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I had always wanted a sailboat. In 1999 I got the itch to live the cruising life, so my partner and I took ourselves to Florida to buy a boat and disappear into the Caribbean. Instead, we - OK I, insisted that we buy a boat in tremendous need of repair and truck her back to California.
She was a 1985 Mason 44 - a classic - resplendent with peeling, yellowing varnish - and we spent three years restoring her to her former glory.
We learned to sail, to fix things, to navigate and to read the weather. We learned that we were not meant to go cruising but that we loved spending leisurely holidays at our local islands. And we made a ton of friends. We even raced her and took a third in the Newport To Ensenada Race.
One weekend on Catalina, I was introduced to the editor of Latitudes and Attitudes. Every month they profile a boat and she asked me to write up ours. I love print because it brings together my writing and photography in a very personal way.
I also became involved in an on-line owners group. It was a first hand introduction to the influence communities like these have through the Internet. Since then I have written extensively for two audiophile discussion boards. These discussions go well beyond blogging - what people are really doing is problem solving and sharing solutions. I have listed a few of these "obsession" sites here.
Developing strategies to influence these discussions is increasingly important to companies who sell highly targeted products . It is one of the few ways to build customer loyalty and mobilize existing customers to influence potential buyers. Done right - and we are all learning how - there will be tremendous ROI from this highly focused form of content development.
Of course we sold the boat - come on, you knew that was going to happen right? We'd be glad to send you a copy.of the article, as well as the brochure we developed to sell the boat.
