I have the privilege of writing a column for our parent company’s publications that gets into several of our newspapers each week. OK, so I have written two columns so far and this week’s just got out online at GoDanRiver.com. It is in tribute to the Avon Walk that I did, but also goes more broadly to this month – October (which I will now always consider to be “Pinktober” for the numerous reasons mentioned in previous posts) – THE awareness month for Breast Cancer. Please read and consider ways you, too, can participate.
It was five weeks ago yesterday that our Affiliate Marketers Give Back Team completed the 40 mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Los Angeles. Our team of Missy Ward, Chris Pearson, Brook Schaaf, Lynette LaPlante, Melissa Salas, Brian Clark and myself raised over $50,000 in the fight against breast cancer. The video is about 11 minutes long (as short as I could get 16 hours of walking) but shows our fortitude to not only give, but participate.
DealTaker had its first “leaked” Black Friday ad posted this week (Half Price Books). Here is the press release announcing the start of the 2009 Holiday Shopping Season -
FIRST BLACK FRIDAY AD OF THE YEAR NOW ON DEALTAKER.COM
Premier Coupon & Deal Site Features Most-Anticipated Sales of the Year Well Ahead of Schedule
PLANO, Texas—October 7, 2009—DealTaker.com today announced the official start of the holiday bargain shopping season with the first Black Friday ad now at www.DealTaker.com/blackfriday.html.
“It’s a great day for bargain hunters everywhere,” said Kevin Strawbridge, President of DealTaker.com. “With pent up demand at an all-time high and retailers eager for consumer dollars, sales will abound and organization will be the key to sorting through myriad opportunities. Perusing the ads well ahead of Thanksgiving makes it easier for deal takers to optimize their time and money, and for retailers to ensure traffic to their stores,” Strawbridge said.
There are 50 days before November 27 which could be the biggest shopping day of the year. To prepare, consumers can quickly and easily find the most up-to-date Black Friday deals, coupons and sales at DealTaker.com. The popular site also features a countdown calendar, a handy downloadable Black Friday Organizer ® exclusively available at DealTaker and a searchable list of free shipping codes for consumers who also take advantage of the online deals every day and on Cyber Monday.
Besides sales from nearly 2,000 merchant partners, more than 225,000 DealTaker.com members actively post deals, ads, coupons and offers on DealTaker.com every day, saving consumers millions of dollars over the past 5 years. Historically, members have posted Black Friday ads directly to the Black Friday forums. But some retailers have balked at members trying to help each other. Already, one major retailer has made a pre-emptive strike with a cease-and-desist letter, insisting DealTaker.com police the forums and remove ads that members post.
About DealTaker.com
DealTaker.com is the premier destination for consumers looking to spend less and get more. A free coupon site for members to share and take deals, DealTaker.com makes it easy to save on merchandise and services including food, travel, electronics, home furnishings, jewelry and pet supplies, among others. Founded in Plano, Texas in 2004, DealTaker.com works with more than 1,900 stores, nearly 19,000 followers on Twitter and more than 225,000 deal-sharing members to provide over 8,000 active coupons and deals every day.
For the last 17 weeks I have been walking and training in my beloved “Kstraw” shoes I made on Nike ID about two years ago. They are the the NikeFree 5.0’s. They have been quite comfortable as my walk around shoes and have actually been quite supportive during my walks while training.
However, after consulting with a good colleague at Road Runner Sports in San Diego, she suggested the Men’s Nike Zoom Vomero+ 4. Because of the extra focus on cushioning (which is best for the long walk) and the good look of them, I decided to make those the shoes to wear. Basically, I got the best shoes possible by shopping at RRS online – they provide so much information that the shopping part is easy. Thank you Road Runner.
I can’t wait to get them this week and start breaking them in - Just in time for the Avon Walk September 12-13, 2009.
Over the weekend I reached persoanl highs for number of miles and time walking in one session – 6 miles and 90 minutes respectively. The great thing is that I felt great at the end of ninely minutes and could have pushed on further if not for things I had to do. I feel that when I can get up to 10-11 miles per day the week before the event, I will have plenty of endurance to go the 40 over two days – but will be worn out then.
DealTaker has always proudly supported charities around the country, most notably charitable groups for breast cancer research and support. Each year we give money in sponsorship related ways to the Komen walks in various cities. In addition to that, we are literally going to jump in feet first and raise money and give by participating in the LA Walk of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer September 12th and 13th.
I am going to humbly represent DealTaker and our team of dedicated people by walking with the Affiliate Marketers Give Back Team led by Missy Ward. Missy has been a strong supporter of many charitable projects throughout the years and I am honored to have an opportunity to give back along with a great group of people joining us this year (including Melissa Salas of Buy.com).
The walk is one month from today and I will be geared toward training for the 40 mile walk, raising money via the support of the DealTaker community, colleagues and friends, and working to make a difference in an area that affects too many people around the world. I will post updates on the Inside DealTaker blog from time-to-time, as well as keep up with a daily journal on my own blog at KstrawWalks.
Where you can, please join me in support – either through monetary donations via my personal page on the Avon site at -
The year was 1977 (the same year the REAL King died) and I was a kid following my dad around all the time while he was working on home projects. There were all kinds of fun things to do growing up in Vancouver and Seattle, Washington. That year, my dad had gone to a trade show and saw this amazing new ladder called the Little Giant. It was amazing because it was sturdy, could be contorted to all kinds of shapes and sizes, and was sure to fulfill many needs on those project days. Fast forward 32 years and my dad still has that ladder. It is still just as sturdy and still fulfills those project needs. Four years ago, my dad got me my own Little Giant ladder as a thank you gift for helping him with some things. I have used that thing like it is going out of style. But the true testament came this last week when I loaned it to my neighbor that “just wanted to borrow a ladder”. When he brought it back, he could barely control his amazement in how functional and sturdy it really was. Now, working for DealTaker, I have the opportunity to share a way for other people to buy a Little Giant – we are proud to be a marketer working with the Little Giant Ladder Company. Right now they offer free shipping and a free work platform with each order. You will never have to get another ladder for around the house again.
Bad Economy? Natural Disasters? Cowboy’s practice facility gets flattened by wind? All bad news.
The good news – DealTaker getting more interview time showing people how to save money, time, and aggravation while part of a fun and interesting community of people.
KEYE42 in Austin, Texas invited us to be on their morning show a few weeks back. Bettie Cross, the reporter with whom I had the pleasure of working, was so excited about the savings we had on all the products we showed. We have all four of the segments available on our YouTube channel (along with all the other videos from DealTaker). Here’s one for your immediate viewing pleasure…it is fun to be the good news
The year was 1977 (the same year the 
