Key Business Partners, LLC

I have the distinct pleasure to interview one of my favorite people and good friends, Heidi Richards Mooney to discuss her latest ebook, Quirky Marketing Calendar. As I am a huge fan of using holidays and special events to help promote books, products or services, I am aware of these special days, but I even learned a thing or two (really more than that) by reading Heidi’s newest book.

I asked Heidi to share with you more about her and her ebook, Quirky Marketing Calendar.

Please tell us a little bit about you.
I am what is popularly referred to these days as a serial entrepreneur. I have had several businesses over the years including a child care center, a bar, restaurants, a retail florist and most recently a coaching and consulting business ~ Redhead Marketing. I am also the author of 8 books (printed), and co- author of 2, and collaborator, creator of several dozen ebooks including my latest release “Quirky Marketing: 365 Ways to Promote Your Business Using Zany and Non-Traditional Holidays. In addition to sharing marketing and PR ideas with clients and my audiences, I am passionate about helping clients get their FACEBOOK, TWITTER and BLOG on…. I am also the founder of several organizations for women including the Women in Ecommerce and Inventing Women. For the past seven years I have been studying the Internet and Social Media particularly as it relates to growing a business online. I currently participate in more than a dozen social networking sites including Twitter, FaceBook, Linkedin, RYZE, MySpace, eCademy, Xing, Yahoo Groups to name a few.

What makes me an expert? In addition to interviewing hundreds of experts on the topic including bloggers, email experts, forum leaders and Internet celebrities in the top ten Social Networking Sites, I have personally developed my own skills and applied them to my businesses resulting in double digit growth over the past several years. Of course, when the economy took a nose-dive in 2008, it affected my retail business but with all the skills I had learned along the way, I have been able to bounce back quickly, unlike many of my peers. In 2003, I caught the attention of the International Virtual Women’s Chamber of Commerce and was named one of 50 women shaping the Internet. In March of 2009 because of my steady and strong presence on Twitter, I was fortunate enough to be listed by Only2Clicks.com as a Twitter Woman to Follow. And in April of last year my story appeared in the Book Twitter Success Stories featuring Internet Marketing guru Willie Crawford and 16 other social networking experts. In 2009, HER Mastermind Group ~ one of the top 20 networks on RYZE in the US ~ named me Networker of the Year.

When did you start writing? It seems as though I have been writing for years, and in reality at least since I was 8 when I wrote my first poem. Since then I dabbled in poetry and nothing more until 1997 when I started writing articles for the floral industry. Like most association publications, they had a difficult time getting content. I don’t think it is quite the problem today because people are much more savvy and know that “content is king!” At any rate, I had written 9 articles when the publisher of the magazine called me and said “Maggie (he called me the Maggie Mitchell of Miramar ), these articles are really good. You ought to think about writing a book.” I said, “Walter I can’t write a book! I don’t know the first thing about writing!” to which he replied, “Nonsense! You already have 9 chapters.” I thought about it for a few days and said, well what the heck. I can try. I had just finished reading Chicken Soup for the Soul and one of the Stories in it was about “burying your cants.” So I figured it might be a good time to do just that. To make a long story short, 9 months later in early 1998, my first book “Rose Marketing on a Daisy Budget” was born.

For those whom are beginning writers (or those who wish to write but are apprehensive), what is your advice? The best advice I ever got was to pick up the pen and just start writing. I think it is still the best advice. Some people will say but what do I write about. Write about what you know, about your day, about your kids, pets, food, whatever turns you on. Get comfortable writing. Once you do, then the thing you really want to write will start flowing from you. Another thing I tell my clients is to carry either a pad of paper and pen or journal with them at all times or a small recorder so they can record those ideas as they come. Believe me, you don’t want to leave it to memory. Sometimes an idea is so fleeting you get it and almost instantly forget what it was. At least in my case. I have pads of paper by my nightstand, by my couch, in the kitchen and even in the bathroom. I drive with a little mini recorder next to me and can pick it up at any stop light or when stuck in traffic and can “jot down” or record some notes. It has helped me get clarity on articles, ideas for chapters of books and so much more. By the way, it took me more than a week to finish this interview which to me is the perfect example of “just doing it.” I kept putting it off for other things and when I got around to it, it just flowed. Took me less than an hour to complete.

Please let us know your inspiration for the ebook, Quirky Marketing Calendar? I mentioned earlier that I am also a florist. Early in business I knew that in order to stand out from all the other shops we had to market differently from our competitors. I actually created a holiday called “Get out of the Doghouse” day and that was really the beginning of the journey. Seeing the power of marketing “quirky” unknown holidays gave me the idea to do research for more any holidays and so I did and started doing that on a regular basis. My customers, prospects and the media love it.

Tell the readers what makes this edition different from previous editions. This edition is 40+ pages longer. It has at least 70 additional holiday marketing ideas, an expanded resource section AND we also included fill-in-the-blank forms that I use in my own marketing strategies and projects.

Can you share a few tips from the ebook? Sure! Here are 3 of my favorite that have resulted in increased sales, media exposure and were just plain fun to do:

National Volunteer Blood Donor Month ~ Every year during January the local bloodmobile parked outside my retail shop and people in the community would show up and give blood. Everyone who does so, gets a free bouquet from my shop as a small thank you. The bloodmobile does all the promotion ahead of time, including sending media releases to the local newspapers and radio stations and postcards to past donor (approx. 5,000). They also create a flyer for us to pass out to our customers prior to the event and to those who stop by the clinic as well. We generally get at least a mention in the “what’s happening” calendar in the 3 local papers and have even had half page articles written about the event. It’s a media dream come true and we are doing good in the community. A win-win.

This one is from a friend of mine: January 23rd is National Pie Day ~ The American Pie Council created this day simply to celebrate the pie. National Pie Day is a special day that is set aside to bake and cook all of your favorite pies. On this day, you are also encouraged to bake a few new pie recipes. And most importantly, it’s a day to eat pies! So what could you do to celebrate National Pie Day? Here’s what one Savvy Marketer Did: Lenore Nolan-Ryan’s Cooking School & Catering Company created a “Let’s Bake Pies Together Day at her cooking school and invited her customers and prospects to Come bake with Lenore in her kitchen to honor those you love. In her marketing she wrote: “Pie”triotism … Whether it’s baking or buying a pie for a member of the military or their family, a local fireman, teacher or parent, the gift of the pie is the sincerest gesture of kindness. Give that certain someone, that hero in your life, a Pie! Join in! Come early or come late, but don’t miss out. Put on an apron and roll out the fun or call and place your order for a pie and we will roll it, fill it, bake it, wrap and ribbon it for delivery or pick-up! Whichever way you slice it, love is the main ingredient!” You can learn more about Lenore’s cooking school at www.LenoreNolanRyan.com.

As I mentioned earlier, July is National “Doghouse Repairs” Month ~ Dog treats are a hit with animal lovers, the people kind. Give away cookies in the shape of a dog bone… wrap them individually in cellophane with a little bow, add your business card and pass out at networking events or in your establishment. I purchased the dog bone shaped cookie cutter at a local craft store, took it to my local grocer/baker and they baked us 1,000 cookies for this promotion. We then took them on trays to local radio and TV stations delivered by a local actor in a “Scooby Doo” – like costume. We were a big hit, on the news and in one radio stations newsletter. Traffic to our website went up, a couple of the radio employees became customers and one station interviewed me about the holiday.

You launched your book in February and the book is an annual calendar. That being the case, why would someone want to buy the book say in June? The ideas in Quirky Marketing Calendar are TIMELESS! It does not matter when you buy it or where you start because these are holidays that occur every year! You can buy this calendar TODAY (or any day) and use it for the next 12 months, 2 years or the life of your business!

You decided to publish this as an ebook instead of a traditional print book? What were your reasons for this decision? Mainly the costs involved in printing it. Because of the size (it is an 11 by 8.5 inch book) and it has color pictures inside. To me Quirky is a very visual idea and so the graphics inside are in color. I will loose that when it is published in grayscale. The cost to produce in color would make the calendar about $50 each. While I think that is a good price for the type of information in Quirky Marketing, I also know that most small business owners are on limited budgets and this book really needs to be affordable for companies of all sizes. I am currently negotiating with some print on demand companies for a good price. We are likely going to offer a printed version for around $39.00. The other issue is timeliness. With a digital issue I can add ideas as they come to me keeping the book current. Right now, all new holiday marketing ideas are being posted to the Quirky Marketing blog. They are designated *NEW so people reading them will understand they are not yet in the current edition. It also gives the site fresh content without devaluing the purchase of the book because there are so many more ideas in the book than will be posted to the site.

So, what is on the horizon for you and your business for the rest of 2010? I am working on another book which has been in the works for about 2 years. The subject is writing a book. I have found it to be more difficult to write a book about writing a book than about other subjects. I think it’s because it has been done so many times. So I am working on my own slant. We will see how it unfolds. Also working on publishing a book that includes works by my late daughter Alexis. She passed away in 2007 and left an incredible legacy of poetry which must be shared with the world. I plan to compile her poetry with mine and that of my mother. My father is also a poet and has written 2 books of poetry. So it’s in our genetic makeup. I don’t write much poetry these days simply because I am so busy running my internet businesses, writing articles and coaching clients.

I am also putting a proposal together to submit Quirky Marketing Calendar to major publishing houses. It is unique enough that I believe at least one visionary company will be interested in making it a mainstream business publication. This is the fourth edition and to my knowledge the original Holiday Marketing Calendar. There may be other “copycats” out there on a smaller scale, but they don’t have the same unique and little known marketing ideas this book includes.

Here is a question just for fun—what is your favorite food and why? I don’t have a favorite food. I love food of all cultural backgrounds especially Italian and Mexican. However I recently learned how to make Shepherd’s pie and gee, it’s hard to beat. That and quiche. My husband is Sicilian and a fantastic cook. I only cook when I am in the mood (not too often about once a week or so). Can’t compete with his cooking so I don’t even try!

How can others get in contact with you and purchase your ebook? The best way is email me at heidi@successandthensome.com or call me at 954-625-6606 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              954-625-6606      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              954-625-6606      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. You can also find me on Facebook at http://facebook.com/heidirichards.mooney and Twitter at http://twitter.com/heidirichards. You can purchase a copy of Quirky Marketing at www.QuirkyMarketingCalendar.com for $19.95. The book currently comes with more than $1,700 Bonus products and services generously provided by my colleagues. While you are there, be sure to sign up for the RSS feed so you can get all the new holiday marketing ideas as they are posted. I have posted 12 new marketing ideas in February alone.