Jo-Anne Vandermeulen

Lynda W Yezak

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?...and if yes, have you thought about yours yet?


What a strange Christmas and New Year’s season for me: 


1st) CHRISTMAS - This is the first Christmas, in over a dozen years, I did NOT run...escaping to a white beach. Instead, I am staying home and have decided to ‘BE CHRISTMAS’. Sounds funny. Guess I kinda got tired of the Tellers asking me if I was ready for Christmas…lol. I do not ‘do’ the traditional Christmas with the presents; but, have always made my time and appreciated the giving of others’ time as the most AWESOME gift. 


‘Being Christmas’ is easy and way-too-much FUN!...all I do is smile and spread JOY….now talk about rewarding!...just watch the expressions of the Tellers’ faces when they ask you if you’re ready for Christmas and you reply: “I am Christmas”.


2nd ) NEW YEARS - Perhaps not traveling and staying still has allowed me to jump ahead a tad—begin thinking of ‘ways of self-improvement’. Or the initial ‘Being Christmas’ idea, I played this month, got me thinking in advance about a 2012 New Year’s resolution. Again, it has been years since I’ve made a 2012 New Year’s resolution. Kinda proud of myself…lol…so just had to share… 


My 2012 New Year’s Resolution:


I have faith, hope, and freedom to seek even more happiness, bask in the glory, and be the ambassador of joy.


How?


1.) HAPPINESS - Give Myself Permission - Take back my innate power I relinquished to others. I am and always will be the priority. (Aside: I cannot be there for others if I’m not fully present and able.)


2.) PEACE - Forgive Myself – Mistakes are inevitable as I am human, NOT God. I did what I thought was best at the time. (Aside: I cannot be there for others if I’m entwined in chaos, so be still, quiet and listen.)


3.) LOVE – Love Myself – Before giving love, I must must love myself. Enjoy the feeling. (Aside: I cannot give what I don’t have.)


4.) PROSPERITY – Give – All is borrowed and never mine. Let go unconditionally—expect nothing in return. (Aside: I cannot focus on what is really important in life if I’m worshipping money and things.)


5.) HEALTH – Attain Balance – Strive to achieve equal time in the areas of: spiritual, intellectual, physical, and mental wellbeing. (Aside: I cannot be happy without a balanced lifestyle). 






(Here’s the link if you’d like to pass these on - copy and paste and pass:  http://www.joconquerall.com/2011/12/sharing-my-2012-new-years-resolution.html )




...go ahead and smile, giggle, and even laugh aloud…life is made to have fun.


>Hugs<


Jo

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After a year in production, official release date is January 2nd (HER BIRTHDAY!). ACCEPTING PRE-ORDERS at: http://www.thelauruscompany.com/book/internet-marketing-made-easy “INTERNET MARKETING MADE EASY”.

“INTERNET MARKETING MADE EASY” Topics Include:

 Getting Started: Creating a Following
 Establishing a Voice (BLOGGING)
 Advancing in the Search Engines
 Jo-Anne’s Favorite Tips
 Guaranteeing Massive Exposure (SOCIAL NETWORKING)
 Creating a Platform (ATTRACTING CLIENTS)
 Targeting your Audience (SAVING ENERGY)
 Balancing Online Activities (MANAGING TIME)
 Reaching Your Goal (SUCCESS HERE I COME!)

What makes this RESOURCE BOOK, “INTERNET MARKETING MADE EASY”, unique?

 Packed with tips that are proven to work
 User-friendly for the beginner, average, and advanced marketer
 Up-to-date attainable tips you can use right now,
 Flexible in that you can use these tips for ANY product you wish to sell online, and…
 Quick read - (although a costly publishing and printing costs for her, she PERSONALLY REQUESTED THIS ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUE so you will be able to flow through the entire book quickly and with complete understanding – instead of just a glossary at the back, each technical or marketing term is highlighted with a definition and/or example RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SAME PAGE! BRILLIANT!!!)




Here’s what some readers are saying about JO-ANNE VANDERMEULEN’S BOOKS:

“From the first pages it is evident that this book is a feast of impressive research, and what is more, Vandermeulen is a skilled writer adept in presenting material in small digestible morsels that will maintain your interest.”—Norman Goldman, Editor of Bookpleasures

“Vandermeulen provides lots of motivation; she makes you truly believe that you can ‘conquer all obstacles’!”—Tanya Guerrier

“Great Tool! It’s so great to have so much information in one place.”—Dana Taylor

“The best how-to book I have ever read … Jo-Anne’s voice and bright smile came through the text on every page … It does not matter if you are promoting a book, a business, or an upcoming special event, you have got to get this book to help you get the word out to millions of people in a very cost effective (free) way.”—J Renaud

“A Real Time Saver! Jo-Anne lays it all out in a clear, concise format.”—Tracy Krauss

“I have to admit, I was not getting my hopes up on this one. I started with the sample today. Very impressed. It is worth investing.”—Najia

“Gaining exposure on the Internet has never been so easy! … The huge marketing benefits from this book are astounding.”—Brian Knight

“Page after page of fantastic ideas. Heck, I found myself not just reading it to review the book, but taking notes so I could apply her secrets to my own career.”—Duncan Long, Internationally Recognized Technical and Fictional Writer with Over 70 Books in Print

“Jo-Anne has another winner!”—Deborah McCarragher

“Ms. Vandermeulen's clear, concise approach makes the almost mystical haze of online marketing easy to grasp for the most neophyte of Internet users. And just to be sure, she includes a very good glossary in the back of the book to help you understand strange, almost ethereal concepts such as ‘tags’ and ‘blogs’ … And I can promise you one thing … I'll be keeping this book close by for years to come!”—James Holloway

“If you are spinning at the thought of promoting your book or product or service, this book will plant your feet on the ground and point you in the right direction. The ideas here apply to everyone with a product or service to market.”—Katherine Kane

“Jo-Anne Vandermeulen provides a wealth of information and services for writers. I’ve learned a lot by simply reading her material. Her advice is sound, and her energetic promotional efforts world class.”—Donald Jeffries, Prolific Poet (Songwriter), Novelist of Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Children’s Literature

“[Jo-Anne Vandermeulen] takes the mystery and guesswork out of book
promoting, freeing a writer time to write!" —Stuart Ross McCallum, Author of “Beyond my Control – One Man’s Struggle with Epilepsy, Seizure Surgery and Beyond"

“An absolute waterfall of information! Well done.” —J. W. Nicklaus, Author of “The Light, the Dark, and Ember Between”

“… so much good info here. I’ll be coming back to read more.”—G W Gresham, Author of Thriller Fiction

“Great info … I’ve tried to explain this same concept so many times. It’s not hard to apply, and I know you have helped a lot of people with your excellent information. Thank you for that.” —Adrienne Smith, Good News Merchant
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Available NOW!

• CREATING A FOLLOWING -  BLOGGING

• GUARANTEEING MASSIVE EXPOSURE - SOCIAL NETWORKING

• MAKING MONEY - User-Friendly Selling Tips

• ATTRACTING CLIENTS - Creating a Platform

• SAVING ENERGY - Targeting Your Audience

• MANAGING TIME – Balancing Online Activities

• LEARNING SUCCESSFUL MARKETING STRATEGIES - Informative Interviews

• REACHING YOUR GOAL -  Success Here I Come!

• GLOSSARY – Definitions

TheWriteChris  My interview today is with Jo-Anne Vandermeulen who is an expert blogger and one who is willing to offer free marketing tips to other bloggers. She is also the producer and hostess of “Authors Articulating” on Blogtalkradio. And if that is not enough, she is also the founder and marketer of the online marketing business “Premium Promotional Services.” So let’s get on with it and get some of her tips! After you published your novel, Conquer All Obstacles, you started writing a book on tips for writers which became Premium Promotional Tips for Writers. Why did you think you could write a book on helping other authors after writing just that one book? Great question...I knew Premium Promotional Tips for Writers would make a great resource book from reading all the comments from my ‘suddenly’ HUGE following. In less than 3 months, I had over 100,000 followers and my daily blog hits were averaging around 200 a day. With this massive traffic, there were many comments about the same request...they wanted to read more marketing tips and would love to read these tips in a resource book. I knew this book was in demand from the many requested comments. What type of response have you gotten from your readers?   Around 98% of the readers left 5-Star reviews with amazing comments of how much this book helped them conquer their online marketing feat. They felt inspired and encouraged to tackle the once daunting task of having to market themselves. They were impressed that the tips were user-friendly and all free. They learned another avenue of writing they never even knew existed...and many now enjoy online marketing. How did you get started in writing the Tips book? Did you just use your own experiences for the book or did you draw from other writers as well?   I first read blog posts from other online marketing experts. Soon, I discovered a passion for the content. I started my first blog in October 2008 titled ‘Conquer All Obstacles – Professional Support Network for Writers’. Initially, I wrote posts about writing techniques; but by December 2008, my new passion took over and I wrote about all the incredible information I was reading from these online marketing experts. I not only wrote about the ‘how to’ market; but also, (being a teacher for 20 years) was able to condense this somewhat technical information into user-friendly morsels of valuable content that my fellow writers could simply implement—a unique online marketing resource book different from the other self-help books for authors. One of the concepts that I like is that you tell writers to start marketing their book before it is even published. Why do you think that is important? Basically, I knew I had to create an author platform even before my first book was published so I took all that I read and shared the knowledge with others. There are 2 main reasons why it is important for an author to market even before the book is published: 1.) It takes time to generate an online presence. 2.) The marketing focus should be on the author first and then the book. How do you define the term creating a buzz? Creating a buzz is generating talk among others. I call this viral promotion—a VERY powerful method for online marketing. Basically, I compare viral promotion to a snowball rolling down a hill. Once the author starts to make an online presence and shows they have valuable content for others to explore, these new followers will be excited to share this information with others—the snowball has now started down the hill...and as more and more people read about this amazing content and where they can find even more, they will then tell even more folks...these folks will tell others, etc—now the snowball is building—growing bigger and bigger, faster and faster. Soon, the author (with the appreciated help of his/her followers) will have created a buzz throughout the Internet. One of book segments is called “targeting mountains instead of molehills.” Could you explain that concept? Targeting mountains instead of molehills refers to the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) graph. Whenever an author has a blog, he/she needs to register in the 3 top Search Engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN). After he/she publishes a post or article, it is very important for them to ‘ping’ their post by sharing the highlight of the content and a functioning link with the webcrawlers or social bookmark networks such as Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Stumbleupon, etc. Finally, with this post, the author should list keywords (including their name, the name of the post, and the title of their book) as tags. The webcrawlers from the Search Engines will then be able to snag on to your tags, content, and link, submitting them into the Search Engines. With more posts and more pertinent tags, soon your blog will elevate higher and higher in the Search Engines—the SEO graph will be spiked like a mountain. People who are searching for you, your book title, or even the subject/topic will now be able to find you without having to scroll through pages and pages in the Search Engines. Can you imagine being on the first page of Google? ...talk about massive exposure because now you are easily found.” For someone who is new to blogging, what should be the first steps they should take to formulating their blog? Keep it simple. Abolish ALL fears of doing things wrong or making a mistake. Write about your passion. For free, choose a template (design) from Blogger.com . Explore the dashboard or skeleton of your new blog. Go ahead and add a short article. View your creation and then edit from there. Once you’re happy with the appearance and post, click publish. That’s it! Trust me, you’ll be surprised how simple blogging really is....and like most ‘things’ in life, your posts will become better and better with more experience...and with this building confidence, you’ll find yourself ready to modify your blog to make the entire appearance custom designed just right for you...your voice will ring true and your readers will begin to flock. In your book you say you need to provide great content. That might scare some bloggers off in thinking they need to spend hours on end creating posts. Could you explain what you mean by that? Creating great or valuable content is publishing articles with information your readers can use. What would bring a new reader back to your blog? If you’re writing about your passion, there shouldn’t be any writer’s block. Again, keep it simple and write 2-4 paragraphs per post. Edit after. How important is it to be techno-savvy in designing a blog? With the right attitude, even a beginner with no tech background can learn as they go and have their own blog. They don’t have to design it if they grab a free blogger.com template...everything is done for you! I guess that’s why most of my book ‘Premium Promotional Tips for Writers’ is written with the ‘voice’ of inspiration and encouragement. I wanted my readers to feel confident. I use my own experiences as being a new marketer and the tips as a reflection of how I conquered the tech terminology. I then turned what I learned into user-friendly online marketing tips for them. I wanted my readers to know that if I can do it, they can do it too. I really didn’t want to keep anything inside. I keep no secrets. Honestly, I measure my success when I know I can share the wealth of knowledge and help others. What other books do you have in process now? I have another Marketing Tips book that is at the Editors. Just today, She wrote saying that I should be expecting the first draft proof very soon...YIPPEE!!!...I cannot wait!...lol... This Online Marketing Tip Book is written for authors and anyone who has products to sell online. I’ve learned to expand my audience—I can help authors and other people who need help marketing themselves and their products. Is Laurus strictly a subsidiary press? Did you self-publish? For others considering the self-publish route (if that is what you did), how much money should they expect to invest in getting their book published and successfully marketed? “The Laurus Company is a full-service publisher and can meet all of your publishing needs, from substantive editorial and design, to Print-On-Demand (POD), to listings in wholesale catalogues, to distribution and fulfillment services from their online retail bookstore. The Laurus Company currently publishes under three imprints: Laurus Books for non-fiction, Marbry Books for fiction, and Marbry-Tudor Books for specialty books and publications. In addition to the U.S. market, books from The Laurus Company are also available in over 100 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, the countries of the European Union, Spain, Australia, and the new Espresso Book Machine®.  E-books are available in markets worldwide. The Laurus Company maintains an online bookstore <http://www.thelauruscompany.com/store>  where authors and books are advertised and books can be ordered for direct retail shipment to consumers. This is a great convenience for authors who want to market their books themselves without the hassles of setting up their own shopping cart and fulfilling orders. Book sales through The Laurus Company online bookstore generate the highest royalties for our authors. Although The Laurus Company is not a speculative publisher, Laurus authors are not considered to be self-published, which opens the door to many avenues that are closed to self-published authors. Our publishing costs are determined by page count and are among the most economical resources available. Editing and design costs are determined by the level of need and are agreed upon in advance. Authors always have a voice at The Laurus Company. Our mission is to keep authors from getting lost or becoming prey in the unfamiliar world of book publishing.” “Thank you, Chris, for giving me the chance to share with your audience. I welcome all to interact and comment.” >Hugs< Jo That's it for now. That's a lot of material to work with! If you'd like to know more about Jo-Anne's writing, click here. Or if you want to purchase the book, here's the info for her publisher - http://www.thelauruscompany.com/store/9