Wow Missy,

Jay and I get leads off our Blog but have not had a referral pan out yet. You are rocking that is for sure.

Missy - Talk to me!! This is awesome Missy! I need to make my blog work for me more...I just need to shadow you and follow your every move!! Do you mind? LOL Awesome inspiring post, as always!

Missy, congratulations on all the leads, referrals and closed sales.  What an excellent testimonial to the power of Active Rain blogging.  I've featured your post in the group -- thanks for promoting Active Rain Block Party.

Missy, good for you. I always enjoy hearing success stories like this. AR is a great resource that's for sure.

Monika, the fact is the consumers are reading. I wanted to share that. Can you Believe all this is FREE !!

Candace, thanks your blog is one of the best here. Just give it time.

Brian, I did it for you !! :)

Teri, thanks.

Missy - that's awesome!

Way to go Missy, I am proud of you and now we need to get you up and running on your outside blog and you will really ROCK.

Missy-congratulations. It sounds as if you are on a roll. I think the combination of blogging, customer service and our client referrals will keep us all going even when the market is slow.

Missy -- you are absolutely right -- There is a lot to be gained by Active Rain.  I wrote a blog about my first Active Rain closing a while back.  I have had a few inquiries, and one is still a possibility.  I also have referred a past client who is relocating to an Active Rain member.  It is the power of the rain! 

Linda, thanks.

Jay, I'm sending you and email. It is ready but not quite there. Give me your honest opinion. It is word press. org and I am overwhelmed. I don't want to announce my baby yet until it is perfect.

Missy, What wonderful success you have had! Activerain is wonderful and so are your blogs....Congratulations on a terrific feature!!

Cindy, blogging is my BIGGEST Strategy for 2008.

Joan, yes it is a incredibley power network.

Hi Missy, AR has created a huge impact on my business too by a higher placement in search engines for my website and increased my presence in my home market too. Nice post.

Missy - I have also seen some successes during my time here at Active Rain since early August. Thanks for sharing this with us. Congratulations - good stuff!

Missy, your success is inspirational!  I'm so happy you explained the group, as I had no idea (sorry Brian) that the group was started by him!  It totally makes sense.  I knew it was a fun group, but that's all!

You certainly are cookin' with the blogging. Keep it up and all the best

AWESOME info. You really bring the point home by posting the messages -- not that wouldn't believe you with out them! I am new to ActiveRain and have only tuned in since the NAR Convention. I feel like I've been living under a rock. Thanks for your post

Missy- You need to call Cyndee Haydon and get her that FSBO info! So she can sell the house and you can sell her a house in Ann Arbor! I love the business we get from AR. CONGRATS ON ALL THE SUCCESSES! Katerina

These are the stories that give us all the inspiration to keep on "working" at posting on ActiveRain REAL ESTATE network.

Carole, thanks for the encouragement.

Gary, the SEO is awesome isn't it ? Tonight I was typing in a name of a person in Saline to get their phone number and my web site was number 1. So weird, but I love it.

Jason, good job, I know you have losts of success blogging.

Tim, you have not been under a rock, trust me. We are all still learning and on the have no where hit critical mass in blogging. So you are not that far behind.

Katerina, I thought about that !! LOL

Sally, yes you are right and I wanted to get more excitement in Brians group.

Natalie, glad it helped out.

Missy - I will just sign my name under what Candace wrote. Your success is awesome. Can I follow your every move?:) 

Missy a big congratulations you are obviously finding a formula that works.

I'm going to bookmark this so I can show my husband every time he says " on that site again?" Congrats on all the successes! And love the pics!

Hey great! I'm glad it's working for you!

I wonder how many other agents are experiencing the same?

Good post!

Missy - you're always so positive in your blogs, rather than bemoaning a high inventory. That makes clients and agents want to be with you and work with you.

Missy, at the moment I can't tell that I have had business directly from Active Rain but I know that it has helped me get my website higher and I expect I am getting people indirectly from that.

I do have a warm fuzzy story about Active Rain though.  I wrote a post about the Greatest Generation and their battlefield campaigns on Veterans Day.  I talked about my Dad and his tour of duty through World War II.  A kid from a high school in The Woodlands emailed me the day after Thanksgiving asking me if he could interview my Dad for a class project.  It just so happened my parents were in town for Thanksgiving so I sent him an email back saying he would need to interview him very quick as they were just here through Tuesday.  He came over last Sunday afternoon and spent an hour interviewing my Dad about World War II.  It was the nicest young man and it made my Dad feel so good that someone was interested.  To me that was one of the best AR success stories I could ever have.

Yes i DO TO, i  SOLD A HOUSE!!! Thanks for post

That's why I learning to do this as fast as I can!

Faina, your sweet. LOL

Todd, honestly no formula, just blog. I seriously dont' do a lot of localism posts.

Krista, good idea.

Armondo, go join the group and read all the success stories, there are some much better than these. Read Kateria's she landed a 22 million dollar listing package.

Sharon, well thank you very much.

Marchel, that post on your dad was excellent and THAT is a huge success story.

Maria, YEA Good job.

Missy..... so, question, does blogging work?   lol  Seriously... this is great.  Thanks for sharing this...

wow. i am impressed. being new i had a hard time understanding why anyone who is not in real estate came here. i like the information from readding all of the blogs.

Missy - This is wonderful!  Good for you!  This type of incentive is part of what keeps us blogging away.  Thanks for sharing!

Ok, I'm going to work on my blog again! You're a motivation, thanks!

Missy - I am extremely encouraged by reading this post - I so appreciate you posting it!

Missy,

AMEN!  And congratulations on your feature!  This stuff works, doesn't it?!

Mike in Tucson

It is all that Widdgedness that is finally paying off. You go my Widdgy. I love you and you deserve every recognition, business, or referral you receive.

Ha!  So did I....just got one in too...don't forget to tag....ActiveRain Success Story :)

Way to go Missy. This is some great stuff here, especially the copies of the email you've received. Excellent. Excellent. and Excellent.

best 

Missy, that is an awesome track record! Lets hope it's contagious to all of us commenting here!

Ginger

Hi Missy:  What an incredible story of successes.  You are getting prospects for all directions.  Congratulations, and here's hoping it continues to build.  Take care...

Your success is attracting more success Congrats

Thanks for sharing Missy.  People need the encouragement here on the RAIN.

I have personally had a few referrals from AR... and considering the fact that I am a vendor, it's not too shabby. 

VERY big congrats on your success!!!  AR definitely works.  Keep up the great work!!

Hi Missy - Great to see those successes! Clearly you're providing great content for Google, but more importantly content that helps buyers and sellers connect with you personally and choose you for their agent.

Missy, thanks for this great post about our great ActiveRain community!

Missy, thank you so much for posting about your success with blogging on such a personal level.  We can all learn so much from each other and this platform has been invaluable to me, as have the friendships (with you at the top of the list :-).

Missy - Congratulation!! your have certainly had great success.  What I appreciated most about this post is that you shared your success so others here could be inspired.  I can say I have also had some success myself.  AR is one of the best thing that happened to the real estate industry.

Jeff, LOL

Trevor, now you know. Lots of real estate industry people are here. All full of great knowledge.

Carol, thanks for stopping by and continue to write good stuff.

Carrie, glad you will continue on, it will pay off.

Courtney, your welcome.

Mike, yes it works. Did you notice one of the emails was from a post I wrote 8 months ago ?

Mana, must be the Widgets. I love you too. Widdgey

Sally, thanks I'll do that, I forgot.

Gary, thanks I wanted people to see the leads and business were from real people, and how the emails come in.

Roger and Ginger, it will happen.

Karen, I'm glad you noticed that, they are from all over my county, not just in Ann Arbor. Which it great as I cover the entire county. So it makes my happy.

Brett, Yes, that's the attraction principal.

Justin, a vendor who blogs very well. Glad it is happening for you. I jsut wish you posted here more.

Vicki, Google loves AR and so do I.

John, I hope so. I just write what's on my mind. That's why the contests are so hard for me.........so much research. LOL

Joseph, you are welcome.

Kris, thanks and we will get together soon. I may be coming to Sommerset this week. I'll let you know.

Jennifer, I AGREE it has been fantastic for the real estate industry.

Missy.....WHEN  YOU'RE HOT---YOU'RE HOT!!! 

ummmm...and you're HOT!!!  (even though the market's not!)

Congrats on your hard work paying off!!  (even in the town I can't pronounce easily)

Great inspriation, Missy.  Just what I needed to read to keep on posting...

Thanks!

I still am not sure how the actual consumer finds us.  I have manged to get to #1 in my town, #2 in my county and #26 in mystate.  What else should I be doing?

Suzie, right now I'm cold we got a dusting of snow last night !!

Jennifer, don't stop. Keep posting and you will start to get leads and referrals.

Gayle, it is not about your position on AR, it is about how the Search Engines pick up and index your blogs. Are you writing and highlighting your key words ( what the subject is about ?) Your town ? I"ll go look and see if I can offer any other suggestions.

Missy, great blog and lots of success!  I haven't been that successful, but we are in an area with only around 200K people so I think that's the reason.  I can credit 5 closings this year to AR participation.  Not too bad!

Hi Missy,

That is just too unbelievable!  Sign us up - we're following you along with the rest of the Rainers - show us the way!

Missy,

When all is said and done I will attribute at least 60% of my business directly to ActiveRain and then if I include the additional business - such as buyers from open houses, I will venture to say AR contributed at least 80% of my business in 2007.

And the clock is still ticking...

Now Have a Blessed Day,

John Occhi, Hemet REALTOR®
Mission Grove Realty

I'm working on a possible two right now...I closed two small ones but I think google had more to do with it. Thanks for your comment on my localism post recently.

  Just a teeny bit confused....relatively new to AR....We too have had referrals, not that have come to fruition with places and businesses to sell in other states but we are confident that will change in 2008...Where pray tell is the contact form ?

Very cool, especially when you see it all lined up in one email!  I especially like the sellers who declare that they are not emotionally attached to their price...obviously they have been reading and absorbing your thoughts!

Hi Missy, It's great to see that AR is paying off for you. I've had 3-4 leads from other agents. I had faith that it would pay off but it's nice to see that we are able to reap the rewards from our efforts.

Wow Missy, this is awesome! Now this is what I am looking for! :)

Hello Missy, I second Krista Fuchs! It is hard for a non member spouse to understand the daily routine of us on AR. It looks social, I imagine. Until I showed my wife the check from a $300,000 sale from a Texas fellow who contacted me here on AR. Now, she say's "have you been on today and how long???" Thanks, you are the best.......BTW....... Go Buckeyes in N'awlins'....................

Missy, I am new to active rain and glad to see that business does come from it!! Sounds Great to me!

I haven't read all 65 comments so I might not be the first to say.. "Congratulations, you are the Poster Child of Active Rain"!  Good work.

Missy,

You Rule!!! You are a wonderful inspiration, thanks for sharing! :)

Missy - Congrats! That is quite a few hits. A job well done.

Chris, five closings as a result of Activerain is tremendous.

Lisa and Robert, LOL

John, 80% WOW, good for you !!!

Neal, is your website or AR blog higher in Google?

Sally and David, It is your email address above your web site. Any consumer can contact your from there, it comes in with the You've received a contact message from your Contact Form on the ActiveRain network.

Leigh, yea cool. Still in California ?

Tracy, referrals are good and the ones here should be better because they are not referral fees. YEA

Melissa, it will happen.

Linda, Well I never counted on being a poster child for anything.  LOL  FYI... my flip didn't get here for he parade. Oh, well maybe today. Where's Carnac, is she showing up today ??

Suzanne, Bill  :)

Super track record. I wish I had gotten more involved earlier on. But I'm getting going now. Congratulations. I hope there is a lot more to come for everyone.

Missy-I have gotten so much from Activerain. Priceless...priceless moments.  Customers and great leads and referrals.  Its been truly amazing...

Missy,
It's been a little slow coming but I have had 2 referrals and I know it is just a matter of time until I get a sale as a direct result of a consumer reading my blogs.  I have much faith in AR and you are living proof that we should.

Great post Missy, thanks for sharing!  I have bookmarked this to share with other who question if having a presence with a blog or website really makes a difference or not!  Your timing is perfect!  We have a "Real Rain Networking Meeting" on Monday at 10:00am.  I'll be sharing this post with the other Active Rain members in our group!  :-)

This is just the kind of inspiration I need to keep working ActiveRain.  Being relatively new to all of it; RE, SEO, blogging, etc., I have quickly realized that this is going to be the future.  No doubt about it.  Traditional referral networks and promotion schemes are going to quickly fade over the next several years...Thanks for posting!

Morning Missy- I just got home very very early this morning from vacation. On the plane I met a lady that lived in Ann Arbor....she said Michigan, and I said oh I know someone in Ann Arbor.....and lo and behold that is where they have a home. I asked do you know "Missy Caulk" (hope it's a small town), and she said asked what company you work for, and I told her Remax, and that you are an excellent Agent there, etc etc...... My point is, everytime we blog, and make connections with each other, we never know what someone might remember about us.......and because of everything I have read on your blogs, and your comments on everyone else's.....your name comes to me automatically. This is another benefit of blogging for business.......a network where we "know" who is in what area, and who has the personality for certain people.... Good job Missy.........