ActiveRain Success Stories

Nikitas Kouimanis, Nikitas Kouimanis 516 469 6262 (Reliant Bank Mortgage Services): Mortgage and Lending in Jericho, NY Nikitas Kouimanis, Nikitas Kouimanis 516 469 6262 (Reliant Bank Mortgage Services) said almost 11 years ago,
"Active Rain has been a great tool for me to network and meet new interesting people with a lot of knowledge and a lot of marketing skills it has helped me grow my business and build an entire new client data base along with a Realtor base. I thank Active Rain for this. Active Rain is really a great place to gain knowledge and a great tool to learn new skills and and also to hear other people's views and thoughts on things. Thank You Active Rain."
Kathryn Meloy, Streamline Interior Designs (Streamline Interior Designs): Home Stager in Salado, TX Kathryn Meloy, Streamline Interior Designs (Streamline Interior Designs) said almost 11 years ago,
"I joined active rain in March of 2012. I am excited about the opportunity to build lasting professional business relationships in the Real Estate Community!"
Thomas J. Nelson, REALTOR ® e-Pro CRS RCS-D Vets, CEO of Vision Drive Realty - Coastal San Diego (Big Block Realty 858.232.8722): Real Estate Agent in La Jolla, CA Thomas J. Nelson, REALTOR ® e-Pro CRS RCS-D Vets, CEO of Vision Drive Realty - Coastal San Diego (Big Block Realty 858.232.8722) said almost 11 years ago,
"My Blog Post: No Guarantees (go to http://actvra.in/y8n) got me a $500K buyer within 2 days of posting on Active Rain (it went viral) and we closed escrow in June 2012! Yes, I do get paid to write blogs! I also met a great Realtor and lender from the deal. Dancing in the Active Rain."
Steve Merson 512 412 1621, CNE, e-PRO (Keller Williams Realty): Real Estate Agent in Austin, TX Steve Merson 512 412 1621, CNE, e-PRO (Keller Williams Realty) said almost 11 years ago,
"Since joining Active rain, I have made invaluable connections across the entire United States. Referals have ranged from as far and wide as here in Texas to New York and California. The greatest reward I have had is completing a difficult short sale for a client who found himself in hard times and lost a home that he had never even seen himself.
Thanks to Activerain, I now have many friends and colleagues across the nation."
Ed Junker, Good neighbor, great Realtor. (Re/Max Crown Realty): Real Estate Agent in Sebastian, FL Ed Junker, Good neighbor, great Realtor. (Re/Max Crown Realty) said almost 11 years ago,
"I find Active Rain an easy and pleasant way of providing local insight and comment to a wide audience and have met many great customers through my posts here."
Mike Conner (City Realty, Inc. - Olympia, WA): Real Estate Broker/Owner in Lacey, WA Mike Conner (City Realty, Inc. - Olympia, WA) said almost 11 years ago,
"Success can be measured in many different ways. For me though, the success found through ActiveRain cannot be measured solely in terms of a source of direct new business. Instead my ActiveRain Success Story will focus on the education provided by the many generous real estate agents, lenders, inspectors, and marketing experts I've encountered on this site.

Some of these people have unknowingly impacted my real estate business in tremendous ways through their selfless sharing of ideas and advice. Others have directly impacted my business through referrals or the services they provide. But it is the interactive forum itself that is the best part of ActiveRain. Priceless insight and inspiration can be gathered simply by participating in the forum, whether you are actively blogging or just reading and commenting on others' blogs.

This cooperative environment is what is so often lacking in our industry, where we feel the need to guard ideas as if they were the Holy Grail of real estate ingenuity. For some coming from intensely competitive markets this is a breath of fresh air. For others who are already in a sharing environment, this site serves as their inspiration for new ideas to share with their colleagues. Either way, the collaborative efforts of so many members have made this site a beacon of light for the real estate industry. And the ultimate benefactor of all of this (as it should be) are our consumers, as they experience the direct results of the innovation of 167,000+ members."
Stas Kolbin, Sunny Isles Beach Broker (Re/Max Red Box Realty): Real Estate Agent in Sunny Isles Beach, FL Stas Kolbin, Sunny Isles Beach Broker (Re/Max Red Box Realty) said almost 11 years ago,
"Indeed, ActiveRain is very resourceful, user friendly community -- populated with honest and seasoned professionals.
ActiveRain is helping to improve SEO score!
ActiveRain is raising professional standards and ethics code in the industry.
AR helps to keep abreast of RE news.

Legitimate SEOs work with Google to improve a website’s performance, targeted keyword rankings and organic search traffic. The days of black hat SEO and tricking Google are over (or should be.)
With that said, search engine optimization services are shifting into website health services. Google simply wants your site to healthy. Google wants your website to come up for keywords that your customers are looking for. Google wants customers to find all the information they need on your website. Google wants your site to link to websites that offer additional, relevant information. Google wants your site to function correctly and the structure of your site to make sense to people."
Glenn Shong (Re/Max Realty Center): Real Estate Agent in Oconomowoc, WI Glenn Shong (Re/Max Realty Center) said almost 11 years ago,
"Activerain has opened my eyes to a whole new way of networking, and a social network that benefits, my clients, customers, and my exposure for business now has a means of truly getting my business out there and sold!"
Curt Conant, VP Sales & Marketing (By Referral Only - I work for Joe Stumpf): Services for Real Estate Pros in Carlsbad, CA Curt Conant, VP Sales & Marketing (By Referral Only - I work for Joe Stumpf) said almost 11 years ago,
"There are a bunch of very cool people on ActiveRain and I've learned a lot from these sharing groups of professionals."
Mike Gifford, CDPE, Lone Star MG Investments LLC. (Lone Star MG Investments LLC  ): Services for Real Estate Pros in Edinburg, TX Mike Gifford, CDPE, Lone Star MG Investments LLC. (Lone Star MG Investments LLC ) said almost 11 years ago,
"Closed on my very first deal in January 2012.
It was a Back to Back closing with great profits. What a day."
Denise Dutson, Real Estate Broker, Cape Cod (Kinlin Grover Real Estate): Real Estate Agent in Mashpee, MA Denise Dutson, Real Estate Broker, Cape Cod (Kinlin Grover Real Estate) said almost 11 years ago,
"If anyone has the opportunity to go to a Raincamp, take it! I just attended Boston and have pages and pages of great ideas to work on. Enjoy!"
Dana Carter, Dana Carter (Bellator Real Estate & Development, LLC): Managing Real Estate Broker in Mobile, AL Dana Carter, Dana Carter (Bellator Real Estate & Development, LLC) said almost 11 years ago,
"I have met and recently hired a top notch Realtor June 2013 as a result of my Active Rain profile. I firmly believe marketing is the key. At Bellator Real Estate & Development, LLC we have the very best in a "Marketing Department" Casey Patterson and Mallory Pearman with degrees in marketing and marketing is their sole purpose on the Bellator Team. We love what we do and it shows!"
Michael Setunsky, Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA: Commercial Real Estate Agent in Woodbridge, VA Michael Setunsky, Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA said almost 11 years ago,
"I received a telephone call from fellow ActiveRain member Lenn Harley. She referred me to a Broker in Maryland who had a referral for one of his clients looking to purchase an office space for expanding his business in Northern Virginia. My client purchased an office condo in Alexandria that was a perfect fit for his new Virginia location. Thank you Lenn Harley!"
Barb Szabo, CRS, E-pro Realtor, Cleveland Ohio Homes (RE/MAX Above & Beyond): Real Estate Agent in Cleveland, OH Barb Szabo, CRS, E-pro Realtor, Cleveland Ohio Homes (RE/MAX Above & Beyond) said almost 11 years ago,
"In the past 2 weeks I had 2 people call me as a direct result of 2 blogs that I wrote, both of which came up very close to the top when the buyers searched google with key phrases!"
Chuck Carstensen, Minnesota/Wisconsin Real Estate Expert (RE/MAX Results): Real Estate Agent in Elk River, MN Chuck Carstensen, Minnesota/Wisconsin Real Estate Expert (RE/MAX Results) said almost 11 years ago,
"My first year on Active Rain I received a lead that simple found me on Active Rain and saw I worked in the area they were looking. I help them buy an investment property and will likely help them buy another home real soon! My blog has also helped my potential buyers and sellers get to know me before they have contacted me which has helped build instant trust and turned into several transactions over time!"
Aaron Hofmann, aka Mr. Smyrna Vinings (Atlanta Communities): Real Estate Agent in Smyrna, GA Aaron Hofmann, aka Mr. Smyrna Vinings (Atlanta Communities) said almost 11 years ago,
"ActiveRain is a great complement to my real estate business and provides additional visibility on the Internet, which is my single largest source of business. I have received both referrals and have closed a few transactions from buyers connecting with me because they found me on Active Rain and Localism."
Suzanne Laning: Real Estate Agent in Springfield, OR Suzanne Laning said almost 11 years ago,
"ActiveRain is one of my best sources for real estate education. It has helped me tremendously in my real estate business!"
LINDA SABO,  Use my years of EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE (Re/Max Preferred Associates, Toledo, OH): Real Estate Agent in Toledo, OH LINDA SABO, Use my years of EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE (Re/Max Preferred Associates, Toledo, OH) said almost 11 years ago,
"Being a member of Active Rain has increased my visibility for both buyers and sellers. When I ask a buyer or seller where they located me as a real estate agent they say "everywhere we went your name appeared" and Active Rain was one of the locations. Thank you Active Rain for helping to make my presence on the web visible to buyers and sellers."
Chris Ann Cleland, Associate Broker, Bristow, VA (Long and Foster Real Estate): Real Estate Agent in Gainesville, VA Chris Ann Cleland, Associate Broker, Bristow, VA (Long and Foster Real Estate) said almost 11 years ago,
"Since joining Active Rain, and consistently blogging about the happenings in my local market, I have seen my business more than double. In 2009 (as I write this in September), I have already closed over $2 Million dollars worth of real estate transactions as a direct result of my activity on Active Rain. It's great to be a member of such a powerful network of real estate professionals!"
Barbara Hensley, Homes for Sale in Rockwall County, Texas (RE/MAX Properties): Real Estate Agent in Rockwall, TX Barbara Hensley, Homes for Sale in Rockwall County, Texas (RE/MAX Properties) said almost 11 years ago,
"I activated my ActiveRain Profile on September 14, 2010 - just two short months ago. WOW what a great two months this has been! For the first thirty days I just wandered around in the Rain...trying to get a clue for how all or any of this might work for me. The second thirty days have been a whirl wind of activity!

I attended a week of the classes and them made my first comment on September 26.

THEN finally got the courage to make my first blog post on October 13. Wonder of wonders it got featured....and I now have two FEATURED POSTS! Thank you ActiveRain!

Slowly I am getting the big clue that this may work, IS working! Now two months in ActiveRain I have 28,751 Points, 2 Featured Posts, 83 Posts, Rank #1 in Heath, Texas, #2 in Rockwall County, Texas and #373 in Texas.
Oh, I am also a Shot Master!

My assistant and partner are also getting involved in helping to make ActiveRain work for The Barbara Hensley Collection at RE/MAX Hometown....Your Dallas, Texas Real Estate Connection.

I have made the #1 spot on Google Page One numerous times. What a great feeling that is to see it pop up seconds after making the post!

I have made many comments and receive great comments and am already feeling connected in ActiveRain!

I am now using QR Codes - had never heard of these until a couple of weeks ago. Photos, widgets, "liking" in Facebook among ActiveRain members...the list goes on! I try to learn at least 5 new things each week and put them to use in my marketing. This is easy in ActiveRain as there is so much here to learn.

ActiveRain now holds a prime slot in my Marketing Plan and Listing Presentation Tool Kit.

I referred a listing last week to an agent in the Long Island, New York area. I found her on ActiveRain, checked her out on line, called and qualified her, and referred the listing to her. She listed the property last week and has already had four showings! This is awesome!!!!

Come on ActiveRain...I am ready for the next two months."