Money Saving Mom®

Bloggers: would you like to earn free all-natural household products like Mrs. Meyer’s products, Method products, and much more?

I’m working with ePantry to help them launch their Blogger Referral Program and they are looking for bloggers who would be interested in running a deal like this ($10 off + free product) for their audience. You’ll receive $10 in ePantry credit for every person who purchases through your link. It’s a win-win opportunity as you get to share a great deal with your readers and you will earn some free household products, as well.

You must have a well-established blog with a loyal following and at least 100,000 pageviews per month to be considered for this opportunity. You can be in any niche, but it’d be great if your core audience is those interested in natural products and/or those who are the main product buyers for their homes.

If you are interested in running an ePantry deal on your blog, just fill out the form below. We’ll be going through the submissions in the next few days and will choose 20-30 bloggers from those who sign up and I’ll contact you personally with further details.

Have you ever wanted to write a book?

I had a dream many years ago that I’d one day write a book. Little did I ever guess that I would have written 3 traditionally published books by the time I was 33 years old!

My book-writing journey has been one filled with many challenges and celebrations. I’ve grown through the critiques (though there have been moments when I’ve thought, “If one more person says something harsh about my writing, I just might throw out my laptop and buy a one-way ticket to Timbucktu!”), I’ve learned a lot of marketing techniques that don’t work, and I’ve spent countless hours and hours writing and editing — many times when there are many other things I would have rather been doing!

It’s been grueling, at times, and exhilarating, at other times. But I don’t regret any of it. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that it’s a whole lot more work to write and edit and market a book than I ever could have imagined.

{Watch the video above for some strategies on marketing a book and mapping out a book launch plan, plus some of my honest thoughts on how much work goes into an effective marketing strategy. Oh and you also get to see my “fancied-up” hair and make-up — read the P.S. below to see what that’s all about! :)}

Wish Someone Could Walk You Through the Book-Writing Process?

If you are committed to the idea of writing a book, but you wish someone could walk you through the process of outlining, writing, editing, publishing, and marketing, there’s a brand-new course called Author Launch that you might want to check out.

It’s very pricey, but if you are really, really committed to the idea of publishing a book and you just don’t know where to start, I think it could be worth the investment.

I had the opportunity to participate in some of the filming for this 46-week course and I was very impressed with the caliber of the authors involved as well as the team who put the course together. It’s designed to take you through the process of writing your book from start to finish. Plus, you’ll be apart of a community of writers who are also working on their books at the same time.

Honestly, I think the community aspect of this course is what appeals to me the most. There have been many times that book-writing has felt like a lonely endeavor — especially when I was first starting out and didn’t know many other authors.

What Author Launch Includes:

If you are interested in finding out more about this course, head on over to the Author Launch Page here. Registration for this course closes on January 31, 2015.

Get Some Sneak Peeks of the Course Here

To see a few examples of the videos and course materials, check out this video from Jeff Goins on Determining Your Field of Expertise, Sarah Mae’s video on Writing With Confidence, Donald Miller’s video on Finalizing Your Title, and Joshua Becker’s video on The Benefits of Self-Publishing.

Note: As I mentioned before, this course is very pricey. If you are just considering writing a book and not sure you’re ready to commit yet, I’d recommend reading this post of mine for some free advice on getting started.

P.S. I hardly recognize myself with that make-up and hair… it’s a far cry from the usual quick make-up and pony tail look I often sport! 😉 Sarah Mae’s sister, Keitha, did our hair and make-up for the filming and I was told mine looked great.

Since I’m not one to often get all fancied up, I’m still not sure what I think about myself with all that hair product, face product, and fake eye lashes on! But it’s always fun to try new things out. 🙂

Update: Nevermind and yay! A HUGE thank you to Tara from Deal Seeking Mom who was able to recover the full post from her Feedly reader! You can read it here.

So, last night, I posted a long and detailed Day In My Life post full of pictures and tidbits on our day yesterday, as well as how my refrigerator cleaning went. Many, many of you clicked through on Facebook to read it and many of you saw it here.

This morning, I was reading through it and noticed a few typos. I went to fix those and clicked to update the post. I’m not sure what happened in the process, but the entire post — except for one picture and two sentences — completely disappeared!

I tried multiple methods to retrieve it and it appears to be gone forever. Sigh. Sometimes that’s just part of life — you spend a few hours on something only for it to be — poof! — gone.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know in case you wondered why it disappeared!

Also: I had meant to choose & post a winner for the last Day in My Life giveaway and forgot to do so. So without further ado, the winner of the above prize package is HoosierMom (blueskyandsunshine2006@). I emailed you this morning with details on claiming your prize.

I’m honored to be featured on the Brilliant Business Moms podcast again today talking about the subject of balance. I share how I manage my life, how I prioritize, and how I juggle multiple hats (blogging, mothering, writing, marriage, homeschooling, and having personal margin in my life).

If you’ve ever wondered “how does she do it?”, you’ll want to check out this post and podcast. I think you’ll be encouraged to know that I don’t do it all… and one of my biggest “secrets” to success is only focusing on a few priorities and seeking to do those few things well.

This year, our team is planning to do a select number of special Say Goodbye to Survival Mode events across the country. These will be one-night, high-energy events where I’ll be sharing two messages of encouragement:

Session #1: Say Goodbye to Survival Mode
Life doesn’t have to be one big chaotic mess of laundry, dishes, and to-do lists! This session is packed with empowering, practical encouragement and ideas you can implement to restore peace, purpose and passion into your lives.

Session #2: Unleash Your Best You
Ever wonder if you’re good enough? Wish you could make a difference in the world but feel trapped by doubts? In this session, you’ll discover three transforming truths that will help you move from insecurity to confidence so you can be all that God has called you to be.

Both presentations are engaging, authentic, and straight from my heart. I’ll be sharing personal stories, inspirational ideas, and giving you practical steps to take to:

• Stop living life feeling stuck, exhausted, and overwhelmed
• Determine your most important priorities & find time to invest in what really matters
• Move past loneliness and build authentic friendships with other women
• Break free from the lie that whispers “I’m not good enough”

We want to encourage as many women as possible to say goodbye to living life stuck in survival mode and start living life with passion and purpose, so we’re currently looking for a few more venues/churches to host a one-night Say Goodbye to Survival Mode event in 2015.

If you are apart of a local group or church that would be interested in hosting this event, we’d love to chat with you about bringing this event to your area. Just fill out this form here and we’ll be in touch with more information on dates we have available and how we can serve your church or women’s group.

Our team will work alongside you to help with details, marketing, publicity, and organization of the event. We want to make it as successful for you as possible!

Join Us for Our First Event in Mississippi on February 6, 2015!

Our first special one-night Say Goodbye to Survival Mode event will be held on February 6, 2015, in Purvis, Mississippi! If you live in the MS area and you haven’t done so already, be sure to find out more information about this event and purchase tickets here. We have a special group rate for those who’d like to invite a group of women to come.