Getting the Most Out of BiggerPockets.com: A Tutorial

Ge#ng
the
Most
Out
of

BiggerPockets
A
Quick
Guide
to
Help
You

Maximize
Your
ConnecDons
and
Knowledge

By:
Joshua
Dorkin
&
Arthur
Garcia
www.biggerpockets.com

Copyright
©
2012
BiggerPockets,
Inc.
All
Rights
Reserved.

Getting the Most out of BiggerPockets.com

Hello
and
welcome
to
BiggerPockets!

The
goal
of
our
website
is
to
help
YOU
achieve
your
real
estate
goals.

Over

the
past
seven
years,
we’ve
culDvated
an
opDmal
online
environment
for

learning,
networking,
making
deals,
and
markeDng.

My
hope
is
that
you

will
take
advantage
of
the
robust
resources
available
on
this
site
by
jumping

in
and
become
an
ACTIVE
member.

To
make
sure
you
get
the
most
out
of
your
Dme
spent
on
BiggerPockets,

we’ve
created
this
quick
guide
to
help
get
you
up
and
running.

Thanks

again
for
joining
the
community.

Joshua
Dorkin
Founder
of
BiggerPockets.com

Copyright
©
2012
BiggerPockets,
Inc.
All
Rights
Reserved.


CreaDng
a
Profile:
The
Basics
Once
you
sign
up
for
an
account,
you
will
then
be
sent
to
the
dashboard.

From
this
screen,
you
can
edit
your
profile.

Tabs:
Click
on
the
tabs
to
fill
out
each
secDon
of
the
profile.
EdiGng
your
profile:

You
can
edit
and

update
your
profile

at
any
Dme
by

clicking
on
the

profile
tab
in
the

leZ
margin.

STANDARD
SIGNATURE

Forum
Signature:

This
informaDon
will

appear
at
the
bo[om
of
your
forum
posts.

As
you
navigate
the
forums,
you'll
noDce
that
some

people
have
a
fancier
signature
than
others,
including
a

PRO
SIGNATURE

company
logo.

All
members
can
create
a
basic
forum
signature,
but
to

get
the
signature
with
your
company's
logo,
you'll
need

to
upgrade
to
a
Pro
account.

To
find
out
more
details

click
HERE

-‐-‐
3
-‐-‐


CreaDng
a
Memorable
Profile

Tip
#1:

Change
the
default
avatar
photo
Note

BiggerPockets
profiles
have
been
from

designed
to
give
you
the
opportunity
to
Josh:

share
informaGon
about
yourself
and

There’s
nothing
that

your
business
with
the
rest
of
the
says
“I
don’t
care”
or

community. “I’m
not
willing
to

put
in
the
effort”

than
someone
who

A
few
advantages
for
filling
out
a
complete

sDcks
with
the

and
accurate
profile
are: default
generic

avatar.
Search
engine
opDmized
*
Uploading
a
clear
headshot
will

Take
a
minute
and

(profiles
can
be
found
on
all
major
differenDate
you
as
well
as
make
you
change
this
upload

search
engines,
unless
set
as
private) instantly
recognizable
to
other
users
to
something
that

Connect
with
like-‐minded
people browsing
the
site. represents
who
you

are.
Highlights
your
experience,
goals,
needs,
wants,
and
acDvity
on
BiggerPockets People
like
to

connect
with
other

people.

Uploading

To
help
you
get
the
maximum
exposure
and
a
photo
of
yourself

reach,
we’ve
compiled
a
list
of
the
best
Dps
makes
you
and
your

profile
more

on
how
to
complete
an
EFFECTIVE
approachable.
BiggerPockets
profile
-‐
one
that
people

will
look
at
and
prompt
interacDon.

-‐-‐
4
-‐-‐


CreaDng
a
Memorable
Profile
Tip
#
2:

Be
Truthful Tip
#
4:

Be
Detailed

Include
the
following
key
elements
in
your
profile:
background,

It’s
okay
to
omit
personal
informaDon
you
experience,
goals,
a[ributes
and
desired
connecDons.

Be
sure
to
include

don’t
feel
comfortable
with
sharing,
but
by
keywords
that
indicate
your
various
interests
/
areas
of
experDse
(e.g.

lying,
you
start
all
of
your
new
buy
and
hold,
flipping,
wholesaling,
etc.).
relaDonships
off
on
the
wrong
foot.

You
will
have
ZERO
credibility
if

people
find
out
that
you’re
just

another
person
pretending
to
be

something
that
you
are
not.

Tip
#
3:

Be
Professional
Remember,
first
impressions
go
a
long

way.

If
your
profile
is
muddled
with

grammaDcal
errors,
slang,
profanity

or
other
offenses
(such
as
using
ALL
CAPS),

people
are
going
to
take
that
into

consideraDon
when
deciding
whether

or
not
to
connect
with
you.

What
are
you
waiGng
for?
Get
back
on
BiggerPockets
and
make
sure
your
profile
makes
the
grade!

-‐-‐
5
-‐-‐


The
BiggerPockets
Dashboard:
Your
Network
The
BiggerPockets
Dashboard
will
change
the
way
you
connect
and
communicate
via
our
network.
The

dashboard
is
a
place
where
you
can
privately
connect
directly
with
your
colleagues
and
followers.

Whether

you
want
to
post
updates,
share
links,
or
market
to
your
network,
the
dashboard
is
perfect
for
that
personal

interacDon.
“It
is
your
own
closed
social
network
right
on
BiggerPockets!”

@MenGon
your
Colleagues

Share
a
post

with
your

Add
links
or
Images network.
Note
From
Josh:
A
great
way
to
loop
your

colleagues
in
a
thread,
blog

post
or
a
forum
discussion
is
to
uDlize
the

@men%on
tool.

To
use
the
@men%on
tool,
simply
type
“@”

into
a
forum
post,
blog
comment
or
a
status

message
and
then
enter
the
ﬁrst
le[ers
of

Respond
to
statuses,

the
user’s
ﬁrst
or
last
name
and
select
from

the
drop-‐down
menu.

arGcles
and
images
by

leaving
a
comment.

QUICK
TIP:
You
can

access
the
Dashboard
from
any

part
of
BP
simply
by
clicking
on

the
BiggerPockets
logo
in
the

top
leZ
corner.

-‐-‐
6
-‐-‐


Networking:
Colleagues
&
Followers
Colleagues:
Colleagues
are
your
direct
personal
connecDons
on
BiggerPockets.

You
can
communicate

with
them
on
your
dashboard
as
well
as
send
one
another
private
messages.

In
addiDon,
if
you
set
your
profile
to

private,
your
colleagues
will
be
able
to
see
the
details
you
post
there,
whereas
followers
and
others
will
not.

There
are
three
ways
to
add
colleagues
to
your
network:
1. 2. Click
on
the

Send
3.
You
can
add
Colleague

colleagues
by
Request
or

clicking
on
the
the
Follow

Connect
link
link
from
the
BP
• Do
a
”people
search”
for

below
their
forum
Member’s
someone
photo. profile
page. • In
the
search
results
click

the
Follow
link
next
to
the

person
you
want
to
add

When
sending
a
Colleague
Request,
be

NOTE

sure
to
send
a
note
with
your
request.

To

FROM

increase
the
odds
that
your
request
will
be

JOSH: accepted,
explain
why
you’re
hoping
to

connect
with
them.

Followers:

When
you
follow
another
user,
it
gives
you
the
ability
to
view
their
acDons
in
your
Dashboard's
Ac%vity
Feed.
This
will
enable

you
to
see
whenever
they
post
a
blog
entry,
write
an
arDcle,
post
a
property,
update
their
status,
add
a
follower/
colleague,
make
a
comment,
etc.

The
main
difference
between
followers
and
colleagues
is
that
colleagues
have
the
exclusive
ability
to
send
private
messages
to
one
another.

AddiGonally,
if
a
person
has
their
profile
set
to
private,
followers
won’t
be
able
to
see
their
informaGon,
whereas
colleagues
would.

QUICK
TIP:
Think
of
colleagues
as
a
mutual,
2-‐way
relaDonship,
whereas
followers
are
merely
a
1-‐way
relaDonship.

-‐-‐
7
-‐-‐


The
Dashboard:
Exploring
the
Grey
Nav
Menu
The
dashboard
centralizes
all
the
most
important

funcGons
you’ll
need
to
uGlize
BiggerPockets.

For
ease
of
use,
we
are
going
to
focus
on
the
three

most
uGlized
secGons
of
the
panel.

PROFILE:
Clicking
on
this

will
allow
users
to
access

addiGonal
opGons
regarding

their
proﬁle.

NETWORKING:
This

allows
users
FORUM:

Using
the
forum
panel
is
a

great
way
to
stay
on
top
of
latest
posts

to
manage
their
current
connecGons

as
well
as
follow
the
topics
you
are

on
BP.
most
interested
in.

Perhaps
the
most
useful
opGon
from

this
menu
is
the
“men%ons”
link.

This

page
shows
members
where
on
BP

someone
has
menGoned
them

(e.g.

forums
post,
blog
comment,
status

thread,
etc.).

-‐-‐
8
-‐-‐


Exploring
the
Blue
NavigaDon
Menu
To
get
you
up-‐and-‐running
as
quickly
as
possible,

we
are
going
to
focus
on
the
most
uGlized
features

of
the
blue
toolbar.

You
can
access
the
Forums
and

Member
Blogs
just
by
clicking

on
the
Discuss
link.

From
the
Learn
menu,
you
can

access
the
BiggerPockets
Blog

and
News
&
Headlines.

Manage
your
BP

account
from
the
The
No%ﬁca%ons
tab
advises

Account
tab. you
when
someone
has

requested
to
follow
you
or
to
be

your
Colleague,
as
well
as
when

you
have
menDons.
Access
your
inbox
and
write

new
private
messages
from
the

Inbox
tab.

-‐-‐
9
-‐-‐


Managing
Your
BiggerPockets
Account
ConnecGons:

Clicking
this
opDon
will
allow

users
to
sync
their
BP
account
to
Facebook.

Doing
this

Edit
Profile:

will
enable
members
to
do
the
following:
Access
your
profile

*
Login
instantly

se#ngs
via
the
Edit

*
Verify
your
idenDty
to
the
BP
community

*
Share
your
BP
acDvity
with
your
Facebook
Profile
tab.

friends

Upgrade
to
PRO:
Click

on
this
tab
to
review
the

various
membership
opDons

and
to
upgrade
your

membership.

-‐-‐
10
-‐-‐


Managing
Your
BiggerPockets
Account

Seengs
and
Privacy:

Allows
users
to
manage
their

noDficaDons
and
set
parameters
on
what
other

BiggerPockets
members
can
view
of
their
profile.

Control
email
no%fica%ons Set
privacy
parameters
Upgrade
to
a
PRO

Membership

You
can
also
update
your

password
via
your
seengs
menu.

-‐-‐
11
-‐-‐


Ge#ng
to
Know
the
Forums:
The
Basics
With
hundreds
of
thousands
of
discussion
posts
and
over
60,000
topics,
the
BiggerPockets
Forums
are
the

most
uDlized
resource
on
the
site.

Here
are
a
few
Dps
to
help
you
maximize
your
experience.

Accessing
the
Forums:

You
can
access
the
forums
Viewing
OpGons:

Once
you
are
on
the
forum
homepage,
you
will
have
several
opDons

from
any
part
of
the
website
by
hovering
your
cursor
for
navigaDng
through
the
content.

If
you
want
to
see
ALL
FORUM
CATEGORIES
just
click

over
the
Discuss
opDon
on
the
blue
toolbar
or
from
the
View
All
link
near
our
forum
category
navigator
the
forum
acDvity
tab
on
the
dashboard.

Recent
Discussion
Tab:

Allows
users
to
view
the

latest
forum
posts
on
BP.

My
Watched
Topics
Tab:

Allows
users

Unanswered
Tab:

Allows
to
follow
a
topic
or
forum
thread.

users

to
view
which
forum

My
Discussion
Tab:

Allows
posts
have
not
yet
been
To
“watch”
a
new
topic,
click
the
Monitor

users
to
view
the
forum
posts
commented
on.

Topic
box
located
at
the
top
of
each
thread.

they
have
previously

commented
on.

-‐-‐
12
-‐-‐


Ge#ng
to
Know
the
Forums:
FAQ
How
do
I
start
a
new
forum
topic?
2.,
Go
to
the
main
forum
page
and
click
the
Create
3.
Select
a
topic
from
the
drop
down
menu.
Fill
in
all

1.
Search
the
forums
to
make
sure
your
a
Topic
bu[on
and
you'll
be
taken
to
the
new
post
required
ﬁelds.
Then
you’ll
be
able
to
preview
your

quesDon
hasn't
been
asked
before.
form
page. post.
Select
the
Post
Topic
bu[on
to
make
your
post

go
live.

How
do
I
reply
to
a
forum
post? How
do
I
edit
my
forum
post?
If
you're
logged
into
the
site,
just
go
to
a
AZer
adding
a
post
to
the
forums,
you'll
have
10
minutes
to
edit
your
posts.
You'll
see

forum
discussion
that
you
want
to
reply
to
an
Edit
Post
link
for
that
10-‐minute
period.

Clicking
that
link
will
let
you
edit
your

and
click
the
Quick
Reply
or
Advanced
post.

AZer
the
10-‐minute
period
lapses,
you
will
only
be
allowed
to
Update
your
post.

Reply
bu[on.

edit
update

To
ﬁnd
out
more
FAQs,
visit
the
BiggerPockets
Knowledgebase
by
clicking
HERE

-‐-‐
13
-‐-‐


Private
Messaging
on
BiggerPockets
Note
From
Josh:
What
is
a
PM? When
you
send
a
Colleague

Request,
make
sure
to
include
A
PM
is
a
private
message.

Using
this
feature
will
allow
members
to
addiDonal
informaDon
about
yourself.

This

send
messages
to
colleagues
and
followers.

PMing
your
colleagues
is
a
will
increase
the
chances
of
someone

great
way
to
stay
in
touch
with
your
network
on
BP. accepDng
your
request
and
will
also
provide

them
with
some
addiDonal
context
on
you.
NOTE:
Users
can
PM
either
a
single
individual,
or
mulDple
contacts.

How
do
I
send
a
PM? Composing
a
PM
There
are
three
ways
to
send
PMs.

Once
you
click
on
the
Send
PM
link,
you’ll
be
redirected
to
the

You
can
send
one
directly
from
the
Compose
Message
page.

From
here,
type
in
the
first
few
le[ers
of

Forums
,
the
user’s
Profile
page
and

your
desired
contact’s
name
and
click
one(s)
that
apply.
from
the
Inbox
tab.

Send
a
PM

from
a

Forum
post.

Send
a
PM

from
a
user’s

profile
page.

Send
a
PM

from
the
Inbox

tab.

-‐-‐
14
-‐-‐


CreaDng
Your
Own
Personal
Blog
One
of
the
greatest
aspects
of
becoming
a
member
of
BP
is
that
you
have
the
ability
to
contribute
to
our
wealth
of

content
by
sharing
your
experiences
and
knowledge
with
the
rest
of
the
community.
We’ve
created
an
easy
way
for
you
to
contribute
to
the
community
with
our
member
blog
network!

You
can
create
a
blog,

manage
your
posts
and

reply
to
comments
–
all

from
the
Blog
drop-‐
down
menu.

A
few
beneﬁts
of
Blogging
on
the
BiggerPockets
Blog
Network
1.
Increased
Credibility:
Anyone
can
blog
on
BiggerPockets,
but
only
the
best
content
is
highlighted.
By
providing
top
content
to
your

peers
and
our
readers,
you
increase
the
odds
that
others
will
get
to
know
and
trust
you
and
your
business.
The
best
of
the
best
is
actually

highlighted
in
our
weekly
newsle[er
as
well!
2.
Its
FREE:

Other
prominent
real
estate
blogging
plavorms
charge
you
to
make
your
content
viewable
and
visible
to
non-‐members.

Our
user

blogs
are
public
facing,
and
it
costs
you
nothing
to
begin!
3.
Large
Built
in
Audience
Means
TRAFFIC:

BiggerPockets
has
close
to
100,000
members
and
hundreds
of
thousands
of
unique

visitors
each
month.

That
means
that
you
don’t
have
to
work
hard
to
build
up
an
audience
/
readership.

-‐-‐
15
-‐-‐


Benefits
of
Becoming
a
PRO
Member
We
created
the
BiggerPockets
PRO
account
to
give
members
the
ability
to
improve
markeDng
opportuniDes
on
the
site.

Here
are
a

few
of
the
key
features
that
come
with
a
PRO
membership:

An
Enhanced
forum
Signature,
Including
Your
Company's
Logo

While
regular
members
have
the
ability
to
include
a
line
of
informaDon
in
their
signature,
PRO
members
get
an

addiDonal
line
where
they
can
add
addiDonal
informaDon
(email,
phone
and
website
link
are
standard);
AND
the
best

feature
of
all
is
Pro
members
can
post
their
company
logo
at
the
bo[om
of
all
forum
posts.

Easily
Find
New
Leads
Using
Your

BiggerPockets
Stats

In
the
Dashboard
of
our
PRO
members,
there
is
a

secDon
under
the
Profile
tab
devoted
to
Stats.

This
opDon
allows
our
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Using
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Using
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Accessing
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Finding
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From
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The
BiggerPockets
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The
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Estate
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The
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Read
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Traﬃc:
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