Shortly after it’s publication, I came across a quote that I now believe to be true: “If you thought writing a book was hard, try marketing it!”
It has been a challenge getting the word out about The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook, especially because it does not have much in common with my day-to-day home and virtual organizing business. I’m a Professional Organizer–not a Wedding Professional. With this book, I straddle the fields of organizing and weddings–marketing it has been quite a learning experience.
I’ve let the world know about my book via social media, Facebook Ads, giveaways, guest blogging, being included in ‘wedding product roundup’ articles, (and a little bit of begging–I’m not proud) and recently decided to give video a try. Articles on book marketing point to video as the way to go in marketing today. They say a book trailer is an important piece of an author’s media kit. I’ve done a few Facebook Live videos and I’m slowly growing my YouTube channel so I thought I’d give it a try. I had never used iMovie before but I thought, “If my twelve year old can use it, so, can I!”
It took about a week of learning from articles and YouTube videos and a few brainstorming sessions in solitude but I did it! I created my first book trailer using Canva, iMovie, and some loyalty-free music from YouTube.
Presenting…the book trailer for The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook.
Thanks for watching! If you know a bride with a house full of wedding gifts who could use some writing tips and help with their wedding thank you note wording, please share The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook book trailer with them. For more information, go to the Organized Artistry website or Amazon.com.
Download Our Gift Tracker Printables!
Track your engagement gifts, bridal shower gifts, and wedding gifts with our *free* Gift Tracker printables! Click the image below to download and print three gift trackers and valuable tips for keeping your addresses and gift lists organized.
Your thank you note tracking is about to get so much easier…
I’m not old but I’m out of the loop when it comes to certain things like Netflix, iCloud and Instagram. I think all that came out when I was in the middle of parenting two children under the age of five. Sleep deprivation and very little extra room in my brain didn’t allow for much more than me learning how to use Facebook and Pinterest (and oh, yeah–taking care of my little ones, too…).
Another new ‘thing’ I wasn’t familiar with was podcasts. I had heard of them. I knew they were recorded audio, not on the radio–but where were they? Were they in that ‘cloud’ I had no knowledge about either?
Embarrassing, but I had to look up exactly what they were and where I could find some.
I don’t have a ton of time to listen to podcasts, but I decided to find some time in my schedule when I discovered a guy in Los Angeles who had a podcast on–you guessed it–organizing! The guy in Los Angeles, is James Lott, Jr. and his podcast is called The Super Organizer Show. He is a highly energetic person who truly loves what he does. One of his wonderful characteristics is that he believes in giving thanks out loud and living in gratitude–that’s how he starts all of his shows. Isn’t that great?
I found out about The Super Organizer Show on Facebook. James had interviewed Ellen Faye, the Past President of NAPO (National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals) and because I ‘like’ both Ellen and NAPO on Facebook, it came up in my news feed. I dug out my infrequently-used earbuds and carved out some time to listen to a few of the podcasts from The Super Organizer Show. I found them to be funny, fast-paced, and informative. On iTunes, I reviewed the list of past show topics and saw that there had never been a guest on the show talking about weddings. James is an author–I thought maybe he’d want to interview someone who wrote a book on a topic in organizing. I looked up James’ contact info and dropped him a line about me and The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook and the rest is history! He loved the idea of talking about wedding thank you notes and he booked me on his show for the day after he was attending his friend’s wedding.
How did I prepare for my first podcast?
• I read my book two times a few days before recording the podcast.
• I created an outline of my chapters.
• I flagged pages in my book that I thought James might reference.
• I brainstormed some stories and anecdotes related to my book I thought I might want talk about.
• I buried our home telephone under some sheets in our linen closet in case it rang during the recording of the podcast (I used my business line for the podcast).
• And yes, I used the restroom ten minutes before dialing in–I had no idea how long I’d be on the phone with James. Good thing I did–we were on the phone for an hour!
In a nutshell–I got organized to talk about organization! And (off mic) James even recognized and mentioned how prepared I was.
I had a ton o’ fun with James talking about my book, wedding thank you notes, sleep deprivation and it turns out we both have pen fetishes and love trying out different pens when we see a display in a store (ahhh, to be a writer…). He was engaging, came up with creative questions, and made me feel very at ease. A very positive first podcast experience!
Wanna listen to the podcast? Here are three places you can find it:
Thanks, James for having me on your show and for making my first podcast a very enjoyable one. Now that I know about podcasts, I guess now it’s time to carve out some time for Netflix!
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I’ve been a little busy.
I wrote and self published a book…
Don’t walk down the aisle without it!
Last time I blogged about it over the summer, the cover had been designed but the interior was not finished. Now, I can proudly say…
The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook is available at Amazon.com.
I refer to it as ‘The Thank You Note Writing Guide for the Overwhelmed Bride.’ Some of its features are:
• A seven-step system for organizing and composing nuptial thank you notes
• Basic organizing principles to be applied to thank you note writing, wedding planning, and everyday life
• Solutions for easing thank you note anxiety
• Tips and helpful hints for keeping your words of thanks and the writing process organized
• 101 modern sample thank you notes to jumpstart a bride and groom’s note writing process
• An eye-catching, icon-based key for quickly finding sample notes
The writing was finished in 2013. The editing and design were completed in 2014 and the ‘Publish’ button was pressed at the beginning of 2015. With all this work, I could barely compose a post for my blog. I think I was a little ‘burned out’ when it came to putting words together on paper (or screen). I’m also still a bit ‘wet behind the ears’ when it comes to WordPress. So, I took a little time off from blogging to meet one of my personal goals: becoming a published author. It’s 2015–time to start blogging again.
I’ll continue to blog about ‘everything organzing’ but in the coming months, I’ll also share my journey to becoming a published author, offer sneak-peeks of the inside of my book (hint: it’s beautiful) and I’ll share how my organizing skills helped me to finish writing and publishing this book.
OK–I’ll give you a sneak-peek now…
This wedding cake is one of the icons used in the key, helping brides to quickly and easily find the sample thank you note they need.
Oh, and the e-book version will be coming out this Spring…(Update: The e-book is now available for download at Amazon.com)
If you know anyone who just got engaged or is about to walk down the aisle, please ‘Pin’ and share this blog post with them. The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook also makes a great gift!
For everything wedding + organizing, ‘Like’ The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook on Facebook, and check out the book’s board on Pinterest.
Do you have any projects you’d like to finish? Please share–I’d love to hear about them.
This is my first official blog post on WordPress. I think it took me longer to format it than to write it! I’m getting used to living in my new WordPress home but I’m still bumping into walls and I haven’t unpacked all the boxes yet…
It’s been a while since I’ve written for my blog. I’ve been a little busy moving my business forward in some exciting ways.
1) My new logo. Since you’re reading this you’ve probably already seen my new logo designed by the talented Kate McMillan of Outbox Online Design. Look up–it’s at the top of the page. I just love that squiggle…
2) My new business cards. If you have a new logo, you have to have new business cards!
3) My first promotional item. Shortly after my logo was designed, I was asked to sit on a panel made up of women who had started their own business. I was going to have a table and answer participants’ questions about being in and starting their own business. I felt like I needed some kind of product as a giveaway but in twelve years of business, I had never created one! I thought about what people would use most and thought the pen was a perfect first promotional item
Here’s my Organized Artistry pen!
4) My new website. Also designed by Kate McMillan of Outbox Online Design. My old website was first designed in 2002 and boy did it need a makeover! Now it is a beautiful and modern showcase of my writing and how I help people get and stay organized. I’m thrilled that my blog is now part of the site.
Speaking of writing, this is BIG news…
5) My book. Long story short, I’ve been writing this book on and off since 2002. The manuscript went in and out of the file cabinet many times over almost a decade until I decided one day, ‘Publish or Bust.’ Here is a sneak peek of the cover, designed by the talented Peri Poloni-Gabriel of Knockout Design (she’ll be designing the interior, too). I love it–and no, I didn’t ask the designer to make the background purple to match my website–total coincidence…
Coming Summer 2014 in e-book and paperback:
The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook: Let Systems and 101 Modern Sample Thank You Notes Take You From Overwhelmed to Organized
If you know anyone who just got engaged or is about to walk down the aisle, please ‘Pin’ or share this photo with them!
It has been a VERY busy 2013-14 for Organized Artistry. I’ve met many of the goals I set for my business–still a few more to go. Nothing happened overnight. Each step took time and sometimes the steps took a few wrong turns. But, I am grateful for the journey and all the people who have helped me get this far.
Do you love social media? Are you also a visual person? Then unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know about Pinterest.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, Pinterest (according to their website) “is a ‘virtual pinboard.’ Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.”
I first noticed it when a few of my organizing colleagues began posting their Pinterest boards on their Facebook Pages. It looked interesting so I checked it out and was immediately hooked (it can be very addictive)! I’m a visual person with an art background–I find it to be a great way to collect and share ideas with others.
You have to request an invite to ‘join’ (which could take a few days or a few weeks) or ask someone already on Pinterest to give you an invite (that’s what I did). Once you’re ‘in’ you can start creating boards of topics that interest you and ‘pinning photos and videos to them.
Tip: Load the ‘Pin it’ bookmarklet to your browser–it allows you to ‘pin’ any photo/video from the web to your boards.
I have a bunch of boards on the topic of organizing and I’ve created a few on the topic of weddings related to my book and the manuscript I’m working on. If you look in the right column of this blog you’ll see a button that says ‘Follow me on Pinterest.’ Click to follow me but if you’d like, first take a quick glance at my boards…
I haven’t written a post about organizing a wedding since before the summer. I know many of you have returned from your honeymoon and are settling into married life (and writing all your thank you notes). I promise, I won’t let you down again.
I have found a website for you to check out and for those of you who live near Frederick, Maryland–you can hop right over to…
The Organized Bride (I love the name!)
According to their website,
“The Organized Bride is a one-stop shop for invitations for all occasions, favors, attendant gifts and ceremony and reception essentials.”
Looks like they have a beautiful store!
But if you don’t live near the brick and mortar store, they have an online shop where you can purchase a myriad of products for your ceremony and reception.
I’ve discussed in the past how important it is to be an organized bride. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so…
Have you ever had a dream that you forgot your veil at home on your wedding day? Or that you put all of your invitations in the mailbox without stamping them first?
Then you must be a bride-to-be.
No need to wake up in a cold sweat anymore. I have an amazing list for you…
A bride-to-be in North Carolina, has compiled a list of 20 wedding details you don’t want to forget. I thought it was a pretty impressive list considering she’s not even married yet. My personal favorite is:
#15 Photographer’s guidelines – It helps a photographer to have a list of photos that are high priority.
I couldn’t agree more. You don’t want to get your proofs back and see that your photographer has taken a bunch of pictures of your boss and her husband while your grandmother is only in two shots.
Read her list and breathe a sigh of relief. She’s done all the work for ya. And I’m more than happy to pass on the information and help make your wedding planning more organized and less stressful.
Did you watch the Royal Wedding? The bride was breathtaking, the ceremony was majestic and the whole country (and the world) celebrated.
In reading a bit about the day, I learned that there would be 600 people attending the reception. I almost fell out of my chair! How many thank you notes is this new Princess going to have to write? Did she have a bridal shower, too? (Can’t you just see the Queen and Camilla playing Bridal Bingo?)
If I knew where to mail it, I’d send her a copy of my book, The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook. If anyone needs it–it’s her! Then I thought–not only do I not know their address, I have no idea what their last name is. Harry goes by ‘The Duke of Sussex.’ What is Meghan’s new last name?
Well–it seems as if the Royal family doesn’t use traditional last names. So since I am unsure as to where to mail her a copy of my book, I’ll offer some royal wedding thank you note organizing tips in the hopes that Meghan will one day be surfing the web for thank you note writing ideas and happen upon this blog of a commoner.
OK, Meghan. Read carefully…
• Create a Royal Spreadsheet for tracking gifts. Remember to include a column for writing the date your thank you note was put in the mail.
• Use Royal Scrap Paper to jot down ideas before writing your thank you note message. This will save you from making mistakes on your very expensive note cards
• Pace yourself. Write 3-5 royal wedding thank you notes a day and then meet Harry at the pub.
• Get Harry involved. Send him to the post office for ‘Love’ stamps after work. Have him lick the envelopes at the pub. Once the media finds out, every British bride will be after their husbands to be just like yours.
I wish you the best of luck. If you need me, I’ll take a break from polishing my tiara…
The most popular months for weddings are coming up soon! So, by now, you’re deluged with tons of engagement gifts and bridal shower presents. Don’t panic! Check out my latest guest blog post at DepositAGift.com called, ‘Say Thank You the Organized Way.’
I offer brides and grooms a few thank you note writing organizing tips to help keep stress levels at a minimum. These tips can be used for anyone with a ton of people to thank–new parents, new graduates, etc.
Keep it organized and you’ll be keeping the task under control!
It’s Valentine’s Day! Love is in the air–especially for brides and grooms.
Spend time together today doing something fun and romantic. Snuggle over a chocolate fondue pot, take a romantic stroll together, but don’t worry about going to the post office for your nuptial-needs. Turn to the US Postal Service website to order ‘Love’ stamps for your invites and response cards–a real time saver!
Scroll down to see choices such as ‘Purple Pansies,’ Wedding Rings,’ and ‘King and Queen of Hearts.’
A blog by Professional Organizer Stacey Agin Murray bursting with cool products, 'gotta-tell-a-friend' ideas, and a whole lotta organizing know-how. Learn more...
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About Stacey
When you grow up in a 5’x12′ bedroom, you learn to organize pretty quickly! I chose to take that knowledge and turn it into a business helping people find what they need when they need it. I’m also the author of The Organized Bride’s Thank You Note Handbook–a book that offers wedding thank you note-related organizing tips and how-to’s plus 101 unique sample thank you notes (what bride can’t use that?).
Contact Stacey to Get Started!
