Positive Real Estate Professionals

Many of you know the story of Positive Real Estate Professionals. However, there are still a lot of people out there that do not, this post is being written for you. It will tell you how we turned this real estate network from a dream to a vision to a reality. It has been a long road, but we have overcome many obstacles to get to where we are today. We have more than 50 members, almost 40 active blogs, a Google ranking of 3 and an Alexa ranking of 49,829 as of writing this article. I am often asked what this means for a new user. In simple terms, it basically allows you to start a web/blog site and get instantaneous results from it. That in itself is worth it’s weight in gold.

So, lets go back to November of 2008 when PREP was no more than a dream. One day I was sitting back thinking about all of the negative media and press that was swirling around about the housing industry. Whether it was all the foreclosures that were happening or all the builders running out of money and leaving subdivisions unfinished, the media would grab onto it and project their doom and gloom outlook. I sat down and talked to my business partner, Rich Dansereau, about the possibility of starting a website that was designed to counter the negativity. We decided to start Positive Real Estate Professionals at this time, however, it started as a single member site. Even though real estate professionals could join, it was not a real community. We had successfully turned a dream into a vision, but it was not complete.

In February of 2009, we decided that it was time to look at changing the system to one that people could actually join. We did not want them to be just be able to join the network. Even bigger, we did not want the to be able to just blog. We wanted to create a site where a new member would be able to have multiple options. A site where a visitor could read a REALTOR® blog, search for properties, request a CMA or information on relocation, and anything else that the member would want to provide. On top of that, we wanted to be able to add and offer similar features to loan officers, stagers, RE web developers, title companies, home inspectors, appraisers, and anyone else that has a business associated with or servicing the industry.

In March of 2009, we released the version of PREP that is currently standing. This is the version that we first dreamed of, then turned into a vision that soon would become a reality. We accomplished some great feats along the way, but none of it would be possible without the 57 members of PREP. I would love to sit here and name them out, but that would take all day. So, I will close it out with this question: What is keeping you from becoming a member today?

The last day of August marks the end of the Positive Real Estate Professionals introductory membership period. This introductory period has lasted for the first six months that PREP has been operating as a multiuser network and included an introductory $100 per year membership fee. During that time this real estate network has gone through many changes.

As it should be, most of these changes are seamless and go unnoticed by both our members and visitors to the network. There has been a lot of backoffice refinement to help enhance the SEO of our members. In addition to SEO enhancements that are apparent in searchability but not to casual observers, there have been a number of obvious changes. From the Twitter integration that allows you to completely control your Twitter account from your Dashboard to the Top Comentators and CommentLuv widgets that encourage  visitors to comment, opening lines of communication, many of the enhancements are designed to make the members’ experience better. Other enhancements like the Quick SMS, that allows your visitors to send messages directly to your cell phone, and the PDA and iPhone integration, which allows visitors to view your blog in a PDA and iPhone browser, are designed to make the visitors’ experience better. After all the easier a system is for visitors to use the more likely they will stay on your page longer and the more potential that they will become clients and/or referral sources. These examples barely scratch the surface of the positive changes that have taken place on the network for the benefit of our members and visitors.

The end of the introductory period on Monday, August 31st also marks the end of the introductory membership fee of $100 per year. The new membership fee, beginning on Tuesday, September 1st will be $150 per year. Now for the existing members and those who register by the end of this month, you are locked in at the $100 per year rate that you signed up under. For those prospective members who have delayed joining for whatever reason, you still have time to take advantage of the introductory price. In addition to the discounted yearly membership fee, PREP is randomly giving 30% of members who sign up during the final introductory period a basic custom theme build for their exclusive use on their PREP site. We will use a randomizer program to select the lucky winners and we will announce those winners on Tuesday, September 1st. If you are a real estate industry professional or in a field that services the real estate industry, I would urge you to take advantage of this offer during the remaining introductory period. If you are ready, all you have to do is complete the Membership Request Process and an admin will be in touch with you.

There is a slogan that became quite popular in the past twenty years, ‘Membership has its privileges.’ So if it is possible to set aside the somewhat needling classist implications of such a statement and look at the slogan in a totally different manner, we can examine how it can be applied in a positive way to membership in this real estate network. Positive Real Estate Professionals is a premium network so there naturally are members; this is where the membership aspect comes into play. The benefits of membership are numerous so I have composed the following bullet points that illuminates some of those benefits:

• PREP is drawing in well over a thousand readers a day on the main site alone. We do this from having a very SEO friendly site that is loved by Google and other search engines.

• PREP is a network, which means the other members also help to bring in even more readers and ultimately, that means more readers for you as well. Readers = Potential Clients.

• PREP encourages networking with other industry professionals but our focus is to reach consumers and the general public.

• PREP has the ability to syndicate the articles that you write on your existing sites so that you do not have to write any more than you already do.

• PREP has an excellent Facebook integration that allows for the automated feed of your PREP posts to your Facebook page.

• PREP has an excellent Twitter integration that allows for the complete control of your Twitter account from your PREP Dashboard.

• PREP members have access to numerous forms specific to the area of the Real Estate Industry they work in. New forms are being suggested by both members and site visitors all the time.

• PREP is now fully integrated with most cell phones and PDAs. This allows for mobile viewing and updating.

These are just some of the highlights that PREP Members enjoy. All of these features are integrated in a way that allows consumers to utilize them without ever leaving your PREP website; no need for consumers to repeatedly hit the back arrow. For $100 a year, membership in PREP really does have its privileges. Please let me know what questions I can answer for you. If you are interested in joining our rapidly expanding network, all you have to do is complete the Membership Request Process and an admin will be in touch with you.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that these are difficult economic times for many people. From Realtors® to mortgage professionals to home builders, the Real Estate Industry is feeling the pinch as well. We at Positive Real Estate Professionals (PREP) truly believe that our network is one of the most cost effective ways to reach your target audience. On top of being cost effective, the reach of the internet in general, and Positive Real Estate Professionals specifically, is much broader and deeper than traditional media.

In spite of how effective we believe our real estate network to be, we recognize that some potential members are feeling the pinch of today’s economic realities. We want to do what we can to add ethical and professional Real Estate Industry professionals to our network. You may be thinking that we should simply allow people to join Positive Real Estate Professionals for free. While this might sound like a good idea this is not practical from a business point of view. The enormous amount of time and resources we at PREP utilize in looking for ways to further optimize the network and promote our members’ posts to the general public easily justifies the normal twelve month membership fee of $100. A membership fee that is well below most of our competitors.

That being said, we are fully aware of the impact more members have over less members and we have decided to formulate a PREP stimulus package. It is our hope that a reduction in the membership fee covering a twelve month period to $50 will help those Real Estate Industry professionals who have wanted to join Positive Real Estate Professionals more financially able to do so. Of course additional members will also help  generate an additional depth of content and perspective for consumers. This PREP stimulus package will run from 8:00 AM (est) on Friday, July 10, 2009 to 11:59 PM (est) on Sunday, July 12, 2009.

Still need more encouragement? Here are some bullet points of a few recognizable benefits of PREP membership for professionals from all facets of the Real Estate Industry:

• PREP is drawing in well over 1,000 visitors a day
• PREP is a network, meaning, members help to bring in additional readers; Readers = Potential Clients
• PREP encourages networking with other Real Estate Industry professional but our focus is reaching consumers
• PREP has the ability to pull in articles you write on other sites which means you do not have to blog anymore than you currently do
• PREP is continually adding new forms from every aspect of the Real Estate Industry for use on members’ pages and we are actively developing more forms suggested by both members and consumers

We know, and our current members will attest to, what Positive Real Estate Professionals can do for you. Don’t let this three day opportunity to become a member of PREP at a deeply discounted price slip by. Get your part of PREP’s stimulus package.