Before I begin getting back to a regular posting schedule, I have some administrative matters to address.
1. Facebook
The first has to do with an issue that was brought to my attention yesterday. A semi-cryptic comment was left on one of HJ’s wall posts about someone else who loves ghosts befriending all of HJ’s followers. That was followed up by a personal message from that person (who happens to be one of my cousins) explaining in further detail what had happened.
But then I got a couple of other messages from others who saw that comment and said, “If they’re talking about people with books sending friend requests and then posting about their new releases once they’ve been accepted, that’s happened to us too. Did you have anything to do with that?”
That didn’t set well with me. As in the case of my cousin, some of the befriended were friends and family members of mine who like HJ on FB just to show their support. They’re not actually interested in the paranormal.
It’s one thing to have a genuine connection with someone and send them a friend request because you dig them and want to get to know them better and such, but to go about it this way…not cool. Particularly because I didn’t like people thinking I had passed on their names to be sold to. I can assure you I would not do that without first sending out some kind of notice to the effect, “Hey, I think you might like what this person has to offer. If not, just ignore it.”
This wasn’t an appropriate marketing strategy, and I most definitely did not and do not approve of it. I had the email for one of the authors and sent her an email about it. I am hunting down the other and will be sure to send him a personal message explaining why this wasn’t/isn’t a good business approach.
Please accept my apologies if you were among those approached in this manner. Again, I was not aware it was happening. I know now and have confronted it. Please feel free to let me know if this happens in the future. This time I’m handling it privately. If it happens again, though, I won’t. I will call people out publicly for their bad business decisions.
If you have something you want to promote, please contact me directly. I am more than happy to work with you to feature your product in a blog post, to offer a contest, or even promote it via the Emporium. There are numerous ways to publicize. This one is inauthentic and shady, and ends up making both you and me look bad. Respect goes a long way.
2. Newsletter
The second administrative matter has to do with HJ’s new newsletter. It’ll be launched soon. If you’re interested in getting it, you can sign up via either the link in the top right sidebar, or via the form on the Newsletter page.
The newsletter will be sent out weekly. Here’s the type of content you can expect in each edition:
- Information about the latest haunted events, haunted attractions, ghost tours, fundraisers, etc…
- Contest announcements (both ours and others we find noteworthy)
- Recap of the week’s blog posts (both ours and any others that stood out)
- Other cool paranormal news and information we come across (including LOTS about Halloween, as the season permits)
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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