Imagine a world with no social media … Now breathe the air. Live

Imagine a world with no social media, even if it’s just for a day.

Everywhere we go these days, people have their noses stuck to their phones. I was at a restaurant last night and I looked around. Couples sat at tables and were more involved with what was on their phone than the person sitting across from them. We see all the time on social media films of a fight or a rape or bad crap happening to good people, and instead of humanity trying to help, they’re filming and posting to social media.

This sucks! What kind of society are we when we choose technology over humanity? Why do we have to text someone? Why can’t we pick up the phone and call them? Wouldn’t that be easier? Sure, technology has its advantages. You’re loved one is overseas, even a few states away and you can’t visit as often as you’d like. Skype is a great way to keep in touch. But why skype with your neighbor a street away? What’s wrong with going to each other’s homes or meeting up at the local coffee shop? Why have we become so afraid to truly interact with people? Why do we put more weight in social media “friend” numbers than we do in real friends?

I see our young people glued to their phones and pads and watches, and yet, when they come home from a day at the mall texting with friends who aren’t with them, they retreat to an empty room with no real friends to hug, laugh with. In a world of social media friends, so many of us are truly alone.

How sad.

So, the next time you reach for your phone to text a friend, call them instead. I know I’d much rather hear your voice than see words type across a screen. Get out in the world. Make plans with your friends to have a no-technology day. Put your cell phones, your laptops, your computers away. Pretend Facebook and Twitter don’t exist. Connect with people, not technology. Breathe the fresh air. Live.

Marketing 101: Introduction to Author Branding

I spent the majority of yesterday reading about “author branding”, what it is, and why it’s vital to an author’s career. What I came away with were tons of notes and one resounding message: be yourself.

Yes…be yourself. Your future ‘fans’, your ‘public’, your readers, they don’t want to be inundated with sales pitches and ‘Hey, hey, look at me and my book’ messages. I see this all the time on Twitter and it really turns me off. I want people I can connect with. People I can talk to. People who are real and authentic and have a story to tell…a story I can relate to. I like people who exude passion about what they write. I love those individuals who enjoy interacting with their readers.

I took a look at some blog sites that I follow to see what it is that attracts me to those people. You know what I love about them? They’re genuine, honest and passionate, and they have a story to tell. Without even knowing it, they’re creating their ‘brand’. They’re gathering their tribe. It’s so simple it boggles the mind.

Be yourself.

Several years ago an amazing boss told me there was no single method for achieving distinction. It was something each of us had to find through a combination of knowing who we are as individuals, knowing what our strengths and weaknesses are, as well as identifying our limitations. He said trying to please everyone will leave nothing behind but shoddy work and a reputation for being a suck-up. My boss was a very wise man. It is so true. I would rather devote myself to doing one or two things great than trying to do a hundred and doing none of them well.

These realizations are the first baby steps into ‘branding’ yourself as an author. It may seem trivial, but by fully understanding who you are, the more confident you will become and the easier it will be to achieve what you want in life.

My daughter asked me last night who am I.

I smiled, took my first baby steps, and said, “I’m an author, and boy do I have some stories to tell you.”

What about you? Are you ready to take your first baby steps? Go on. Tell me. Who are you?

Who knows your name? (bookbrowsing.wordpress.com)
ARTICLE: When Author Self-Promotion Goes Overboard VIA @bloggingauthors (motownwriters.wordpress.com)

Blog Announcement!

I had the extreme pleasure of meeting with a marketing/blog expert today. We went over my blog, what I wanted to do with it. Who I wanted to market to, and we came to the conclusion that I need to make some changes, not so much the layout, but the content. My job is to seek out three people in my target audience, ask them some crucial questions, and design accordingly.

For the next several days I will not post anything else on my blog while I “re-invent’ myself. Hopefully, the new ‘me’ won’t throw off my current followers while it strives to gain new ones.

Thank you for your patience and your support. Of course, this mean my A, B and C posts I wrote for the A-Z blog challenge will need to be rewritten to kick off the new direction and focus I’m taking with my blog. Ah, what the heck. No prob, right? I’ll let you be the judge starting Monday, April 2.

TTFN!! I’m going to miss you guys until next week!

Until then, enjoy the relaxing sounds of Euge Groove. This one is called Chillaxin