The age-old question, “I’ve covered everything under the sun! What else is there to write a blog post about?” trips us up regularly.
See if any of the suggestions below prompt new ideas for you.
Make a list of your message’s foundational points. Cover one point per blog post.
Make a list of FAQ from your audience or readers. Answer one question per blog post.
What about themost common challenges your audience/ readers face? You guessed it! Address one challenge per blog post and help them overcome it.
Write a bulleted list of helpful, insider tips or DIY instructions related to your message.
Share how God called youto your ministry and invite readers to share their stories with you via a return email or a comment on the social media post you create to promote this blog post.
Share how you knew this ministry idea was from God and not from last night’s pizza. 🙂
What’s going on in the news that ties into your primary message?
Have a new project coming up?Share the behind-the-scenes activity.
Which new book have you reador heard about recently? Why might that be a good fit for your readers?
What’s the history of your favorite holiday? How can you tie that into your message?
Share a gift idea for those you serve (that their loved one might give them).
What startling or just released statistic relates to your message and your audience?
Book launch coming up? Invite readers to support you as book launch team members or ask them to post just once.
Been to a conference lately? What was the most valuable info you learned?
Conference–who wasthe most interestingperson you met, and why?
Conference–who wasthe best presenterand what made them the best one?
Conference–what’syour overall opinion of it and would you suggest your audience attend?
Conference–does the conference aboveoffer scholarships and if so, how does that process work?
What else can you tell your audience about the conference mentioned above or any other conference?
Write a long “roundup” blog post highlighting all the other blog posts you’ve written on that same topic. Be sure to share the link to each article as you highlight it!
Share book reviews you’ve written, explaining what you did (and did not) like about the book.
Writea blog postlisting your favorite blogs about your topic.
Writea blog postlisting your favorite podcasts about your topic.
Explain your research process for books, projects, or courses.
Share a list of quotes that apply to your topic.
Share a heartwarming story about your child or grandchild that ties into your topic.
Share your favorite writing or speaking tools, platforms, or resources, and why they’re your favorite.
Share three common mythsrelated to your topic and explain why they’re not true.
Share your daily schedule and invite readers to share theirs.
Share how you manage your time and invite readers to share their schedule.
Share your process to find the perfect title for your books or products.
Share your primary goal(s) when posting on social media.
Explain what a blog tour is and how your readers can be part of one.
Make a list of the influencers you follow and why.
Describe how you hope your message impacts your audience.
Whew! That’s a lot of ideas! Praying more than one is helpful. 🙂
For bloggers and writers who wish to create a credible online presence, selecting an appropriate website template is essential. For this reason, your equipment should include more than a pen and wild imagination. It is time to get a well-designed website to draw in more visitors and keep them interested. Let us find out how to choose the best ready-made solution and highlight your writing talent.
How to Create a Website Blog & Writer’s Site Using a Website Template?
Step 1: Establish Your Goals
It takes more than just having an excellent concept to make it happen. You must have a thorough knowledge of the subject matter and objectives. Additionally, think about issues that the site addresses for your prospective readers. The framework and essential components of the online project will be determined at this stage.
Consequently, you must define the following aspects:
Your line of work (showcasing your writing portfolio, attracting new readers, selling booking, providing valuable content, and so on);
The persona of your readers;
Project objectives;
Problems of the audience you can fix using an online project.
Step 2: Imagine Your Perfect Design
Creating a website with blog or writer’s site is not only about how they appear. Eye-catching sliders or an original homepage design will not always work. Convenience and functionality are key factors in web design.
For this reason, this stage presents some tricky scenarios. For instance, what definitely works for an ordinary business card is probably not the best option for our goals. While selecting a website template, take into account the following fundamental factors:
Format, layout, and design of the header and footer;
Logo placement;
Content width;
Navigation;
Color schemes;
Typography.
The majority of contemporary tools typically allow extensive customization. It means that any of the aforementioned points can be altered and modified.
You can always get inspired by other blog website ideas. Look through successful online projects of successful writers and bloggers and your niche. Then, it will take you nothing to take note of all elements, including layouts, fonts, and overall user experience.
Step 3: Pay Attention to Ease of Use
The process may be completely handled for you by modern web development technologies. However, with blog writing templates, you need to take care of the website’s content, media files, forms, and other components. Of course, it is possible to pay a freelancer to complete all the tasks, but that would incur additional costs.
So, choosing a website template with a basic content editing tool is a smart idea. The majority of platforms often have drag-and-drop editors. Using them, it is relatively easy to alter elements without specialized coding knowledge.
Step 4: Analyze the Features
For non-techies, ready-made solutions are undoubtedly a fantastic option. Users anticipate them to be adaptable with a range of options to allow for personalizing the site. For this reason, you can always opt for an excellent choice with all the necessary built-in widgets and add-ons. When it comes to writers and bloggers, these are:
Social media integration and newsletter subscription;
Author bio and photos;
Testimonials.
Step 5: Choose a Trustworthy Website Template Provider
What to look for in a dependable provider of ready-made solutions?
The number of templates. The better a provider is, the more templates they have.
Reviews and comments from users. Individuals discuss their experiences and point out both positive and negative aspects of their purchase.
The availability of customer support. It indicates that a supplier is prepared to address any problem.
A Few Words in Conclusion
A crucial step in developing your online profile as a blogger or writer is choosing appropriate blog website templates. Select an appropriate variant that complements your brand and effectively presents your work. Make sure to take into account factors like functionality, design, navigation, and customization capabilities. Remember that there are multiple premium and free blog templates WordPress to grab. Thanks for reading!
Nancy P. Howard has been working as a journalist at the online magazine in London for a year. She is also a professional writer in such topics as blogging, IT, and digital marketing. She loves travelling, photography and is always welcome to meet new people.
A welcome post is a pinned post on your blog that appears first in your entry feed. But let’s leave the technical side of the question for later, it’s the easiest one here. The most important and complex part is the ideological component because a welcome post is a blogger’s calling card.
How to make the most of the opportunity and simply and succinctly tell readers about yourself, your blog, and interest the reader? In this post, we look at how to write the perfect welcome post, based on analyzed publications from custom writing Write My Essays.
Show yourself as an author
An author’s personality is the most valuable thing in a blog. That’s why we start our welcome post by talking about ourselves.
Tell us about who you are in plain and simple language, as briefly as possible. What is your name, or who do you want people to call you? You are free to withhold your age and personal information. If you are a themed blogger or a profession-related blogger, include your education and what you do.
Write about your award-winning authorship or involvement in meaningful writing programs or courses. For example, provide links to your books if you are a published author. One more thing is if you’re not hiding from your readers – add your favorite photo in the welcome post.
Introduce your blog
The second important part of the welcome post is the presentation of the blog. Essentially, you need to answer two questions: what is your blog about, and what is its format?
Do this, literally, in one sentence – make it short and to the point. If you’re struggling to articulate your blog in one sentence, think about whether readers will be able to make sense of extensive content. That’s a reason to think about a serious overhaul of your blog and its concept.
Show the reader the most interesting things
Introduce the reader to the rubrics of your blog. It is the headings, not the thousand-and-one links to everything you think is most interesting. Describe each of them briefly, in one or two sentences. Do not put hundreds of links to individual entries, as just a few people will scroll through a long page – give a link to the tag, which will combine the posts in the headings. Put the title of the rubric in bold, and link it to the tag.
Options for contact
Describe the rules by which you can be contacted. For example: for cooperation questions, write to official emails; for other questions, write in person, and so on.
You may also give links to social networks and services, in which you as a user are presented. Do not give links to resources where you are not active.
Common mistakes when writing a welcome post
Sometimes a welcome post needs to get the desired response. One of these mistakes was made in the content writing.
Lots of facts in one post – the reader gets lost in the abundance of information and doesn’t remember anything. Decide what you are writing the post for. If you are telling a personal story – write about the fundamental facts in general terms, and vice versa – do not go into the biography when describing.
There are a lot of narrow professional terms in your post – these words are incomprehensible to ordinary users, so they will not read your post. There’s nothing wrong with terms, and sometimes you can’t do without them – let’s say when writing a post about medicine or law. Remember to explain difficult words simply and briefly and don’t make them the main focus of the publication.
Your publication has no structure – if you write about yourself first, don’t finish the thought and jump to services, then go back to the story, the reader will be confused by your thoughts and will probably leave the page. Decide what to write about at the beginning, what to write about in the middle, and how to end the post. Stick to that logic, and the text will be coherent and clear.
Final thoughts
All in all, the welcome blog post is the fundamental part that defines further blog success. This is your chance to present your personality, your sphere of activity, and your offer as a blogger. A well-written welcome post tells your story in a way that is accessible and interesting to users and increases the credibility of the blog and the product you’re selling.
Nancy P. Howard has been working as a journalist at the online magazine in London for a year. She is also a professional writer in such topics as blogging, IT, and digital marketing. She loves travelling, photography and is always welcome to meet new people.
Experts continue to tell writers that their email list is one of the best ways to turn followers into book buyers. Therefore, growing your email list is great strategy for promoting your writing. Here’s a simple way to expand your reach and potentially gain new email subscribers—Author collaborations.
Collaborating with other writers enables you to leverage off each other’s followers, so you can quickly reach a whole new audience. Here are some tips to make collaborations work for you.
Look for someone who writes for a similar target audience. Your audiences don’t need to be identical, but they need to overlap. For example, a writer who targets young moms overlaps with a writer who targets healthy family relationships.
Look for someone who writes about similar topics or themes. Your book topics, lead magnets, or blog themes need to be something the other writer’s audience will find interesting and useful.
Avoid a collaboration where both writers are promoting almost identical products, such as two authors who both wrote books about gluten-free diets. The idea is to overlap so the audience wants both products rather than competing for the same purchase slot.
Don’t forget the goal
If your goal is to build your email list, you need to have a lead magnet to promote. Without an incentive to join your list and a clear call to action, the other writer’s audience isn’t likely to visit your blog or sign up for your newsletter.
If your goal is only to promote your book, being featured by your collaboration partner may be sufficient. Again, don’t forget an enticing call to action that includes links to purchase your book
Types of collaborations
Guest post swap. If both writers have blogs, you can agree to exchange guest posts. Don’t forget to mention your lead magnet in your guest post!
Newsletter lead magnet swap. Both writers can agree to share each other’s lead magnets in their newsletters.
Newsletter (or blog) book review swap. The collaboration partners can agree to review each other’s books for their newsletter. Don’t forget to disclose that you have agreed to swap books. NOTE: Amazon does not approve of authors trading reviews, so if you swap book reviews, don’t post them on Amazon. (It’s probably best to skip other review sites as well.)
Interview swap. Bloggers, podcasters, or YouTubers can choose a pertinent topic and take turns interviewing the other on their blog/show.
Gift Guides. Two or more authors can create a book gift guide on a particular theme. The guide includes one or more of each author’s books plus other excellent books that fit the theme. For example: Great Action Books for Middle Schoolers or Powerful Books to Help You Overcome Negative Thinking.
Always keep the audience in mind
Whatever collaboration you try, always remember your first goal is to serve your partner’s audience. (Not to promote yourself or sell something.)
The better you meet the needs of the audience, the more those people will be interested in your work, and the more likely the other writer will want to work with you in the future. Collaborations can be the beginning of a fruitful and long-lasting partnership.
You can be a collaborator
Even if you are not yet published, you can still begin to collaborate with other writers through swapping guest posts or lead magnets. It’s a small, doable step even beginning writers can try.
Who will you reach out to this week to discuss a possible collaboration?
Lisa E. Betz is an engineer-turned-mystery-writer, entertaining speaker, and unconventional soul. She inspires others to become their best selves, living with authenticity, and purpose, and she infuses her novels with unconventional characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her Livia Aemilia Mysteries, set in first-century Rome, have won several awards, including the Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021).
She and her husband reside outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Scallywag, their rambunctious cat—the inspiration for Nemesis, resident mischief maker in her novels. Lisa directs church dramas, hikes the beautiful Pennsylvania woods, eats too much chocolate, and experiments with ancient Roman recipes. Visit lisaebetz.com.
Blogging is one of the foolproof ways of building a good audience. It isn’t easy though, considering that it takes quite a lot of time and work just to even keep your blog alive.
Nonetheless, the good news is that if you’ve managed to build an engaged and responsive audience that you can connect with at one click of your mouse, you already have the best chances of hitting your business goals. Now, if you’ve built an audience and you fully understand them, you can set on providing value for them.
This way, you build authority in your space and create trust with your audience. Authority and trust with your audience will be a valuable tool in your arsenal if you have products to promote or you just want to stand out as a subject matter expert.
But is Blogging still a Thing in 2021?
For most people who are considering beginning blogging, a relatively popular question some of them constantly ask is ‘is blogging still relevant?’ If you’re also worried about whether blogging is still a thing, then you could be in for some surprise.
Blogging is still relevant and profitable in 2021 because a whopping 77 percent of internet users still refer to blogs as their preferred source of information 2021. The only snag is that blogging trends change pretty quickly, and something valuable five years ago may no longer be relevant today.
Therefore, to still remain relevant, it is prudent that you be proactive and willing to implement the new trends in blogging. Here are the 9 top blogging trends you can use to build a valuable audience in 2021.
I. Quality of your Blog Trumps Everything
The first step to building a valuable audience in 2021 is to ensure that you provide them with quality. According to this Growth Badger survey, top bloggers rely on good content, engaging headlines and intro, SEO, email list subscribers, social media presence, and blog name and URL to be able to still dominate in 2021.
If you have been blogging for some time, you probably already know about this. In providing quality, you should ensure that your web content resonates with the reader.
They should find it useful based on factors like; accuracy, comprehension, ease to skim through, in-depth, and original. The bottom line is to provide the quality your audience is craving and then present your content nicely.
II. Common Topics are not Really Interesting
For many beginner bloggers, some of the things you may want to write about when you get into blogging are the topics you find interesting. In some cases, some of these topics are pretty common.
An advantage of writing about something common and interesting to you is that you pretty much already have tons of information about that topic. The problem with this approach is that it may not allow you to stand out in the crowd, and the competition could also be pretty stiff.
This doesn’t imply that you should only go for the most complicated of niches, as this may also be draining in the long run. Your best bet, in this case, would be to be very specific when creating your niche.
If, for instance, you wanted to start a fashion blog, you can choose to write about sewing patterns or fabrics. Make use of that approach for any niche you wish to blog on and build popularity with it.
III. Video Content is more valuable than Ever
If you’re a blogging enthusiast, you must have noticed that several bloggers are beginning to incorporate video content in their work more. The standout advantage of video content is that it preserves your time, increases engagement with your audience. Besides, your audience can easily retain that information.
This is realistic considering that readers can retain 95 percent of the message you present to them when watching it than when they read it in text. Interestingly, video content will also benefit your SEO ranking. Several Content Management Systems (CMS) such as AgilityCMS allow you to embed interesting YouTube videos into your posts, so this is something worth trying.
IV. Frequency of Blogging Counts
If data from HubSpot are anything to go by, you can generate 3.5X more traffic when you blog 16 times every month than if you blog just four times every month. This may seem like a huge workload, but it really shouldn’t.
You can achieve this by creating realistic goals you can achieve and basically aim at publishing at least one blog post daily. If you may struggle to crank more content, you may want to consider hiring a blog writing service.
If you’re studying and you struggle to create enough time for your blogging and studying, you may also want to look for a research paper writing service to handle your essays. This way, you will be able to concentrate on one important thing at a time.
V. Use of Featured Snippets
Snippets have been appearing on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) content since way back in 2017. Today, savvy bloggers use the featured snippets as a valuable tool for increasing their visibility on the search engines, driving clicks, and building authority.
According to the reports of college paper reviews, if things remain the same, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if this trend goes through or peaks in 2021. Just so you know, featured snippets are the short text snippets you see at the top of your Google search results when you type in a query.
VI. Use of List-based Blog Titles
Studies suggest that 36 percent of internet users prefer list-based topic headlines. The argument behind this is that internet users find the lists easier to skim through.
This trend has also been there for some time, and it really won’t change in 2021. To write good list-based blog titles, be sure to include the problem or product in your headlines.
VII. Web Hosting Quality
Website speed is something you can’t overlook if you wish to offer a great content experience to your audience. A significant fraction of internet users will bounce back if your pages take more than 30 seconds to load. This isn’t something you may want for your website because high bounce rates can negatively affect your rankings.
A more straightforward hack for web speed is choosing a good web hosting provider. The hosting should be fast, guarantee security and scalability to accommodate your brand’s growth.
VIII. Visual Content will dominate
Visual content is gaining more traction as more bloggers are favoring them in their pieces. They come with SEO benefits and are also effective in keeping your audience engaged.
If you wish to use visual content, you may want to use screenshots when writing tutorials. You may also want to use charts, polls, and stock images in your content.
IX. Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are the links you get from other blogs to your website. Their purpose is to drive organic traffic to your website.
Quality backlinks are also helpful for your SEO rankings because they make it easier for Google to determine your website’s quality. With quality backlinks, Google will view your web content as being qualitatively good, thus ‘reward’ you with free search engine traffic.
With these benefits, the use of quality backlinks is a trend that will still dominate in 2021 and may still last way past 2021. If you’re just getting started, you can generate quality backlinks by writing high-value guest posts on other websites and then linking back to your website.
Other than the backlinks, it would also help if you interlink the blog posts on your website. This way, your audience will find more value in getting more information on your site. The high amount of time they spend on your website will also make it rank positively on the search engines.
In Closing
Blogging trends are dynamic, implying that you should always keep an eye on new and upcoming changes, so you aren’t left behind. Other than the trends, always aim at providing value, and your audience will continue expanding.
Tiffany Harper is a training guru who’s been working in the corporate sector as the technology expert for several years now. She is a management graduate and loves to share her experience through blogs and expert articles. For her love of writing, she provided online consultations for the dissertation writing service department, while working with EssayMama. Please do not hesitate to contact her on LinkedIn.
Have you ever participated in a writer’s challenge? Did you
know there are writing challenges for bloggers? Here’s how I made this
discovery.
I participated in the National Novel Writing Month 2019
(NaNoWriMo). This challenge is open to all writers and happens once a year in
November. The premise is to write daily and produce a fifty-thousand-word novel
in thirty days. It was a last-minute decision to participate, and I chose to
utilize the challenge to write the first draft for my new book, The
Handshake.
There are benefits of taking part in a challenge like this
one.
Developing A Daily Writing Habit
Committing to writing every day
helps you carve out time to hone your craft. For my first NaNoWriMo, I opened
my laptop after my husband and son were fast asleep. There were a few nights; I
was so tired, I typed with my eyes closed and then reviewed what I wrote. It
went surprisingly well. During that first challenge, I created my soon to be
released devotional called Triumphing Through Your Trials: Devotions of
Miracles, Faith & Prayer.
Meeting Other Participating Writers
Writing is such a solitary craft.
It’s you, your computer, and a cup of your favorite beverage. Your pet may
stroll in while you’re creating that perfect sentence, but otherwise, you are
alone. In most writing challenges you have the opportunity to meet other
writers, often through a Facebook group. You can post questions, celebrate word
count successes, and exchange writing tips.
Working With A Deadline
Knowing other participants are
writing during the same time is motivating. A little
voice will say, “Get your words in today.” Like a magnet, I’m drawn to my
computer to meet the challenge knowing my fellow writers are also honing their
craft during this limited time.
Working with a deadline encourages
you to get words on the page. Editing can come later, but there is no editing
if there are no words.
At first, I wanted to use NaNoWriMo to write one blog a day.
This would create a series of blogs I could use for future posting. No more
last minute, what am I going to post writing frenzies. However, with the novel-writing
challenge, I could not be sure to find other bloggers like myself. Thus began
the search for a blogging challenge.
Jeff Goins Blog Challenge
Jeff Goins is the author of Real Artists Don’t Starve, and You Are A Writer. Time Magazine voted his blog as one of the top 50 of 2008. While this free challenge doesn’t have a deadline like NaNoWriMo does, Jeff Goins offers the opportunity to learn the craft of blogging and connect you with other bloggers through a Facebook page.
The Ultimate Blog Challenge
Paul Taubman is an international Speaker, Presenter, and Trainer focusing on website strategy and marketing online. His blog challenge is offered once a quarter. For 30 days, he will email a daily topic to use as inspiration for your blog. Then you will post your created blog in the Facebook group and tweet it using #blogboost. The website shares the next challenge will be January 2020.
The 21-Day Blog Writing Challenge 2020
This new 21-day blog challenge is designed to help practice the craft of blogging by focusing on content and creating a treasure trove of future blog posts. A daily blog tip will be posted in a dedicated Facebook group, as well as sharing excerpts of your blog on Twitter with the following hashtag: #bloggerchallenge. The Facebook group is free and open to join now. The 21-day blog challenge will be hosted by yours truly and starts on January 1st, 2020.
If you have taken part in a blogging challenge, comment below. If you would like to try it out, join one of the challenges above, and watch your creativity soar and hone your craft.
Evelyn Mann is a
mother of a miracle and her story has been featured on WFLA Channel 8, Fox35
Orlando, Inspirational Radio and the Catholic News Agency. A special interview
with her son on the Facebook Page, Special Books by Special Kids, has received 1.4M
views. Along with giving Samuel lots of hugs and kisses, Evelyn enjoys hot tea,
sushi and writing. Visit her at miraclemann.com.
Give yourself permission to not blog. Yes, I said it. Going through different seasons in life does correlate to your blogging life. In winter, plants lay cold and dormant waiting for a spring sun to wake them up. But, they do wake up.
Are you feeling guilty because circumstances beyond your
control have kept you in a winter holding pattern? Does that still small voice
keep telling you, “Your blog is due. Get with it.” And at the end of the day, or
a month, there are no words on the page to be published for the world to see.
You are not alone.
Spring Time is Coming
As a full-time special-needs mom, blogger, and author, the
minutes of my day are consumed with fulfilling my roles. However, in this
season, my special needs mom hat has taken on new meaning. My sweet son has
iron deficiency anemia and a bad bout of eczema. One of these diagnoses alone
is enough to deal with, but both?
Therefore, everything else takes a back seat. My focus is on
helping our little guy get well. That voice still calls me to type on the page,
and I answer, “Not, now.” What is currently on your plate taking priority over
your blogging life? How are you handing your wintertime as the life of a
blogger?
Helpful Ways To Keep Your Blog Alive
Finding creative ways to blog or not to blog is possible.
Here are few ideas:
Write A Short Blog–Crafting a post of 300 words or more could be the answer to keeping your audience informed and engaged without losing them. My blogs are between 400–600 words. Give yourself permission to write less to keep your blog alive during your winter. Add a few pictures for visual appeal and click publish.
Short Title – A sample title could be: 3 Reasons To _____ or 3 Ways To _____. This type of title helps to keep the post short and yet still deliver valuable content. Check the coschedule.com headline analyzer to keep your title score above 70%.
Offer opportunities to Guest Blog–Send out a call on your social media sites for guest blog submissions. Craft your own submission guidelines to hone in and allow writers to know what blogs you will accept. Don’t know how to craft your own submission guidelines? Read the guidelines of your favorite blogger to get a baseline for your blog. Or click here: Also, offer a deadline to receive the submission. (To become a guest blogger, check out this resource: )
Winter Time Post–Let your readers know of your hiatus and, if you feel comfortable sharing, why. Your readers will appreciate the update and be happy to see your posts again when you start back up. A great title could be: 3 Reasons I Quit Blogging (Temporarily).
Hire Help–Another way to keep your blog alive is to hire help. Many books are created by utilizing a ghostwriter to share your story. Did you know you can also hire a blog writer? You may say, “But I have no money to hire help.” And for the most part, I agree. After looking at the website, www.fivrr.com, you might be pleasantly surprised. For this blog post, I searched for “write blog post.” I found a Canadian writer who has 1154 reviews with an average score of 4.9 out of 5 stars. For $10, they will write a 1000-word blog in a 2-day time-frame. With such high quality reviews and a low cost, this might be just what you need to keep content flowing on your blog.
What do you do when life interferes with your blogging
journey? Share your tips below. It could help keep a blog alive.
Evelyn Mann is a
mother of a miracle and her story has been featured on WFLA Channel 8, Fox35
Orlando, Inspirational Radio and the Catholic News Agency. A special interview
with her son on the Facebook Page, Special Books by Special Kids, has received 1.4M
views. Along with giving Samuel lots of hugs and kisses, Evelyn enjoys hot tea,
sushi and writing. Visit her at miraclemann.com.
When you’re creating content for a certain audience, you
want them to respond to it. And not just respond, but respond positively,
showing interest, coming back for more, and becoming your loyal readers. This
is the essence of audience engagement.
However, not every writer knows how to push the right
buttons and get their audience to become more active, and interested. The truth
is, without a strategy or a clearly defined plan, you can’t go very far. To
help you gain a better understanding of what your audience wants, and how to
use it to increase your audience engagement, we’ve put together this step by
step guide.
Take a look at the 5 best ways you can maximize the audience
engagement.
1.
Provide
Value
Let’s start with the most important aspect of your writing.
It’s called value and without it, you’re as good as gone.
So, what is value in terms of writing?
The value of your writing is determined by how informative, useful, trustworthy, and
entertaining your content is.
If you want your audience to enjoy reading it and come back
for more, you need to provide quality content which will actually make an
impact on them. It needs to be:
filled with useful information
providing a solution to a problem
removing a dilemma or solving an issue
entertaining
In other words, once your audience finishes reading, they
need to feel rewarded, enriched, and well-informed. That will make them return
to you, and become more active members of your community.
2.
Inspire Them
You need to understand the basic needs, problems, or crisis
your audience might be experiencing. Ask yourself:
Why are
they reading this?
What are they looking for?
In most cases, the answer is simple: they are looking for a
way to make their life better, to find some new ideas, and to expand their
knowledge. But, they won’t do it just by reading your content.
They need to act.
You can be the missing piece of the puzzle, who inspires
them to actually make a move and become more active. Do this by:
writing powerful CTAs (call-to-action)
motivating them to take action
telling them they can do it
being uplifting and encouraging
If you manage to get some of those audience members to
actually follow your CTAs and take action, they’re going to love you.
Consequentially, it will increase their engagement.
3.
Find Them
Do you know where your target audience spends most of their
online time? If you do, you need to ensure your content is present at those
platforms, as well.
By doing data research, and examining your audience’s behavior,
you’ll be able to determine where are you most likely to catch their attention:
Know where to find them, and provide specific content for
their platform of choice. This will definitely get their attention and maximize
your engagement.
4.
Be Updated
If you want people to read your content, you need to ensure
it’s current, and it covers the topics people are actually interested in.
To achieve this, you have to:
constantly learn and read about the happenings
in your niche
keep a close eye on the competition
understand what the burning questions and
trending topics are and cover them
give insight into your audience’s biggest
interests
To ensure your audience will keep engaging with your
content, you need to keep it updated and current. This will definitely make
them increase their engagement.
5.
Be Consistent
People love creating habits. This is why you need to stay
consistent.
This means that you need to stay loyal to your audience and:
publish content on a regular basis
nurture your style and voice
provide reliable information and don’t let your
content deteriorate
This way, you’ll ensure people stay loyal to your and their
engagement only increases.
Final Thoughts
To maximize audience engagement, you need to give them
something they can love, follow, and stay loyal to. This means you need to
provide valuable content, designed especially for them, with the aim of making
their lives better.
Follow the advice given above and you’ll see the change in
your engagement rate.
Daniela McVicker is a well-known writer, a contributor to TopWritersReview, a blogger and editor at StudyClerk.com. She enjoys reading classic literature and doing research on internet marketing. Her favorite pastimes are to write, listen to jazz tracks and take quiet walks.
Do you post pictures in your blog or only use text? Are you
using embedded video? Can your reader retweet a Twitter quote? All these things
and more should be considered when crafting your blog. What style do you want
to present to your readers? This post will review three popular authors to
discover their individual blog style.
Picture–Pictures break up the bulk of a text post and helps the reader with ease of reading. Using a heading for each topic in your blog also helps to break up the text and increases your readability score in WordPress.
Embedded Video–Embedding video in your blog helps to emphasize the message of your blog post. The reader does not have to click on a link which takes them to a separate website; instead, they can watch the video without being directed away from your blog. Here’s how to embed video in WordPress: https://youtu.be/Ir7J0eEuWgk
Outbound Links & Internal Links–Outbound link: Referencing another external website link helps your page rank with Google. Use reputable website links with a good Google ranking. Use links sparingly and naturally. Internal Links: Using internal links within your blog/website also helps increase your Google Ranking. Example: If you have a book in a series you are promoting, you can link to an earlier blog post about book #1 while promoting book #2. The longer your user is enjoying your content, the better it helps your ranking.
Link to Book–Adding a link to your book page gives your reader a natural opportunity to purchase your book. They don’t have to search within your website to find out where to purchase.
Twitter Quote–Adding a tweetable twitter quote provides an opportunity for your reader to share your amazing blog content. Add the Twitter plugin called Better Click To Tweet to your WordPress account to take advantage of this feature.
Style
Point Examples
How many style points listed will our 3 popular authors use
on their blogs? Let’s see….
Eric Metaxas
Eric
Metaxas is the New York Times #1 bestselling author of Martin Luther,
If You Can
Keep It, Bonhoeffer, Miracles, Seven Women, Seven Men, and Amazing Grace. He has written over thirty children’s
books, including the bestsellers Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving and It’s Time to
Sleep, My Love, illustrated by Nancy Tillman.
In reviewing Eric Metaxas’s blog, I found the following style points:
5 word title–These Kids Made My Day–Coschedule
Headline Score: 68
Picture at Top–The picture helps grab the reader’s
attention and is visually appealing. The second picture in this blog helps
break up the text.
Embedded video– Eric shares an embedded video of
children who memorized the poem, Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow. The children entered a contest Eric hosted.
Outbound link: Eric adds a link for readers to view
the individual contest entries. The link redirects the reader to YouTube.
Link To Book/Internal Link– Eric directs readers to
his book page with the following encouragement: For more on Paul Revere’s Ride, see chapter four of
my book, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT!
Ann Voskamp
Ann Voskamp is the wife of one good
farmer, the home-educating mama to a seven exuberant kids, and author of the
four New York Times Bestsellers, The Broken Way, The Greatest Gift,
Unwrapping The Greatest Gift, and One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right
Where You Are, a New York Times 60 week bestseller which has sold over one
million copies, the royalties of which the Voskamp family has given all away,
the joy always in giving the gift back. Her blog, one of the Top 10 Christian
blogs on the web, has become a daily well for the weary and soul-thirsty.
In reviewing Ann Voskamp’s blog, I found the following style points:
13 Word Title – The Secret To Doing It All How We
Can Not Judge Each Another – Coschedule Headline Score: 59
Featured Photo behind the blog title–Great picture to
grab the reader’s attention. Ann uses 12 beautiful visuals to illustrate her
topic in this blog post. How Ann uses pictures to visually captivate her readers
while honing in on her blog topic is impressive.
Bold Font–Use of bold words vs. standard typeface help
to draw the reader’s eye. This also helps the reader to scan the bold words and
still grasp the concept of the blog.
Outbound link: Ann posts an interview with the CEO of
Pepsi featured on The Atlantic. The Atlantic reached new audience highs in May of 2017, drawing 42.3
million monthly unique visitors making this a credible source to share with
your audience.
Twitter Quote– “If you
aren’t encouraging women to live out their particular calling, you may just be
idolizing a particular idealized form of yourself.” If the reader clicks on the
gray bird, it will redirect them to share this quote as a tweet on their
twitter account.
Link to Book–Ann provides an opportunity for her
readers to easily locate her book by providing her Amazon link at the end of
her blog post.
Liz Curtis Higgs
Liz Curtis Higgs is an award-winning speaker and best-selling author
of 37 books, with 4.6 million copies in print. She’s spoken at conferences
across the United States and in 15 foreign countries. You may be familiar with
Liz’s Bad Girls of the Bible
with over one million copies sold.
In reviewing Liz Curtis Higg’s blog, I found the following style points:
Three Word title–His Wonderful Plan –
Coschedule Headline Score: 45
Picture at Top–Lovely Picture of Hydrangea helps to grab
the reader’s attention.
Personal Story– Liz shares her personal story about
her cancer journey. Heartfelt stories draws the reader into the author’s world
and is very effective in holding the reader’s attention.
Bold Font–Use of bold words vs. standard typeface makes
for an easy read.
Outbound Links–Scripture verses are red and
underlined. Once selected, it directs the reader to Bible Gateway’s website to
read the verse.
Pictures–5 pictures of flowers are shared to help
break up the text. And one personal photo of Liz and her husband lends to the
personal nature of this particular blog. The final picture is of a pair of earrings
she is offering for a giveaway.
Book Link–In her P.S.S., Liz shares a link to her
book, The Women of Easter, Special Edition for purchase at
Christianbook.com and gives an outbound link to both her book and the website
link for Christianbook.com.
How many style points do you use in your blog? Post your blog below to show off your own dynamic design style.
In the beginning of your blogging journey, you most
likely won’t have anyone but your mom reading your posts and commenting on
them. That is, if she’s Internet and tech-savvy. Otherwise, a blog can be a
lonely place. Unless you know how to let people know about your posts and how
to find other bloggers.
Here are three techniques you can try to make your blog
less lonely and to increase blog traffic.
4.
Get Linky with It!
Add your blog’s URL everywhere you have a social media
presence and in all of your profiles:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Goodreads
Instagram
YouTube
Amazon
Author Profile
Email
Signature
Add
your blog’s URL among your links with your bio when you do a book blog tour or
guest post on another bloggers site.
Add
your blog’s feed to your Goodreads and Amazon author profiles so your newest
posts will be visible in those places as well.
The most important thing to do after writing a blog post
worth publishing is to share it. That’s the easiest way to reach people. So,
share your blog post to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. When you do this,
include a hook or the first paragraph of your post to entice people to click.
You can also create an image quote featuring the title or
a short, catchy quote from the post. These images can be used on Twitter,
Facebook, and Instagram.
On Instagram, when you share those images, you can insert
the direct link to the post in your Instagram profile with a tip in the image’s
caption for viewers to find the link there.
Don’t forget to use relevant hashtags whenever you share
a post to social media, especially on Twitter and Instagram. The most used
hashtags come up when you insert # and start typing immediately after it,
without inputting a space.
On Facebook, search for and join groups where your target
audience can be found. If they allow promo—check their rules first—share your
post.
6.
Join Up
In the blogosphere there are several monthly blog hops
that you can join that’ll guarantee increased blog traffic. The key is to not
only sign up for a hop and post on the designated day, but to participate.
Visit 10-20 other bloggers and comment on their posts. And if someone visits
you and leaves a comment, return a visit and give their post a thoughtful reply
back. This is how you can develop friendships in the blogosphere and get actual
followers. Trust me, this is the best, assured way to get traffic.
Check
out these recurring blog hops:
Insecure Writer’s Support
Group Blog Hop takes place every first Wednesday. Over 200
writers share their insecurities and talk about writing writing/publishing.
They also offer an optional question that changes each month, in case you
struggle with what to post.
#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop
occurs on the third Monday of every month and is for authors to share their
expertise on anything they want to share with other authors.
Celebrate
the Small Things is a weekly blog hop that happens every
Friday and is a way for you to get to know other bloggers in your community by
sharing what brought you happiness throughout the week, anything big or small.
Blogging from A to Z April
Challenge is a once a year blog hop that occurs for 30 days in
April, except Sundays. Participants choose their themes.
Weekend Writing Warriorsoccurs over the weekend whenwriters share 8-10 sentences from
their week’s writings.
Write…Edit..Publishposts the third Wednesday of
every other month, participants share short stories/poems (up to 1,000 words)
on an assigned theme.
There are also occasional blog hops that bloggers put on
randomly. I’ve done fun hops related to my books. Keep an eye out for these
hops by visiting and following many blogs.
What makes any of this matter is, of course, having a
blog to begin with (check out my post Blogging
101)
and…well…doing these things. You can’t just wait for traffic to come to your
blog. This isn’t a “if you build it, they will come” scenario. You have to be
proactive. Take your time, challenge yourself, and think outside the box.
The blogosphere is waiting
for you. Welcome!
Chrys Fey is the author of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. Fey is an editor for Dancing Lemur Press and runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s Goodreads book club. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, www.WritewithFey.com, for more tips.
When I created my blog in May 2012, I signed up for WordPress.org.
One of the unique features of WordPress.com versus WordPress.org is the ability
to select from 54,545 plug-ins tailored to suit your needs.
Note: WordPress.com does not offer the ability to select your own plug-ins.
The Free Dictionary defines a plug-in as an accessory software
program that extends
the capabilities of an existing application. Here, we will cover accessory
software you can add to your WordPress.org account.
My
Favorite Plug-ins
Akismet
Anti-spam
When I first started WordPress, I received lots of comments. Scrolling through the messages, I tried to decipher if the comments were from genuine readers of my blog. Many spam comments were easy to spot since they were selling a product. Or the comments were vague like:
“I bet.”
“This is moving.”
“I agree.”
It can be difficult to determine if these comments are from a real person. And once you post a spammer comment, they will send you more… much more.
I also checked if the comment came from a Gmail, Yahoo
or Hotmail account. Though not fail-safe, I found the comments coming from
these accounts to be genuine.
I spent hours reading and deleting questionable comments. When I mentioned this to my web developer, he recommended Akismet. After installing this plug-in on my WordPress.org account, all the spam stopped. Now, I only receive genuine comments from people who have read my blog — what a difference.
Since adding this plug-in in May 2017, Akismet
blocked 18,743 spam requests. I saved countless hours and no more problems.
Better
Click To Tweet
Another favorite plug-in is Better Click To Tweet which allows readers to share a captivating quote from your blog to Twitter.
The Click To Tweet box looks like this:
I combined the Click to Tweet box with a picture to grab the readers attention. See the blog here:
This helps to get your blog seen on the Twitter
platform by readers who share your quote with their Twitter followers. Consider
adding this plug-in to your blog to reach across platforms.
Yoest
SEO
Optimizing your blog to be found by search engines
helps to broaden your audience. Yoest SEO
prompts you to attain a good SEO rating
using a stop light system of red, yellow, green. When the stop light is green,
your blog is ready to publish. Two criteria are reviewed: Readability and
SEO.
This popular plug-in
has over 1 million downloads.
Readability
I have discovered my readability score turns green
by adding sub headings throughout the blog. The software program recommends
placing a sub heading every 300 words. This breaks up the blog visually which
allows the reader to view your content and
select which sections they want to read.
Readability also checks for
paragraph/sentence length and overuse of passive voice. You can find
suggestions for changes in the Analysis section which we will touch on in a
moment.
SEO
The SEO criteria is determined by various factors from your selected keywords to your meta-description to name a few. A breakdown of what determines good SEO can be found here.
The SEO criteria checks for word length, focus
keyword, meta-description and external and internal links among other things.
You can craft your own meta description in Yoast SEO.
Analysis
Section
Example 1: Analysis Section
Recommended suggestions are given in the Analysis
section in three categories: Good Results, Improvements, and Problems. One recent blog post for miraclemann.com
showed the following suggestions:
Example
2: Analysis Section
Good Results:
The text contains 618
words. This is more than or equal to the recommended minimum of 300 words.
The focus keyword appears
in 1 (out of 3) subheadings in your copy.
The meta description
contains the focus keyword.
You’ve never used this
focus keyword before, very good.
Improvements
The meta description is
over 156 characters. Reducing the length will ensure the entire description
will be visible.
The focus keyword does not
appear in the URL for this page.
Problems
The focus keyword doesn’t
appear in the first paragraph of the copy. Make sure the topic is clear
immediately.
These prompts help you to make the recommended
changes to improve your SEO.
Plug-in
Problems You Can Avoid
Using a plug-in can pose a problem for your blog. I
once added a plug-in designed to add a watermark to all the photos posted on my
blog. The next time I checked my site, all the photographs had vanished. My
son’s story was due to be featured on local television the next day. Imagine my
panic. I called my web guy who fixed the problem which took hours to correct.
Lesson learned: be careful which plug-in you add.
Help
Reduce Plug-in Problems
Select
plug-ins with a user base of over 10K. Generally, popular plug-ins will be
updated quickly if an issue arises.
Keep
plug-in use to a minimum — the fewer plug-ins
you use leads to fewer problems. (I have
22 plug-ins.)
Update
plug-ins individually. If you update all plug-ins at once and an issue arises,
you won’t know which plug-in caused the problem.
What is your favorite plug-in and why? Have you ever
had a problem with a plug-in? Post your comments below.
Evelyn Mann is a
mother of a miracle and her story has been featured on WFLA Channel 8, Fox35
Orlando, Inspirational Radio and the Catholic News Agency. A special interview
with her son on the Facebook Page, Special Books by Special Kids, has received 1.4M
views. Along with giving Samuel lots of hugs and kisses, Evelyn enjoys hot tea,
sushi and writing. Visit her at miraclemann.com.
Where am I in my writing journey, you ask? Well, I’m a little more than two years into what I’ve called “re-entering” the writing world after a nearly ten year hiatus. And I’m happy to say that while I’ve still got a long way to go before I meet my biggest personal goals, I’ve made a lot more progress than I initially thought possible in this short time period.
I’ve become comfortable with my blog and Facebook writer page, despite the almost paralyzing trepidation and confusion I felt when I first realized I needed to make these things a reality. I post and engage regularly with readers and writers from all over the country and different parts of the world, and found that I enjoy doing these things much more than I ever thought I would. I’m also pleasantly surprised at how blogging and posting regularly has helped me maintain discipline as a writer. My handful of followers can always be counted on to give me a boost of confidence when I need it most, or help me out when I have questions that only other writers seem to know the answers to.
Highlights in my day include those emails with lists of open calls for submissions. I click on them excitedly, wondering what writing opportunities await and drumming up ideas as I scroll through the links. Knowing that there is a market for subjects I’m writing about – from mental health to genre fiction — keeps me encouraged. The favorite posts on my Facebook feed are those from writer pages posting similar opportunities or encouraging writers of all experience levels to share their work or boast about their good news or accomplishments.
Now I’m at the point where I actually have a few publishing credits to brag about, and each acceptance email or kind word from a reader is validation that tells me I’m on the right path. I can finally say with confidence that yes, I am good at something. I can thank someone for a compliment without feeling guilty or embarrassed. I can tell others I’m a writer without feeling like an imposter.
But the best part about writing is the opportunity to encourage others. When I write about mental health, I think about myself back in the days when I was experiencing full blown depression or anxiety, and I hope I can bring comfort and light to someone who may be experiencing the same thing. And when I share my writing milestones, I hope I’m encouraging other writers too.
Stacy Alderman has recently had her writing published by Heart and Humanity, HrStryBlg.com, and Hometown Odyssey. She has completed two correspondence courses with The Institute of Children’s Literature and self-published two novels in 2016. You can find her on Facebook and WordPress at Quirky, Confused, & Curvy.
When Stacy’s not writing or reading, she’s probably watching Penguins hockey or (thinking about) traveling. She lives with her husband and fur kid near Pittsburgh, PA.
As a blogger, you want to share your creative content and continue to learn and grow. One way to achieve both is to join blogging groups on Facebook. Some groups share content to help bloggers learn the craft of blogging. Other groups offer an opportunity to share your blogs to the members of their audience.
Joining a mix of both types of groups is a great combination for your blogging platform. Here is a list of blogging groups for you to choose from.
Definitions:
For purposes of this article, a Group Facebook Thread is when a group administrator (admin) opens an opportunity for group members to post their blog. You cannot post outside these given opportunities.
Free post – A group member can post anytime. No need to wait for the group admin to post an opportunity.
*Posting in these groups can give you an international audience.
These are some of the groups you can join. In choosing a Facebook group, I use the following check list:
Activity – Are the group members actively posting? I have seen some groups without any activity for a month or more. Groups with more members have a higher likelihood of more frequent posts. Weekly or daily activity is preferred to receive consistent content and posting opportunities (threads).
Can Members Post – Does the group restrict members from posting? Some groups only allow the admins to post. In this case, decide the benefit of joining this group. If only for the educational benefit, it may be worth joining.
Check What Group Guidelines Allow – Can you promote your blog? Many groups allow posting on open threads only. Others allow for free posting of your blog. Be sure to check group guidelines before posting in any new group.
Is there a Facebook group you are a member of not on the list above? Share below. Let’s grow together.
Evelyn Mann is a mother of a miracle and her story has been featured on WFLA Channel 8, Fox35 Orlando, Inspirational Radio and the Catholic News Agency. A special interview with her son on the Facebook Page, Special Books by Special Kids, has received 1.4M views. Along with giving Samuel lots of hugs and kisses, Evelyn enjoys hot tea, sushi and writing. Visit her at miraclemann.com.
It’s time for another Third Anniversary Throwback Thursday. Almost an Author features a great advice on a wide variety of topics. Here are a few early posts that resonated with readers.
Many writers spend years attempting to finish their stories, but they never do. Not for lack of desire, but for lack of follow-through. I know from firsthand experience that if I tried to write 2,000 words every day I’d fail. I already have, multiple times. But, if I set aside time to binge write, I can complete project after project. Is it time for you to become a binge writer? Read more.
So you want to create a storyworld? It took God six days to complete the one you’re living in, so don’t expect to make yours in one day. Worlds are complicated things, and in order to make one believable, you’ll need to take into consideration a whole host of things from politics to geography. But first, consider your philosophy of world creation: Which is true? From the story, arises the world… or From the world, arises the story… Read more.
Blog readers are scanners, their eyes skimming the page for interesting information. Problogger reports the average time spent reading a blog post is 96 seconds. With such a small window of opportunity, how do you engage your reader and communicate your message? Read more.
Travel writing includes everything from tour guide product description to feature articles. What travel writing niche is best for you? This helpful website will inspire you. Read more.
Poetry can morph out of everyday life experiences and from places you’d least expect. The challenge is to find out where your next poem is hiding. The trick is to pay attention to what inspires you even if it seems bizarre at the time. Sometimes a poem was meant to be written despite its ridiculous subject, just because it was fun to write—a break from reality. And that’s all that matters. Read more.
Is it possible for a dinosaur of technology to help define your writer’s voice? I say yes and say it with gusto! Recording and listening to my writing has helped me catch many mistakes. New writers in search of their voice will benefit greatly from this practice. Read more.
Dangling modifiers. They cause lots of confusion. Lots of questions. Lots of laughter. When you start looking for dangling modifiers, you can find them easily, and a lot of times, they make for some funny sentences. Read more.
A traditional blog gives your readers a place to find you and your writing. A place where you share with your audience stories about your writing, your book, and upcoming projects. It’s a fan page of sorts. A home for your blogs all in one place.
Microblogging is a form of traditional blogging; however, it is not found on your website. Of course, you could add your microblogs on your website as well, but traditionally microblogging is found in a social format via social media sites.
If you don’t have a traditional blog, microblogging is a great way to get up and running without the investment of creating a traditional blog. I believe authors should have a traditional blog. Click here for my reasons why.
In Edie Melson’s Social Media class, she defines a microblog as a post with 100 – 150 words. (Edie authors the popular blog, The Write Conversation. When sharing your microblog, add a meme which is a picture with text on it. Describe your meme or your purpose in sharing the meme.
I use Canva to create my memes. It is a free app you can use on your laptop, iPhone or android. For ease of use, I would use your laptop to create designs. I have created memes on my iPhone, but have found it a challenge to design without the use of a mouse. Canva saves all your designs in the app. You can sign up for Canva here.
Once you create your design, share the inspiration behind the photo. You can post something inspirational, either a famous quote or one you created. Or a captivating paragraph from your book or work in progress. Even a picture of your work space can be used to microblog. Share what inspires you to write.
Be sure to add a call to action. A Call to Action is what you want your audience or your reader to do with the information you shared. It could be signing up for your newsletter, getting a free infographic (create your own infographic here) or by directing them to purchase your book.
On Instagram, you are not able to add links in your microblog. Direct your audience to click on the link in your bio. The link in my bio connects them to my book store page on my website. You can choose to use your Amazon link as well.
Below are two examples of Instagram posts which are microblogs.
Microblog 1: (Used with permission of Becky Kopitzke)
Have you ever scolded your kids just moments before walking into church – where you then flash a sudden smile for all the holy people {as if you hadn’t just squawked at your child like a mad chicken}?
Maybe you’ve snapped your husband’s head off for asking an innocent question like, ‘What’s for dinner, hon?’
Yeah, I have, too. And I know I’m not alone.
Lots of us fall short of loving our loved one well. And not just our loved ones, but people outside our bubble, too – like the new woman at Bible study who feels vulnerable and lonely because the rest of us greet each other with hugs and chatter while she sits alone, unnoticed. Or what about that mom at school who is grumpy to everybody all the time. She’s easy to ignore, or worse- to complain about with the other moms.
Have you ever wondered what God thinks of all that? Have you ever dared to be different? Well, now you can.
Microblog 2
In this microblog, I share the impact my son Samuel had on a stranger:
“I saw everything that was important in his eyes when he first looked at me and I have never experienced anything like that in 48 years. I was supposed to meet Samuel and when he left, I had something from him….courage. I have been afraid of making changes, taking initiatives, loving, and the list goes on.
I was up all night thinking about what you said to me and reflecting on the look I received from Samuel. It may sound nutty, but he is the angel I desperately need to meet.” See more about this encounter here.
Do you microblog? Share your most highly commented microblog in the comments. And inspire others to start their microblog journey.
Evelyn Mann is a mother of a miracle and her story has been featured on WFLA Channel 8, Fox35 Orlando, Inspirational Radio and the Catholic News Agency. A special interview with her son on the Facebook Page, Special Books by Special Kids, has received 1.4M views. Along with giving Samuel lots of hugs and kisses, Evelyn enjoys hot tea, sushi and writing. Visit her at miraclemann.com.
Blogging takes consistent commitment. Whether you decide to blog once a month, once a week or more; a consistent posting of your content sets an expectation with your audience. If you post every Wednesday, your audience will come to look forward to reading your content mid-week. Consistent posting will also help search engines find your blog.
Blogging once a week or more can help you gain an audience. I post once a month, but when I started my blog, I posted once a week. If you want to gain an audience more rapidly, post twice a week to boost your exposure. Look at your schedule and decide which posting schedule works best for you.
If you have not started a blog, create between 8 – 10 blogs in a Word document. This will give you 4 – 5 weeks of blog content to post. Having content ready to go can relieve the stress of creating quality content and help you get started with being consistent.
Write Ideas Down Write (Right) Away
My ideas for blogging come from everyday life. When a thought comes to mind, I write it down quickly to remember the details. I use iPhone notes to keep track of ideas. I also use an old-fashioned pen and paper; however, it is too easy to lose a piece of paper. Using the recorder on my iPhone is another way to help corral blog ideas.
Free Write
What content to create is a conundrum we all face as authors. Pick a day and a time to write free from distractions. Many times, you will face a blank page as crickets twerp in the background. Just start typing. Free write whatever comes to mind. Often times, I will end up writing 2 – 3 topics in one sitting. I flush out the most developed topic and save the other topics for another blog.
Ideas on How to Find Topics
Use a calendar of Events and Holidays as great idea starters for your blog.
Apples4theteacher.com/holidays has a list of events and holidays to choose from. January 8th is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. Write a blog about how you keep organized as an author. Post a picture of your organized desk. You could also engage your readers by asking them to share their tips.
April 10th is National Library Day. Blog about your local library. Contact them and offer to do a book signing to promote National Library Day.
April 12th is D.E.A.R – Drop Everything And Read Day. Share an excerpt of your book in a blog post.
April 14th is International Day of Laughter Day. Share humorous excerpts from your book.
April 28 is Sense of Smell Day. Share excerpts from your book which describe a sense of smell. Offer tips on how to write a scene using the five senses. Engage your readers to submit a short story highlighting a sense of smell and award the winner a copy of your book.
Buddy Up
Find another blogger in your same genre and buddy up to brainstorm content ideas. Once written, you can promote each other’s blog on your social media platforms. This is a great way to build a friendship and also share each other’s audience.
Ask Your Audience
Asking your audience is a great way to not only engage with your readers but allows them into your process. What content would they want to read?
Jessica Osborn-Houser of JJburry.com offered her readers an opportunity to chose which blog they wanted to read. The choices offered were:
Using Sentence Variation
Adding details with phrases
How to write book reviews
Her readers voted to learn how to write books reviews by 63%. She posted her poll on Twitter, but you can use Facebook to post a poll as well. Once the voted blog is posted, you have an instant audience interested in reading it.
How do you decide what to write about on your blog? What topic received the most engagement on your blog? What content tips do you use to create content?
Evelyn Mann is a mother of a miracle and her story has been featured on WFLA Channel 8, Fox35 Orlando, Inspirational Radio and the Catholic News Agency. A special interview with her son on the Facebook Page, Special Books by Special Kids, has received 1.4M views. Along with giving Samuel lots of hugs and kisses, Evelyn enjoys hot tea, sushi and writing. Visit her at miraclemann.com.
Perhaps a friend has suggested you should start a blog, and you reply:
I don’t have time.
The time I do have, I want to be writing my work in progress.
I wouldn’t know what to write.
I don’t know how.
6 Reasons An Author Should Consider Blogging
These are valid reasons. But, perhaps the better question is why should you, as an author, consider blogging?
Potential agent/publisher. From reading your blog, an agent or publisher can discover everything from your writing style to your dedication and commitment to diligently produce a body of work. These traits show you have the fortitude and follow through to produce a completed book. The blog also shows you are able to complete self-imposed deadlines. Think of a blog as a part of your writing resume.
Building a platform. When submitting your work for publication, agents and publishers want to know you already have readers in place willing to buy your book. But, what if you don’t have a completed book yet? Start a blog. Get a following. If you haven’t heard the word “Platform” yet, I highly recommend a book of the same name by Michael Hyatt. He shares many ways to build a platform.
Create content for your readers, even before you publish. What do you write? How do you draw your readers to, well, read? Look at the themes or topics your book shares with your readers. Then write about those themes. If you write romance, share how your grandparents met. If you write about mystery, tell your potential reader about your favorite Agatha Christie novel or how Perry Mason captivated you and why. Creating this content will not only allow your readers to get to know you, but they will get used to your writing style and hopefully want to read more.
Sales funnel. Once your book is published, you can broadcast your first novel on your blog. Provide a sales page to purchase your novel or add your Amazon link in a blog post. Your blog/website can also share your availability to speak, providing yet another revenue stream.
Posting a blog on social media lends credibility. When you post your blog on Facebook, the box surrounding the blog title and featured image appears. This not only looks professional but news worthy. You are not a news outlet, but may look like one. This lends credibility to your blog rather than just typing a post with text only.
You can get discovered. In late 2016, I received an email asking about my son’s lethal form of dwarfism. The email was from the producers at The Learning Channel. They wanted to feature my son on one of their programs. When I asked how they heard about my son, I was told they found me via my blog. The producers, located in England, searched on the internet and found my blog. The SEO, the blog writing and my website combined to peak the interest of TLC. Now my son’s story is broadcast in the U.S. and worldwide. All from someone seeing my blog.
Many authors recommend a blog as a means to gain an audience and future readers of your book.
“…I think blogging is an author’s best marketing tool.” Anne R. Allen, Author of eight comic mysteries.
“The more time you spend blogging, the more value you build for your readers over time and the more they find you. Your efforts snowball.” Jane Friedman, columnist for Publishers Weekly and author of The Business of Being a Writer.
Molly Wizenburg’s popular food blog, Orangette, was a platform that helped her sell her first book, A Homemade Life, to a publisher because she had a large readership.
Are you convinced to start blogging and add this medium to your author platform? If you were like me, you don’t know where to start or what to do after you created compelling and exciting content to share with the world. I had no one to show me the how to master the art of being a blogger.
I remember thinking, “I wish I had someone to take my hand and show me how to blog.” (Twitter Quote)
That is the heart of this column. To take your hand, month by month, and give you tips and tools you can use. If today’s column has inspired you to start your author blogging journey, post your comment below. I read each one.
Evelyn Mann is the author of Miracle In My Living Room: The Story of a Little Mann and the popular blog, www.miraclemann.com/blog. Her son’s story of survival from a lethal form of dwarfism has been featured on The Learning Channel, Christian Television Network, WFLA Channel 8, and has been seen 2.5M times on Special Books by Special Kids. She enjoys giving her son lots of hugs, a hot cup of organic tea, and shrimp sushi.
I once heard on Dan Miller’s 48 Days podcast something along the lines of “You already know what you already know.”
Knowledge is Power
Think about it—you’re already in the game. Don’t know a lot about social media? That’s okay. I don’t, either. But I know enough, and I’m always learning. The great thing is, there’s always new stuff to learn in addition to what we already know.
You may think you don’t understand, you don’t get it. What is this Facebook thing? What’s a tweet and how is it done? First, congratulate yourself in knowing those platforms exist. Second, you’re reading this post. Which means you know enough to get online and search. The rest will follow.
The best piece of advice I can give at this time is this: Be Aware.
Everything you post online will always stay online, some way, in some form. Even if you delete it, it will somehow haunt the echelons of the internet forever. So be sure, before you submit, that it’s not something you’ll regret in the morning.
Be Aware
Know where you’re submitting/what you’re sharing/who you’re messaging. It’s great to post comments and share links but if your primary group of friends on Facebook are foodies, will they really appreciate an article about Harley ridin’ Mamas? They might, if the article includes a review of a really great hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
You can’t be everything to everyone all the time. I know this one sounds obvious, but trust me. When the World Wide Web opens its arms and says “Join me!” it’s hard to resist. I want to share the world with my world, but that’s not always feasible (reference Bullet No. 2 above). The best cure for this is to find my niche audience, and write for them. If others come along for the ride, that’s a bonus. I can’t be online 24/7. My audience understands my need to eat, sleep, and dare I say it—pee.
Find your platforms. Facebook and Twitter will give you the broadest audience. Instagram is a great place to share your cell phone photos. Google+ and LinkedIn are nice networking resources as well.
Ask others for advice. Don’t navigate alone. Read a blog you admire? Check out how it’s powered. Talk to a writer/media specialist? Ask their input. Want to write a killer article but not sure how to submit? Google it.
Not everything you read on the internet is true. While researching your article/media/platform set-ups, remember to find what works for you, then make sure it does. Don’t go full force into the first application you hear about, unless you’ve heard about it from a variety of sources. Investigate everything.
Be yourself. It’s okay to pattern yourself after other media sites you admire, but people want to know you. So share your voice your And if you don’t what your voice is just yet, that’s okay. Play around. You’ll figure it out.
With a big gulp of Sweet Tea and Social Media,
~Molly Jo
[bctt tweet=”There’s always new stuff to learn in addition to what we already know. @RealMojo68″]
[bctt tweet=”Be Aware: Be sure, before you submit, that it’s not something you’ll regret in the morning. @RealMojo68″]
In the previous post, we discussed how writers can build a blog readership by establishing a brand, deciding on a topic, and having a clear target audience in mind. But how is a blog maintained once its created?
Here are 5 strategies I’ve found to be the most helpful:
1. Keep the blog updated 1 – 3 times a week.
When I first started my blog, Christ is Write, I blogged three times a week and noticed great results from this. Now, I only blog once or twice a week. There have been times when I’ve gone weeks without posting. It’s during those times I’ve noticed the greatest dip in my page views.
If you want others to notice your blog, it’s vital to produce weekly content for your readers. That way, they will continue to return week after week.
2. Follow multiple blogs within the same category and comment on their posts.
Remember the blog topics you narrowed down in the last post? Now, find other bloggers who post on the same topics.
For instance, when I launched my blog, I followed multiple bloggers who posted on faith and fiction. Those were the people I wanted to connect with.
If you comment frequently on their posts, your name will become recognizable to them. Pretty soon, they’ll return the favor on your blog as well.
3. Interact with your blog followers.
On the “about” page of my blog, I introduce myself, then invite the readers to introduce themselves in the comments. This gives me the opportunity to know more about my target audience, build relationships, and start conversations.
Also, it’s polite to respond to your comments—even if it’s a simple “thanks for commenting!”. Doing this will show that you appreciate your readers, and it will encourage further conversation on the topic. Then, when readers see that you’ve responded, they’ll be more likely to comment on your future posts, too.
4.Stick to the main topic(s) of your blogs.
Think of your blog like a magazine. If you typically write posts on health and fitness, then your readers should expect posts on dieting, exercise, etc. Don’t you think they’d be a little disappointed if you decided to write a random post on politics?
However, if you have an idea for a post that doesn’t fall under the main topic(s) of your blog, try to brainstorm ways you can cater the post in a way that sticks with the main subject(s).
For instance: When I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, I had the urge to write a post about this disease. The only problem? My blog isn’t a medical blog.
Modify your font, size, and colors so it’s easy on the eyes
It takes time, determination, patience, and persistence to grow and maintain a blog. The payoff, however, will be well worth it—especially when it expands your reach and perhaps increases your chances of publication.
For more blogging advice for writers, I highly recommend the book Connectionsby Edie Melson. Much of what I’ve learned on blogging came from that book, as well as the author’s blog, TheWriteConversation.blogspot.com.
How do you maintain your blog? Let me know in the comments!
One of the cornerstones of your platform is your personal website or blog. Whether professionally designed or a DIY site, your site needs to include these essential features that introduce you to your followers.
1. Your Name
Your name should be visible somewhere in the “top of the fold” of your site, whether in the header or in the sidebar. (“Top of the fold” refers to the upper half of a newspaper, where the most important information is. It’s also the first part of page that’s loaded on your site.) Visitors to your site will become frustrated if they have to go on a “site safari” to find out who you are.
2. Your Photo
A good quality professional headshot should also be in the “top of the fold,” in either your header or your sidebar. It’s helpful if you use the same profile picture across all your social media accounts. It gives you a more uniform, professional social media presence.
3. Your Social Media Links
WordPress and Blogger have a variety of plugins/gadgets that allow you to link to your social media accounts. There are also plugins/gadgets that share those feeds on your page, but be judicious about their use. You want your sidebar to be informative without being cluttered.
4. Follow by Email Option
Give your readers the option of subscribing to your blog. They’ll benefit in that they’ll get updates to your blog in a timely manner. The benefit for you is that you’ll have access to your followers when you want to contact them with information you may not want to post on your website.
Incorporating these simple elements into your site design will allow your readers to scan the page, find your essential information and begin recognizing your brand.
Shareables:
[bctt tweet=”Is your blog missing these? via @A3forme @susanrstilwell #amwriting #socialmedia” via=”no”]
[bctt tweet=”Benefits of email subscription, @A3forme @susanrstilwell #amwriting #socialmedia” via=”no”]
Magazine writing jobs sent straight to your inbox? Yes, it is true. I get them every morning. So how can you get them?
We know that surfing the internet can wipe us out. With millions of articles, and people contributing to this sea of information, how do we fish out what we need? As I began my search, I was overwhelmed by all the sites on freelance writing; I felt like I was drowning. I made the pond smaller by narrowing my search to, “list of freelance writing jobs.” To save you time, I hooked a few valuable sites, along with other resources, that could land you writing jobs.
Websites
There are many websites that you can subscribe to that will send writing opportunities directly to your email. Some sites charge a small fee to apply for the job or use the site. Most are free. Here is a very short list to get you started.
Freelancewriting.com– I subscribe to their Morning Coffee enewsletter. It is a great resource for writing jobs. Brian Scott has done all the work for us. His morning newsletter has sections for contests, writing gigs, and a Call for Submission section. From time to time he sends out an email with time- sensitive requests. He lists magazines needing a last- minute article. This e mail comes to you every morning.
Freelancewritinggigs.com– A great place to find writing jobs. Check out the “Resources for Writers” tab while you are there.
Outsoure.com- This website allows you to bid on freelance jobs. The variety of jobs is amazing. Everything from blogs, magazine articles and medical magazines.
Freelancer.com- This is a free monthly trial website. Ultimately you will pay to submit for jobs.
Remember, this is a very short list. For more information you can brave the waters and do your own internet search for writing jobs. Don’t forget to subscribe to each sites job list. Writing jobs can also be found in your local newspaper, online Job sites (i.e. Indeed, Monster, etc.) and also craigslist will post freelancing jobs.
Books- Although these books do not send information directly to your inbox, you can find a list of magazines along with the submission requirements.
2015 Writer’s Market: The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published- This book is a wealth of information for every writer. There is a section just for magazines.
The Christian Writers Market Guide– Similar to the Writers Market Guide, this book is specific for the Christian writing community. You can only order on line at www.jerryjenkins.com/guide
YOU
Let others know that you write. You are your best resource. You have an intimate knowledge of the subject. I attended a local social media class, stated I was a writer and was approached by two people to write for their publication.
No matter where you are in your writing career there will always be more to learn. The number of websites and people looking for writers like you increases daily. Keep learning and growing. Please share your successes and bumps in the road. We are all here to learn from each other.
My next article will describe the Query letter and its importance. Your Query letter sells you and your article idea. Please pass the word to your friends. A3 is the place to be.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every one would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had left China two years before, and, retiring from business with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principally traded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
[/vc_column_text][bquote type=”tagline” prk_in=”I have given no small attention to that not unvexed subject, the skin of the whale. I have had controversies about it with experienced whalemen afloat, and learned naturalists ashore. My original opinion remains unchanged.”][vc_column_text]The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every one would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had left China two years before, and, retiring from business with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principally traded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every one would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had left China two years before, and, retiring from business with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principally traded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
[/vc_column_text][bquote type=”tagline” prk_in=”I have given no small attention to that not unvexed subject, the skin of the whale. I have had controversies about it with experienced whalemen afloat, and learned naturalists ashore. My original opinion remains unchanged.”][vc_column_text]The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every one would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had left China two years before, and, retiring from business with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principally traded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every one would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had left China two years before, and, retiring from business with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principally traded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
[/vc_column_text][bquote type=”tagline” prk_in=”I have given no small attention to that not unvexed subject, the skin of the whale. I have had controversies about it with experienced whalemen afloat, and learned naturalists ashore. My original opinion remains unchanged.”][vc_column_text]The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every one would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had left China two years before, and, retiring from business with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principally traded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every one would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had left China two years before, and, retiring from business with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principally traded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
[/vc_column_text][bquote type=”tagline” prk_in=”I have given no small attention to that not unvexed subject, the skin of the whale. I have had controversies about it with experienced whalemen afloat, and learned naturalists ashore. My original opinion remains unchanged.”][vc_column_text]The steamer which crossed the Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco made a direct connection with that from Hong Kong, and it could not sail until the latter reached Yokohama; and if Mr. Fogg was twenty-four hours late on reaching Yokohama, this time would no doubt be easily regained in the voyage of twenty-two days across the Pacific. He found himself, then, about twenty-four hours behind-hand, thirty-five days after leaving London.
The Carnatic was announced to leave Hong Kong at five the next morning. Mr. Fogg had sixteen hours in which to attend to his business there, which was to deposit Aouda safely with her wealthy relative.
On landing, he conducted her to a palanquin, in which they repaired to the Club Hotel. A room was engaged for the young woman, and Mr. Fogg, after seeing that she wanted for nothing, set out in search of her cousin Jeejeeh. He instructed Passepartout to remain at the hotel until his return, that Aouda might not be left entirely alone.
Mr. Fogg repaired to the Exchange, where, he did not doubt, every one would know so wealthy and considerable a personage as the Parsee merchant. Meeting a broker, he made the inquiry, to learn that Jeejeeh had left China two years before, and, retiring from business with an immense fortune, had taken up his residence in Europe—in Holland the broker thought, with the merchants of which country he had principally traded. Phileas Fogg returned to the hotel, begged a moment’s conversation with Aouda, and without more ado, apprised her that Jeejeeh was no longer at Hong Kong, but probably in Holland.
