The LOVE ebook
I’m delighted to present you with a fantastic new option for Valentine’s Day. This one doesn’t die or wilt (flowers), it doesn’t harm trees (greeting cards) and it doesn’t cause a sugar high, a sugar low or unsightly poundage (candy).
The LOVE ebook is your long-lasting, eco-friendly, calorie-free alternative, though I won’t lie and tell you it’s not full of sugar. Because it is – by way of many beautiful love-inspired poems, photos and works of art from a spirited group of writers and artists. The stunning design comes by way of Kyle Lacy of Brandswag.
The goal of The LOVE ebook? To spread happiness & positivity and to make a difference for people struggling with the recession.
Because I want everyone to have access to the good stuff, The LOVE ebook is available for FREE download below, but I strongly encourage you to take a moment to CLICK HERE and make a donation to Career Gear as well. As a national non-profit, Career Gear helps men find jobs and keep them through skills training, interview clothing and relationship building.
Career Gear has been so wonderful to work with…gracious, supportive, excited. John Sanful, Executive Director of Career Gear, says it so well:
“Career Gear is thrilled to be receiving the proceeds from The LOVE ebook. Clients of Career Gear learn self-confidence and motivation. After gaining employment they continue to work on themselves and improving their relationships; professional and personal. The LOVE ebook is about relationships as well. Enjoy The LOVE ebook and cherish the relationships around you. Career Gear is honored to be associated with this project and is so grateful for this outpouring of support for our organization.”
Download The LOVE ebook….and then head over to Career Gear to make a donation – every little bit helps! Remember The LOVE ebook will only be available from February 11th to February 14th.
Want to do more? Help promote the book! Just grab the following code for these banners and blog about it…or Tweet, or Facebook, and on and on! Thank you all….
For 728 x 90 banner, copy text below.
Filed under Blogging, Myth or Reality, Networking, News, Social Media | Tags: art, Blogging, career gear, charity, Julie Roads, love, photography, poetry, recession, social media, the love ebook, unemployment, unique valentine's day gift, valentine's day, Writing Roads | Comments (20)
Vote for Your Favorite Love eBook Cover
I’m blown away by the beauty of these designs for the cover of The LOVE ebook. Kyle Lacy, owner of Brandswag, has outdone himself!!! They’re so good that I just can‘t pick one. I need you all to help me. Check them out and vote down below. Warning: this poll will only be live for 24 hours – so vote now (and tell all of your friends.)
Remember The LOVE ebook goes live on February 11th and will be available for download through the 14th. It is free, but I encourage you to make a donation to Career Gear (a national organization helping people get back to work). Dare I say, The LOVE ebook makes the perfect Valentine’s gift???
Okay – vote!
The voting is over! Thank you all! And the winner is….#2!
Would you like to help spread the word about The LOVE ebook?
The response and support for The LOVE ebook has been truly amazing and inspiring!
If you haven’t heard, here are the details:
The LOVE ebook will be a beautifully designed ebook full of writing and art about LOVE. It will be posted on this blog for download from February 11th through the 14th – just in time for Valentine’s Day (would make an awesome gift, eh?)
The LOVE ebook will be available for free, but we are also offering you the option to make a donation for your download – could be for $1 or $1000+ – that’s entirely up to you. Our wildest dreams feature corporate sponsors matching these donations dollar for dollar (we have one already!) Please let us know if you have any ideas on that end.
All of the money raised will be donated to Dress for Success (for women) and Career Gear (for men) – two national non-profit organizations that help people find, get and keep jobs through career skills training, interview training, proper attire, etc…Times are tough, and Ramona and I wanted to pick organizations that worked hard and compassionately to help our country’s workforce.
What you can do!
The key to spreading the word and getting the maximum amount of donations will be all of you! We appreciate your tweets, Facebook highlights, Squidoo pages…whatever you’ve got. We’d also love some blog love! Us bloggers are always looking for somethng good to write about – and we’re handing you: social media, charity, recession, writers, bloggers, love, relationships, non-profits, employment…you name it!!!
Best case scenario is that you blog about the book and the event on February 11th – and that you provide a link straight to the page with the ebook download link! We’ll get the book up first thing – so the link will be good to go! Please set your calendars!!! (And, I’ll likely be tweeting it like mad!) You can also sign up for email alerts for this blog (look up to the right) – and then the reminder will land in your inbox.
I know you won’t be doing this to get anything back for yourselves, but I’ll be doing a big old wrap up of this event and you better believe I’ll be thanking all of our bloggers and message spreaders!
THANK YOU!
Filed under Blogging, Networking, News, Social Media | Tags: Blogging, Julie Roads, love ebook, Networking, recession, social media, Twitter, Writing Roads | Comments (2)The LOVE ebook: love creations and real support for those hit by the recession
Image by Swamibu
The LOVE ebook: love creations and real support for those hit by the recession
WHAT IS THE LOVE EBOOK?
In an effort to focus on the good stuff – and help out in tough times – The LOVE ebook for charity is filled with LOVE poems, photos and artwork and it’s hitting the ‘net just in time for Valentine’s day. The beautiful composition, designed by Kyle Lacy and his crew at Brandswag, will be posted here for download from February 11th through the 14th – (would make an awesome Valentine’s gift, eh?)
Is it Free?
The LOVE ebook will be available for free, but we are also offering you the option to make a donation for your download – could be for $1 or $1000 – that’s entirely up to you.
Where will the money go?
All of the money raised will be donated to Career Gear (for men and their families) – a national non-profit organization that helps people find, get and keep jobs through career skills training, interview training, proper attire, etc… Times are tough, and I wanted to pick an organization that worked hard and compassionately to help our country’s workforce. (and Career Gear has been so wonderful to work with!!!)
How will you spread the word?
Anyone that knows me, knows that I’m obsessed with Twitter. We will certainly Twitterize the heck out of this thing. We’re also looking to all of you – whether you participate as an artist, writer, donor or reader to spread the word. I’ll use Pitch Engine for PR. We would love it if you would post something on your blog just link back to us here. Please tell all your peeps across every network you’ve got.
The Launch
The LOVE ebook will be available for download here, on the Writing Roads blog from February 11th through the 14th. We’ll do all we can to spread the word and raise some money for good and we hope you will too!
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AND HELPING IN EVERY WAY YOU CAN!
We just know this is going to be a blast.
Filed under How To, Networking, News | Tags: art, artists, career gear, charity, donations, dress for success, ebook, job finding, love, photography, poems, poetry, recession, recession help, writers | Comments (16)Top 7 reasons NOT to stop marketing during a recession
1. Because your competitors will. The knee jerk reaction to the recession is to cut advertising. The classic example from the Great Depression is Ford and Chevrolet. Ford was outselling Chevrolet considerably at the outset of the Depression. Ford reduced advertising when the economy plunged while Chevrolet moved along with an aggressive marketing plan – and they virtually switched positions within the marketplace.
2. Because a market presence is essential. Companies that disappear from the public eye realize a negative outcome with current customers – it’s a sign to the customer that the company is weak and unstable. The absence breeds fear and distrust in their minds. Many businesses pull funding from ‘non-essential’ expenses and make the mistake that marketing is one of them. But, if you aren’t being ’seen’ by potential customers, where is the business going to come from? How will it grow? What does it say about the state of your business?
3. Recession does not equal complete business failure or dissolution. People still spent money during the Great Depression (and through every economic recession this country has experienced). How will they know to spend money with you? As we all know from Marketing 101, people buy products because, among other reasons, they like the image and message behind a product – and marketing is your mouthpiece.
The businesses that boomed during the 1930’s did so for one reason and one reason only: the did not reduce, and many expanded, their advertising efforts. Proctor & Gamble is a great example of a company that increased ad spending throughout the Great Depression, and every recession since, and has seen consistent revenue increases as a result.
4. During an economic downturn, people are desperately looking for security, safety, savings, deals, good things, distractions. Figure out how your company, services, products and your message can communicate and deliver these things. Be part of the solution – this is an opportunity.
Look at the movie industry. The last few weeks have brought record numbers for big screen openings; people are spending money at the movies. Consider the reasons why. Connect to those reasons with your marketing message.
5. Think about another scenario when a business might not have a lot of money but needs to build the business. During the beginning or start-up phase of any business – when funds are likely low – marketing and promotion is key. No one can hire you or use your goods and services if they don’t know who or why you exist.
6. The recession will end. And the best place for you to be at that point is still in the game. Still working, having been creative, having learned – and still operating and visible. Imagine the message you’ll send to customers as we pull out of the downturn.
7. You have your own mind. Apparently, the companies that fared the best during the Great Depression are those that paid absolutely no mind to it. They charged ahead, believing in their product, understanding that their customers still needed them. Fake it till you make it? Perhaps. I prefer to think it’s a matter of attitude, optimism and fortitude.
Filed under How To, Marketing, Myth or Reality, The Business | Tags: copywriter, freelance copywriter, great depression, Julie Roads, Marketing, marketing writer, optimism, recession, recession survival, social media, Writing Roads | Comments (21)Recession? Just say NO.
This post is inspired by my belief that we are all in control of our destinies – that when I wanted a beautiful post and beam office in my backyard, I set my mind to it and was typing away inside its walls 3 weeks later. It is also inspired by Dr. Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI (Business Networking International) and a wildly successful business man, who is currently on a campaign (seriously, buttons and all) headlined by this statement: “I refuse to participate in a recession!”
My biggest frustration is that we aren’t actually in a recession, but it’s all that the media wants to discuss. They use their standby fear tactics to create panic in us lay people, and they create a pandemonious cycle of violence. It goes like this:
The Media: Makes the following overblown statements, ‘We are facing a terrible recession. No one will buy anything. Businesses will go bankrupt. Gas will increase to $20/gallon. You won’t even be able to afford rice.’
People: Panic and do what the media says instead of going along just fine with their lives. They believe we are in a recession. They stop buying things. Their businesses suffer. Gas prices do increase. No one goes near rice (why look when it is so expensive).
The Media: Is thrilled that now the things they said were happening are actually happening. So they say them again, times 30.
People: Panic and do more of what the media says. And on and on.
The reality is that if we, the people, just say no to the media and to the recession. If we keep moving along in our lives. If we feel good knowing that our businesses are growing. If we keep spending our money and enjoying life. (If we find an alternative to gasoline). We will be fine. I got three new clients yesterday because I believe in my business, my clients and their businesses. It’s about attitude and living your life. Not the one the media prescribes. It’s about staying positive.
Would you rather do business with someone moaning that times are tough. Or someone who is happy, positive and focusing on a productive future?
Recession? Nope. No recession here. Just blue skies and the sound of fast fingers on a busy keyboard.
Filed under Myth or Reality, The Business | Tags: bad economy, BNI, building your business, business, copywriting, Dr. Ivan Misner, freelance copywriter, law of attraction, Marketing, recession, Writing | Comment (1)
