Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could…
(The opening from the Road Less Taken, by famed poet Robert Frost)
Long has manufactured housing taken the road less traveled. You need not take my word for it, you can read what an industry veteran like Bob Vahsholtz has to say about MH’s storied past.
While many of us love poetry and wordplay, we ought to think higher of the goal of serving ever more Americans in the ways that MH can do best! We need, among other things, to introduce more of the mainstream media to our ‘good news stories.’ Manufactured housing has many, here is one that award-winning journalist Jan Hollingsworth published for 83DegreesMedia.
Factory built homes appeal to millennials, boomers across America
JAN HOLLINGSWORTH / 83 DEGREES MEDIA TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015
Millennials looking to buy their first homes and Boomers looking to downsize find factory-built or manufactured housing to be a good alternative that offers affordable, sturdy and green living.
http://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/manufacturedhousing072115.aspx
83 Degrees Media, I’m told, has the reputation for covering stories that are ‘so cool they’re hot.’
We had the pleasure of introducing Jan to the MH pros in the story linked above. I think Evan Atkinson and Steve Adler all come off well don’t you? The reference to Bill Matchneer, is also positive. The home owner they featured, is clearly a great choice for breaking those old MH sterotypes.
We were a resource, but it wasn’t until this morning that I actually saw a single word that went into their fine story, linked above.
Before saying more, please, let me encourage you to read the 83 Degrees Media’s story, and then share it via your social media, email and word of mouth! It is important that we be engaged with the mainstream media on all stories, but especially we must learn to share the GOOD STORIES.
That’s the Road Traveled by other industries. Lift Up Your Good News! It has been the road less traveled by manufactured housing. We need to change that, perhaps, starting today?! Please click this link and read it, and why not post a nice comment at the end of Jan’s story?!
Jan “discovered” us in part through MHLivingNews.com. I was happy to make some introductions so she could do the story above.
Then, The Unexpected happened…
You don’t know what will happen when mainstream media covers you.
What we didn’t originally discuss was Jan’s suggestion, after she interviewed those others in the story linked above, that she felt there should be a side-bar story about the people behind MHProNews and MHLivingNews.
My reply? I told Jan that my wife Soheyla (pronounced as it looks – So Hey La) will never go for it, and it wouldn’t be right for me to do a story like that without her, because her role in both of those and other online efforts has been essential.
So Jan spoke to my truly better half, and convinced Soheyla that it was a good idea.
So like the ‘main’ story above, I had not one clue as to one word that would go into Jan’s companion article before I saw this:
Tired of renting? Get the scoop on manufactured homes
JAN HOLLINGSWORTH / 83 DEGREES MEDIA TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015
Team Kovach, husband L.A. “Tony” and wife Soheyla, of Lakeland share news about the increasingly popular manufactured housing industry through online publications and word of mouth.
http://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/mhnews072115.aspx
“The Voice”
Indeed, we do try to be at least as positive a spokesperson for the Manufactured Housing Industry as anyone. We do that by:
- putting the spotlight on professionals like yourselves, and good MH operations.
- We do that also by showcasing the home owners who love their manufactured homes.
- And we do it by interviewing experts outside of our MH industry that have taken the time to look, see, touch, experience and fall in love with manufactured home living, be it on privately owned land or in land-leased MH Communities.
When we do a written or video interview, the focus is on the person we are speaking with and the subject being discussed in the interview. We want those we interview to come off positively.
Our approach is simple. We want to get that person interviewed talking about their area of experience or expertise. By doing so, we see more investors, public officials, media and those all-important home buyers truly ‘getting it’ about today’s manufactured homes.
…Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Ladies and gents – my fellow MHPros – kindly let me encourage you to take the road less traveled in MH by taking the road more traveled by other industries.
We need to share the good news that happens in our industry, even if the good news is about someone else! See a savvy example, by an MH retailer, linked here.
Until the public realizes there are so very many good news stories about MH, we will never, ever reach our full potential. We truly believe that MH should be doing 500,000 + new manufactured home sales per year. When people realize just how great a value today’s MH truly is, that can once more be the case.
That would also mean many times more modular sales than we currently experience.
Please. Take a few minutes to read the stories above. Post it on your social media and share it with your team. Ask them to do the same. Good viral stories are SOoooooooooooooo much better than the other kind. Positive news is good for the industry, and that is good for you. As Robert Frost said,
“And that has made all the difference.” ##
