A native of Colorado, Mrs. Yolanda M. Johnson-Bryant, aka That Literary Lady, currently resides in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina, with her husband. Mrs. Bryant is a published author, freelance writer, novelist, editor, ghostwriter and a literary, marketing and entrepreneurial consultant and advocate. She is the founder and owner of LW Media Group, Bryant Consulting and That Literary Lady. She is a columnist for Examiner.com, EzineArticles.com and other literary venues. Mrs. Johnson-Bryant is a member of The Nussbaum Entrepreneurial Center, Women of Leadership and Learning (WELL Women) and Toastmasters. She is also a member of Junior Achievement, the Women’s Resource Center of Greensboro, the Volunteer Center of Greensboro and other community organizations. Visit her at www.yolandamjohnson.com, www.lwmediagroup.com, www.bryantconsultingonline.com, and  www.thatliterarylady.com

Yes, folks, that’s correct, it’s spring and That Literary Lady is going to give you her top secret recipe to my Spring Fever Chocolate Promotion Dessert—and it’s FREE! I think FREE is the best four-letter word there is—besides fries. Oh wait, that’s five letters. Gotcha!

Now that I have your attention, here is my recipe for a Spring Fever Chocolate Promotion Dessert. Please note that you may have seen some of these ingredients in many of my previous articles—I mean recipes. Many of the ingredients are also FREE!

SPRING FEVER CHOCOLATE PROMOTION DESSERT

Ingredients
3 cups of Product―Books, eBooks and other Products
1/3 cup of Review or Blurb substitute
2 ½ cups of Synopsis or Book Pitch Substitute
½ cup of Elevator Pitch
1 cup of Website or Blog Substitute
3 cups of Social Media
1 ½ cups of Press Kit
¼ cup of Press Release
1 cup of Promotional Material
¼ cup of Video Conferencing
¼ cup of Podcasting
½ cup of Mailing List or Substitute
2 cups of Book Signing or Event Substitute
1 cup of Expertise or Substitute
3 cups of Education or Substitute
2 cups of Competitor Review or Stalker Substitute
6 cups of Consistency
5 cups of Engagement
4 cups of Networking or Word of Mouth Substitute
Chocolate optional

Pre-heat enthusiasm to 500 degrees. Wax or butter running shoes and flour a 9x9 inch of willpower. In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups of paperback, hardcover, and ebooks together. Stir vigorously until published. Stir in pinch of audio book (optional).

Once your ingredients have been thoroughly published, add book reviews/blurb substitute. Make sure reviews are posted on sites like Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com,

GoodReads.com, and Google Books. In addition, add a pinch of reviews and a generous amount of blurbs to your Website and social media profiles.

Add refined synopsis and elevator pitch. It is important that you use a refined synopsis, because it is pertinent to the rising of your dough. Tools for writing a refined synopsis and elevator pitch can be found at The Craft of Writing Fiction, Fiction Writer’s Connection, EHow, Business Week, Elevator Pitch 101, Business Know How, or do a Google search on How to Write a Book Synopsis and Elevator Pitch and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix a Website/blog and content. You can purchase these ingredients at places such as GoDaddy.com, HostGator.com, FatCow.com, and iPage.com. Blogging ingredients can be purchased at WordPress.com, Blogger.com, LiveJournal.com, and TypePad.com. Again, use generous amounts of Google to taste. There is no limit to the amount of content to add, just make sure it’s quality and not generic. Set aside and allow dough to rise for about fifteen minutes.

After your dough has risen, add at least three cups of social media. You can add more later, but I suggest only three to allow time for simmering. Ingredients for social media can be purchased at Facebook.com, Twitter.com, LinkedIn.com, Google.com,

Pinterest.com, Meetup.com, and StumbleUpon.com. Feel free to add a generous amount of Google to search for other social media sites. Add a generous amount of content and mix well.

In a small bowl, mix a professional headshot, a bio, a list of your books—complete with titles, ISBN, available formats, and a brief synopsis of each title. Mix in a generous amount of media files, such as video and audio interviews, photos, and newspaper and Web clippings. Feel free to mix in a generous amount of other media that profiles you and your work. Once these ingredients are mixed well, fold them into the social media mixture.

Next, mix in a whole press release. This ingredient can be found at PRWeb.com, PRNewswire.com, SubmitMyPressRelease.com, PR.com, 24-7Press Release.com, FreePressRelease.com, and PRLog.com. Again, use generous amounts of Google to find other Press release sites. Make sure your press release is made from the best ingredients as possible. This is an important ingredient to the recipe and helps the dessert’s flaky edges.

Then mix these ingredients with the enthusiasm and books mixture. Mix well then place one-half of the mixture in the waxed/buttered shoes and the other half in the 9x9 inch pan of willpower. Bake at 500 degrees until the mixture is brown and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, combine promotional material, video conferencing, podcasting, and mailing list. These ingredients can be purchased at Skype.com, WebEx.com, ooVoo.com, GotoMeeting.com, FreeConferenceCalling.com, Anymeeting.com, FreeConference.com, Ustream.com, BlogTalkRadio.com, PodBean.com, iTunes.com, Audacity.com, MailChimp.com, ConstantContact.com, AWeber.com, iContact.com, and ActiveCampaign.com.

Add book signings, book conferences, and book festivals to your mixture and mix well. Set up book signings at hotels, bookstores, restaurants, and your local library. Add a generous amount of Google to search for book and literacy festivals.

While you’re waiting for the 9x9 inch of willpower and the buttered/waxed shoes, set aside your promotional mixture for later use.

In a separate bowl, mix together your topic of expertise, along with Amazon Kindle, CreateSpace, and Smashwords to publish smaller, bite-size portions of your book/expertise. This will give you clout in the industry and show your versatility. Add a sprinkle of education, whether it is learned in a classroom, online, or at a workshop. Add a very generous amount of research so that you are always up-to-date in your market. Add a pinch of stalker tendencies to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. Don’t add too much because it could ruin the recipe. Now combine mixture with promotional mixture and mix well.

Remove willpower and waxed/buttered shoes from the oven, sit on a cooling rack, and cool for an hour.

Once cake is cool, spread generous amounts of creamy consistency, networking, and engagement over the cake. Squirt an entire can of fat-free Work Hard and sprinkle with word of mouth. Top it all off with bookmarks, book bags, postcards, coffee mugs, persistence, passion, and chocolate!

Makes as many servings as you’d like.