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6,393,404
They encourage us to do the things that we need to do to become great bloggers.
And they put us on the top of the localism page.
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It's definately a motivation for me seeing myself climb in the rankings. I'm also hoping for the free account. At first I was discouraged about the whole point thing, but now I use it to track my progress and it motivates me to interact and post. I'm hoping to hit 100k, maybe 200k my first year. And hopefully it will be good for business too.
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Right now I just want to get to my so desirable 500k and stop paying.
Do click 'like' to contribute 5 points to my goal .
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I don't think the points matter all that much....but I do like to see them add up! What is most important are the relationships you make here. And, by commenting when others comment on your posts, following those who follow you and generally welcoming newcomers and keeping your blog current with good content, you will be doing well, and likely gaining new clients along the way! And, possibly referrals from other Rainers!!!
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I think it is mostly for motivation. But you do move up in your state ranking the more points you get. You also get a $10 discount for every 100,000 points so thats always motivating.
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Everyone has made some good points here. Yes the pun is intended. The points don't really mean anything, except you get ranked in your state, county and city by how many you have. It's also a way to track progress. The points also keep us interacting. It's a competitive thing, and by nature real estate professionals tend to be competitive people.
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People respond to incentives - myself included. For me the real value in the point system is the motivation to be engaged, informed, and accountable. And when I say accountable, I mean accountable to myself. I have established a certain number of minutes to devote to AR each day, and I firmly feel it is time well spent. The points are just a way of keeping score.
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To me, and this is my opinion only, it tells everyone else how committed you are to this community. Every milestone is usually celebrated and the more celebrations you have the more you want. I guess that means it is self motivating...
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I may add, that when agents are looking for referrals, I know it starts with the highest number of points. It is more difficult to drill down into the lower numbers to find a good referral agent.
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Well Cindy Davis it does matter. Every 100,000 points you earn brings down your subsrcription by $10! And at 500,000 - it is FREE Rainmaker account.
Now if you are just rainer, points still matter - helping you reach your goal of 500,000 for a free Rainmaker account, I believe.
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They do not matter. Strictly for motivation, once you have gained a free rainmaker status.
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Cindy, after 500,000 points the Rainmaker membership account is free. Blogging also help you with Google ranking.
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Cindy, it's as important as you want it to be. Some people are very competitive and love to see their points climb, for others it's not such a big deal and they blog either way. If you are a newcomer though, obtaining certain number of points will eventually cut down on your membership fee so it's worth it!
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Given the fact that unlike other social media sites, I think it is a brilliant way to keep people engaged and motivated. I started on AR in 2008, as well as other sites, and this is the one that I enjoy the most, because of the great people I have met "face to face" and shared life and life stories with. There has been some dollars generated from being here direcctly, and I do know that it also increased our Internet profile really well, even though our blog is picked and shared with over 1 million people...I keep hearing when someone calls to work with us, I see you all over the Internet...
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You are right on both counts. The higher your points are the higher you go on the ActiveRain State and County ratings. This could matter if someone is searching for the more successful agents to send a referral to or call to be their agent. For every 100,000 tier you reach your membership fee goes down 10 dollars until you are free when you reach 500,000. And yes they are motivational too. Salespeople like to compete and this is a little incentive to be a regular blogger and post better content that gets noticed by your peers, thus more points.
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In addition to earning 'atta'girls' from your peers, when you have amassed something like 500,000 points your Rainmaker account is FREE!
Maybe it's 5,000,000. What ever the number, that's a whole lot of answers, blogs and life spent on Active Rain.
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Personally, I think it's a brilliant motivational ploy. We are all competitive and it's satisfying to watch your points grow. As to real value - who knows?