2007 June — LauraThieme.com

Bizresearch President – 10 years - 2007

Fisher College of Business Lecturer on Search Marketing

OSU Russian Studies Grad – 1993

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23rd June 2007

Electric Cars in 2007

Electric Cars - Would You Buy One?

I want to test-drive for 30 days an electric car and blog about it. The fee is $7,500 per car for one month, and is separate from any other agreement you have with Bizresearch, my company. I will ask that you help me to decorate the car with “Bizresearch Goes Green - Sponsored by [Insert Your Dealership & Auto Manufacturer Name]”. The car color would preferably be green or red.

I blog about my true experience, your auto manufacturer and dealership gets the press. I’ll blog on both Bizresearch and LauraThieme.com. The teaser will be on Bizresearch and will send users to more details on LauraThieme.com. I’d also link to your site, and respective content pages.

I want to see what it’s like to have to plug in each day, or every 100 miles, or however far your car goes. I want to see how fast it goes, and we’ll track our progress. If it only goes 25 mph, I can’t think of one place I can drive it. So it has to at least travel 45mph for local trips. For longer distance, it’s got to go 75 mph.

I’ll involve my PR company, and they’ll also promote it. Pictures and video will be uploaded to YouTube, Google Video, Flickr and other social media sites. I’ll tag each one uploaded so it tags the car’s manufacturer, dealership, and “electric car” or whatever is appropriate.

The fee applies to each car I test drive. I will drive each car a minimum of 750 miles. I drive around Columbus, to work, to the store (Whole Foods), to social events, and to client events. I have an event in Mackinac Island in August, so I could drive as far as possible, before the ferry is required. It would be my main source of transporation for those 30 days. You provide all transportation costs in getting the car to and from me. Your lawyers and my lawyers can get involved to hold us mutually harmless and all that good stuff. Your PR folks can talk to my PR folks. I’ll be the sole car driver.

If you have an affiliate marketing program, I’d like to receive referral commissions of $250 on each car I help you sell.

Personally, I want to see what it’s like to plug in a hybrid, watch my mileage, and power up. I’ve always been a Toyota owner, so the Prius comes to mind. But I’m actually interested in test-driving other electric cars as well. As a blogger, and well-known search marketer, you could get some significant press from this.

I also want my former employer, AEP, (www.aep.com) to tell me how much it will increase my electricity cost for one year, depending on the car I choose.

Electric cars I’d like to test-drive for 30 days:

Zapworld - I just submitted a request to them today. Let’s see what happens, and how long it takes to hear from someone. i’ve decided that this is the one, the Zap Obvio 828E Electric Car, which is what I want to drive for 30 days and blog about. As a Toyota RAV4 owner, the other electric car I’m interested in - it’s the Zap-x Crossover Electric Car, which is coming soon (when would that be by chance?). And just to see if I send them any sales - I decided to become a ZAP Affiliate marketer, so I can earn up to 5% commission on every referral sale. The only problem I already see with their affiliate marketing program is that they can only track referral commission sales every 90 days. It could take longer than 90 days for a person to make a decision on an electric car. In fact, I think it could take up to a year unless we see gas prices hit $4 a gallon. Even worse, they have to establish an account on the first visit, so they can track the person, which to me says this is another reason I’d likely not see a referral commission. Lastly, I had a problem with my affiliate program setup, which makes me wonder if I’m in their system. As of yet, two hours after posting, I’ve still not had an email come in to say I’ve set up an account.

I’m looking for other electric cars to test-drive for 30 days, and will post more here soon. Could your electric car be one of the cars I test drive for 30 days? Contact me at laura@bizresearch.com or call my assistant, Karen, at 614-846-7560 to see if your car could be one I test drive.

To learn more about electric cars:

Visit The Electric Auto Association - takes forever to load - try this site instead: www.pluginamerica.com

17th June 2007

Venice in 2030

Did you know that Venice could be underwater and uninhabitable by 2030?

I’m listening to the ocean waves crash outside my hotel room in Laguna Beach. It’s cool here at night, even in mid-June. The sound of the oceans waves is amazing - deafening if you’re distracted by work and thoughts of other things besides works, sleep encouraging if you’re putting your thoughts behind you.

This place has become my haven from work, and yet I’m bringing my work to Laguna. I just completed my first Search N Spa event, where I teach search marketing to retailers for four straight days. It’s intense but offers up time for retail business owners and high level execs to spend time with their family, and the opportunity to walk the town. Laguna Beach is known for its art galleries. It’s absolutely gorgeous. Areas that are surrounded by water are so fragile in today’s world of global warming.

I’m watching Discovery Channel and they’re talking about Venice, Italy, and its water bound city. Water levels are rising 1/40 of an inch per year. A woman interviewed said they are getting flooded in Venice with the tides at night. It’s quiet, scary, and the water simply, quietly floods the house.