Archive for September, 2007

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When I saw this video on Inman TV, I jumped to watch it.  It’s not everyday that you get a Google executive speak specifically about Google’s goals for the real estate market.

Google Wants:

• To aggregate listings from across the country from the top 100 brokerages.
• To court MLS boards around the country to get them to feed them their listings.
• To provide free data on listings to consumers that are searching with real estate related terms.

What does it mean for you?:

• Make sure ALL your listings are on Google Base Try using a service like Postlets or VFlyer so you don’t have to submit listings manually.
• Keep an eye on your local search terms.  You will probably notice the Google Base search bar come up for some local real estate terms.
• If you work for a local broker, try to talk them into feeding your office’s listings into Google Base.
• On some smaller searches you may start to notice Google Base results in the organic area.

I posted this earlier today on ActiveRain, and thought the audience here would like to take a look…  On the original post, I made some comments on what I feel are the most valuable aspects of AR.  I also asked some questions, and even though I’ve only received 18 comments at the time of posting this, the answers to my questions are insightful… so I will share them after the main body of this post.

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Today is my 1 year anniversary on ActiveRain… and I have some observations I’d like to share, and questions I’d like to ask the ActiveRain community.

It has been an interesting ride.  I remember my first week vividly… I wrote like a mad man.  In the first 4 days, I wrote 3 posts per day, and hit 10,000 points in that first week.  I was addicted to the points, but most of all I was addicted to the community.  Name one other place on the internet for the real estate community where you can come on as a beginner, post something, and have 100 comments in 24 hours.  It’s unbelievable.

ActiveRain has come a long way since it’s humble beginnings in the summer of ‘06.  We have seen many people come and go.  We’ve seen many members that began blogging on AR become top bloggers around the country.  We’ve seen Project Blogger, member carnivals, member contests, many great upgrades, and 40,000 new members.

Here are some of my observations and reflections on the AR community:

* Many critics discount the value of ActiveRain as a lead generation source citing that very few buyers and sellers are actually reading.  I say: “nuts to that”.  So what if there aren’t a large number of consumers on the site… there are opportunities galore if you know how to look for them.  And by the way; I’ve never heard Jon, Matt, or Caleb tout the great success of ActiveRain as a lead generation source.  It’s a community!

* For the beginning real estate blogger, ActiveRain is still the best place to start.  I’ve been happy to refer hundreds of people to activerain that have never blogged before.  It’s easy to get started, it helps beginners get their feet wet, the SEO results are quite good, and you have a whole community behind you willing to help.

* ActiveRain groups are one of the most undervalued and under-used parts of the community.  They are a fantastic place to learn tips, tricks, and ideas.  I look at my group as an example.  As a one stop shop to get news and tips on internet marketing for the real estate professional, it works very well because it filters out posts so you don’t have to look through a long list of postings for a particular day to find what you’re looking for.

* ActiveRain is currently the greatest opportunity on the web for vendors looking for real estate agent customers.  It’s a gold mine out there.  45,000 hungry real estate professionals all online and looking for new ideas and networking opportunities.  You couldn’t ask for a better place to market your real estate related services.

* ActiveRain is currently the greatest opportunity on the web for real estate agents looking for referral business.  I’m not necessarily talking about AR’s new Referral Exchange.  I’m talking about relationships.  Networking opportunities.  Friendships.  I’ve never seen so many people come together as a community online than with the members of AR.  There’s camaraderie.  What a beautiful opportunity to create referral business.

* One of the best places online to get free real estate advice, and “insider” tips on internet marketing from some of the vendors that are willing to share.  The thousands upon thousands of posts that have been written are a gold mine of information.  If you’re doing research for a real estate related post, ActiveRain search is one of the best places to go.

* I’ve always been really impressed at the speed in which new enhancements and services are rolled out.  This was especially true in the early days.  I remember when someone would write a post, or post a thread in the forum about a bug or new feature, and most of the time these were addressed in hours, not days.  More recently with the addition of Q&A, groups, localism and referrals, the design and functionality are all very good.  The development team has really done a great job.

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As I said before, I received many comments on this post, and many of them surprised me.  I was ecstatic to see how many members had received buyer/seller leads from being on ActiveRain.

• Out of the 15 that had responded at the time of this post, only 2 had never received a direct buyer/seller lead from the site.
• Over half said that they had received a referral from another member.
• All said that they have had success through AR on the search engines.
• All seemed to be extremely happy with ActiveRain, and cited multiple reasons for being a part of the community

I’m glad to see so many people getting a benefit from the AR community.  Personally, I’ve always loved the people I meet, the interaction, and the LIFE that is so abundant there.  I wish all the staff well, and I look forward to another great year!

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~I apologize for my extended absence, and lack of substantive posts as of late.  Some big changes have been brewing lately, and I didn’t want to post until everything was confirmed.~

I’m excited to announce that I am now an official coach for the Real Estate Tomato!

Helping real estate agents with online marketing is something I’ve always been passionate about, and if you know me personally, you know that I’ve always extended free advice and help for anyone that has had a need.  So, in order to focus that passion I have to help others succeed in real estate marketing, I’ve decided to become a dedicated coach.

Many of you are probably already aware of the services of the Real Estate Tomato.  They have built up quite a reputation for themselves in the past year.  They offer a service called Tomato Blogs.  The service includes a custom designed blog from the ground up, and 10 hours of intensive coaching on everything from post formatting, to social networking, to SEO.

If you’re at all familiar with the real estate blogosphere, you have most likely already seen multiple examples of the Tomato Blog’s custom designs.  Their design and coaching make for a KILLER combination, and have thus inundated the staff of the Real Estate Tomato with new orders.

Included in my partnership with the Real Estate Tomato is the opportunity to teach my own classes with my own format and topics.  This has me the most excited because I can really let loose and teach what I want to teach.  I’m already planning and outlining classes for blogging, seo, and classes on pretty much everything having to do with online marketing for the real estate professional.

Keep an eye on this blog for news on how you can get in on some specialized one on one and group coaching.

Watch out!  There is a Tomato Blog coming to take over your market!!!

I was pleasantly surprised when I was asked to speak on a panel at the Colorado Association of Mortgage Brokers this coming week.  The discussion topic is Blogs Are Forever and will feature myself along with Todd Carpenter, Rob Blake, and Jason Burman.

I’m excited to be able to share with mortgage brokers and loan officers about the benefits of blogging.  Shhh… don’t tell anyone, but I personally think there is even greater potential for blogging success with loan officers and mortgage brokers than with real estate agents.  They have a much broader audience, especially if they can help borrowers on a national level.  The possibilities are endless.

Keep an eye on my blog & Todd’s as we bring coverage from the event.  And if you are in or around Colorado, we hope to see you there!