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- Head of Real Estate Investing at BiggerPockets
- Amsterdam, NL
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Want to know the best way to build your real estate network?
No matter how you’re involved in real estate investing, I’d venture a guess that one of your main goals on BiggerPockets is networking. I know this is true because one of the most common questions we get at BiggerPockets is, “How can I make more connections on BiggerPockets?”
Well lucky for you, there is a simple answer: Post frequently on the forums.
There are dozens of ways to connect with people on BP, but I ran the numbers and the results are clear. People who post on the forums most frequently have the most profile views, and the most colleagues.
That makes sense, right? It doesn’t take a numbers whiz to see the connection: if you post, and build a reputation as a helpful and knowledgeable member of the community, people are going to want to connect with you.
And connections mean more deals seen, partners identified, and clients secured. A.K.A more money.
Still not convinced? Here’s some statistical nerdery to backup my claims:
I grabbed data for the 1,000 most-visited profiles on BiggerPockets. I then looked at correlations between profile views and forum posts, post votes, and number of colleagues. But before we get into that, a quick refresher on correlation in case you haven’t kept up on your stats knowledge since high school.
Here is the dictionary definition of correlation: a relation existing between phenomena or things or between mathematical or statistical variables which tend to vary, be associated, or occur together in a way not expected on the basis of chance alone.
In english? We’re measuring how changes in one variable affect changes in a second variable. So in our case: how does posting on the forums influence the number of profile views, or number of colleagues a member has?
And the reason stats nerds like me love correlation is that it is unit-agnostic. It tests the strength of a relationship between two variables, no matter if you’re measuring inches, pounds, housing prices, or forum votes. It’s a handy little tool.
I won’t bore you with the math to derive correlations, but I will explain a bit on how to interpret them. First, correlations are always a number between -1 and 1.
As you can see in the graphic above, a correlation of 0 means there is no linear relationship between the two variables (a change in variable A has no effect on variable B). A correlation of -1 means there is a very strong correlation, but the relationship is negative (one variables goes up, the other goes down). Lastly, a correlation of 1 means a strong positive relationship (both variables move together in the same direction).
So, back to how to make more connections on BiggerPockets. I ran a correlation matrix for the four variables: posts_count, profile_hits, votes_received, and colleague_count. Here are the results.
For our purposes we really just want to look at the numbers in BOLD right now.
| profile_hits | posts_count | votes_received | colleague_count | |
| profile_hits | 1.00 | |||
| posts_count | 0.67 | 1.00 | ||
| votes_received | 0.71 | 0.87 | 1.00 | |
| colleague_count | 0.70 | 0.54 | 0.49 | 1.00 |
Now that you’re an expert in correlations, we can see how strong these relationships are.
As you can see the correlation between posts and profile hits is .67, a really strong positive relationship! This means that the more posts you have the more times people will look at your profile.
The correlation between votes and profile hits is even stronger, at .71. Meaning that if you write such great forum posts that people vote for you, you’re even more likely to get profile hits.
But what good is a profile view without a connection? Well, the correlation between profile hits and colleague count is .70, also really strong. More profile hits means more colleagues.
So in short: more posts = more profile views = more colleagues.
I also did some regression analysis, which I can’t explain in a single forum post, but trust me, it’s really cool. What I discovered is that 50% of your colleague count can be attributed to the number of forum posts you have. That’s crazy! There are tons of variables that contribute to how many colleagues you have, but one variable reigns supreme: forum posts.
Posting on the forums is the single best way to build your network on BiggerPockets.
So you want to make more real estate connections, find partners, and make more deals? POST!
Stay tuned for a follow up post on the monetary value of BP connections!
If you have any questions about posting, correlations, statistical nerdery, or have some ideas for other data studies we should run, let me know!
Since I like numbers and data I can see, this post was very helpful to me. Thanks so much, It is a pleasure to be involved with a group of people who are on the same page. " Lets grow our Zeros! " - this is the page I am on, and besides that page, another book is " Live by the Golden Rule, set by Jesus ". :)
Thanks for the tips. I'm currently trying to build my connections up so this should help out greatly.
Hey @Dave Meyer
Awesome stuff man, thanks for putting in all the work required to gather and share all this info.
You did a very good job of explaining the more in depth figures, rather than just dumbing down the data itself.
My only point of contention, and please keep in mind I am being incredibly nit-picky here, is with your simplified definition of correlation- it is a measure of the association between, NOT affect on, two variables. I know how difficult dumbing down more sophisticated metrics can be, so I'm sure you are well aware of this and just used the wrong wording.
I just think it's important to note that correlation measures the strength of the relationship between variables, but does not neccasarily measure anything pertaining to cause/affect.
With that said, shoot me a PM if you ever want to nerd with me sometime. Always great to find others as weirdly interested as I am in the numbers behind things.
Thanks again for the awesome post!
Growth Manager??? HMMMM I think I need one of those Dave Meyer! I have been a watching and reading and listening to everything on BP-the one thing I haven't been doing is getting involved on the forums, or really getting to know anyone. (sad face)
That could be why my RE investing has been progressing so slowly.
I think I have always thought I didn't have much to offer. (at least compared to other more experienced folks around here) But who knows? I may be able to help someone in some small way-even if its just to encourage.
So, here is my challenge to myself-get in the game! Participate! Get out there!
I'll be seeing you guys!
Great post Dave Meyer This has been a challenge for me as well. I've been on BP learning for the past three months. I read and like, but rarely replied since I didn't have much to add. Challenging myself to share what I can and ask questions that drive the conversations moving forward.
@Dave Meyer great data! I thought I was alone when it comes to data and correlation. You are speaking my language. @Karen Margrave You are exactly right as well. The quality of post are important as well. I am really liking BiggerPockets forum and can't wait to see what it can lead to. This is only my second day here and I have been reading all morning. Another thing I can add to Dave Meyer's relationship building is that relationships are built when someone initiates contact. So to simplify this matter even further....Want to build a bigger network? Initiate a conversation with some thought and people will respond.
-William
All I want know too, missing or not attending though yes or no even we know more attended of the "REI" of be around the place your or go out county in area !
@Dave Meyer Thanks for this tip.
I should research more about real estate investing so I can answer forums and post content to build a network.
Just new here in this site but I think BP has lots of useful content that I can use as reference for my posts, right?
Initially reaching out can be tough, but you have to ASK questions. I lurked for months before ever Posting...Take Action!!!
It's not what you know but who you know ! Thanks for the stats. Makes all the sense in the world. I am finally taking the time to participate on Bigger Pockets. Just went Pro last night and have gotten immediate results. We live in a sharing economy and this is a microcosm of just that !
good to know. Thanks
I can not believe how much you did. Thanks!
So the problem for those of us who are new & don't know what we are talking about is exactly that - we don't know what we're talking about. How do you build a network when you don't have much to contribute?
Great post!@ Roland Eldridge..nice to see an investor in AL... I'm new to BP but not too new to real estate. Perhaps we can compare our experiences in our market? Thanks.
Great Post! I have learned this lesson as I got deeper and deeper into Real Estate... So much so that when my son started his first job this year I told him not to take any relationship that he makes from now going forward for granted.. "Your network = your net-worth!"
Thanks for the post and information!
hi Billie Forrester can you pm me regarding loans? for some reason i couldnt send message privately nor a friend request..
I have a general question to the seasoned pros, that is when investing in real estate with little Capitol, is it smarter to start cheaper and use those properties for leverage in bigger deals?
I am not know a lot at the moment but I will network, stay active, and grow.
@Dave Meyer Great Post! I've been on BP for about 6 months now and I have not participated in any of the forums. I will definitely start posting more frequently on the BP Forums as I'm looking to successfully build my network and develop relationships with other BP investors. Thanks Dave!
BP is a great resource for networking, information, and the calculators are EXTREMELY valuable. When posting, I think it's important to add valuable information or words of encouragement for those of us that are new and quite frankly - scared!
Good work
Awesome information. Thank you!
@Dave Meyer that was great advice well said. I have noticed in the past when I post on the forum I end up getting a colleague request. Well said and thanks for the post.