03
Jan 20
0

Resolutions

Category:Articles By Dee Carver,Dee Carver,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc Tags : #PMInc Articles By Dee Owens Branding #RealMarketing Marketing PM Inc

Did you make a New Year’s resolution? I didn’t, however I did realize last night I only have 6 more months left before I have my Masters In Business with a Marketing Saturation. I was working with Cindy when I looked at my schedule and came to the realization I am almost finished. This morning grabbing a cup of coffee the conversation replayed in my head and I realized it was the prompt for today’s post.

What comes next?

Now that I am almost done, what’s next (hence the resolution), we are making some plans for the company and marketing changes for our clients. We are looking at new venues to promote their books, whether the post we are putting out insight a reaction and then action. We are also looking at the graphics going out and whether they carry a message of their own.

In my last blog I asked if your posts Cognitive, Affective, Or Conative? I also had to ask the same question for the posts we are putting out. The weekly book hooks get good responses, there are comments about having more questions and being curious, which are a good thing. However, does that translate into sales? For a book does the excerpt tease the readers enough to click and grab a copy or read more? Does the excerpt end with an action for the reader to want more? Excerpts are a beautiful thing and can provide the desire to want to know more but there remember do not give away the whole story.

Reasoning

Then I looked at my own books and came to a very real realization that I do not market them or the company no where near enough. Which prompted another change coming for 2020, spending time on the business and my books.

Resolution

So, how am I going to do right by our clients but also add in marketing for #PMInc and my books? Tools! Personalized Marketing Inc has been using Zoho Social for quite some time now. Many of our clients are also using it and it comes with a scheduling option. However, it also has other benefits such as optimal posting times, editing content for each of the networks, and the ability to monitor those networks. Then I can compare our company’s network growth based on what we posted a year ago, 6 months ago, or even last month to what we are currently putting out, inside the same platform.

Granted I will either be doing #PMInc marketing either early in the morning or at the end of the day, because our clients matter more. It is more important for us to share their material than it is to post our own. So this morning after sending out social media post for our clients, I then sat down to write the blog.

Putting our clients first is and always will be the Year Long resolution for Personalized Marketing Inc.

27
Dec 19
0

Cognitive, Affective, or Conative? #PMInc

Category:Articles By Dee Carver,Consultants,Dee Carver,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc,Real Marketing for Organic Growth Tags : Digital Marketing Neuromarketing Psychological Marketing

Christmas has come and gone, well not completely. Tradition keeps our decorations up until the New Year. Speaking of tradition, normally this time of year we are posting for cold winter days and bitter nights, however, the weather in this part of the country is a bit on the mild side. We spent part of our Christmas outside and the children and grandchildren played out in the sunshine. We were not bundled up inside all day but were out enjoying the mild if seemingly off weather. So how does this interesting Winter weather impact your marketing?

Winter Marketing no matter the temperatures outside still are affected by many things, after Christmas sales, year-end clearances, and families spending time together. Also, if you are doing digital marketing, which I am assuming you are, then you have to take into account the weather across the world. So how does one plan on marketing for areas that are impacted by different weather, sales and time zones? Analytics and scheduling, always!

Cognitive, Affective, Or Conative?

As you know I am in college and we are going over how commercials affect us, whether they are cognitive, affective, or conative? Saul McLeod (2018) wrote a great definition for these in his Attitudes and Behavior article for Simply Psychology.

Affective component: this involves a person’s feelings / emotions about the attitude object. For example: “I am scared of spiders”.
Behavioral (or conative) component: the way the attitude we have influences how we act or behave. For example: “I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one”.
Cognitive component: this involves a person’s belief / knowledge about an attitude object. For example: “I believe spiders are dangerous”.

Now bears the questions:

Are your posts are cognitive, affective, or conative? Or which do you want your posts to be? For authors are your books creating the same psychological effects.

One of the examples I used in school to determine cognitive, affective, or conative was a commercial called Super Bowl Puppy Love. You remember the one where the Anheuser Busch Clydesdales and the cute Labrador Puppy and the puppy gets lost. The commercial was rated a success because it evoked emotion, following and displayed the company branding. How did they prove that the commercial was a success? Analytics.

Using this commercial as an example, when you are crafting posts or videos to reach your target audience are you going after a response other than just making a sale? Are you attempting to convey a trigger in the viewer that creates a memory of you or your product using something other than just text?

Triggering a Response

Almost everyone that is making posts are expecting some form of reaction from their viewers, many are seeking a purchase or a commitment to signup for something. However, if you do not trigger an action and then provide the steps the posts is for nothing. Sorry if that sounds harsh but quantity will never beat quality when it comes to reaching your audience.

Think about the thought, emotion, or response (neuromarketing) you want your posts to convey and then craft them to create it. If it takes a series of posts or videos to convey the message then make sure each one adds to the one before it and leads into the next one. need help creating a Cognitive, Affective, or Conative posts, understanding analytics or refocusing your digital marketing? Contact #PMInc today.

#Marketing #Neuromarketing #DigitalMarketing #Analytics #Scheduling #Winter #PMInc

Saul McLeod (2018) Attitudes and Behavior. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/attitudes.html

13
Dec 19
0

Christmas Posting Is Here

Category:Consultants,Dee Carver,Personalized Marketing Inc,Real Marketing for Organic Growth,Website Design Tags : #PMHolidayTrim #PMInc Clients Management Marketing Personalized Marketing Inc PM Inc Real Marketing for Organic Growth SEO

It’s that time of the year for last minute shopping, carolers caroling, the hustle and bustle and of course getting ready because Christmas is almost here. As I sit here and write this blog, I can hear Christmas music playing from my son’s room and it’s pretty cool. For my home, we are anticipating family coming, spending the holiday sharing. It also means planning on posting and knowing when to send them out. As with each season the time and days are shifting and will shift again after the New Year and when the seasons change. Understanding when to post is just as important, if not more than knowing what to post.

How do you know when to post?

Understanding your network and website traffic is the best way. Getting in the back-end and see what days people came or interacted with what you shared, comparing it to previous months and years. Looking at not just Google Analytics but all analytics wherever you can get them. Now, a lot of social platform tools have analytics included but it’s always best to go to the source. You will get better details and can refine the time that you want to look at.

What to post?

What to post is always a challenge, do you only post your business, products, services, or do you mix in a little personal or funny occasionally. Well that is going to depend on you and where you are sharing too. If it’s a business page, then you are going to do more focused posting. However, people want to know who they are buying from and if you are an author, what makes you tick. People love to share their thoughts and opinions, and if they love a product or hate it, you can be sure that they are telling people. So, to understand what to post about other than ‘work’, check out your group’s demographics. Are they into dogs, cats, science? Then plan on post that are about those topics.

Did you recently buy something new for your home and love it? Share it! Let people know what kind of person you are by the taste you have for your own home. (Speaking of which, I know two people who need to do that…) if you want to ultimately skip the ‘getting to know you’ part, then focus on their other topics. Ask them if they have tried something, encourage them to share to your profile/pages by sharing something they have put out. If you have a physical business, then share your gust posts, tag them and let them know that their thoughts mattered.

Need Help?

Today’s blog ended up being a little longer than expected but I guess that’s due to planning holiday posts for clients. If you find yourself in need of help planning those post, or wanting a fresh look for your website then please shoot us an email or give us a call. We would be happy to see how we can help you.

Sorry it’s been a couple of weeks since I posted, busy time of the year and nasty sick, could be to blame but ultimately, we’ve been spending our time on client items. Sorry we missed out on posting for CyberWeek, however, if you mention Cyber Week and Christmas when you contact us, then we will give you the 15% off discount until the end of the year.

#PMInc #Christmas #12DaysOfChristmas #CyberWeek #Holiday #Marketing

06
Nov 19
0

#RealMarketing #OrganicGrowth #Life #PMInc #Holidays #Thanksgiving #Christmas #NewYear

Winter Marketing

Category:Articles By Dee Carver,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc,Real Marketing for Organic Growth Tags : #Holidays #NewYear #OrganicGrowth #PMInc #RealMarketing #Thanksgiving AI Integration Christmas Search Engine Changes Shopping

Well the weather is definitely reflecting the season and ads are already pouring in for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas Present ideas. It’s that wonderfully rushed time of the year! Can you believe we are only short 8 weeks away from today until the New Year? I know I can’t and I have been planning holiday marketing for a while now, but time has flown and it’s here. Don’t worry the next blog will be on Friday again, I just decided to do the blog today due to the countdown to next year.

What’s on your list

As the leaves continue to fall, the weather grows more crisp, new products are launching, items are going on sale and that means it’s time to make sure you are ready for the hustle and bustle. I do not know about you but I enjoy playing music while I work. My daughter got me an Amazon Echo Dot and I must admit, I am sold! Of course, now I am looking at all the other things Alexa can do, including coffee… Something that I did notice and have already began using is the ‘list’ feature. I can just ask Alexa to add an item to my shopping list and it’s there on my phone. Which means I can add items as they pop in my head and suddenly, I have a working list.

AI Integration

Wouldn’t it be great to have the same functionality for those precious books you have written or read and want to share? Well Alexa can do it… My granddaughter gave me a quick lesson in that when instead of specifying a song, Alexa wanted to know if we wanted her to read the book to us. In the past we have mentioned how AI is taking shopping to the next level and you do not have to have an Alexa to make it happen. Smartphones and other AI devices, including your computer, can search for the item you want and then read to you. With this new way for busy buyers to access your products, maybe it’s time to look at how you have listed them.

Search Engine Changes & Shopping

Google Assistant is one of those AI’s that can help you find products just by asking it and until recently we were all phrasing items as questions. However, Google Search has changed again and those phrases (questions) are going to generate new results. Now of course if you have been using true SEO methods and Marketing, then you are doing good. Just do a quick search (without being logged in or use Private Browsing) and see what populates about you and specifically one of your products. Now with books, that might come across a bit disappointing, especially if you have only been posting your books with the meta content the title alone. However, if you are an avid blog follower then you know it’s you and not your ‘books’ that people should be looking for. Book Marketing is this… People need to remember your name… Not the title of your newest book, well at least not just the title alone. Amazon has a perfect example of this … ‘Follow’ the author. No matter if you are shopping online or at a local bookstore you are looking for the author first and then seeing what’s available. Granted I go looking for a specific book, especially the new releases, and I am looking at the title but I am also checking to make sure it’s written by the author I want. There are millions of books out there and some have the same name, right down to the exact spelling and punctuation. However, the defining factor is the author’s name and the cover representing it. So, if you want your book to standout then make sure it has a selling cover and that your name is easily visible. (Check La Roe’s Curse for a bad author name placement and yes, thankfully, Cindy is fixing it for me).

Additional Blogs on Seasonal Marketing

#RealMarketing #OrganicGrowth #Life #PMInc #Holidays #Thanksgiving #Christmas #NewYear

11
Oct 19
0

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Seasonal Marketing

Category:Consultants,Dee Carver,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc,Real Marketing for Organic Growth Tags : #OrganicGrowth #PMInc Branding #RealMarketing Organic Growth Personalized Marketing Inc PM Inc

Hello everyone!

I had originally planned on a post about email platforms and the unknown pitfalls. Which I had planned on posting a couple of times… However, it appears that the blog is MIA, so I can take the hint… No grumbling over missing emails and the server issues that may be hidden in your storage usage. If you have recently emailed us and not gotten a reply it’s very likely it is out taking a tour in cyberspace, so please do email us again. (Server platform has been changed!)

So, what are we going to chat about today?
Yup you guessed it Seasonal Marketing.

October is here, fall has come at last and if you are not already planning your November and December posts it’s time. There are a lot of events going on over the next 3 months and you should be checking into them, monitoring what pertains to you and how your post over the next 10 weeks are going to line out. Why 10 weeks? Well that’s how many are left before Christmas and it is bound to be another busy season. We have discussed planning your holiday marketing in the past, so for this week’s blog I am going to recap a few of those, found a few more than I realized so here are some highlights.

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Life Happens

https://personalizedmarketing.info/real-marketing-organic-growth-pt-7/

During our “Real Marketing For Organic Growth” blog series, we have discussed different topics from hashtags to being on different platforms. However, for all of our good intentions, for all of our planning and preparing, Life Happens. Some of life’s changes can be for the better, some though are hard and the world as you know it has changed. Working through this phase in life can prove to be a bigger challenge than what you expected and you find yourself falling short. When this happens, you can either let it beat you down or get back up and try again.

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Diversify

The very definition of Diversify – “make or become more diverse or varied.” Is a clear indication of not only how we should be as a people but also how we should be in our marketing. As I’m sure many of you have seen the changes to Twitter’s Character count and probably heard about the Business Feed testing Facebook is doing, you may be wondering how it affects you.

If you are selling, promoting, working online, and use social media then you are affected by these changes.

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Thanksgiving – To Advertise or Not

So, how do you deal with all the advertisements and still entice others to pay attention to yours?

Well you could jump on the band wagon and do your own Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday or Cyber Monday event. You could then piggyback of sorts off all the others that are doing it. You could go a little more traditional and just wish everyone a Happy Holiday Weekend remembering that it is a season of giving and not necessarily receiving. You could also chose to not do anything special at all.

Automation is the key to family time, so find a program and schedule those holiday post now!

It’s That Time … Holiday Marketing

https://personalizedmarketing.info/its-that-time-holiday-marketing/

Each year we realize once again that the holidays have snuck up on us. That the time we once thought we had for extra things like ‘marketing’ is suddenly gone. We look at the calendar and only then do we realize that next week only has a couple of days we can focus on work. The rest of our time will be bouncing between home, family, preparations, and all the other obligations that come with this time of year.

05
Sep 19
0

Regression Analysis In Social Media Marketing

Category:Cindy W,Consultants,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc,Real Marketing for Organic Growth,Website Design Tags : #PMInc Management Marketing Personalized Marketing Inc PM Inc Social Site Marketing Website

While doing some research in class, I came across a definition that resonated with me, that I immediately applied to Social Marketing: regression analysis in business. Personally, I found a simple definition that breaks it down and makes it easy to understand. According to Hunkar Ozyasar (2019) "Regression is a statistical tool used to understand and quantify the relation between two or more variables. Regressions range from simple models to highly complex equations. The two primary uses for regression in business are forecasting and optimization. In addition to helping managers predict such things as future demand for their products, regression analysis helps fine-tune manufacturing and delivery processes."

I am always trying to optimize the results that we provide for our clients, one example would be their social media marketing. Recently, the same shift that I have seen happen over the past 11 years is taking place, optimal posting time changes. By analyzing the data, I am better able to determine when the best time to post is, which puts the customers information about their products or services out at the peak times when their followers would see it, which impacts the delivery of network posting. This posting shift happens throughout the year and will shift again before 2019 is over.

At Personalized Marketing Inc, we do analytics on social networks that we monitor and then use that information to determine how well we are doing our jobs. The information is also used to base what days and times are best for posting. It can also provide useful information about network peak time shifts. Now those who live on their social channels probably won’t notice that there is a time the network is slower than others. They may also not notice that some days are more active than other days, but for those who are using social networks to reach current and future connections, they just might.

The time of year, the season, the holidays, current events and even weather can play a ‘huge’ roll in whether that awesome post you wrote gets seen. Just because it sits on your timeline or on your business page does not mean that it reached the target audience. So, let’s use Facebook after work… Just like your target audience you get a ton of notifications of things you have missed. Now you might click every single one and check them all out but while you are that notorious feed is still going strong. Or if you are on your phone, you click that notification, check it out, then bam you are scrolling through another page. What happened to all those other notifications, if you notice the number count is gone! They are still there but the reminder is missing until a new notification comes back. Sure, your phone might have told you that you had 25 notifications, but you went down the pathway towards somewhere else following just one. Guess what? So did your target audience. Paying attention to when, what channel, what content and how to reach your target audience is all hidden inside that important data. Knowing what’s trending now is important, knowing your networks history is just as important!

30
Aug 19
0

#PMInc 11th Anniversary Guest Author: Beverley Bateman

Category:#PMInc 11th Anniversary,Anniversary,Guest Author,Personalized Marketing,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc Tags : #Anniversary #PMInc Personalized Marketing Inc PM Inc

Taking Care Of You: Recognize Your Stress

In these times you hear almost everyone talking about stress in their daily lives. Then you throw in a writer’s life. Yup, you really need to take care of yourself. The first thing you need to do is recognize your stress. What are your stressors and how do you react? Now what are you going to do about it?

I have a fairly good idea about my stressors these days. So, the first part of taking care of me is prevention. Try to keep a healthy body to fight the stress and its negative effects. I try to follow a natural, healthy diet with few additives, based on the Mediterranean Diet. Then I exercise three or four days a week. Sometimes it’s at the fitness center or walking my dog and getting my 10,000 steps in, or working on specific, targeted exercises for my arthritis. I meditate in the morning, get fresh air, try to find at least one thing in a day that makes you smile or laugh out loud and eight hours of sleep.

I also try and book time each day for chores, family time, writing and space for me to relax. It sounds good, but this is one of the things I find hardest to do.

This is taking care of myself and hopefully an aid to preventing increased stress levels. However, life still takes over and I still end up with stress. Blogs to get done, website updates, marketing (which is always one of my big stressors, often compounded by trying to ignore doing it) writing that book with so many life interruptions, editing deadlines…do I need to say more?

When these things happen, I often arrange to meet a friend for lunch and a little shopping, which can make me happy.

Depending on the stress I may take a day or two off from writing, chores, etc. and not do anything but curl up with a good book and maybe nibble on some dark chocolate. Very relaxing, mind clearing, and I may even get a few ideas for a WIP.

For those really stressful times, there’s a massage – sigh… My favorite is half treatment massage and half Japanese hot stone massage. It works on the arthritis pain, those tense muscles and I come away completely relaxed and feeling wonderful.

And then of course, there’s always wine…

Author bio:

Beverley Bateman is a Canadian author now living in Medicine Hat, Alberta, with her husband and Shiba Inu dog. She’s exchanged the Okanagan vineyards and orchards for ranches. Winters she’s a snowbird. She writes the latest romantic suspense in both places. She enjoys reading, watercolor painting and the Native American flute.

Find Author at:

Website https://www.beverleybateman.com/

BLOG http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/beverley.bateman.18

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7052567.Beverley_Bateman

Twitter http://twitter/kelownawriter

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/okwriter

Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Beverley-Bateman/e/B008M01F5E

http://triberr.com/darkwriter

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/okwriter/interest

The Fourth Victim Sara’s Story
Blurb for The Fourth Victim

Sara’s emotionally abusive husband dies unexpectedly. She’s struggling to reclaim the intelligent, independent person she was before she married. Now she’s part of a special team, training to help other women.

Mac is responsible for training women in special ops, so they are prepared in their challenge to save other women. When he meets Sara, sparks fly between them. He wants her to quit the training and let him take care of her.

Sara graduates. Her first assignment is to save Sara’s daughter from a serial killer. Can Mac step back in this dangerous situation? Can Sara and Mac resolve their issues?

Buy Links for The Fourth Victim:

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JQ97L8M?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420
Apple - https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-fourth-victim/id1440048796?ls=1&mt=11
Nook pending
Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-fourth-victim-9

Excerpt from The Fourth Victim

The office said he’d had a heart attack. Was he alive? Did she want him to be? What if her husband had to stay home for a few weeks to recuperate? Palms sweating, Sara’s breath came in short, shallow bursts at the thought.

The taxi jerked to a stop in front of the hospital emergency entrance.

Sara fumbled through her purse and counted out her meager number of dollar bills. Gordon didn’t allow her to have a credit card and he only allowed her to have a small amount of cash. She didn’t have enough money to pay the taxi.

“I’m so sorry. I left home without any cash. I...I ... Would you take a check?” Tears spilled over and trickled down her flushed cheeks.

The driver spun around. A short stubby finger waved at the sign over the rearview mirror. “Look lady, it says right there - No Checks.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. My husband’s had a heart attack and I ... I don’t know what to do.” Sara ran her fingers through her hair and scrunched the tight bun at her neck.

The driver shook his head. “Aw, shit. Go ahead, lady. Write the check.”

Sara pulled the single crumpled check Gordon allowed her carry for emergencies out of her purse. When she touched the check a vision of Gordon floated in front of her.

She froze and rapidly blinked her eyes. She only saw the ghosts of dead people. Gordon didn’t believe her and forbid her to ever mention it.

Could he really be dead?

“Gordon?” she whispered.

“Lady, are you writing that check or not?”

“Yes, sorry.” Sara scribbled her signature on the bottom of the check. “Please, fill it in, and give yourself a generous tip. Thank you, thank you so much.” She clutching her worn purse to her chest, slid out of the cab, and scurried through the emergency room doors.

What if he was dead? She didn’t have any money. Gordon did all the finances and never shared anything with her. How would she manage?

Twenty years ago she could have handled it. Could she do it again? But he couldn’t be dead. Gordon would never allow that to happen.

His face flitted in front of her, fixed in an angry glare.

He had to be dead or she wouldn’t be seeing him. He didn’t want to be dead. He didn’t want her to be free. If he thought she could see him he’d be furious.

Sara shuffled toward the reception desk. She glanced over her shoulder, searching for some sign of Gordon, listening for his voice, waiting for him to yell at her. She couldn’t believe he was really dead, even though she had seen him. She clung to the edge of the transition counter, her head down, chewed on her lower lip and waited to be noticed.

28
Aug 19
0

#PMInc 11th Anniversary Guest Author: Jillian Bullock

Category:#PMInc 11th Anniversary,Anniversary,Guest Blogger,Personalized Marketing,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc Tags : #Anniversary #PMInc Personalized Marketing Inc PM Inc

Taking Care Of You: Know When It’s Time To Let Go

As an award winning filmmaker, I wear many hats – director, writer, actor, producer, and fight choreographer. I am now working on building my production company to greater heights and open my own in-house film studio by late 2020. Being a filmmaker and the CEO of Jillian Bullock Enterprises, LLC, I often have to make tough decisions, which is necessary to grow, to change, to improve, to get better, and to succeed.

When you make these tough decisions for your own life, it sometimes includes letting go of people who no longer serve your dream, your goal, your vision, or your mission. This can be people who you know personally or professionally. But in learning to take care of you, this also means some people must be eliminated from your life. You will have to know when it’s time to let go.

As you work to achieve success and fulfill your dreams in life choose who you’re giving your time and energy to. Life is hard enough on its own. Don’t have people in your life that are making things harder for you.

These are the types of people you need to let go of immediately:

Anybody that triggers you.
Anybody who is a naysayer or hater.
Anybody who doesn’t offer love and compassion.
Anybody who is selfish and makes things all about himself or herself.
Anybody who drains you emotionally.
Anybody who isn’t there in your time of need.
Anybody who is abusive (physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually, financially).
Anybody who is full of excuses.
Anybody who is seriously lazy.
Anybody who is destructive to themselves or to you.
Anybody who tries to hold you back from fulfilling your dreams and goals.
Anybody who isn’t trying to improve and grow.
Anybody who is poisonous to your integrity.

Once you let go of certain people find other people who are like-minded. Those people who are full of joy, hope, creative thoughts, and physical energy. People who are smart, kind, hard workers, who understand your big dreams because they have big dreams, too. Surround yourself with people who push you to be great and who will kick you in the butt when you get off track. Be in the presence of people who will nourish your soul.

Most important, you’re the sum of the people you spend the most time with, which is why you must let go of those people who are not growing with you. Surround yourself with positivity, because when you are reaching for greatness you will often have doubts or you will fail at times. With this in mind, find a small group of people who can provide you with the support, love and guidance you need.

24
Aug 19
0

#PMInc Guest: CTR Staff Delane

Category:#PMInc 11th Anniversary,Anniversary,CTR Staffers,Guest Blogger,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc Tags : #Anniversary #PMInc Personalized Marketing Inc PM Inc

Are you glued to technology and if so, what do you do to disconnect?

I for one, with my disability, live technology and love it. However, I do not get on social media or websites; I spend my time primarily reading, doing bible studies, and online courses. I rarely step away from technology as I can make the font on my tablets to whatever size I need for that day. Glasses are helpful but there are times when even they are of no use and adjusting fonts is better. I do not sit at a laptop; I have a Kindle, Microsoft Surface, Apple 12" tablet, and my phone.

What do you do to unwind?

Read

Anything special you do to treat yourself like maybe a favorite meal each month?

I buy books. I have an addiction to my Kindle books and have an extensive library.

Do you have a hobby that isn’t involved in what you do each day? (Painting, gardening, knitting, biking, etc).

Reading

Everyone is concerned about being healthy while working on a computer, what do you do to try and improve your health? (5 min breaks, standing some while working, walking during the morning, limit time on computer, etc)

I stand once at least every hour. I have a standing desk stand but unable to use as often since I am getting old. The one thing I do not do at home is sit in front of a computer since I do it all day at work.

While working is there anything special you do help ease your mental stress or physical aches? (listen to music, stand while working, etc)

I listen to healthy TV shows or documentaries. I work better with noise. I learned to block out noise while doing my job in a room with 50 other people are talking none stop at various levels and tone. Now, I find comfort in the noise and need it to focus on what I am doing which is silly but 20 years of training imprints on the mind for life.

What advice would you want to give others if you could?

Do what you want to do in life. Do not settle for a job instead of finding a calling. If you are called to something you will find joy in it and it will never seem like work.

Delane is an avid reader who has been told her whole life to get her nose out of the book. She was the closet nerd in school until she got old enough to beat the crap out of anyone who made fun of her for reading and studying. She reads everything out there at least once. If she really likes a book she has been known to read it 2, 3………okay over 100 times. Spare time? As an avid reader she has no spare time because every spare moment of the day is spent reading. She carries her eReader in her purse and if she has 5 minutes standing in line then she is reading. The rest of her day is dedicated to her children, her country, and to her never-ending quest for higher learning.

Visit her at https://coffeetimeromance.com/the-coffee-crew/Delane/

23
Aug 19
2

#PMInc 11th Anniversary Guest Author: @KayelleAllen

Category:#PMInc 11th Anniversary,Anniversary,Guest Author,Guest Blogger,Personalized Marketing Inc,PM Inc Tags : #Anniversary #PMInc Personalized Marketing Inc PM Inc

Taking Care Of You: Sleep.

My sincere thanks to Dee Carver for inviting me to share on her website. Dee is special to me. She's not just someone I know online -- she's also a great friend. I trust her with the keys to my kingdom. She is my website designer and guru. Today happens to be her birthday. Dee, I hope your day is lovely all day long!

When Dee asked me to talk about self-care for authors, my mind immediately went to one particular topic. It's the one thing that has changed my life to give me not only better health but also to make me a more prolific (and much better) writer.

Sleep.

Yes, sleep. Mundane and humdrum but oh so necessary. I write about immortals who need two hours of sleep and can go a day or three without it when needed. Trust me. I am not immortal. Not even close.

My first published book came out in July of 2004 and the second in December. I was putting out a book about every six months. Then this thing happened to me that knocked me completely out of my ability to churn out new stories. What was it?

No sleep.

I actually bragged about how I got by on only four to five hours of sleep a night. It was a time waster, right? I felt fine! I would wake up excited to start my day. I had a full time job that I truly loved and for the Atlanta area, an easy commute. But by the time I got home, fixed dinner, got other work around the house down and sat down at the computer -- I was done. I worked, yes. I put in the time banging on the keyboard, but my ideas weren't gelling.

I used caffeine. I tried adding exercise. Because, yeah, when you're tired, working out is such a great idea. Not. I did this for more than ten years. No real sleep and working myself to the bone trying to get ahead.

When stomach pain sent me to the doctor, I discovered I had an ulcer. My job had changed and it was now high stress and I hated going in to work each day. I had no energy to write. What I was producing was just not that good. I couldn't seem to stay with a story long enough to finish it. I'd get 40,000 words in, but the plot wasn't working. The characters were wrong. In short, I was writing nothing publishable.

In June of 2018, my youngest son, Joel, gave me a Fitbit and I started tracking my sleep. The least amount of sleep it would set for as a minimum was a little over 5 hours. Most days, I didn't make that goal. I was hardwired to wake up.

But I discovered something quite by accident. There were a few days in a row where I slept 6 hours or so, and was also starting to produce good work. I could make decisions. I flew through cleaning the kitchen and fixing dinner. I folded laundry and actually put it away. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? I bet you do.

When you're tired, you get by on the minimum. Clothes get washed. They might even get folded. But they never / rarely make it out of the basket. I learned how to make fast food faster and we ate frozen meals because who has energy to cook?

Once I started seeing the correlation between longer sleep and energy to work and write, the lightbulbs started coming on.

Why hadn't I thought of this before? Why wasn't anyone talking about this?

Of course, they were, but as tired as I was, I wasn't paying attention. I decided to start trying to get more sleep.

After a year, I can say that I consistently get over six hours of sleep a night. I truly don't think I was ever big on sleeping, even as a kid. I'm pretty hardwired to work that way. I feel great and I'm able to do so much more. I've released new books. I'm writing one now that is a joy to create. The ideas flow. I'm a much better writer because I have energy to write but also energy to study my craft.

So, if there is one thing I can recommend to make you a better writer it's this: Sleep.

Don't fool around with your metabolism. Your body needs rest. Your creativity comes out of your brain -- which if you aren't allowing time to reset and rejuvenate -- is going to fail you.

Prioritize. Look at what's really important. Your health isn't something you can give up to get more done. Trust me on that. Eat healthy food. Get some exercise. And go to bed!

Bro, Antonello Brothers Prequel, by Kayelle Allen

The tech Senth is about to claim will make him invisible. Finally, the young halfbreed thief will be out of sight, shielded from the taunts humans fire at him. But when that tech reveals he has a human half-brother who's bound by a cruel slaver, Senth must find a way to save his brother from abuse and win his freedom -- even though Senth is a slave himself.

There's just one problem. The new Thieves' Guild tech might make him invisible, but it can't hide him from the truth...

https://books2read.com/u/bwqyAy

About the Author

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi and Sci Fi Romance with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.

Homeworld https://kayelleallen.com
Book blog https://rlfblog.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook http://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/kayelleallen/bringer-of-chaos-pietas/
Reader Groups https://kayelleallen.com/reader-groups/

Category Archives: Personalized Marketing Inc

Jan 20

What comes next?

Reasoning

Resolution

Dec 19

Cognitive, Affective, Or Conative?

Now bears the questions:

Triggering a Response

Dec 19

How do you know when to post?

What to post?

Need Help?

Nov 19

What’s on your list

AI Integration

Search Engine Changes & Shopping

Additional Blogs on Seasonal Marketing

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Life Happens

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Seasonal Marketing

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Thanksgiving – To Advertise or Not

It’s That Time … Holiday Marketing

Oct 19

So, what are we going to chat about today? Yup you guessed it Seasonal Marketing.

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Life Happens

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Diversify

If you are selling, promoting, working online, and use social media then you are affected by these changes.

Real Marketing for Organic Growth: Thanksgiving – To Advertise or Not

So, how do you deal with all the advertisements and still entice others to pay attention to yours?

Sep 19

Aug 19

Taking Care Of You: Recognize Your Stress

The Fourth Victim Sara’s Story Blurb for The Fourth Victim

Special Discount

Aug 19

Taking Care Of You: Know When It’s Time To Let Go

These are the types of people you need to let go of immediately:

About Jillian

Special Discount

Aug 19

Personalized Marketing Inc 11th Anniversary Guest Blogger:

Coffee Time Romance Staffer – Delane

Special Discount

Aug 19

Taking Care Of You: Sleep.

Bro, Antonello Brothers Prequel, by Kayelle Allen

About the Author

Special Discount

Search

Contact Us

Basic Contact Form

Signup For Special Announcements

LikeBox

Visit Us On

CUSTOMIZED MARKETING

BLOG SERIES

REFERRAL PROGRAM

CONTACT

So, what are we going to chat about today?
Yup you guessed it Seasonal Marketing.

The Fourth Victim Sara’s Story
Blurb for The Fourth Victim