Tag Archives: Marketing

What to Do with Your Amazon Gift Card

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(This post uses affiliate links. Read the last paragraph for more information.) The week after Christmas is the best time for authors because that’s when most people buy their books. You may wonder why this time of year generates so many sales for authors. It’s because people get Amazon gift cards for Christmas and want to spend on things they might not otherwise buy throughout the year. Books have become one of life’s guilty pleasures. They make the perfect gift for yourself and others.

Buy Books

Obviously, you should get my books with your Amazon gift card. I’ve written 16 books, including my latest in the style of Choose Your Own ending books. Creativity skills for better problem solving, fictional answers to questions I had in Russia, and autobiographical tales about My Life in the Projects and My Life in the Peace Corps. For the younger set, I have Polly Penguin Wants to Fly. Whether you’re looking for entertainment or information, I have a book for you. My favorite is The Pirate Union for its sense of 90s’ humor.

Need More Books                     

But Shad, I have all your books. Then I recommend picking up books by Darren Lamb, Drue M. Scott, and T. M. Brenner. They’re stories are unique and not something you’d get from mainstream book publishers. If you want more creativity in your story-telling, these three authors have it in spades. Which reminds me, I’ve got to get back to editing Lamb’s and Scott’s books. That’s on me.

I Don’t Read

If you’ve gotten this far in this article, clearly, you do read. You just don’t think of yourself as a reader. That’s okay. Amazon has lots of other products available for your purchase. I would stick in the movies area, but music is also nice. I love Legos, even if I can’t afford them. Whatever you need, Amazon has it, and if you use one of my affiliate links, I’ll get a commission and your product won’t cost you anything more.

Salem Craft and Vendor Show Goers and You!

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Short Version:

  • One month free at the $1 level at our Patreon.
  • Use this link.

Longer Version:

As part of our visit to the Salem Craft and Vendor Show on March, 29, 2025, I thought I would invite everyone who saw us at the show, who was not a member of our Patreon, a chance to see what we offer. Then I asked why should I limit it to just people at the show. So, if you wanted to see what happens with our Patreon every month but you just haven’t had the courage or spare dollar to join, use this link to get one month free at the $1 level.

What Do You Get?

It’s a dollar, so we’re not giving you the world. However, the $1 level allows you to access all of our posts and almost all of our past freebies. I say “almost” because I’m not sure if it is actually “all.” Generally, I think if you’re willing to support us monetarily, you should get access to everything, but there may have been a time when I thought something was more important for those who subscribe for more. You’ll see the posts for Advent Calendars and Penguin Christmas Train.

Every month I try to write a post about what happened the last month. However, for the next three months, I have creativity posts written, including The Eureka Moment, the Myth of the Muse, and Where Do Ideas Come From? More may follow as I have time.

Every Patreon member at the dollar level or higher gets their name in my latest book if they are a member when that book is uploaded to Amazon.

What Do You Have to Lose?

Nothing as far as I can tell. You help us move forward creatively. You get access to exclusive content, like the Advance Reader Copy of my next book. And if you don’t like what you see on our Patreon, it didn’t cost you anything. We hope you’ll stick around. But in order to stick around, you have to take that first step and join our Patreon. Thank you.

Fine Print: Limited to the first 300 people who sign up. Current Penguinators are ineligible for this promotion; however, we would love for you to comment on why you support us at Patreon. Without you, we couldn’t do half of what we do.

Blog Posts and Web Consultations: How Can I Help You?

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Are you a small business that has difficulty keeping its web content up to date? Are you looking for someone you can trust to help you mold your web presence into something better? I offer blog posts and web consultations to help move you to the next level in Internet presence.

Blog Posts

Everyone talks about AI, and people are using it to build their web footprint. However, this may not be the best way to go about getting your blogs seen. Some sources say that Google prioritizes good content regardless of how it was written. Others have said that search engines demote AI-written blog posts and prefer organic written posts. Either way, I can help.

You likely don’t have the time to commit to writing your own blog posts on a timely basis. To keep your audience engaged, you need to have a schedule that you can follow. Posting the same day on a weekly or bi-weekly basis will keep your blog relevant and in front of your audience. I can help with that. I can write one post or several throughout the year.

These posts will be informative, researched, and optimized for search engines. I have written thousands of SEO posts over the years, and now, I am ready to provide that expertise to you. If you would like to see some samples of my writing, check out the archive at Asgard Alaska. The articles with Ivar in the by-line are the ones I wrote.

Web Consultations

If you have several websites or social media that you use, and you want to improve their synergistic performance, I can help with that. Sometimes, it’s as simple as building links between your YouTube channel and your website. Sometimes, it’s a little more complicated.

I have worked with Paul Draper and Armin Hirmer to improve their web footprints. Let’s see how I can help you with your web metrics.

Not a Quick Fix

Blog posts and web consultations aren’t a quick fix. Instead, they offer a way to slowly grow your business while presenting a better face to the public. If you want organic traffic that builds on your pay-per-click ads, you need to have great content. That’s where I can help.

Contact Info

Contact me if you’re interested in moving forward with blog posts or web consultations. Leave a comment below. Thank you. If you aren’t looking for a writer or web consultant, find out how you can help us. (This article has been optimized for the words “blog posts and web consultations.”)

How Can You Help Us?

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Since I got laid off one month after paying to relocate for a “promotion,” people have asked how they can help. I don’t have a real answer for that because I’m still in the middle of trying to figure out what the hell happened. I have a couple of smaller answers that could help, though.

Contacts in Eugene, Oregon

If you know a business owner or a hiring manager for a business in Eugene, put them in touch with me. I’m not sure that any of my friends live I Eugene, but if you do, or you have in the past, and you still have contacts, now is the time to help me network. My last two jobs came because I knew someone who knew someone who worked there.

Outside of Oregon

Alternatively, if you know of a job that is remote or would be willing to pay moving expenses, I would be willing to consider that as well. I already have a couple of people step up and offer me remote writing jobs for blog posts and website organization. For physical locations, we’d prefer some place with a beach, and possibly, some place outside the U.S.

Purchase from Amazon through Penguinate

If you’re already buying from Amazon, use one of our affiliate links to make the purchase. It doesn’t cost you anything other than a little additional time, and it could make a huge difference depending on how many people make their purchases through the links on our website.

Join Our Patreon

Mom said I should think about setting up a GoFundMe, but Patreon is my version thereof. We currently have 10 members! When you join at any paid level, you get some benefits – the most recent instructions on how to fold a cootie catcher and a Viking Cootie Catcher template. The last two Decembers, I’ve done Virtual Advent Calendars, though this year’s calendar did have a physical component for those of my members who requested one. Other benefits include 10% off any purchase at our live events. The next one is scheduled for Mar. 29, 2025 in Salem, Oregon.

Adopt a Penguin or Bear

We have a lot of penguins and a couple of bears for adoption. They are available at Etsy, or send me a message. They will also be available at our Salem gig in March 2025.

Buy a Book

I’ve written 15 books. If you haven’t completed your collection, now would be a fantastic time. If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can even read them for free and I still get a little bit of a boost.

Join and Use InboxDollars

A couple of people I know have joined InboxDollars using one of my links, but they never actually used the site. The thing is, we get 10% of whatever you earn. It doesn’t come out of your earnings, so you still get the full amount. I wrote a handy little guide to try to get the most of the program. In January 2025, I was hitting it hard, and I made $40.

Bookmark, Visit and Share Penguinate.com

The mere act of you showing up and reading this page is helpful. I have monetized the content as well as I can, given my resources. If I get a lot of people reading articles, making comments and sharing content, it would help improve the viability of this website as a possible revenue stream. I also write for Asgard Alaska; a visit to the website and share of their Viking content would be greatly appreciated.

I appreciate everyone and the outpouring of support on Facebook and through other contact points. I am sorry I don’t have a better way for you to help at the moment, but maybe, if we all pull together, we can help each other by changing the system that allows people to be thrown away like used trash any time a company isn’t making “enough” of a profit. I have been trying to come up with a story that would illustrate such a society, but there’s no conflict or profit in utopian literature unless I can somehow juxtapose it with the current reality while still showing that utopia could be attainable. Of course, we don’t have to go full utopia, just moving toward a more caring society that doesn’t allow bullies, sociopaths and idiots to run things would be an improvement.

You’re Creativity Doesn’t Need Monetization or Approval

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Creativity is core to being human. Your very humanity comes with the tools to be creative. Back when humans were living in caves, they painted, they told stories, and sometimes they painted and told stories. (That’s not a six-legged animal. It’s an animal on the cave wall that would seem to move as the firelight flickered across it.) Creative expression is just a part of who you are.

Unfortunately, we’ve come to a time when society says that everything we do needs to be productive. All our waking time needs to be monetized. If you aren’t making money from it, it isn’t worth doing. The exceptions to this rule are going to the bathroom, eating, or going someplace to spend the money your making, even if that someplace is your living room couch to watch Netflix, to which you’re paying a monthly fee while also paying the Internet and electricity fees.

Beyond this neurotic need to make money, we have to be good at something in order for it to be worthwhile. The good news is that we don’t have to be Olympic or professional level athletes to enjoy sports. However, we can’t be bad at those sports either. If we pick up a tennis racket and can’t hit the ball back over the net, we might find ourselves saying, “I’m not any good at this.” That’s not the truth. What you should say is, “I haven’t had enough practice at this.” Or you can take a cue from Goofy, even if you’ve played for years or you play like a beginner, as long as you have fun, you’re number one.

The same is true for creative works. You don’t have to be good in order to enjoy an activity. If the activity is something that helps you cope with the world, all you have to do is spend the time to do it. You are worth giving up as many hours as you need to do something you like and you don’t have to be good at it.

Abraham Piper reminded me of this in one of his reels. He paints to center himself. The results don’t matter.

Find that creative activity you love, enjoy it for what it is.

If you want more creativity tips, check out my books in the Disneyland Is Creativity series and the Penguinate! series.

My Golden Hearts Journey So Far

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I joined Golden Hearts through InboxDollars (referral link) because InboxDollars said they would give me $15 if I donated $10 to a charity through the Golden Hearts website. I thought I would take a chance because getting 50% interest over a month is loan shark-type money. There were a couple of other conditions I had to meet to qualify for the $15, but I don’t remember them now. At any rate, I satisfied the conditions and got my $15, which means they paid me $5 to give me the coins I used at Golden Hearts!

What Is Golden Hearts?

Golden Hearts (referral link to Golden Hearts; use the one for InboxDollars instead) is an online casino where you can donate money to a charity listed on their site and get coins to play their games, including several varieties of slots, bingo, and Jacks or Better. I made my $10 donation to International Penguin & Marine Mammal Foundation Inc. Then I played Jacks or Better.

Jacks or Better

I chose Jacks or Better because I basically understand how the game is played, and it gives me a feeling of control. I get to decide which cards I throw away and which I keep. (Once, when I was rushing through the play, I threw away two pairs. My bad.) Slots and Bingo don’t allow you any sort of control, you just get to watch numbers come up on the screen.

In the beginning, it went really well. I was winning a lot of small prizes. In fact, with my first $10, I won over $10, which means the $10 I donated to charity turned into $25 total for me. The site charges a 50-cent fee to redeem any winnings under $25, so I decided to let it ride. I was going for that $25. After all, I had done really well, so far.

The Gambler’s Story

This is where the typical gambling story takes a turn for the worst. Winning streaks come to an end; doesn’t that mean losing streaks do, too? I knew I could win with Jacks or Better, so I kept playing and I started losing. I’ve gone five days without a win.

The good news is that my cash balance hasn’t declined; it continues to sit above $12. How is this possible?

The Golden Hearts Bonus

Every day, Golden Hearts gives its players a free spin on its bonus wheel. The coins come out from 75 to 2500, and they don’t cost anything. I’ve been using only these to play games on Golden Hearts. When they’re gone, I go back to my other Internet activities. I have to be disciplined and not fall for the winning streak trap; as long as I do, I’m playing with house money.

Know When to Fold Them

I don’t know how long it will take me to reach $25, but even if I quit right now, I will have made $17 profit – $5 from InboxDollars and $12 from Golden Hearts (as of August 10, 2022). If gambling online is something you choose to do, I recommend going through InboxDollars to get to Golden Hearts. Just remember to never bet more than you can afford to lose.

 “The National Council on Problem Gambling operates the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network (1-800-522-4700). The network is a single national access point to local resources for those seeking help for a gambling problem. The network consists of 28 call centers that provide resources and referrals for all 50 states, Canada, and the US Virgin Islands. Help is available 24/7 and is 100% confidential.”

https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/national-helpline-1-800-522-4700/

This article contains referral links to InboxDollars, where you can make money online. (Check out this article to learn more.) All information presented was true at the time of writing to the best of my knowledge.

Journey to Better Marketing: The Calendar

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A marketing calendar can help you coordinate your efforts, plan your budget, and keep you on track. One of the problems that many small business owners face is that they market when things slow down and stop marketing when they get too busy. However, that type of marketing is ineffective. You need to have a continuous marketing effort no matter how much work you’re doing, especially if you want to avoid the slow times. Hit and miss marketing is more costly than planned marketing, especially in opportunity costs.

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The Journey to Better Marketing: Advertising Copy and Structure

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Your ad will likely be constituted of a headline, the body, the offer, a call to action (CTA), a hook, and graphics. Following the AIDA model, you need to grab the person’s Attention, spark their Interest, increase their Desire and move them to Action. You need to do all of this in a simple and clean format. Advertising is an art.

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