Hello Talkingreef forum readers, stalkers, or lurkers..
I am once again reaching out looking for your assistance.
i am currently looking to gather a few of the Podcast episodes to place on CD to be freely given out at a LFS. the idea is to great a best of, or a teaser CD.
the idea is that hobbyists can stop in, when they are buying there goods from the LFS they can "take one".
hopeful it will help more people gain information, and education from the podcasts, and to join our community. i look at is as both marketing and a public service
in the beginning this will be controlled release to a few stores, if you are interested in burning and distributing some discs, please PM or email me
so again, please take a moment to recommend your favorite show, shows that are full of good info, and show the best of The Talkingreef Podcast
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Great idea Rob! There's no wonder you are the Leader!!!
I could burn some and distribute down here in FL.
__________________ Amphibious
Reaching my 70th BD, I realize that I cannot help but grow old. However, I refuse to grow up!!! My wife would tell you, "He may be 70 but, He's going on 17". Life is wonderful with a woman like that.
It's a great idea but I wonder what the LFS owners will think. I tend to think owners don't want their customers on the internet because once a customer discovers the "reef world of the internet" they potentially lose a lot of business. Once I learned of the "reef world of the internet" I figured out how to get free frags, great deals on a cleanup crew, much better prices on dry goods, group buys, etc. I wasn't so dependent on my LFS for everything- ya know?
Does anyone else find that the LFS's try to hold out on informing their customers about the internet? When I meet someone at a LFS, the first thing I do is tell them to go online and join a forum and LEARN!!
I'm all for it, but I'd hate to see the CD's not given out, ya know? Opinions?
I don't mean to sound so negative. I just want it to work.
__________________ Gwen - 2008 Atlanta Reef Club Board MACNA XX Committee 125g RR AGA "The Simple Reef Tank"
gwen, you bring up some great points...
i know my LFS owners isnt thrilled with the internet, but its mostly because of all the bad press and BS info that is given out to people.
He has supported my by passing out little business cards in the past....
IMO, if the LFS is willing, i would like to let them, if there not, then oh well.. we find new LFS..
another idea was for me to post a list broken down my state that has agreed to distribute these discs, maybe a bit of free press for them..
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I was thinking free advertising may help too. They may really bite that since it's a hard business and I'm sure they would love any free ads they can get. Maybe for every 5-10 people they get on our site and we track this by referrals, then they get one free ad or name mention. Also that LFS name stays under the users profile which is more advertising for them.
I can just pic me going to my fav LFS and the owner would say "oh that's great, of course we will pass them out" and the owner has to say that to be nice to their customer (me), but as soon as I walk out the door, the CD's are thrown under the counter. I wouldn't be offended; it's just business. We would have to drop these off at LFS's that we visit on a weekly basis to really find out if we are penetrating the market.
Offering them a benefit is the key here.
__________________ Gwen - 2008 Atlanta Reef Club Board MACNA XX Committee 125g RR AGA "The Simple Reef Tank"
My favorite LFS, Down Under, has their own website Down Under Saltwater Fish and Coral online store Down Under Saltwater Storefront and forums Down Under Saltwater Fish and Coral so I don't think that they are afraid of the internet. Of course this is the kind of store that gives good advice, quarentines their fish (for a few days), won't sell them if they aren't eating, won't sell a beginner a difficult or incompatible fish and sponsors frag swaps...
I think I could get Phishy Business, the most popular reef store in Columbus to distribute. Let me know what I need to do to get them a sample copy to review.
Also, I think something on the cycle (always confusing to newcomers) would be a good one.
Hey Rob..let me know if you need some help with burning CD's. I have a 7 bay duplicator & also can print on the CD's directly instead of using a sticker on the CD-R. I can print 7 at a time. Just give me a high res logo of TR & I can use that as the art work.
I'm thinking you should excerpt a couple minutes of the "beginner level" topics like setting up and cycling...and roll into some more advanced topics or even toss in a few "coolio" clips and such.
Demo CD's 
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"Just a Whole Bowl Of Wrong"