Fast Class On Buying Advertising

Fast Class On Buying Advertising

by | Apr 14, 2025 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

A few weeks ago I had 10 minutes to give a complete presentation to a couple dozen business leaders.

After about 3 minutes of sharing who I was and my background, I jumped into the subject of advertising.

Not to promote what I do, but just to give them a quick framework on what THEY should do when considering buying advertising.

Here’s what I shared:

First step is KNOW YOUR BUSINESS:

WHO are your ideal Customers and WHY?

WHAT Characteristics of YOUR Business makes your customers your FANS?

There’s also financial numbers that you should know about YOUR business.

You have to take the time to actually stop, think and write this stuff down.

Second step is KNOW THE AUDIENCE of the Advertising Medium that is offering to sell you advertising:

WHO are their readers/viewers/listeners?

WHAT Characteristics of their readers/viewers/listeners is a match for your organization’s ideal customers/clients?

I know that there are some people who will try and get you to buy advertising from them that just doesn’t make sense because you are not a good match for each other.

Third step is YOUR WHY:

  • WHY are you looking at spending money?
  • WHAT are the results you want to achieve?
  • WHEN… what’s the timeline for achieving those results?

It’s extremely important for both you and them to be in agreement of this.

Fourth step is a realistic plan involving:

Messaging

Matching expectations with budget

Fulfillment

Growth steps

I know, this is a lot more involved than creating an ad, but unless you really, really take the time to consider all of this you could blow a bunch of money.

And even though it might go without saying, I said it anyway in my presentation… The Trust factor:

TRUST is the key to all of this:

Think like a real person, a potential customer.

People will not buy from people or companies they DON’T Trust.

EVERYTHING You and Your People say, do and deliver has to be Honest and Truthful.

That includes your Advertising and Marketing Messages.

If you would like my help going through these steps with your business, contact me.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Hiding in Plain Sight

by | Apr 7, 2025 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

Subscribers to my Free Sound Advice Newsletter received this information last month.  If you’d like a free subscription, just email me: Scott@ScLoHo.net and ask.

As a business owner, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind. But the real magic to keep your business moving forward comes from stepping back and asking, “What’s next? What can I do that’s different, unexpected, clever, or more efficient?”

Comedian George Carlin once joked, “I think someone could make a lot of money if they set up a little stand at the Grand Canyon and sold Yo-Yos with 500-foot strings.” It’s a hilarious image but also a profound lesson: opportunities exist where others don’t think to look.

The best business ideas often come from reimagining something familiar in a fresh way. That’s how Uber transformed transportation, how Airbnb disrupted hospitality, and how local coffee shops thrive despite Starbucks being on every corner. Innovation isn’t always about inventing something new – it’s about looking at what’s already there and making it better, more convenient, or more exciting.

Most small businesses start by filling a need, but too many get stuck just maintaining the status quo. Instead of waiting for challenges to blindside them and force change, business owners should always be on the lookout for the next opportunity or ways to improve what they’re currently doing.

You don’t have to change everything overnight, but committing to even one new idea, improvement, or competitive advantage each quarter can keep your business moving forward.

The next big success in your business might be HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT – you just have to see it before anyone else does.

If you’d like to see 4 quick ideas on keeping your business creative and ahead of the curve, click here.

Cleaning Out The Junk

Cleaning Out The Junk

by | Feb 17, 2025 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

When was the last time you cleaned up your business?

Got rid of the junk you don’t need anymore?

Back in January I saw a lot of memes and social media posts from people resolving to clean up their lives in various ways.

Like getting rid of all those miscellaneous power cords and adapters that have outlived whatever they were originally used for.

Or  doing a purge of email?  My wife had a couple thousand unread emails and decided to go all in and wipe them all out with my help.

She didn’t just want to get rid of the unopened emails, she wanted her entire email account emptied.  Even the trash folder where old emails hang out for 30 days.

So I did it.  She started 2025 with an empty Gmail account.  So far there’s only been one email that she misses.  Sort of.

For me this year, I cleaned up this website a bit.  Simplified the design, removed some of the extra form-fills and scaled it down.

I’ve also been slowly but surely cleaning up my home office of the stuff I brought home in 2023 from my “office” office.

As the weather gets warmer, we’ll be doing more in the garage and outdoor areas to declutter and remove stuff.

Business wise, what junk do you need to get rid of?

My primary radio station WOWO is celebrating its 100th birthday this year and you might think that we probably have 100 years of memorabilia, but we don’t.

10 years ago, on WOWO’s 90th birthday, our program director did an excellent job of creating a History of WOWO podcast series that also includes video clips, photos, old audio and a lot of stories from the people who were part of WOWO’s history… and that’s good because many of the people who were a part of the first 50 years of WOWO are no longer around to tell those stories anymore.

As you move forward with your business this year, or your life in general, take time to get rid of the junk, saving what you really need, and updating what should be updated. Not only will it make your life and business less stressful as you declutter, its a gift to those that follow you to not have to do it when you’re gone.

You have permission to Clean Out The Junk, and keep the very best.

 

What to Expect in 2025

What to Expect in 2025

by | Jan 6, 2025 | The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Welcome to a brand new year and for many of us the first full week back from the holidays.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this article and podcast episode because we are all busy.

However, I want to share with you what you can expect in 2025.

No, I have no idea about all the details of your life, these expectations are what you can expect from me both online and in-person.

My intentions are to write an article that will be published every Monday morning at 8am eastern time and also record a podcast episode based on that weeks article that will also be live at 8am Mondays.

I’ve had this particular website ScottHoward.me since 2011 and was writing and publishing on blogs for a few years before 2011.  In 2016, my boss asked me if I would be interested in creating a podcast on advertising and marketing.  I work for a group of radio stations and started my career behind the microphone and still voice ads.  I told them yes if I could simply do an audio version of the weekly articles I was already creating for this website and we struck up a deal.

Along with the podcast and the weekly articles I publish here, I also have a newsletter that gets emailed free to subscribers called Sound ADvice.  Sound Advice is written by a friend, Rick from ENS Media and he’s given me permission to share as articles on my website too.  If you’d like to be added to the mailing list, send me an email to Scott@ScLoHo.net.  I promise to not sell or giveaway your information.

Now I know some of you have little information on who I am or what my credentials are, so here’s the 60 second version:

After starting on the radio as a teenage disc jockey, I advanced my on-air career to larger cities and into management. But at the ripe old age of 26 moved my family to Detroit to work on the advertising creation side of radio.  I eventually returned to Indiana and by 2003 started working in advertising sales and marketing consulting.  In 2013 I joined WOWO radio first as a member of the sales team, then 4 years in management before returning to the sales side a little over a year ago.

I also decided to share online media and marketing information several years ago under the nickname ScLoHo.  That’s the first two letters of my first, middle and last names mashed together… ScLoHo which is pronounced Sclow-Hoe.

Anyway, as I look forward at what you can expect from me here, I’ll continue to share some of the Sound ADvice newsletter information, I’ll write about articles that I see that pertain to media and marketing, and I’ll also give you my own unique perspective from someone who’s spent a few decades being curious about the power of media and marketing and how human relationship principles are the real key to success.  More on that next week.

Planning Your Marketing Success in 2025

Planning Your Marketing Success in 2025

by | Dec 16, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Today, I have planning tips for the new year ahead taken from a recent Sound ADvice newsletter subscribers received this month:

From running a business, we all know that even the most well-thought-out plans don’t always play out as expected. However, relying on the ole adages of “winging it” or “flying by the seat of my pants” are never good options and rarely end with positive results.

2024 is coming to an end and you have made it through another year in an increasingly competitive and complex environment!  Congratulations!

But how is your future looking? 2025 doesn’t appear to be any less challenging than the previous 2 or 3 years and with the new administration, there is even more uncertainty in the air.

Every business owner who invests in marketing and advertising asks themselves this question probably several times a year, “Am I getting the most out of my advertising buck?”.

The other question they ask themselves is, “How can I make my business run better or be more successful?”.  Both are great questions!

So, do you have a marketing and advertising plan for next year?

If you don’t or haven’t yet thought about your marketing and advertising plan, this quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower may give you some inspiration… “In preparing for battle, I always found plans were useless, but planning is indispensable”.

All too often, with the day-to-day issues of dealing with staffing, product availability, and new competition, marketing goes to the bottom of the pile to be looked after “tomorrow”. The problem with tomorrow is that we often end up doing last-minute knee-jerk promotions or doing the same ole thing rather than strategically holding the course to build our brand.

Your challenge for 2025 is not so much to predict what kind of year you will have as it is to plan and implement the actions necessary to create the outcome you want.

Respected American author, Alan Lakein, a John Hopkins and Harvard Business School graduate and an authority on time management, said this… “Planning is bringing the future to the present so we can do something about it now”.  

One of the cornerstones of any successful business plan is a well-thought-out marketing and advertising plan.  Click here to see the 12 Annual Marketing and Advertising Planning Questions you need to answer to prepare your successful 2025 plan. 

As a free gift to you, you can be receiving my sound ADvice email nearly every Wednesday in your inbox. It’s free, just request it by sending me an email to Scott@WOWO.com