Oh! No! I have blocked myself! Marketing Manners!

Manners Matter!  Set an example....
It takes some classic moves to get their attention and you have to be strong enough to stand straight in the middle of chaos!

TIP #1  Firm Delivery
Open with funny... or what you hope is funny.  This is my best advice to date.  Laugh at yourself and when negativity hits do the opposite!  Be positive! I use this in my everyday life, not just marketing.

Example:
     I searched for hours, my dictionary had disappeared.  The house was in a shambles from my search efforts and I stood in the middle of it.  Where could it have gone?  Did it grow legs and walk off?  Then my eyes came to rest on the door leading to the one room I had not searched.  My child's.  I felt the grumblings of anger at the thought that someone would take my most cherished of tools for my work.  See, I am old school about a lot of things and this was definitely leaning towards a bad moment for the culprit.
       I marched with determination, ready for full battle if need be.  I did not offer to knock but barged right in with all the rights a mother knows she has.  What met my eyes was criminal!  There it was, openly displayed and being used by another...my favorite dictionary.  My dictionary!  I paused and gathered my thoughts on how I should handle this.  This was not a young child but one clearly old enough to know better.  So here is what I did instead of yelling in frustration or spouting off hysterically:

I marched straight up to my young adult child, hugged them, said 'I love you' as only a mother can  and snatched my property like a two year old then ran from the room yelling ...'its mine, its mine' like in the movie Frankenstein....'Its alive, its alive!'  Accent and all!  As I quieted down at my desk and started to work again I could hear my child telling the story to a friend on the phone.  All in all I think I was hit!  If the laughter was anything to by.  Later the hug confirmed it!

TIP#2  Double Vision Required
Always double check everything!  Spelling, content, links and activity.....especially anything done during the hours that you should a have been asleep!  I can not stress this one enough!

Example:
I  had the most exhilarating week that ended  on a really high note.  So while doing some 'supposed assistance' with another author, which is really more like holding someone's hand in the dark as we trudge along through the swirl of marketing stumbling over everything possible, even the things you can see and well...... I blurted this out!

"Oh! No! I have blocked myself!"

"Oh Geez, I don't know what is worse...following yourself or blocking yourself!" Said my friend and author who wisely refuses to be mentioned in this!
*A long moment of laughter ensues which finally dies down to snickering sprinkled with the occasional snort!*
Now this all happened just shortly after discussing the need for me to make a new blog  for posting my helpful and hard earned views on Epublishing and marketing for the self-published.   That is what OGz Write Away was intended for.  So once again.... make a comment and leave your information so that I might help you in the cross-marketing arena known as..'The Swirl'.

I have learned many short cuts, many secrets and had many, many more ideas which were laid to rest but the ones that worked , well those were the ones being discussed when........  I realized that for months I had blocked myself from my own blog!  Now you are probably wondering if should you be following me or my advice...well honestly, I hope you are because I love to help people, which leaves me with this question...
Can people stand to be helped?

Actually if you are planning on jumping into  the swirl as an Indie author then you had better get a sense of humor or bolster the one you currently have!  I have many strategies that are still in beta form but the basics are tried and true, learned at my own hand or from many hours of research.

Are you sure you want to know what goes on in the OG's head on any given day?  bwahahaha

Warning:  I will cut-up, be serious, laugh at the wrong time, make jokes, rant then rave because....
I simply refuse to not have any fun doing this.

TIP#3 Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
This does not mean:  Do unto others then run! This simply means that if you want your tweets retweeted then retweet someone else's.  If you want someone to read your book and do a review then do so for another author.  If you want to have links on another blog then post on your blog and make it contain links for other sites. If you want someone to promote your books then promote theirs. If you have a natural talent, by all means use it in your marketing strategy.  Waste not, want not.

I am a firm believer in giving and being helpful.  Not everyone you help or promote will reciprocate.  You must then decide when and at what point to move on. Treat people as people first, then if they seem interested in your work by all means share it with them.  You must remember, in the beginning it is about establishing a social contact with others henceforth.... SOCIAL MEDIA.  It is  not about treating every person you have access to as a sounding board for your sales pitch.  Those constant tweets about yourself every 10 minutes do not look good folks.  Messaging someone with your promo on any social media site then almost demanding a like or follow is, well, just rude to say the least. A 'nice to meet you' can and has gone a long way.  I have met some of the most wonderful people while marketing and they remain very dear to me even when we are not marketing.  Be open, honest and friendly, but this does not mean to let your guard down.... there are sharks in the water in which you dare to swim.

People, this is the beginning of all that I have been getting so many requests for.  I will try to be as straight forward as possible in the details of my topics which will cover ......
How to swim in the swirl through simplicity. Beginning steps for marketing account setup. I will discuss such topics as links and sites for promoting but on a novice's level. I will give tips on keeping your accounts safe  as well as learning how to navigate various marketing sites along with recommendations for my favorites.  As my dear friend Seumas Gallacher says.... for 'us old jurassics', I will try to break things down to a step by step, click by click, set of instructions.  If only that had been available back when I started this gig! I might recommend a youtube vid on occasion but I have been there and honestly it was easier to do it  my way!  I am not saying my way is the best but it has worked (so far) and without the mind numbing effects.

Next, TIP#4, will start with that all amazing thing, a link, of which there are several kinds.  As you can see in my post they are very useful things and I think it only fair to share! I was asked how to do this and so jumbled around til I understood the question and realized they wanted to know how to make a regular word into a working link, a hyperlink!  So stay tuned and I will work that post up ASAP!