Recently, the RainCamp train made a slight deviation from its normal 'Big City' course. After doing LA, New York, DC, Dallas, Chicago and a number of other big market cities, we booked a RainCamp in Prescott. Some of you may have been thinking, "Prescott? Where the heck is that and how did RainCamp end up there?"
We ended up in Prescott (It's in Arizona, by the way) because a group of brokerages banded together and approached us about hosting a RainCamp in Prescott. They agreed to help us find a great venue (we cover the cost), get the word out about the event and ultimately guarantee people in the seats. We would love to do more than 2 RainCamps a month. We'd love to touch every corner of the country. Unfortunately, the marketing resources required to fill the seats only allow us to pull off our current 2 per month pace.
The Prescott RainCamp got us thinking that there must be other folks out there with the klout to help us get 300-400 people in a room for a day filled with amazing content geared to help those in attendance take their online presence to the next level. Maybe you're a loan officer at a mortgage company with all the right connections. Maybe you're a title rep with an inate understanding of the real estate professionals in your market and the ability to move them to action. Maybe you have influence at a large brokerage or with your local or state REALTOR® association. If that's you, we'd love to hear from you.
We are getting ready to begin booking our next set of RainCamps for September, October and November. You just may able to help us determine exactly where those will be happening.
Let us know in the comments below or by emailing raincamp@activerain.com if you think you may be able to assist us in bringing RainCamp to a city near you.
As some of you may have noticed, there are some faceless folks in the Rain recently. If you've taken the time to update your profile picture to a HD image, then you don't have the problem. However, if you never went in and updated your image, the old low definition images are no longer displaying anywhere but your profile.
This means the old low definition photos don't display on the state, county, city and leaderboard pages. The new HD photos will however show up on your Localism profile photo.
Brad introduced the new HD photos back in September of last year in the blog post below. He gives instructions on how to update your photo and also includes a link to a video that will walk you through it step by step.
Members now have the ability to upload large photos from digital cameras, crop and adjust endlessly, and save the resulting image as their profile photo. These new profile photos are of a much higher quality. So now you can update your photo on ActiveRain and also earn 1080 bonus points.
The new photo or image must be at least 600 x 600. Our new photo upload feature allows you to use any hi-definition or large sized photo taken of you. You know that picture of you in the crowd that you always wished you could use but there were other people in it, or it was just too big? Now you can dig out that photo from the BBQ last weekend, crop yourself out, and upload it. Don't just do it for the points! lol~
Now just because you look great in your College Cap and Gown, I would still suggest using a current photo, or at least one that is no more than 6 months old. I can't tell you how many events I've been to lately where I would've known you had your photo here matched. :-O I have taken the plunge myself, and even though this is not my best photogenic side, it's current and will have to do til I find a better one.
There's no need for a tutorial on this new feature, it's pretty simple and straight forward. Just be sure that your starting image is at least 600 x 600 or you will get an error telling you your photo is too small. Just go to your "My Home" page and click on the "Edit" profile link to add your new HD photo. I can't wait to see all the NEW and UPDATED faces around the community. Let's "FACE" it, you know it's time to update YOUR photo, why not do it in HD (Hi-Resolution) and get 1080 bonus points too?
The RainCamp Train's schedule has taken a turn. Lucky you Arizona!
On Thursday, August 26th, RainCamp will be held at the Prescott Resort and Conference Center in Prescott, Arizona.
If you haven't been to a RainCamp yet, you are missing out! Real Estate RainCamp is an all day event where you are taught insider information. Ben Kinney, a Mega Agent will share with you the tools he's using to solidify his success. These tools are ones you can implement into your daily routine immediately. It's a new market out there and RainCamp shows you how to stay on top.
Ever wonder how certain agents show up all over the web? Facebook? Twitter? Become that agent. Dominate your market. It's possible and RainCamp will show you exactly how. You can learn how to maximize your efforts so they sync with today's market.
People are raving about their experiences, check out what past attendees have said:
"They are GIVING away more (SEO) knowledge than I paid $5,000 for in one shot, not to mention the thousands I have spent since then gaining more knowledge. Bob and Ben gave away every piece of information I had paid for in a couple of hours."
"Today I spent an awesome day in San Francisco at Raincamp. We were bombarded, in a good way, all day with ideas, websites, I think all of them free.........with ways to help build our business"
"As someone who has been working internet leads for quite a while, their presentation opened my mind to a multiple possibilities for expanding the business model I use and implementing several new ways to grow my business. I'm definitely convinced that the opportunities for growth are huge."
"I'm utilizing several things I learned from RainCamp already. They instantly became part of the daily routine. Ben Kinney did a superb job and for me solidified some marketing ideas I had been considering before I attended the show. Perfect "fit"."
"I'm a tough sell; moreover, I'm totally ADD and many of the seminars and educational events I've attended have either bored, disappointed, or both. This thing had me engaged the whole time. I'm literally exhausted 2 days later, and all I did was sit for 8 hours!"
"Attending the raincamp in New York was a blessing. The information was amazing. There are many things that I already knew but, the surprising part was how many other things that are available were introduced to me by raincamp in New York."
"Speaking to various attendees at the breaks I was struck at the amount that they felt they were getting out of the program. Typically at events such as this you will hear the occasional griping about the program not being what people thought that it would be, but I did not hear that at Raincamp."
"RainCamp delivered! If you are looking for an incredible networking opportunity and an actionable plan to help you maximize your online presence and get business using Social Media venues like Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Attend RainCamp and experience it for yourself!"
"The bottom line, this was the best out of office day I have ever spent. There was a lot I knew but so much more I did not. The presenters were energetic and more then willing to share tons of information"
We are pleased to announce the new and improved ActiveRain Leaderboard! We couldn't have done it without the amazing feedback of our Community over the last couple of days. Thank you all so much!
ActiveRain wanted to create the best possible layout for all of our members. A place where you can easily see how you rank within all of AR, your state, your professional group etc.
The new style is sleek and sexy...take a look.
As you can see, I have narrowed my search down to Real Estate Agents in All States. You can also add state, county, and city for more localization.
If you are roaming around and your name is in the list you can hit the "show me" button on the bottom right and it will take you to the page you rank on with your profile highlighted. Please keep in mind that if you are not a Loan Officer in New York and you have that specific search open, the "show me" button will not appear.
The new design will make it easier and more convenient to find what you're looking for; whether it be a referral or simply to see where you rank amongst other members.
Another great tool is that you can access the leaderboard from your main profile. If you click "My Home" on the top right hand side of AR you then see your smokin' hot photo with a few stats below. The "Rank in State", "Rank in County" and "Rank in City" all link to the leaderboard.
ActiveRain is always working hard to stay on top. We try our best to provide you with the tools you need and are asking for. The new ActiveRain Leaderboard is our newest addition.
A white hot reminder to all you Bostonians and surrounding members....RainCamp is coming in less than a week!
Get your feet wet with knowledge!
The beautiful Seaport World Trade Center will be housing all you beautiful attendees on Monday, July 26th from 9am to 5pm. Did I mention there is an after party?
RainCamp is a day full of informative tools that are geared towards keeping you on top of the game. These tools are ones you can implement the second you learn them. Learn how to dominate your market and reach the top of the search engines. If you want to be the best you can absolutely be, you need to attend this jam packed day!
You will learn how to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media to earn more business. The strategies help you to improve your online presence and generate more business.
Since the information taught is so imporant to your business we want everyone to attend. We have made it possible with donation based tickets. Do not let cost be a factor! The Platinum seats are almost sold out too...do not delay!
Some members were having trouble receiving notifications from ActiveRain. We understand the severity of this and put our nose to the grindstone.
We've improved reliability of comment notification delivery. Since every email system is different, we cannot guarantee delivery.
We took two big steps:
Sending all notifications from a new address, notification@activerain.com
Adding SPF records to ActiveRain. This allows third-party email systems to verify that comment notifications aren't spam
Some members have a challenge-response method to prevent spam. We recommend these users and all users manually add notification@activerain.com to their allowed sender list.
Things should begin to run much more smoothly now.
We've had numerous RainCamps thus far and let me tell you....Amazeballs! The hype before, during and after blows us away each time. There is a reason the train is moving so fast throughout the country...YOU are asking for it!
The RainCamp Train is on track and hopefully coming to a city near you. The past attendees are showing major success in their business directly derived from the information taught at RainCamp. Do you want that success? Do you?
If you can only go to one event all year, make sure it's RainCamp.
We are on quite the roll. Check out below to see if the RainCamp Train is en route to YOU!
Let's Celebrate! Fourth of July is fast approaching and we've got a little contest for you before you indulge in the fireworks, potato salad and wine coolers. (Wine coolers? Does anyone drink those anymore?!?!)
Here's the deal: Write a Hyper Local Post about a Fourth of July event in your hometown. Include the post in the ActiveRain Channel, Regional (Localism), Topic "Fourth of July" as well as the link in the comments below. Your reward for doing so? ONE BILLION THOUSAND POINTS!!!! As if that wasn't enough, the hotties (er I mean staff) at ActiveRain will be picking one grand winner for a super sweet prize!
The traffic of people searching for Fourth of July posts is heavy. Think of the exposure you will receive from people around your community...people buying and selling houses...you following my bread crumbs?!?! We've had some hyper local challenges in the past and many of you have closed deals from clients who found you via your hyper local post.
Yes that's right my friends, the RainCamp train is on track to Boston!
We will be at the Seaport World Trade Center on Monday, July 26th. We are very excited to visit this beautiful city and stamp it with the RainCamp love.
RainCamp is an all day event which you must not miss! Our key speaker, Ben Kinney, not only shares the secrets to his personal success with you but also the cutting edge tools you can use that very day! RainCamp was designed for anyone in the Real Estate Industry yearning to stay on top of the ever evolving Real Estate Market.
Tickets will go fast as they always do so sign up today!
Still not convinced? See what past attendees are saying:
"Today I spent an awesome day in San Francisco at Raincamp. We were bombarded, in a good way, all day with ideas, websites, I think all of them free.........with ways to help build our business"
"As someone who has been working internet leads for quite a while, their presentation opened my mind to a multiple possibilities for expanding the business model I use and implementing several new ways to grow my business. I'm definitely convinced that the opportunities for growth are huge."
"I'm utilizing several things I learned from RainCamp already. They instantly became part of the daily routine. Ben Kinney did a superb job and for me solidified some marketing ideas I had been considering before I attended the show. Perfect "fit"."
"I'm a tough sell; moreover, I'm totally ADD and many of the seminars and educational events I've attended have either bored, disappointed, or both. This thing had me engaged the whole time. I'm literally exhausted 2 days later, and all I did was sit for 8 hours!"
"Attending the raincamp in New York was a blessing. The information was amazing. There are many things that I already knew but, the surprising part was how many other things that are available were introduced to me by raincamp in New York."
"Speaking to various attendees at the breaks I was struck at the amount that they felt they were getting out of the program. Typically at events such as this you will hear the occasional griping about the program not being what people thought that it would be, but I did not hear that at Raincamp."
"RainCamp delivered! If you are looking for an incredible networking opportunity and an actionable plan to help you maximize your online presence and get business using Social Media venues like Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Attend RainCamp and experience it for yourself!"
"The bottom line, this was the best out of office day I have ever spent. There was a lot I knew but so much more I did not. The presenters were energetic and more then willing to share tons of information"
"There was so much useful information that could be implemented immediately in mynew and improved business plan. Yes, I had to revamp my business plan to include some new strategies I learned from this single day at Raincamp."
"Today's Denver Raincamp exceeded my expectations in many, many ways. I'm very new to ActiveRain and blogging for business, and today's seminar was exactly what I needed to give me the inspiration and tools I'll need to step up my efforts."
RainCamp is an all day event that teaches you cutting edge ways to conduct your business. Ben Kinney will share his secrets to success. It's a classroom environment that will teach you how to put yourself ahead of the pack. The powerful tools, concepts, and ideas shared at RainCamps are ones you can implement that day. It was designed for anyone in the Real Estate Industry searching for the latest and greatest information, technology, and successful ways to use Social Media, Blogging and the Internet.
Everyone deserves a treat after class so we invite you to join us at the after party which will be nearby.
Knowledge is power, so don't get left behind! RainCamp has proven success for many people:
"All the tools I need to have a strong internet presence was covered during that jam packed educational day. Participating on ActiveRain and incorporating all the pearls of wisdom taught in just a few hours are all I need."
"Was it worth the time and money? You bet. I believe Wednesday's event was the single best 1-day education I've had the honor of participating in. Again, if you have a chance to attend a RAINCAMP, do it!"
"If you haven't been to a Rain Camp, seriously consider it. There is no question, the technology that is being taught, is the wave of the future.......this is a better way of doing our job, a more effective way of prospecting and converting leads to clients."
"There were so many current and powerful ideas.....but at the end I realized the future of real estate is upon us.......I had become a dinosaur and (RainCamp made me realize) I need to revamp, rethink, remodel and change my business strategy and marketing plan."
"I was blown away, and I'm not one to get blown away with things like this....I learned so many things, that I can't wait to have a few minutes to implement ideas...."
"I was excited to learn from many of the top experts when it comes to marketing real estate....were able to take home the things learned and start applying them immediately to increase their listing and selling opportunities."
"The day flew by! I was fully engaged and absorbing information from 9:00am-5:00pm. It was worth every penny and I highly recommend you attend if you get the chance."
Are you ready for some rain San Diego??? I hope so because the crew is coming your way!
We are pleased to announce RainCamp San Diego happening Thursday, August 5th at the University of San Diego. We'll be a little north of the zoo but sure to have a wild time!
This all day event will revolutionize the way you conduct business. It's a new ballgame out there folks and our key speaker, Ben Kinney, will share his secrets on what he is using to break the mold. The tools taught at RainCamp are ones you can implement into your daily routine immediately. It was designed for anyone in the Real Estate Industry looking to stay on top of the ever evolving Real Estate Market.
Tickets are limited so don't delay! You can purchase them at RainCamp San Diego.
Platinum tickets will include wifi, power and reserved seating in the front of the room along with a hosted lunch with the RainCamp speakers.
After a long day, full of exciting new tools and ideas, we invite you to rub shoulders at the after party on a beautiful terrace close by.
RainCamp has proven over and over to be a successful event that has helped tons of people maximize their business.
Check out what some attendees are saying:
"Raincamp was a good experience for me. It exceeded my expectations, and I can tell you I've been to many industry events of the course of my years, I don't say that lightly."
"Was it worth the time and money? You bet. I believe Wednesday's event was the single best 1-day education I've had the honor of participating in. Again, if you have a chance to attend a RAINCAMP, do it!"
"If you haven't been to a Rain Camp, seriously consider it. There is no question, the technology that is being taught, is the wave of the future.......this is a better way of doing our job, a more effective way of prospecting and converting leads to clients."
"It's only 2 hours into the day (we are on break) and I've already realized several things that I can do NOW to increase my website traffic.....I'm excited by the ideas I've gotten so far. This is definitely worth the time/price."
"There were so many current and powerful ideas.....but at the end I realized the future of real estate is upon us.......I had become a dinosaur and (RainCamp made me realize) I need to revamp, rethink, remodel and change my business strategy and marketing plan."
"I was blown away, and I'm not one to get blown away with things like this....I learned so many things, that I can't wait to have a few minutes to implement ideas...."
"I was excited to learn from many of the top experts when it comes to marketing real estate....were able to take home the things learned and start applying them immediately to increase their listing and selling opportunities."
"The day flew by! I was fully engaged and absorbing information from 9:00am-5:00pm. It was worth every penny and I highly recommend you attend if you get the chance."
"As with (my) first RainCamp, I've come away again today with a greater appreciation of my potential - and an excitement toward growing. I've been given a great set of tools and now it's up to me to put them to good use."
"Raincamp was a good experience for me. It exceeded my expectations, and I can tell you I've been to many industry events of the course of my years, I don't say that lightly."
"Was it worth the time and money? You bet. I believe Wednesday's event was the single best 1-day education I've had the honor of participating in. Again, if you have a chance to attend a RAINCAMP, do it!"
"If you haven't been to a Rain Camp, seriously consider it. There is no question, the technology that is being taught, is the wave of the future.......this is a better way of doing our job, a more effective way of prospecting and converting leads to clients."
"It's only 2 hours into the day (we are on break) and I've already realized several things that I can do NOW to increase my website traffic.....I'm excited by the ideas I've gotten so far. This is definitely worth the time/price."
"There were so many current and powerful ideas.....but at the end I realized the future of real estate is upon us.......I had become a dinosaur and (RainCamp made me realize) I need to revamp, rethink, remodel and change my business strategy and marketing plan."
"I was blown away, and I'm not one to get blown away with things like this....I learned so many things, that I can't wait to have a few minutes to implement ideas...."
"I was excited to learn from many of the top experts when it comes to marketing real estate....were able to take home the things learned and start applying them immediately to increase their listing and selling opportunities."
"The day flew by! I was fully engaged and absorbing information from 9:00am-5:00pm. It was worth every penny and I highly recommend you attend if you get the chance."
"As with (my) first RainCamp, I've come away again today with a greater appreciation of my potential - and an excitement toward growing. I've been given a great set of tools and now it's up to me to put them to good use."
"Overall I would HIGHLY recommend getting to one of these events if you have a chance. You will learn some tips, tricks and techniques that will help your business to grow, regardless of your level of expertise....and I am frankly not that easy to impress."
"They are GIVING away more (SEO) knowledge than I paid $5,000 for in one shot, not to mention the thousands I have spent since then gaining more knowledge. Bob and Ben gave away every piece of information I had paid for in a couple of hours."
"Today I spent an awesome day in San Francisco at Raincamp. We were bombarded, in a good way, all day with ideas, websites, I think all of them free.........with ways to help build our business"
"As someone who has been working internet leads for quite a while, their presentation opened my mind to a multiple possibilities for expanding the business model I use and implementing several new ways to grow my business. I'm definitely convinced that the opportunities for growth are huge."
"I'm utilizing several things I learned from RainCamp already. They instantly became part of the daily routine. Ben Kinney did a superb job and for me solidified some marketing ideas I had been considering before I attended the show. Perfect "fit"."
"I'm a tough sell; moreover, I'm totally ADD and many of the seminars and educational events I've attended have either bored, disappointed, or both. This thing had me engaged the whole time. I'm literally exhausted 2 days later, and all I did was sit for 8 hours!"
"Attending the raincamp in New York was a blessing. The information was amazing. There are many things that I already knew but, the surprising part was how many other things that are available were introduced to me by raincamp in New York."
"Speaking to various attendees at the breaks I was struck at the amount that they felt they were getting out of the program. Typically at events such as this you will hear the occasional griping about the program not being what people thought that it would be, but I did not hear that at Raincamp."
"RainCamp delivered! If you are looking for an incredible networking opportunity and an actionable plan to help you maximize your online presence and get business using Social Media venues like Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Attend RainCamp and experience it for yourself!"
"The bottom line, this was the best out of office day I have ever spent. There was a lot I knew but so much more I did not. The presenters were energetic and more then willing to share tons of information"
"There was so much useful information that could be implemented immediately in mynew and improved business plan. Yes, I had to revamp my business plan to include some new strategies I learned from this single day at Raincamp."
"Today's Denver Raincamp exceeded my expectations in many, many ways. I'm very new to ActiveRain and blogging for business, and today's seminar was exactly what I needed to give me the inspiration and tools I'll need to step up my efforts."
"I consider myself somewhat of an internet marketer - but even so, I left the event with literally 20 new ideas I can start implementing immediately. Quite frankly, I'm not sure where to start, but I am energized as a result of attending."
"RainCamp in Dallas, TX needs to be logged in as a total success. Great facility, excellent organization, topnotch information and delivery by outstanding speakers."
"Awesome, amazing, and inspiring – that just about sums it up for the two days I spent at RainCamp in DC. I could hardly keep up with taking notes and being impressed....."
"Let's just say that after attending Raincamp in Dallas -- I honestly believe that I learned more in that one day class than I have learned in classes and seminars in my entire real estate career (9 years!)"
"Yes, it took two ferries to get there, and overnight stay, and one ferry back, plus border crossings, but it was great! If you get a chance to attend a Rain Camp in your area, just GO!"
"I am currently at the Active Rain Camp here in Los Angeles. One comment that I heard about this camp is that it is like "drinking water out of a fire hydrant." Very True!"
"Spent an amazing day yesterday at L.M.U. University....... I am a very active social networking marketer but boy did I learn a lot at this conference. My head was spinning!"
"If you have been to other real estate seminars and have felt that in order to get all the information you had to spend more money, but didn't want to, then this place is for you."
Robin Lundholm - RainCamp New York City RainCamp 2010
Just one day at Rain Camp and so much was explained! For the answers to all your questions, take a day at Rain Camp!
"RainCamp....was a wealth of information on how to use Social Media to strengthen you and your real estate business in 2010... Active Rain has hit the nail on the head when it comes to social media networking and business building."
I am SO excited my toes are tapping, my lips are whistling.....I'm actually doing a little dance as I type this!!!!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls....the time is upon us.
RAINCAMP'S 1st SCAVENGER HUNT!!!!
Who wants to win prizes???? Who wants to hold the title of the winner of the 1st Scavenger Hunt ever?
YOU DO!!!!!!
Our preRainCamp game is kicking off on June 28th. This exciting game is limited, I repeat, limited to people who sign up for RainCamp Portland before June 22nd.
Each task completed will be rewarded with a prize....man I wish I could play!!
The grand prize.....drum roll please.....an Apple iPad!!! Be the envy of all your friends and colleagues. Leave the pen and paper behind when you roll into your morning meeting taking notes on your cool new iPad. Trust me....they will ooh and they will aah!
So you're probably thinking to yourself, "Is this girl crazy?? She's telling me that ActiveRain is going to give an iPad to the first person to correctly answer and solve all the clues? I can do this....I shall conquer the RainCampers!!!!"
Each eligible registrant will receive an orientation kit by June 24th. In this kit you will find everything you need to know to play the game.
So what are you waiting for? Get on over to RainCamp Registration and let the fun begin!!!!
Every time we announce a new RainCamp location, multiple people request that we bring RainCamp to Florida, NC, Kansas City, Kentucky, the Northeast, the Southwest, the Midwest.........(you get the idea)
So we have!
Wait, what? You must be saying. You came to my neck of the woods and I missed it?.......well, Kind of. You see, just after we began doing RainCamps, back in October of 2009, the eBook Soci@l was released. Written by Ben Kinney, top producing agent and headline speaker for RainCamp, in conjunction with Jay Papasan, co-author of SHIFT and The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, with an assist from Jon and Bob here at ActiveRain, Soci@l is a guide to using social media for your real estate business.
It's the foundation of what we teach at RainCamp.
And for a limited time it's free for you to download right now by visiting activerain.com/raincamp
When we bring RainCamp to a city, attendees can expect to learn some great internet marketing techniques.
Are you wondering how to get your website to rank on the first page of google? We show you how at RainCamp and it's covered in Soci@l.
Are you wondering how to get your blog posts to rank on the first page of Google? We show you how at RainCamp and it's covered in Soci@l.
Are you wondering how to use Facebook ads to target highly specific niches? We show you how at RainCamp and it's covered in Soci@l.
Are you wondering how to create a Facebook fan about which people will actually care? (and it's most likely not a fan page about your business or yourself) We show you how at RainCamp and it's covered in Soci@l.
At RainCamp, we show you all kinds of fantastic internet marketing ideas that you can put into practice right away to help you attract friends, followers and connections to your business and most of them are outlined in Soci@l.
Now you could just go download your free copy of Soci@l, but what fun is it to just go download something and read it because it's going to help your business and give you some very practical ideas about using social media to close more deals and earn more commissions? So to make sure you download Soci@l and to make sure you read it, we're going to give you a chance to win an iPad.
Read Soci@l and choose the one chapter you liked the best.
Write a blog post summarizing that chapter and sharing something you learned from the chapter.
Come back to this blog post and leave a link to your post in the comment section here.
In the body of your blog post, at the end of the post, please include the following image and text:
This blog post is a review of Soci@l: Attract Friends, Followers and Connections to Your Business. Soci@l is a free download written by Ben Kinney in conjunction with ActiveRain and Jay Papasan. In exchange for downloading the free copy of Soci@l and writing this review, I have a chance to win a free iPad and I'm getting 2000 ActiveRain points.
Every blog post you write will get you one entry into the drawing to win the iPad. You can do more than one entry. 4 entries maximum per person
Only the first post you do will be eligible for the 2000 points. (you will only be awarded 2000 points once)
Blog posts must be a minimum of 300 words and must have some type of redeeming value (to be judged by the staff.....but the idea is write something of which you will be proud)
posts must be submitted before July 4th 2010 at Midnight Eastern Time. By submitted, I mean the link needs to be left here by that time
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!
Terms of Service Terms of Use are binding and we want you to feel comfortable with them.
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.
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.
Today is an exciting day for ActiveRain as we release a great new feature. As of today, you now have the ability to add a signature line to all of your blog posts automatically! Many of our members have the same tagline or image that they like to use on each & every blog post. With this new feature, you are able to create your own custom signature line that will automatically appear on every post you write.
How It Works
You will write your signature/tagline/footer once & save it. Then whenever you post something new to your blog, it will appear at the bottom of that post. You can place all of your about me information as well as any other buttons, icons, or custom signature pictures that you may use into this block. It will save you lots of time.
Before, to add your custom signature, you would have to copy & paste the signature from an old post into the new one. And if you used something containing HTML, the process was even more laborious. All of that work has been simplified into one easy step now.
How to Set Up Your Signature
Start by logging into your account. Then, click on the Settings tab along the left side. You will then scroll down to the signature box that will look similar to this:
Fill in the signature box with whatever information you wish to have shown in your signature. Remember, whatever information you place in this box will be shown on ALL of your posts. So take that into consideration when placing the information in this box. You do not want to put something like "for more information on this listing, contact me" because all your blog posts are not listings. This box allows you to insert HTML codes, images, & links along with your content, so be sure to take full advantage of these.
On the other hand, DO NOT ABUSE THE SIGNATURE! If you place too many graphics & videos & paragraphs upon paragraphs of information with links, you will slow down the loading speed of your blog. Also, if your signature lines are 3 times the length of your posts, then consumers will be turned off. They visit your blog for information & quality content. If instead of finding bunches of content they only find small bits followed by giant signatures, they will lose interest in your blog & move onto someone else.
Once you have filled in the signature box with the information, be sure to click the update button below. If not, your new signature masterpiece will not be saved & will not show up when you visit your blog to preview.
The Final Result?
After clicking update, visit your blog & see your new work of art. I hope that our members are as excited about this new feature as I am! Please do me a favor, after setting up your own custom signature, stop back by this post & leave a comment witha link to yours so we can all view the new masterpieces.
How To Backup and Export Your Blog Posts - ActiveRain NEW Feature
On August 18 @ noon CST, we launched the ability for members to export all of their blog entries to a single, compressed XML file. Its open nature will allow for the development of third-party import tools.
Exporting your posts from ActiveRain has been a long awaited feature that is now available to all members. The format is XML and can be manipulated in many different ways which I'll demonstrate in future posts. Special thanks to our tech team for making this possible. This new feature will allow you to backup and export your Blog posts with a single click.
The first thing you are probably asking yourself is what the heck is XML? Read more at XML.com
Here are the simple steps to download your ActiveRain Blog File
Step 1: Log in to ActiveRain
Step 2: Click on your "My Home" link in the upper right hand corner of your screen
Step 3: Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the link "Export Blog Entries"
Note: Depending on what computer you are running (IE: Mac, PC) and what operating system, the next window that pops up may appear slightly different, but it will be the same principle. You are saving a file to a specified location on your computer.
Step 4: The pop-up window below will appear. Select "Save File" to your desktop, and click OK.
Step 5: You will have a zipped or compressed file on your desktop containing the XML file with all your Blog entries.
(if file is not on desktop, check the location you saved it to, often times it will default to your "Downloads" folder located in your "My Computer" folder.)
Step 6: When you "Double Click" on the zipped file, it will extract the .XML file to your desktop
Step 7: To open and view this file, or to use with any XML compatible formats and programs, right click your mouse on it and select the program you wish to open it in. For this example, I am going to use a simple text editor application on my computer called TEXT EDIT.
Step 8: You can now see the XML format of your entire ActiveRain Blog.
Now don't go passing out on me (LOL~) understand that XML formats are a complex and more complicated format than most of us are used to working with or seeing, however, there will be a multitude of ways that this data can be used by other programs and sources. You cannot hurt your ActiveRain Blog by messing around and experimenting with this file. It is already exported from AR to your computer and will not affect your AR blog in any way. You have now successfully downloaded and backed up your entire ActiveRain Blog and every post in it.
I'll try and post some more advanced information on ways this can be used in the near future, but for now, at least you know how to access and download it to your computer. Baby steps, just baby steps before we show you how to run the 100 yard dash with it. I'm sure there will be many questions, and ideas generated by this post, so please feel free to leave your comments and thoughts. I'll do my best to get your questions answered in an accurate and timely manner.
Starting today at 12pm Pacific Time, every time you post a blog on ActiveRain and you also send it to your Raindexed Blog (outside blog), a link will be attached to the bottom of the blog post. The link will say 'Originally posted on (name of blog): (title of post)'
This is designed to show the Search engines the authority source of your content, that being the post on your custom domain Raindex Blog. This will help the search engines start to move from indexing the post on your ActiveRain blog and give a higher probability they will index it on your Raindex Blog (if you have one and you posted your post out there of course)
It's also just a great link out to your Raindexed (outside) blog for all posts on ActiveRain that have been syndicated there.
After a few weeks of glitches in our points system, we have finally been able to repair most of the major glitches. Points should now be working close to 100%. There still is one minor issue that we are aware of and need your assistance in correcting. It appears that if you go back and edit posts that have previously been published that the system is deducting points from your total. We are working hard to correct this issue but need detailed examples to get this issue fully solved. If you have an exact example please post in the comment section below in detail to assist our developers in correcting this issue.
The major loophole that was allowing some people to post more than 10 posts in a week and receive points for all posts has been closed. It is now back to 10 posts per week, 10 comments per day with 200 points awarded for posts and an additional 25 points if you put it in a channel and 25 points per comment left.
One major change that has taken place is the schedule for posts. The posting week now starts at Monday at 12:00:00am and ends Sunday at 11:59:59pm.
If you are experiencing the glitch above please post in the comment section below. Also, please do not flood this post with amount of points you have lost over the past few weeks. Those comments will be deleted to keep this post as clean as possible for our developers to track the issue and resolve. If you did experience the loss of points, use the Contact ActiveRain at the bottom of this post. Please be patient if you submit a ticket regarding lost points and condense your list to one ticket. If multiple tickets are submitted it will slow down the response time for not only this issue but other crucial parts of the network.
Thanks to everyone for your patience during this time and continued great contributions to ActiveRain!
Earlier today we received the sobering news that one of our community members has recently died in a tragic auto accident.
Mohamed Mekhimar, an agent with RE/MAX Commonwealth in Richmond VA died early Monday, Jan. 19, in an automobile crash on Pole Green Road, near the Mechanicsville Turnpike.
According to sources at the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Mohamed Mekhimar was killed around 5:50am when his 2005 Honda CRV ran off the right shoulder and struck a utility pole. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, speed was not a factor, and he was wearing his seat belt.
Mohamed joined ActiveRain in early August of 2006 and quickly achieved the Featured Agent status for Richmond VA.
Our deepest condolences and sympathies go out to his family and friends.
Today, Active Rain unveils the New and totally revamped Localism, "The World's Most Complete Neighborpedia," with new content, features and design!
The New Localism
ActiveRain, real estate's leading online community, has released a dramatically updated version of its Localism neighborhood portal, where local residents, potential residents, and area merchants connect. Billed as the "World's Most Complete Neighborpedia," Localism already contains over 200,000 articles and photos. The site opened up to contributions from ActiveRain members today and will be accepting contributions from other local merchants and consumers beginning in August.
"No one has captured the essence and flavor of local communities online on a large scale," said Jonathan Washburn, CEO of Active Rain. "All the data points, pie charts, graphs and widgets in the world can't tell the complete story of a place. It takes content from the people who live and work there – which we have in abundance – to bring things to life. There are plenty of local review sites out there, but we're going beyond that to capture the full range of things that make communities unique."
The site, which covers the entire United States, allows users to go well beyond the typical city or ZIP code level to explore specific niche communities. Moreover, Localism manages to the avoid the proverbial "chicken and egg" dilemma that many who have attempted to enter this space have faced, due to its vast store of existing content and already impressive search engine performance, which helped deliver over 280,000 visits in June.
Key Attributes
Some of the key attributes to Localism include:
"Top Neighbors". The top content contributors for each neighborhood are ranked and displayed as the "Top Neighbors" for their community.
Unique photographs. Localism features over 100,000 photos of communities that cannot be found on any other site.
Human editorial involvement. ActiveRain editors will manually review every single article to ensure that they add value to their intended community and audience.
Community sponsorships. Real estate professionals and other business people may purchase sponsorships of one or more communities within Localism for a small monthly fee.
"Our growing Active Rain community of over 95,000 real estate professionals knows America's communities down to the last speed bump and corner store," said ActiveRain community evangelist Bob Stewart. "Their collective knowledge provides us with a tremendous jump start in providing relevant, useful information and will be built upon by the contributions of consumers and merchants nationwide."
"Localism converges art and function, consumer and professional, neighbor and seeker," concludes Washburn. "This space has seen its share of failures and we've taken those to heart in creating a destination that includes all the key elements needed for true online community."
About ActiveRain
Active Rain is a real estate technology company based in the Pacific Northwest founded in 2003. The company launched its online community for real estate professionals in June of 2006 and quickly established it as the leading real estate social network. The community currently has over 95,000 members. The company released Localism in beta in 2007. The company, which has just nine employees, secured $2.75 million in funding in December of 2007.
If you've just crawled out from underneath a rock, or spent the last 6 weeks living in a cave, then you probably aren't aware of the current ActiveRain Event of the Year - the Makeover2Takeover Team Competition!
Here's a quick refresher course if you haven't been following our Weekly Challenges:
Whether your Real Estate career has just begun, or is in dire needed a complete overhaul, here's your chance!
Think "Top Chef," less the cooking.
Or "Extreme Home Make-Over," but without Ty and his annoying megaphone. The Biggest Loser, only you're a Winner!
From the same folks that brought you 'Project Blogger" comes the latest reality 'realty' event....
The Contest is simple: We selected 16 'Makeover' Teams, each comprised of one (1) seasoned real estate veteran (Mentor), and their chosen apprentice. Over the course of this 8 week adventure (leading up to the 2008 SF Inman Connect), the Mentor/Apprentices (M2T Teams) are facing a series of weekly challenges, aimed specifically at developing the apprentice's image/abilities as a top performing real estate agent.
The mentors and apprentices are chronicling their experiences on the official 'MakeoverToTakeover' blog.
Weekly Challenges: Each week the Teams have been facing difficult elimination challenges designed to develop and hone the Apprentice's professional skills, and to test the Mentor's ability to teach/guide the Apprentice.
ActiveRain Members can view the Weekly Challenge Results on the official 'Makerover2Takeover' blog.
Scoring: The last three teams standing will be invited to join us at Inman Connect in San Francisco where the winning team will be announced. In addition to the final challenge, the overall body of work will also be evaluated to determine the winning team.
Judging Criteria: Each week, when that weeks challenge is announced, judging criteria will be spelled out. Our panel of distinguished Judges will score each Team based on that criteria.
Prizes: Points and prizes are awarded to the first place team for each Weekly challenge. The grand prize will be a Web2.0 Marketing package worth many 1000's of dollars. You can look forward to prizes from the who's who of online real estate.
At the end of 5 weeks of competitive elimination challenges, only 8 Teams remain:
The Huntsville Duo - Kimberly Grant & Elizabeth Ramsey Cooper
Team Tex/LA - Liz Carter & Josh Lazaro
The KW Dynamic Divas - Darleen McCullen & Penny Robinson
The DREAMWEAVERS - Debra Brooks & Melissa Grant
Team Manna - Desiree Daniels & Brian Block
The SF Bay Area Duo - Hank Perry & Vickie Nagy
The Next Evolution - Midori Miller & Jeannete Neerpat
Caulk Wood, Bonding for Success - Missy Caulk & Kim Wood
Well, another week of heated competition has gone by, and the cream of our Teams is rising to the Top! We had 15 Teams remaining going into last week's Challenge. Today, one Team will be announced the Weekly Winner, and Two Teams will be sent home.
(To find out all the details on the Week Two Challenge, GO HERE)
In a nutshell, our M2T Teams were instructed to create a 'Pre-Listing' package that could be transmitted entirely in digital format by email. Their entries were judged on aesthetics, organization, general content, and creativity/resourcefulness.
Once again, though we find many of the Teams running neck-and-neck, only one can be crowned the Weekly winner.....
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
And so, without any further gilding of the Lily....
Let's get the Bad News over with first, shall we?
The Makeover2Takeover Teams to be eliminated from competition this week are the Teams of "MFour" - Maureen Francis & Karen Moorhead, and Dawn Workman & Chelsea Miller. Once again, Ladies, thank you for your participation and effort. We will be awarding each of you points for your involvement, as well as a token of our appreciation to follow later.
~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~
And now, for the winner of the Week One Challenge.....drumroll, please!
The Team to win the Week Two Challenge is the Team "Next Evolution" - Apprentice Jeanette Neerpat and Mentor Midori Miller!
Congratulations, Jeanette and Midori!
And to all the other Team Contestants, congratulations as well. you're onto the Week Three Challenge which will be announced later today!
For all the members of ActiveRain, make sure to voice your words of encouragement and appreciation to all the Makeover2Takeover Teams!
Tomorrow morning when you wake up, our site will probably have a bunch of bugs.
Now that we have the bad news out of the way.............how about some great news! The site should be twice as fast because we are going to have twice as much computing power behind it. Tonight, we will be transitioning the site to all new, state-of-the-art servers. This will be the final step of a six month process where we have invested time and resources to bring stability and speed to ActiveRain.
This doesn't mean we are going to stop here because ActiveRain is quickly growing. We will no doubt start our next round of performance enhancements soon as it's a never ending cycle for a rapidly growing site.
The Details:
ActiveRain will be taken offline tonight at Midnight Pacific Standard Time and will be down for at least five hours. This is a MAJOR undertaking and some components are very difficult to test in a staging environment so we do expect a fair amount of bugs.
As you encounter bugs tomorrow, please use the 'Contact ActiveRain' link at the bottom of any page to report the issue. The more thorough you are in reporting the bug, the more quickly we can remedy the situation. In reporting your issue, please include what browser type and version you are using.
We want to apologize in advance for the inconvenience this may cause you.
Members now have the ability to upload large photos from 
"They are GIVING away more (SEO) knowledge than I paid $5,000 for in one shot, not to mention the thousands I have spent since then gaining more knowledge. Bob and Ben gave away every piece of information I had paid for in a couple of hours."
Today I spent an awesome day in San Francisco at Raincamp. We were bombarded, in a good way, all day with ideas, websites, I think all of them free.........with ways to help build our business"
"As someone who has been working internet leads for quite a while, their presentation opened my mind to a multiple possibilities for expanding the business model I use and implementing several new ways to grow my business. I'm definitely convinced that the opportunities for growth are huge."
"I'm utilizing several things I learned from RainCamp already. They instantly became part of the daily routine. Ben Kinney did a superb job and for me solidified some marketing ideas I had been considering before I attended the show. Perfect "fit"."
Attending the raincamp in New York was a blessing. The information was amazing. There are many things that I already knew but, the surprising part was how many other things that are available were introduced to me by raincamp in New York."
"Speaking to various attendees at the breaks I was struck at the amount that they felt they were getting out of the program. Typically at events such as this you will hear the occasional griping about the program not being what people thought that it would be, but I did not hear that at Raincamp."
"RainCamp delivered! If you are looking for an incredible networking opportunity and an actionable plan to help you maximize your online presence and get business using Social Media venues like Twitter, Facebook and blogging. Attend RainCamp and experience it for yourself!"
"The bottom line, this was the best out of office day I have ever spent. There was a lot I knew but so much more I did not. The presenters were energetic and more then willing to share tons of information"
"There was so much useful information that could be implemented immediately in mynew and improved business plan. Yes, I had to revamp my business plan to include some new strategies I learned from this single day at Raincamp."
"Today's Denver Raincamp exceeded my expectations in many, many ways. I'm very new to ActiveRain and blogging for business, and today's seminar was exactly what I needed to give me the inspiration and tools I'll need to step up my efforts."
"All the tools I need to have a strong internet presence was covered during that jam packed educational day. Participating on ActiveRain and incorporating all the pearls of wisdom taught in just a few hours are all I need."
"Was it worth the time and money? You bet. I believe Wednesday's event was the single best 1-day education I've had the honor of participating in. Again, if you have a chance to attend a RAINCAMP, do it!"
"If you haven't been to a Rain Camp, seriously consider it. There is no question, the technology that is being taught, is the wave of the future.......this is a better way of doing our job, a more effective way of prospecting and converting leads to clients."
"There were so many current and powerful ideas.....but at the end I realized the future of real estate is upon us.......I had become a dinosaur and (RainCamp made me realize) I need to revamp, rethink, remodel and change my business strategy and marketing plan."
"I was blown away, and I'm not one to get blown away with things like this....I learned so many things, that I can't wait to have a few minutes to implement ideas...."
"I was excited to learn from many of the top experts when it comes to marketing real estate....were able to take home the things learned and start applying them immediately to increase their listing and selling opportunities."
"The day flew by! I was fully engaged and absorbing information from 9:00am-5:00pm. It was worth every penny and I highly recommend you attend if you get the chance."
Are you ready for some rain San Diego??? I hope so because the crew is coming your way!
"Raincamp was a good experience for me. It exceeded my expectations, and I can tell you I've been to many industry events of the course of my years, I don't say that lightly."
"It's only 2 hours into the day (we are on break) and I've already realized several things that I can do NOW to increase my website traffic.....I'm excited by the ideas I've gotten so far. This is definitely worth the time/price."
"As with (my) first RainCamp, I've come away again today with a greater appreciation of my potential - and an excitement toward growing. I've been given a great set of tools and now it's up to me to put them to good use."
"Overall I would HIGHLY recommend getting to one of these events if you have a chance. You will learn some tips, tricks and techniques that will help your business to grow, regardless of your level of expertise....and I am frankly not that easy to impress."
"I consider myself somewhat of an internet marketer - but even so, I left the event with literally 20 new ideas I can start implementing immediately. Quite frankly, I'm not sure where to start, but I am energized as a result of attending."
"I am happy to report that Raincamp New York City was what I expected and more."
"I would recommend RainCamp to anyone! Great price and (the presenters) tell you what you need to know, short, sweet and to the point!"
"RainCamp in Dallas, TX needs to be logged in as a total success. Great facility, excellent organization, topnotch information and delivery by outstanding speakers."
"Awesome, amazing, and inspiring – that just about sums it up for the two days I spent at RainCamp in DC. I could hardly keep up with taking notes and being impressed....."
"Let's just say that after attending Raincamp in Dallas -- I honestly believe that I learned more in that one day class than I have learned in classes and seminars in my entire real estate career (9 years!)"
"Yes, it took two ferries to get there, and overnight stay, and one ferry back, plus border crossings, but it was great! If you get a chance to attend a Rain Camp in your area, just GO!"
"I am currently at the Active Rain Camp here in Los Angeles. One comment that I heard about this camp is that it is like "drinking water out of a fire hydrant." Very True!"
"I highly recommend attending one of these in your area when it arrives....and thank you ActiveRain for a great weekend"
"Spent an amazing day yesterday at L.M.U. University....... I am a very active social networking marketer but boy did I learn a lot at this conference. My head was spinning!"
"Great job ActiveRain staff. Rain Camp is motivating and inspiring, and definitely worth the drive from San Diego!"
"If you have been to other real estate seminars and have felt that in order to get all the information you had to spend more money, but didn't want to, then this place is for you."
Just one day at Rain Camp and so much was explained! For the answers to all your questions, take a day at Rain Camp!
"RainCamp....was a wealth of information on how to use Social Media to strengthen you and your real estate business in 2010... Active Rain has hit the nail on the head when it comes to social media networking and business building."
Every time we announce a new RainCamp location, multiple people request that we bring RainCamp to Florida, NC, Kansas City, Kentucky, the Northeast, the Southwest, the Midwest.........(you get the idea)
The 
Earlier today we received the sobering news that one of our community members has recently died in a tragic auto accident.
"No one has captured the essence and flavor of local communities online on a large scale," said Jonathan Washburn, CEO of Active Rain. "All the data points, pie charts, graphs and widgets in the world can't tell the complete story of a place. It takes content from the people who live and work there – which we have in abundance – to bring things to life. There are plenty of local review sites out there, but we're going beyond that to capture the full range of things that make communities unique."
Or "Extreme Home Make-Over," but without Ty and his annoying megaphone.
The Biggest Loser, only you're a Winner!
