ActiveRain - The Official ActiveBlog

On 4/14/09 ActiveRain, under the dark of night, launched it's self-serve, automated network advertising system.  

Here's how it works:

Anyone interested in advertising/sponsoring a 125 x 125 tile ad that will run in rotation on all non-blog pages in the ActiveRain network i.e. Login, Search, Groups. Blogs, My Home...may automatically create a campaign using our self serve interface.  The ads run site wide, there is no ability to target to geographic region or by member type (for now). 

• The cost is $299.00 per slot per month, you may cancel at anytime. 
  
• There are 95 total available slots, each slot will run in even rotation with other sponsored slots. 
  
• Assuming all 95 slots are taken, each slot will deliver a minimum of ~70,000 impressions of your ad per month.
• If all 95 slots are not taken, the exisitng slots will receive the excess traffic.  For example, if only 47 slots are taken, each slot will deliver a minimum of ~140,000 impressions per month. 
  
• The lucky first movers will receive a bulk of the 8M+ page impressions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

<--Example Tile Ads on Search Page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to sign-up

1)  Look in the right sidebar of your My Home page or go to http://activerain.com/action/advertising

<--Convenient 'Advertise with AR' Linkage...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 'Create a new advertising campaign screenshot':

2)  Select the number of shares you would like (max 20).

3)  Input the url where you would like anyone clicking your ad to land...Ex:  http://www.yourlandingpage.com

4)  Upload your creative ad.  It must be 125 x 125 pixels in size and either be in a .jpg or .gif file format.  No animated formats allowed.

5)  Enter your credit card information and click Purchase.  If you've already bought an ActiveRain product and used a credit card, this area will automatically populate with your billing information.  To change your billing information click here.

Despite the fact your ad will appear in front of eyeballs literally hundreds of thousands of times, dont make the mistake of thinking that it's mere presence will equate to click through success.  A few points for effective advertising in a 125 x 125 pixel box:

• Keep your message simple and succinct.  Your entire business value proposition/plan wont fit here. 
  
• Be compelling in your delivery.  Do something remarkable.  Give someone a reason to want to 'Learn More'.  Think outside that 'box' everyone talks about.
  
• Direct anyone who clicks your ad to a landing page that directly relates to the ad, preferably one where you can track how many inbound links you receive from the ad.
• If an ad isn't pulling well, dont be afraid to change things up.  Small differences in copy and/or layout can make a big difference. 

**This advertising interface is intended and best served for Business to Business advertising, not Agent to Consumer advertising.

If you have any questions about advertising on AR, need help setting up a campaign or would otherwise just like to talk to a nice guy, contact Chris Martin: chris at activerain dot com

 

Yes, its true...this is yet another way in which ActiveRain hopes to monetize 'the site'.  Hopefully no one is too repulsed or shocked into never returning to the network :)

The following post is simply one non-conformists opinion, albeit a relatively educated one...Its my hope that my words, cutting as they may come across, cause an epiphany for more than a few...

This entire post is based on The California Association of Realtors 2008 Home Seller Survey (released in July 2008, I just happened upon the PowerPoint presentation a few days ago) but the statistics are just as relevant today, if not more so...Granted this survey is but a snapshot of an industry, yet pictures are worth thousands of words...You can read the entire survey here.  (All statistical references in this post are derived from the aforementioned survey).

Public perception of the real estate professional and the greater industry is amongst the lowest of any on record.  Consumers are looking for an alternative to the 'traditional' Agent and they're defining what this alternative is, yet relatively very few professional are heeding this demand and actually providing a tangible solution.  This Survey demonstrates to me that 90% of Agents are not providing what the consumer wants...and it is ALL ABOUT THE CONSUMER.

Personally I know alot of fantastic real estate professionals.  Genuinely great people, passionate, always striving to better themselves, their clients, the industry they serve and represent...they're worth every penny they command...they dont suck...I'm just a sucker for a good title (no pun intended).  I could fill this page dropping names like Jay Thompson, Kris Berg, Missy Caulk, Bill Gasset and 30 others nobody has heard of as examples of who I consider to be the vanguard of where this industry should look to as ministers of positive change.  Unfortunately, they're in the minority and a few good apples don't ripen the bunch. 

Agent Perception:  I can Has Consumer!

Talk to most any real estate professional and they will tout their expertise, knowledge and marketing prowess as the main reason you should retain their services.  Most will maintain that commission rates (should) mean very little to the consumer and they're worth every penny. 

 

Consumer Reality: You Suck! 

According to the respondents:

Number One factor considered when choosing an Agent?  Lowest Commission. 

Last reason?  Most knowledgeable. <-- If this doesn't snap you into reality, nothing will.

You'd best start putting your knowledge out there if you hope to attract a client...get a blogsite that rocks, start dropping neighborhood knowledge, get a killer IDX solution...substantiate your value!!  The days of being a prude with your listings and expertise until you had an executed contract are over.

 

I can find out more than you know. 

~70% of respondents polled on 'Information from The Internet vs Information from Agent' indicated that the Net provided information that was as useful, 'different' or more useful than an Agent.  I can only surmise that 'different' means information an agent couldn't or simply didn't provide.  In the Age of Information, lack thereof is akin to being useless.

The ~31% that said The Net provided less useful information than an Agent are part of a 50% declining trend over the past 5 years.

 

You're still (a) very necessary (evil?). 

~95% of respondent sellers still used an agent, which makes perfect sense.  I often state that: While technology won't replace a good real estate Agent, the Agent that properly utilizes technology will replace Agent that doesn't. 

Consider- 74% of 1st time respondent sellers considered not using an Agent, up 46% from 2007.  

 

You can't market your way out of a brown paper bag. 

Of the reasons given for using an Agent only 7% said it was for 'Better Marketing Exposure'.  Ummm, isn't this what an Agent's core value proposition is supposed to be, to market property?  Consumers clearly do not believe Agents can effectively market their property...yet online and offline marketing is the 1st and 3rd highest reason for choosing an Agent.  This is a huge disconnect and opportunity at the same time.

84% of respondent sellers are searching online and 96% Agents polled use print advertising. Helllllooo!?!  Can you say poor ROI, waste of money?  Newspapers and other print media are going out of business because less and less people read them.  Advertising in these dinosaurs is of almost no value going forward.  

Only 57% of agents use multiple photos or a virtual tour as part of an online home listing.  This just blows my mind.  I'd guess that 50% of the 57% that actually use multiple photos look (kinda) like these:

 

Proper Feng Shui can do wonders for a small space.

 

Extra long chain for convenient access to light. 

 

Sweet shower curtain stays with home!

Thanks to MLS Trash Can for the pictures.  Descriptions by me. 

Seriously, an agent who can't manage to market a property with quality photographs should have their license suspended on principle alone.

 

You're being perpetually judged. 

97% of respondents interviewed 3 or more Agents.  50% interviewed 6 or more Agents.  Consumers are getting more and more finicky about who they hire.  Agents better step up how they present themselves.  Better have an impressive resume and a killer suit = a slick engaging blogsite & robust IDX solution. 

Here's a scary thought (depending on who you are): 

Consumers are lurking on your blog, stalking your FaceBook page, following your Twitter stream, viewing your Flickr account, reading your answers on Trulia, Zillow & ActiveRain, evaluating your IDX, the quality of your multi-media marketing, processing how you engage comment threads and otherwise perpetually judging you under the cloak of anonymity.

How are you representing yourself in public and when you don't think anyone is looking?

 

The silver lining in this post could be that 'The Bar' is so low in a consumers eyes, those Agents willing to set aside their perceptions and confront reality are in a great position to capture some huge marketshare.  Take this information and use it to your advantage rather than deny its validity.

Many Agents are out there cleaning up despite this 'depressing' market...Find them, reach out to them, study their successes...I find the most successful people in life are more than willing to share their successes and help others get there too.  Reciprocity is still live and well...

To hear more, check out this interview with Tim Harris…

There are many who believe that there is an inherent risk when posting content to 3rd party sites because you allegedly 'don't own your content'. Its true, when you submit your content to 3rd party sites you become bound by their Terms of Use and other guidelines, which can vary greatly but have common denominators, such as allowing the site to terminate your account for violating certain guidelines...or for no reason whatsoever.   

ActiveRain has similar provisions for well founded legal reasons, although this network grants a greater degree of Content Ownership than any I could find after looking to other popular sites in this space Terms of Use.  Let me elaborate.

ActiveRain takes the position that we reserve the right to use your content if you publish it here, until such time you tell us we can't.  This constitutes a very fair degree of ownership to me.  From AR's Terms of Use:

"Although you retain any proprietary rights that you may have in and to your Content, once you post your Content to the Site, you hereby grant ActiveRain, its affiliated companies, and their respective successors and assigns, a worldwide, non-exclusive, sub-licensable (through multiple tiers) right and license...."

"The foregoing license granted by you terminates once you remove or delete your Content from the Site....ActiveRain will make commercially reasonable efforts to take down links, frames, and other work or content within its control that may be associated with your Content..."

Can you do this on other sites?  I researched a few sites in the 'real estate 2.0' space that allow user generated content  'Terms of Use' and 'Guidelines', and found the standard 'you give up all rights' language but couldn't find where your rights could be relinquished back.

ActiveRain's Terms of Use and Guidelines in full.

Citing the Terms of Use/Service from some popular and relative 3rd Party sites and services...

HomeGain

License

"Unless otherwise agreed in a writing signed by HomeGain, by submitting content, photos, video, data or other materials directly through the HomeGain web site (collectively, "Materials"), you hereby grant to HomeGain a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, fully transferable and sublicensable right and license to access, store, copy, modify, display, distribute, perform, create derivative works from, and otherwise use and exploit all such Materials in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future and the right to sublicense the foregoing rights through multiple tiers. You further grant to HomeGain a royalty-free right and license to use your name, image and likeness in advertising and in connection with the licensed rights for the Materials."

HomeGain Rights

You expressly agree that HomeGain: ...(b) reserve the right to review, reject, delete, remove, modify, or edit any Materials at any time for any reason, without liability and without notice to you.

 

Wordpress.com (Automattic)

Automattic has the right (though not the obligation) to, in Automattic’s sole discretion (i) refuse or remove any content that, in Automattic’s reasonable opinion, violates any Automattic policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Website to any individual or entity for any reason, in Automattic’s sole discretion. Automattic will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid.

Termination.

Automattic may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately.

 

Zillow.com

3. Materials You Provide; Account Use; Privacy.

...You grant Zillow.com an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license to (1) use, copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, modify, and translate your Submission, in connection with the Services or in any other media, and (2) sublicense these rights, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. Zillow.com will not pay you for your Submission. Zillow.com may remove your Submission at any time

 

11. Changes; Discontinuance.

Zillow.com reserves the right to change the Terms of Use, and you are responsible for regularly reviewing these Terms of Use. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of such changes will constitute acceptance of and agreement to any such changes. Zillow.com may suspend or discontinue the Services at any time to you and/or to others, without notice.

 

Trulia.com

User Submitted Content

...You are solely responsible for any Content and other material that you submit, publish, display or link to on the Site or send to other Trulia users.

You agree that by posting content on the Site, you are granting Trulia a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license to use this information in the course of offering the Services.

Trulia may delete any Content that in the sole judgment of Trulia violates these Terms of Use or Community Guideline....

 

I'll stop the citations here but you can be sure that similar language is found on every similar type site and/or service. 

If you don't want your content used by anyone but yourself, don't contribute anywhere: Use an independent web publishing platform, host the software yourself, scrub the web for content scrappers...and good luck getting found. 

Personally Ive found that the bigger you give, the bigger you get...the laws of reciprocity still work pretty well.  Participating on, or at least checking out, any and all of the above sites will yield some upside in the form of education and possibly business. 

In the end, you have to trust the venue where you are contributing your content, and be prepared to play by their domains rules...just be sure you know exactly what they are.

 

I've turned comments off, if you have something to say about this post, good, bad or otherwise, write about it and link back here...Why?  Its my content.  

Details regarding President Obamas $75B plan to stem ‘The Housing Crisis’ are out, or as I shall call them: Obamas Mortgage Economics or MObamanomics.

I openly laud some of the principles behind MObamanomics, such as:

“It will not help speculators who took risky bets on a rising market and bought homes not to live in but to sell” and “It will not reward folks who bought homes they knew from the beginning they would never be able to afford.”

Speculators should understand and realize the risk of riding an asset up and down.

MObamanomics looks to be far more proactive than reactive too, allowing consumers to qualify for assistance before they default on their mortgage (and lenders take a loss).  Though not by design, mandating that a consumer default before receiving help actually incentivizes them to do just that.

This is by no means a comprehensive analysis, rather the parts I can wrap my head around for now.  For what its worth, President Obamas plan is more aggressive than I had anticipated and he should be commended for having the cajones to step out there where many wouldn’t.

Risky loans, these aint no stinkin risky loans…

MObamanomics will allow Fannie and Freddie to restructure and/or refinance consumers with higher (than 80%) LTV loans on their primary residence that are already within their portfolio.  This aspect of the plan will increase the size of the conforming loan pool where consumers can swim…and thats a good thing.

Fannie and Freddie are typically barred from lending above 80% of a homes value or purchase price without Mortgage Insurance attached (that adds significant dollars to ones monthly payment -more on this below-) because mortgages with LTV’s above 80% are deemed risky by ‘the industry’- Heh.  20% LTV’s are risky with poor underwritng standards.   I’m sure that every mortgage that gets modified under this program will come with a borrower that can prove their income, has a solid credit score, a job and a few months worth of payments in the bank…what a novel concept.

Curious to how the plan will accomodate consumers who find themselves in homes worth less than what they owe.  Whether Fannie and Freddie or any lender will restructure a mortgage that is worth 125% of a homes value remains to be seen.

$75,000,000,000 in grease money…

Part of the $75B in The Plan will be used to subsidize the reduction of a consumers mortgage payment to as low as 31% of their monthly income.  The lender will initially need to make enough in concessions to get the payment down to 38%, then the government will match the lender dollar for dollar to get the payment down to 31% of a borrowers monthly income.  Someone did their research here, ‘discovering’ that high payment to income ratios are the number one cause of mortgage defaults.

The methods a lender uses to get borrowers payments down to 38%/31% could involve stretching out the term (from say 27 to 40 years), lowering the rate and/or the principle balance.  How they do this on an individual basis, when numerous loans were bundled together and sold to investment vehicles like mutual funds seems like a challenge to say the least.

The money will come in the form of $1000 when a lender initially agrees to modify a loan with another $3000 available for the next 3 years.  Many pundits will scoff at the idea of feeding the hand that supposedly slapped everyone…but this is 2009, traditional public facing politically correct economic strategies aren’t likely to work.  Traditional back door politics are in order here, gotta pay to get them to play son.  In any case I applaud the transparency.

MObamanomics shall also subsidize the mortgage insurance premiums that are typically required for Conforming loans with LTV’s higher than 80% at no charge to the consumer.  If the consumer defaults, the government picks up the difference above 80.01% of the value of the home.   This is actually a good idea that will directly benefit the consumer.

Alas, if the cost to concede exceeds the cost to foreclose I can’t see a lender using their moral compass over their financial one.

Borrowers who have lost their jobs or make far less than they did when they initially acquired the mortgage, are probably beyond help.

In the end, its still a voluntary program…lenders can cherry pick the situations they want to work with.  I fear the only way to make lenders play above aboard is the real threat of granting bankruptcy judges (with proper education) the ability to mandate certain loan modifications.

$200,000,000,000 in new money…

Supposedly there’s $200B on the table (up from $100B) for Fannie and Freddie to lend out, increase their portfolio size and remain solvent.

I suspect there will be stringent underwriting guidelines, as there should be, but I would implore the regulators to consider such crazy ideas like lending up to 103% of a homes purchase price for primary residences.  This sort of forward thinking, IMHO, would really jump start the purchase market.

All in all, I like where MObamanomics is going, it represents some solid first steps. Now there is more than just hope, there is a strategy…

…and there will need to be many more such steps to pick up the slack from the STAGGERING list of lenders no longer lending through various channels…

334. Perfect FHA - Wholesale
333. EquiFirst
332. Residential Loan Centers of America
331. CU National Mortgage
330. Colonial National Mortgage - Wholesale
329. U.S. Mortgage Corp. - Retail
328. First Interstate Financial - Wholesale
327. Realty Mortgage Corp.
326. Vertice
325. USA Home Loans - Wholesale
324. SunTrust Mortgage - FHA Wholesale
323. New South Federal Savings Bank - Wholesale
322. First Federal - Wholesale
321. 21st Mortgage - Wholesale
320. J.B. Nutter & Co. - Wholesale
319. Homebridge Mortgage Bankers - Refinance.com
318. 1st Republic Mortgage Bankers
317. Superior Mortgage Corp - Wholesale
316. Wall Street Financial Corp - Wholesale
315. Fairfield Financial Mortgage Group
314. Chase Prime - Wholesale
313. Sunshine & Madison Mortgage Corp
312. Liberty One Lending
311. Frontier Investment Co.
310. BankUnited - Wholesale
309. Solstice Capital Group - HSBC
308. MortgageIT
307. HCL Finance Inc. - Wholesale
306. LIME Financial Svcs. - Wholesale
305. Mortgage Network Inc. - Wholesale
304. Fortes Financial - Wholesale
303. HSBC Mortgage Corp. - Wholesale
302. CBRE Realty Finance
301. Franklin Bank, SSB
300. Mortgage Lion, Inc. - Wholesale
299. HMS Capital, Inc.
298. American Sterling Bank - Wholesale
297. CTX Mortgage Co. - Retail
296. Equity One Commercial
295. Coldstream Financial Svcs.
294. Banco Popular North America - Wholesale
293. Ace Mortgage Funding, LLC
292. E-Loan
291. Gateway Bank, F.S.B. - Wholesale
290. First Call Mortgage Co.
289. Downey Savings and Loan - Wholesale
288. Prospect’s Metrocities Mortgage - Wholesale
287. ComCor Mortgage - Wholesale
286. Chevy Chase Bank - Wholesale
285. Washington Mutual - Retail and Warehouse
284. Hometown Commercial Capital
283. Mid Atlantic Capital LLC
282. Kemper Mortgage, Inc.
281. Liberty Mortgage Funding Co.
280. Freddie Mac
279. Fannie Mae
278. Pacific Community Mortgage, Inc. - Gold Reverse, Inc.
277. Homecomings Financial, LLC
276. Thornburg Mortgage
275. CSB Mortgage
274. Carteret Mortgage Corporation
273. Accredited Home Lenders, Lone Star Funds - Wholesale
272. Western Residential Mortgage
271. Liberty Home Lending
270. Equipoint Financial Network, Inc.
269. Ideal Mortgage Bankers, Ltd. - Wholesale
268. Silver State Bank - Wholesale
267. Irwin Union Bank & Trust Co. - Wholesale
266. SunTrust Bank Equity Wholesale
265. Wachovia Mortgage, FSB - Wholesale
264. Lehman Brothers SBF
263. IndyMac Bancorp
262. Mortgages Ltd.
261. Wilmington Finance - Wholesale
260. Accredited Home Lenders, Home Funds Direct
259. Assured Lending Corp. - Wholesale
258. Homewide Lending Corporation
257. Vanguard Mortgage & Title, Inc.
256. Chase Home Equity - Wholesale
255. Chase Subprime - Wholesale
254. Evergreen Investment & Carnation Banc
253. Casa Blanca Mortgage/Shearson - Wholesale
252. Guaranty Bank - Correspondent
251. Citi Residential Lending
250. Montgomery Mortgage Capital Company
249. E*Trade Wholesale Lending
248. Shearson Financial Network, Inc.
247. American Bank Mortgage Group - Wholesale
246. AmeriBanc Corp.
245. Washington Mutual - Wholesale
244. Century Bank, F.S.B. - Wholesale
243. Diversified Mortgage, Inc.
242. National Wholesale Funding
241. Centennial Mortgage and Funding, Inc./Award Mortgage
240. Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp.
239. LMI Funding, Inc.
238. Millennium Mortgage - Wholesale
237. Origen Financial, Inc. (Correspondent)
236. CitiMortgage - Home Equity Wholesale
235. Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage
234. East West Mortgage Co. of VA
233. New Vision Residential Lending
232. Washington Savings Bank, F.S.B. - Wholesale
231. Macquarie Mortgages USA Inc.
230. Global Mortgage, Inc.
229. Unique Mortgage Solutions (UMS, LLC)
228. First Franklin - Merrill Lynch
227. First National Mortgage Sources
226. Resource Mortgage (Wholesale)
225. KH Financial
224. Lydian Mortgage
223. OMG Wholesale Lending
222. Saxon Mortgage (Wholesale)
221. Beazer Mortgage Corp.
220. Allpointe Mortgage (Broker Program)
219. Popular Warehouse Lending
218. Allied Lending Corp. (Wholesale)
217. BF Saul Wholesale Lending
216. Community Resource Mortgage
215. Lehman/Aurora Loan Services
214. Residential Mortgage Capital
213. Maverick Residential Mortgage
212. Countrywide Financial Corp.
211. First NLC Financial Services
210. First American Bank (Wholesale)
209. Soma Financial
208. National City Corp. (Wholesale)
207. Heartland Wholesale Funding
206. Homefront Mortgage Inc.
205. PNC Bank H.E.
204. Family First Mortgage Corp.
203. First Fidelity Financial
202. BSM Financial
201. 1st Choice Mortgage
200. Wescom Credit Union
199. Coast Financial Holdings/Coast Bank
198. WaMu (Subprime)
197. First Madison Mortgage
196. Southern Star Mortgage
195. TransLand Financial
194. Secured Bankers Mortgage Company (SBMC)
193. ComUnity Lending
192. Delta Financial Corp
191. BayRock Mortgage
190. Empire Bancorp
189. Option One - H&R Block
188. Citigroup - FCS Warehouse
187. Charter One (Wholesale)
186. Wells Fargo - Home Equity
185. Paul Financial, LLC
184. Webster Bank (Wholesale)
183. Fieldstone Mortgage Company
182. Tribeca Lending Corp. (Wholesale)
181. WAMU Comm. Correspondent
180. Marlin Mortgage Company
179. Countrywide Specialty Lending
178. UBS Home Finance
177. MortgageIT-DB (Retail)
176. Edgewater Lending Group
175. ResMAE Mortgage Corp.
174. Citimortgage Correspondent (2nds)
173. AMC Lending
172. Liberty American Mortgage
171. Exchange Financial (Wholesale)
170. FirstBank Mortgage
169. Bank of America (Wholesale)
168. Diablo Funding Group Inc.
167. Honor State Bank
166. Spectrum Financial Group
165. Priority Funding Mortgage Bankers
164. BrooksAmerica Mortgage Corp.
163. Valley Vista Mortgage
162. New State Mortgage Company
161. Summit Mortgage Company
160. WMC
159. Paragon Home Lending
158. First Mariner Wholesale
157. The Lending Connection
156. Foxtons, Inc.
155. SCME Mortage Bankers
154. Aapex Mortgage (Apex Financial Group)
153. Wells Fargo (various Correspondent and Non-prime divisions)
152. Nationstar Mortgage
151. Decision One (HSBC)
150. Impac Lending Group
149. Long Beach (WaMu Warehouse/Correspondent)
148. Expanded Mortgage Credit Wholesale
147. The Mortgage Store Financial
146. C & G Financial
145. CFIC Home Mortgage
144. All Fund Mortgage
143. LownHome Financial
142. Sea Breeze Financial Services
141. Castle Point Mortgage
140. Premium Funding Corp
139. Group One Lending
138. Allstate Home Loans / Allstate Funding
137. Home Loan Specialists (HLS)
136. Transnational Finance Wholesale
135. CIT Home Lending
134. Capital Six Funding
133. Mortgage Investors Group (MIG) - Wholesale
132. Amstar Mortgage Corp
131. Quality Home Loans
130. BNC Mortgage (Lehman)
129. First National Bank of Arizona
128. Chevy Chase Bank Correspondent
127. GreenPoint Mortgage - Capital One Wholesale
126. NovaStar, Homeview Lending
125. Quick Loan Funding
124. Calusa Investments
123. Mercantile Mortgage
122. First Magnus
121. First Indiana Wholesale
120. GEM Loans / Pacific American Mortgage (PAMCO)
119. Kirkwood Financial Corporation
118. Lexington Lending
117. Express Capital Lending
116. Deutsche Bank Correspondent Lending Group (CLG)
115. MLSG
114. Trump Mortgage
113. HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation
112. Mylor Financial
111. Aegis
110. Alternative Financing Corp (AFC) Wholesale
109. Winstar Mortgage
108. American Home Mortgage / American Brokers Conduit
107. Optima Funding
106. Equity Funding Group
105. Sunset Mortgage
104. Nations Home Lending
103. Entrust Mortgage
102. Alera Financial (Wholesale)
101. Flick Mortgage/Mortgage Simple
100. Dollar Mortgage Corporation
99. Alliance Bancorp
98. Choice Capital Funding
97. Premier Mortgage Funding
96. Stone Creek Funding
95. FlexPoint Funding (Wholesale & Retail)
94. Starpointe Mortgage
93. Unlimited Loan Resources (ULR)
92. Freestand Financial
91. Steward Financial
90. Bridge Capital Corporation
89. Altivus Financial
88. ACT Mortgage
87. Alliance Mortgage Banking Corp (AMBC)
86. Concord Mortgage Wholesale
85. Heartwell Mortgage
84. Oak Street Mortgage
83. The Mortgage Warehouse
82. First Street Financial
81. Right-Away Mortgage
80. Heritage Plaza Mortgage
79. Horizon Bank Wholesale Lending Group
78. Lancaster Mortgage Bank (LMB)
77. Bryco (Wholesale)
76. No Red Tape Mortgage
75. The Lending Group (TLG)
74. Pro 30 Funding
73. NetBank Funding, Market Street Mortgage
72. Columbia Home Loans, LLC
71. Mortgage Tree Lending
70. Homeland Capital Group
69. Nation One Mortgage
68. Dana Capital Group
67. Millenium Funding Group
66. MILA
65. Home Equity of America
64. Opteum (Wholesale, Conduit)
63. Innovative Mortgage Capital
62. Home Capital, Inc.
61. Home 123 Mortgage
60. Homefield Financial
59. First Horizon Subprime, Equity Lending
58. Platinum Capital Group (Wholesale)
57. First Source Funding Group (FSFG)
56. Alterna Mortgage
55. Solutions Funding
54. People’s Mortgage
53. LowerMyPayment.com
52. Zone Funding
51. First Consolidated (Subprime Wholesale)
50. SouthStar Funding
49. Warehouse USA
48. H&R Block Mortgage
47. Madison Equity Loans
46. HSBC Mortgage Services (correspondent div.)
45. Sunset Direct Lending
44. Kellner Mortgage Investments
43. LoanCity
42. CoreStar Financial Group
41. Ameriquest, ACC Wholesale
40. Investaid Corp.
39. People’s Choice Financial Corp.
38. Master Financial
37. Maribella Mortgage
36. FMF Capital LLC
35. New Century Financial Corp.
34. Wachovia Mortgage (Correspondent div.)
33. Ameritrust Mortgage Company (Subprime Wholesale)
32. Trojan Lending (Wholesale)
31. Fremont General Corporation
30. DomesticBank (Wholesale Lending Division)
29. Ivanhoe Mortgage/Central Pacific Mortgage
28. Eagle First Mortgage
27. Coastal Capital
26. Silver State Mortgage
25. ECC Capital/Encore Credit
24. Lender’s Direct Capital Corporation (wholesale division)
23. Concorde Acceptance
22. DeepGreen Financial
21. American Freedom Mortgage, Inc.
20. Millenium Bankshares (Mortgage Subsidiaries)
19. Summit Mortgage
18. Mandalay Mortgage
17. Rose Mortgage
16. EquiBanc
15. FundingAmerica
14. Popular Financial Holdings
13. Clear Choice Financial/Bay Capital
12. Origen Wholesale Lending
11. SecuredFunding
10. Preferred Advantage
9. MLN
8. Sovereign Bancorp (Wholesale Ops)
7. Harbourton Mortgage Investment Corporation
6. OwnIt Mortgage
5. Sebring Capital Partners
4. Axis Mortgage & Investments
3. Meritage Mortgage
2. Acoustic Home Loans
1. Merit Financial

List courtesy of The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter

What the hell is this?  My kindergarten drawing of what happened to the mortgage industry and why so many homes are in foreclosure or heading there.

The black dots represent the relative amount of people who have/need a mortgage.

The gray circle represents the size of the pool of available mortgage programs prior to ~August 2007, i.e. the sub-prime and Alt-A market. 

The white circle represents the size of the pool of available mortgage programs today going forward, i.e. Conforming and FHA.  

The gray circle has since evaporated.  No new sub-prime or Alt-A loans available.

There are far less people who fit into the white circle. 

That leaves a bunch of black dots that cannot get a mortgage anymore. 

If you're a black dot that has a sub-prime or Alt-A ARM and it adjusts for the worse, dont have the credit/financial strength to qualify for a Conforming or FHA loan (fit in the white circle), your stuck.  Pay the higher monthly payment, sometimes as much as 50% higher, or lose the home to foreclosure. 

Thats leaving a bunch of houses empty.  

End of story.

Inspired in part by Brad Andersohn and Debbie Malones post, I want to draw attention to a potential marketing and monetization strategy for Individual or Team Blogs that most anyone can implement.  

Brad discussed one of 5 potential ways to maximize your Team Blog: recruit 'Your Affiliates Who Contribute to Your Business and Success'.  Debbie posted that how her hyper-local content about Lynchburg, VA was sending business to some other local businesses that she mentioned in her blog. 

Often times, the obvious isn't such, so I'd like to point out an easy way to monetize and otherwise add value to your AR Individual and/or Team Blog:  Recruit local businesses to contribute and/or advertise on your blog.

Think about it...you have The Juice, Google Juice, which is an online marketers Holy Grail.  Hyper-local blogs are quickly replacing Newspapers as the go to source for local news, events and area service providers.  Write a review about a local restaurant or 3rd party service provider, show them how they show up in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) and offer up an advertisement placement in your sidebar for $25, $50, $100 (?) a month. As your traffic increases so does the value of your online real estate. 

With the pending release of 'Widgets' to our outside blogging platform, specifically the ability embed images in the sidebar, there is a great opportunity to sell that space to local advertisers, whether they be a service provider like a good plumber or simply a great restaurant that you want to share with others. 

Couple of points...

Be selective.  Don't indescriminantly slap up 30 advertisers; be thoughtful with who gets a spot on your site, they reflect on you.  Preferably only allow businesses or people with whom you've had a positive experience with to participate. I'd personally limit the advertising space to 3-4 to begin with. 

Be creative.  People ignore vanilla or ugly ads.  The ad should have a succinct call to action, offer a clear tangible benefit and look good.

Stay focused.  The more you write about your local areas the more likely you are to rank for seach terms for that area.  Concentrate your content and tag your posts appropriately.

This can be a great way to pay for the cost of the blog and subsidize your income, all for doing what you're already doing.  Start generating a Social Media ROI!

 

So, I've been running my mouth about this word called ::Transparency:: for a few years now.  When you wax philosophic on a topic for so long, watching it manifest in the main stream elicits redemptive emotions.

What is Transparency?  The word has a far reaching and fascinating taxonomy depending on what the corresponding topic is. Generally, its a noun that suggests that the given topic can be seen and understood clearly with little left to the imagination. Transparency fosters a greater sense of awareness around a given topic.  Most people will say that greater transparency regarding a given topic is generally a good thing.

So, is Transparency a good thing for business?

On paper, as an ideology, Transparency represents practices performed in a more truthful, enlightened and thus positive light.

In practice, in real life, Transparency tends to compromise established industry's, institutions and individuals ability to continue to function as they traditionally have, more often than not with extreme deleterious consequences to a rigid status-quo.

You can't handle the truth! - Colonel Nathan Jessup.

Copious amounts of raw disseminateable data, a byproduct of our progression into the The Information Age, has catalyzed the virility of Transparency creating fast moving paradigm shifts that corporations and industry stalwarts are simply unprepared to handle.  Transparency exacerbates underlying 'issues' and causes rapid disintermediation to legacy industries like ::wait for it:: real estate (and mortgage).

The writing has been on the wall for years now:

• From 1997, Clayton Christensen's The Innovators Dilemma articulates that a 'successful company with established products will get pushed aside unless managers know when to abandon traditional business practices.'
• From 1999 Blown to Bits states that "the Internet and other technological innovations are changing the basic structures of most industries and simply destroying the remainder." and "Increasingly, your customers will have rich access to a universe of alternatives, your suppliers will exploit direct access to your customers, and your competitors will pick off the most profitable parts of your value chain. Your competitive advantage is up for grabs."

Transparency has brought many an industry to its knees.  While it seemed like a good idea at the time, it's clear today that the money that was printed to create the Mortgage Backed Security Market created a bubble that popped.  Consequentially bubble based business models are taking it on the chin, drawing out the knee jerk reaction of indiscriminate cost cutting.  As a business, trimming unnecessary fat is very prudent right about now, but what shouldn't be ignored is investing in the type of innovation required to compete for future discerning consumers (and agents).

Today, more than ever, its time to 'abandon traditional business practices' if you want to stay in business much less maintain a competitive advantage.

Back in late 2007, I quickly rambled about three topics that represent vanguard of the future of real estate:

1. Compensation reformation or divorcing real estate commissions is coming, since inter-broker compensation can be handled outside of the traditional MLS...A different version of the same thing isn't a viable solution and mass adoption of isn't probable considering the openness of the technology landscape, 2007-08 forward.
2. Zillow and Trulia aren't it either...Both well funded 3rd party destination real estate information websites business models revolve around advertising. Advertisers pay money to players like Z & T because consumers are carousing their sites, not an agents or brokerage, so it would seem fair to say that both entities would like to keep the consumer there. This isn't a knock against either company, they do what they do and make no bones about it, however their respective agendas don't line up with the individual agent...
3. An application (technology, widget, et al.) that allows for a real estate professional to 'share' their valuable information and market their services to others within similar spheres, while insuring an acceptable assurance of reciprocity has yet to be identified...though it should involve a strategy that implements an open Social Networking Optimization framework that allows birds of a feather to flock and fly together...

1)  Compensation reform (initially) on the Broker to agent level (CGI splits, desk fees) is manifesting out of brute downward pressures on the market: depressive home values, heavy inventory and lack of credit.  These conditions are pushing many agents out of the industry and causing the best agents to become rather brand or franchise agnostic, perpetually asking:  What have you done for me lately?  Loyalty means little in a Bear market.  Broad compensation reform between agent and consumer is an inevitability.

2)  My overall point that the agendas of the Zillow's and Trulia's of the world don't line up with the individual agent brokerage is shared and expounded on (far better than I could) by my very smart friend Rob Hahn. How long is it before a critical mass of the best agents adapt to open their own (very virtual) brokerages, adopt these types of sites as primary marketing channels, utilize their superior products and services in place of the expense of affiliating with a broker-franchise-brand that provides diminishing, even negative value?

3)  The 'open web' proliferated by the likes of Facebook Connect and Google Friend Connect offer the 'open Social Networking Optimization framework' described above on highly scalable and cost effective levels.  Aggregating and sharing granular information has never been faster, easier or cheaper with free communication syndication platforms like blogs, Twitter, FriendFeed and FeedFuze.  Agents that have learned to harness these tools and services don't need to work for a major brand to succeed.  They are becoming the brand.

Instead of dismissing these thought threads and seemingly diminutive products and services, real estate Franchises and Brokers would be wise to listen, adapt and adopt before they trip the line irrelevant.  Over the past couple years a new position within the social spheres of the online real estate industry has popped up:  Director of Social Media.  It's a fancy name for someone who knows how to communicate online using the products and services mentioned above.  Broker-Franchises should also seek 'Social Media Directors' and promote them from within their current contingencies.  They represent a worthy investment as these folks have learned how to leverage information and create conversation around themselves and/or their business far more effectively than traditionally expensive marketing campaigns...they represent the future of real estate.

The generation that will pull this recession up from the depths knows nothing but the internet and how to communicate with the world using its cornucopia of social products and services.  Tech savvy consumers will only connect with similarly tech savvy real estate professionals.

To tie this all together, I don't believe the real estate market will simply correct without major Transparent changes from and by the people who serve it.  With money continuously being printed and infused into our economy, when things do turn inflation will be hard to control.  Real estate is usually a sound hedge against inflation, as real assets typically rise in value in relative correlation with inflation percentages.  These aren't 'usual' times.  When real estate values do stabilize (aka bottom out), monetary inflation will likely increase at a hefty tick, further diminishing the buying and borrowing power of most people.  Tough times are still ahead, there is no quick fix.  Consumers will demand (and need) great service for less cost, or they simply won't buy.

The agent and business who ends up succeeding in this market will be the one who kept one eye on cutting costs and the other on investing in innovative resources, specifically industry relative content syndication applications like the examples mentioned above, and other similar technologies that promulgate Transparency.  On the upside, these tools and technologies are rolling out cheaper and better than their predecessors...evaluate, adapt and adopt...or start looking for a new career.

::Done Rambling::

ActiveRain Launches ActiveBlogs, a Multi-Author Blogging Platform for Real Estate Industry Professionals.
ActiveBlogs increase online marketing power for real estate with easy syndication of blog content and superior search engine performance

SEATTLE, January 7 2009 – ActiveRain (http://activerain.com) today announced the release of Active Blogs, a turn-key blogging platform built for single or multiple authors. ActiveBlogs are customizable, dynamic web-publishing sites designed for the real estate and related industries.

ActiveBlogs allow individual professionals to team up and syndicate multiple types of content from their existing ActiveRain individual accounts to a custom website and url, which delivers innate Search Engine Optimization benefits such as location based Real Area Indexing or ‘Raindexing’.  
The aggregation of continuous, targeted and fresh ‘Raindexed’ content within a single domain from numerous individuals  improves Long-Tail Search Engine Optimization, efficiently and dramatically improving online marketing efforts.

‘ActiveRain recognizes that dynamic content integrated from multiple sources creates the robust experience today’s real estate consumer is looking for,” said Jeff Corbett, ActiveRain’s vice president of Operations and Business Development. “We believe ActiveBlogs provide a foundation to efficiently display this content.”

At launch, individual ActiveBlogs are priced at $19 per month while multi-author or ‘Team Blogs’ will cost $79.00 per month for hosting.  Personalized branding is possible with numerous template options that may be customized to the administrator’s satisfaction.  
‘Real estate related professionals deserve products and services pro-actively designed to suit their unique needs,” Corbett said.  ‘No other platform at any price – including free – offers real estate professionals a better value in terms of ease of use, flexibility and seamless movement of content.”

About ActiveRain

Active Rain is a real estate technology company based in the Pacific Northwest. The company launched its online community for real estate professionals in June of 2006 and quickly established it as the leading real estate social network. The ActiveRain community currently has over 125,000 members. The company, founded in 2003, secured $2.75 million in funding in December of 2007.

For more information, visit http://www.activerain.com/.

Media Contact:   Jeff Corbett//ActiveRain//jcorbett@activerain.com

###

Also See:

Jorgen Hahn, Programmer Extraordinaire explains new blogging platform

Since launching Listing Router there has been much discussion around if the 'pay to direct traffic to your IDX website' is worth the price.  Its a very valid question and the answer really depends far less on the dynamics of how Listing Router works and far more on where the traffic lands, in this case an agents 3rd party IDX website. 

IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange that represents a class of websites that redisplay property listings from an MLS (or multiple MLS').  All IDX sites are NOT created equal.

The pay-per-click model of driving targeted traffic to ones website has proven to be very effective.  It's a main component of Googles revenue model and they do pretty well, which thus means that there are many individuals and businesses using the service who are also seeing great results. 

Pay-per-click success does not exist in a vacuum.  Simply by engaging the Listing Router service does not guarantee anything except some additional traffic to your IDX site.  You can receive a million visitors per month to your site but if it's clumsy, aesthetically challenged or antiquated, you're not likely to convert much (if any) of that traffic into a genuine lead and ideally a client.  

Look at it this way.  You want to buy a nice business suit for about $1000.  You walk into a store that sells $1000 suits but they're thrown on the floor, men's are mixed with women's, customer service is non-existant, the lights flicker on and off and no store hours are posted (sometimes they're open, sometimes they're not).  Sure some people will rummage through the disarray but 99% will probably leave within 5 seconds of entering.  

Compare that experience to walking into Nordstrom.  The store is impeccably clean, 'Suits' are clearly labeled, categorized by size and manufacturer, and the sales staff measures you into a $1000 suit that fits perfectly.  They're open from 9am-9pm Mon-Sat and 10am-6pm Sunday. 

Where are you likely to buy from?  Which store are you likely to recommend to your friends in the market for a comparable suit?

A simple IDX solution with an easy to navigate User Interface is the difference between traffic and leads (clients) for an agent in today's real estate market...it goes without saying that 80% of all home buyers start their search online...however the disparity between what is acceptable and what exists is in the property search software market is jaw-dropping.  I'm absolutely baffled at the low quality of IDX solutions that exist and are still used by many agents today.  Some are downright awful or just don't work.  If you are a practicing real estate agent and have hopes of staying in business, much less achieve a modicum of success, having an IDX solution that is clean and intuitive is mandatory...as in not an option to consider, but REQUIRED. 

Some may dismissively wave their hands at me as someone who doesn't practice real estate and therefore consider me preachy or accuse me of having an agenda, so I solicited an opinion from a 'real life' agent that I think very highly of.  I asked Kelley a simple question:

Why is a good IDX solution important to you as an agent?

Her reply:

A good IDX is important and makes my life easier as an agent, because it generates business.  People appreciate and return again and again to a home search that is comprehensive, easy to understand quickly, and easy to use.  A good IDX also allows me to integrate listings and home searches into places where my site visitors can quickly get to those homes - into blog posts and market reports and on neighborhood pages.  IDX doesn't have to be just a single page on your old static site anymore.  It's a whole system and method of integrating home searches into your complete web presence, so that it is always obvious to those site visitors that they can look at homes if they want to, and that you've anticipated their needs by integrating those home searches where they most want to see them.  That's an incredibly powerful tool.  If you take care of your site visitors by showing them something clean and simple to use, that addresses their needs at the right time, they'll love you for it.

 

Kelley put it quite simply:  It's always about the user, always.  

Technology may be daunting to many real estate professional (and other) members here on AR.  A good number of agents cut their teeth in regards to new technologies and how they work with support from the network, which is a good start however, this is a fast paced world that waits for no one.  Granted, no piece of technology will replace a good real estate professional but the agent that learns and embraces technology will replace the ones who don't. Fortunately for those who may not be technologically inclined there is a tremendous amount of support available, here in AR and the (good) companies that support their products.

There are too many widgets, gadgets and other 'Social Media' tools out there to count.  Very few of them will produce a measurable return for time and money invested.  A good clean IDX site is one piece of technology that can be the difference between traffic and clients. 

If you are taking the time to set up and spend money on Listing Router campaigns I implore you to personally as well as have others review your IDX website.  If you don't know what IDX is or don't currently use an IDX solution, RUN, don't walk to find and license a good one.  You don't need to buy the most expensive model out there, yet the saying goes: You get what you pay for...

Check out:

Diverse Solutions

ARE-TEC

**I am in no way compensated nor was I solicited to link to the above sites, they are company's either run by or have products used by people I personally respect.** 

If you have an IDX webiste provider that you reccomend, please do so in the comments with a link and a quick testimonial, Not Just A Link.  I will delete any comment spam or links w/o an original testimonial from a professional using the IDX solution they're linking too.

The ActiveRain Hit-Router

Feature Your Listings, Get More Traffic and Get Paid to Participate. 

On Tuesday October 28th, ActiveRain we launched a new service called ‘Hit Router’.  As the name implies, it's ActiveRain's initial move into the Property Listing aspect of online real estate search, albeit with a twist.  Instead of trying to disproportionately aggregate listings directly into the network, we are instead going to route visitor traffic to our member's existing IDX sites in a Pay and Get Paid Click Campaign. 

*Warning*  I write long posts and this one is no exception :-)  My style is to address as much and be as thorough as possible.  To break up the reading, as a team we are going to release information regarding Hit Router in multiple stages and formats, beginning with this post.  Brad Andersohn posted 'how to' tutorials as well as screen shots of the new service and Bob Stewart has a 'white board video' explanation of the new release.  

Before I get into the nuances of Hit Router, allow me to first offer some basic explanations as to how most consumers find ActiveRain, and what they typically do upon arrival…

Prologue

Google and the other search engines love fresh relevant content, granting a high degree of authority to sites that produce such and ranking them accordingly on given search results pages.

Google also grants authority to websites that have other like websites linking to them.  The more linkbacks a website receives, the higher the authority of that website through Google's goggles. 

These last two paragraphs very generally encapsulate what is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or ‘Google Juice’.  The better a website's SEO for a given term, phrase, topic, question etc. the higher Google will rank that site when someone (a consumer) types in a relevant search query, thus increasing the likelihood a given site (or page within a site) will appear on the Holy Grail of search results: The First Page.

ActiveRain’s community members produce a TON of fresh relevant real estate related content.  AR also has an incredible amount of other relative sites linking back to a multitude of pages within the community.  As a result, Google can’t help but consider ActiveRain and the content its community members generate as an authority for a myriad of search topics when it comes to real estate.  Proof of this resides in the fact that 80% of ActiveRain's 2M+ unique visitors a month come from Google and other search engines.

Google is very smart, however, it’s not perfect and cannot read someones mind.    Google knows when people are searching for a specific type of real estate information that ActiveRain is a highly authoritative resource for that information.  What Google doesn’t know is that the next logical step in a consumer’s journey, after they find information on ActiveRain, is a Search for property Listings.

Although many AR members have been extremely successful with generating business from AR, we believe the success found to date is just the tip of the iceberg, so the question we posed to ourselves was:

‘How does AR further leverage its valuable Google Juice to turn prospective traffic into MORE business for our members?’

The answer became this little but powerful property search tool called 'Hit-Router'.

What is Listing-Router and How Exactly Does It Work?

For a visitor, it’s a new header that will permanently reside at the top of every page within the ActiveRain network.  It will feature a search box preceded with phrase “Find Homes for Sale in: _________”.  Once a user completes the search box and hits enter, “Hit Router” will send the user directly to an ActiveRain members existing IDX (or other property listing) site.

 

Hit Router Property Search Bar

 

The idea here is that the prospective homebuyer now has a clear option to continue along in their home buying journey.

For an AR member, Hit Router is effectively a Pay Per Click account campaign that allows AR members to buy traffic from other member’s sites and pages, with one major additional member benefit that I will share with you right after the example below.

For example:

Jane is a AR member who works in Bellevue WA and likes to write about equestrian property. Bill is a horse breeder near Lawrence, KS and stumbled upon a blog post by Jane after doing a search on Google about equestrian property. Bill found the exact answer he was looking for in Jane’s post and is now more excited than ever to start his search for a new home. Since Jane is not licensed to sell real estate in Kansas, Bill would normally at this point leave ActiveRain in search of real estate listings from a website that served Kansas. 

At the same time, Todd (also and AR member) would love for Bill to come to his site and would gladly pay for his delivery or ‘click through’ for the increased potential of converting him into a client. 

 

 

Using the Hit Router search bar, if Bill, on Jane’s site searches ‘Lawrence’ via Hit Router, he will be routed to Todd’s IDX site and Todd will pay approximately $2.00 for Bill's visit.

 

And Now for the Really Cool Part!

Hit Router will credit Jane’s account a percentage of the $2.00 click to route the visitor to Bill’s site!  Jane may use these credits to purchase traffic of her own from other member’s pages in the same dynamic fashion. 

This is worth repeating: 

Any time a visitor uses an AR members Hit Router search interface to locate listings outside that agents area of service, that member receives credit to buy clicks from other member’s visitors.

How many credits do you earn?
How much you earn depends on a number of factors including how much someone pays to have traffic delivered to their IDX site.  The easiest way to track how much you'll earn is to sign up and opt to run Hit Router on your blog pages, then check your Account Billing page.

In the Account Admin and Billing section you can purchase credit that can be used to buy traffic from other member’s sites and monitor the 'Click Credits' you receive.

Keeping Visitors in Your Market for Yourself!

No ActiveRain member wants to send visitors to their own blog, searching in their own market away to someone else.  To insure this doesn't happen, there are two ways that a member can capture visitors in your own market and insure they get delivered to you FOR FREE.

1) Pre-select as many cities as you woud like to direct to your own IDX site.

In the My Markets section of the Hit Router admin panel, you may add as many city markets as you wish.  When someone searches for any of these cities while on your blog, your blog posts or your profile, they are routed directly to your IDX site's page for that city.  Again, this insures the traffic interested in your market is routed to your IDX listing pages.

 

2) Opt out of the program completely.

Simply unclick the checkbox you see below.

 

If you choose to opt out of the program, the toolbar will default to a hyper-linked text message of your choice. 

 

 

While opting out is certainly your choice, doing so prohibits you from accruing credits from traffic that would otherwise leave your site and pages anyway, so why not get paid for it?  

 

As always, your feedback is vital and greatly appreciated.

Here are links to tutorials and the 'whiteboard video explanation'

Setting up a click campaign

Saving your own traffic for free

Opting Out of Hit Router

Whiteboard Video Explanation of Hit Router