ActiveRain

[NancyDennisAssociates]

Does this site only benefit you if you pay for it? I'm guessing that since my posts are members only that ActiveRain doesn't let search engines find them?

[webmaster]

There is little to no SEO benefit from AR anyways due to spam issues and the fact that your posts are always buried.

The main benefit that i think most AR members get is the social aspect of it - just like those that hang out and make friends on REW forums, some folks like to hang out and chat (swap comments etc) on AR - that is a "kind" of benefit - just don't think that hanging out and dropping comments on AR is going to give you a boost in your SEO or generate additional leads for you.

[OCTeam]

A lot of agents (not all) hang out at AR as apparently they have nothing else to do, like selling real estate. Maybe getting points makes them feel good.

[NancyDennisAssociates]

Haha well then I am jealous of this business model. Charging people monthly fees to network?

[webmaster]

"bait and switch" is not much of a model - don't assume any of the participating members are paying, they were granted free access when they switched, it's only NEW members that have to pay, and I would imagine that's less than 1% of their membership. (I don't know a single person who pays for an AR subscription)

Haha well then I am jealous of this business model. Charging people monthly fees to network?

[nyccountryhomes]

Actually, I get quite a bit of leads from Active Rain...I guess I'm an exception.

[webmaster]

Define "quite a bit" and define "from active rain" - do you mean folks (public / consumers) are contacting you directly as a result of your blog posts, or do you mean other AR members are sending you referrals, or do you mean you use their referral service?

Actually, I get quite a bit of leads from Active Rain...I guess I'm an exception.

[NancyDennisAssociates]

"bait and switch" is not much of a model - don't assume any of the participating members are paying, they were granted free access when they switched, it's only NEW members that have to pay, and I would imagine that's less than 1% of their membership. (I don't know a single person who pays for an AR subscription)

I really don't understand what you are getting at. What did they switch from? Everyone (most people) on there are "Rainmakers" which I assumed means they are paying. You can tell because free people don't get their picture shown when they comment.

[Micheal Pannell Realtor]

Up till about 3 months ago it was free. They grand fathered all of us old folks. I just use Active rain as a source for links. It seems to work a little

[Micheal Pannell Realtor]

Btw Mark your website is down