Tricks of the trade: Free website goodies for writers
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June 23, 2012

When you are building your author website from the ground up and trying to keep expenses low, it helps to have a friend who knows a thing or two about website design and development. You know, that friend you have that helps you out in a pinch and who can show you the ropes? Who asks only for your friendship – and maybe a free… [Read More]

What’s an author to blog about? Keyword strategy in social media marketing
by,
June 2, 2012

If you are writer who seeks publication you probably know you need to blog. You’ve heard it’s necessary to build an audience platform. So you know WHY to blog. But HOW do you blog so you get found online? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a subject duller than watching paint dry for most authors. It doesn’t have to be. And it can’t be if you… [Read More]

Smart tools for smart bloggers: writers who self-promote to reach readers
by,
May 19, 2012

If you are a writer with a book project, book proposal or complete manuscript, you absolutely must have a website. Why? Publishers and readers demand it. The world must be able to find you on Google. Writers need a professional online presence, beyond the personal Facebook profile and e-mail account. If you are going to publish, you need to have a public persona. Not the… [Read More]

2 Easy & Free Ways to make your Author Website Mobile-Friendly
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May 5, 2012

Whether you check the news on your smartphone first thing in the morning or you’d rather read the phone book than attend to anything on such a tiny screen, there’s one thing you’ve got to keep in mind – potential readers are looking at your site on mobile even if you’re not.  In the same way that your website needs to be accessible to many… [Read More]

Social Media Metrics: What do they mean for authors?
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April 28, 2012

If you are an author who seeks an agent or publisher, you know that it is important to have an audience platform. What’s an audience platform? Historically we think of the soapbox a speaker stood upon at a busy intersection of streets hawking one’s ideas or wares. Print advertisers have long based their rates on the size of their circulation, or the “reach” of the… [Read More]

Using Bit.ly for Twitter and beyond
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April 7, 2012

Twitter will automatically shorten any link you put into your tweet for you, but how do you know if anyone actually clicked on your link? Facebook will translate a link in your status update to make it clickable, but how can you track who actually clicks? Neither Twitter nor Facebook can tell you that.  You can get a “read” receipt from an email you send, but… [Read More]

Twitter for Authors: Social Media Strategies
by,
March 24, 2012

Happy 6th Birthday to Twitter. The social media platform based on messages of 140 characters is growing up and it’s time to take it seriously, authors. As a recovering academic who studied communications history, I’ve spent decades observing how new communication technologies come and go. Remember 8-track tapes? Beta-video? Reel-to-reel and cassette tapes? Anyone remember the TV show “Car 54 Where Are You?”? Twitter is… [Read More]

Technology meltdowns: Strategies for surviving social media
by,
March 20, 2012

Yes, it is Tuesday. Yes, I am late in posting this blog. Yes, I owe my sanity to the digital divas I work with at Swenson Book Development, LLC. Like many authors, I just want to write. When things go awry, I want to cry. In the last 10 days, the email server went down, my webhost crashed its system, my company email account popped… [Read More]

Heaven is for Real
by,
March 6, 2012

Did you ever ask yourself, is there really a God?  Is Heaven for Real?  Is there life after death? Just ask 4-year-old Colton Burpo from Imperial, Nebraska, who emerged from life-threatening surgery with astounding details about his near death experience. This is a true story of Colton’s account as told by his father, Todd Burpo, to Lynn Vincent. Colton describes floating away, looking down on… [Read More]

Social Media Diet: No more junk, just nutrition
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March 3, 2012

Since my last blog post on Tuesday, I’ve had very limited access to the internet due to travel. The illusion of free wi-fi in public places is, well, illusory. In Wisconsin this past week, my search for internet access brought me back into the libraries of my youth. New buildings and outstanding collections have replaced what stood bolted down in the 1970s section of my… [Read More]