My name is not Herb!

Past Midnight Thoughts

2008-04-30T23:16:00.000-07:00

It's past midnight here, and I should be sleeping. The truth is I'm way too excited to sleep. I know I'll pay for it in the morning, but such is a life in transition. I'm counting down the days till I'm done with my day job.

It's kind of bittersweet though, saying goodbye to clients in that capacity-not fully knowing if they'll follow me into my own marketing practice, but I'm sure hoping they will. In order to do that, though, there's work I need to be doing now. There's much preparation involved in this whole entrepreneurial thing. I want to be ready to go full steam ahead when I hit full time business status on June 2nd. So many strategies to implement and get into place between now and then.

I'm starting with seminars because they are a great icebreaker...and there's plenty of marketing, networking and publicity mileage that you can get out of a seminar. Some people are terrified of public speaking, but I find it exhilarating. It's a powerful feeling to share knowledge you know will make a difference if it's applied. While I can never guarantee that it will be applied, I do love the rush of hearing that a marketing or publicity idea that I suggested brought results.

As for the seminars...

I'm starting with a very familiar topic and an easy on the pocket book priced seminar for moms in the area thinking about working from home. It's a dessert seminar and I just know it's going to be great fun (as well as educational...but really...what's the point of wasting an evening on anything if it's not at least a little bit fun? Right?)

Then I'm moving up into online techniques for local business. I believe strongly that the next wave of internet changes is going to involve building networks within existing communities...online and offline. I'm looking forward to serving Northern Alberta in getting online with effective techniques.

From there, I'm doing my first offline joint venture with Arrow Business Training of La Crete Alberta. I've dubbed it the Northern Alberta Super Sales Seminar and I'm really looking forward to it.

All of the above, plus the full time job and three children to care for are why I haven't kept up with this blog over the past little while. (Okay, long while! Don't tell me there was anyone out there waiting for me to post--my stats tell a different story!)

In any case, I was up and excited...so might as well blog some thoughts - even if it is past midnight.

Oh! That reminds me - since it's past midnight...

It's time to celebrate the launch of The Passion Project Blog - it's a great group project that I'll be contributing to in the months ahead.

Well, I just yawned...so maybe I can try to get some sleep tonight.

Saving Money Doing Business Virtually

2008-04-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

I was just sending my new rates off to a company that I ghostwrite for. I'm not sure it's proper to post their location at this point in time, but I'll check on that and get a link to you, if it is considered appropriate.

In any case, I have one rate for online clients and another for offline clients.

The reason is simply that I can charge less if I don't have to put on make-up, do my hair (and deal with all the appropriate appliances and hair goop to accomplish a somewhat professional look), get dressed and then get into my increasingly expensive car to make an in-person presentation.

Which brings me to my point of how you, as a small business owner, can save money by hiring virtually. Of course, buying local is important for most (if not all) of our physical products, but there are times when buying virtual makes sense.

Of course, some specialists, even those that work from home, will always command higher prices. Such cases are rare, for the most part the cost of services is much lower through a home based business than a comparable business with a storefront.

It's less expensive to provide services from home than they are from a traditional office setting. With less overhead, the savings can be passed on to the client.

Countdown to Freedom - 49 Days

2008-04-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

It's still morning as I write this, so there are 49 days until I reach the end of my out of the home experience. For those who don't know, I put in my resignation at the radio station earlier this week. I've become tired of being an employee and it's time to spread my wings as an entrepreneur again. At the end of my final day, I will have been working out of the home for 1 year and 10 months.

I'm already starting to seed for potential clients and contracts. Six weeks is not much time to get the groundwork in place, but I'm confident I can do it.

I got quite the boost last night when I found two potential clients in my neighbours back yard. How cool is that?

I must try to remember to take my business cards with me even when I go to casual bonfires in people's backyards. Last night, I just wandered over in jeans and a t-shirt and didn't have a card on me.

I didn't feel like running home and grabbing them. I think that would have revealed a level of desperation that I don't want to portray. I mean, really, it's one thing to spot a potential opportunity in an unusual or unplanned situation, but deliberately going home to get my cards would have left a nastier impression than not having my cards on me did.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for today. I have much writing and preparing to do...

There's only 49 days left after all!

Brainstorms and Business Ideas

2008-04-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'm sick today. That seems to be happening way too much recently, but what can I do? Of course, it's not the same illness that plagued me in the past few weeks but some new bug that's decided to visit. Stupid immune system just isn't working right!

On the plus side it gave me the opportunity to call in to the Moms Morning Show. It's on Blog Talk Radio and I simply can't resist the urge to call in whenever I tune in. I'm sure one of these days Kelly McCausey is going to say "You know what, just don't call in because you are boring". She hasn't yet, of course. It's just my own insecurities shining through.

The topic today (and all week long)
Evaluating Business Ideas: Good, Bad or Just Plain Ugly?

You can tune in to the show and listen in yourself.

So Kelly threw out this idea of creating three months worth of idea starters for blogs, articles and so on as a business model. Now keep in mind this is a pulled out of the air idea, not something that she (or anyone we know of) is planning on moving forward with.

Initially, I thought the idea was a bit of a stinker. So many questions ran through my mind. How would the seller be able to promise 80 unique topics to a wide range of clients in multiple niches? Who is going to be willing to pay for just topic ideas? Won't there be an issue with complaints if those ideas are poorly implemented? How would one establish their expertise enough to really sell the idea?

As the show progressed and I heard other opinions I began to change my mind. This could be a valuable resource if put out by the right person. How much time do I waste trying to decide what to write myself? How many days do I not write because nothing has inspired me enough to write?

(The answers are a lot of time is wasted and I don't post often enough, despite the fact that I keep trying to re-focus and put in a regular effort to post often)

So maybe the idea has much more merit than I originally thought. Maybe this is even a service that I could use. Maybe someone should run with it...

It may not be the point Kelly was trying to make, but as I began to digest the information shared after the call I realized that initial impressions of an idea or concept have to be questioned. Whether you think an idea is brilliant or a bomb, it's only by digging deeper that you can really evaluate it.

Questions have to be asked (and answered) about marketing, customer service, delivery, scheduling, skills & expertise before you can be sure that a business idea will fly or flounder. An idea on it's own is just that...an idea. It's how you choose to take the idea and germinate it that really defines whether it's good or bad or ugly. In one person's hands the idea will be bloom and in someone else's it could whither and die.

On another note, I had stated early in the show that I haven't found any shows on Blog Talk Radio that I listen to other than Moms Morning Show. I'll have to blame early morning fog for not mentioning Puddle People Hour, The Passion Project, and Dr. Sally Witt. Those are all Blog Talk Radio shows that I have listened to and enjoyed. In fact, I was on The Passion Project and will be appearing on Dr. Sally Witt's show - though the date has not been confirmed yet.

Heartbreak and Holding Grudges

2008-04-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's been a while since I posted. I was sick.

I did get the next episode of Relationship Talk Radio up last night. It was the continuation of the last episode where we talked with Jo Jo Tabares of Art of Eloquence. I thought it was interesting to hear Roy and Jo Jo's takes on how society's influence is affecting trends in marriage. I posted about one of those trends on the blog over there.

Anyway, I was sad today to learn that Internet Based Moms will be discontinuing the Audio Interviews after this next batch is completed this month. Not just because I liked the money (though of course I'll have to replace the income so I can continue to work towards my thousand dollar goal that will bring me home) --but also because I really thought it was a great idea to have these interviews with successful entrepreneurs sharing their insights and advice. Alas, it never quite caught on and therein lies the heartache.

As for holding grudges, well it seems I tell myself I should be over my co-worker and her birthday insult by now (when she chose a cake that said Older than Dirt for me when every other female member of the staff has received a boy toy on a bearskin rug on their cake for their birthdays) but every so often something comes up that reminds me of it and brings back the anger. Today was one of those days.

I'm 35 and for the most part I'm comfortable with that. I have a beautiful family and a beautiful home - things I consider benefits of being my age, rewards for getting through the lean years. Most days, that's enough for me and I can accept it. But having my nose rubbed in the fact that I'm no longer quite youthful makes me cranky and snarly. I'm sure she'll understand when she's older and not quite so perky, but in the meantime it just ticks me off that she feels in any way entitled...

It makes me want to make sure I go in to the office with massive amounts of food on her "can't have" list and eat them all. (She's on a diet...) Not my fault I've got three kids and can maintain at 125 lbs without dieting. But that would be mean. And considering I felt bad the other day when I was at my desk and hungry and discovered a leftover Easter Reese...it would probably hurt my own conscience more than it hurts her feelings.

I just have to get over it and let it go.

I'm sure one day I will...

But not today...

Sharing my passions...

2008-03-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

For the second time this week, I was in the interview "hotseat" this morning. I was on Blog Talk Radio as a guest on The Passion Project with Katherine Reshke

We talked about passions and marketing and of course podcasting. I really enjoyed myself and couldn't believe when Katherine announced that there were only three minutes left! How did that happen? Seriously!

I know they say time flies when you are having fun, but it was borderline ridiculous.

In any case, I encourage you to check out the show and tell me what you thought and, of course, ask any questions you might have about marketing, podcasting, or radio advertising.

Dollars and Sense - The Podcasting Echo Effect

2008-03-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Came across a post this morning that described the cumulative effect of podcasting in clear financial terms that I had not seen expressed quite this way before.

I'm not a spelunker so I don't relate very well to the cave system, so I'm still looking for a good analogy to use, but I really appreciated seeing the costs and benefits outlined with dollar (or at least pound) values.

I've been trying to find an effective way of presenting the on-going benefits of podcast advertising (and podcast promotions through guest appearances) in a clear and concise way. Most forms of advertising have an end date. If you run a radio campaign, it has a clear start and finish (unless you've combined your radio campaign with listbuilding and other sticky features). The same is true of print campaigns, pay per click advertising and many other marketing investments.

Once you stop paying, the benefits stop.

This is not true of podcast advertising & promotion. The benefits continue until the show/recording is de-archived. Which can be anywhere from six months to several years depending on the podcast you choose to promote with.

You can be sure I'll be talking about this benefit (along with many hours) at my free online seminar on Thursday night.

Review : Offline Marketing Strategies for Online Business

2008-03-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

I picked up a free copy of Offline Marketing Strategies for Online Business over at Copywriting Tips for your Business by Carol Bentley. One of those fill in a survey and get an ebook type deals.

The book covers the where of advertising offline quite well and may be a good choice for those considering using offline advertising to boost their online efforts. However, this particular book does not touch on maximizing the effectiveness of each medium and you will still need a good primer on any medium that you try before investing in it. There are many variables that make a good magazine layout different from a good newspaper layout that is different from the copy you need to attract an audience through radio.

The radio section was quite light and I'm not certain the news sponsorships which she liked best. are a good fit for many online businesses. Of course, I'm biased and highly averse to a one size fits all approach to any marketing medium - so to suggest a news sponsorship without understanding the goals or budget of an advertiser seems a bit presumptuous.

Overall, it was a quick read that might get you thinking of ways to invest in local and/or offline campaigns to boost your online business. It provides a wide range of options to start thinking about and can help guide you to areas of further study and possible investment.

The moving ordeal

2008-03-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

My husband left for his new job today. It was hard saying goodbye knowing I wouldn't be seeing him for nearly two weeks. I am looking forward to spending more time with the boys. We played bowling on our Wii tonight. It was fun and I even bowled a few strikes, which seldom happens in real life. While I enjoy some of the games the boys have for the Wii, I think I'd like to get something like Big Brain Academy mostly because I've always been more geeky than sports-oriented.

In addition to play time, his being away also increases available work time. I'm hoping to use it to introduce new projects and services to my clients - both online and offline. I have some market research to get out of the way first, but I think several recent ideas have some legs to them. Only time and research will tell of course, but I'm quite confident that one or two will fly.

I'm going to keep this short tonight. I'm tired and feeling a bit melancholy at the moment. I think I'm going to attack a marketing plan to keep my mind busy and keep from missing hubby too much tonight.

Good news, bad news...

2008-03-06T08:35:00.000-08:00

I was reading an article at Forbes.com earlier this morning about the coming internet radio ad boom. I was particularly struck by the paragraph below.

"Most broadcast mediums, and even many newspapers, are not within reach of the small advertiser due to high upfront costs for ads and the fact that advertisers are paying for a broad brush, thereby creating geographic waste. Internet radio changes the dynamic, allowing advertisers to create and deliver messages to the specific audience they want to reach, and only that audience."

This is the heart of my message here at Easy Results with Radio. I want to teach small business owners how to use traditional radio and online radio to increase the marketing impact of their message.

Of course, after my call-in to the Moms Morning Show I'm thinking my approach my be a little backwards and due for some fine-tuning and rethinking. I've already announced the free seminar for business owners to learn more about podcast advertising, but Kelly feels I might be targeting the wrong audience with the effort. Which may be true, as only time will tell!

It saddens me to think that small business owners are averse to investing in products that will increase the return on investment of their advertising. I know that I learn an incredible amount through reading and attending seminars that would take me years to learn through experience and experimentation. I don't understand the preference to waste money and time over buying something that will shorten the learning curve so that you can put your money to work wisely from the start.

Ahh the idiosyncrasies of the entrepreneurial mind!

I'm not certain I will ever figure it out...but I must admit I'm having fun trying to figure it all out so that I can find my place in the entrepreneurial universe.

Getting Ready to Say Good-bye -

2008-03-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

Since finding out my husband got a new teaching position, everything in the household has been in a state of upheaval. He's leaving day after tomorrow and add to top everything off, my voice has been scratchy for the past couple of days. Needless to say, it has been difficult to balance spending time with hubby, getting my side work completed and taking care of essential work tasks all while trying to make sure I'm getting enough rest to recover quickly.

This is where my poor housekeeping skills really catch up with me. There's tons of laundry to do and the kitchen is a mess. My husband leaves in two days and I'm behind in my goals for the month, and it's only the sixth day. I have a to-do list a mile long for things that have to be done before next Thursday's seminar on Podcast Advertising. I am so excited to be able to present this knowledge publicly for the first time, but could I have picked a worse time?

Of course, I set the date before we even knew this job existed, let alone that he would take it and have less than a week to move. We've moved in less time, but it's never been a particularly pleasant experience.

I'm not complaining.

At least, I'm trying not to.

He's really excited about going, about getting back into teaching. I'm not sure, but I think this last couple of years helped him to appreciate the good parts of teaching. I'm really happy for him that this opportunity came along.

But...

I am going to miss him. I wish I was already portable, so that I could eliminate the need to be apart. I know it won't be a horrible experience without him, but it won't be as sweet without him here. As much as he drives me nuts at times, I wish he didn't have to go. I understand why, and why I have to support him in this, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Podcast Advertising - The first seminar

2008-03-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

If you've come looking to register for the seminar, I had to move the form from this post because I could not for the life of me get it fitting in the blog without looking very odd! You can register by clicking here instead.

After spending the night alternating between fitful sleep and coughing fits, I wasn't in much of a condition to work today. I could barely talk this morning and in my job, there's a lot of talking involved. So after attending the morning meeting and making a few quick phone calls to attend to client issues, I headed home.

First I attended the Motivation and Mindset conference room. We talked about changing my persona to "The Podcast Princess". I kind of like it, but don't want to give the wrong impression. It's not like I think I'm royalty or anything like that -- but I am irreverent and quirky with a strange sense of humor.

In any case, after that I attended a telephone brainstorming session with the group from the Skype room, Passion Project Introduction Room and then I took a break from networking to work on a couple of projects that needed attending. I talked with Julie Wolfe and hammered out a rough outline for my appearance on April 14th. When I was done that I started thinking about how to promote my new free online seminar -

I plan to call it "Podcast Advertising: Tap the Power to Propel Your Business" and I'll be presenting it on March 13th, 2008 at 9PM EST.

I know it's short notice but I'll be presenting it more than once and I'd rather get started than wait until everything is in place. Maybe I should re-dub myself "The Impatient Podcast Princess" - at least that would be accurate!

I'll be covering:

How and why podcasts are quickly becoming the most effective way to reach your customers
How to eliminate your podcast learning curve by reaching your customers through existing podcasts,
How to find your target market through podcast advertising

Anyway, I want to do this right so I'm trying to decide whether I need a new domain to promote this. I know at the very minimum I'm going to need a good sales letter and a way to register. It's a free podcast, so there's no point in getting the affiliate program set up for this. Especially considering I don't know how to do that for a free product...I suppose that's something I will have to learn.

In any case, while I try to figure out how to write a decent sales letter, I'm going to host the registration here. So if you think you might like to attend, feel free to sign up now!

Okay, that's all for now. I'll let you know when the official sales page is done.

Sunday Musings

2008-03-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

I just posted over at Internet Based Moms about social marketing, after my recent interview of Jason Alba and reading Melody Thacker's post on "The Unwritten Rules of Social Marketing". It was as I was writing that post, that I remembered that one of my goals this week is to post to my blog on a regular basis.

There's been a recent surge in posts about blogging over the past week over at MomMasterminds. Alice and Lynette are planning a blogging bootcamp. It's a bit out of my price range at the moment since all my income (other than business expenses) is spoken for. I'm working to increase the income, but the results haven't started to flow in yet.

In any case, the recent interest in blogging has inspired me to take another stab at making a solid effort at keeping up with blogging on a regular basis.

You wouldn't think this would be a difficult thing. I certainly type enough emails and twitters and chat messages! It really shouldn't be stretch to write a short blog post at least every couple of days.

Somehow it is though.

It's not hard to come up with ideas. I get flashes of inspiration on topics I could write about all the time. And therein lies my particular problem. There are so many flashes of inspiration that I have a hard time narrowing down what I'm going to talk about in a post.

I do at least want to keep this coherent and topical -if not particularly profound. I'd like to aim for entertaining or educational, but can't make promises on that end. It's somewhat of a stretch for me to be entertaining (or so my children tell me) and the risk of being educational is that it may end up bo-oring.

I despise the thought of being boring. Quirky - that's fine. Weird - whatever, it doesn't bother me to be a little off the beaten track. Boring, though - ugh! Spare me from being boring - or bored, for that matter.

I don't do well bored.

Who does?

By now, I've lost all train of thought and forgotten what I had originally intended to write. That's a risk of writing at nearly 10pm on a Sunday night that was spent catching up on overdue work that I had intended to have completed yesterday had it not been that the main floor was a disaster area and I couldn't concentrate until it had been scrubbed clean.

In any case, the goal was to make sure I typed up a blog post tonight. It may not be exciting, but not everything in life is. At least I can go to bed knowing that I got the job done and didn't leave anything on my to-do list unfinished today.

Which is a very odd accomplishment for me, as I have been too often sidetracked by procrastination. But that's a post for another time. I'll talk about my procrastination, later!

Till Next Time...

Clarity of Vision

2008-03-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

I overbooked myself this last week. It was quite the challenge and quite the learning experience as well. Last night, as I wrapped up my weekly review and analyzed my plans for the coming week a clear image emerged of where I'd like to focus my energies.

It was obvious that my efforts are much too scattered to produce measurable and tangible results. In other words, I've been lacking focus and haven't been taking advantage of opportunities to multi-task. Which is an odd turn of events considering I wrote and spoke about these valuable time management skills just a couple of years ago. Though not completely surprising considering I am a bit organizationally challenged at times and often neglect to take my own advice.

It's a good thing I'm a member of MomMasterminds or I believe I'd flounder around stuck in that rut for a great deal longer than I have. The mentoring, support and resources there have all worked to provide inspiration and guidance as I muddle along trying to refine my plans and develop S.M.A.R.T goals.

I'm constantly rediscovering and re-tooling my vision and focus for my varied interests. I'm learning that's not altogether a bad thing, though it does slow down my progress at times.

So what does this mean in the greater scheme of things?

Essentially that I'll be able to start streamlining the services available through Easy Results with Radio, meaning that you'll be able to find a wider range of audio marketing resources at more regular intervals than I've been offering thus far. It means that things will be much more coherent and easier to apply over the coming months.

I'm excited and can't wait to get started with the new plan in hand. Considering it's a plan that integrates traditional radio and podcast advertising with a view to meeting the needs of small business, I'm sure it's going to be valuable to many. So, to steal a line from Disney..."Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Off to work I go"

Podcasts Audience Growing

2008-02-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

With six days left before my co-host and I launch Relationship Talk Radio, I was excited to see a news item at Web Pro News about the size and growth of podcast audiences. In 2007, 18.5 million people in the US tuned into podcasts. They're predicting a podcast audience of 65 million within the next five years!

That's an amazing rate of growth...but it does make sense.

I just wanted to share that bit of news. Now, I must get back to all the little details of pulling this podcast launch off and delivering a high energy informative show to those who are waiting for this show!

Oh, and if you happen to be interested in sponsoring or advertising on the show --do get in touch! We have some great rates going on for the debut episodes.

An Unexpected Honor and the Podcast Translation...

2008-02-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

I was honoured to have my ebook (which really amounts to a short report) Radio Rocks! No Matter What the Format chosen as a Friday Freebie on Alice Seba's Internet Marketing Sweetie blog.

The thing is that I wrote it before I got really involved with podcast advertising which is the internet equivalent of radio. Of course, those who know me know I represent many podcasts on Moms Talk Radio as the Advertising Manager and that I write and produce podcast commercials as part of my services - for those who don't - here's a quick run down on some of the comparisons between radio advertising and podcast advertising.

Most of the advantages remain consistent.

The return on investment is comparable. However, you'll find that for a tightly niched product over a wide geographic area that podcasts will net a better return per listener than traditional radio. Since podcasts are aired once a day at most, you may find it takes a bit longer for a campaign to provide the return since it takes time to build up repetitiveness that traditional radio can offer.

When it comes to complementing and enhancing other marketing methods, podcasts measure up ahead of radio in some respects for internet marketers. Now I can't speak for all podcasts, but those on Moms Talk Radio all include a complimentary button link for their advertising partners, which means you get at least two chances to attract your target market with every spot you buy on a podcast. Of course, many radio stations including the one I work for offer online campaigns including on-air ones, which is a great choice for a local business, but that's a topic for another post.

Trust and loyalty are enhanced with podcast advertising. Hosts develop an even closer connection with their listeners than most traditional on-air personalities can boast. With most radio personalities, you will find people in the audience who love a particular host and others listening who don't care for them at all --with podcasts, the listeners are all actively choosing to listen to the host!

As with radio, podcast advertising is word of mouth that you control. The major difference is in the writing and production of podcasts are not often provided within the advertising cost as it is with radio advertising. Fortunately, writing and production for online audio is much less expensive than it is for agency produced commercials in the offline world.

As with radio, you will find professionals willing to customize campaigns that fit your business and goals. Both forms allow for a great degree of flexibility and control in your marketing.

As a huge fan of audio, I hope that you'll consider the airwaves soon...whether digitally or traditionally.

Selling Out

2008-01-30T06:45:00.001-08:00

I was approached the other day to see if I'd be willing to add a paragraph to several old posts within this blog in return for a small amount of compensation for each post. I decided to say yes, because truly - the blog has a very small following at this point and I wanted to see what sort of links would be provided. Not to mention that the money is really a blessing to our family at this time.

So far they seem to be okay...links to definitions and web services for the most part. Just in case though, I have set them apart in the older posts with a double dashed lines.

So, if you're flipping through the archives and discover an old post that has a paragraph that doesn't quite seem like I wrote it underneath a separation like this =================
chances are I didn't write it and it's links are ones that I may not have personally vetted.

When Radio Advertising Works...

2008-01-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

When radio advertising works, it's a win for everyone involved.

I came across a post from Karen at Big Pond that gave a brief glimpse of her experiences with a dedicated radio advertising professional that met her needs and expectations. I don't know what radio station he works for, but he exemplified what radio sales is supposed to be about.

It's what I strive for whether I'm selling radio locally at XM105 or online with Moms Talk Radio - finding the right niche for my clients, putting together the right message and producing results.

I keep saying that it's not rocket science -and it's not.

Karen's post shows that putting together a radio campaign is largely something you can put on auto-pilot. You can put the writing, production and delivery in the hands of a professional and come out with a campaign that works for you. All it takes is stepping out of your comfort zone enough to communicate your needs and goals so that the radio advertising representative can put it all together for you.

I just wish it wasn't so hard to convince people that we (radio professionals) are not just after the sale, that we really want to help your business grow. That is my biggest challenge. So often I find small business owners who have absolutely no interest in talking to me. Some do so only to be polite, but I can tell they would rather be almost anywhere else in the world rather than talking with me. It's obvious that they don't want what I'm selling and I'm working hard to understand why.

Who doesn't want more leads, more traffic, more sales?

Why does radio advertising seem so scary to small business owners?

I'd really like to know.

A Day at Home - Or No Rest for the Wicked...

2008-01-23T14:51:00.001-08:00

I've been home today with all three of my boys. Technically, only the two eldest should have been at home, but I was too lazy to fight the youngest and take him to the sitter's and then to kindergarten - especially if it was just so that I could return home to be here for his big brothers. So we all stayed home.

I started the day over at Moms Morning Show. I'd never been to Blog Talk Radio before, but it took me all of two minutes to decide I was going to call in and join in the fun. The talk was all about Social Network Sites and how they work (or don't work) for small business.

I managed to catch up and upload three of the four interviews that were due for Internet Based Moms. That's where I host an online interview show on the side. If you subscribe to the newsletter you can access some great interviews (if I do say so myself). I worked on booking another 3 interviews for the coming days. I'm finding it hard to believe that January is almost over and it's time to get to work on February.

I decided to start going through my Google Alerts to see what news was out there and I came across a post over at Jacob's Media about the needed changes in radio. Because I'm interested in all things radio I suffered through the tiny type to see what he was trying to say. I was with him until he said "how much longer is radio going to put up with account reps who don't get it and never will?"

Account Reps can't do it all on our own! In order to sell integrated media campaigns, we need to have marketing materials and methods that help us to effectively communicate the changing face of media to advertisers. It's hard sloggin' day after day in a world where many local clients still think newspapers are the cat's pajama's .

Check Before You Send

2008-01-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

Sending out mass emails without using the BCC feature is a quick way to lose friends online. I learned the hard way myself when a friend emailed me something that I replied to and everyone she had sent the email to received my reply. Or something like that, it was a few years ago and I don't quite remember the details, except that I had two people I know fighting with each other via email. It was an ugly situation. I was relatively new online and really had no clue.

That situation taught me to always use BCC when I was sending out the same email to more than one person. Or to use a list service. Or anything but sending an email straight out by only using the to line or plain CC.

Susan Estrich never learned that lesson, and I bet a lot of people are ticked off about now.

Seriously, you'd think a lawyer would know better.

I discovered the faux pas through an email list that I'm on linking to the Gawker post that exposes all the addresses that Estrich sent her job news to.

In the digital world, news travels fast - especially if that news contains the addresses of several prominent people. The original email was sent Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday the addresses were public knowledge, not only to the people who were recipients of the original email, but now to thousands of people through the blog and the thousands more who are sharing the story through email lists and forums.

Can you imagine how many of these people are going to be ticked off?

Remember to double check your To line when you send out your next mass email.

A fitting Sunday...

2008-01-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

This has been an extraordinary kind of day. I just arranged a kick-butt bartering deal with one of my dearest online friends, Alyssa Avant of Beauty by Design Ministries. Essentially it boils down to her awesome podcast dedicated to helping moms and daughters communicate with each other, was in danger of having to go on hiatus. Unless a sponsor was found quick!

As fate (if you believe in such things, I prefer to think of it as God's providence) would have it, I have a show launching soon about relationships myself. I'll be making an official announcement on Relationship Talk Radio's Launch very shortly - meanwhile I've stepped up to sponsor The Mom Daughter Connection Radio Show and the show will go on!

It's an awesome situation because now I can keep her on the roster in my role as Advertising Manager for Moms Talk Radio. I just love it when a plan comes together so smoothly.

See isn't that nice? I followed up the monster post with one that is short and sweet.

Okay, that is enough excitement for me for one day! Off to find a good book and a hot bath.

The neverending saga

2008-01-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

I was reading over at MomMasterminds about the significant goals that some women on the board have met. One is celebrating 10 years of working at home, and another is celebrating five years of it. And I thought, I could've almost been celebrating 11 years of mostly working at home in this coming July.

That was the inspiration for this blog post. It's quite long as it chronicles my journey from the time I started my first home business to my position and vision today. It's quite the twisting tale, beginning when I was a young city mama with my first baby to now when my third baby is halfway through kindergarten. I'm sticking to the business side of the story as much as possible to aid in brevity, but it doesn't help much. It's a long one!

On July 2nd, 1997, I opened my first home childcare. I had everything arranged before my EI ran out, and opened my doors when it did. I had studied up on it and read everything I could get my hands on in the six months between my eldest son's birth and opening day...and I kept reading and researching and studying after the doors opened. I a very tentative first step in public relations during that time when I had an editor the letter published that featured my childcare name.

It was also at that point int time that I tried to add a direct sales business. I failed at it. Good company. Great products. It was just the first clue that direct sales was not my forte. At least not that kind of direct sales. That's why I always advise my direct sales clients to check with Sarah Robinson of Profit, Purpose and Beyond. I interviewed her recently for a project I'll soon be able to talk about publicly and was impressed by her straight-forward approach and commitment to excellence.

But back to the story from long ago, the home childcare closed down the day after my second son was born (Yes, the day after -great story for another time!) My husband had gotten a job up North, so we were moving on. I didn't do much in the first 6 months in the Northwest Territories, but once we moved on to Tuktoyaktuk I was ready to be more active.

I tried to open a dayhome, but the competition was family members and a preschool that had full day care available for all three and four year old's for a $25 a month snack fee. So I tried the direct sales thing again and, once again, flopped. I got on the sub list at the preschool as well as the regular school and did pull in a few days of work while I was there. I didn't think of doing anything online because it cost ten cents a minute to be online up there!

Our next stop was a reserve in Northern Alberta. I got a job there by the Wednesday after we arrived. We got there Sunday night and I was at work on Thursday morning. It was a daycare position, right next door to the apartment we lived in. It was during that six months that I started dabbling with the idea of freelance writing.

The idea became reality at our next stop, another reserve in Northern Alberta. Only at this one, there were no jobs for me. At least not initially, eventually I did sub and take on a bookkeeping position for an oil hauling company owned by the wife of one of the teachers on staff at the school.

That's where we lived when I had my first article in a major magazine published. Actually, it was a sister publication of a major magazine. Today's Parent Pregnancy and Birth published my birth story about my second son. It was a piece called Laughing Through Labor.

From there I launched The Childcare Sentinal with a partner. Yes, I know it's spelled wrong and there is a story in that too.) It was a website and newsletter for childcare providers. We eventually added a downloadable lesson and menu plan each month. It was always fresh content and we worked hard to put out something that was easily adaptable for a variety of age groups. I'm afraid I blew that opportunity. It would have paid off eventually, I know - but by the time my third son was a month old, I'd had enough.

You see by then we'd moved twice since I'd first been published. I'd given up on the freelance world when I realized that the career demanded patience. Publishing is interminably slow in the big leagues. It was that first national piece that taught me that lesson when it took 18 months from acceptance to publication. The only upside was that payment was on acceptance, but not all magazines are that way. Some don't pay writers until publication.

For a while, all I had was The Sentinal, but I think that lasted all of a week. I contemplated going into direct sales for a while, but instead I began to work at the grocery store. It wasn't much, but our eldest was in Kindergarten and so we only had to worry about childcare for 1 1/2 - instead of 2 - which makes a big difference on a tight budget. It was around that time that I began helping my husband with the school newsletter which took a huge weight off his shoulders

I worked at the grocery store until I took a position at the school as teacher's aide. It was then that I began to coach cheerleading. Not that I'd ever been a cheerleader, but I figured that a few books and a couple of videos would give me enough to teach other complete novices. I quit being a teacher's aide at Christmas break. Our childcare solution wasn't working out and I was not making as much after taxes and childcare as I thought.

The following fall we moved again, just to the next town over - my husband continued with the same school, but began commuting back and forth. That was the beginning of a new era. I still didn't have my driver's license, so even though we had two vehicles I was stuck in town. Before our youngest was born I started to read up on marketing and web design and on press releases. I wasn't quite ready to do anything with the research though.

One day, shortly after the youngest was born, I simply burned out on the Sentinal project. There were too many long hours for very little return. I wasn't losing money - but I wasn't making any either. Between caring for a newborn, not to mention the two others and the fact I couldn't keep up with the housework and I'd had to start taking in children again because the newsletter and website was not meeting my expectations. I had taken on too much and something had to give.

I continued providing childcare though I never reached capacity. The town was a small one and not many mothers worked who couldn't find a relative to care for their children. I continued to research in my pet areas of marketing and promotions. When my one long-time customer gave notice. I looked for other options and found that the school wanted to re-start the preschool program. I took up the challenge and got it going.

Meanwhile, my mind had wandered to taking University classes. I'd never been and it was becoming obvious to me that I wasn't going to find a decent job without going. I thought I'd like to be a teacher like my husband. I was in the school often enough at this point! It was around this time I started messing around with marketing a little more seriously. On a local level I started marketing services like brochure design and writing and websites.

I'm a bit embarrassed now because the websites were not professional quality. At least not up to a standard I would accept today. Still I applied what I knew at the time and what was acceptable at the time. It was at around then that I started Incredible Impressions. After all, if I was going to sell the website concept locally, I had better have one.

In November, I simultaneously launched my university semester and Incredible Impressions. I figured on working the business on the side to replace the income I lost by quitting the preschool job. I was being paid for 8-10 hours a week (I forget exactly), but I was putting in close to 40 when counting prep work and cleaning. Though I knew I couldn't put in that sort of time while taking a full course load of five courses. I thought I could handle five courses with a side business. Go figure!

I did well enough in Psychology and English, and would ha ve passed in Math had I gotten the assignment book in...but I completely bombed in Environmental Studies. I'd feel bad about it, if not for the fact that Incredible Impressions was taking off. And I'd continued with volunteer work at the school and managed to help the grade 9's win top prize in a media contest with a video that they co-wrote, co-filmed and co-edited.

It was shortly after that win that things sort of got murky. We had decided that we wanted out of the town we were in, which meant looking for a new teaching position for my husband. We thought it would be a simple transfer within the school division, but it turned into a nightmare of a job search that ended two days before the start of the next school year.

We ended up in another small town. This one was a bit closer to the city, but it wasn't much bigger than a Hamlet. Our experience there is a dark one in our married and professional lives and it was a breath of fresh air to leave it and the bad memories behind us. The one bright point of living there was that I finally got my driver's license.

And with it came the opportunity that changed everything --my job with XM105. We'd already decided to leave town at the end of the school year and we carefully deliberated what our next move would be. We decided to look at what we could do in Whitecourt.

Prospects looked very good, so we made the commitment to move and I started looking for a job. Well, not just any job. I had heard an ad on the radio for a sales rep and it sounded right up my alley. The commercial described me to a T. So I applied. I got the run around because while I wanted to give up marketing Incredible Impressions, I wanted to stay open for the clients I had already signed.

While they were deliberating over whether to hire me or not, our real estate agent called to let me know that another radio station was opening up in town and they were interviewing people for positions. The upshot of the long story I could tell is that I was hired and I began preparations to close down Incredible Impressions.

And thus ended my story online, or so I thought!

I started to venture back online once I felt solid ground beneath me on the radio sales side of things. I couldn't resist. I was finding out so many fascinating things about radio advertising and about different marketing techniques and copywriting, I couldn't wait to share them with the world. At first I searched for already existing sites, and when I found one started building my own.

As I began the building process, I reconnected with Kelly McCausey of Moms Talk Radio and ventured into poddcast advertising sales. I connected with another great person around this time and developed a working relationship on another project that will be revealed to the public soon. Things were starting to percolate and the Easy Results with Radio began to emerge with a much wider platform than I had originally anticipated.

When I found the internet landscape virtually barren of radio advice for small and home based business, I alternated between figuring it meant that nobody was interested and it's a dead market - or that I'd finally found a need I could uniquely fill.

The more I develop Easy Results with Radio, the more I believe it really has the potential to fill a growing need. The explosion of podcast (internet audio and video) opportunities is only one factor. A considerable one, as I've learned through my association with Moms Talk Radio and other podcasters online. The radio industry's move to online media is also a factor. By providing survey and list-building services and adding trackability to the proven effectiveness and high return on investment inherent to radio advertising, radio can find a place in the new media culture.

If nothing else it is going to prove to be an interesting experience to follow the transition.

If you've made it this far - bless you! I'm not sure I would've if it wasn't my own story! I'd hazard to guess that there aren't many radio account executives who can say they've been to broadcast school (that was before this particular segment of the never ending saga began) run their own home business, written for a national publication, run an online business, helped clients get into the paper and on television and marketed online. But that is how I got here from there...

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Relationship talk radio

2008-01-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

A new year is bringing new opportunities, and I'm jumping on for the ride!

A site will be launching soon at RelationshipTalkRadio.com, and Valentine's Week a brand new show will launch talking about, what else?, relationships!

If you could take five minutes to help out with a very short survey - it will help guide the first few episodes as we get underway.

It's nice and quick and it's free

In the Majesty of Weirdness

2008-01-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! I can't tell you how excited I am to be tagged in this weird thing that is going around. Now I wonder who I can tag? Oh well, I will worry about it later!

What's this all about?

Well, all morning long on twitter people have been passing along this blog tagging game. Christina of Surviving at Home passed it along to me...

First, I have to share the rules of the game:

1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog

Okay, so first point checked because I put the link up for Christina (that's twice now just to be sure). It's gotta be totally obvious that I just don't get asked to play very often and this is most likely why. I talk too much (err...or is that type too much?)

Posted the rules to the blog - Done

Okay, now the hard part (or is it the easy part?)

1. I've lived in Tuktoyaktuk. That's got to be weird. It's a 500 (or so) person hamlet on the edge of the Beaufort Delta Sea on the edge of the McEnzie River. Take a map and look up, wa--ay up!
My favorite family line that was coined there is "It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from there.

2. I've eaten bear. I think that's pretty weird. You hear about people eating deer or elk or moose quite often these days now that they've started farming them. I've had all those and seal too. Oh and whale blubber. The latter two, let's just say, not worth the trip to Tuk!

3. I've been with my husband since high school. Okay, maybe that doesn't fit your version of weird, but if you had told me at 16 that I'd meet my husband before graduation and would have three beautiful boys and live in Tuk instead of Toronto - I would've thought you were very weird. Are you kidding me? I was going to a news anchorwoman on the national news. I wasn't picky - I would've taken CBC or CTV.

4. I can speak Hindi. Not very well, mind you. I haven't practiced in years and I wasn't very good to begin with. Not weird if you live in India, but a little off centre when living in a small town in Northern Canada.

5. I love hockey. Again, maybe not the weirdest thing in the world, but most of the girls I knew used to just pretend to understand hockey so boys would like them. I on the other hand actually cared about what was going on out on the ice and could care less what was going on in the stands. When I was 8 I wanted to be the first female play by play announcer. I don't think anyone else has cracked that one yet!

6. I read an average of 10 books a week. That is if I'm reading for fun and not taking notes. I can only do four or five a week if I want to take notes. Weird? My friends tell me this is very odd as most can't remember the last time they picked up a book (well other than my writer friends...they all read tons too)

7. I've moved 29 times in the past 18 years. Weird? I don't care, it was exhausting! That's why it made the list for me. That and I can't figure out much else weird about me that I can actually share in public. I do use this blog for professional purposes, ya know?

Okay, so seven people I am going to tag her. This is part four...I'll do number five after I post.

So, where is my reader anyway?
MommyMusings
Angela Giles Klocke
Pamela Kock
Abby F.
Shirley Jump
Shannon

I give up at 6...just can't think of a 7th...and I'm bored now...

Pay Per Play Audio Advertising

2008-01-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the latest buzz out there in audio is pay per play audio commercials. The gist of what I've read so far is that a small piece of code is put onto a blog or website and once the program is up and running (bidding is due to start next month in Feb '08) short audio ads will play automatically when a visitor comes to the page. Website owners will be paid every time the audio ad plays for one of their visitors.

Now being that I am all over audio as a great advertising medium, the idea intrigues me.

The problem is I really can't wrap my mind around how it will work.

Oh, I get the technical side to a certain extent. It's Java Code and it does it's thing when a visitor comes to the page and a script plays. I get that.

But the thing is I don't see how five second ads are going to work to move the listeners through the buying process - and if it doesn't motivate buyers, what exactly are potential advertisers paying for and hoping to achieve with this type of campaign?

People speak at a rate of about 3 words per second. That means the ads will be about 15 words on average. That is one colossal challenge! To create a complete compelling audio message that encourages action within 15 words?

It would take an amazing talent to be able to craft messages that short with any degree of effectiveness. There are few enough writers who learn the craft of creating a compelling thirty second commercial which is why listeners suffer through hackneyed, inefficient commercials! But at least with 30 seconds, brilliance and clarity are achievable. I don't know that we can really say that about 5 seconds.

Every writer I know will acknowledge that writing short is hard! Personally, I find it downright excruciating to write with a tight word count. I've done as few as 30 words professionally for a results driven piece. I don't know that I could do 15 with my sanity intact. (Not to say my sanity is exactly intact as it is, some days)

Maybe the ads have another purpose - some branding through repetition scheme? Which would have to make that a pretty complicated little code in order to ensure a listener heard the same ad enough times for it to even have a statistical chance of effectiveness.

The other thing that bothers me is the automatic nature of these ads. I don't know about you, but I hate audio that I'm not expecting on any website. Give me a play button and I'll listen if I'm interested. That is the essence of permission based advertising. I mean, even with the radio, I know if I'm going to listen I'm either going to pay a subscription fee (satellite radio) or I'm going to be hearing commercials. I know and accept that trade as part of the commerce of content. But to be subjected to an ad when I don't even know it's coming, that would irk me. Even if it is only five seconds. It wouldn't put me in a good disposition towards the site or the advertiser.

Anyway, those were my first thoughts when it came to pay per play.

Evidently there are also issues with the company (NetAudioAds) that is launching this platform. There are concerns that the advertisers they say they have lined up have denied being involved. There are concerns that many social media users have Java blockers up when they surf, so the ads won't even reach them, which puts the 100% conversion figure into immediate question.

Bah! While initially intrigued, I'm now thinking this whole thing will not be good for audio advertising at all.

The good thing is, that with all it's inherent flaws - it's not likely to be an issue for long.