Active Rain is how I start my day....most every day...rain or shine....and sing the praises....in the Rain...outside the rain of the benefits of who you meet, what you learn....and oh yeah....the business you get....from being an active participant and Rainmaker. You are guaranteed to make new friends...find agreement and opposing views...you can look for and find laughs....and share tears ....it is place to come to learn, to share...to get your brain started and further your career through perfecting the art of blogging. Choosing an audience...and directing your message to them with the things they most want to know...about your speciality, your part of the country, your neighborhood.
You will find that participation in the Rain is just like anything else in life...you get out what you put in...the more 
you know...the more you grow...
We have shown other people ACtive Rain...and sometimes get excuses about finding the time, learning to perfect their writing skills takes too long...they have bloggers block and don't know what to writer..
Come on in...get your feet wet...turn your umbrella upside down...
This isn't a members only blog...active members know the benefits of being active in the Rain...share this blog with someone who isn't a member.
Blog...it's a four letter word you will come to love...another four letter word that you will come to feel as you know more members coast to coast on Active Rain....and to us....that is the greatest benefit of all.
Sally K. & David L. Hanson, ABR, CDPE, CSS, e-Pro,ILHM, REDS
Blogging accomplishes so much, so quickly to promote your area, your properties, your brand. The days of a static website with a few changes once in a while compared to fresh new pertinent content to develop a following with a blog is like night and day. Video is another element in a realtor's tool box needing the same every day dedication. Real video lets the buyer tour your area, your properties and connect with you hearing your voice, seeing you greet them, help them. Meeting you one on one from seven states, two time zones away 24/7.
Sally & David:
Blogging first thing in the morning helps me set the mood for the entire day.
Reading others thoughts on the business often reminds me of what I need to work on in mine.
I have a small shop, but thousands around my water cooler.
Good points and good morning Andrew and Corie...no matter what time the morning doves wake me..
I know someone will be up in the Rain !
You are like so many other ActiveRainers. Starting their day with a cup of Joe and ActiveRain...
Sally,
I'll bet David's still sound asleep! This is great, and I'm flagging it for a feature.
Mike in Tucson
Sally/David,
I can't imagine starting my day any other way.
Rich
Hi ya Hi ya everyone...
How did you know Mike...I am a morning person...David is a night person...it's why we're still married :) !
It takes time and patience for many people to get into blogging, reading and understanding its power.
Agreed...it has to become a priority and a habit...or it ends up on the shoulda coulda woulda pile..
I think it has to become a habit! I had an agent in my office the other day that all we did was work on his blog...we are going to learn it together...slowly but surely...the silly thing is he does more on here than he realizes....but it is a learning curve.
I start very early with Active Rain and coffee, usually about 0430 CDT. I've come to know the group that hangs out at that time. Have a great Saturday!
I too have made AR my morning ritual along with coffee of course....Tom started me on it and I have tried to be consistent...I know I have to do more to keep up with the power bloggers, but I still keep plugging along!
You bet Deb...good habit...once you're in...you're hooked !
Hey Sam...now i know who I can call when the morning doves announce the day
plug away kristin...you learn lots here as you know !
I start the day with AR and I end the day with AR. I've not had much luck signing others, their excuses always seem to keep them from joining. I know the benefits and I know my time invested is worth it...besides, it is something I enjoy doing, not something I "have" to do.
We enjoy hearing from u 2 !
AR has become a daily habit for me over the last year especially. I've ben on it for a couple of years but didn't do as much with it as I have this year. There is lots of useful information here for us Realtors. I enjoy AR very much.
Patricia
AR has become a daily habit for me over the last year especially. I've ben on it for a couple of years but didn't do as much with it as I have this year. There is lots of useful information here for us Realtors. I enjoy AR very much.
Patricia
Hi Sally and David. Thanks for writing.
It can be frustrating.
I have had several meetings with other agents about the benefits of social media/blogging...
Easy to get them a profile. Hard to get them to do anything with it...
Thanks for writing,
Ken
What a friendly little welcome note to those not blogging. There are several agents in my area that are signed up but not doing anything. Shame.
Habits can be hard to form...and hard to break....but ooooh the rewards !
It's like an addiction...I have to post and comment...I just haven't developed the discipline to get up in the morning and engage it yet...
Life before Active Rain - it's hard to imagine. I have told so many people about blogging. Their eyes sort of glaze over. Same thing with Active Rain. They just don't get it, but I try! I even show them and email posts to them.
I don't understand why people don't "get it". I love Active Rain and the friends, clients and education I have received here. Priceless!
You will find that participation in the Rain is just like anything else in life...you get out what you put in...
This is so true!
P.S. I've invited over 70 agents. A few have signed up. Only one is active.
Y'know, methinks you've hit same chord as those who start the day at the gym. Get 'er done first and enjoy the fruits all the rest of the day. Thanks!
Everytime i speak I encourage agents to start on Activerain for all the reasons you mentioned. So few do, but nothing we can do about that, it is sorta hard to sell something without giving it a try.
Sally & David:
I asked a Realtor the other day if he did anything with Active Rain and he said, "Active what?"
This is such a daily habit for me I have a difficult time realizing that many other Realtor's do not start their day this way.
I like the sentiment and love the graphic you selected to capture the concept. Kudos!
It's a great habit....an addiction we can all benefit from in a variety of ways....if you do more than just profile...your umbrella will be laden with information, friendship and business...it doesn't get better than that.
All for blogging. Besides we all know blog means Big Leaps On Google!
GREAT anachronym....gotta love it...gotta do it...blog on !
You don't have to convince me...it's 846 am on Sunday and here I sit, reading & commenting with my coffee. It's hard to make the uninitiated understand how great ActiveRain really is!
too many agents view blogging like eating.....name that unfavorite food....like you have to really get it past your tonsils to be able to swallow it and have it become a part of your regular diet.
Sally and David - BLOG is the best 4 letter word to hit our vocabulary in the last couple of years. Blog on indeed !
Sally and David, I've invited several agents to join ActiveRain and only two signed up and they aren't doing anything. Some people just don't get it.
Without it our list of realtor friends...our list of sellers and buyers and our knowledge bank would be diminished greatly.
It took a couple months but now I get it and I now enjoy the Rain as the first part of my day as well
Good for you all...the more you learn, the more you grow...that can't be a bad thing !
You need to have a passion for it. I teach some real estate classes, and I share the fact that through blogging alone and being found on gbet all enthusiastic when they hear this and i point them to learning places like AR, Real Estate Tomato, and Dakno for examples. Then nothing. Intention without passion will never creat action.
Gary #31 said it best. Great acronym.
What started out as a guilty pleasure is now a cornerstone of the business plan.
Who said I'd never use my English degree?
Ahhh....the old is new.....I have a journalism degree....who would have thunk...
It has been a long time since I've picked up a newspaper or even turned on the morning news. For the past two years I have begun every morning in the rain! Gary says it best, blogging definately gives you Big Leaps on Google! In order for a blog to work, you must be focused and understand who you want to reach. Once you figure that out. Success Happens.
Google juice with breakfast....ahhhh blogfest of champions !
I didn't see this Sally! Great blog!
What is the entymology of the word blog? I ask because I don't know, but you might!
Hey, I just looked it up. It is a contraction of two words, like smoke and fog becoming smog.
It is a contraction of the two words, web log, or we blog!
Anyway you look at it, what a great forum for self expression. And AR is a great platform for that.
Ah Jay...thank you...we know it works !
I have invited some of the brightest people I know...and nothing. It amazes me.
We hear you Damon...bright and focused or disciplined are not always the same person..
I think a lot of invitees are overwhelmed by the size and volume of the Rain. If they would just focus on getting their own blog off to a good start, they would begin to see the overall potential that being on AR offers.
excellent point John....focus is paramont to success 1
I have my morning coffee while reading and blogging on AR