Ashes to Ashes, Bytes to Bytes - ABC's of Small Business

Ashes to Ashes, Bytes to Bytes

She didn't have to die. She was young, she was beautiful, and, yes, she was exciting. Now she's gone, and it was all so unnecessary - so, so senseless!

Dare I say what he did to her? Do I "point the finger" at him? Someone has to, I guess. Actually, it was a case of what he didn't do. You see, she was a charming new website and he - well, he was an inexperienced owner who thought all he had to do was open a well-done website and the world would zero-in on her and make him scads of cash. He even called her "Carly Cash". The poor, misguided fool.

If only he had known, there are a great many things he could have done to save her, indeed to help her thrive and fulfill her exciting promise. He could have:

Used business cards to promote his website. Probably the cheapest, most effective form of dirtside advertising is an attractive business card. He could carry them everywhere (alright, smartie, not in the shower). Post them on supermarket, community and college bulletin boards. Drop one in the envelope when he pays a bill. Leave one, or more, at the video store, dentist's office, doctor's office, library, county jail - wherever. Maybe not the jail.

Issued a press release to the world. Huh? He could have sent a press release to his local media, after determining the names of the appropriate editors and news directors. He could go to his favorite search engine, enter "press release", and doubtless be amazed at the result. He'd need to remember it's not called the World Wide Web for nothing. Getting a press release published ten thousand miles away can do him just as much good as appearing in a local paper.

Placed classified ads in "advertiser magazines", for lack of something better to call them. In this part of the world we have the Pennysaver, which carries announcements of local events, community activities, concerts, that sort of thing. But primarily it is classified ads for everything from aardvark toys to zebra-striped jammies. And it's very popular - it's a garage sale in print and delivered by the postal service.

Arranged to appear as a guest on a radio talk show. Many AM stations are devoted to talk, he should know, because they don't carry music as well as FM stereo. Our wired, wired world is a popular talk topic and all he has to do is find our which stations, or show hosts, are so inclined. Interesting guests are always welcome (at some time or another). The same is true of local television talk shows like "AM Akron" or "Moosejaw in the Morning" (maybe not). He should be aware that no show host, or station, is going to allow a prolonged commercial for his website. He will need to be able to speak intelligently about some aspect of the web,answer questions from the host/ess and perhaps the audience as well. The idea is to help brand him, create interest, instill trust, and get in a plug or two.

Thought creatively about publicity and likely come up with his own ideas. Had he been in his right mind (home of creativity and intuition) and fired up his imagination, maybe "Carly" wouldn't have died. Here's hoping her successor has a rich, rewarding life, and perhaps little bytes of her own.

-by Kent E. Butler