR that should be Reblogged by every member here, I'd say it's:

this one!

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How To Get Started on ActiveRain

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:08:36 -0600

How To Get Started on ActiveRain - A quick route to a successful Journey on ActiveRain.

The ActiveRain Staff, along with our members and ambassadors, wish to welcome you to the community. We know you have a choice, and we're glad you've chosen our network as a place to connect with others, support your local neighborhoods and communities, plus grow your business and relationships.

Before you begin your journey here, there's a few areas we invite you to navigate first. This will save you time and give you a better understanding of the Network. We're confident that our site will bring value, benefits, and substantial rewards to you and your business.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN
These are REQUIRED and a MUST READ for ALL New Members - NO EXCEPTIONS!

What We Stand For - Weltenschauung
Weltanschauung: The guiding principles and philosophy of an organization. A world view.

The ActiveRain Community Guidelines
Please take these rules seriously.

GETTING STARTED in 3 EASY STEPS
Follow these next steps to get setup on ActiveRain.

How To Setup Your ActiveRain Profile - Completely Customizable
Creating a personal profile is the very first step and the most important. It's ALL about you.

How To Complete Your Profile - Part II
Your profile has three areas that allow you maximize the page. Learn How to use these sections.

How To Use Your "My Settings" Page
Now you are ready to Customize your ActiveRain Settings.

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF ACTIVERAIN
Social Networking, Connecting and Blogging

ActiveRain Member Success Stories
Read what other industry professionals and members have to share.
Here's A VIDEO version

Understanding ActiveRain Points
Learn about points and how they work on the network.

The RainMaker Membership
Becoming a RainMaker - The Value and The Benefit

READY TO MAKE LIGHTNING, THUNDER AND RAIN
Now that you're a member and RainMaker, put the power tools to work

Top 10 Tools for New Members and RainMakers
Take the time to review what this network has to offer.

ActiveRain Custom Outside Blogs
How To Create and Maximize Your Outside ActiveBlog.

The ActiveRain Starter Kit
Details about more ActiveRain Products, Tools, and Services.

OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES TO HELP YOU
Use these links to dive deeper in the "Rain" if you need more information

The ActiveRainGuide
A Tutorial Blog by Members for Members

The ActiveRain Staff Blog
The Official ActiveRain TEAM Blog

Help/FAQ Group
A network group created to help members

An ActiveRain eBook Tutorial
Find Almost Anything about ActiveRain here

ActiveRain University
Online Campus for Training and Support

Real Estate RainCamp
"Live" Local Conferences and Seminars

DID YOU KNOW?
ActiveRain is the TOP Real Estate Social Network in the World (source: Google)

The ActiveRain Network hosts over 170,000 RE Industry members averaging 200-300 new members daily. There are more than 1.5 million articles posted, with an average of 700-1000 new posts daily. Two million+ visitors traffic the ActiveRain network each month, over 80% are consumers. Only Rainmaker upgraded accounts receive Google trafﬁc to their blogs and posts. ActiveRain Member's Blog posts receive more than 500 views on average. Activerain is the ONLY on-line Network that offers this wide variety of tools, diverse services, and proven solutions to the Real Estate Industry Professional and for consumers on the WEB.

Best of Luck and Enjoy!

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How to Use The Flip Video Camera with Your Computer

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:32:04 -0500

I have received many calls and emails with questions and comments regarding the "Flip Video" camera. I decided to create some "How To" posts for both the Video Camera and the Mixpo.com Editing and Production Console. This post will cover all you need to know about the Flip Video, and how to make it work with your computer. The Mixpo Tutorial will follow shortly.

The first thing you need to know is that there is a process you need to complete before you can drag and drop your videos onto your desktop, laptop, or Apple computer. I will cover these steps and try to simplify the process to make it as easy as possible for you to begin using your camera. This only takes about 5-8 minutes, but will save you hours of making phone calls and shedding tears of frustration. :-))

The First Steps:

Assuming you have already purchased one of the Flip Video cameras, you will need to shoot a sample video so that you can begin with this tutorial post. I suggest taking a 20 - 30 second video just to get you started, it will save you some time in the uploading and downloading process. Once you have taken some video to work with, simply pop out the "Flip" USB arm and plug the camera into the USB 2.0 port on any your computer or laptop.

(Some of your computers will use what's called autorun, and a window will open automatically) If you plug in the Camera and nothing happens, you'll need to click on "My Computer" and then double-click on the Drive that will say "Flip Video" Mine happens to be the L:Drive. The next steps are very important.

The Second Steps:

When you open the window, there will be multiple folders and files. The first thing you want to do is double-click on the "Read Me First" file. Then, do just that...Read It! LOL!~ Many of us just start clicking away and miss this very important information. The "read me" file covers the following items and topics about your camera.

1. Overview
2. Connecting to Your Computer
3. Users Running Microsoft Windows Computers
4. How to Use Your Videos without the Video Program on a Windows computer
5. Disconnecting from Your Windows Computer
6. Users Running Macintosh Computers
7. How to Use Your Videos without the Video Program on a Macintosh computer
8. Disconnecting from Your Macintosh Computer
9. How to Reinstall the Flip Video Program
10. Customer Service and Technical Support

(This post does not replace these instructions, it will just simplify the process.
You still need to read the READMe file.)

The Final Steps and Review:

READ the READMe File, then run the "Flip Video for PC" by double-clicking the Blue Flip Video Icon. Only use this if you are installing on your PC, if you have an Apple Computer, you'll want to open the "Flip Video for Mac.app folder, and run the application that has been provided for your MAC. Once you complete these two steps, you will never have to do this part again. However, if you don't go through this process, you will be calling me wondering why it's not working. Just ask Katerina Gasset SEE DETAILS FROM HER EXPERIENCE>>>

The DCIM folder is where all the videos you take are stored. (Video's are in the .AVI format) Once you install the Flip Video application, you can then just drag and drop the videos from this folder onto your desktop and place them in a video folder somewhere on your computer. If you want to use the software that comes with your "Flip Video Camera" that's fine too. The next "How To" post will cover the following: how to upload your Video files into Mixpo.com, use editing, add links, use photos, create overlays, add FREE motion backgrounds and multimedia, create sound files, add music, and produce your own custom quality VideoAds.

I wanted to share this with you to save you some time and possible frustration that some of us have experienced by just trying to Drag and Drop the videos from the folder onto our desktops. You have to run this process only "ONE" time to be certain that everything you do in the future with your "New Video Toy" will run smoothly and efficiently. Here is a Flip Video Quick Start Guide just in case none of this makes cents sense. :-)

Now, "Rain" or shine, go out and make a difference in the world!

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ActiveRain University - Reduce the Learning Curve & Increase Results

Brad Andersohn ~ Community Manager (ActiveRain) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:00:01 -0600

ActiveRain University - Reduce the Learning Curve & Increase Your Results

Are you looking to learn more about how to use the ActiveRain Network? How about Social Media, Marketing and Networking? Do you want to minimize the learning curve and get maximum results from your time on ActiveRain? Just one hour of your time per session, and we're confident that you'll walk away with both tools and information that will help. Some members (myself included) have taken months and even years to learn and figure this stuff out.

We've added classes to the calendar that are "topic" focused and structured around helping members get the most out of specific areas on the network and around the community. With the volumes of people joining ActiveRain everyday, this is just one way we are trying to increase our member support while at the same time, provide the training and information needed for members to have success on ActiveRain.

Next week we have three open forum sessions where members can join in and ask any questions they like, and two more structured classes on "How To Create A Blog Post for Consumers and SEO" and "How To Maximize Your Settings Page" on ActiveRain. In March, we will be adding more guest presenters, trainers, and teachers along with more classes directly focused on ActiveRain tools and "How-Tos."

In recent surveys that ARU attendees submitted, there were requests to:

Learn More about the ActiveRain Network

Learn More about SEO and Blogging

Learn More about Real Estate related Technologies

Learn More about Social Media and Networking

Learn tips and secrets from other Top Producing Agents

We are responding to these surveys, and setting up training classes to meet AR members needs.

If you're interested in joining us for any of the above or upcoming sessions and classes, make sure to visit the ARU Calendar and pre-register for the ones you're interested in. We will have Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced training available for all ActiveRain members. We are also recording some of the structured classes to be available in our archived library at a later date. I hope you'll take advantage of these sessions and the opportunity to learn. We share more in a single hour than any other community resource.

The ActiveRain University
Training Calendar

"Here's the biggest testimonial of all - After the session was over, I wrote my first blog post using the tips and comments Brad offered, and re-posted it correctly and then checked it out on Google. I came up first on Google, before CNN, Forbes, and even other Asheville Real Estate firms...this informal session was FABULOUS!"

Evelyn Zebro - Asheville NC Real Estate Broker - Beverly-Hanks & Associates

"Thanks for teaching on the ActiveRain webinar. You are very easy to follow - good directions for both beginners and more advanced users. It was all great information! Even if we know how to do something, your instructions sometimes help us accomplish the same thing more efficiently or you bring up a feature we hadn't used in awhile that we should pull to the front of our arsenal."

Judy Gilbert - The Linda Seaton Team Manager - Keller Williams Realty Franklin

"Brad - things just keep getting better at AR. How can anyone not see the tremendous value and learning here, no matter what level you are in the blogging / social media world!"

Jeff Dowler - Carlsbad Real Estate - RE/MAX Moonlight Beach

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