[7/24/2010 SteppersUSA Daily News]
Expanding Possibilities
By Markie Bee
National Chicago Style Steppers Day
Send The Best Stepping Photos: BestPhotos@steppersusa.com
To send a plugger or Flyer Click Here
Contact Markie Bee: webmaster@steppersusa.com
Friday night I went to Club Dyamonds on a night that looked like the skies would open, the rain would pour down and the wind would blow us away. Surprisingly, we got some sprinkles and a little wind in Lynwood, IL during the four hours I was there. The set was a little light on attendance but I think weather and the DRD birthday set in Waukegan, and people going to Los Angeles played into that.
I'm going to backtrack a bit to a phone conversation I had with a promoter that evening before the Dyamonds party. We were talking about which parties and sets I was attending over the weekend. He told me he wasn't going to the same set (which is fine with me) but he brought up a good point. He said he was making it a point to visit parties he doesn't normally visit and plug at. He went on to explain that it's important to promote to more than your core audience who will probably make it to your party after the first time they see your flyer. He continued by giving me his take on keeping the push on to bring more potential to his party by appealing to the broadest possible audience and you can't do that by only plugging at the same places day in and day out.

 

More Below

Continued


I have to agree with that approach wholeheartedly. Sure your street crew should make it to the same events and plug regularly but if you want to grow your audience, you need to broaden your scope and "spread the love" in more and different places to more and different people. That's how we grow the dance and I think there are people out there that forget that once in a while.
On the way home from the Dyamonds Divas party I might have made faster progress getting home with a boat equipped with radar. The words torrential downpour comes to mind when describing my trip down the Dan Ryan where very few people were going anywhere near the posted speed limit (not that that is unusual on the Ryan but I mean slower than the limit). With sections flooding out plus next to zero visibility because of the rain (it was so bad you could barley see your own wiper blades) the vast majority of drivers were taking it slow. Anyway, it took two hours to get home. I don't drink anymore but that trip made me want to!
In a different vein, I talked with Calvin (Taboo) Jarrett yesterday and he came close to cussing me out over T-shirts for the National Chicago Style Steppers Day (NCSSD). He reminded me that he can produce my designs using his garment company. He likes the designs I have made so far so we are now in discussions which I hope will bring these designs to the public at a lower cost and a wider range of offerings. He's the expert in that area. His products include jerseys worn by professional sports teams and other high profile celebrities. With less than a month to go until August 14th we may be talking about next years products.

What are you doing on August 14th? Please let me know!

Using Facebook:

Or Using Google: