Send us a text Mike & Ben discuss springtime on the farm, tree pruning, and the job sitch.

Eric and the Elmwood Park Zoo are working to make their zoo more accessible, inclusive, and inviting to everyone. We talk to Eric about how the team turned bold questions into real change—like letting dogs visit the zoo and becoming the first Certified Autism Center zoo in the world. Eric shares: The behind-the-scenes process of creating a dog-frie…

Send us a text Mike & Ben wax on about molds and mildews, unneighborly Americans, and spring on the hobby farm.By Mike & Ben

Dynamic ticket pricing isn’t just for airlines. In this episode, we’re joined by Wendy Babineaux from the Houston Zoo to dive into how her team rolled out dynamic pricing—starting cautiously with Zoo Lights in 2019 and gradually expanding across general admission. She breaks down how pricing now fluctuates daily, even within a single day, and how t…

Send us a text Mike & Ben talk about battle bears, computer science degrees, and... pharmacies.By Mike & Ben

Most nonprofit attractions are doing some sort of ticket trade in exchange for influencers posting content. Jenny lays out a few reasons to financially compensate influencers and shares tips on how to do it. We talk about: Looking at influencer marketing as a part of your paid advertising strategy How a small financial consideration changes the wor…

Send us a text Mike & Ben rant about tourist activities, Ferris wheels, and tipping culture.

Send us a text Mike & Ben chat about the Mandela effect, podcast mistresses, the job hunt, politics, and more.By Mike & Ben

Nancie from Noetic Consultants shares her 4 key steps of rebranding nonprofit attractions. Plus, Nancie shares real-world insights, including a case study on a recent zoo rebranding project, and offers practical advice for navigating the RFP process to find the right branding partner. We talk about: Defining the Brand’s North Star – Understanding m…

Send us a text Mike & Ben talk about the impact of offshoring on billing departments, the pros and cons of beer festivals, how to think about parenting and becoming a parent, and the sorry state of civil discourse in our present society.By Mike & Ben

Corey Romberg joins us to share his ideas on enhancing guest engagement through multi-sensory experiences, storytelling, and audience-focused programming. We talk about: Multi-Sensory Engagement: Using decor, food, hands-on activities, and entertainment to create immersive experiences. Character Development: How mascots and puppets help build empat…

On this episode of AmericanReef, we take a look at the Paletta 500 gallon reef tank 3 months after he replaced most all of the smaller circulating pumps with two larger ones.By AmericanReef

Send us a text Mike & Ben discuss livestreaming woodcarving, rant about famous and imfamous YouTubers and viral Internet sensations, and give some life updates.By Mike & Ben

Over the past year Mike has made some changes to his 500 gallon reef. On this episode of AmericanReef Mike will discuss those changes. As well as a dinoflagellate issue and how he solved it. Please send all questions to [email protected] AmericanReef

Send us a text Mike & Ben share business opportunities, discuss video production and making use of the vlog format, and talk about starting another podcast??

Diana Vega from Zoo Miami discusses how collaboration and creativity can elevate guest experiences at nonprofit attractions. It’s our view that marketing gets people through the door and guest experience turns them into members. We talk about: Empowering Staff: Involving frontline employees in solutions enhances both operations and the guest experi…

Send us a text Mike & Ben break into the new year talking about car crashes, share New Year goals, and discuss Mark Zuckerberg's fact-checking announcement.By Mike & Ben

Jenny breaks down what nonprofit, cultural attractions would lose if the TikTok ban comes to fruition. We purposefully recorded this episode prior to the January 19, 2025 'deadline' for TikTok. This allows to reflect on why TikTok is a powerful advertising platform for zoos, aquariums, gardens, and museums. We talk about... Why (most) nonprofit att…

Send us a text Mike & Ben get techy and chat about home automations, using AI tools for coding and art, and whether we could see Star Wars droids in the near future.By Mike & Ben

Send us a text Mike & Ben share their experiences witnessing evictions, discuss the risks and benefits of being a landlord, and Ben talks about how small mistakes can become costly.By Mike & Ben

Briana and her team won APGA's 2024 Marketing Excellence Award. She shares insights from this award-winning campaign: When the Wind Came Sweeping Down the Plain. Plus, we also discuss: Marketing a public garden with a minimal advertising budget Creating more visual impact on Instagram Running sponsorships on NPR radio Join us as we talk about marke…

Send us a text Mike & Ben discuss Ben's latest brews, making videos for YouTube, Mike's neighbor situation, and the (what seems to be uncommon) concept of being respectful while disagreeing. Sometimes you gotta learn the tricks to hang with the dogs.By Mike & Ben

Erin Ward from the Palm Beach Zoo joins us to talk marketing. We dive into... Palm Beach Zoo's most recent, conservation-focused marketing campaign - "Zoo More Good" How to use Birdeye to generate more positive Google reviews A text and email 'drip' strategy to upsell animal experiences, food and beverage, and increase repeat visitation How custome…

Send us a text Mike & Ben talk about Ben's hair, small trespassing chickens, and brewing—and Mike gets political for the first on this podcast!By Mike & Ben

Attraction veteran, David Rosenberg, shares his thoughts on seamless visitor experiences, networking, and, Gen Z. Here's what we talk about: Using technology to create a more 'seamless' visitor experience Some ways to grow your career in the attractions space How GenZers are different than previous generations Plus, David shares his journey from Mo…

Send us a text Mike & Ben explore Mike's thoughts on RNs, remodels and housing opportunities, building an air hockey table with a CNC machine, and participating in Oktoberfests.By Mike & Ben

Jenny considers influencer marketing a 'paid advertising' tactic, not just a PR play. She argues that we need to look at influencer marketing the same way as we look at billboards, radio, or any other form of advertising. Influencer marketing as paid advertising means... We need to determine a budget and develop a strategic plan like we would with …

Send us a text Mike & Ben discuss Mike's recent interviews, Ben's remodel project and the trades, and collaborating on YouTube videos.

One of the pain points for marketing teams always seems to be their organization's ticketing system. They can't get the customer data and/or they can't attribute back online ticket sales to online advertising. We brought in Michelle Paul from BackOffice Thinking to get her thoughts on how marketing can get the most out of their ticketing system. We…

Send us a text Mike & Ben talk about Mike's continuing neighbor saga, renting to friends, breeding rabbits, and the difference between pigeons and doves.

Send us a text Mike & Ben chat about fences and neighbors, explore networking, and discuss collaboration and business opportunities.By Mike & Ben

Scott McPherson takes a 'noses-in-roses' approach to selling tickets and weddings at Royal Botanical Garden. Scott joins us to talk about creating and marketing events to bring new, diverse audiences to the garden. We dive into how and why he uses influencer marketing in his advertising strategy. Scott shares... Tailoring Content to Audience Segmen…

Send us a text Mike & Ben close out the summer series and transition into a new format for the show, then explore what the future may hold for each of them.By Mike & Ben

Google wants to give every nonprofit attraction $10,000/month in free advertising. But, some zoos, aquariums, museums, and gardens don't maximize this program...or...don't utilize it all. Jenny and the team cover these 10 questions about the Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits program: What is Google Ad Grants What’s the catch? Can I use it to sell tic…

Send us a text Summer Series Meandering Musings: Mike & Ben wrap up summer break by chatting about streaming, remodels, and job hunting.By Mike & Ben

On this episode of Americanreef, well known author and accredited reef keeping hobbyist Mike Paletta, discusses what he would suggest as the perfect saltwater aquarium starter setup with saltwater fish and coral. As always, any questions, feel free to send them over to [email protected] AmericanReef

Recently one of Jenny's marketing clients - a large botanical garden - invested in creating an online map. So, we asked Anna Busby from Engage by Cell to help us understand the pros and cons of creating an online map for non-profit attractions. We discuss... Costs - time and financial - for developing an online map Ideas on getting your visitors to…

Send us a text Summer Series Throwback Thursday: HH84: Jar of Rocks Mike & Ben vibe on the jar of rocks analogy and talk about how to prioritize the most important areas of your life over the filler.

Send us a text Summer Series Meandering Musings: Mike & Ben crack open a couple of cold ones and vent their frustrations and thoughts about the weather, problematic neighbors, streaming fiascos, and rabbit tractors.By Mike & Ben

Send us a text Summer Series Throwback Thursday: HH33: Guest Series ft. Jakob Haymond Mike & Ben welcome Jakob Haymond, who graciously shares his life story as a scrappy problem solving entrepreneur, who just so happens to be Ben's long time friend as well. As you'll hear during this episode, Jakob talks about an assessment he takes early on in his…

On this episode of Americanreef, we take a look at the Paletta sunlit tank, seven months after the aquarium stand replacement project. Mike also has some suggestions on starter fish and coral for someone new to the saltwater and reefkeeping hobby. As always, any questions, feel free to send them over to [email protected]…

Send us a text Summer Series Meandering Musings: Mike & Ben explore a slew of topics, including gaming for an audience, brewing beer for fun or profit, starting a business with friends, and diversifying income streams.

Tim Morrow shares his perspective on how ticket revenue can help spread the mission for non-profit attractions. He aims to make San Antonio Zoo not just the top zoo in Texas but the top attraction in the state. He spent 18+ years with SeaWorld and talks what he's brought from the for-profit side to the non-profit side. We talk about... How zoos can…

On this episode of AmericanReef, we look at how Mike replaced his aquarium stand on the sunlit Paletta tank. As always, send all questions to [email protected] AmericanReef

Ever wonder what happens to your corals and fish when magnesium is over 2000 ppm... Watch this episode of American Reef and find out how it happened and how I'm correcting it. Send all questions over to [email protected] AmericanReef

Send us a text Summer Series Throwback Thursday: HH12: Why should you care about energy management? Mike & Ben discuss their firsthand experiences with energy management (or lack thereof) and discover its valuable applications within the happiness hustle.

Send us a text Mike & Ben give updates on their own happiness hustle journeys, and make an announcement about what summer holds for the podcast.By Mike & Ben

Send us a text Mike & Ben talk about how and why we should create high-quality experiences for our customers, and how we can continue that experience while dealing with issues in order to turn around a negative situation.By Mike & Ben

Send us a text Mike & Ben continue their overview of online marketing campaigns, weighing their pros and cons and discussing how we can apply them as entrepreneurs, particularly when it comes to content creators.By Mike & Ben

Send us a text Mike & Ben explore different types of marketing campaigns and how you can leverage them in your business, especially on social media.