Off and on I like to tune into HGTV’s Property Virgins where surprisingly, they often feature home buyers in the Austin, Texas area. What makes this particularly odd to me are two things:

1. The real estate agent on the show is from Canada (so she has to have a dual real estate license for both Canada and the United States, right?), and

2. I find myself thinking, “Isn’t Austin hit by hurricanes pretty often?”

Now I could be completely wrong about my second thought, but somehow I think not. Which always leads me to the thought of potential damages and the inevitable need for discount carpet cleaning services should you live in Austin, Texas.

The Steam Team to Austin’s Rescue!

Well continuing along the lines of my thoughts about heavy storms and/or hurricanes, it would only stand to reason that, potentially, at some point residents of Austin might have need of a “service to the rescue” team. This brings to mind a person’s choice to check into the helpful team at The Steam Team.

Here’s just one of multiple services The Steam Team provides: http://www.thesteamteam.com/austin-restoration-services/smoke-fire.shtml

Additional Services Offered for Austin Residents

Happily, The Steam Team doesn’t just handle heavy invasions of water (which if you live in Austin, I hope never happens to you). They also provide do it yourself carpet cleaner, should you be the ambitious type, commercial upholstery cleaning, air duct cleaning, pet odor elimination, dryer vent cleaning, and the list goes on!

If you ever find yourself in the position of needing everything from the everyday to emergency clean up, and you live in Austin, Texas, The Steam Team is ready and waiting to give you more than a helping hand.

(Side Note Added April 28th – Watched Property Virgins again last night and sure enough they were house hunting in Austin, Texas!)

Starting a blog is fairly easy; starting a blog the right way is not a walk in the park. I recently came across yet another spin off of the “put your blog inside my master blog and let me charge you money to build links for my domain” type of service. Wrong! Anyone starting a blog has to think about their needs and themselves FIRST and ALWAYS!

Reinforcement – Starting a Blog Is YOUR Business Strategy

I think the reason so many fall for the idea that starting a blog as a subdomain under a “master domain” is “easy” is because they don’t dig deep enough to understand the full ramifications of this decision:

1. It’s NOT your domain – you’re going to slave away building links for the other guy who just has to sit back and let you do the work to grow his/her business.

2. It’s much better to build your own spot on the internet for so many reasons!

A Few Reasons Why Starting A Blog of Your Own Is Best

As every marketer knows (including my case in point above) starting a blog with its wonderful link building is a must strategy to be attractive in terms of SEO and other people finding you. Eventually, you’re going to have to bite the bullet. You need to decide to stay on the edges or jump in and swim with the big and small fishes. I can tell you that having your own spot to advertise and market is easier on your wallet. In addition, you’re spending your money on yourself.

My case example (for starting a blog to his advantage) charges over $60/month. Hmmm… it reminds me of a time (long ago) where my business partner (at that time) and I spent $97 a month doing the same thing. It didn’t take us long to realize, “Wait a minute! We’re starting a blog, but this guy now has over 600,000 back links in the search engines!” Of course, we canceled that membership!

Free blogs and their pitfalls have been discussed before on this blog, so there isn’t a need to reiterate why going free isn’t always a smart move. Suffice to say, you want to put your best foot forward and let the world know you are an independent operator with the ability to afford (at a minimum) hosting of your own.

Consider the advantages of blogging with a pre-established network when starting a blog or a website online.

Today’s internet marketer has so many mixed media marketing choices to make it’s often hard to select the best direction to pursue. However one Advertising Agency that mixes the old with the new is worth investigating.

What Is Mixed Media Advertising?

Mixed media marketing is a 21st century term with a comprehensive definition. Covering well trodden paths like search engine optimization (seo), radio and TV broadcasting (commercials), advertisements in print, PPC advertising are standard and time-proven strategies for marketers of all levels.

However, the “new age” brings with it one’s ability to also incorporate:

o Mobile advertising
o Web video broadcasting
o Social media and participation in social communities
o Podcasting (hosting your own online “radio” broadcast)
o Enhanced graphic designs, and
o More impressive “creative writing” campaigns.

Mixed Media Marketing – Noun or Adjective?

Strangely enough, most of us think of any form of advertising as a noun, but mixed media marketing also can be considered an adjective.

Why? For the sole reason that it is an “innovative, creative new media” strategy. Synonyms that can be used to describe the mixed media marketing form of advertising include:

o Innovative marketing and advertising
o Multi-channel marketing
o “Assorted communications advertising,” and
o M3 – just to shorten the term up a bit (plus you’ll sound knowledgeable).

And Don’t Forget Branding

When investigating your options for mixed media advertising services designed to help you promote, don’t forget how important branding really is for yourself, your program, product or service. Look for reputable firms or agencies that understand the complete process.

No matter whether you are new or not to internet marketing, adding these new age technologies, or mixed media marketing strategies, into your promotions is a strategy few marketers should ignore.

After this past holiday weekend (for many), I thought I’d like to add a bit of peace and serenity with this gorgeous springtime music video, just to help you unwind:

The fellow that performs the above piece is Roy Todd. He also has more videos, similar to this one, posted on YouTube.