Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas Real Estate: November 2008

Looking for a good book for yourself or that favorite blogger on your holiday gift list? Essential Books for Bloggers is a list of 70 books on blogging, copy writing, and other business topics compiled by Problogger's Darren Rowse.

From Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing The Way Businesses Talk With Customers by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble, to Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono, to Seth Godin's Purple Cow, there's a wide variety of books to educate, inspire and motivate.

Want to know what some of your fellow Rainers recommend? Check out the ActiveRain Book Club, or these reviews:

• Realty Blogging by Paul Chaney and Richard Nacht
     Reviewed by Carole Cohen, Mariana Wagner, Ann Cummings, Ines Hegedus-Garcia and Monika McGillicuddy
• The WeBLOG Handbook by Rebecca Blood
     Reviewed by Mariana Wagner, Ines Hegedus-Garcia, Ann Cummings and Monika McGillicuddy
• Naked Conversations by Shel Israel and Robert Scoble
     Reviewed by Sarah Cooper
• Problogger - Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett
     Reviewed by Midori Miller

• Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging by Lorelle Van Fossen
     Reviewed by Dean Guadagni
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
     Reviewed by Jeff Turner
• The Consultative Real Estate Agent by Kelle Sparta
     Reviewed by Sarah Cooper
• The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
     Reviewed by John Hurlbut
• How to Use Your Time Wisely by Phyllis Kaufman and Arnold Corrigan
     Reviewed by Russel Ray

• Little Red Book of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer
     Reviewed by Colleen Kulikowski
• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko
     Reviewed by Brian Block
• Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles
     Reviewed by Mark Madden
• Tribes by Seth Godin
     Reviewed by Ken Brand
• Winning The Toughest Customer by Delia Passi
     Reviewed by Sharon Simms

Recently the AR Team gave us the ability to let our Twitter followers know when we had written a new post in the Rain. Brad Andersohn wrote a great tutorial about the NEW Twitter Settings.

On the surface, this may look like just another link pointing back to your blog. But Search Engine Guide's Jennifer Laycock offers some interesting insights in "All Links Are Not Equal: Why Twitter Links Grow Conversation."

Jennifer identifies the different types of blog readers and says, "The people on Twitter are there because they actively want to participate in a conversation."

In addition to reaching your Twitter followers, news of your post can also reach others through the public timeline, through search.twitter.com, and virally by retweeting. So give the ActiveRain Twitter settings a try, and it just might be the beginning of some great conversation!

Many of you may already know Australian blogging icon Darren Rowse from his flagship site, ProBlogger. A few Rainers have even been lucky enough to interview Darren, or chat with him at BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas.

Darren recently launched a new site, TwiTip, which is all about Twitter and features several guest authors. Here are a few of my favorite TwiTip posts:

• What Should You Tweet About?  by Michael Martine at Remarkablogger
• Use Twitter for Your Business the Right Way  by Aira Bongco
• Defining Twitter Goals: A Tip for Successful Use of Twitter  by Darren Rowse
• Make a Good Impression with a Custom Twitter Background  by Hugh Briss at Twitter Image
• 10 Easy Steps for Twitter Beginners  by Aira Bongco

To read more great tips and insights on Twitter, visit www.TwiTip.com. Follow Darren on Twitter at @problogger, and follow me at @LVRealEstate. See you on Twitter!!

The second Twitter Writing Contest from Copyblogger is in the books. This one challenged writers to write a haiku in 140 characters or less.

Almost 1000 entries were received, from which a panel of judges selected four winners. First place was generously rewarded with a new MacBook Air.

While a haiku contest on Twitter may sound trivial, think about the bigger picture -- how a simple contest generated nearly 1000 entries, many new online connections, and increased traffic to Brian Clark's Copyblogger blog.

An online presence is all about providing information, connecting with others, and ultimately lead generation. How could you creatively use Twitter to drive traffic to your site, build your network, and build your business?

With so many options in the social networking world, how do you decide which sites will really help you build your online presence and which ones are just digital noise? Should you focus on just one or two networks or branch out? What type of content should you provide for your intended audience?

In "If I Started Today", social media veteran Chris Brogan outlines social media strategies for three different objectives: personal branding, corporate communications, and promoting a nonprofit cause.

Brogan suggests establishing a blog and "Outposts", and then gives this advice:

"Be helpful. Write blog posts that others can use. The more you can help others, the more they'll come back."

Visit ChrisBrogan.com to read the full post, and be sure to follow the links for other great resources and advice on blogging.