As promised, here’s where I explain how a podcast called BFRB Stories relates to promoting this project, BFRB Dogs. Note this is the second post in the series, It’s All Dog Business. If you missed the first one, read It’s All Dog Business: BFRB Dogs Launch Plan, Phase 1A. That post discusses how launching for-profit helps the BFRB community, and it outlines generally what the plan is for making BFRB Dogs a real life thing. The second part of launching asks this question (the podcast part makes sense after this background):
How will I promote BFRB Dogs in a socially responsible way?
As a reminder, here’s the outline of what Phase 1B looks like:
PHASE 1B: PROMOTION & PODCAST
- TBD – social media promotion
- TBD – promotion tradesies with other groups in alignment with BFRB Dogs, like Not Alone Notes
- If you’re interested in advertising opportunities or trading for a podcast promotion slot, please contact me!
- $85 – annual BFRB Stories podcast hosting fees
- ~$140 – BFRB Stories podcast logo (in progress)
$140 – initial podcasting equipment investment- ~$1,000 – initial swag investment (merchandise) to sell, including design costs
At this stage of BFRB Dogs, I need to ask the larger community for money to support my cause, which again, is a five-year plan, and I can’t truly make this cause meet its potential for a while.
For now, I need to dig deep to promote this passion project heavily on social media, be that potentially annoying advertiser gaining likes, shares, friends in my corner, and ultimately, earn donations by showing my true colors. I’ll soon raise enough (I hope!) to design and buy a few T-shirts to sell, further increasing my revenue stream.
What I will NOT do is promise you, ever, that supporting me or even getting one of my dogs will cure you. I’m no scam artist; I really care about this cause and all of you along for the ride with me. You’ll never see content from me where I intentionally try to tell you how things aren’t going, or even spinning the truth. I’m human though; you’re allowed to tell me whenever I mess up on accident.
What do you value and why should I care?
Basically, I promise to tell it like it is.
OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY AND WHATNOT
We have enough toxic shame and silence as a BFRB community, and as a socially responsible being, I want to help with the opposite by being totally open and transparent. That means I’ll tell you about as many ins and outs of BFRB Dogs and even why I make the business decisions I do, because that is essentially the opposite of how I certainly felt about disclosing my mental health rap sheet–skin picking especially–until recently. You’re not the only one who’s ever felt alone (guilty).
MAKE THE TERM “BFRB” A HOUSEHOLD CELEBRITY
I want to create an avenue for all the beautiful people with BFRB experiences and expertise to become more connected. I want us to feel that sense of larger community instead of isolation, and really explain what body-focused repetitive behaviors are. And I value raising awareness for the term BFRB. How else do you do that if you don’t actually use it??
If you’ve seen the movie Mean Girls, I’m basically making “fetch” happen. What does this mean if you don’t know the movie? Character Gretchen Wieners tries to get this new word to catch on to mean “cool” but the queen mean girl tells her she’ll never make it happen. Replace “fetch” with “BFRB” and I’m trying to make “BFRB” happen, so it becomes at least as well known as “skin picking,” “dermatillomania,” “trichotillomania,” and “hair pulling.” The ultimate goal I’m striving for is to make “BFRB” as well known as “OCD” because then we know we as a community have succeeded in all things BFRB awareness.
ACCESS TO BFRB TREATMENT OPTIONS
Not until the larger world knows that body-focused repetitive behavior is the head term for skin picking and trich do I believe treatment will become more readily accessible to the average human with BFRBs. This is just my opinion. And another reason I wanted to give my BFRB peeps another option to help with their daily lives, hence the birth of BFRB Dogs.
The BFRB Stories podcast aligns with my values.
Here’s where the podcast actually comes in. I was just brainstorming cool things to do when I realized a podcast would be a great way to do all this:
- build a following and get to play with audio equipment
- use ad slots to promote BFRB Dogs and raise funds for that cause
- provide an avenue for others to share their experiences, in turn encouraging others to come out of their own shame closets
- allow me to exercise transparency and openness around my own story and my cause
- help make the term “BFRB” famous
- share current treatment options and challenges
- educate BFRB peeps and loved ones on the status of BFRB research to give them hope and whatnot
- get the real story from BFRB professionals, like, yo, what are you up to now?
What will the BFRB Stories podcast sound like?
BFRB Stories the podcast is currently in the works. I’m a few recordings away from compiling all the voices needed for my introduction, which I personally think is going to be amazing and I’m really excited about showing it off!
The introduction will be different voices back to back explaining their experiences with BFRBs. For example, “I want to support my daughter. She pulls her hair,” to “it’s called trichotillomania and it’s not my fault,” to “I’m a professional that treats body-focused repetitive behaviors,” to “I’m so ashamed that I just can’t stop,” to “my therapist calls it excoriation disorder,” to “I train dogs to help with BFRBs,” (sorry not sorry; have to include) and more.
Once I finish the intro in the next month, I’ll start recording interviews. I hope to drop into iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and all the podcast apps before the annual BFRB conference on May 2, 2019! I’ll let you know when I actually launch BFRB Stories!
Please contact me to ask about sharing YOUR BFRB STORY on the podcast!
Ready for more updates?
Check out the next post in this series, It’s All Dog Business: Letting the Dogs Out, Phase 2 to learn about my thoughts on how all of the actual dog stuff is going to work.
<3 Haley