Most of us need to occasional hear or in the case of blogging read that the efforts that we put into our blogs will lead to connections with consumers, community leaders and other local authorities.
Whenever a new blogger post on Active Rain it is always great to see the number of people who stop by and say hello. We read about the success that Active Rain has brought to the businesses of many of the agents, loan officers and stagers and I know in the beginning of my blogging days it helped me know that some interesting things could occur if I was able to make the connections.
Last week I posted that I was giving blogging kudos for almost 50% of my business in July. Over this past weekend I was contacted by our local PBS channel about my take on the housing stimulus bill. The end result was an on camera interview with a local reporter that was broadcast last night.
This wasn't my first connection with the local press and at least this time on air they didn't cut and splice the story to make it meet their agenda. As someone who hates to have their picture taken having a camera rolling is more "exposure" than I really want to have. However, it is another example of how blogging about your area and what is happening in the market can bring you opportunities that you would never have imagined when you wrote your first post.
There were points in time over the last 18 months that I questioned why I was spending time writing. Usually just about the time I was ready to throw in the towel I would read a post by someone who was having success with blogging. Those posts helped renew my enthusiasm and finish a post or two of my own. So for everyone who is writing their first post today don't give up. If you have an opinion, state it. If you know your area, write about it. What you write today may not seem all that important but you don't know who is reading and that person might be the next connection that changes your business.
No Hassle-No Pressure-Just Straight Talk About The Northern Virginia Real Estate Market
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Very nice Cindy. That is my goal also to break out to the local news and do what I can to spread the "good" news about real estate.
Cindy, I'm glad in your story you said you stuck with it. I think that is one of the big keys.
All the hard work paying off! Congrats!
Mike Kelly
Hi Cindy,
As a newbie to blogging, it was good to read your post. How much time to do spend writing?
Congratulations!!!!!
Thanks for the encouragement as a new person to active rain and learning about blogging- also would like to know how much time do you spend on this weekly?
Antoinette Galindo
Ok, thanks for the words of encouragement, I'll start writing again. I did lose interest and asked myself many times over the summer (as well as others close to me) why I would spend time writing. I heard over and over again Real Estate is about contact relationships and blogging is a waste of time. I began to believe it.
Cindy - This is very cool, Congrats. My kids & my wife just returned from a visit to your neck of the woods - they had a great time.
Douglas-very true. Blogging is just another thing to add to the list.
David-good for you. I think we need to have more positive news in today's market. It is certainly out there and the press needs to know about it.
Gary-it is positive blogs like yours that help many of us keep on going!
Thanks Mike! Glad I took typing in HS so I can write these posts faster than my dad who could only hunt and peck.
Al-it depends on how my brain is working. Some weeks the ideas for blogs are right in front of my face and I might not spend more than 5 or 6 hours posting and commenting. Other weeks I struggle and find myself at closer to the 10 hour mark. Most of my blogging is early morning or later evening and not mid-day.
Rich-thank you. This wasn't about bragging but hopefully encouraging others to keep on blogging.
Antoinette-as I mentioned in my comment to Al it depends on how my brain is working. Sometimes I have more problem with formating than writing.
Craig-I think you write better than you drive :-) I admit there are times when I have wanted to throw in the towel but then the phone will ring or a email will show up and I'm reenergized.
Steve-my son just flew in to town from Highlands Ranch. I was reading him titles from your blog to see if he was keeping up with the events in the neighborhood. Hope your family had a good time in the area.
Rich-congratulations to you too. Sounds as if you have found the power of the rain as well.
How funny. Maybe they passed in the airport. They flew in & out of the aiport right in DC.
Cindy, wonderful post. These are certainly words of encouragement for new and old bloggers alike. I'm glad we had a chance to chat last night. I'm taking my buyer down to Belmont Bay on Thursday evening.
Cindy, thanks for the encouragement! Great job, keep up the good work. You are truly an inspiration, I enjoyed reading your post very much.
Cindy - Congrats on your PBS story.. Thanks so much for the encouragement to keep blogging - I know how important it is but look forward to the day - I can say, that job was a result of blogging.. In the meantime, the greatest benefit is the friendships made here on AR..I really love it - thanks for stopping by my placemat pillow blog - God bless.
Brian-if you have any other question about Belmont Bay let me know. There is a new listing in Harborview-Unit 610 that is a great deal.
Denise-I think it is sticking to it that makes it work. It is easy to get discouraged with a lot of things in a down market but if we keep a positive attitude it will help us get through.
Cheryl-the friendships on AR are definetly priceles.
Congrats thats awesome!!!!!!
Heather
Cindy - congrats on the coverage. You're so right - it is those stories of success and encouraging comments that can help us all keep our noses to the grindstone, I mean, having lots of fun writing! Most of the time it is a lot of fun, but there are times when I have to make sure I get some blogging time scheduled.
WOW ~ what an inspiration!
Thank you for sharing ~ reading this has motivated me even more. Congratulations on your success which does take commitment and work.
Good for you. It is good to hear when agents who spend a lot of time doing something finally have good things pay off.
How exciting! Congrats on your TV debut! I'm sure you did great!
Have a fabulous week!
Heather-it was fun to work with a reporter who actually wanted a real story instead of the last time when the cut and twisted to make their own story.
Penny-the last few months have been fairly hectic for me but so my blogging has been a little less focused. But it must have been enough to keep the google juice alive and well.
Kathleen-I'm hoping the post will kick start a few bloggers who might be feeling discouraged. It does take time out of our already hectic schedules but there are rewards.
Bob and Carolyn-I hope your efforts pay off for you as well!
Justin and Kathleen-thanks for stopping by. I hope your week is a good one too!
Congratulations Cindy on your Interview. You persevered and you were successful! That's my motto too, "never give up" :-)
Congrats Cindy! Great post and very positive words for those of use still climbing the ladder....
Cindy,
Thanks for the post and congrats on the PBS coverage. Really hard to believe that this is all possible. Like you I have had similar opportunities. Its a good thing.
Thanks for the encouragement Cindy and congratulations on your personal success! Sometimes sitting here all alone typing into cyberspace I wonder if it is worth it, the I read a post like yours!
Judy-hopefully all of our words will help encourage the newbies and some who started to wonder what blogging can do will be renewed.
Ryan-one of the things I've always enjoyed in life is "mentoring". I was a foster mom for awhile in the late 80's and it was great to be able to help a youngster get back on the right track. Hopefully encouragment on AR will lead someone to get back on the blogging trail.
William-I know I'm not the only one who gets the good juju from AR. Glad to hear it is working for you too.
Pat-one of the great things about AR is you aren't really alone. At any given moment there are probably 1000 other folks with their fingers on the keyboard. Reach out when you need a little high five.
Cindy, I consider myself a newbie and will continue to blog to improve my writing. I'm so impressed with your blogging and bio that I referred my daughter to you. I tried to e-mail you today thru AR, but it did not go thru. I will have her call you. See, blogging does bring business!
Hi Cindy, great blog. Congratulations on your fame. Your words inspire the newbie blogger. I have the strength to go on. Many thanks.
Hi Cindy, great blog. Congratulations on your fame. Your words inspire the newbie blogger. I have the strength to go on. Many thanks.
GREAT BLOG- GREAT ADVISE
Cindy, Good for you! Thanks for sharing your story. It give me hope. Mike
I'm just getting starting in the "blogging" world...........and was just thinking..........am I wasting my time? Thanks for the words of encouragement!!
Mary Jo-your daughter and I have already touched base via email. Sounds like she is going to have a busy fall with a move and a new baby!
Cindy, pretty cool! Congratulations!
Cindy, you are now the expert in your area!!! Congrats to all your hard work to become that expert. AJ
Thanks Cindy for sharing your blogging sucess, it is helpful when you feel like you are still running in place and haven't broken out of the gate yet!
Catherine-I'm glad to hear that you are going to keep going. It is worth the effort.
Mike-great! Have fun with it.
Katie-absolutely you aren't wasting your time. Just find your niche and stick with it and make it fun. If it becomes a chore you won't stick with it.
AJ-I don't consider myself an expert. I just try to be knowledable and keep current with what it happening in my area and communicate that to the community. There are others around AR who are truely the experts!
I am fairly new to blogging, its nice to see that other people are not sure what to do. I am very excited to hear that you were noticed by the media. In my area the media puts out so much negative regarding the housing market it makes the agents feel distressed. Its great that you can make a difference by blogging.
You are an inspiration to a newbie blogger.... no guts, no glory....
Deborah-we all need to just keep blogging about the positive and see if the media doesn't take the hint :-)
It really is amazing to see how creative (or even mildy interesting) blogging can come back to you in postive ways you never imagined. What a great success story. Kudos!
I have to say it is a rollercoaster ride for me. I really want to be a featured post... I don't know why maybe just for a sense of accomplishement... Like I'm doing the right thing. And it does get a liitle aggravating when I wrote a blog and didn't get much response and then notice today that someone wrote about the exact same thing and has over 70 comments and 1100 views. What the....? Aggitated but I'll keep blogging.
Thanks for the encouragement. I am a newbie and it's reassuring to get a keep it up from someone who knows blogging can change your business. Much appreciated.
Tim-absolutely. It has been an interesting year. Blogging can put you on a different track and I hope others have opportunities that make them feel that the effort is worthwhile.
Michelle-unfornately that does happen to all of us. One day out of the blue you will write something that will capture the attention of the readers and the star will appear. I haven't had very many and they always catch me by surprise.
Melissa-it is about perserverence. Find your focus and stick to it. Out of the blue things will start happening. Good luck!
Wow, as a newbie I am excited to read about your success and what hard work and patience can really achieve, congrats!
Blogging is a great way to connect. Thanks for the encouragement!
Awesome post Cindy, it gives me new found hope to hear other's success stories. Congratulations on you television debut!
Donna-I hope that you find great success from your blogging.
Jan Marie-I'm just one of many with success stories and I'm sure you will have your own soon if you don't already. This was actually my third tv appearence but it was the best in terms of filming and sticking to the story and having a positive spin.
Thanks for the encouragement Cindy. I have been spending a significant amount of time on Active Rain. I am still trying to figure out how this works. I am learning so much from all of you who have gone before!
Good to see that blogging does actually pay off. What started as a promising possibility, then materializes into leads, PR and more. Nice to hear.
Cindy,
Good things come to those with genuine intentions. Congrats on your success in Blogging!
Howard
www.acehomeinspection.biz
Great PR for you and your business. What a positive impact blogging has had on your business.
Keep up the great work!
Great work.
Good to know that your blogging investment has begun to pay off - I have been sitting on the fence about it for FAR too long, so it's about time I take the plunge! Thanks for the inspiration!
It takes time to see the fruits of your labor when you are blogging....I'm just starting out and use these success stories to continue on...
Sharon-I'm sure you will figure it all out. It just takes persistence and once you develop a routine very little time.
Michael-as with any marketing program the key is follow up and "stickyness". Stick to it and it will work.
Howard-Thank you!
Edith-Go for it!
Sonja-I like to compare blogging to a bottle of Heinz Ketchup. Remember the saying it is worth the wait. Well that is the way it is with blogging. Once you start blogging you can't expect instant results. It takes time but it does work.
This is a great post for first time bloggers. I am sure this will definately help in business and relationship building. I also feel blogs are a great way to market your listings, so I would like to offer some more advice on blogging. Look at blogs as unique web pages. The more you have the better your web exposure. So, check out vflyer.com and postlets.com. These 2 sites will allow you to auto post your listings and give you greater exposure. Good luck!
Sincerely,
CJ Harrington