Tag Archives: social media marketing

Feeding the Mind, Again!

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“The most important thing to remember is this: to be ready at any moment to give up what you are for what you might become.”  ~ W.E.B.  Dubois

Things will be a little quiet on this blogsite All Things Fulfilling for the next few days. I will be at the Colorado Independent Publishers Association “College.” An event I greatly look forward to. I will be busy networking, cavorting, educating, indulging and engaging in a subject that has captured my interest and my passion for the past ten years – independent publishing! It is an industry that has gained enormous popularity and has evolved greatly. There is never a dull moment, and there is always something new to be learned, gained, profited from educationally and professionally, with each new publishing event I attend.

As a blogger, I am on the job 24/7!  Well, maybe not 24/7, I do sleep! I am grateful that I never remember my dreams. If I felt pressured to blog about events that occurred in my sleep too, it would be cause for total burnout! Since I am a person who struggles with quieting my mind, as it is, it would be the worse case scenerio of stimulus overload I could ever encounter! But, during my awakening hours, I am always on the lookout for my next story.

When I return on Monday, I will have plenty of blogging material I will want to share with my loyal readers. I have decided that until the general population catches up with the blogging world, you could just call me a reporter. The power of e-marketing and social media marketing is awesome but few understand it. Not quite yet, anyway!

While I am away, enjoy a little bit of spring unfolding before your eyes.

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Spirit of Adventure

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“A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind.”                                   ~ Eugene Ionesco

There is a commonality that I have found among all independent publishers. It is the spirit of adventure. This should not be a surprise to anyone! The creative mind knows not where it is going or what the end result will be. It is the sense of the unknown that keeps the creative process going.

Daydreaming, engaging in fantasy, reliving old memories and creating new, are all part of the creative process. The artist does not exist to support the mind, the mind exists to support the artist. Paying attention to the little nuances of life creates the experience that an artist draws from. To the artist, mindfulness is not judging, rather it is simply observing and then letting the creative process take  hold, meander, carry and go with the flow of energy.

Are you a person who is considering joining the ranks of  independent publishers? Don’t let fear and uncertainty hold you back. Take action, jump aboard and embrace the opportunity! Your creativity,  your knowledge, your inspiration and your tales of entertainment will take your readers to places they have never been before. Enjoy the creative travel and welcome to the wonderful world of independent publishing!

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Amy’s Angels Remember

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“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they’re called memories. Some take us forward, they’re called dreams.”                          ~  Jeremy Irons

I am going to be in hot water with our regular blog followers if I do not mention the outcome of “Relay for Life: Nordic Style”  that “Amy’s Angels” participated in last weekend at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT. It is hosted by the American Cancer Society as a fundraiser for cancer awareness and also as a way of remembering and honoring all those who have lost their lives to breast cancer.

The team we established in memory of our friend Amy, won the prize for the largest contribution in fundraising. How awesome is that? With our friend, Kathleen (Chatter as we call her) at the helm, we managed to raise almost $14,000!! Can you believe it? Well, I can! With little Miss Chatterbox at the lead, she chatted up the event to every person that she has ever encountered in life! She knows, first hand, the importance of finding a cure for cancer, and the need for raising the funds. Chatterbox- thanks for leading the way and remember “In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.” ~ unknown

It was a bittersweet weekend. It was a chance for our sisterhood of more than 30 years to have a reunion and to be there to support Amy’s surviving daughter during the weekend of remembering Amy on what would have been her 58th birthday. We had promised Amy two years ago, at our seaside reunion, that we would carry on with  the race, with her or without. Sadly, her absence was greatly felt and her presence greatly missed.

Next year, and hopefully every year,  “Amy’s Angels” look forward to reuniting and remembering our friend. While we, “the sisterhood” are apart fulfilling our daily routines, we will spend time in quiet reverence for all those who have fought the battles of breast cancer.

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Closer than You Think

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“A new baby is like the beginnings of all things – wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.” ~ Eda J. LeShan

Over the years, at publishing conferences and writers groups, I have spoken with many first-time publishers in various stages of the publishing process. I have noticed an attitude of uncertainty that seems to prevail. The attitude is somewhat understandable, because with any new venture, there are always the unknowns. But rather than focus on doubt and skepticism, what about all the possibilities? This is where your attention should be!

Granted not every independent publisher has the financial ability or the time to zip across country on promotional book tours, so naturally, many think only of the local possibilities of book selling. But this is a  mistake. Book selling opportunities are far greater now than they were years ago. With the power of the internet, on-line networking and social media marketing,  your book can now be promoted in ways that were never available to independent publishers before.

With e-commerce, your potential buyers are now closer than you think!  Anyone can get a glimpse of what your book is all about through book trailers, blog tours and e-marketing! This opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for bookselling. Never under estimate all the possibilities! Leave no stone unturned when putting your marketing plan in place. Remember, sales are a function of your marketing efforts!

This blog brought to you by www.CornerstoneFulfillmentService.com.

“Amy’s Angels” Rise

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“At the end of the day when we bow our heads, we are not so different at all.” ~ Judy Jones

This summer, regular readers of this blog followed the loss of my dear friend, Amy. She, like many other women each year, succumbed to breast cancer. I blogged about the dignity and strength with which Amy handled her illness until the very end. What she taught us all is a story of strength and inspiration. She demonstrated, in the most eloquent way, how to continue to live life in the face of terminal illness.

On March 5 in Stowe, VT at the Trapp Family Lodge, Amy will  be honored by a team of her friends and family in the Relay for Life, Nordic Style. “Amy’s Angels” have risen to the top in fundraising efforts. We have raised almost $8,000 to date, with several weeks to go! My sister and our friends will be doing a lap or two on my behalf on March 5, which coincidentally was Amy’s birthday. I will be remembering the beautiful and fun times we shared as friends for 30+ years, and all that she taught me throughout our friendship.

The money that has been raised for “Amy’s Angels” and by all the other teams participating in Relay for Life ,along with all the other fundraising events that the American Cancer Society sponsors each year, represents a joint belief among Americans that a cure for cancer must be found.

Go, “Amy’s Angels” Go! ! I will be with you all in spirit on the day of the event and so will Amy!!

Staying True Blue

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“Besides pride, loyalty, discipline, heart and mind, confidence is the key to all the locks.” ~ Joe Paterno

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my first Kiwanis International Conference. It was a conference of Kiwanians from the Rocky Mountain Division. I could go on at quite some length about what the Conference covered, but it really isn’t necessary to give you all a minute to minute accounting of the weekend. I would much rather expound on the virtues of it’s members.

A shared belief in living one’s life according to ethical principles has brought personal fulfillment to the lives of each Kiwanis member I spoke with. How can you not be inspired by a group of individuals who display:

  • Courage in leading
  • Imagination in creating a vision for future generations
  • Integrity in the way they live their lives
  • Great hope for the future of our world

I traveled around the conference rooms, speaking with members, trying to get a sense of some of the projects each club is involved with. The information of the fundraising projects each club is engaged in was useful and interesting. But, what struck me most was the loyalty and fellowship that it’s members share. I spoke with members that have had allegiance to the club for as many as 30, 40 and 50+ years!  I met a wonderful woman who was 97 years young, and still actively involved. She spoke with me about her years of commitment to fighting for and improving the lives of children. She expressed her concern at the vast numbers of “latchkey” children. Now, if still being actively involved at age 97 is not loyalty, I don’t know what is!

Besides a great sense of loyalty to their fellow man, why do Kiwanians stay involved for 30, 40 or 50 years? It is simple! They all have great confidence that their service organization is making an “international difference one child at a time.”

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Lean, Green Fundraising Machine

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“Doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results, is the definition of crazy.” ~ Unknown

What would it be like to no longer have to knock on doors to help raise money for your favorite non-profit? No more pestering friends, relatives and business associates to buy fruit, wrapping paper, cookies, raffle tickets and all the other things that organizations sell for fundraising. Those dollars spent driving from door to door, place to place will be saved and could be donated to the cause.

Wait! It gets better than that!! All your donors or contributors can shop on-line for what they want at www.GoodShop.com and a percentage of the value of the purchases will go to charity or to a school of your choice. Merchandise is the same price, but a donation goes to a cause you feel passionate about.

This inventive way of raising money for your favorite charity www.GoodSearch.com has been featured in Oprah Magazine, CNN, The New York Times, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal. Get on board, non-profits – raise money the easy way. Register your organization.

Don’t believe me? Go to www.GoodShop.com buy something from one of the 900 top on-line retailers involved in this new way of giving. Your money will buy something you want and need, not for something you feel obligated to buy.

For example, you can help raise money for children’s hospitals by designating The Macedonian Mission for Humanity as your charity of choice. You will be helping children across the globe. How easy is that?

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The Drama of it All

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“We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon” ~ Konrad Adenauer

In the more than 30 years I have spent living in Vermont and now Colorado, I have never heard such dramatic words attached to little white snowflakes! All of the TV stations are  doing overtime to report “snowmageddon and snowpocalypse” on the East Coast. I have heard just about enough.

All the adjectives that are being used to describe the snow in the mid-Atlantic States just do not resemble anything I have ever seen before! When I look out my window in winter, I see:

  • beauty
  • a blanket, soft and white
  • gently falling, white dust of nature
  • tranquility in heavenly white
  • cleanliness and freshness
  • sparkle and glisten
  • crystaline air
  • white fluffy pillows
  • and a quietness in new fallen snow

Not chaos, confusion and catastrophe! With all the disasterous adjectives that the weathermen use to describe the snow, it is no wonder panic ensues.

Instead of cursing snow, how about embracing it, playing in it, walking in it and celebrating it! It does wonders to refresh and renew the soul!

Don’t  you love that global warming?

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I See You!

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“There are many reasons why novelists write,  but they all have one thing in common – a need to create an alternative world.” – John Fowles

Years ago, one of the biggest challenges of all self publishing authors and independent publishers was becoming visible in the marketplace. Used to be, the fastest way to notoriety as an author was to be published by one of the large traditional publishing giants and then by doing a little name dropping as to who published your manuscript. Reality is, only a very small percentage of manuscript submissions ever get accepted by the big publishing conglomerates. Sad but true.

Now, opportunities for making a name for yourself as a independent publisher are all there! With a well-executed publication and a well thought-out, creative marketing plan and an undying belief in yourself and your publication (called self promotion!), success as an independent publisher is not as allusive as one might think.

If you have been frustrated by your attempts to self-promote your book, have you looked into the “new generation” of marketing  for writers? By design, social media marketing greatly increases your visibility as an independent publisher and the probability of being discovered. To those who are inexperienced with e-marketing, there  is nothing to be scared of!

No longer are independent publishers found just by a stroke of luck!

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Rosy Reflections

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“Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes.” ~               Sara Teasdale “The Philosopher”

Despite many trips to the mirror, have you ever looked into your reflection and observed some new things about yourself that you have never discovered before? All of us have experienced this phenomenon called self-discovery. Maybe you just noticed there are a few new freckles, that your eyes sparkle a little brighter than they did before or perhaps your mouth is more turned up than you thought.

Sometimes it leaves you shaking your head and wondering – it is an aura, my imagination or is it for real? It happened to me this week. Rather than explain exactly what I saw, I thought I would share the image that appeared before me, in my own mirror’s reflection, that way, there will be no distortion of the facts.

At the risk of being narcissistic, I am going to keep checking back with my mirror, because you never know what other changes can occur.  All of us feel good when we can share what we see with others, that is why I am sharing this reflection with you!

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