Mitch Mitchell first introduced me to Bev Mahone in his post 21 Of The Top Black Social Media Influencers and I've been following her tweets ever since. It wasn't long before I started following her audio podcasts, YouTube videos, blog and…well let me just go ahead and introduce Bev Mahone now and let her tell you more about her online success in this interview.
Introducing Bev Mahone
Ileane: Bev, it’s my pleasure to interview you for the blog. Please introduce yourself to the readers here at Basic Blog Tips. Give us some background and tell us about your recent projects.
After getting married in the late 80s, my news career brought me to North Carolina, where I worked for the NBC and ABC stations. I also taught Writing for Radio and Television News at a local University. Then after spending more than 25 years in the radio and television news business, I was forced to “reinvent” myself by using my media expertise to create my own media consulting business: BAMedia. As a media trainer, I work with middle-aged women on how create their own voices through various forms of media.
I also hosts my own radio show called The Boomer Beat every Monday from 12pm – 1pm on WCOM Radio in Carrboro, NC.
As far as recent projects go, I recently released by third book titled, Don’t Ask and I Won’t Have to Lie: 50 is the new 30 and other tall tales. It’s no secret that women lie but did you know those lies change as we age? The book addresses those lies—from my personal experiences.
I’m also excited about the brand new card game I created as a spin-off to the book. It’s called “Don’t Ask.” You and your partner must decide how you would respond to different situations. If you match you get a point. If you’re playing with another team, the first team to get to five points wins the game. What I’ve discovered is there’s a lot of talking that goes on during the game so it takes a LONG time to get to five points. One of my girlfriends calls it “the deck of dialogue.” OK—here’s a shameless plug: You can order your deck if you follow this link: http://beverlymahone.com/about/bevs-products/
In addition to being a veteran journalist, best-selling author and media trainer, I am also wife, mother of a college senior and grandmother of a four-year-old grandson. (Wanna know how I felt about my daughter’s teenage pregnancy, DON’T ASK! or read my book).
I refer to myself as a 50-something woman on the move and making a difference in the lives of others as well as my own.
Ileane: I started doing more audio podcasting recently and I noticed that you have quite a few podcasts up and running. I’m also hearing some rumblings from people complaining about Blog Talk Radio due to the quality of the audio. What’s your take on that and what’s your favorite website to use for your audio podcast and why?
What many hosts on BlogTalk Radio fail to understand is the quality of the audio is poor because of the equipment being used. Although I am not a techie by any stretch of the imagination, I do know when you use a phone line over a computer, you aren’t going to get the highest quality sound.
The shows I have on BlogTalk Radio are recorded from my live show on WCOM Radio. It’s a real studio so the quality is going to be better for sure. As far as my favorite website for my audio podcasts, I like Podomatic. It has different categories for people to search to find what they’re looking for and it ranks the podcasts. I’m happy to say my show, The Boomer Beat, stays consistently in the Top 20. Some weeks it even ranks in the Top 10.
Ileane: As I mentioned earlier, I was introduced to you in a post that Mitch Mitchell from I’m Just Sharing did called 21 of the Top Black Social Media Influencers and immediately I was “super impressed” by how quickly you responded by issuing a press release about being honored in Mitch’s post. Can you tell us how you did that? Is issuing a press release a complicated process?
For me, writing the press release was a simple process because I’ve been writing them for years—and Lord knows, I’ve read my share as a journalist! As a media trainer, I teach others how to write their own releases.
A press release is an announcement. It lets an audience know what you’re doing, have done or are about to do. It is a publicity tool to give you more exposure among your peers and potential future customers.
The press release I did on the Top Black Social Media Influencers was a win-win situation because it not only gave me exposure for being on the list, it also gave publicity to Mitch who created it. I call that a win-win promotion.
Is it a complicated process? It could be if you don’t know how to write them or where to distribute them but I am offering some free ebooks as a guideline. If you go to my website, www.beverlymahone.com and click on free ebooks, you’ll be able to download them.
Ileane: The last time I was on your blog I noticed that you and your daughter were involved in some community outreach in your area. It reminded me very much of the times my daughter helped me with a Rites of Passage mentoring program that I volunteered with. Tell us why you picked this particular charity, the Central Childrens Home of Oxford NC to donate your time to.
This is a long story and I will do my best to give you the short version. One Thursday morning I went to a Coffee and Contacts meeting in my area to connect with a woman who had been trying to get up with me for months. I had never been to one of their meetings and didn’t know anybody there but that’s where she wanted to meet. During the meeting a woman stands up and announces that she’s looking for volunteers to help with a makeover project for a cottage at the Central Childrens Home.
My ears perked up because my (former) father-in-law used to be the Executive Director there. After the meeting, I approached the woman and told her about my connection. She asked me what my father-in-law’s name was. I told her and she started screaming. She said that was the very same cottage they were planning to renovate. I told her although Mr. Bryant had passed away, his son still lived in the area along with his granddaughter (my daughter). Then I just volunteered to be a part of the project. After telling my daughter about it, she wanted to volunteer also—so we did. We had so much fun in spite of the hard work and LONG hours and it truly brought us closer together. My daughter was asked to speak at the unveiling ceremony and she has gone one step further by committing to visit the children once a month at the Home.
Bev Mahone on YouTube and Collaborations
Ileane: Bev, you also have a YouTube channel, how does that play a role in your overall strategy to get your message out there? What video has the most views on your channel and how were you able to accomplish that?
I’m just playing around on YouTube! I don’t have any real strategy. I just record when I feel like it on whatever subject I feel like talking about. The video that has the most views is: 12 Days of a Menopausal Christmas. It has over 6600 views and I think it’s because of the subject matter—not because of my own efforts to get people to the page.
Ileane: What advice would you like to give to someone who’s looking for success online? Is there anything we should be doing – or AVOID doing as we try to grow our online reputation or build our small business?
It’s about relationships. You have to build them. You have to be engaging and interact with your online connections on a personal level. You don’t have to know their life story but by getting to know more about them, you find out what things you may have in common. People are more willing to do business with those they know, like and trust.
Be honest and genuine about who you are. Never make claims about being able to offer a service when you know you can’t, but surround yourself with good people so you can make good referrals. For example, I teach a radio course. I always tell the student I am the “creative” side of radio but I have an awesome “technical” side by the name of Martin Brossman. He comes in and fills in the gaps for what I don’t know. I never want to mislead anyone into believing I can do ALL things—only God can do that.
[box]Watch Bev and Martin Brossman talk about the book release of their book Social Media for Business[/box]
You have to also clearly understand who your audience is when it comes to business. Who are you trying to attract? Who are the best people for what you have to offer? You have to reach out and touch them. You have to speak their language. Unfortunately, I see too many people online who try to be all things to all people and I don’t personally think that works.
Don’t oversell. Now I know I’m all about publicity and promotion but I do think some people overdo it when it comes to tooting their own horn. If you see someone singing their own praises all the time and no one else is, you should be suspect.
Take your online relationships offline as much as possible. With social media being the way it is, you can have connections all over the world but I recommend building strong virtual bonds within your own area and take them offline so you can see if their online presence matches up with who they are in person.
We have an online community in my city called Inside919. (You can join if your telephone area code is 919). The administrator, Pat Howlett, encourages us to meet offline and even hosts a monthly luncheon and Final Friday event so we can connect. It’s a great way to get to know others up close and personal and establish more of a business relationship.
Form partnerships and collaborations. Find others you can team up with conduct a webinar or ebook or whatever. But before you do that, make sure you do your homework/research on who you’re teaming up with. Just because they seem popular with the social media in-crowd, don’t get bamboozled into believing the possible hype. Some people can talk a good game but not be able to produce results. Then you have those folks who want to take over and show everyone how great they are—or think they are.
Finally, respect others.
Closing Thoughts and Words of Advice from Bev Mahone
Ileane: Lastly Bev, tell us what’s on the horizon for you. Any behind the scenes projects you got going on? What’s on Bev Mahone’s wish list?
Well, I was hoping to get on Oprah before she went off the air but I never got the call. One thing I’ve learned is you can’t sit around waiting for something to happen, you have to go out and make it happen.
I am thankful for having a long and successful career in radio and television news because it has taught me so much. And now I can pass on what I’ve learned to others. I know how challenging it can be to switch careers at midlife because I did it. I also know the challenges one can face trying to get their name out there when the media is so focused on youth. I know this is my calling and I absolutely love being able to help others have their time to shine.
As far as future project go, I am currently working on two books, which I expect to have published in 2012. The titles are: How to Get on the News without Committing Murder. The other is, Make Your MESS Your MESS-age.
I want to thank you so much for the opportunity to be interviewed and as you can see, I tend to be long-winded. (that’s the journalist in me)!
Ileane: Bev, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview.
Well readers, there you have it. This interview was an inspiration to me in many ways. What are your take-aways and some of the things you find most interesting about Bev Mahone?