BiggerPockets Founder's Blog

I just got a request to close the account of a member here on BiggerPockets.  While this doesn't happen very often, when it does, there is always a common theme.  In EVERY case, the person was unsatisfied in some way with the results of their networking.  The same goes for today.  This person had three posts on the site, all of which were solicitations in a group, seeking buyers for property.  Otherwise, they were not active on the forums, blogs, or any other place on the site. qc8b4679yx

The reason they were unsatisfied is that they expected the site to magically produce for them connections without doing the work. The did nothing to build relationships, and did nothing to be seen and known by the community at large.

We can't do the work for you.  If you want to succeed at social networking for real estate, you MUST pay attention to the following information:

You Will Never Succeed in Social Networking if you Don't Build Relationships!

Almost nine out of ten people who are unhappy with the results of their efforts on our social network do nothing but solicit deals.  The other one out of ten simply create a profile and expect people to come flocking to them.

Social Networking Requires You to Be Active and Visible.  Here are some tips:

• You will not make friends by joining a social network and immediately solicit business. 
• You will not do deals by joining a social network and immediately solicit business.
• You MUST interact and give people the opportunity to get to know you before soliciting business!  There are many ways to do that here on BP - forums, blogs, bulletins, etc.
• People will NOT just seek you out unless you are visible.  To be visible, you MUST create a complete profile.  You MUST also become part of the VISIBLE conversation happening on the site. 
• The most important key to success is to focus on establishing relationships! For more, read "Are You Wasting Your Time with Social Networking for Real Estate?"

I've talked about all of this on many occassions.  I think people have the false impression that people will just flock to you once you create a profile somewhere online.  There is nothing farther from the truth.  Being successful on a social network requires time and effort.  Those people who are generally the most successful on any network are those people who are focused; those who are a part of the visible ether. 

So . . . if you want to fail at social networking, create a profile and disapear.  You'll have no one to blame for your failure but yourself.

UPDATES:

I know that its been a while since I've updated you with exciting site news.  Rest assured, we've got some cool new stuff on the way to enhance the experience of all members.  We'll be letting you know about these developments in the upcoming weeks.  Meanwhile, we've been fixing bugs, speeding up the site, and doing minor improvements across the board.  

CONTEST:

We're also working on a contest with some really great prize giveaways. Stay Tuned!

If you're interested in getting some PR for youself and giving away a prize, please contact me ASAP.

BLOG:

We're looking to add new bloggers to the BiggerPockets Blog Team.  If you're interested in contributing to the Blog, please get in touch

GROWTH:

The site has been seeing fantastic growth in all metrics.  We're adding new members at a great pace, and activity in all areas of the site is at or near all-time highs. Thanks foryour participation on the site, and we look forward to adding more great features to get you even more excited about BiggerPockets.

Meanwhile, please continue to invite your friends, colleagues, and clients to join the site!

Until next time . . .

Notice Anything Different About the Dashboard?

We just launched the first incarnation of the All New BiggerPockets Dashboard!

Some of the most important improvements of the Dash Include:

• The most used functions on the site are now found easily on the left of the Dashboard in an easy to use toolbar.
• Important website news and updates are all easily visible below the important functions
• Logging: Members can now track the activity of their colleagues on the site. See what your colleagues are commenting on, posting to the site, etc!
• Latest forum posts: Members can see the most recent forum activity directly from the DASHBOARD to help you find interesting topics more easily.
• A New Function Bar: The gray dropdown function bar at the top of the DASHBOARD makes finding what you want on BiggerPockets easier then ever!
• Notifications Box: At the top right of the DASHBOARD will appear all NOTIFICATIONS that require your attention, including Reference Requests, Colleague Requests and Private Messages.

These are just some of the many improvements.  Of course, we've got a bunch of great new features that we'll be adding to the dashboard in the next few days.

 Stick around and check back often!