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

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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

The Frustrations of an Author

I recently started advertising my new children's book, The Cloud Show, on Facebook. My book's potential reach is up to 120 possible purchasers. The demographics of those potential purchasers are women between the ages of 25 and 65. After doing research on demographics of mothers, I left the demographics broad since everything I do from now forward will be tests. And, I included older women because they're grandmothers or grandmothers-to-be. I didn't include education or interests or target parents because – again – everything is a test. My total budget for seven days was $5.

That was the easy part. The hard part? Ah... The hard part was trying to figure out why Facebook (FB) didn't accept my attempt to publish my ad. The worse thing about that is they DIDN'T TELL ME WHY I couldn't place my ad. I didn't know if it was my ad, my demographics, my credit card or the amount of money I was spending.

After working for probably 30 to 45 minutes reading and re-reading the application page, I finally threw my hands up in the air and signed out. I know when to stop, catch my breath, calm myself and take a day.

The next day, I signed into FB and headed to the ad section. Again, I attempted to place the ad. Nope. Ain't gonna happen.

Fine, let's play with the budget slider do-hickey. I slid the button to $8 and voila! The action button high-lighted allowing me to click it. Why didn't they just tell me my total reach for the budget was too low? Why?

Honest to gosh, I've had so many trip-ups self-publishing my books. Ingram doesn't furnish an ISBN number. You have to buy one. Amazon doesn't allow their ISBN numbers to be used in other print-on-demand sites. Barnes and Noble along with Google Play didn't like my meta data nor a couple blank pages. Amazon told me if I wanted to use the cheaper paper, I'd have to publish at least 72 pages. It was only after I researched that I found their paper type minimums. Again, they don't tell you outright. Amateurs don't know that crap.

If you want into a library, you need their wholesaler and an ISBN number. If you want to get into Walmart, you have to have a business license and an ISBN. If you want to go through Walmart's wholesaler, you need an ISBN number.

I know I could hire a marketer/publisher, but then I'd have to split my royalties with him/her.

Yes, yes, I know it's a choice I've made. I'm just telling you that selling your self-published book isn't as easy and simple as bloggers say it is. There's a lot that goes into getting your book on shelves and into certain print-on-demand sites.

I'm not giving up, though. I'm a tenacious sort. I won't be beaten. I'll find a way to make the money I need to buy an ISBN number, find a way to get my books into Google Play and Barnes and Nobel, and – by golly – I'll get into libraries. When? Well, it won't be soon, but that's okay. Working towards those goals gives me something to do.

Please check out my children's books for ages 2 - 5. They're beautifully illustrated and in rhyme. Both are available in POD or eBook.

The Cloud Show

The Little Bear and the Lollipop Tree

To Settle to Pay the Bills or Do What You Love

Dreams and aspirations are something that we all have, but not everyone pursues them. Some people settle for a job that pays the bills, but doesn't make them happy. 

Others follow their passion and try to make a living out of it. And then there are those who do both: they have a job that they enjoy and they also have a hobby that they love.

I'm one of those people. I love writing and I always wanted to be a writer. But I also knew that writing is not a very stable or lucrative career, especially in the beginning. So, I decided to study something else that I was interested in: commercial art. I didn't get my degree in commercial art (I had two toddlers who I was neglecting so, I thought it best to quit college to tend to my babies' needs.) but I was still able to find a job as an advertising layout artist at a retail store. I liked my job because the head of the advertising department taught me the tricks of the trade, he mentored me and advised me.

But I didn't give up on my writing dream. I'm retired and can write pretty much whenever I want, but I usually write on weekends when I'm not fiddling with marketing my print-on-demand store, Visages Gift Store, and my books, The Little Bear and the Lollipop Tree plus my latest book, The Cloud Show. I write short children's poems and four different blogs. I've submitted my work to contests and have won prizes. Writing is not only my hobby, but also my side hustle. It gives me extra income and satisfaction.

Some people might think that I'm lucky to have a hobby that I love. And I agree, I am very lucky. But it's not easy to balance marketing Visages Gift Shop and two books. It takes a lot of hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. Sometimes I have to stay up late to finish a writing project or wake up early to meet a deadline. Sometimes I have to say no to social invitations or family gatherings because I need to write or work. Sometimes I feel exhausted or stressed or frustrated.

But it's worth it. Because I'm doing what I love and what makes me happy. And that's what matters the most.

I know that not everyone can do what I do. Some people might have more responsibilities or obligations that prevent them from pursuing their dreams or hobbies. Some people might have different priorities or preferences that make them choose differently. And that's okay. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to dreams and aspirations. Everyone has their own path and their own journey.

But if you have a dream or a hobby that you love, don't give up on it. Find a way to make it happen, even if it's just for yourself. You never know where it might lead you or how it might enrich your life.