Category Archives: Small Business Advertising

Front Porch Forum’s 1st Birthday

Posted on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 by • No comments yet

Hard to believe that Front Porch Forum was launched one year ago this month! The response to this local start-up (focused on its initial pilot area of greater Burlington, VT) has been wonderful and overwhelming. What a privilege to work on this effort with the likes of…

  • More than 6,000 local households who subscribe across 130 local neighborhood forums! And hundreds more who sign up each month.
  • About 250 FPF neighborhood volunteers who help recruit neighbors and stimulate conversation.
  • Nearly 200 members who have submitted testimonials.
  • About 80 members who have made voluntary subscription payments.
  • More than 140 local public officials who each participate within his/her jurisdiction
  • A growing list of local advertisers.
  • Dozens of local media outlets that have reported about FPF.
  • Many organizations that have recognized FPF (and all involved) with awards.
  • Loads of folks who read and comment on our blog about building community within neighborhoods.
  • And several great collaborators.

Moving forward, our goals are simple and challenging…

  1. Strengthen each local neighborhood forum… more neighbors on board, more discussion.
  2. Generate sufficient revenue.
  3. Make improvements to FPF based on member feedback.
  4. Expand the service to other areas… more than 100 other communities on our waiting list.

So thanks to each FPF member! And please post messages to your neighborhood forum and encourage those around you to sign up at FrontPorchForum.com Here comes autumn! -Michael and Valerie

Online Ad Spending Ramping Up

Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2007 by • No comments yet

Greg Sterling reports today about two spending forecasts for online geotargeted advertising.

eMarketer
2006 $2.1B
2011 $7.8B
30.0% annual growth

VSS
2006 $6.4B
2011 $19.2B
24.6% annual growth

I don’t know why the two estimates differ as much as they do. However, they both show a sizable industry getting bigger. I take this as encouraging news for Front Porch Forum, with it’s neighborhood-specific focus.

Soup Mama Gauging Interest

Posted on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 by • No comments yet

Burlington’s creative economy rarely ceases to amaze me.  And I’ve got a great view as the local Front Porch Forum moderator.  Here’s today’s entry from a member of the ONE East Neighborhood Forum in Burlington…

Hi Neighbors – I’m considering a weekly soup delivery to wherever you want it, home or office. It can be a drag to pay for overpriced sandwiches for lunch or bother with packing your own and I’m sure you know those nights where you don’t want to cook, don’t have the energy to go out, or don’t want greasy take-out. That’s when the Soup Mama will fill the void. I’m a neighborhood mom who wants to serve you some homemade soup. Since this endeavor would be in the neighborhood, deliveries will be made with a bicycle.  For all those interested please e-mail me.  Thank you.  -Lorraine M.

Internet Marketing vs. E-Commerce

Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007 by • 1 comment

Greg Sterling today points out the following…

E-commerce is growing but it’s not the story. As I’ve argued in the past, the story is Internet-influenced offline/local sales. The Internet has emerged fundamentally as a marketing, rather than a transactions platform. E-commerce is a percentage of total US retail sales is less than 4%.

Portals not so hot?

Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 by • No comments yet

Jeff Jarvis takes the New York Times to task today for an article that suggests AOL’s struggles as an internet portal are a “quirk.”

Once and for all: The size of the site doesn’t matter to advertisers. Oh, yes, they still think its matters and for a time that’s still how they buy, by reflex. But get this straight: Just because a site has 100 million users, that doesn’t mean 100 million people see your ad. It’s not TV. Repeat: It’s not TV. The only people who will see your ad are the ones who see the page on which it appears. If you buy 10,000 impressions, aka eyeballs, you can buy them on a big site or a bunch of small sites, it doesn’t matter. Big brings no advantage other than convenience and it also brings some disadvantages like inefficiency and price. This is the essence of the change in the economic model of media. Post that on your wall and stare at it.

Not on FPF yet? “You are missing out”

Posted on Thursday, August 2, 2007 by • No comments yet

Thanks to Richard Donnelly and Burlington Telecom for this great review in today’s issue of BT’s e-newsletter…

BT and many other City of Burlington departments receive a lot of invaluable feedback through the 36 Front Porch Forums that cover all the neighborhoods in Burlington. If you are not participating in this free, hyper-local, neighbor-to-neighbor digest you are missing out. The effort to create and maintain the FPF is substantial! BT is proud to join other local businesses as a sponsor of this community resource. We encourage other local businesses and other city departments to consider supporting it as well.

Front Porch Forum Delivers for Sponsors

Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 by • No comments yet

The simple message below appeared in all 38 of the Burlington neighborhood forums in the few days before this fun event…

Burlington Bocce Social July 22, 5 PM
Come join Burlington Parks and Recreation to learn about the game of bocce and how to use the brand new bocce courts at Oakledge Park. This free event is open to all ages and abilities. Reminder – park users can always bike or walk into the parks for free, however there is a $5 resident fee for parking.

I just heard this evening from someone at Parks and Rec that they had 50 people show up!  When quizzed, 35 said that they had heard about it from Front Porch Forum (and perhaps other sources too).  That’s about 1.2% of those who received the message via FPF showing up on a Sunday evening for a game they’ve likely never played… a great response.

In another case, a sponsor reported 70 new subscribers within a few days after their message went out to the Burlington neighborhood forums… about 2.4% conversion.

I know some catalog retailers expect that 1 to 2% of those receiving their catalog by bulk mail will respond.  Others have reported a 0.2% conversion from bulk emailing to past customers (different than spamming strangers).

This is a promising start as Front Porch Forum works to develop its sponsorship options.

Today’s Sample Success Story

Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 by • No comments yet

Sharon of the NE Winooski Neighborhood Forum writes today…

A great guy to know… A few weeks ago I posted a message about needing someone to help with removing some shrubs.  That’s how I met Josh N., one of our great neighbors.  He did a great job and I keep finding more things for him to do.

I wanted to recommend Josh to all of you who need landscaping or carpentry.  He’s professional, friendly, knowledgeable, honest, and charges reasonable rates.  I think he’s terrific and I think you will too.  Hiring Josh is a sure way to get quality work and a great opportunity to keep your business in Winooski.

That’s just how Front Porch Forum is supposed to work… meet an immediate need and get to know the neighbors in the process.  Another small success!

Funky Mailboxes spread across Huntington

Posted on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 by • 2 comments

Sounds like a local artist is onto something in Huntington. Kelly O’Brien posted to her neighborhood forum less than two weeks ago…

Hi All – I’d like to paint your mailbox! Especially interested in mailboxes on the Main Road, or any well-traveled roads in or near town.You’d be helping me out by letting me paint & take photos for my portfolio… and you’ll benefit by getting a one-of-a-kind mailbox. And if you hate it, I can repaint to the original black, gray or white. If you’d like to get a sense of my style, look at our mailbox. I do polka dots, circles, stripes, and any bold graphic design, or just a solid fun color.

Since then, the comments are pouring in…

  • Yesterday Kelly O’Brien painted my mailbox – check it out. It is beautiful! Thank you Kelly!
  • Kelly O’Brien painted our mailbox too. Plain and plastic transformed into fun and funky! Thanks, Kelly!
  • Oh my good lord in heaven! You have a gift! So beautiful – the mailbox you painted at Bonnie’s place… YOU GO GIRL!!!!
  • I came home today to find my sad little rusty mailbox transformed into a work of Kelly O’Art! I saw Cindy’s on the Main Road and signed right up. Huntington will soon be known for its colorful mailboxes. Many thanks to Kelly O’Brien!

I love to see artists and micro-business owners use Front Porch Forum to jump start their efforts!

RIP Backfence.com

Posted on Thursday, July 5, 2007 by • 1 comment

Sorry to see that Backfence just shut down operations.  From the Local Onliner…

BackFence announced June 29 that it shuttering its 13 community sites, which were in the DC area, Illinois and northern California. The ambitious site raised an initial round of $3 million, but never had high penetration in its communities, or sold enough Yellow Pages listings or banner ads to be optimistic about its future…

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Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more

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