Sense. Scents. Dollars and Cents.

Here are my two cents on Marketing Books. What’s worked for me = DO. What hasn’t worked and/or doesn’t appeal = DON’T. That is, methods of marketing that I think stink.

Presented via the sandwich method I used to pair praise with reprimand and/or imperative throughout a blazingly successful career in speech-language pathology. And as a thoughtful wife of 40+ years. Kindness rates above meanness. Got that?

I’m not going to ‘dagwood’ you… Do you recall that phrase, Boomers? The cartoon cartoon who prepared and ate highly-stacked sandwiches? If not, read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagwood_Bumstead

Since I’m a peanut butter-and-jelly kind of gal – and I grew up in the wholesome, ‘white bread’ life of the Midwest – here’s my first ‘two cents’ sandwich of DO and DON’T marketing advice. I’m delivering in small bites because I want you to digest and invest… Please remember at all times that I am sharing my experience, not my expertise. Consider my advice ‘open face’ btw. Like that sandwich type, it’s a group of three:

DO consider your time, energy, and budget as well as your personality and tolerance for uneven outcomes. I’m a social creature, so events and activities are things I savor and need to balance the solitary, lonely nature of a writer’s life. As I often remind people: I am the Girl Scout who sold the most cookies each year. I ventured, I dared! Who could resist the red-haired little girl? With a smile!

DON’T hire a publicist unless you are that focused and well-heeled. Or if you prefer an introverted, low-key, low sales writer life…

DO take online courses and attend writers’ enclaves to learn – and then re-learn – market technique. New methods and means are constantly being invented in this age of change we endure, er, long to survive in. The dinosaurs died long ago… don’t let that happen to your dreams!

Make sense?