When shopping around for earplugs for float tanks, there's only a few that actually work well in the float solution. One of these is the Mack's wax earplugs, basically the standard for swimmers as well. But why do so many float centers buy the child sized ones when stocking their float center?

Ashkahn "Big Ears" Jahromi let's all of us know what he thinks is going on and that many people may be using these earplugs incorrectly. Graham "Normal Ears" Talley, backs him up with some facts and important reminders.

Graham and Ashkahn discuss what causes that mysterious twitch people sometimes experience in the float tank, called the hypnic jerk (AKA hypnagogic jerk, sleep start, sleep twitch, myoclonic jerk, or night start ). While the guys offer up some interesting theories, there's not a lot of research that's been done on what causes these, so we're left with theories, more or less.

Ashkahn thinks it has to do with pancakes.

The Parasympathetic Nervous System is the part of your body that gets really excited when the rest of your body is winding down. Taking care of the digestive and rest systems are an important part of human health and physiology. How do float tanks affect this system?

Many of the studies on floating have demonstrated an impact on the parasympathetic nervous system. Graham and Ashkahn talk about the information that's been studied so far.

Dr. Peicheng Hu is a researcher from China that studies floatation therapy over there. He's speaking at the Float Conference this year so Ashkahn decided to take the opportunity to talk to him about the Chinese float industry and some of the differences in the practice as well as the type of research being done out there.

When looking at online marketing, Google Ads seem like an obvious choice, but are as relevant for Float Centers as they are for other businesses? The most useful thing these ads do is boost search result placement, but if the ads are to boost the ranking of a float center that is the only center in town, it's not going to affect search results much.

Derek and Graham dissect the platform and really focus in on the uses (or lack thereof) of Google Ads for float centers and provide tools and tips for online marketing and how to make it as effective as possible.

Building community relationships when you're already working 12 hour days at your float center can seem impossible. How do you make those connections when you're busy during business hours? 

Derek and Graham tackle this problem and focus on it from personal experience. When Float On was just starting up, Graham was always running around, but still found time to grab a tea with local wellness professionals in his down time just to chat and hang out. Derek also points out that there's plenty of social media tools that you can use between transitions when you have a couple minutes.

In another jam packed marketing episode, Derek and Graham get into the nitty gritty of how to write out all the content you need on your website. 

They dive in and explain the importance of layout, how to keep things succinct, and some really great resources for copywriting, A/B testing, and general marketing knowledge.

Derek and Graham talk about the many tactics they've tried at Float On with developing referral programs. They've tried many things with varying success, from affiliates to endorsements to discount codes. All with varying success. The favorite tactic at Float On, of course, is giving away free floats and developing relationships with others in the community.

Graham and Derek break down the benefits of chatbots. They discuss the usefulness of popular marketing tools like these and what place they have in brick and mortar businesses like float centers. They might be marginally useful, but there are almost definitely better things to focus on if a float center is having difficulty with marketing.

There's so many inspiring and creative float centers out there, many of who keep coming up with ingenious new ways to get the word out for their centers.

What's the protocol for borrowing marketing ideas like this? How does proximity factor into it?

Graham and Derek break down the nuances of marketing strategies and where to pull from and what to avoid. It's all about etiquette.