Did You Know . . . I Made 200K Today!

No! Not Dollars . . . ActiveRain Points!!!

I just hit the 200K milestone at ActiveRain and it has been a wonderful learning experience along the way.

Looking back I realize that I’ve come a long way, but looking ahead at some of the phenomenal accomplishments that I have seen here, I realize that I have a long way to go!

But I am excited to continue the journey . . . So here’s my goal.

I’ve heard that about 8 out of every 10 people read the headline on blogs and only 2 out of the 10 actually take time to read the rest of your blog post.

From 200K forward my challenge is to get the other 8 of you to stick around long enough to read my entire blog and make a comment . . . maybe even subscribe!

In order to do that, I commit to -

1. Write Better Headlines. ActiveRain has taught me that unless I invite you in with a compelling headline, the rest of my words may as well not even exist.

2. Get Visual. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So every single post will have at least one good image to help keep your attention long enough to read my entire post. I learned to shoot some pretty good pictures over the years and if all fails, there are several online resources like Google images and iStockPhoto that have great quality photos.

3. Vlogging. I’m going to do a better job of mixing it up more with video. As a local real estate Agent here in Rancho Cucamonga, I feel I owe it to you to show you more of my community and what it has to offer.

4. Be More Informative. Write more about helpful How To’s and educational type posts like What’s The Point? I seemed to really get my point across with that post!

5. Answer Client Questions in the Form of a Blog Post Whenever Possible. Addressing a response to one, may be of interest to many. So I will make that response a blog post instead of an email every chance I get.

6. Use Lists, Bolded Text and Headings Make My Content More Digestible. People like to skim through content, so using lists, bolded text and headings will make it easier for people to skim and read my blog posts.

7. Poll My Readers to Ask Them What THEY Want to Read About. Asking my readers to submit content ideas and suggestions and responding to their feedback might keep them better engaged - Discovering what they might want to learn about in our local community and real estate market.

8. Shorten My Posts or Create a Post Series. I know I tend to get a little wordy at times when I have a point to get across. . So to keep your attention, I am going to break those long 1,000+ word post into a 2-3 part series. This way, it’s shorter and easier to read and it gives you a reason to come back!

9. Think, Edit, Post. In that order. It’s a blog post, not a diary . . . I’m writing for YOU! Before I hit the post button, I will ask myself: “Self, will my readers care about this information, is it relevant to my them?” If it is, I will edit accordingly; then post.

10. Close With a Call To Action. What is it that I want you to take away from reading my post and what do I want my readers to do next? Steven Graham at ActiveRain taught me that every post should have a Call To Action. That Call To Action can be anything - Subscribe, Comment, Click Here to Search For Homes. I commit to do a better job of that from this point forward.

Have I forgotten anything?

What’s missing from my list? Can you suggest at least one more thing I can implement to make my content more engaging?