Click here to view the embedded video.

ActiveRain currently has a membership of over 160,000 RE Industry members averaging 200 new members daily.  There are more than 1.3 million articles posted, with an average of 10,000 new posts monthly.  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 Members blog posts receive more than 500 views on average.  Activerain provides a wide of variety of tools, services, and solutions to the Real Estate community and to the consumer.

So you think this might be a good resource for your business?

• Think about building your realtor base nationwide
• AR is a cost effective way of starting a blog
• Access to Localism  you can sponsor your community ( if it is available )

Here is the link to an ebook that will guide you through ActiveRain

One way to set up a blog is on a site such as Trulia. Trulia is similar to other MLS aggregators that put together the property listings for the public ot search. You can start your blog once you set up your account on Trulia. Here is a short video on seting up your blog.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Trulia has other features like trulia voices where consumers can  ask questions about real estate and realtors who have signed up for trulia voices can answer these questions. Just another  way to make contact with the consumer !

The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, will be extended for contracts signed before May 1, 2010 and that close before July 1, 2010. First-time buyers, who are in the process of closing now, no longer have to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 tax credit if they do end up closing after the Nov. 30 deadline. The new legislation also increases the income limit for couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the current level.

Buyers who already own a home are also now eligible for a tax credit and the purchase of a home. The $6,500 maximum credit will be available to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years. The legislation does set forth several provisions including, limiting eligibility for existing homeowners to homes worth $800,000 or less, as well as making both credits available only for primary residences, not second homes or investment properties. ( Information obtained from Keller Williams website )

Here is a chart that may help with the information:

These days its very easy to start your own blog. There are many platforms like Wordpress or  Blogger, where you can go in pick a template & start designing your own blog. Or you can hire a company that will design your blog using one of those platforms. It’s all a matter of time & money!

I think the simpler the blog the better, what really counts is the information you share. The information you share is called your content .

Here are some tips on developing content for your blog

1. First ask yourself who is your audience, are they buyers & sellers of real estate or another sector of the market?  You will be writing for them so you will need to put yourself in their place and figure out what is important to them.
2. Read other blogs in your industry & see what others are blogging about.
3. Your writing does not have to be perfect it should be as if you were having a conversation.
4. Write about your property listings or someone elses!
5. Write about events in your community

Offer help, be consistent, add value. This is what you do anyway. Now you are doing it online for the world to see !

Dianna Kokoszka is the president of MAPS Coaching for Keller Williams Realty. I was at a BOLD training and came across this statement from Dianna.

• When you want it means you lack. The brain hears you want & helps keep you in the wanting.
• Want = lack
• When you want money the brain says give them what they ask for-They ask for wanting money so keep them wanting money.
• Want control – never get it.
• Wanting control means you are lacking control & you’ll always lack.
• We cannot stand up & sit down at the same time
• You cannot want & have at the same time. 
• Release the want & you’ll receive it.

We must change the way we speak to ourselves in order to change our circumstances. This is the start of changing our limiting beliefs.

Zappos is an online store that sells shoes and other items. They have a huge selection and are very efficient. I heard Alfred Lin speak at the Real Estate Connect Conference in San Francisco in August of this year and I was very impressed. He talked about what his company sells, which one would imagine was shoes but instead he said that Zappo’s sells happiness. Zappo’s mission is for their customers to be happy. So everything they do is with this in mind!

This led me to think of the real estate business and what we sell . One might think it is property but I would say we sell the experience. Think about what your customers experience with you. What sets their experience with you apart from the rest?

These are Zappos 10 Core Values. We can use them for our business as well. I encourage you to take a look at them and think about how you can utilize them to better attend to your own business. or better yet come up with your own.

Send me a list of YOUR values.

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

In the video below Seth Godin & Tom Peters talk about the value of blogging. Never before has it been so easy to reach the masses and get your message out. Are you sitting on the sidelines or contributing to your profession, community and the greater good?

I read Seth Godin’s blog everyday. He is a true inspiration to me and I love to share his wisdom! The video below is an interview from AMEX’s Open Forum where Seth Godin talks about the value or lack thereof, of social networking for business.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Seth says , “Networking is always important when it’s real and it’s always a useless distraction when it’s fake. What the internet has allowed is an enormous amount of fake networking to take place.” 

Using social media as a marketing tool in your business works when it is real and authentic. Yhose people out there that are constantly trying to sell some thing are quite annoying. Networking is about building relationships. People  work with people theylike and feel comfortable with and trust. If you are constantly pushing your products or services that will be a turnoff.

Those that are using social media correctly are responding to others comments, answering emails promptly, answering phone calls & responding to status updates. In other words they are developing relationships.

Here are things I hear from some agents regarding technology & social media.

• I don’t have time
• I don’t know how
• I don’t know what to say
• I like the old way better

What I have to say

• Take the time to open your mind
• Learn how
• This is marketing
• If you don’t incorporate technology you will become extinct

If you are not convinced watch this video for starters

Ok , so I know you’ve heard from me, your broker, and everyone else that technology is key in the real estate business. And it is very important.

Technology… things that you need to have

1. A website with an IDX feed
2. A  blog
3. Facebook
4. Twitter
5. LinkedIn

On your Way toTouch… things that you need to do

1. A database with your contacts & sphere of influence
2. A plan delineating ways you will communicate with your customers & sphere of influence
3. Contact your sphere by phone to keep in touch
4. Mailings
5. Birthday cards ( email)

We’ve left the most important thing out!

The most important thing you can do is build rapport with your customer. After you do this everything is easy! How do I do this you ask ?

1. Be interested in them ( forget about yourself & your commission)
2. Ask questions, get to know what they are looking for, not only in a property but also in a real estate agent
3. Listen to what they are saying and what they are not saying, both will give you lots of information about how to work with them.
4. Hear them… many times we listen and do not hear. They can tell the difference.
5. Exceed their expectations – think of a time that someone exceeded YOUR expectations How did you feel?

So I guess you can see where this is going… it’s all about building relationships.

These small things can make a customer for life ! Its the small things that count.