While visiting our friend and neighbor a couple of doors away, I noticed her tiny aviary...a couple of bird feeders and a birdbath. It was the end of May, and the area was loaded with an array of colorful singers.
It looked like a nice little hobby and I have the perfect spot...the big tree near my front porch and rocking chairs. I decided to get a feeder and found there were so many decisions - what type of feeder, what kind of birds do you want, what type food, what type of stand or hanger?
I started with one bird feeder. It is tubular, uses thistle, and attracts smaller varieties like the pretty little yellow finches. Well, I waited for over a month. The feeder was still full and no birds were eating my thistle, even though I knew they were just a few houses away.
Did I say, "forget about it" and leave the birds to find other food? Nope I went out and bought another bird feeder, this time one that would attract larger birds. And, of course, this one required a different type of feed, mostly sunflower seeds. Oh, and then I needed a container for the feed, and special hooks for the feeder, etc. Set it all up and attracted...squirrels. Should I have gotten the one that "flips" these rodents off? No, they need to eat, and they are great acrobats to watch, but they kept the birds away. So then I switched the two feeders, placing the small one closer to the tree and the large one that the squirrels liked farther out where they couldn't get to it.
Success! Within a few days we had birds. Goldfinches, wrens, cardinals and others that I have not tried to identify. In a matter of a day and a half the feeders went from full to half gone. Yep it was working.
It's just like advertising. You have to make decisions - what type of ad, what publication, font size, and location in the publication. The phone almost never rings with a first ad. It takes a time, it takes tweaking, it takes knowing who your audience is and where they are. You have to keep the feeder filled.
I created an ad for a specific type of buyer, like setting out thistle seed to bring goldfinches to my yard. I could have stopped advertising after the first month when nothing happened and said, "Ads just don't work." I could have removed the ad from that publication. Instead, I chose to place another ad in a different publication looking for a broader type buyer. Just like adding a large feeder with different type of seed to attract larger birds, and a copper birdbath that hangs from the tree.
The phone started ringing, and the birds flocked around. Now there is a dove that competes with the squirrels for the seeds that drop to the ground. More choices, broader advertising, and I have more diversity of "customers" in my little aviary. There's even a black cat that sees it as his own private entertainment center – a bit more diversity than I aimed for, but you don't always get what you expect from advertising either!
What started as a little hobby is now a treasured part of my day. Quiet time in the morning, or when I have a long phone call, I can sit outside and enjoy the sounds and colors of the birds. Advertising with the right message, and repeating that message, keeps my customers coming back for more.
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