Category Archives: Marketing

Drop and give me four!

Posted on October 31, 2011 | 3 comments

Oh my gosh. I have been trying to read more Blogs lately, see what’s going on with the rest of the industry and other authors. I have seen a couple of names popping up in some of the same places as mine and I was more than a little annoyed with these people. Why, you ask? Of course you do!

Signature lines.

I know people consider signature lines a small thing, but not when they are 16 and 21 lines long. Seriously? Yes. That is the length of two sig lines that I keep seeing. In most cases, their sig lines are longer than their comments and in my opinion that is just rude. You may not care what I think, but consider other readers who look at all those lines and the fact that you felt the need to share every detail of your writing career with them on someone else’s Blog. Not cool, man.

After all these years on the Internet, I have discovered one thing holds true for almost all forums, groups, and the like. 4 lines. That’s FOUR max! In many cases, if you include more than 4 lines in your sig, moderators will delete your posts without them ever seeing the light of day. How do I know this? Experience.

Have you not learned from reading my blog that nearly everything I post about is based on my own personal experience?

So let’s be a little courteous to our fellow Bloggers and DROP those extra lines. Keep it simple. Need examples?

Karen L. Syed, President, Echelon Press LLC
http://www.echelonpress.com

Karen L. Syed, author of Devlin’s Wicked Wish
http://tinyurl.com/kls-dww-smash (FREE)
Twitter: @echelonpress

or even

Karen L. Syed, President, Echelon Press LLC
http://www.echelonpress.com
author of Dark Shines My Love
http://tinyurl.com/kls-dsml-kindle

Click Cover to Dwnload FREE eBook

See how easy that is? If you are really clever you can turn your titles into buy links, but I like to use tinyurls in case there is a formatting issue, they can see what the links should be and I don’t miss out on potential sales. And it’s okay to make your sig lines a bit clever. After all, you are trying to attract people to t he information and clever works.

So here is your chance. Post your signature line in the comments here and at the end of the day I will choose the most cleverly implemented sig line and the winner will get a $5.00 Gift Certificate as my special Halloween treat (cause candy is bad for your teeth.)

So tell your friends to drop by this post for their chance to win.

3 Comments

Posted in Blatherings, Business, Just for Fun, Marketing, Writing

Tagged blogs, eBook, Echelon Press, free eBook, GIft Certificate, Halloween, Karen L. Syed, professionalism, signature lines

If you can’t take the heat…

Posted on October 27, 2011 | 10 comments

Well, my morning started off pretty good, and just took a nosedive into the crapper. What I am about to tell you should not upset me, it should not even matter to me, but it does…for so many reasons.

Yesterday I was directed to a Blog post by a relatively new author who is documenting the marketing journey. I read through the Blog and was impressed with the information the author shared. I did, however, notice a few things that were a little short on info. I took a little while and posted a comment. I did praise the author, but I also suggested a few things that I thought might be helpful, like adding the email contact to the Blog so people could contact the author without having to go through a public comment. I made a few other suggestions, nothing bad, nothing too serious, nothing out of line.

I went back in today to check on the blog and see what was new and I discovered that my post has been deleted. There was no moderation (I’m pretty sure the post went up straight away), it is just gone. The only posts left up are the posts that specifically praise the author. This makes me sad and it leads me to my point.

If you can’t take the heat in the publishing industry stop publishing books. If you don’t want people to post their true thoughts and comments on your Blog, then don’t Blog. I am certain there are things that should be deleted, but a helpful and supportive comment isn’t one of them…especially from a publisher (not just me, ANY publisher.

I am a publisher. I do have things to share, and some of them actually have some value. But I can tell you, after this, I will think long and hard before I share any suggestions or advice with others–even if I think it will help them. My husband often tells me I am too giving with my knowledge and experience and that I should just let people learn things themselves, the hard way, like I did. I am beginning to think he might be right. He says I will help anyone with anything, but when I need help, I always get the cold shoulder. I just tell him it is the way the business works. But today has made me realize that this is not how it should work. You get what you give and quite honestly, I’m kinda tired of giving and not getting anything back.

D.M. Anderson: I want to thank you for your comments this morning on my editing and to let you know how deeply they are appreciated. It makes this new bit of “life” a little easier to get past…in a minute…

You have earned a shameless plug for your book.

[OmniLit][Kindle][KindleUK][KindleGE][KindleFR]

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. You should read for yourself!

10 Comments

Posted in Blatherings, Business, Just for Fun, Marketing, Writing

Tagged business, D.M. ANderson, karen syed, Killer Cows, professionalism, publishing, respect, writers, Writing

Me and Mary Kay…sorta

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 3 comments

Our 10th Anniversary

Today I am celebrating my tenth wedding anniversary. A milestone, yes, but for me it is even more important. You see, I’m not the easiest person in the world to get along with or tolerate. Okay, in all fairness, I’m a much better person than I was 15 years ago.

Back in the day I was mean, stubborn, selfish, and all kinds of other nasty things. I have had countless friends come and go, with a very small number holding steady. I hae infuriated, pissed off, and offended more people than I can even count. I cared little about making connections with anyone. So why the glimpse into my sordid past?

As I said, today is my anniversary and my husband has earned a very special place in my heart. He is the one person who I have maintained a personal and positive relationship with for the longest consecutive period of time. I know that sounds weird, but I really have pissed off a lot of people. It has not been easy for him, but hopefully he thinks it is worth it.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking about other types of relationships. Being in business I’m tasked with finding ways to bring people close enough that they find value in me and my product. I don’t think enough people give serious consideration to relationships when trying to build their business’s reputation. For me it plays, and always has played, a very important, even crucial, role. After all, I am out there every day asking people to have faith in me and to spend their hard-earned money on my products. I really don’t take that lightly. In fact, the idea that readers might not like our books torments me to no end.

Some of you may be wondering what happened to change me so dramatically. In truth it was a couple of things. First and foremost was meeting my (now) husband. The time we have spent together (15 years in total) has truly made me want to be a better person than I was. He has made a point to find the good in me from the moment we met. He did not change me, knowing him made me want to change.

Mary Kay Ash

The other major influence in my life was the late Mary Kay Ash. You all probably know her from her internationally renowned cosmetics company. Over the last few years I have investigated and studied her company and her life with great enthusiasm. This remarkable woman literally started Mary Kay with almost nothing after having lost her husband. Along with her son, she worked from the bottom up to make the company one of the most well-known and successful.

The most important element to her success as a person and an entrepeneur was her ability to connect with people, as far as I can tell, nearly all people. Every day in her life was filled with getting to know others and going out of her way to make them feel important and valued. Rumor has it that she treated her Mary Kay representatives with the same respect as she did her friends and family. It is said that when a Mary Kay representative had a birthday, an anniversary, or even a tragedy, Mary Kay Ash would pick up the phone and call them herself.

The character of Mary Kay Ash has been an inspiration to me for a very long time. I strive to make my life as worthy as hers and I hope that in some way I leave a positive impression on every person I meet or talk to. After all, you can’t put a price or value on human life and happiness.