Just Riding Along

Ads or Publicity in Mainstream Magazines?

I've been meaning to add my thoughts to a recent Bicycle Retailer Magazine cover story:

"Suppliers Find Women's Titles Beyond Reach" in the May 1 issue (wouldn't it be great to be able to link to the full story on the web?!) reported how the cost of advertising in mainstream, national magazines is out of reach for bike companies.

First, cheers to Megan Tompkins for asking PR pros for insight into other ways for bike companies to get some space in the big, national magazines. Since she must have lost my contact info (ha ha) here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

If you're not reaching out to editors and writers at mainstream magazines you're missing a huge opportunity. Even if you're not one of the big brands, don't despair; most editors at mainstream magazines don't care how big your company is or how deep your pockets are. All they care about is that you can tell them about a product that is well-designed, unique, and serves the needs of their audience. It also helps if your product is part of a larger, emerging trend.

I've gotten relatively unknown clients in places like Maxim, Time for Kids, Playboy, Teen Magazine, Parenting, The Wall Street Journal, and others.

A good example of a small bike company that has leveraged an interesting backstory and well-differentiated products to get national publicity is Cycles Gaansari. Gaansari is a fledgling brand from a bike shop in Ohio. Their well-differentiated bikes and strong tie-in with the Wright Brothers (who were former bike makers themselves) has gotten them all sorts of great publicity. Of course it doesn't hurt that they've been blogging since 2003, and "with astounding results," according to their founder and former PR guy, Gary Boulanger.

So don't be afraid to think big. If you can present your products to the right person at the right time in the right way, you might be able to score some space in a major national magazine, even if you're not a mega-brand.

Too much Lance?!

Hewlett-Packard Unveils LiveStrong Laptop

I'm just as thrilled as the next guy that cycling can claim the biggest sports star of the moment. But when does too much exposure start to turn people off? I think Lance is getting close to the danger zone with this one.

JRA Blog on BusinessWeek.com

Somehow Heather Green at Business Week got wind of my recent post about bike shops and blogging. She featured it on the popular "BlogSpotting" blog at BusinessWeek.com.

Here's what she wrote:

"A heartfelt and pragmatic plea from Jonathan Maus at Just Riding Along for bike shops to start blogging. Maus even includes a link to Freewheel Bike, a shop in Minneapolis that has its own blog."

Wow, she sure makes it sound dramatic huh?

And there was even a comment:

I'm an ex-bike store owner come web designer who is DYING to see specialty retailers start blogging. Bike shops are a perfect example of how blogs can build business. All of the info mentioned is valid, but I'd add buying tips, sizing info (how to find the right sized bike), info on buying used bikes and more. In my experience though, my bike business brethren are not quick to pick up technology or marketing trends. I expect to see antique dealers and other specialty retailers get on the blog train long before bike shops get on board.

Posted by: Peter Flaschner at May 18, 2005 07:54 PM

Guess that's another reason bike shops should blog...you never know when a major national magazine will mention your link!

Here's the permalink to the BlogSpotting post on BusinessWeek.com (I'm not sure why she added the random bike picture from Flickr).

Oh no, not again.

There's another Kryptonite-esque lock breaking video (WMV, 7.5 MB) all over the web. This time the brand name is Kensington...and they're about to get "Kryptonited," according to Steve Rubel at the Micropersuasion blog. My favorite comment from Steve's post is that it's too bad Kensington doesn't have a blog set up to combat and communicate with the oncoming blog storm.

I wonder if they've called Kryptonite for some advice yet.

Where'd the BRAINy guy go?

Has anyone else noticed that the logo on BicycleRetailer.com has changed? For some reason the BRAINy icon is no longer up.

Here's what it used to look like...

And now...

Was the brain too graphic? Did someone complain? Man, where's The Piton when you need them.

Bike Shops Must Start Blogging

If you haven't noticed web logs (AKA blogs) are changing the way people communicate on the web. Blogs have been around for a long time, but they haven't caught fire in the mainstream until now. As a communications professional it is my business to not only stay up-to-date on this revolution, but to participate as well. As a bike-lover who wants to see IBDs succeed I want to encourage more shops (and people in the industry for that matter) to start blogging.

Blogs are a great way for shops to connect with their customers, prospects and communities...yet in all of my surfing I have only found one bike shop blog. As someone who is totally convinced that blogs are the wave of the future, I find this hard to comprehend. Here's some reasons why more bikes shops should start a blog:

• Simplicity. Any employee can post information with a few clicks.
• Outreach. They're perfect for announcing shop rides and events.
• Affordability. Blogs cost nothing to create (except for the time it takes to
• Visibility. A blog will be indexed higher in search engines than your existing website.
• Interactivity. Blogs are alive. With regular posts and comments, your customers will see your shop as a vibrant place.
• Education. Shops are full of smart folks with tons of industry and technical information that is valuable to customers.
• Expertise. Blogs add credibility to your shop and will make you an expert in your community. Credible, expert sources instill confidence in consumers and they will end up buying more bike parts as a result.
• Publicity. Once you've established your shop as the place for bike information, the local media will come to you when they're working on bike-related stories or they need to mention a local bike shop in an article.
  
• Syndication. With the advent of RSS, your visitors can have new posts sent to them for reading in their RSS reader. *With RSS you avoid email spam filters and subsription management issues common with email newsletters.
  
• Networking. Your blog will help you identify and build relationships with your key customers. I have met many people in my community from receiving comments and feedback from my bike blog that covers Portland, OR.
  

Here are some examples of information you could post on your blog.

• New product lines you've started carrying.
• Arrivals of new product.
• Photos of cool bikes you're building up.
• Photos from shop rides.
• Tip and tricks on bike set-up and maintenance.
• Rants, opinions and raves about people, products, etc...
• Tips on riding technique.
• Local trail and road updates.
• GPS downloads of local trails.
  

Excuses you'll probably have.

• We can't afford it. There is a very good blogging platform (Blogger) that is totally free. There are other free options as well. Other platforms cost very little compared to what you're paying your web guy.
• We don't have time. Your blog can have several authors. That means if you have three employees who post and each one of them posts once a week, you're off to the races. Also, posts can be as short or long as you'd like.
• I don't know what a blog is. Short for "web log," think of a blog as a website that takes no HTML skill whatsoever. It is simply a different way to publish information on the WWW.
  
• We already have a bulletin board/forum. Blogs are not forums! With blogs you create the posts and control the content. Blogs also offer you the chance to syndicate your content; which is not possible with forums. You can also edit comments and/or decide who is authorized to leave comments, or turn off comments all together.

More resources:

• Here's an article from the San Francisco Chronicle about small business blogging.

Check out these bike industry blogs for examples:

• Masi Guy - by the Brand Manager for Masi Bicycles
• Surly Blog - self explanatory

So, why hasn't your shop started blogging? Any questions? Just ask me.

**Read some great comments on this post at BusinessWeek.com

Unite and Conquer

The San Diego Union Trib. did a story Sunday on the more than two dozen bike industry companies based in the San Diego area. The list is impressive and it ranges from several small framebuilders to well-known brands like Speedplay, Electra, Ellsworth, NiteRider, and Haro.

This comes out just days after the Wisconsin Journal reports that the cycling industry's impact on Wisconsin's economy is somewhere near $835 million. (read a PDF of the full report).

This is great exposure for the industry and I think we could see even more of this if bike industry companies began to form trade associations. With common goals and pooled resources, bike companies could do great things; from commissioning studies that convince law-makers to take bikes seriously to marketing campaigns that help cycling compete for the mainstream recreational dollar.

Co-operative efforts are common in other industries that are full of small-to-medium sized companies without the money to make an impact in their local market by themselves. Maybe now it's the bike industry's turn.

Cadillac and Columbia

In another sign that cycling is gaining appeal with mainstream America, I've noticed two major corporations have recently launched a line of bikes. Columbia Sportswear and Cadillac (yes, Cadillac) have decided to dip their toe into the waters. Great news right? The bike industry is being noticed by some major outside players!! woo hoo! Well contain your enthusiasm. A long-time veteran of the bike biz and president of real bike company just told me:

"I think calling the Columbia bike "a Portland bike line" is probably stretching it. More like a “made-in-China-specced-by-a-guy- in- Dayton-who-works-for-a-company-on-Long-Island-that-
gets-approval-from-a-company-in-Beaverton-bike-line”

Very well said. But I'm not entirely cynical about this because there's no denying it's a good sign for the industry as a whole. Bike companies are going to have to be that much sharper with their marketing and communications in order to compete with the exclusive distribution networks and deep pockets of these new players.

Dave Guettler: Living the life? Tell your customers.

Dave Guettler owns River City Bicycles in Portland, OR. He wrote the guest editorial in the current issue of Bicycle Retailer magazine. The title of the piece is How to Succeed in the Industry: In Short, Lead the Life. Here's a choice quote:

"Don't turn into the kind of person who spends more time on the golf course than on the bike seat - otherwise get into the golf business"

I couldn't agree with him more...just look at how effective it has been for Clif Bar. They've spent millions to brand their founder Gary Erickson.

So...if you do "lead the life", wouldn't it be great to let your customers and prospects know? Of course it would. But how can you do that without it feeling like a blatant marketing ploy or spending millions? The answer is to start a blog. So far I don't know of any executives (or staff for that matter) in the bike industry who are blogging and they're missing a golden opportunity to connect their brand with their customers.

Cheers to Masi's brand manager for his "Masi Guy" blog. Even though it's a bit mushy and all-Masi-all-the-time, at least he's doing it. Now, who else is game?

The Piton rests

The Piton was an irreverant, anonymous blog about the underbelly of the outdoor industry. It was something I read everyday and it's a bummer to see it go.

I wonder if someone else will pick up where they left off?