There is More to Blogging in the Rain Than a Gold Star

I appreciated Michael Thornton’s thoughts on featured blogs and the many great blogs out there that seldom or never have shown up on the dashboard. Sadly, some people who write great stuff have stopped their efforts on Active Rain, and it could be that they were discouraged by a lack of recognition. As much as I love seeing my posts earn a star, there are other sources of acknowledgement than getting featured. 

• Comments. I have made more good friends from comments than seeing them on page 1. Debate, discussion and insight get you bonded. Having someone reach out and relate to me about my thoughts is powerful. This is one reason why I never understood the automatons who write “great post we learn so much here,” as if the 25 points were all they were after, even at the expense of fostering associations. Those people would never get a referral from me. 
• Subscribers. To me, a person subscribing to your blog is a bigger reward than being featured. This is a person who is interested in what you have to say and what you’ll say next. That is huge-blogs are all about readership! It is “repeat business,” interest, and a potential referral in the making.
• SEO- Getting FOUND. Even if you never got featured once, but Google is finding you, then you are primed for success. I recently closed a $500,000 sale from someone who found me online, and he sure didn’t care how many featured blogs I wrote.
• Referrals from fellow bloggers. Isn’t this what it is all about? I want people to think of me when they think of Westchester County, New York. I am in business to make money, and referrals are manna from heaven. 

There are other nice things too, such as being featured in groups, and as  broker-owner I have found my blog to be a useful hiring tool. It is an online resume’ and pre-listing package. You control the message. This past week I was contacted by a paralegal in another state to list two properties in New York on behalf of a bankruptcy trustee. She didn’t find me in the Yellow Pages.  

I hate seeing people getting discouraged and giving up. It is not how I am wired, but I do relate to disappointment (who in sales doesn’t relate to that?). I would offer these things to fellow members as encouragement  to keep on keeping on here in the Rain. This is a special community, and if you are consistent, good things will happen for your business even if you don’t show up on that dashboard.