blogging

18 07, 2016

Five Ways to Attract Blog Readers

By |2016-07-14T13:14:13-05:00July 18th, 2016|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

ereaderToday’s blog world is highly competitive. A quick check at Blogging Statistics – Worldometers shows over 2 million posts (and counting) for July 14, 2016.

With numbers like that, our blogs can get lost sea of options.

So what can we do as bloggers do to attract readers?

I suggest these five things.

An Irresistible Title

Something catchy that piques interest. Try one of these ideas:

  • Ask an open-ended question
  • Include who, what, when where, or how to
  • Make ’em curious– tease, contradict, challenge a belief
  • Offer a solution or benefit in the content
Plenty of White Space

Keep paragraphs short – no more than four lines is the guideline. Many readers use their phones and tablets. Lines and lines of text are boring and hard to read.

Captivating Graphics

What’s the quote: “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Include visuals that pull the reader into the blog.

But, always be sure to use legal-to-copy images. Last thing, any blogger needs is a copyright troll targeting your image.

Keep Your Posts Short

People are busy. Even 500 words can push a reader’s attention. I suggest my guest bloggers keep their posts under 500.

If your topic requires more than a 1,000 words to communicate the idea, maybe cut it into two posts by ending on a hook that will make the reader return.

Write Succinct Posts

Write posts specific to your target audience. Miller Farm Friday is a great example. Chicken Wrangler Sara’s posts are all about life on their urban farm. And, they are short!

Will these suggestions guarantee of success? Unfortunately, no. There are too many variables for guarantees, but I do believe these five things are extremely important to gain a reader’s attention.

If you want more ideas just Google “How to build blog readership.” I did and in .80 seconds, 341,000 results appeared! Lots of ideas on things to try to find readers.

Do you have ideas of your own? If so, please share in the comments.

1 12, 2012

Rush, Stress, and Busyness – Blogs last month you might have missed

By |2012-12-01T08:08:47-06:00December 1st, 2012|Uncategorized|0 Comments

NaNoWriMo 2012 has ended. (btw, MAJOR congratulations to those who stayed the course and wrote 50,000 words. I’m so impressed.)

Today’s December 1st. The holiday season is upon us and closing in like a speeding bullet.

ticking clock

If you’re like me, you’re skimming and skipping on social media sites and blogs. 

Here are some blogs with writerly news or information I thought you’d want to know about:

Fictionwise is Now on Life Support – They’re Pulling the Plug in 3 Weeks’ Time

  •  Digital Reader advises now would be a good time to go download any ebooks you still can.  After December 21, 2012,  you will not be able to access any of the ebooks you bought from Fictionwise sites (including Fictionwise.com, eReader.com and eBookwise.com).

Very latest on Fictionwise’s demise:

What People Talk About When They Talk About Bad Writing

  • Writer/agent Nathan Bransford’s take on a definition of bad writing.

Why is your second novel so important?

  • Agent Chip Macgregor discusses the biggest pitfalls in a second novel.

Sell More Fiction by Activating the Power of Book Clubs

  • How to employ bookclubs and discussion questions to increase your   book sales.

6 Common Myths About Book Reviews

  • Debunks common misconceptions about book reviews

How Twitter Hashtags Help Authors Find Readers

  • Loved this list of handy hashtags to connect with readers

Your-e-reader-is-watching

  • Interesting discussion about trackers in eReaders: Your data profile shows when you read and when you don’t. Will it soon determine what you read? 

YOUR TURN to SHARE: If you’ve found a blog, you think I may have missed, tell me about it in your comment.

16 10, 2012

Bonus Tuesday-Blogs you may have missed

By |2021-10-18T05:36:26-05:00October 16th, 2012|Uncategorized|0 Comments

If you’re like me, you follow lots of blogs and skim. Shoot, there are some weeks I don’t even skim, I press delete.

SOURCE: http://www.gograph.com/stock-illustration/delete-key.html

Last night I played catch up and found some great blogs you might have missed and thought the links were worth sharing.

  • For bloggers: How to get more readers

The Write Conversation: Drive Traffic to Your Blog Using Twitter

  • For writers: Great tips on increasing your fanbase and sales

Author Media:. Ten ways to get more FB fans

The Creative Pen: How to get Amazon book reviews

  • If you use Gmail, a how-to prevent HACKERS

Nathan Bransford: Two-step e-mail verification for G-mail users

  • For Trivia

Smithsonian Magazine: The Accidental History of the @ symbol

  • For Fun

Today.com Why CBS still loves I Love Lucy

ENJOY!

YOUR TURN: If you’ve found a blog, you think I missed, tell me your comment.

7 08, 2012

One Lovely Blog – Never too late to say Thanks

By |2012-08-07T10:36:09-05:00August 7th, 2012|Uncategorized|13 Comments

My often neglected blog has been honored with a nomination for the One Lovely Blogger Award by my very good friend Forest and his human, Elaine Smothers (blogger and fellow WANAite). I’m awed to be considered lovely by anybody.

I did  a Google search for information on this award and found nothing of its origins. I did find lots of links to other bloggers who have earned the award and  choices for award badges here. The rules for accepting the award were easily located and involved nominations, thanks, and sharing.

  • Post the award badge. (not included with all explanations)
  • Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post (an obvious requirement)
  • Nominate 15 other blogs for this honor (the number varied)
  • Share seven little known facts about yourself. (the part we all like best)

So I begin my acceptance with a big thank you to Forest and Elaine for the OLB nomination.  Everyone should check out their blog at Wonder in the Wild. It’s one of my favorite blogs.

Here’s the badge I selected.

The hardest part of accepting any blogger award is choosing blogger nominees. OLB is no exception. There are so many worthy blogs and bloggers.

The fifteen bloggers I’m nominating have interesting, informative and fun blogs. Stop by their sites and meet them. I know you’ll enjoy exploring and learning about them.

  1. Alina at Illuminations
  2. Ben at Not One Sparrow
  3. Bethany at Write by Bethany
  4. Ciara at Finding Treasures in Dreams
  5. Ellen at To Beyond and Back
  6. Ginger at I am Blogger Hear Me Tweet
  7. J. D. at Living with the Muse
  8. Jane at Janie Carver 2011
  9. Jennifer  at MuseTracks
  10. Kat at Kat Jorgensen
  11. Linda at Soldier, Storyteller
  12. Megan at Sortacrunchy
  13. Melissa at Melissa Ohnoutka
  14. Patricia at Masks the Book
  15. SJ at Come Sit By My Fire

Now, the fun part: seven little known facts about me.

  1.  I decided I only like wildlife from afar after this fellow came to lunch last week and refused to leave until the Area Wildlife Manager Thorpe came to shoo him away. Mr. Bear was only two feet from my dining room window.
  2. I love my early morning water aerobics workouts.
  3. I won’t eat avocados  or guacamole.
  4. I love all Harry Chapin’s songs. Especially Flowers Are Red and Cat’s in the Cradle  If you’ve never heard the songs you can listen on Youtube: Flowers are Red and Cat’s in the Cradle 
  5. I finally read a Nicholas Sparks novel, Dear John. Loved it!
  6. I’ve lived in AL, CO, CT, MS, NC, NM, TN, TX, VA, and WV. Only six of the nifty fifty are on my bucket list of places to see. I’ll let you guess which six. Hint: all but one are close to Canada.

Not one to follow always follow the rules, I’m going to leave #7, the last final fact, for you to ask what would you like to know about me. One caveat: I won’t tell you my weight, my age, or my address!

So, dear blog reader, it’s your turn. What would you like to know? Or, which six states do you think I’ve never been to?

28 03, 2012

AAR on KL’s BtoB class

By |2012-03-28T11:59:52-05:00March 28th, 2012|one word Wednesday|11 Comments

Today’s word in case you’re unsure from the title – AAR

What the heck is an AAR? You’re probably wondering — especially if you have no military background.

At the conclusion of every mission employed, an AAR, AFTER ACTION REVIEW is conducted to determine the effectiveness of the mission. Sometimes called a debriefing, too.

I’m the daughter of an Army Air Corp/Air Force officer, the spouse of a retire Army officer and a former DAC. I thrive on order in chaos and demand order/structure.

My life, until my husband’s retirement, was pack, unpack, establish a nest, pack, unpack, and establish a nest. I’ve gathered lots of fodder for my writer’s mill and skills I’m sure I’ll not live long enough to use.

Two years ago I took ex-Green Beret Bob Mayer’s Warrior Writer A-Team course. I’m not sure Mayer offers the course anymore, but the book WHO DARES WIN, The Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear and Succeed is available here

His Special Forces tactical approach applied to a writing career resonated with me. I credit that class as the turning point in my writing. I especially loved the AAR, After Action Review. I now conduct AARs on all writing activities and projects. 

Sound silly. Not really. 

We all do AARs unconsciously. We just don’t call them After Action Reviews. Bet you’ve said. “Been there done, that not going again” or something like that. And I’m guessing you’ve also said, I loved < you fill-in-the-blank>, too. You just did a mini-AAR.

 After every move, my family discovered ways and methods to make the next move easier, more palatable for the children and the travel to the new location more fun. All the while, reviewing what we’d learned at our last location.

Guess what, we were doing an AAR!

My husband’s favorite AAR, if the experience is unfavorable: “Done that for the first and last time.” Our shortened code developed from long years of being together: “first and last for that” or FLT

My AAR  for Kristen Lamb’s Blogging-to-Brand class follows. Risky, I realize.

After all, Kristen might read it. Not worried.

Knowing her association with Mayer, she’ll probably conduct her own AAR. My thoughts can contribute. Or be a testimonial. Or not.

AAR Step 1: My goal (mission) in taking Blogging-to-Brand

I needed to learn about branding and social media. I have two novels, The Pendant’s Promise and its prequel, In the Land of the Morning Calm, in the publishing pipeline. I want readers to recognize my name, buy my books.

I’d read Kristen’s book WE ARE NOT ALONE. Actually bought it at Bob’s workshop. I agreed with what I read and decided the class would provide added benefit.  

AAR Step 2: Was my goal or mission accomplished? 

I’d say DEFINITELY…the class nearly exploded my head!

I have to admit I signed up reluctantly. When I say reluctantly I mean screaming about why, why, why? I’m a writer, not a marketing person. 

Not that I wasn’t familiar all the social media places. I was. See the links in the right hand column.

I have a website 

a Judythe Morgan FB page

Twitter  

a page on Shelfari where I list the books I’ve read and make a recommendation

And, now after KL’s BtoB, a blog! Which you already know because you’re reading this.   

I thought I was off to  a good start. Kristen’s class took me further.

  • My circle of followers has grown. More importantly, I’ve met some terrific people I might never have known existed.
  • I discovered social media is about more than marketing. I really, like these people. We share our heartbreaks, our troubles, our cares, our concerns. They’re good people. Good writers.
  • I know I am not alone in my writer’s journey.As Kristen says, it’s all about the WANA love. Thanks to all for the follows, the comments, the WANA love.

AAR Step 3: “If you accomplished your goal, determine the fine-tuning.”

As much as I did learn, I’m still sorting through the technology intricacies and would be totally lost without help from WANAs and my techno-savvy daughter. I must follow-up with

  • classes for fine-tuning my blog, my tweets, and my FB postings
  • learning to utilize HootSuite, TweetDeck, and FB Time Line effectively

4. Summation:

KL’s Blogging to Brand was Informative EnlighteningTime consuming.

The class forced me to accept what I knew, but didn’t want to admit—

to be a successful, productive writer I must learn to juggle many balls.

Writing. Blogging. Tweeting. FBing. Marketing. Eating. Drinking. Sleeping.

But then, as Ursula, the evil octopus from Little Mermaid says: “Life’s full of tough choices, innit?”  

Hard choices. Sometimes not fun choices. Especially on wonderful spring days when the porch swing is calling and not the computer. 

YOUR TURN: You done any AARs lately? Or want to share what you learned from Kristen’s Blogging to Brand class?

 

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