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Taking my own advice and asking for help with my intro video

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Hello again; I hope you are well. Today, instead of sharing wisdom, I’m here to ask for your opinions and suggestions.

While I know it takes time to establish a new business, and it has only been about eight months since I started offering coaching services; I still wonder if there is anything I could be doing to help bring myself to the attention of people needing my services. I want your help with my website.

Just like with my primary business site the midway marketplace I am always seeking ways to make my sites more appealing and engaging. I figure you can always find ways to improve. When I asked people what they thought of my new site, most said it wasn’t clear enough what my site was about.

The blind blogger homepage

Making my site’s message clearer

So, I went into the home page and added some text. I mentioned some of my accomplishments and told people that I believe that I can help them accomplish similar goals and dreams. I advised that life should be a thrill ride and suggested that it was time they bought a ticket.

Next, I recorded a video introducing myself. It starts with me singing the river by garth brooks. It is a very uplifting song in my mind, and it is becoming my unofficial theme song. Again I mentioned past successes and told people that I felt I was the ideal coach to help them walk their own path.

Then I shared all of this online. I was especially interested in getting feedback from people in groups focused on coaching and or marketing. And I got a lot of great responses. There were two suggestions I heard the most. One, break the video into three parts and have people click through from one to the next. And two, whatever I decided don’t take out the singing.

type of help needed

And that brings me to where you can help. I was encouraged to write out a script or at least a general outline of what would be in each of the three videos. I worked up some ideas and again asked for opinions. I got some great suggestions and have refined them even more. Now, I have three blocks of text I want you to review for me. I want help making them more powerful, persuasive, attention grabbing, whatever you call it. I want to make a better case for people hiring me to assist them on their journey.

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Didn’t expect holding my book in my hands would be such an awesome experience

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Hello again;

Me with my book

When people told me that I would feel differently about my book when I finally held a copy of it in my hands, I honestly didn’t believe them. I thought the book was real when it was finally submitted to amazon and create space. And I only ordered some copies of it to have on hand in case someone wanted an autographed copy. I mean I put a link for how to buy a signed copy on the website, so I thought I aught to be ready.

Ordering my first batch of books

I had promised two copies to a couple of special ladies who helped in the process. I needed one for Lorraine Reguly my editor and another for Kelly Wooden who finally convinced me it was good enough. So, I placed an order for twelve copies thinking that ten plus the two i knew I needed sounded about right. 🙂

I placed my order with create space. I was happy to find out that the process for ordering copies of my book wasn’t anywhere near as much trouble as submitting it had been. The form was long because it was my first time filling it out. But I could navigate all the fields. I never felt anxious that I would buy too many copies or have them go to the wrong address. Well, its something I often worry about when filling out online forms. But everything went well, and last weekend I got my books.

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Start to star challenge improving my videos and myself part 2

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Hello again; I hope you have been well since my last post. Today, I’m going to update you on the conclusion to the start to star video challenge that I recently participated in.

 

I should have posted this last week, but I am still recovering from the ill effects of a malfunctioning cpap machine. I am feeling more energetic every day and hope to soon be back on schedule with my blog posts.

 

Last time I shared about week one of Holly Gillen’s start to star video challenge. I shared the videos I recorded each day as part of the event. And this time I have more short videos for you.

 

Just like last time I will include two links. The first one will be an embedded version that you can play without having to leave my site. The second will be a direct link to the youtube video.

 

Contest results

 

And now I guess you would like to know if I won or not. I did say that there was a free seat in Holly’s upcoming online course to the winner. Well, I didn’t win the contest. But if you have been folloiwng me long at all, you know I still feel like it was a success.

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Start2star challenge improving my videos and myself part 1

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Hello again; As you should know by now my number one or core belief is to do what you can as well as you can today and then do more or do it better tomorrow. I feel that this is the only way to love yourself and still make progress towards your goals and dreams.

My history with videos

And to that end today I want to talk about recording videos. I decided a few years ago that recording videos spotlighting the amusement equipment I am working to sell along with interviews of my clients and visits to sites of local interest would be very helpful to my amusement equipment brokering business.

However, as a blind person I had a lot of things to sort out. I understand that sighted people struggle with this too. But at least no one questions your right to want to do them or tries to tell you that you shouldn’t even make the effort.

I started by buying a video camera. I asked for it for christmas. It turned out that this didn’t really help because to use it meant getting someone else to help me record on it. And back then I was more about doing things on my own.

I still have it and we use it occasionally around the house. I am still hopeful that someday soon I will find the resources to start visiting my clients on location. And when that happens, I plan to get more use out of it.

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Why I sing and how I can help you free the song in your own heart

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Hello again; I just recorded another video for my podcast about the amusement industry and the equipment my clients have for sale. Its called Calliope Corner, and you can find my videos on youtube.

For those of you who haven’t seen any of them I should tell you that I start off each one with me singing and then I introduce the show, mention the website and contact information; then go into whatever ride, game, inflatable, etc I’m talking about.

Its been a while since I recorded one of these videos. I was launching the new site and dealing with some minor health issues. But I had forgotten how much I enjoy recording the videos. More importantly I forgot how good I feel when my friends write to say how nice my voice is and how good I sound. One friend even suggested that my singing could make me famous.

I am happy with my singing, but it wasn’t always that way. A very short time ago I wouldn’t have had the confidence to sing in public much less on youtube where millions of people could see and hear me.

Some history

You see, on my dad’s side of the family most everyone can sing or play a musical instrument or both. My grandfather J. V. Ivey was a great finger picker guitar player. He also sang mostly country and had a radio show in their home town of Union, South Carolina.

My dad Maxwell Ivey Sr. played the guitar and sang too. He was more of a strummer. Him and his brothers and friends had at least one band when he was a teenager.

Being a daddy’s son I wanted to do what he did. When me and my brother Michael were young he bought us both starter guitars. He put different colored finger polish on the frets of mine to help me make the chords. i could make the sounds but couldn’t make music.

I could sing or at least my mom and dad never complained. Me and my dad would sing along to radio, 8 tracks, and later cassettes while driving to and from events, family outings, scout meetings etc. We liked the same music and sang together.

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