Sunday, November 24, 2019
Yesterday I focused on my third priority task to complete before I die. The only task I am doing really well is my written journal. I have been faithfully scribing a message for each day even if I occasionally write the complete post a day or two late. I guess I have been rocking priority number two which has been keeping my seven-year-old, Mika, happy and in the dark as to my upcoming fate as long as possible. Priority task number three is to build Mika’s YouTube channel to a sponsor/ad level that will cover expenses so her dad might continue helping her with it after I pass. She is up to $5 per month with two patrons on Patreon.
Yesterday we co-rented a vendor display table at a local mall. Okay, I rented the space and gave Mika half of it. I promoted my two children’s books on my half and Mika offered t-shirts, autographed photos and information about her YouTube channel. I sold a few books, which paid for our space, however Mika did not sell any t-shirts or photos. Mika did give away a couple of free photos, because she does offer a free photo if you show you are subscribed to her YouTube channel.
Mika did a pretty good job telling kids and parents about her YouTube channel and she gave away about 50 business cards, maybe more. As of today, Mika had gained the two subscribers from yesterday and went from 19 to 21. Perhaps during this coming week some of the parents will come across Mika’s card and check it out and subscribe. If not, I will be pretty disappointed for our efforts.
The malls in Colorado Springs really are a dying space. I did a show with my kid’s books two years ago in this same mall and the foot traffic consisted of many more people. I get that it is not Thanksgiving yet, but nobody seems to want to go to a mall. The news says (I saw it today on Sunday Morning) it is Amazon (they may not have specified Amazon) that keeps us in our homes and out of stores and to some extent I believe it. I think part of it is simply stress. I noticed many people racing by the tables talking on their cell phones, never making eye contact. I also noticed several vendors staring at their phones, never making eye contact.
The first book I sold yesterday was to a man who had already passed by my table. I saw him saying and laughing at the name of one of my kid’s books as he moved to the next table. Little Baby Poot-Poot is a silly fart book. I made eye contact and called out, “I promise it is fun for all ages.” That statement brought him back to my table to actually pick up my book and look at it. He laughed at its stupidity and bought a copy for a grandchild. He bought my book because we connected.
I buy a few things online. I am buying the books Mika is using for piano lessons from Amazon. I am also going to buy some CDs for her Christmas presents from Amazon because the band only offers digital downloads on their website and I am old school and want to clutter her room with a boom box and physical CDs. I will do as much of my Black Friday shopping online that I can. I am kind of over buying “stuff” now so I do not know how much I will be into Black Friday this year.
The rest of the time I try to buy in real life. I like to buy books directly from local authors I meet. I bought from three other vendors yesterday and one bought from me. I bought a gift for a friend, two books for Mika and cashew brittle. I would not have the joy I will see in my friend’s face, or the fun I will have watching Mika make paper dragons and dinosaurs, or the pound I might gain from eating an entire bag of cashew brittle if we had stayed home.
My piece of advice to you is get out there and support some dying industries. Maybe malls in your area have regularly scheduled vendor events. Get a knitted snowman sporting your favorite team’s colors, get your face painted, or support a seven-year-old’s dream.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Yesterday I focused on my third priority task to complete before I die. The only task I am doing really well is my written journal. I have been faithfully scribing a message for each day even if I occasionally write the complete post a day or two late. I guess I have been rocking priority number two which has been keeping my seven-year-old, Mika, happy and in the dark as to my upcoming fate as long as possible. Priority task number three is to build Mika’s YouTube channel to a sponsor/ad level that will cover expenses so her dad might continue helping her with it after I pass. She is up to $5 per month with two patrons on Patreon.
Yesterday we co-rented a vendor display table at a local mall. Okay, I rented the space and gave Mika half of it. I promoted my two children’s books on my half and Mika offered t-shirts, autographed photos and information about her YouTube channel. I sold a few books, which paid for our space, however Mika did not sell any t-shirts or photos. Mika did give away a couple of free photos, because she does offer a free photo if you show you are subscribed to her YouTube channel.
Mika did a pretty good job telling kids and parents about her YouTube channel and she gave away about 50 business cards, maybe more. As of today, Mika had gained the two subscribers from yesterday and went from 19 to 21. Perhaps during this coming week some of the parents will come across Mika’s card and check it out and subscribe. If not, I will be pretty disappointed for our efforts.
The malls in Colorado Springs really are a dying space. I did a show with my kid’s books two years ago in this same mall and the foot traffic consisted of many more people. I get that it is not Thanksgiving yet, but nobody seems to want to go to a mall. The news says (I saw it today on Sunday Morning) it is Amazon (they may not have specified Amazon) that keeps us in our homes and out of stores and to some extent I believe it. I think part of it is simply stress. I noticed many people racing by the tables talking on their cell phones, never making eye contact. I also noticed several vendors staring at their phones, never making eye contact.
The first book I sold yesterday was to a man who had already passed by my table. I saw him saying and laughing at the name of one of my kid’s books as he moved to the next table. Little Baby Poot-Poot is a silly fart book. I made eye contact and called out, “I promise it is fun for all ages.” That statement brought him back to my table to actually pick up my book and look at it. He laughed at its stupidity and bought a copy for a grandchild. He bought my book because we connected.
I buy a few things online. I am buying the books Mika is using for piano lessons from Amazon. I am also going to buy some CDs for her Christmas presents from Amazon because the band only offers digital downloads on their website and I am old school and want to clutter her room with a boom box and physical CDs. I will do as much of my Black Friday shopping online that I can. I am kind of over buying “stuff” now so I do not know how much I will be into Black Friday this year.
The rest of the time I try to buy in real life. I like to buy books directly from local authors I meet. I bought from three other vendors yesterday and one bought from me. I bought a gift for a friend, two books for Mika and cashew brittle. I would not have the joy I will see in my friend’s face, or the fun I will have watching Mika make paper dragons and dinosaurs, or the pound I might gain from eating an entire bag of cashew brittle if we had stayed home.
My piece of advice to you is get out there and support some dying industries. Maybe malls in your area have regularly scheduled vendor events. Get a knitted snowman sporting your favorite team’s colors, get your face painted, or support a seven-year-old’s dream.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.