Devon Hunter

Okay, so I guess I’d better stop trying to think people aren’t paying attention… LOL

I thought I’d be able to get away with a little experimenting without causing any confusion, but now that I’ve received the eighth or ninth email about it, I suppose I should explain what is going on with October 22 - 25, 2009.

When I advertise I have been placing my ads two weeks in advance. I wanted to branch out to a new city, and thought Seattle sounded like fun. I think I need to start doing three weeks in advance (especially for new cities). The response to my Seattle ad was very low, and so I decided a couple days later to try Minneapolis, but the response there was the same. Bearing in mind that I need to make travel plans a week in advance to get deals on flights and hotels, one week before Seattle/Minneapolis I wasn’t comfortable with committing to either. I chose to go back to a familiar place (which is fine, because I didn’t want to be so far away from home right now anyway - some personal stuff requires me to be able to get home quickly if need be).

Here’s where the irony kicks in: Another week passes, and I have the response level needed to go to either Seattle OR Minneapolis. LOL But I’ve already got commitments in DC, so my current plans have to stand. But the responses I have from Seattle and Minneapolis give me the foothold I need to try again in those places. I wouldn’t have been able to act on either of those ads anyway, because I’d have to get to whichever place tomorrow (and good luck finding a discount on flights/hotels with 24 hours’ notice).

So… For those of you who have written in and asked, “What kind of a whirlwind tour are you planning?” Well… this is what was happening in the background. In summary: I am going to reach further in advance, so as to hopefully avoid this type of confusion in the future. My apologies #1 for presuming no one would notice and #2 for seeming disorganized.