Real Estate Social Media Blog

Hey all,

I know that alot of you have had some trouble with creating or using your own custom banners for your header image in your outside blog or ActiveRain blogs.  I just want you to know that have no fear, I have found a free site that makes creating your own banners a BREEZE!  

www.bannerfans.com is a completely free website that allows you to customize your size, text, images, and download your own custom banner for your blog or website!  

Here is a little walkthrough for those of you who are interested in how it works:

Here is there home page.  You'll start out with a generic template, seen in blue.  As you make changes to your banner, (size, image, font, etc...) you'll see them in that box.

First Select your size.  Under the layouts tab, you can enter a custom size, (for activerain blogs, it's 960 x 134) or select a standard preset.

Next, choose your banner color or upload a custom image!  As you can see, I selected upload my own image, had it stretched to fit the custom dimension I selected, and it shows you what it will look like in the preview box.

Next, click on the text and fonts tab, and input your custom text and font.  After making these changes, click Update my banner, and it will update the preview above to reflect your changes.  Notice that you can just grab and drag the text anywhere on your image to place it where you want it!  I moved mine to the right.  You can also change the size of your fonts.

Check out all the cool fonts they have for you to choose from!

When you are finished, click download to download to your computer in one of three formats:  .Gif, .Jpeg, or .Png.   Change your format under the format tab.  Click get Code to get the html code to insert into your social media page, or other website!

The end result is a beautiful Custom Banner that you made! 

So if you don't have a awesome looking banner for your activerain blog, or want to make a better one, check out the site www.bannerfans.com 

I just thought i would share Irene Kennedy's success as a rainmaker in her first month of blogging!  See the google screen shot below and she is in the top 5!  Way to Go Irene!  This goes to show that with persistance, and determination you can get the results you want as a Rainmaker!

Look at this Activity!  Great Job Irene!

Long Beach California has been my area of expertise for several years now.  I also grew up just down the street in the neighboring city of Cypress.

The diversity of Long Beach California is vast, and even from block to block the demographics can change dramatically. 

Since one out of five buyers move out of the neighborhood they currently reside, it is essential to become an expert for the area as a whole.  But how does one accomplish this when the task is so daunting due to the size of the territory?

Here are a couple of tricks I use to help tackle such a large area:

I have found that talking to the listing agent about their property can be very helpful.  the information they give me will help me decide if this is a property worth pursuing based on my client's needs.  For example, if I have a client who is a guy that is planning to live with a bunch of his buddies, a different type of criterion might be acceptable for him then for my client who is a single mom.  Let's face it, chances are he will be willing to live in a bit rowdier neighborhood than she; although a good client intake meeting will help establish the must haves in either case.

I refer to my wall map and pick a neighborhood based on the number associated with it (like Belmont Shores is area 1). I go into the MLS and then I find out which open houses are happening on streets in area 1 that I am not yet familiar with, and I go pay them a visit. 

When I am done touring; which usually takes about 2 hours, I just kind of wander around the neighborhood and get a feel for the surrounding areas:  where are the supermarkets? Where are the parks? What are the people like? Do they take good care of their property?

Lastly, when I have a solid/pre-approved client who is interested in a neighborhood I am not particularly familiar with, I scout the hood before I take them on "go sees." Even though sometimes it means that I have to tell them that a particular property that looked promising is in a scary neighborhood; they are always grateful that I did the leg work on their behalf.

I always remember, the key to finding a home in Long Beach or investment property in Long Beach, or in any territory, that will serve my client is to do the research!