As a blogger, there are a handfull of other bloggers that I follow - not many, just a handful. I only know one of the bloggers personally, so the others are basically strangers to me and they are randomly spaced out across the United States.
I follow other bloggers because they provide inspiration to me, for this blog. Most all of them are wonderful writers. Some are funny, some are political and some are just living life and documenting via their blogs, as a source of emotional outlet.
This blog mainly serves as a business outlet, with a little bit of interesting and personal stuff on the side. Nobody really likes all business, do they?
Our blog was "quiet" this week because I was out of the office for a few days - my husband had to have an apendectomy. They are fairly routine now, with new removal methods he literally went to work the day after his hospital discharge, for a few hours. While this turned out to be a bump in the road, it made me reflect, appreciate and be grateful for our life as it is. This medical scare turned out ok. Whew.
One blogger I follow had a baby last week. Her life has certainly changed in a big way! Her writing is amazing, even when she is very sleep deprived. I am happy for her and even though I dont know her, I wish her well.
Another blogger I follow suddenly and heartbreakingly lost her 28 year old son. I follow her because she is retired and talks about life as a senior citizen. Her son was engaged, working a good job, settling down and living life as most Americans do. Then one night, he got in an altercation and a single punch to the face ended his life.
Life can change in an instant. It can provide happiness. It can give you a bump in the road. It can alter you and your life in an instant.
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Friday, October 7, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Getting The Word Out
I blog. I Twitter. I write newsletters. I do direct mailings. I email to customers who sign up for our updates. I dont, however pay for ad's on Google, Bing or Yahoo. I sign up for free listings, here, there, and everywhere. My goal: To get exposure to a wide variety of potential customers without breaking the bank.
I want to let everyone know that our company, Mountain View Medical Supply has THE BEST prices in our area, and sometimes in your area, or on the internet! Seriously, it blows my mind how much other companies charge for the exact same items we have in our store.
I blame overload. Consumers are overloaded with impertinent information. At home, I toss my blue enveloped coupons that supposidly has an "87% open rate". I toss fliers left on my door. I toss the Wednesday delivered ad's in my mailbox. I delete unsolicited email offers. Recently, we received what appeared to be a card and handwritten message from an HVAC company owner that wanted me to feel special. Upon further inspection, it was just a new fandangled way of printing so that it looked handwritten, when, in fact, it was not.
So, like most people, I become skeptical and hardened to marketing. I unsubscribe, I sign up for "do not mail" lists, "do not deliver" lists and "unsubscribe" lists. I dont want your stuff! If I want it, I'll come find YOU!
But then I surf and search for you, and because you dont pay for ad's on Google, Bing or Yahoo, I cant easily find you. I can't find you in the phone book because you dont pay for ad's or listings anymore because the internet is making phone books obsolete.
And so we talk. One of the owners of our company met the head of a wound department at a major hospital, randomly over the weekend. He had never heard of our company, even though I have sent our information to his hospital, several times. I now have his card and an open invitation to provide him brochures on our wound care supplies, so he can help his patients.
How do we find each other so we can work with each other without middle men such as search engines or yellow pages?
I try to be more aware of the businesses in my community, and spend my dollars with my neighbors. I also ignore "paid" advertisements on the internet. I try to find local companies, even if they are 4 or 5 pages into my search results. If I need to buy a specialty item online, I try to find a mom-and-pop shop with great customer reviews that will likely provide me great customer service, should I need help.
If you look hard enough, you will find us. And hopefully in the process we can help each other out while cutting out the middle man that invariable raises everyone's costs.
I want to let everyone know that our company, Mountain View Medical Supply has THE BEST prices in our area, and sometimes in your area, or on the internet! Seriously, it blows my mind how much other companies charge for the exact same items we have in our store.
I blame overload. Consumers are overloaded with impertinent information. At home, I toss my blue enveloped coupons that supposidly has an "87% open rate". I toss fliers left on my door. I toss the Wednesday delivered ad's in my mailbox. I delete unsolicited email offers. Recently, we received what appeared to be a card and handwritten message from an HVAC company owner that wanted me to feel special. Upon further inspection, it was just a new fandangled way of printing so that it looked handwritten, when, in fact, it was not.
So, like most people, I become skeptical and hardened to marketing. I unsubscribe, I sign up for "do not mail" lists, "do not deliver" lists and "unsubscribe" lists. I dont want your stuff! If I want it, I'll come find YOU!
But then I surf and search for you, and because you dont pay for ad's on Google, Bing or Yahoo, I cant easily find you. I can't find you in the phone book because you dont pay for ad's or listings anymore because the internet is making phone books obsolete.
And so we talk. One of the owners of our company met the head of a wound department at a major hospital, randomly over the weekend. He had never heard of our company, even though I have sent our information to his hospital, several times. I now have his card and an open invitation to provide him brochures on our wound care supplies, so he can help his patients.
How do we find each other so we can work with each other without middle men such as search engines or yellow pages?
I try to be more aware of the businesses in my community, and spend my dollars with my neighbors. I also ignore "paid" advertisements on the internet. I try to find local companies, even if they are 4 or 5 pages into my search results. If I need to buy a specialty item online, I try to find a mom-and-pop shop with great customer reviews that will likely provide me great customer service, should I need help.
If you look hard enough, you will find us. And hopefully in the process we can help each other out while cutting out the middle man that invariable raises everyone's costs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
