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The Grass is Green Right Here!

Jim Watkins
2 min read

Grass in the sun by darkpatator

I have been contributing to the [tag]BiggerPockets[/tag] Blog for nearly five months now. I have to admit that it has been a challenge to come up with a new article every week. I don’t like to write “fluff” or make something sound easier than it is. Thankfully, the owner of BiggerPockets (Joshua Dorkin) has made suggestions about how I present the content of my articles but his suggestions have come after I asked for his opinion. Overall though, I have been encouraged to write about whatever I think readers will like and if they learn something as well, then I am happy.

To summarize…Being a contributor for BiggerPockets has been fun and best of all, I have been able to reach more people than before. Being a teacher at heart, that is a rewarding thing.

A little over a week ago I was contacted by the President of a marketing company who represented what many would call, a “[tag]real estate investing[/tag] GIANT.” They had seen some of my articles and liked the fact that I tell it like it is while offering content that is useful.

They asked me to be a contributor to their clients’ Blog (my apologies for not saying who the real estate giant is). What stunned me more than the fact that I was being recruited was that they were willing to pay me to join them. Not a large amount of money but much more than I would have guessed.

The prospect of writing [tag]articles[/tag] for a real estate giant was exciting. My name and bio would appear with some of the biggest names in real estate and the exposure it would bring would likely translate into big opportunities in a short amount of time. My thoughts were, “Where do I sign?”

The luster quickly went away after I submitted a sample article for the giant. They had already mentioned that my articles are too long (even I admit to that) but after reading the sample I wrote, they pretty much wanted me to re-write it after reviewing other articles on their blog. Reading between the lines, they really meant, “We want you to generate excitement and write the way we want you to write.” In my opinion, they wanted me to submit articles that are full of “fluff” but got people excited. Now it made sense as to why they wanted to pay me for writing. Once you are paid, you are expected to do things a certain way. Sounds like Corporate America to me. That is one of the reasons I left Corporate America and started investing.

In the end, I respectfully declined the offer to join a giant. BiggerPockets has been growing very quickly and I consider myself fortunate to have my name listed with the other contributors on this site. Every one of them speaks (and writes) from real life experience and offer content that is useful and worthwhile. I think I am in a great situation already and I am surrounded by readers who appreciate the fact that the Bigger Pockets contributors are here to help others.

To close this weeks article… I like being able to share my real life investing experience with the BiggerPockets readers in my own words. Why trade a good thing? I’m staying right here, with the best contributors and…Readers.

Thank You! It has been my pleasure.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.