Construction Zone!!!

In my previous post I told you about some of the new directions I'm taking in
regards to my writing. As a fellow copywriter wrote, "Just put it out there and clean up the mess afterwards." So...

The writing website is undergoing a pretty major renovation. Its single page will be expanding to five, including a page for samples/portfolio items. I'll also include a list of clients that I've written for in the past.

Other things to look for on the site will include an easier contact form, more personal information about me, maybe a pic or two, and more detail about my niches and specialties.

It will take a week or two to get everything finalized and placed online. However, I just wanted to let you know that there are many behind-the-scenes things going on, even if I seem to have a relatively low profile.

You can watch the progress of the Pro Results site here

Taking the Plunge....

I've already begun the first steps of moving in the direction of catalog copywriting.

No, I don't mean buying a course and sitting it on a shelf.

I purchased Jay White's course and dove right into it. I didn't have writing samples, so I've been doing some practicing and maybe will eventually put them on the website, if it becomes necessary.

Now, Jay's course includes job leads, and that in itself is an extremely helpful resource. But I've also done some additional things, like registering on the Target Marketing Job Board, where you can post your resume and information; getting job alerts from Indeed.com, Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com; plus just doing some searching on my own for things a little "off the beaten path."

And..I've got leads. Lots of leads.

If you look a few posts back, you'll see where I told you about my favorite niches. Basically, when it comes down to it, the only thing I don't like writing about is women's clothing! That
field, I'll leave up to some of the ladies who enjoy that niche, and there are plenty who do.

I've decided to really begin my self-marketing in earnest in August. That's when Aaron goes back to school, Marianne will be back at work, at least part-time, and I'll no longer be dealing with mountains of paperwork from Arbor. Even if I have to do the actual writing in the evenings, I'd like to be available at least for an hour or two each day for communicating with
prospective clients and folks I'm doing work for.

Because this family deserves more than what I can give them at the moment.

This tiger's getting ready to roar...

Marianne's Driving Again..Some

I think my girl's getting better.

Last night, she drove the Corolla to her evening church fellowship. That's the first time she's driven since June 17.

"Cabin fever," she said. "I'm ready to get out of the house."

Today she's gone down to Chaires School for a while to see the kids in summer camp. Later
she called to say she was "on the clock doing a few tasks."

I imagine if I'd been as grounded as she has been for a month, I'd be out doing something
like that too.

Her nausea seems to have subsided somewhat over the past few days. It appears that one of the medications was causing it.

"Looking at all this medicine makes me sick," she said last night.

But, in any case, I really am glad she is making good progress. She was told to allow 8 weeks for recovery; her surgery was four weeks ago today.

Now, if she just doesn't overdo it...

I'll Soon Be Saying "So Long" to Arbor...

Last week, after having just mailed back a package that was more than 30 pages long
of a 'provider agreement' to cover Benjamin and Daniel...

Two more packages arrived, both of them major examples of repetitive unneccesary paperwork. I've already filled out all of this, as recently as April. We were inspected in April and passed almost everything. I've since gotten the missing curriculum book that decided we needed to have in addition to the ones we're using now.

Last August, when I initially began working through Arbor to take care of the boys, it seemed like a great idea. Arbor would pay most of the tab for the boy's care up to 45 hours per week. Just get a curriculum and teach from it regularly, so that the boys will be ready for school when the time comes.

This year, it got harder..go to a 30 hour class..more health and safety inspections..take pictures of the boys at activities..take CPR class again..get your files together..go get fingerprinted again..
take a 5 hour class...

...for a whopping $300-ish per month. That averages $1.75 per hour.

...If I were actually working on all of this paperwork..everything, including interacting with the boys..would come to a stop. It's that much stuff. Hey folks, I'm a one-person show here.

So, after this month, I've decided to say goodbye to Arbor. I'll either live without the $300, or
make it up another way..but the paperwork shuffling and hoop-jumping is about to stop.

After all, the more you can get government out of your life, the more happy and productive you'll be. At least that's what I say!!

Musicbox 1610 Update

It has taken me several months to do it, but I have scrimped and stashed some funds into the radio account, and tonight, I'm completing my order for the new Part 15 AM transmitter that will
allow Musicbox 1610 to get on the air - at last.

The transmitter I've chosen is the Hamilton Rangemaster. This little box is, in my opinion, the safest way to broadcast legally under the Part 15 rules and still have maybe enough range to
attract a few listeners.

In a future post I'm going to post a sample selection of music that will be played just to give you an idea of how the "Musicbox" moniker occurred to me - and why I decided to use it.

The control rooms are ready. Yes - rooms. There are two operating broadcast booths. I can
broadcast from one while doing production in the other; I can patch studio B through the board
in studio A, resulting in running the signal through both studios; I can use everything from reel-to-reel tapes, carts, turntables, cassettes, CDs and such - or simply play mp3s from the computer in studio A. I can also patch over and broadcast live on WJJD/Internet from the same rooms. BUT..broadcasting two formats live - one on 1610 and one on the Internet - is harder.
Doable..but takes more engineering work.

Musicbox 1610 will feature a format, that honestly, I don't know if it would be commercially viable if I were to attempt selling time on it. SeaCoast Media Specialists is already planning to place a few spots on with me. But I don't want to put it on just to try to sell spots on it. I want to
put it on to have the enjoyment of being on the air again.

Only one Tallahassee AM station - WNLS 1270 - has any ratings left at all. I'm told that 96%
of the radio audience here has abandoned the AM band because there is nothing left that appeals to them. You'd think an owner somewhere would get a working brain cell and fill some voids. But the owners have $ in the forefront and nothing else. Arbitron themselves have rated Tallahassee as "possibly the worst AM market in the U.S." although I have not seen that chart for some time. I have seen it, however, and yep - there we were, on the "worst markets" list.

Will Musicbox 1610 actually make a difference? I don't know. Probably not much really, other than personal satisfaction.

Maybe that's all I need from it. I'm ordering the Rangemaster tomorrow.

Live365 Tells 'Casters: We're Not Closing on July 15

In an email message to webcasters yesterday, Live365.com CEO told webcasters that
Live has no plans to shut down on July 15, "unless forced to by SoundExchange." The
letter goes on to explain to webcasters exactly what is going on behind the scenes.

Now, I KNOW that Live365 is, like many other streaming providers, literally fighting for its life.
A stay of the CRB rates was denied yesterday and apparently there will be more talks and maybe negotiating, which those of us who are basically "content providers" are really not a part of.

However, I also felt a bit of relief. I actually had a farewell show to broadcast - live - if the CEO's message had told us "farewell."

I don't know how, when, or even if, any of this royalty rate mess will ever be resolved. But, Lord
willing, WJJD will be broadcasting July 16 and beyond.

One of the Hardest Pieces I've Written..

I spent the better part of this past Sunday working on a writing project. Turns out, this
particular project was one of the most difficult pieces I've worked on.

It was my own self-promotion letter.

It seemed to take a while before I could get it to "flow" the way I believed it should. Eventually,
it did, but it took me some time to get there.

I didn't want to put it off any longer, however. I'm approaching the catalog market, and wanted to have something fresh to put into their hands.

One of the things I've been working on is narrowing down my niche. It's still pretty broad, but here are the top interests I have in the catalog/sales letter writing field:

Home Improvement
Electronics
Broadcast/radio station electronics
The Senior Living/Baby Boomer market
Faith-based catalogs/products
Clocks
Home Appliances
Children's Toys
Outdoor Living/Pool
Real Estate


That seems like a pretty broad list that could be narrowed down more, but I believe I'll go with this list for the time being.

I'll be updating my writing website soon to reflect my new self-promo letter and get the website and the direct-mail letter in synch with each other.

Having attempted things and having my hopes dashed before, I find it difficult to get too excited about any new venture these days. But I sure am working hard on this one!

My Webcast Turns 6 Years Old Today!

It's hard to believe, but today is the sixth anniversary of my streaming station, now known as WJJD. Here's the history...

Back in 2001, I was getting ready to launch an Internet radio station. I surfed into Live365.com while searching for providers, liked what I saw, and created an account on June 20. I spent the next couple of weeks getting things ready, deciding on my playlist, and getting a decent Internet connection.

On July 10, Delta Star Radio signed on with a contemporary Christian music format. I still had
technical bugs, and so had to feed CDs into the CD player on the computer one-by-one. Whew..

Ultimately I got the studio working and ran off of 5-disc CD changers. I added some parts and got other elements to work, such as doing totally live shows from home. It ran with the CCM format for three years.

Then, it seemed to me that the numbers were abysmal. Days of "0" hits bugged me. Was this thing even worth doing anymore?

I began mixing country with the CCM. The numbers began to improve. Then, as I added classic country into the mix, the numbers got even better. I ran with the God-and-country mix until 2005, when I renamed the stream after Chicago's country WJJD.

That move garnered the station listeners from all across the U.S. and from more than 26 countries. The country/classic country/ mixed with some Southern Gospel format continues today.

Of course, the future of Internet radio as we know it now faces an uncertain future. I hope we are able to continue WJJD for a long time to come. Time will tell, I suppose.

Marianne Back at Home!

Marianne was officially discharged from HealthSouth Rehab Hospital last Friday, July 6.

Of course, I was very happy to have her back home after three weeks in the hospital and rehab center. It seemed like a LONG three weeks, for sure.

She is still not cleared to drive, and must continue to do daily exercises. She has an appointment for physical therapy on Wednesday, then two more follow-up visits with the dictors later this month. I'm sure we are looking at a few more weeks of recovery time.

I'm really happy that the knee replacement surgery will probably enable her to return to some activities we have been unable to do for the past couple of years.

And we are thankful for all the calls, cards, letters and help that family and friends have sent, and provided, over the past few weeks. We really appreciate it.

She's home and visitors are MOST welcome!!