Ready for my close-up

Scheduling three major activities this month, I noticed that I’m a garden-variety June celebrator and entrepreneur.

Like many of you, I’ll be 1) creating marketing materials for promoting my business over the next 6 months and year ahead, 2) attending a reunion (my next post), and 3) taking a vacation (final entry on the subject).

Today’s post is about marketing. I noticed I was part of a trend when two other entrepreneurial women reached out to me to update their websites. First, the woman who wrote the copy for mine requested permission to use my photo and testimonial on her soon-to-be-updated one. That same day I also agreed to participate in a video testimonial for Urban Clarity, the meticulous and marvelous team that moved me from the Upper West Side to Washington Heights two years ago.

Their videographer, Kiwi Callahan, and I agreed to a session at 2:15pm at my apartment. She was early and I was late arriving. I asked which entrance she was at (there are two) and requested that she meet me at the one closer to the subway. Little did I know that she was toting over 100 pounds of equipment in three different cases—one of which contained several 25 pound sandbags to keep her tripods from tipping.

Kiwi Callahan behind the scene

I wanted to show you, via these images, what an investment of time and effort Urban Clarity made in committing to having video testimonials on their site for prospects to watch. I rarely give much thought to what goes into the youtube reels I watch. I can’t wait to see how this ultra-professionally executed series will stand out by comparison.

Not only did Kiwi have to set up all the equipment for lighting and focus, she also did sound checks, mic’ed me and had a prepared script to work from. Her interviewer’s chair, opposite mine so I wasn’t directly facing the camera, had to be augmented to the height of my seat so we’d be eye-to-eye. Since phone books are no longer in vogue, we got creative, elevating hers with one of the carrying cases she’d brought along for the additional 6 inches.

Kiwi’s booster seat

Before we began, she instructed me to take some deep breaths, along with her, to relax and set the mood for the interview.

Our conversation flew by and it was done. I’m not sure when the series of testimonials will be completely shot, edited and uploaded, but I’ll definitely post them when they are. My admiration to Amanda Wiss who runs this company for her dedication and willingness to invest in her future.

As far as my own marketing, these past few weeks were devoted to creating what’s called a Tip Sheet in publishing. I needed to do that for my memoir so booksellers will know how to sell what I’ve written. It’s a complex project, choosing comparable books on the subject, keywords so readers can find me and a short description of what my story is about. This summer I’ll begin sharing more of the publication process as I continue on this journey.

I hope your June is going well. What typically June activities do you find yourself partaking in?