Reader Warning:
This author is NOT Universally Flavored. May cause adverse side effects. Read at your own risk.
Crimson's Musings
Empty Thoughts
Building a brand name is not about selling books – it’s about making your name memorable. Connecting with readers about topics other than sales and promotion is itself a form of promotion. There’s a lot of paranormal romance out there, for example. If you’re the paranormal romance author who also posts a tried-and-true dinner recipe every afternoon on Facebook, maybe tying each recipe to a restaurant in your books, readers will remember your name.
That’s what you want: name recognition and recall, because it will go a lot farther than a simple sales transaction. Demonstrating an interest in the reader as more than just “that person who buys my books” is essential to building an effective brand, because it creates a connection that lasts beyond any one book.
- Sarah Wendell (via soapnotes)Got Insurance?
After a number of car accident experiences in the past (and more recently present), I find that questions pops to mind a lot. Especially in instances where another driver rams their vehicle into mine. So far, in any accident I’ve been involved in…both parties have had it. What I have learned over the years is that automobile insurance companies are not created equal and it pays to shop around.
My family is insured by a smaller company as opposed to the more popular ones seen in countless commercials on TV. While things do eventually get worked out and squared away, I’ve been blown away by the response time of ours. I suppose it also helps that the other party involved int he accident also has the same insurance company we do. However, the day after the accident they had people out photographing the van and estimating the damage and preparing a check. By the following week, the van was in the shop for four days and returned to us on the fifth day. For me…that is amazingly fast service.
The medical claim adjuster was on the ball as well. They were in touch the same week getting things squared away, giving me the information I needed to give to medical providers as I saw them and checking up on an almost weekly basis. This has been a new experience for me as the insurance companies I worked with before often brought a negative reaction on the faces of medical providers due to lost paperwork, late payments, or poor customer service.
My family and I receive numerous invitations each year to switch insurance companies. I get countless e-mail requests about getting online quotes. I’m happy we have who we do as our provider. Their customer service has been awesome and it’s so nice being able to speak to a person rather than being passed along from one person to another or talking to recordings and waiting for paperwork that continues to get delayed in the mail. For the first time, I feel like I’m the one who’s moving to slow to keep up with the insurance company - such a delightful change.
So many offers…
… so little time.
But, I get about a dozen or so of them in my inbox. A dozen or so regarding quotes, quotes, quotes and more quotes. The prime culprit - auto insurance.
Auto insurance I don’t need.
While I’m glad I’m being thought of, I wish I’d be thought of a little less. A dozen reminders a week from competing sites is, to say the least, excessive. And…if it’s not in my inbox, it’s a commercial. Lizards, caveman, Progressive Auto Girl Flow, and Allstate deep voice dude - Oh my! While sometimes amusing I get a bigger kick out of snagging the remote and hitting FF in order to get back to my program.
Auto insurance offers and quotes, they really do enjoy showing up in boxes. As stated, it’s in my inbox, electric viewing box and for the last two years - mailbox as well. The mailings hailing from both big companies and local auto insurance providers. I even get multiple mailings from the same office on the same day, which I must say sours the sales pitch that they’ll be able to save me money if they’re wasting their own company budget on postage themselves. Not only are they wasting money but paper as well, though I’m an avid recycler of those mass (sometimes duplicate) mailings.
While I know auto insurance is important and having options when money is tight is a plus. A few offers a month would suffice. Crowding my inbox, wearing out the message on the television and filling my recycle bin becomes a bit like a re-occurring summer cold you can’t seem to shake.
Because sometimes less…really is more.
