February 8, 2007

After sleeping in and missing the first 2 seminars I wanted to attend, I made it in the nick of time to Meet the Press.   I wasn't sure what to expect, no further class description was given.  Was it ever worth the five mile hike to the hinterlands to find the classroom!  What I have discovered is that of the dozen or more educational opportunities offered every hour or so, some are wonderful and some are horrible.  There is no way to filter out the bad from the good before you get there.  Meet the Press was like winning the lottery!  The four person panel was comprised of editors of the real estate sections of the Charlotte Observer, Allen Norwood; and the Orlando Sentinel, Terri Winefordner.  Also, public relations pros Laura Bennett of Bennett & Company, Inc. and Joyce Wilden of Mercedes Homes.  The discussion was all about what is newsworthy, how newsrooms operate, and how builders and Realtors can get ink.  GREAT STUFF!  I loved the presentation of actual real estate section front pages, what made the cut, and why.  Did you now that the value of publicity is ten times the cost of equivalent advertising?  Ten times as valuable, and costs NOTHING if you know how to get it!  Because it's coming from a third party it's three times more credible.  Credibility = sales.  In a survey of 11,000 journalists, 94% said they spoke with a marketing or PR rep last week.  90% choose their content online.  90% choose their story content by visuals so send photos (jpeg) and don't bore them.  They want to receive press releases by email, but receive 90% of their press releases by regular mail.  Headlines should be 6 words or less, the first paragraph should be 25 words or less, and it better be good because it will determine whether the 2nd paragraph gets read or the whole release gets deleted.  The bottom line is that they want a good story as much as you want to get mentioned.  Help each other!

My next class, Website Basics, was as bad as Meet the Presswas good.  So I slipped out and wandered onto the showroom floor and came face to face with a display for Carlyle Self-Adhering Roofing Underlayments.  As the word B-O-R-I-N-Gwas flashing across my mind, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of sparkling light fixtures in the Design House display.  I wandered over, admiring the glittering bling and minding my own business, when it happened again.  Around the corner I spied a vision of loveliness, another door to die for!  I must be fickle, because as much as I loved yesterday's door, this one swept me off my feet!  Yes, now I know it is possible to be in love with two doors at the same time.  This door was a massive iron door, probably 10 feet tall with beautiful glass and delicate iron scroll work.  I wish I had a camera to get a photo of me with my door.  Go to the website, look for Iron Door Designs.  Three photos rotate, one is of an arched entry door, my door.  The photos don't do it justice.  Although the application in the photo is definitely southwestern, the door itself has a contemporary and classy look.  I love this door!  www.portella.com.

Although I fell asleep in yesterday's construction class, Change Orders- Profit or Punishment, (punishment!) I decided to try my luck again to glean some pearls for my favorite builder client.  Essential Contract Elements to Keep You Out of Court & In the Black sounded riveting.  In fact, it was very good, I stayed awake and brought away a lot of great, usable information.  Dennis Dixon, the presenter, is author of Finding Hidden Profits: A Guide For Custom Builders, and a columnist for Custom Homes and the Journal of Light Construction magazines.  Very good stuff, lots of notes, knowledge is power, and 2007 is going to be a much more PROFITABLE year!

As for my new discovery of the day, something I have never heard of before, and would personally LOVE to have, is the BreezeDry indoor drying cabinet.  It uses circulating air to dry clothes indoors without heat.  It pulls air in from outside (or you can use indoor air) circulates fresh air through your damp clothes, then returns the air back outside.  It's a quiet, environmentally-friendly alternative to a traditional dryer.  And it's very cool.  www.breezedry.com.