Thanks for mentioning my Localism posts Rich...and the others are wonderful as well! I've had wonderful success (to me...success is a few closed transactions because of their reading my blog and even my website....because I learned everything here too)

WooHoo!

I was wondering where you were :)

I like localism. It works well for what it is. I also like the idea of featured localism articles. You can see another area and learn what is going on there. Might work great for vacation ideas!

I did a short post about a film shot in my area. It is the first of its kind because I dont live in LA. http://localism.com/blog/wi/eau_claire/posts/657910/World-premiere-of-The

I also did another post about an event here http://localism.com/blog/wi/eau_claire/posts/654489/Eau-Claire-Real-Estate

Its kind of fun doing articles about local events. Now I bring a camera with so I can be a journalist! I figure if I am already there why not share?

I think that there are so many options for great Localism material that there isn't enough time to write the ideas, much less the posts...  That was a good start. 

Rich...right, we ran to buy our communities..and now what... I still have not wrapped my mind around what it all means to me.... and how it is supposed to work..I was like cattle..following the crowd buying communities..but don't really know what to do..or where to go to see what communities I have or how to change them..

It looks like several people had similar experiences as Konnie.....buying is one thing, working is another :)  Getting the community involved isn't that easy, but it can be done, and I think this is the vision of AR?

I'm trying, I'm trying....I understand the goal, I'm just not sure exactly how to get there yet :)

It is confusing isn't it?  I tried a couple of things that seemed to work.  One was interviewing the manager of one of our local restaurants.  It was kind of weird, but it worked and I think it came out as a pretty good post.  I don't know though...I'm more comfortable writing about real estate.

Thanks for the tips Rich. I will keep trying! Regards, Aaron

I seem to still be thwarted.  I started to do a series about Maryland Relocation thinking it would be a good series to produce under a search for "MARYLAND".  The first post was about Maryland Waterways, which are world famous and I planned the series specifically for Localism. 

http://activerain.com/blogsview/588927/MARYLAND-RELOCATION-Chapter-1

Unfortunately, my post isn't in the Localism database.  I planned this series specifically for Localism. 

Is it not possible for a post to appear in Localism unless it has county/city entries?

I am discouraged and just about have given up on Localism.  I have asked several questions on how to get posted on Localism.  Each question had a sound answer, but when I follow the suggestion it does not work. 

Some members of my area have all their content posted.  One member is just pasting MLS listings for points and everyone is listed on Localism.  I've ascertained that content is not the answer - but copy and paste may be. (He has accumulated over 30,000 points in a very short time...

Featuring localism posts is a great idea - it provides an example for the readers, it's additional exposure for the writer, and it lets us learn about other areas. That's a trifecta.

Rich-  I'm not sure I've got my head around doing restaurant reviews and store openings, so I was really happy that Localism was launched, in the summer.  Westport, CT and summer activites go together.  That made it fairly easy to venture into Localism, with some appropriate posts .  Here are three that I've done.

http://localism.com/blog/ct/westport/posts/620484/Westport-CT-Life-s

http://localism.com/blog/ct/westport/posts/598209/Westport-CT-Summer-Weekend

http://localism.com/blog/ct/westport/posts/590773/Longshore-Town-Park-You

As I get more comfortable, with the process,  I'm sure I'll be able to expand the content, for my local coverage.  With a population, around 26,000, I was able to sponsor the entire town.

Your post reminds me that I have homework to do.  I put the new Localism community info on the back burner. 

Rich,

This post has been a great help for me. I think we all have questions about how we are doing in the New Localism.....

Hi Rich- I've noticed that some communities in my area are either missing, duplicated or misspelled.  Who is responsible to correct this?  I also would like to know how to add a neighborhood now? Thanks!

Rich, I would be honored to have you evaluate what I am doing over on Localism...but doubt you have that kind of time on your hands.   I've included two posts below, one on schools and one on a restaurant that is a local favorite.

http://localism.com/blog/in/fishers/posts/651078/Schools-in-Fishers-Indiana

http://localism.com/blog/in/fishers/posts/631211/Nickel-Plate-in-Fishers

I am actually liking the localism almost more than the other posting I do; I guess I feel like if someone wants to know about Fishers, Indiana...I'd like to be the one that tell them about it.  I think I've learned in real estate you need to shrink your area of expertise to be what you truly are the expert in.  I have conceded I don't know every area of Indianapolis and I don't really focus on short sales/foreclosures...but I do consider myself an expert in the Fishers area as well as a few others and I love that Localism provides a venue to demonstrate that.

I am enjoying going into the community and learning more about the businesses and the community.  Here is one of my localism posts on one of the most wonderful and unique restaraunts in Amherst - which also uses local produce --  http://localism.com/blog/nh/amherst/posts/636585/Amherst-New-Hampshire-Experience

I have a challenge because NH is small and I cover several towns -- so my efforts are going to be split among those towns.

I logged onto Localism just now and put "Santa Cruz County" in the search engine and in HUGE lettering a town in another county's closed sales came up.

Check it out. Los Gatos and Monte Sereno are in Santa Clara County.

I just don't get it. I have been complaining about related stuff for a while now.

I would be very grateful if you would fix this.

Thanks

Rich,

So far so good for the localism posts. Maybe with constant examples the dry content, non local content, and pure advertisement will not become a problem.

Is anyone working to sort through community duplicates between cities and communities and other such localism geotarget errors?

Richard

Thanks for information.  I really want to build our local site.  I well keep reading and learning. Mentone Alabama is a great area but there is no information on yet.

Paul

Rich- You gave some great examples of good localism bloggers. We have been writing for localism for a long time now. It was the first thing I learned to do here on Active Rain from great bloggers like Sally Cheeseman and Cyndee Haydon and Ashley Drake and Stephanie Edwards. I spent time on the phone with them many times when I was a newbie and blogging in localism beta.

FINALLY! i've been waiting for this. K, added to the Localism Compendium. 

Oh and to second Rich's thought on people to learn from: Sally Cheeseman  She's got the best looking and most interesting articles, period.

Hi Rich, Thanks for the follow up on the previous localism informations posts. Much appreciated and good advice.

Good advice Rich. Thanks for the guidance and the examples.

Rich: I assumed it was a systems error. I have reported it from day one. Thank you for looking into it.

Rich, thanks so much for this article, it helps!

Rich Thanks so much for continually helping with ideas and points on Localism. I have been busty selling real estate in Austin but have been working steadily to do more on Active Rain which is great! I just need to concentrate more on the localism aspect now. Liz in Katy Texas is sponsoring a contest for localism posts about how to beat the heat in Texas and it has been a good inspiration to get started! It's really a lot of fun adding info about our community and I hope to do more!

How do we fix our communities?

Not sure who to send this to.... but the list of communities in Schuylkill County is way off! See notes pasted below. I ran out of patience and stopped highlighting. But you get the point. We have about 67 municipalities here in the area. Some have towns, some are just rural townships. Below I see a mixture of towns, townships (huge areas), nicknames for little spots that are parts of a town, names of certain neighborhoods... it's a mess. If I was buying "towns" here I'd go broke. For example, Hillside is a NEIGHBORHOOD of no more than 25 houses on the outskirts of Pottsville, in North Manheim Township! Go figure that one out. ...if you have someone call/email me I'll help them straighten it out. In my opinion, for my area I'd purchase the entire county of 150,000 people. Or break it into school districts (we have 12). That's much more manageable. You just cannot do it as it is below. Of course I realize there are thousands of areas across the country... and each one will have unique needs. Not every area will fit your mold. You've got a headache on your hands, I fear. I did buy several neighborhoods but in localism my area is not correct.

I sent the above note to Bob weeks ago. The communities are severly wrong. I sent a detailed email on how to straighten it out. Is anyone doing this?

Hello, Rich. Just wondering... Do you have any #'s to compare visits, clicks, etc comparing the new Localism to the original localism? Is there any particular marketing plan for Localism as a real estate site?

REgards, Suzi

Thank you ... I always look for your insight regarding Localism!   pippa

Great post... I am going to bookmark this one. It is getting late and I want to read all your links. I am new to AR and sponsored a community... then I said what am I going to post? So your post will be very helpful. Thanks a bunck brenda :)

Thanks for the post and info. Always good to see more info about what's working on localism and other news.

Thanks for the post.  I am still waiting for AR to figure out what happened to my second community.  I signed up for two, was billed for both, approved for both.  I did my community descriiptions and they showed up on the site.  Then when the site was changed several days later Lake Monticello no longer showed up in my account and my description is no longer on the community page.  I am still being billed for two communities.  When I signed up I did notice that you had Lake Monticello listed as both a city and a community.  It is a community.  I don't know which way I signed up.  Anyway I would like my community back before someone else decides to buy it.

I got the message about self-promotion.  i stopped doing this a while ago when you mentioned that is was faux pas

Great ideas and examples - now its time to get to work

Great ideas and examples - now its time to get to work

I appreciate the tips.  I am new and I am trying to get my local area on the map.  I look forward to your continued advice.

This is great! Thank you so much. I don't care so much about myself and being featured. I care more about what I can give to my clients. Anything that makes my presentations better for my clients at the Localism level... I am all ears ;)