Crossroads

It seems as if practically everyone in our immediate family is at one of those "crossroads" stages of life, myself included.

For example, my wife Marianne, is scheduled to graduate from Florida State University in August. She's not quite sure what job she'll be doing after then. Chaires Elementary's afterschool, where she is now, or something else..she doesn't know?

And, I'm not singling her out ny any means. From the time I retired from WCVC Radio in July of 2004 until quite recently, I've felt a bit lost as to what I should be doing as well. Of course, as most of you know by now, I've decided to train to be a copywriter. I'm also set to re-launch my direct-response marketing business in June, which will operate pretty much hand-in-hand with the writing. I'm pleased to be partnering up with a company that I did some marketing work with back in 2004 that did quite well.

Other members of the family are facing their own crossroads and choices. I shouldn't even write about this, but two days before Gramma Geraldine passed away, my uncle (her youngest son)
left town. No goodbyes, no forwarding address, no mention of where he was going..just gone. Not a "thank you" for three years of basically free rent from Mom and Dad. Just a yard and house full of mostly junk, piles of rubbish, vehicles, boats..that will cost hundreds of dollars to have hauled away. Nothing says 'love' more than being AWOL from your mama's funeral, does it?

We all have choices to make. We all make poor choices at times. I use the three-day method:
Whever there is a major decision to be made, I take three days to pray about it and really dialogue with God about it. That is, I pray, and then..IMPORTANT..I just try to be quiet and listen for God to speak. If that means going someplace solitary for a bit, that's okay.

I think all too often we forget to be still and listen for God's answer. Sometimes it seems clear..sometimes not.

I think I make better, wiser choices when I use the "three day method" I just described.

Whatever your crossroad in life may be at the moment, I hope that things go well, that you'll make right choices, and that your dreams will come true.

Farms with Acreage..A Vanishing Commodity?

It seems to be getting harder and harder to find any kind of a farm with acreage for sale, almost at any price, anymore.

For some time, I've been researching around, attempting to find any kind of acreage for sale that is larger than 17 acres that's still within driving distance of Tallahassee. That search is starting to drag on..and on..and on.

My family raises horses. There are five, plus the new baby, at the moment. The problem is, there's not enough pasture for them. Consequently, my folks are spending at least $60 a week just buying hay for them. So, they have been looking around for a larger farm.

The trouble is, everything is so expensive, they would almost have to sell our place where we live now FIRST, in order to be able to buy anything else. Plus, then, it's possible to find that there's no place to go.

I realize many people are content to live on what I call the "postage-stamp" lot, which has practically no yard..no maintainance...sigh.

Given our family's lifestyle, that ain't gonna work for us. We like to grow flowers, maybe another garden down the road, picnic table area, swingset, play area for the grandchildren and nephews, why, maybe even another radio station antenna set-up on down the journey of life.

I visited a few homes at this year's Parade of Homes, primarily those with 3 acre plots. They are okay, but the smallest place I've ever lived was seven acres, and I like having some room to explore. I grew up with space, and I still like that concept.

Meanwhile, I'm still researching options, but every one of them seems further and further away from Tallahassee. All the local farms are getting swallowed up by developers and split into the postage stamp lot model that I DON'T LIKE.

I hope some realtors read this. Not everyone is enamored with being squeezed into houses that are jammed up next to each other, out in the county, just so city folks can say "I live in the country."

Your ideas and comments are welcome.

Chaos and Success

One of the things that I kind of enjoy about the copywriting/marketing field is that on any given day, I have several projects to choose from.

If I get "stuck" on something, I can go to something else and work on it for a while, then come back to the thing that stumped me earlier.

Right now I'm working on about a half-dozen web site projects, radio support letters, the kids'
clothing project, a direct-mail campaign is ahead later this summer, plus I still have coursework to complete.

I really liked what copywriter Ryan Healy wrote on one of the student forums, in response to a question regarding staying focused and concentrating on one thing at a time:

"Focus is best, if you can manage it.

Success is messy.

Entrepreneuers leave chaos in their wake."

If my cramped home office space is any indication, I should do GREAT!

Marketing Blunders..in the Church??!!

This is one of those rubber-meets-the-road posts. Figured I'd better warn you now, because not everyone is going to like some of the information I'm about to share.

I'm discovering some..gasp..MARKETING BLUNDERS..IN THE CHURCH.

For example, one of the church websites that I visited this week had information that was way out of date..(Please RSVP by October 4, 2005) and very little information that compelled me to read the entire website. It also did not list the worship service times. Basically, I found it to be quite boring and lifeless. The church is wonderful, but this certainly doesn't come through on the website.

Of course, some websites offer lots of information and are very professional in appearance. But, when a church or ministry has a full website with its own domain name and hosting, it looks rather..well..cheap..to have a site that looks amateurish.

"Welcome to our website" is a rather overused lead-in to some church sites. I'd prefer to see some kind of unique aspect about your church or ministry early on.

I'm also kind of put off by the forms that say, "Please check the areas that you would like to serve" and then list things such as choir, children, youth, food..

The response rate to these is declining. Want to know the real reason why? Today's busy-as-a-bee, frenzied, overworked, underpaid, chauffeaur-my-kids (and etc) families don't need, or want, another unpaid "job" with bosses and more rules to follow.

I overheard someone say, after a rather heated business meeting, "If I wanted more problems to deal with, I could have just stayed at the office later tonight." They left the church..for good.

In my case, I feel like a trapezoid. There's no description for media/web writer or anything to that effect. I don't sing, do the children/youth thing anymore and the food folks are entrenched, so they didn't need me. So I'm much less involved than I used to be. I might jump at the right chance..but no one seems that interested in talking to me about it.

One final thing is in the attitude that some people are treated. One Sunday in particular, we were taking one of the grandsons to his Sunday School class, only to discover all the class locations had been changed. We ended up in the wrong room.

The lady in charge said, "Excuse me, we're having church here."

MAJOR BLUNDER!!!!!

If I had been driving, I would have taken the grandson and left..maybe for good. The tone just totally said to me "You are intruding on MY space so get out of here now."

Is that REALLY the message that you want to send out from your church to anyone, be it a member or a guest? I sincerely hope not.

I believe that there needs to be a better job of connecting with the members. I will say, that generally, if someone asks, "How are you?" my pat answer is "fine," even if:

*I'm on the verge of tears due to family circumstances
*Everything has gone wrong all week
*We don't know if there'll be enough money to keep the electricity on

..and on and on. Smile on the outside, rain on the inside. And things are "fine."

Florida, in particular, is losing church members in droves. Maybe it is time that the church, in general, stepped back and took a look at the "image" that the general public sees. Does it compel folks to come in and seek shelter? Or tell them their chances for any acceptance are better on the streets?

Folks, we CAN do better.

My Birthday Wishes

Yikes! Another birthday is just about to come along..good gracious! I'll be 48.

I've been thinking a lot about the answer to the inevitable "So what do you want for your birthday this year?" question.

I imagine the honest-to-goodness, no-holds-barred answer would be something like "instant success" or something along those lines.

After all, is the very last post, I told you about the physical problems with the house, which is literally going to fall to the ground, I reckon, if I can't get anyone to take me seriously. But..the house has no mortgage and a clear title. How many folks have that anymore?

At this point, every basic major problem in our lives could be solved by having enough money. And, because I have not solved the financial problem factor, my self-esteem has taken a major hit and I basically feel like I am a failure.

But just having money alone isn't really the answer, either. I guess it's my work ethic of doing something to earn it. And, boy, I assure you, I'm working hard to establish myself in the writing/marketing field, in addition to continuing the two internet radio stations. It would be nice to see a little reward for all the effort that's been put in.

Success + self-respect + financial independence = 1 great birthday gift

This Ole House..

I've got problems with my house -- actually a Destiny 1989 double-wide.

It needs a makeover -- or a redo -- or something. It needs help.

I've reached the point where I'm embarrassed to invite guests over for dinner. I'm afraid they might fall through the floor..or get stung by the (bees? wasps? hornets? yellowjackets?) that
have come back to reside with us yet again..

This house is, to me, a physical picture of failure. It is, since I'm now at home practically every day of the week, a constant reminder that I haven't "arrived" yet.

So what does this house need?

-Siding replaced
-Insulation replaced where neighborhood dog ripped it out
-an exterminator
-Electrical wiring fixed (front porch, a living room outlet, and the master bathroom outlet do not work.) I have to shave next to the bed!!??
-2 doorknobs installed - interior (which I have but can't figure out how to put them in)
-Gas company says furnace must be replaced before next winter
-Master bath - needs a total makeover. Floor..fixtures..everything. It's unusable. Leaks..
-Laundry room - needs floor replaced. Washing machine..leaks but can't find the actual leak itself. (I figure a good unbalanced spin cycle will send both the washer and dryer crashing through the floor at any moment)

If anyone reading this knows how, or could help with any of the above, please get in touch with me.

This house is feeling less and less like a castle, somehow...

Newbie Copywriter Keeps Running Hard

One of the things that I know to be true is that to have a successful business, you need to have things "in the pipeline," so that business keeps flowing rather than going through the "feast or famine" syndrome.

So, even though I am pretty booked up at the moment, I have applied for some other, smaller projects. I have a big assignment coming up in my course. 4 "live" projects going on right now
and a couple of small projects that I've bid on, and am still waiting to hear back. I can rearrange projects around to meet all the deadlines I may run into, and I am good about keeping the paying projects on schedule.

For instance, last week, one project had a split-test letter. Today, I completed a split-test
email campaign - same letter to two separate lists.

So, today, even with so much work going on, I took time to inquire about a project involving improving a company's website. If I get it - great - I'll jump on it. If I don't..I have plenty of projects, so it doesn't really matter.

No matter what, I'll be running hard and writing..and studying..and writing some more..every day.

That perserverance, I believe, is the key to winning this game.

Thieves of All Kinds..Grrr..

Last week, I discovered an email from eBay that referred to my "changing of the email address" on my account..which came as quite an unpleasant surprise since I had not attempted to change my account. So, I immediately got in touch with eBay and reported it.

Well, in just the day or so that this third party decided that he/she needed an account with my name on it to conduct their business, they apparently were attempting to sell an Apple Notebook, for which they wanted the eBay buyer(s) to wire funds to Germany, outside of Paypal and the eBay system. They were apparently sending spam emails..in my name, naturally, to do this.
In the process, I got a negative feedback on a product I never had to sell, for emails that I never sent.

To the third party: My filter captured:
1.) Your email address
2.) Your internet service provider
3.) Your location
4.) Your IP address and the computer you were on when you did this
5.) The eBay account you were using to make the switch

All of which has been reported to eBay as FRAUD.

Incidentally, I think eBay was wondering why the ..um..funds were to be wired to Germany, when you can see plain as day on eBay that I ain't in Germany! Never have been and don't plan to go.

Got that somewhat resolved only to discover unauthorized charges on my Sprint bill for a company called ILD Teleservices. Never heard of them, never bought anything from them, yet they need $16.65 from me. Then, today I learned that others were getting unauthorized charges on their Sprint phone bills from another company.

Okay, ya'll..I'm a little mad.

I have the Florida Attorney General's phone number for reporting such stuff, and it will be reported. And that $16.65 will NOT be included with the phone bill payment whether or not I have talked to the AG. I AIN'T PAYIN' IT!!

Maybe the German eBayer could pay ILD from funds they had illegally wired to them. Seems like a perfect match to me.

Musings on a Monday in May

Whew! Another busy weekend of cooking - this time for the Harrison family reunion, which was held Saturday. Lots of good food, lots of relatives and family friends - and absolutely gorgeous weather. I've always kind of liked family reunions, but some are just more fun than others. I like that the Harrison reunion is outdoors rather than in a community center lined with chairs and tables - and little else.

This year for Mother's Day I decided that I'd take Mom out for lunch - on a different day. Mom and I have some fun lunches together, and as a rule they tend not to take place on "official" days. They're just more spontaneous. So, no,
we haven't picked the actual date just yet!

One thing I DIDN'T do at all this weekend was to write. I'm attempting to give myself a day or two off now and then as a reward for working extra hard on those writing days. I have four projects at the moment, and one of those is a letter in a split-test against itself with only one change. It also has an email split-test version. So, this is basically one basic letter with 4 separate splits.
The four-way split is only ONE of the four projects. There are three others in various stages of the marketing process. So I can safely say, the month of May, and a good bit of June, is booked up. I also have my coursework to do.

I see signs of life - and some starter earnings - to my new business and career in copywriting and marketing. I looked at - and subsequently rejected - several website ideas this morning. I have some others still to explore.

Busy as a bee - that's me!

Tallahassee's Oldest Retail Shop to Close..After 101 Years

After 101 years as a continuously operating business, Deeb's Hats in Tallahassee is closing...AFTER Mother's Day.

Deeb's was started in 1905 as the E.B. Deeb Department store by Elias and Emmalene Deeb. When they retired, they turned the store over to their son, William, and daughter, Annelle Deeb Humphreys. The siblings moved the store to its current location on East College Avenue in 1966, at which time it was downsized to a women's hat store.

Humphrey's health forced her retirement and William Deeb has run the store alone for the past few years.

Now, the building has been sold to the next-door tenant, a restaurant, which plans to expand into Deeb's with an expanded dining room and kitchen.

Now, I can't say a women's hat store is my cup of tea. However, I did visit the shop with my mother and sister (and maybe my niece, I don't remember) and found the shop to be..well, quaint. Laid-back atmosphere..no pressure. Mirrors in abundance. My sister, who is now working to enter the fashion design business, had a blast trying on hats and checking things out.

I hate to see it close, mainly because you just don't find businesses like Deeb's here anymore..no matter what the merchandise is.

The closing leaves the Tallahassee Democrat, the local newspaper now owned by Gannett, as the oldest continuously operating business.

The Baby Is Here!

Moruna didn't waste much time.

Less than 24 hours after I wrote the blog entry for Tuesday, she presented us with
a new baby. It's a girl!

Gotta get up to the barn to see her. More later!

We're Having A Baby!!

Ummm..guess I'd better hurry and tell you the real story! This is how rumors get started, you know.

One of Mom and Dad's Paso Fino mares, Moruna, is due to deliver a baby (foal/colt..we don't know which it will be) sometime this week. We are all
keeping extra eyes on Moruna every day.

It's been several years since we've had a new baby horse here at the farm.
I'll post on the blog when he/she arrives.

OK..now that you know the rest of the story, don't worry about running off to Target to look at the gift registry!

Re-evaluating and Re-setting Goals

I spent several hours today cleaning the writing desk area that now resides in the bedroom. It's the one that keeps piling up so fast I'm hardly ever able to actually sit there to do my writing. I don't like to spend a lot of time "cleaning"
but..

One of my recent goals is to GET MORE ORGANIZED.

I'm discovering just how critical organization is in my copywriting and marketing business. Today was..organization day. I have projects this week, so I don't want to spend time searching for things I need during the writing process.

My swipe file has been expanded. My projects all are neatly placed in their own personal file folder. I've spent part of today pulling information from one of my web sites that I'll need tomorrow in a letter.

Tomorrow is a definite writing day. And, I'll be all set and ready to write.

During the clean-up process, I discovered my "business goals" sheet I made last fall, before I ever heard of copywriting. It was way out of date and needed to be totally revised. So, I've also re-evaluated and re-written the goals sheet. I believe
it is more realistic, and more doable..at the same time, it's ambitious. It will take work..lots of work..for me to get to where I want to go.

I reached some goals since last year. I missed some that I really tried to achieve.

Here is my basic plan: Take action steps every day that will get you where you want to go. That means, I'm generally doing something seven days a week that is
moving me in the right direction, although I do, for the most part, consider Sunday to be the Lord's Day and basically a non-working day.

Determination..persistence..keep on keeping on. That's my plan!

14,000 Listeners and Growing!

I just checked our listener stats, and combined, Delta Star Radio's two stations have now
launched just over 14,000 streams since their inception.

WJJD Country is a strong performer with 504 listener "presets" and 13,639 total streams. It reached 726 listeners on April.

Our new kid on the block, MUSIC OF NEW LIFE, launched in mid-February. It has had 410 streams since inception, with 36 listener "presets". It reached 110 listeners in April.

To ALL of our listeners, friends and supporters: Getting these stations to where they are has taken countless hours of work: programming, scheduling, creating the on-air product..all is
time-consuming. Your letters, comments, requests and suggestions are appreciated. We do get requests, and generally, if we have the song, we'll add it, if we haven't already.

Thank you!

Staying Positive When the World Seems All Negative

I quit subscribing to the daily newspaper a couple of years ago.

At the time, we were having to make some cuts to the household budget. My wife and I both read the paper, and she sometimes needed articles out of it for her college coursework, but I needed to make some cuts, and away it went.

Although we could afford it now, I've chosen not to renew it for a couple of reasons:

1.) I don't want to spend much time reading it, as I don't see that time as productive;

2.) It has an online version, IF there's a news story I want to read;

3.) Basically, reading the newspaper is basically a "downer."

I want to do everything possible to stay positive and upbeat, even when the world around me seems to be full of turmoil. I have plenty of reading to do - books and articles relating to my writing/marketing business. I have plenty of writing to do with my coursework, and the fact that I have a couple of projects I'm in the middle of this month.

In addition to the newspaper, I've also cut back on a couple of radio forum websites. They used to have helpful information, but turned more into "Why is W(fill in the call sign) such a horrible station now?" More of those, and less of the interesting posts like the histories and stories behind stations, are just plain boring. The forum formats and layouts have also recently been changed, and I find them just plain cumbersome to navigate.

Despite the not-very-good things I experienced during April, I still am optimistic about many things. I'm optimistic about my business. My wife is graduating from Florida State University after five years of study and struggle.

My wife and I have struggled financially for our entire marriage - just over five years now. I do believe that recent choices we've made both individually and collectively will bring that to an end. Yes, the choices mean change - for the better!

Here's to a positive day!

Some of the Worst Marketing..

..ever done has probably been done by me at some point.

When I was still a teenager, I decided to try marketing myself as a "mobile DJ."
These are the folks who spin the tunes for weddings, graduations, and the like.
Luckily, there are no copies of that letter around anymore as far as I know. I don't remember what the letter said in its contents.

What I remember is that it looked..well..atrocious. Hand-typed on an ancient typewriter that punched holes all the way through the paper on the "o's" and had an "e" key that didn't work at all. So, every word with the letter e in it had to have the e's written in by hand. I mailed this lovely piece in some hideous orange envelopes scraped up from somewhere.

I don't believe that effort ever resulted in a response of any sort! I certainly understand why it didn't, now. Of course, that didn't deter me from becoming a radio DJ and on to local radio station management areas.

That said, there is still a lot of testing to be done in today's marketing. It really is a constant test. I've worked on direct mail pieces that have pulled everywhere from zero to a 10% response rate. I've done zero response pieces; this past January, a targeted letter for the MUSIC OF NEW LIFE Radio station got a 10%
response rate and resulted in total funding for the station's launch this past February.

So, keep testing.

You win some. You lose some. You just want to win more than you lose!

MUSIC OF NEW LIFE Radio

I spent some time yesterday catching up on emails left over from last week. One was directed to the radio station known as "MUSIC OF NEW LIFE." The writer had shared the link with some fellow church members and asked if anything was going to change with the station.

The listen link to the station is listed to the right here on the blog.

MUSIC OF NEW LIFE is a totally noncommercial station. Except for the Live365 ad that plays when you first sign in to listen, there are NO commercials.
There are NO share-a-thons. There are NO pleas that go something like "..If you want to keep this station on the air, send your money to God now, but send it to my address.." I know you've heard all this stuff before.

I am not planning to make any changes. Other than adding more music to the playlist from time to time, there will be no changes to the station or its noncommercial sound. I don't "sell" any airtime on either station, although WJJD does carry some of Live365's inventory. Listening to either station is absolutely free to all listeners. We pay the music licensing fees to make sure the stations are accessible to everyone.

Here is ONE way you can help keep the station on the air that's not difficult.
One of our sponsors is called The Mall of the World. They donate 50% of every purchase you make back to the radio stations. They have great prices, closeout deals and half-price specials. My own family orders from them.

They offer books, DVDs, electronics, home and office supplies and much more.

They support quality radio. So, I'd like to encourage you to support them. Then, relax and enjoy MUSIC OF NEW LIFE commercial free. I'd like to keep it that way.

Thanks for your support.

http://www.themalloftheworld.com/deltastarradio

LPAM Revisited

It was back to work this morning after having been out of the "office" a good deal last week.

I really like the LPAM proposal that Don Schellhardt has been working on so hard over the past few..days..weeks..and put into a final version for the FCC, which I believe he has filed by now. In addition, a group called Radio Ready To Grow (RRTG) has a separate petition to increase Part 15 station operation on the AM band from 100 milliwatts to 1 watt. It's important to note that these are separate petitions.

In the long run, Part 15 AM power increases from 100 mw to 1 watt probably isn't worth the time and effort it may take to get it passed by the FCC. One of the hurdles will be to differentiate between the Part 15 broadcasters and the car dealers(and other commercial enterprises) who want to create a "talking billboard" and really, not much else.

Overall, I like Don's petition far better. It would streamline the LPAM stations into a more standard, 10 watt, power level with an antenna height just under 50 feet (49.2 feet, or something in this neighborhood.) This is patterned after Travelers Information Stations (TIS).
Florida State University has a TIS on 530 kHz. I've picked it up 6 to 7 miles out from the University on numerous occasions.

I'd probably relaunch my little AM if the 10 watt, TIS-like LPAM's were allowed. But, it's harder to justify spending a couple thousand to build a 100mw, or even a 1-watt AM station
in my area. Heck, there are at least 4 full-power AM stations around here that have no audience. How would I do any better at such low levels?

I have the same question at 10 watts, but with a little bit better chance at actually being able to gather some listeners, I'd probably bite the bullet and go for it. By offering a community bulletin board, ag reports, tides and fishing reports, along with a music format targeted to the audience, I'd build it in a small town not too far from here. The key, I believe, is in researching the market, finding out what they need, and build the format around that answer.

I'll be interested in following any FCC action with these petitions.