Investor · Kalamazoo, MI · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 495 votes
I can track the sources of traffic to our website. I have been active on LinkedIn for years now. I am sure I have over 500 connections. I am also well connected on FaceBook and have a company page there as well as a personal page. I just got off of Google checking our pages traffic results and sources to see what is working and, what's not. The results are that we are getting more verifiable traffic from BiggerPocket.com than we get from LI and FB combined, and these visitors are staying on our sight longer. I am not always sure what I am doing here but, I can say without a doubt, it is generating quality traffic for our website!!!
I have not checked in a while, but traffic majority has always been from BP Nation. I have yet to do any deal with anyone from FB or LinkedIn, yet I have done lots with BP members.
It does not take a genius to figure out why I spend about 15 hours per year on those sites and 15 hours per day on BP!
My website gets very little traffic, because I'm not that active on it. But most of my traffic comes from BP as well. It is a great tool, I just under utilize it.
That's the power of participating and engaging in a targeted network of your peers!
I keep screaming it from the tips of my fingers, and those of you who listen are clearly seeing the benefits, but there are just so many others who are complacent. If you are active here on BiggerPockets, and are consistently engaging on the forums and our blogs, not only will you build your brand and credibility (personal and business), but you'll gain business associates, you'll do more deals, and you'll reap the reward of traffic to your website (make sure you've got your link on your profile and in your signature).
Thank you for this post, Marc Faulkner! I hope others will also share their experiences and will continue to remind our users the value that comes with actively engaging your peers here on BiggerPockets!
AND IF YOU'RE READING THIS POST, BUT AREN'T ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING HERE, WHAT'S STOPPING YOU?
No excuses, folks. It doesn't matter if you're a complete newbie or if you've done 1,000 deals, participating will help you and your business.
I'm also guilty of not participating much on here. I try not to spend too much time per day on social media, but this site is definitely one of the best sites we could belong to.
Curtis Gabhart - I hope your guilt gets the best of you and as a result, we'll see a little more of you around these parts!
Brad Friesen - Welcome. Please introduce yourself in our new member introductions forum. It doesn't take a lot of time to be active here. If you or anyone else commits a few minutes each day or a few times a week to jump on the forums and to participate, you'll absolutely see the benefits. Like anything else, it just takes a little commitment, but certainly the benefits of that commitment are well worth it!
Awesome Mark! Quite a testament to the site and Josh for building a tribe of followers that learns, grows, and looks for more help all within a tight community of readers.
Thanks all of you guys for your kind words! To be for sure-I continue to learn more here than I could ever possibly hope to contribute. I do my best!!!
I can track the sources of traffic to our website. I have been active on LinkedIn for years now. I am sure I have over 500 connections. I am also well connected on FaceBook and have a company page there as well as a personal page. I just got off of Google checking our pages traffic results and sources to see what is working and, what's not. The results are that we are getting more verifiable traffic from BiggerPocket.com than we get from LI and FB combined, and these visitors are staying on our sight longer. I am not always sure what I am doing here but, I can say without a doubt, it is generating quality traffic for our website!!!
Marc - BP is a great place to learn and to network with other investors. Getting traffic is just a bonus!
I dropped off of Linked-In when I concluded that all I was doing was helping competitors and people in the same business elsewhere learn more about the business.
Stephen Masek - Many people could argue that this is a community of competitors, but I'd rather say that it is a community of peers. That said, I'll argue that helping other investors in your market will be to your benefit; there's simply no way that you can do every deal in the market, and having allies is far better than enemies. If your competitors find deals that they can't handle, know who they are going to hand them off to? Their peers, not their competitors.
Embrace your "competition" and I think you'll find that it is to your benefit.
Keep your friends close and your competitors closer. My competitors have been my best mentors:) There is nothing like racing your mentor over to lock up a deal and, then selling it back to him and laughing over lunch!!! That's when you know you are getting it.....
Marc Faulkner This post made me click on your link and become a fan on all your social networking sites. Good Job. I'm finding great results as well and have found that Blogging works really well. The more you share the more people will want to learn from you and connect with you.
That's awesome Marc. The great thing about BP for us real estate investors is that it gives you extremely targeted traffic. Everyone on this site is like-minded and all in the real estate field.
To fine tune that even more, the categories you post in will usually yield even more targeted specific people of your niche. BP is one of the greatest things for a real estate investor and I believe it is only going to get better!
Stephen Masek - Many people could argue that this is a community of competitors, but I'd rather say that it is a community of peers. That said, I'll argue that helping other investors in your market will be to your benefit; there's simply no way that you can do every deal in the market, and having allies is far better than enemies. If your competitors find deals that they can't handle, know who they are going to hand them off to? Their peers, not their competitors.
Embrace your "competition" and I think you'll find that it is to your benefit.
While I agree with your comment, it does not apply to me, as I'm not primarily an investor. I was referring to my consulting business:
Stephen Masek - As a service company, you are certainly less likely to embrace your competition, but I don't see why you'd stop participating because your competitors are also doing so . . . perhaps that's a discussion for another thread. Do note that if you want people to see the link to your website, you need to include it in your signature. Please refrain from including it in your posts. Thanks!
There is no better place than BP to vent your frustrations, clarify an idea, and get feed back from members who for the most part are giving their input with no ax to grind or product to sell.
Responding to a post often helps clarify issues in my own mind and has helped me shape my investment strategy and objectives.
I check in with BP several times a day when I am not on the road and spend more time communicating with BP members than many of my close personal friends who are not in real estate.