What is Active Rain?

For starters, it is the largest Real Estate network available, with over 176,000 active users... and growing.  It’s not only a website that gives you the ability to network with a plethora of other REALTORS® in your area and abroad, but also facilitates connections with people and companies in a myriad of real estate-related fields.

Where else can you find listings, close a referral, and even hire a contractor or home staging professional all in one visit? Active Rain is also an excellent place to begin building your online presence.  Simply start by creating your profile, and then start blogging!

Why is it important to blog on Active Rain?

By contributing blog entries on a regular basis, you’ll be establishing yourself not only on Active Rain, but throughout the Internet, as those posts will also be indexed by the major search engines, allowing you to reach a broader audience than before.  Another good reason to add blog entries on a regular basis is to show people that YOU are the LOCAL EXPERT.  Writing a blog allows you not only to showcase your vast real estate knowledge, but also the intimate details of your farm area, which can strongly influence readers who may consider working with you as their REALTOR®.  

Blogging showcases your personality.  If you write in a style that is bland and monotonous and not very appealing, readers may get the impression that you too are bland, monotonous, and unappealing, so they may think twice about signing with you.  Most people want to deal with someone they can relate to and feel comfortable around. If you can help with their first impression by the content and style of your writing, why wouldn’t you go that extra kilometre to make your blogs stand out?  It can help you get that proverbial ‘foot in the door’.

Another excellent way to use Active Rain is to compliment your existing blog and website. If you are regularly posting articles on a different blog but still want to draw traffic from Active Rain, try to create supplementary posts on your Active Rain blog that tie-in-to your original post. Summarize the original blog on your Active Rain entry, write a captivating headline that properly depicts the article to draw attention to it, and make sure to encourage readers to follow the link back to your other blog and website to read and learn more.

Other useful ways to increase the awareness of your presence on Active Rain is to send out regular social media updates. When you add a blog entry, notify people via the social networks that they also regularly use, such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

Ready to get started?

It’s free and takes only a couple minutes to complete. You can join here.

After you click “Join Now”, you will be prompted to subscribe to RainMaker, Active Rain’s premier account services. This is an optional step, which can be declined by clicking “No thanks — I'm just interested in professional networking right now”. Next you will be brought to a Congratulations screen, which provides you with a link to your new profile and blog, something like this:

When ready, click “Enter Active Rain”.

Next you will be prompted to create a detailed user profile. Don’t worry... this is your final step. Complete the profile and then click “Activate Profile” and presto! You have successfully created an Active Rain account, and can begin your blogging journey.

Still not sure if it’s worth doing?

Don’t take my word for it; take a couple minutes to read through some of these testimonials from REAL PEOPLE using Active Rain.

Authored By: Bryan Coughlin, Client Relations