Brainstorms and Business Ideas

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.

An Unexpected Honor and the Podcast Translation...

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.

A fitting Sunday...

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.

Fresh from another interview

The week before last I was on WAHM Talk Radio talking about podcast advertising on Moms Talk Radio and the great network of shows there. Today I spoke with Michelle Waters from Product Seller's Talk Radio about radio advertising for Product Sellers. It was a great, but short interview. You all know me - I could talk about radio advertising for hours and hours.

In any case, after the official part of the interview was over, we got to talking about what one needs to think about when calling a radio station.

Obviously, the first thing consideration must be your target market. If you're selling a product to work at home mothers (or those who want to be) - you should begin your search with Christian or Country Radio Stations.

This is not to say that you won't find work at home moms listening to Rock or Hip Hop and any every other type of music (I happen to be primarily into hard rock and punk myself) - the fact is the concentration of women who are most likely to be open to working at home will be higher on Christian and Country Music Stations.

Another option would be the local talk radio show that plays the Dr. Laura Show. Since Dr. Laura is a huge advocate of working at home, it stands to reason that there will be a proportion of her audience that works at home or wants to.

The point is that if you want to get the most out of your radio advertising, the better you can identify what station or show attracts the highest concentration of your target market - the more effective your campaign is going to be. If you can further identify when they are most likely to be listening, then you can schedule your campaign so that your dollars stretch further than buying a run-of-schedule campaign.

We also talked about getting to know your advertising representative an making sure he or she is a right fit for your business. I'll blog about that another day.

Stay tuned!

The first commercial

Yippee! It's done and approved...the first commercial I've written and produced for my job at Moms Talk Radio...

I wrote it for Solutions for Busy Moms to promote the free Busy Moms Stress Relief Kit, which I have to admit is an awesome find for any busy mom. It's so much easier to write and develop a commercial for someone when you've tried the product and liked it.

Here it is for those who want to listen in...