Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Guest Blogging 101: Basic Tips for #MFRWauthors

I won’t try to tell anyone I know all the nuances of blogging. I feel like a toddler teaching a baby to walk. I’ve never done a blog hop and only just started hosting guests on my blog, but I have been a guest numerous times and feel pretty safe to talk about etiquette when visiting someone’s blog.


1.) Always thank your host. The word thank you goes a long way. This chance to be in front of other readers might not happen any other way. Plus the work that goes into loading your blog, images and excerpts can be time-consuming.

2.) Visit the blog at least once the day it goes live. Always go by the blog and see if there are any comments. If there aren’t then make one of your own. I always thank my host on the blog and check it two or three times the day it goes live. I want the people who stop by to know they are important to me. Show them I’m there and grateful they hosted me.

3.) Make sure you have a clear idea for your blog. Most of us have a theme to our blogs and we’ll ask you to write something that fits that theme. Personally I find that when the host tells me what they want I can find that idea faster. It is one of the reasons I came up with a list of questions. There are times when I’m editing two or three things at a time and my brain refuses to work. If you get stuck I recommend visiting the blog to see what else has been posted. It could spark an idea.

4.) Get the material to them on time. If you are asked to get it to the host three days before it goes live make sure you’re do. Sometimes there are glitches that the host has to work out. I don’t give people dates until I get the questionnaire back from people who contact me because I know not everyone follows through but mine is new and I haven’t been booking it beyond two or three weeks so far.

5.) Help promote the blog you’re visiting. I always send out promos on my guests. I post it on my FB page as well as many of the loops I belong to. I also belong to triberr so it gets tweeted by my tribemates. The funny thing is I never do it on my own posts and should.

6.) Make sure you follow the rules of the blog. Most of us will let you promote your work along with your post so if you write erotica and the host says they take all genres make sure you find out if they have that blog behind an over 18 firewall. If they don’t keep that excerpt clean. Find out if the host has a word count limitation. I was a guest on one that wanted 500 words or more in my post.

7.) Finding the right host. In the beginning I would keep posts from people who said they wanted guest authors. But after a while that got a bit cumbersome so I started putting a list together of blogs I have visited – one for erotic authors and one who takes all types. It’s on my blog – barbaradonlonbradley dot blogspot dot com, just go to the page tabs and you’ll see them.

8.) If you have a blog a nice gesture is to offer it to the host as reciprocation. I have gotten a lot of offers from the people who have been a guest and I’m grateful. Blogging is one of the few free ways to promote ourselves.
Submitted by Barb 
Writing for Barbara Donlon Bradley  started innocently enough, like most she kept diaries, journals, and wrote an occasional letter but she also had a vivid imagination and wrote scenes and short stories adding characters to her favorite shows and comic books.

As time went on she found the passion for writing to be a strong drive for her. Humor is also very strong in her life. No matter how hard she tries to write something deep and dark, it will never happen. That humor bleeds into her writing. Since she can’t beat it she has learned to use it to her advantage. 
Now she lives in Tidewater Virginia with two cats, one mother in law – she’s 85 now, her husband and teenage son.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

#MFRWorg Monthly Quote - May 2014

     “Why should we all use our creative power and write or paint or play music, or whatever it tells us to do?                                     
     Because there is nothing that makes people so generous, joyful, lively, bold and compassionate, so indifferent to fighting and the accumulation of objects and money. Because the best way to know the Truth or Beauty is to try to express it.”
-Brenda Ueland



Emerald
Emerald is an erotic fiction author whose short stories have been featured in anthologies published by Cleis Press, Mischief, and Logical-Lust. She serves as an assistant newsletter editor and Facebook group moderator for Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW), and she selects and posts the monthly inspirational quote on the MFRW Marketing Blog. Find out more about her at her website, The Green Light District.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Why Blog? #MFRWorg Answers This Question.

Blogging has become very popular. Blogging has become an important part of an author's marketing plan. A blog can be a living, breathing space for creating an online presence and increasing brand awareness. It's a space that can become whatever an author wants it to be. The key is to know its purpose and stay focused.

My blog ROMANCE BECKONS evolved over the years - its evolution mirroring my career as an author. It's taken years to get it exactly how I want it, and even still, I tweak it every so often. Regardless of how I've used it, one thing remained the same: The Mission. My blog's mission is to connect on a more personal level with readers.


So, Why Have A Blog?
77% of internet users read blogs. Over 300 million people view a blog at least once a month. We know readers using e-readers are connoisseurs of the internet. Imagine getting your books in front of this audience. Blogging allows authors to team up with others, share audiences and attract new readers. Blogging is interactive -that's the main difference between a blog and a website- and develops relationships with readers.

So, Why Don't You Have A Blog?
The main roadblock that stops authors from starting a blog is fear of technology. But with two easy-to-use platforms, it isn't as difficult as it seems. Anyone can start a blog for free and, to just do the basics, set-up only takes about an hour. There are two most popular platforms: WordPress and Blogger.

WordPress
WordPress has two different choices; you can choose to use WordPress.com or WordPress.org. Both are web software you can use to create a beautiful blog. The difference between the two (.com and .org) is that one is free and the other is not free. The free site doesn't offer as much functionality as the paid version. Another key difference is your domain name. The free version will limit your domain name selection; your domain name will be www.yourblog.wordpress.com. The paid version gives you complete control over your domain name and your site. In the beginning, the free version might be the easiest to navigate.

Blogger
Blogger is a free, powerful publishing platform that provides you with all the tools you need to start and grow your blog. It's fully-customizable and packed with advanced features like HTML editing, gadget support, mobile publishing, and much more. Blogger seamlessly integrates with other Google products including Google+, Google Analytics, and YouTube. I prefer this platform but I confess to being a big Google fan.


Choose Your Software. Set Up Your Blog.
Both platforms will walk you through the set up. If you don't already have a blog, go ahead and try it. Next time on my monthly column about blogging, I'll spend time talking about different features to be sure to incorporate.



Talk to me.
Do you have a blog? Share your url. Which blog platform would you recommend to others?