There has been a bit of confusion regarding what is acceptable and what is not as far as the creation of new communities. We must respect each community. Everyone will always have the ability to post their blog posts to any community they choose. However, in order to clarify our position on the creation of communities.....
We ask that everyone adhere to the guidelines below:
Adding "The" before a neighborhood which has already been created is not acceptable. The only time it is acceptable is when you have a community that needs "the" before it. For example, The Arboretum. Arboretum would not suffice and the community is known as "The Arboretum". In situations where a dispute arises, we will do our best to give precedence to the person who created the first community, or who had the first sponsorship in place.
Adding "Homes for Sale" or "Real Estate" (or other similar phrases) after a community is not acceptable in order to thwart another members sponsorship of the same community.
If you have misspelled communities, we can now make corrections to spelling. Please email support@activerain.com with a link to the misspelled community page and the correct spelling for that community.
Thank you to everyone who is creating amazing content to fill out these community pages. Your efforts are starting to gain traction in the search engines and resulting in increased traffic. We have no question that as the days, weeks and months go on that these pages will continue to rise in the search engines and reward your efforts with increased visibility and more clients.
The reBlog concept is a really good idea, if used properly. When we first launched it, that idea was that users could pass on information from their colleagues to their readers and put their own little spin on the content.
If you reBlogged a post, it was our intention that you would add some commentary to the start of the post so that your readers would be made aware of what it was exactly about the post that you found interesting. You would let your reader know why you chose to share this particular post.
Now you have to share something. Posts can no longer be reBlogged without adding 25 words of commentary to a reBlogged post.
So what do you think? Is 25 words enough? Should we require more feedback in order to reBlog a post? Do you think reBlogging is the dumbest thing of which you've ever heard? Do you have no idea what a reBlog is?
RainCamp is the class you've been hearing about. It's an all day event where Ben Kinney, a mega agent from Washington, gives you the insider information as to what keeps him and his team on top. This is not a fluff event folks; yet one where the tools taught are able to be implemented into your daily routine that day!
Do you ever wonder how some people get more leads than they know what to do with? How they dominate their market using the latest and greatest online outlets? RainCamp will show you how.
It's friday, let's have a little fun......who's coming with me?
Many of you 'Like' the ActiveRain Facebook page. There are 7,122 of you as of writing this in fact. Significantly fewer of you 'Like' the RainCamp Facebook page, 435 of you. Page RainCamp is pretty distraught about this. He walks through the halls of ActiveRain moping like a 7th grader who just got a bad haircut from his 9th grade brother. It's not pretty, and Page RainCamp's self esteem is in the toilet.
(we know Page RainCamp is a 'he' because if a 7th grade girl actually let her 9th grade sibling cut her hair and it turned out horrible, she would certainly not be moping in the halls......it would be something much worse)
So we thought, 'how can we get page RainCamp some more attention so he's not so overshadowed by his older brother, Page ActiveRain?'
We're going to throw a party! A photo contest party! It's going to be a theme party. The haves and the have nots. You know the haves, the people of which everyone else is jealous. The people that have been to RainCamp. The people that have taken some great photos of their experience. The people that have met so many of their other ActiveRain friends in person. The people that have soaked in the knowledge of RainCamp. The haves.
But fear not, the have nots are invited too. The people that have not had a RainCamp close enough to them. The people that have not created an album in their facebook account for 'RainCamp photos'. The people that have not stared into the dreamy eyes of increased business and come away full of excitement, enthusiasm and passion. The have nots.
So here is how we are going to do this........Haves, you stand over on that side of the room, have nots you stand over here.
In the 'write something....' section include your ActiveRain user name in parentheses and create a sentence with: 'RainCamp (City) was/is.........(fill in the blank)'
I'll give you an example: (arbob) RainCamp Dallas was the best money I ever spent to learn about online marketing. I'll give you an example: (arbob) RainCamp Seattle is where it all started. I'll give you an example: (arbob) RainCamp New York is still the record for the most attendees.
Get 1000 points for your picture. 500-1000 extra credit given if your sentence matches really well with your picture and/or you make us laugh
Post a picture from your hometown, with you in it, that best describes why RainCamp should come visit you or captures the essence of why your town/city is the greatest.
In the 'write something.....' section include your ActiveRain user name in parentheses and create a sentence with: RainCamp (City) would be.......(fill in the blank)'
I'll give you an example: (arbob) RainCamp Honolulu would be the longest RainCamp ever, two weeks seems appropriate. I'll give you an example: (arbob) RainCamp Houston would be bigger than Honolulu, everything is bigger in Texas. I'll give you an example: (arbob) RainCamp Ashford would be a bust; Ashford has a population of 73, do Seattle again instead.
Get 1000 points for your picture. 500-1000 extra credit given if your sentences is super creative and makes us laugh.
Every week for the next six weeks, on friday, we will pick a winner from the haves and a winner from the have nots. Each winner will be given one free six month community sponsorship to an ActiveRain community of their choosing, a $114 value.
EDITED:
Week one winners:
Haves: Debe Maxwell and TLW (great stuff, just couldn't pick a winner) Have nots: Chris Alston and Craig Rutman
Each of you can email me a link to one community you would like to sponsor.
If you didn't get your points......it's because you didn't leave your user name as the instructions instructed (from the department of redundancy department)
Time is running out! Please tell me you have purchased your ticket to RainCamp Orlando; tickets are going fast! Platinum seats are sold out and the rest are going fast!
The RainCamp train is en route and it may be the last time we're in Florida for some time. Do you want a taste of the Sweet Success past attendees are experiencing?
RainCamp is an all day event where we share the secrets to what makes one successful. The tools taught are ones that you can implement into your daily routine immediately. This is not a fluff event yet one where we show you and spend the time explaining exactly how to use social media to stay on top of your game.
Ben Kinney, the featured RainCamp speaker, is a renowned agent and a Realtor® Magazine's 30 Under 30. He leads a successful brokerage in Bellingham, WA and is also a published author. Ben will give you a window into what he is using to stay successful and tools and tips you can use in your own business.
Do it for the children, do it for your country, ok I may be getting a bit dramatic but do it for yourself!Learn the newest techniques that will keep your competition at bay. Rub shoulders and network with other professionals in the area.
If you want to make your body stronger, you go to the gym. If you want to climb a mountain, you train. If you want to make your business more successful, you go to RainCamp!
Question: What constitutes a community? I live in a really small town, is that a community?
Answer: As it relates to ActiveRain community pages, a community can be considered anything around which people commune (OK funny guy, what does that mean?) that is more specific than a city or town.
Some 'communities' will be actual geographical areas within a town or city. In Seattle for example, there are known areas and ways locals break down the city. Communities such as 'Queen Anne', 'Wallingford' and 'Ballard' are well known and obvious communities. However, people may choose to get more granular with how they break down communities in their market as well. You may choose to create communities based on specific sub-divisions or condo complexes. Communities may also be created around golf courses, interest groups, or geographical terms people associate with living near.
You could create:
Sand Point Country Club Seattle Senior Living Views of the Puget Sound
These are examples of communities that could be created that don't meet the traditional definition of a community in terms of a geographical place within a city or town.
Question: Someone got a little out of control and created communities within my City/Town that are not actually communities or are the name of a neighboring city. In addition, there are communities in my City/Town that are misspelled. How do I get these cleaned up?
Answer: We are working on a system to allow you to report these to us and help us get them cleaned up. Stay tuned for this. In the meantime, do not sponsor anything that does not make sense and do not post content to these areas.
Question: How do I create a new community in my town/city?
Question: My town is really small and we don't really have communities. Our population is 10,000 and the only way to further break the city down is based on sub-divisions. These sub-divisions are small (50-150 homes) and it doesn't make sense for me to sponsor all ten sub-divisions at $19/month. What do I do?
Answer: It may make sense for you to wait. Currently, sponsorships are only available at a community level. If you are trying to sponsor a town or city, those are currently not available for sponsorship. It is possible we will have city level sponsorships available in the future but we are taking our time to make sure that if/when we roll those out it's in a manner that respects the people who have organically risen to the top of their city based on ActiveRain points.
One option for you, however, may be to sponsor one highly desirable sub-division in your town/city. If the other 'communities' are too small to warrant sponsorship, your sponsorship of the one desirable area, will make it so that you appear as the sponsor of any unclaimed 'communities' in your town/city. So if there are ten sub-divisions and you sponsor one, you rotate through as the sponsor in the other unclaimed sub-divisions.
Question: How do I find the communities I want to sponsor?
Answer: In order to find the communities in your town/city, you need to navigate to the city page first. In order to get to the city page, click on the states menu at the top of most ActiveRain pages. This will present a drop down menu of the different states. Click on your state. From the state page, look on the left hand column for a list of popular cities. Below the list of popular cities is a list of counties. If you do not find your city/town in the list of popular cities/towns, scroll down and select your County. Once on the County page, select your city from the list of cities on the left.
Once you are on the city page, the list of 'communities' will be on the left hand side of the city page. If you click on a community, it will load the community page. On the right hand side of the community page will be the ability to sponsor that community.
If someone is already sponsoring that community, you will see their picture. If the community is available to be sponsored, you will see your picture on the right hand side, grayed out, with a box you can click that says 'sponsor community'.
Question: After I sponsor my community, how do I complete the sponsorship?
Answer: Once you have sponsored a community, you can complete your sponsorship by navigating to the community page and looking for the red 'update sponsorship information' link. Clicking on that link will allow you to:
Fill out a 'blurb' about the community (to be permenatly displayed near the top of the community page). The blurb can be a maximum of 600 characters
Create a link on the community page back to your website. You will fill out the 'Link Name' field with how you want us to display the link on the community page. For instance: 'Search for Homes in Wallingford'. You will also fill out the 'Link URL' field. This will be the URL of the page to which you would like the link to point
Upload a 'Marquee Photo' for the community. Marquee photo's must be exactly 960 pixels wide by 440 pixels high in order to upload.
A list of all the areas you are sponsoring can be found on the 'billing information' page on the left hand side of your 'my home' page.
Question: What if I had community sponsorships on Localism. How do I go about updating the information for those sponsorships on ActiveRain? Also, how do I find which communities transfered over?
Answer: If you were sponsoring a community on Localism, that community was assigned to you on ActiveRain as well. In order to access those communities, you can go to the 'Billing Information' link on the left hand side of your 'my home' page. Near the bottom of your billing information page, it will show you the communities that you are currently sponsoring. There will also be a link to each community. If you click on that link, it will take you to the community page and allow you to update your community sponsorship by clicking on the red 'update community sponsorship' link.
Question: What if I was sponsoring a city on ActiveRain? What happens to that city sponsorship?
Answer: Previously on Localism, there were two ways to sponsor a city. In cities under 40K population, you could directly sponsor a city. In cities over 40K population, you became the sponsor if you were the person sponsoring the most communities in that city.
First let's deal with those directly sponsoring a city on Localism under 40K population. You are no longer paying to sponsor that city. However, city level sponsorships are not yet available on ActiveRain. If/when they become available, you will have the first right of refusal to sponsor that same city on ActiveRain. For the time being however, you will simply maintain the Localism city level sponsorship free of charge.
For those of you that were holding a comped city level sponsorship of a city over 40K population as a result of sponsoring the most communities in that city, we are evaluating how that will work if/when we introduce city level sponsorships on ActiveRain. Currently however, you maintain the city level sponsorship in Localism.
We have something fantastic to share with you this morning.
Hot on the heels of the release of community pages on ActiveRain, we have implemented a system to reward members for writing great hyper-local content. We will now have the ability to feature hyper-local posts.
Hyper-local posts that are featured will be awarded 300 additional points and the blog post will remain sticky at the top of the community page. Featured hyper-local posts will capture the essence of an area and serve to enhance the visitors understanding of the community/neighborhood/area about which it is written.
(Just a side note, because I know this will come up......these featured hyper-local posts will not become featured on the main feature board on the home page)
As the days and weeks go by, we will compile some of the best hyper local posts so our members can get a better idea of what constitutes a featured hyper-local post. We will also feature some of these posts on the home page over the coming days and weeks to additionally give our members a better idea of what a great hyper-local post looks like.
If a community has a featured hyper-local post, that community will automatically have a 'Featured Real Estate News' section created on the community page. The community will then display the last 3 featured posts for that area.
We are firm believers that hyper local content is the best way to reach consumers in your market. It affords you the best opportunity to reach consumers much further in the buying process than the traditional internet home buyer. What is hyper-local? It's content that targets something more specific than a city. It might be about a specific community in your town. It could be content that focuses on a specific sub-division or condo complex. This kind of content is easier to get to rank in the search engines and it's the kind of things people search for as they really being to narrow their home search down. It's also the kind of content your neighbors search for that allows you to market to them by being the central purveyor of information for your area.
We're excited to be able to reward great hyper local content and hope this serves to elevate the quality of the information our members deliver to their communities, the people that live in those communities, and (most of all) the people looking to live in those communities.
With the recent launch of ActiveRain Community Pages, we've had quite a few people ask us how they can create community pages within their cities or towns.
(I've also had a ton ask us how they can get their area cleaned up and get duplicates, misspellings and just plain wrong information removed......we are working on a way for you to be able to report these things through the site and hope to have that out in the future)
If there are communities within your town/city that you would like to add (maybe not even to sponsor, maybe just to be able to assign your content to get it on a community page) you can add the community by first going in as if you were going to create a new blog post.
You don't have to actually create a new blog post, but you need to get to the page where you would create one. From that page, go down as if you were going to assign the post to 'Localism' and check on the box. Then drill down to your city by selecting the State, and County and then the city. This will then display an ability to place the post into a specific community (as seen below)
You will then notice the 'Add Neighborhood' link . Clicking on that link will give you a map popup. Once the map pops up, you can manipulate the map to drill down (that term again, I can't think of a better one) on the center point of the community you would like to add. Hover your mouse over the map and right click on time. This will place a map marker on the map at the center point of the community. Then in the top field, fill in the name of the community you would like to add. (PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THE SPELLING). Then click the 'add community' button and your new community will be placed on the list for your city.
Today at noon (PST) we will begin offering ActiveRain members an exclusive sponsorship position for each community. Sponsorships will be available to RainMakers for $19/mo, and for non-RainMakers for $29/mo.
To sponsor a community, visit your community of choice and if your community is still available, you'll be able to sponsor it right from there.
Please check out what an example Community Page looks like:
If you are a RainMaker, the hyper local posts you publish on ActiveRain will syndicate to these Community Pages, automatically, and for no additional charge!
In addition to the organic content section on the left side of the page, we will also be offering our members a chance to become the exclusive sponsors for each community.
Sponsorships will include the ability to:
Prominently display your picture on the page along with your contact information.
Create a highlighted link back to a location of your choice (most likely your home search website).
Upload a high definition marquee photo for the community to be displayed at the top of the page.
Write a community description describing the highlights of living in that community which will be a static portion of the page.
The Community Pages are live now! You can find links to them on the City Pages on ActiveRain:
"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."
We've got some amazing stuff to show you this morning!
ActiveRain represents the blogging platform of choice for more real estate professionals than all other blogging resources combined. We reached this position by consistently connecting our members with those they are seeking to reach: whether they wish to connect with the largest network of real estate professionals in the world or the 2,500,000 consumers that visit ActiveRain each month.
Monday, August 2nd, we introduced ActiveRain Community Pages, an incredible new way to present your hyper-local content to consumers in the way they want to see it.
With this rollout, we've taken over 2,000,000 blog posts and organized them into 100,000 member-defined communities. This will be one of the premier resources for the world's most up-to-date hyper-local information.
Please check out what an example Community Page looks like:
If you are a RainMaker, the hyper local posts you publish on ActiveRain will syndicate to these Community Pages, automatically, and for no additional charge!
In addition to the organic content section on the left side of the page, we will also be offering our members a chance to become the exclusive sponsors for each community.
Sponsorships will include the ability to:
Prominently display your picture on the page along with your contact information.
Create a highlighted link back to a location of your choice (most likely your home search website).
Upload a high definition marquee photo for the community to be displayed at the top of the page.
Write a community description describing the highlights of living in that community which will be a static portion of the page.
On Wednesday at noon (PST) we will begin offering an exclusive sponsorship position for each community. Sponsorships will be available to RainMakers for $19/mo, and for non-RainMakers for $29/mo.
To sponsor a community, visit your community of choice and if your community is still available, you'll be able to sponsor it right from there.
We have exciting plans to bring additional value to the sponsorships, so look for those in the coming weeks and months.
The Community Pages are live now! You can find links to them on the City Pages on ActiveRain:
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."
Wyndham Orlando Resort 8001 International Drive Orlando, FL 32819
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."
"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.
It's friday, let's have a little fun......who's coming with me?
We're going to throw a party! A photo contest party! It's going to be a theme party. The haves and the have nots. You know the haves, the people of which everyone else is jealous. The people that have been to 
"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."
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."
"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 
