Hawaii Real Estate | Hawaii Relocations | Hawaii Home Buying & Selling

We have almost 200,000 members on ActiveRain and will no doubt hit that mark quickly in 2011. In March of 2011 it will be four years I've been a member on ActiveRain and surely being an Ambassador has been a privilege and an honor to help out our fellow members and give back to the community.

Everyone has their own ideas about blogging and social networking and also how they will conduct themselves online. I have my own as well and have written many posts along my tenure here on ActiveRain.  Instead of being repetitive I'll just link to some of them.

• What Kind of Legacy Will You Leave Behind?  Written in 2007 I already knew the significance of blogging with care for our online 'legacies' and reputations are at stake.  My favorite line in this post is:

 MY LEGACY IS ALL ABOUT THE QUALITY OF RELATIONSHIPS I HAVE WITH OTHERS

  And.....   Without that quality, tell me.....what is a Professional worth?

(we sleep well at night)

• Creating Your OWN Blogging Experience on ActiveRain We ALL know that a great blog has quality content, being transparent in that content and having a variety of subjects in content.  It is also the best marketing tool I know of but you have to create your own blogging experience.
• Are You Engaging Your Readers?   We make it INTERESTING for the reader. Again...variety is key. Localism posts are my favorite although I have to admit I get tickled to switch from one topic and subject to another. Personal posts, market reports, off topic, real estate industry related with a personal touch from those experiences.
• You May Have a Different View on the Same Topic....So Write IT!  We ALL have written on the same topics and we all get those comments on our posts like, "I wrote about that before" or "Here's a link to my post on the same topic".   Well, all I have to say is WRITE IT ANYWAY!  There are no two humans who think alike so there will be different views and opinions...though on the same topic.  It WILL create a conversation.
• The Secret Behind Blogging on ActiveRain Discussing the parts of a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain and what it takes to become and remain so.  So how does one become a dedicated member and blogger?  If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, you KNOW........ It's really no secret how you can become a dedicated member and blogger on ActiveRain.  You work for it.
• The POWER of ActiveRain...The PEOPLE Behind the WORDS It's the people we "meet" while writing and commenting that have made this network by ‘blog of choice'. These connections and friendships formed are what connects us together in the real estate industry. I have no doubt received referrals and this post was specifically written through one of my friendships formed with William E. Johnson
• Making My OWN Magic in the World of Blogging was one of my favorites and will certainly be one of my best for my own experience with what made me successful in writing here on ActiveRain.

Bottom line is that I have to put forth the effort, dedication and commitment to make this network work for business, personal relationships and referrals. I work hard and spend countless hours getting post after post up. We then CONNECT.  

How can one form even a business relationship without comingling with our peers?

I have simple rules for myself that made me a successful through my writing....Think it may help you?

• Write with conviction and passion because everyone will read you if you do.
• Write with original content and your own pictures you've taken because everyone will read if you do. 
• Write with wit, humor and emotion because everyone will read you if you do.
• Write with the intent of giving back to the community because everyone will read you and give back to you and the community too.
• Write with integrity, honesty and respect because everyone deserves it and so do you.
• Write a comment or two relating to the post you just read (it shows sincerity) and everyone will continue to come back and read you too.
• Write from your own thoughts and creativity because no one will read you if you don't.

Find your own (addictive) pattern of writing.

I already found mine...hehehe.

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A VERY Happy Holiday Season to all staff and members of ActiveRain....OH...and my family who supported me through this addiction...lol

Everyone has their own style of writing and finding their way around ActiveRain.  My favorite line is 'we live and die and it's what we do in between that matters'. Same goes for blogging on this platform. We become members and what we do with it after (the in between) is what matters......lest the blogger dies.

The following tidbits are some of my secrets to blogging on ActiveRain.

OR...are they secrets?

•  If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, then you most likely have been consistent in writing some good quality content. In other words, you KNOW that you don't post a sentence or two and have a couple paragraphs of ad line to squeeze by for your 200 points on a blog and really believe that everyone is going to read your ‘stuff'.
• If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, at some point you must have realized and you now KNOW that if you do write with quality content, it includes adding a piece of yourself (as if the reader is walking along side of you) and not just a bunch of text info.  How else are readers going to ‘feel' who the person behind the words is? You have fun too....you laugh.
• If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, you KNOW that the more you read others posts and comment the more you will gain readership and they will read yours. In return, you not only get the 200 points for your x amount of words that created a post, you gain more points for the comments your readers have left. Subscribe to members blogs that you find interesting.
• If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, you KNOW it's not about being POPULAR, it's about being respected by the community as a contributor, being part of a support system, connecting with peers, blogging for business and connecting with businesses in your local areas.
• If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, you KNOW it's not about how many points you have, but how you got them. The ulterior motive to getting them. We are human and by all means have a piece of us that is competitive and surely love to see those points add up. You have to ask yourself....how you are going about it.
• If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, you KNOW that it take time to get readership, make friends with peers and getting business from your blogging. There is no instant gratification if you are not doing it right. LEARN from your peers here about everything you need to know about getting traffic to your websites and blogs. There are MANY posts and groups about SEO tips.
• If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, you KNOW that everything is not perfect on this platform and you have patience for structural changes and KNOW that the benefits far outweigh the burps and blurps we occasionally go through.
• If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, you KNOW that you are not entitled to automatic fame and featured posts for writing a few posts. You work for it just like anything else in life. It took time to build your business and the same goes for blogging and your readership.

If you are a dedicated member and blogger of ActiveRain, you KNOW........

It's really no secret how you can become a dedicated member and blogger on ActiveRain.

You work for it.

Blogging on Active Rain IS the most astounding way of communicating with the consumer and peers that I have ever encountered.  Blogging means to make my own magic by writing with conviction and passion about a subject I want to get out to the public, the consumer, to others in the Real Estate Industry and of course to other members in the Active Rain community.

Amongst following the general rules and guidelines for Active Rain (found right on our home page and at the bottom of each and every page) these other tips may be helpful to find your own "routine" and quality of writing for blogging on Active Rain. Believe me, this is no easy feat when there are almost 137,000 members and trying to read their posts as well as the ones we are already subscribed to.

I do make it a point to keep balance in my life with blogging vs. work vs. family vs. me time.

Real Estate, Family, Blogging: Time Management = BALANCE 

My routine for blogging is not as severe (addict style) as it was before but the following is how I still run my day.

• Grab my coffee and settle down to check my email.  And we all know this is the start of your blogging day because ALL your comments to your posts are in your email :) So, I go down the line of emails (I use Outlook...made simple to just click on the down arrow button) and delete as I go along answering client related emails and AR and sticking junk email in their proper place...."Add Sender to Blocked Sender's List".
• Log into Active Rain and click on Home Page  For me it is my most important page. It has "Messages" and has a whole list of who responded to my posts and the ones I commented on. Now this is why I DO NOT click on "notify me of new comments".
• Click on the "Blogs" tab and check out all the bloggers I subscribe to. Now, if you're new or just don't realize this subscribing to blogs I'll tell you right now. It makes it easier to read the writer's you are interested in. I continuously add and "clean" my list constantly. The reason being is that the list gets long and there are some who join AR and leave and the list becomes too long to keep them on if they aren't going to remain active. OR their writing may not be the kind I really like but wanted to give it a try but in the end they got deleted (I may add them back on later if the writer gets more interesting)
• Go into Groups I have joined (if time permits) to see if there are new writers/articles I missed in that particular group category. I have formed my own group POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul and it has proven to be my favorite group to get the "be still" time. I find a lot of other posts that give me inspiration for the soul in here and when times get a little "weary" it is a wonderful place for me to relax.

Your content will be your magic. If you write ORIGINAL content that is from the soul, your heart and from you you will be read. Be REAL! Write as if the reader is walking along side of you while you're explaining your local area attractions or your tips for home buyers and so forth. Do not plagiarize (steal others pictures, content etc.) and try to claim it as your own.

• Start a post with an idea. I have found that taking pictures around the island that I can surely come up with something. I go over it...revise it....save it in draft and so forth. If it's a rant, I sit on it overnight. Usually I'll delete it in the morning. :)  Otherwise, it's revised so much it turns into a learning session.
• Adding a picture or two to catch the eye and "color" your post.  After clicking on the picture you want to insert, make sure you click on the "appearance" tab, size your picture and also click on the drop down box to enter your picture to the right or left. You can also use the verticle/horizontal space so your picture is set away from your words. TITLE YOUR PICTURES! Goole picks up on those too.
• Content of Posts: Use bullets to enhance points and bold only the pertinent info to a paragraph or point.  When you bold or highlight too much the reader will miss what you're trying to make an important point with. The same for not putting a valid point in bold. If nothing is in bold I guaranty that I'll think it's all running into each other and it becomes that ever so famous "wall of words".
• Titles will attract the reader. Be original! I now leave my post in draft until I have time to edit, change the title, edit some more. When I feel comfortable with it then I will post. If I can't come up with a more catchy title I post it anyway. :) 
• Add good tags, keywords along with your titles and great content and you will be found in Google!  Go to your search bar and enter SEO and you'll get plenty of help in understanding the life of a blog and the internet search.

And on a side note...I have simple rules for me to follow....Think it may help you?

• Write with conviction and passion because everyone will read you if you do.
• Write with original content and your own pictures you've taken because everyone will read if you do. 
• Write with wit, humor and emotion because everyone will read you if you do.
• Write with the intent of giving back to the community because everyone will read you and give back to you and the community too.
• Write with integrity, honesty and respect because everyone deserves it and so do you.
• Write a comment or two relating to the post you just read (it shows sincerity) and everyone will continue to come back and read you too.
• Write from your own thoughts and creativity because no one will read you if you don't.

Happy Blogging!