Be Patient, Wait... It'll Happen. Adventures in Self-Publishing

"Be patient," I tell myself.

"Wait," I tell myself.

"It'll happen," I tell myself.

It's been nearly a year since I wrote and published two children's books, The Cloud Show and The Little Bear and the Lollipop Tree, but since my friends purchased Little Bear when it first came out I haven't sold anything more. Not even one copy.

Yes, I've been a bit lazy in the promotion department lately mostly because of frustration at having no results. I did advertise one of the books once which created some traffic, but still no purchases. I've come to the conclusion that I need to pay for advertising on Facebook, Nextdoor, as well as my website, Visages Gift Store on GoDaddy.

I was hoping for better results without using money I can ill-afford to spend. It appears as though that's not going to happen.

So, this is what I'm doing to bring in more income so that I can afford a small advertising budget. First, I amped up marketing my Zazzle store, Visages Gift Store. Again, I don't have an advertising budget for my store, but I'm doing more blogging and I'm making a sale here and there. It takes a bit to reach my payout threshold, but I eventually will which will give me a little for advertising.

Second, I've begun taking surveys at GoBranded.com. Sure, it takes a few hours out of my day to earn a buck (per day), if I'm lucky, but that money goes toward my grocery bill. I don't spend a whole lot for food and such. Last week, the $17 I earned doing surveys went toward my $28 grocery bill. This week, $14 went toward my $20 grocery bill. What I don't spend on groceries will go towards advertising this year.

So, between Visages Gift Store on Zazzle and leftover grocery money, I'll be able to begin advertising.

As always, I try and keep my blogs short and sweet. I don't want to overstay my welcome. Hopefully, I'll have some good news in a few months.

The Little Bear and the Lollipop Tree

The Cloud Show

Fun Prank Pulled on Dad 1

My kids had a hilarious idea for a Thanksgiving prank on their dad. They ordered some pajama pants online with his face printed all over them.

The night before the big day, they put on the pants and acted like nothing was wrong. They waited for their dad to notice the weird pattern on their clothes. It took him a while, but when he finally did, he was speechless.

He rubbed his eyes, adjusted his glasses, and looked again. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

“That's awesome,” he said, cracking up. He loved the joke and appreciated the creativity behind it.

The point of the story is: I have no clue where they got those pants from, but they were not only funny, but sweet. And that gave me an idea: Why not do something similar for Christmas? You could surprise someone with a pair of pants with their own face on them or mix it up with different faces of your family or friends.

Imagine the reactions when dad wears pants with mom's face on them, or mom wears pants with her bestie's face on them, or the kids wear pants with their grandparents' faces on them. It would be a blast!

Sadly, after searching Zazzle, I find they don't carry blank pajama pants. However, they do have women's leggings. I'm thinking gifts for bridesmaids or for yourself with a picture of that goof-ball sibling plastered all over them.

Of course, there are always t-shirts...

And, here's another idea:

Custom Elegant Best Sister since 1995 7 photo Apron

Custom Elegant Best Sister since 1995 7 photo Apron. Add 7 photos and edit text to customize.

The Adventures of a Senior.

I'm over 65 now and let me tell you, it's an adventure. From watching my features and body change to accepting the aches and pains that come with age to navigating health insurance options.

Yup. Medicare is something we pay for all of our working lives. Well, that and Social Security. Okay... Okay... And all those dang taxes, but I'm off track here.

Once you turn 65, you automatically get Medicare part A which is hospitalization only. Even then, part A pays 80% of the hospital bill. The other part of Medicare is part B. You have to pay for that. It covers doctors visits.

When I signed up for Medicare, I wasn't in need of part B because I'm healthy and I couldn't afford the $180 a month premium. Honest to gosh, I swear that I read in the (thick) handbook that our government allowed us two years to ponder that expense before the penalty applied, so, I opted out of part B.

Now, two years later, I find out that I had misread the two year delay and I now owe a penalty if I want part B.

I decided to apply for Medicaid since I live on a very limited income. I headed to the designated website and began the application.

Needless to say, working to navigate the government online application was a bust. I had made a mistake and couldn't go back to correct it. (I later found out through an insurance agent that she had had the same problem.)

Now what am I going to do?

The saints be praised! I was in Walmart this morning and sitting along the wall behind the cash registers was a gal signing people up for Medicare. It honestly was a blessing. She listened to my woes and completely understood the problems I had. She navigated the state government website and got me signed up for Medicaid. Now all I have to do is wait three weeks to see if I'm accepted.

Listen. Find a reputable insurance agent who knows their way around Medicare and Medicaid. Don't try to apply on your own. Sure, that gal who helped me will get paid when I apply for insurance through any one of the insurance companies she represents, but – hey – that's how she makes a living. And she makes a living out of being extremely helpful.

Hitting the Snags Forces Creative Thinking

 

Snags. What a pain in the butt-kiss. Snags are small problems, still problems that need solving, none the less.

My latest? GoDaddy. Let me back up a bit. I started a website, Visages Gift Store, through GoDaddy. Having little money to spend, I opted for the cheapest plan which offered no perks. My plan was to just get up and running; get SEOs out there in the Internet world. In the world of marketing, it simply means "to get known".

One of the sections in my website is called Gift Ideas. Yeah, not so creative of a title, but what I publish truly are gift ideas. I've been publishing new gift ideas since May of this year, I think. At least somewhere around that time, but I wasn't and don't publish new gift ideas everyday. Perhaps once or twice a week.

Yesterday, I was working on marketing stuff (funny t-shirts for hunters and personalized thank you favors). I generally start with Zazzling Gifts, my Google blog, then head over to my other blog, Miller's Wrapped Expression and finally to my website's gift ideas section.

All of that takes a while. It's not instantaneous. It's time consuming.

Anyway, I opened GoDaddy, signed in then clicked "edit" to edit my website. Either GoDaddy is r.e.a.l.l.y slow or my laptop is because each action takes freaking forever. Actually, I suspect it's my laptop.

When I opened Gift Ideas and prepared to add a section, GoDaddy told me I couldn't add another section for the funny hunters t-shirts I was going to market. WHAT?! I can't add another section? What the...? Now what am I going to do?

The answer is: I don't have a clue. The Gift Ideas section is completely full. I don't want to delete anything because it's been a part of the Internet for months. If I delete a section, there goes all the keywords or tags. Pffft... gone.

What if I add another page and call it Gift Ideas Re Deux? Won't that look kind of hinky?

If any of you have a suggestion, I'll listen.

Miller out...

Patience, Grasshopper... Positive Results from Your Marketing Takes Time.

I'm Not Going to Give Up. Putting One Foot Infront of the Other and Marching On.

Marketing isn't easy when you don't have the money to spend on advertising and you simply have to rely on posting on your blogs, your website(s) and social media. It takes time out of my day instead of doing what I really enjoy which is creating.

I'm in month ten of marketing my Zazzle products and products of others. The commission is really good on promoting others' products, but - again - I really enjoy creating instead of copying and pasting into various resources.

Anyway, my Zazzle store is showing progress. Not enough for my taste, but - still - progress is progress. I should say, I actually did receive a royalty check recently that went straight to bills. Bills that I don't have to pay this month out of my SS check.

My books, on the other hand, aren't showing a lot of progress despite continuous marketing primarily on my blogs. I should do more on social media, but I don't want to dis what few followers I have by over exposing them to a constant barrage of posting about my books.

And, I constantly have to remind myself that keywords or tags take time to weave their way through the web of search engines. It can take months. Or, maybe I not using the right keywords or tags so people aren't able to find me. Ugh.

Everything you do in marketing is a test. The big guy marketers and advertisers will tell you the same thing.

In the end, patience is what is in order... Everyday, patience is the order of the day. So, I'm going to hang in there. It's only been ten months. I would suggest you also hang in there and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

That said... Please check out my children's books for toddlers and preschoolers ages 2 - 5.

Links and images are below.

The Little Bear and the Lollipop Tree

The Cloud Show

My Brother Had a Dream

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog! Today I want to share with you a little bit about my older brother, who is one of the most amazing people I know. He's four years older than me, and he's always been a role model and a mentor for me. We have two other siblings, and we're all very close.

We grew up on a small farm in the countryside, where we enjoyed the simple pleasures of life. We loved running around barefoot in the summer, feeling the grass and the dirt under our feet. We helped our parents with the chores, and we learned a lot from them.

My brother was always very smart and ambitious. He finished high school a year early, and went to college on a scholarship. He joined the ROTC program, and after graduating, he became an air force pilot. He flew an F-16 fighter jet, which is pretty awesome if you ask me. He was ready to defend our country if needed, but luckily he never had to go to war.

He retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel, and then he became a commercial pilot for a major airline. He flew all over the U.S., and met many interesting people. He had a successful career, and he retired with honors.

Now he enjoys traveling for fun, especially to Scotland and Ireland, where our ancestors came from. He loves exploring his roots, and learning about our family history. He also likes to visit us, his siblings, and his nieces and nephews. He's always generous and kind, and he has a great sense of humor.

He's my big brother, and I'm so proud of him. He's gone from a barefooted farm boy to a lieutenant colonel to an airline pilot to a retiree. He's lived a full and adventurous life, and he's still going strong. He's an inspiration to me, and I hope to you too.

Hey, Mom and Grandma, If you have little ones or grandchildren, don't miss my books for preschoolers. They are fun and educational, and they rhyme too! You can get them as eBooks or printed copies. Sample pages below...

The Little Bear and the Lollipop Tree

The Cloud Show

```

Hey, I know you hate marketing and advertising. I do too. They're annoying, intrusive, and sometimes downright deceptive. But let's face it: they're also necessary if you want to sell something.

Global advertising was expected to reach $780 billion. Of that, digital advertising was expected to reach $492 billion. It is estimated that the United States spent an estimate of $343 billion and an estimate of 63% was spent on the internet. That's an enormous amount of money.

But...

Think about it. How are people going to know about your amazing product or service if you don't tell them? How are you going to stand out from the crowd of competitors who are vying for their attention? How are you going to convince them that you're the best choice for their needs?

Marketing and advertising are not evil. They're tools. And like any tool, they can be used for good or bad purposes. It's up to you to use them ethically and responsibly.

That means being honest, transparent, and respectful. It means providing value, not just hype. It means solving problems, not creating them. It means building relationships, not spamming.

If you do that, you'll find that marketing and advertising can actually be fun and rewarding. You'll get to share your passion with the world, connect with your ideal customers, and grow your business.

I have to admit, I have very little to spend on advertising. I used all of my book royalties to advertise on Facebook, so I spend just about every day posting my products on social media, writing blogs and tending my website. It takes up most of my time, but that's the price I pay in order to get my products known.

So don't be afraid of marketing and advertising. Let loose of a bit of your income whether it's print-on-demand commissions or royalties from your book, or lots of time. Embrace marketing and advertising as an evil necessity if you're selling something.

Check out my children's books for ages 2 - 5. They're beautifully illustrated and make great bedtime stories.

The Little Bear and the Lollipop Tree

The Cloud Show