Tag: blogging advice

Categories
Blogging Basics

How to Choose a Website Template for Bloggers & Writers

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:

  • About Section;
  • Blog posts;
  • Categories and topics;
  • Contact info;
  • Advanced search;
  • 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?

  1. The number of templates. The better a provider is, the more templates they have.
  2. Reviews and comments from users. Individuals discuss their experiences and point out both positive and negative aspects of their purchase.
  3. 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 Howard

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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

How to Write Your 1st Blog Post

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.

Categories
Guest Posts Magazine and Freelance

A helpful tool for bloggers – SEO, Marketing, Content Creation Tools

Guest posts

Online tools are providing tons of help to bloggers in every aspect. Starting from research, creativity, content creation, proofreading and SEO marketing, you have plenty of tools indexed on the web to help you become a successful blogger. Starting a new blog has become religiously important, thanks to the advancement in technology and the launch of online tools. This post will tell you about some of the most important and helpful tools for bloggers!

Helpful Tools for bloggers to try in 2021

Out of hundreds of online blogging tools listed on the web, we have handpicked the most effective ones:

HubSpot – Blog Topic Generator 

The most important thing in blogging is you have to provide your visitors with informative and interesting content. This can only happen if you have fresh and authentic ideas. This blog topic generator is a famous tool that can help you find multiple topics related to your niche. You have to provide the noun or the keyword against which you are targeting your blog. Getting unique and interesting ideas is very easy with this helpful tool.

Google Docs – Blog writing tool

When it comes to writing content, you must subscribe with the best tool which can provide you options and features for beautifying the text. You must know that if the blog structure is not clear and optimized, it will be rejected no matter how informative it is. Using online tools like Google docs or MS word, you can create blog content with proper formatting. You can add headings, subheadings and bullet points in the blog content with these tools. 

Grammarly 

In blogging, you have to make sure that the quality of your content is up to the highest mark. You cannot afford to make any silly mistakes in your blog content if you don’t want to lose the interest of the organic traffic. We would like you to know that using online proofreading tools like Grammarly can help you find mistakes and remove them from your work in less than minutes. For enhancing the quality of the blogs, you would surely need Grammarly.

PlagiarismChecker.co

Plagiarism is an intolerable offence in blog writing. If your content has plagiarism, you will lose the interest and trust of the search engine and the organic traffic interested in your site. To check plagiarism, you need a reliable plagiarism checker tool. The plagiarismchecker.co is a designated resource that can help you check for plagiarism in your blog posts. The plagiarism detector tool cannot only scan your newly created content for duplication errors, but it can also scan your complete blog website and find out if someone is stealing from you. A plagiarism check is very important for a blogger, so you should never avoid or take it easy.

ReverseImageSearch.org

Images are also considered to be an important part of a blog post. Without an image, a blog post would look boring and unappealing for the common visitor. Images are important because images are more understandable than text. The human mind understands and accepts visual information sixty thousand times quicker than it perceives text. The reverseimagesearch.org is a search platform that is powered by the RIS technique. This image search utility can help you find relevant and royalty-free images for your blogs, and that too without any formalities and added expense. 

Ahref 

Ahref is a very powerful platform that you can use for free for two weeks. The main purpose of Ahref is to help you audit your blog site for different aspects. If you want to see your blog site rank in Google’s highest positions, you need Ahref. It would help you get information about the keywords you should use in your content and help you make a thorough competitive analysis of the sites working on the same niche as yours. If you want to get the right keywords or find out details about the directory links on your blogs, you should try out Ahref. Backlinks are very important when it comes to affiliate and SEO based marketing.

Live Chat

This is another important tool for a blogger. Having a live chat on your blog would help you communicate with your audience in a better way. If you want to understand your readers, then you should connect with them on live chat. You can get feedback about your blog posts and find out what they would like to read about. Create blog content according to the target audience’s requirements!

Paraphrasing Tool – SmallSEOTools

Paraphrasing tools are online software programs that can help you rewrite the content into unique and human-friendly content. You must know that you have to constantly create and update your old content in blogging so that readers can stay engaged with you. The online paraphrasing tools can help you rewrite and revise your old content in a new style. Instead of creating new content, you can use the spinner tools to revive your old and appreciated posts. The paraphrasing tool is also used to remove plagiarism from the content!

These are some of the best and most helpful tools that bloggers can use from all across the globe!

Amelia John is a digital marketer and a writer who has introduced various modern strategies in her published articles. She is also co-author of various famous digital marketing books. Amelia was born and raised in New York. She was a bookseller before moving to children’s publishing and worked for Knowledge Creators Company as a creative writer. She wrote a number of articles and blogs for teens and children on the adequate use of technology while working in that company. Amelia is famous for her great knowledge about the modern innovations that can be depicted in her writing.

Categories
Guest Posts

9 Top Blogging Trends for Building an Audience in 2021

Guest posts

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.

woman typing on laptop

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.

blog on laptop screen

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.

Categories
Guest Posts

Blog Strategy for Sustainable Content Marketing Success

Guest posts

The foundation of today’s marketing campaign for brands is content marketing. The kinds of content that can effectively reach the target audience online include emails, case studies, infographics, white papers, articles, and blog posts. 

Blogs account for a large portion of content used on digital marketing today because they are relatively affordable. Using content for sustainable content marketing success is viable as long as you use the right approach. This article highlights processes and steps that can guarantee marketing success. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Blog marketing is built on SEO and so to attract the audience, you need to create informative and SEO-optimized blogs. One of the ways to achieve this is by having killer blog intros that can prompt the audience to read and minimize bounce rates. SEO is a way of boosting the volume and quality of your web traffic. 

An effective process and area to boost SEO include the keyword usage of the blog content. Keyword usage offers a system of allowing blog content writers to include particular relevant words in the blog posts. Since the keywords are relevant to the blog topics, it will be easier for the readers to find the posts by simply conducting an internet search.

SEO is sustainable because it is an effective kind of digital marketing that increases traffic and promotes brand awareness. The ability of SEO to yield tangible results is what makes it an ideal digital marketing strategy. There is also an increased demand for SEO as many brands are appreciating its value.

One of the brands that have successfully used SEO is Etsy. Etsy has focused on creating a strong content strategy to drive organic traffic to its site. The company’s marketplace for dealing with hand-made goods is known for its content and it lures people to keep on coming back. 

typing on laptop

Set clear goals

Goal setting is an important aspect of any project. It is important to define your direction and track progress as you move towards goal achievement. Have a specific and measurable target when designing and implementing a blog content strategy.

Avoid value goals such as wanting to make sales but instead specify how much your sales target is. Having specific content marketing goals can allow you to plan well and increase the chances of success.

Your content marketing goals could be to boost brand awareness and web traffic, grow your email list, get more followers on social media, or boost conversion rates. 

Your value as a marketer is gauged on results and not productivity or activities. For your content marketing initiatives to be meaningful, they should be in line with the measurable business objectives. 

Aligning content marketing goals with business goals entails talking to relevant executives to clarify the goals. When you know what your business is set to achieve, it will be easier to plan for content that can facilitate the achievement of those goals. 

Wistia, a professional video hosting provider, has been successful in creating marketing content. 

The company embarked on a campaign aimed at driving quality leads to its site. They used a TV series referred to as the Brandwagon with humorous content to provide insights into the brand growth. 

Know the target audience

The purpose of content marketing is to gather leads and make them long-term buyers. To achieve this, you need to understand the buyer persona well. Developing and identifying a buyer persona offers the benefits of lead identification, exceptional brand experience, good customer segmentation, and cross-marketing alignment.

Creating a buyer persona entails getting data from the existing customers and gathering the persona data based on research. It also requires aligning the buyer’s personal data with the appropriate marketing approaches. Knowing your target audience is a big step to creating a blog strategy that can lead to continuous lead generation and conversion.

Initially, MySpace directed its marketing efforts to every person who desired to be connected on Facebook. After Facebook offered a useful and robust tool for reaching the target audience, MySpace created a better strategy by starting with the target buyer persona and started focusing on the most ideal persona; the musicians. MySpace got a reprieve after the musicians started posting songs on MySpace. 

pen and paper

Publish premium posts only

A well-planned blogging strategy may not guarantee content marketing success. You need to regularly create and publish quality articles. Readers are interested in educational, stylish, and informative articles all the time. Extremely short blogs may not impress an online audience and so you need to publish comprehensive content with well-analyzed topics.

Try to enrich the blog posts with alternative formats like animations, images, GIFs, and more. This is a good approach because people are more attracted to content backed by visual elements. Visuals enable the audiences to enjoy modern content experiences because the blogs are well-structured to boost readability. 

Deciding on an appropriate way to deliver valuable content to your target audience should be a top priority. Brainstorm the various ways to add value to the readers and don’t be discouraged if you are not professionally trained in a given niche. The kind of content that is likely to be more attractive to the audience depends on the unique characteristics of that audience. 

Instead of identifying the audience by general demographics such as income, gender and age, you could focus on how knowledgeable the audience is in a topic. HubSpot has strongly leveraged the quality of content for its blogs.

The company has built an excellent customer journey to help convert prospects into buyers as soon as they are ready. HubSpot uses a variety of funnels to create blog articles for broad and attractive topics. After every post, they have CTA to test their free software and this attracts readers to collect emails with popups. 

Promote your content

Famous and influential blogs regularly promote their content to maintain some level of popularity. Explore various ways of promoting your content online, such as sending new content digests and posts to subscribers’ emails. 

Since social media boasts millions of daily users, it is one of the most effective tools for content promotion. Add icons for social sharing to your posts to encourage the readers to share the posts on their accounts.

Another promotion tactic is to create guest posts for other websites. By doing so, you will attract a new audience and encourage people to follow your blog. Q/A websites can also be great blog promotion platforms to boost online authority and place you as an industry leader. Promoting content is important in the following ways:

  • It is a way of attracting new clients and increasing web traffic
  • Promoting a blog can build your brand reputation in a particular niche
  • It can help you to advertise more effectively in a modern business environment
  • It boosts your trustworthiness in the eyes of clients
  • Promoting a blog can help to maintain a marketing strategy and create well-structured content.

Boohoo Group has managed to thrive amid the coronavirus pandemic. One of the factors that have led to the company’s success is the social media strategy. Boohoo Group has been promoting its content on social media using the influencer marketing strategy. The influencer endorsements have helped the brand to reach out to the young audience on Instagram, where it has many followers. 

Conclusion     

Developing a blog strategy for sustainable marketing success should be a priority for every digital marketer. Blog content can yield positive results for your brand if you follow the above processes and guidelines. You need to be persistent and patient to see the results of your content marketing efforts, including conversions.  

About the author:

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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

A First Time Blogger’s Journey To Success

Evelyn Mann has been blogging for eight years, with over 1 million hits sharing her experience as a special needs mom of a miracle boy who was born with a rare form of dwarfism.

I started blogging after going to a writer’s conference. Encouraged by the feedback, I set out to follow the offered advice. Before searching out a web designer, I had to determine what I wanted to write. What was my passion? What would readers want to read and enjoy?

Your Blogging Topic

What is your passion? For me, it’s writing. Since I could remember, I wrote in a journal. I joined my high school newspaper and published three travel articles in the local newspaper. Now, fast forward several decades, my love for writing had turned into a first draft sharing the story of my son’s miraculous survival from a rare form of dwarfism.

After coming home from my second writer’s conference, I decided to create a blog about raising a miracle. Next step, find a web designer to take the technical work out of creating a home for my blog. After many suggestions and searching, I found a young and upcoming website designer who would hold my hand throughout the process.

Web Designer

We met on a sunny Florida day in my home office. With a pad of paper in his hand, Pavel asked me questions about my book, what I wanted to achieve and then turned to discussions of color and layout. With those questions answered, we talked about pricing and shook hands. That was the start of a beautiful business relationship, one that has served me well over the years.

In today’s tech-savvy world, you could design your website using Wix or a similar site, but choosing to DIY or delegate this rather daunting task, I leave the design (and the work) to the experts.

Do It Yourself

Check out this link for a list of Website Builders for 2020:

For website builders in your area, search Google for website designers in your area. Another resource is an app called Fiverr. This app pairs customers with sellers who work from all over the world. When selecting a seller, note the customer reviews, the location of the seller, seller level, and response time.

As of this writing, Fiverr’s suggested a Seller who is top-rated, six years’ experience, a fifteen day turnaround, has over 500 reviews at 4.9 out of 5, located in Pakistan. With prices ranging from $100 to under $400, you would receive a three to ten-page website depending on the package selected.

Pavel is also available to craft and create a tailor-made website. Click here: 

My First Blog

After my website went live, it was time to post my first blog; an introductory blog to share the reason for my passion. On May 23, 2012, I posted a blog titled Samuel’s Diagnosis. Being new to crafting words in blog form, I made many newbie mistakes.

  1. No pictures
  2. No Headings
  3. No Outbound/Inbound links
  4. No Call To Action
  5. My Category showed as Uncategorized

I did not know what I didn’t know. But, I accomplished the goal of getting my blog started. If you’re in the same spot right now, pat yourself on the back. You can always update an old blog to add the style points I missed above.

For more tips on updating an old blogs.

In my second blog, I added an outbound link. Success. But I still didn’t know that doing this would help with my Search Engine Optimization. Now that I’ve been blogging for several years, I look for a natural opportunity to add an outbound link which fits in with my topic.

Surprise, Your Photo’s Are Gone!

I added a plug-in which placed a watermark on all the photos of my blog. Since I share precious pictures of my son, Samuel, I thought this to be a great addition. That is until I woke up the morning before being interviewed on live television only to find all my blog pictures gone! In a panic, I called Pavel, and he pulled me out of the proverbial frying pan and fixed everything. Lesson learned.

Find tips about popular plugin’s and how to choose them here.

Another Blogging Hurdle

What else could go wrong? Some of my photos were posting sideways.

Has this happened to you?

Frustrated, I scoured the internet to find an answer to this hair pulling problem. I discovered if I uploaded the picture and edited it ever so slightly, and then re-submitted in WordPress, wah-la, all fixed.

The free resource I use to re-size my photo’s is: picresize.com/

If you’d like an easier solution, you can add a plugin called Fix Image Rotation in WordPress.org. This app fixes the mis-orientation images taken using mobile phones which is most of my images.

Marketing Tip

Once my blogs posted, I found a technique to share my heart felt, sweat of my brow words and passion. Posting on social media helped to spread the word and engage new readers. Want to learn how? Read about my secret sauce here.

Over the years I learned through trial and error. And I still have more to learn as the technical landscape continues to change. My blogging journey far from over as I continue to share my passion with others. How about you? Where are you on this journey? Share your thoughts below. I read each one.

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.

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Blogging Basics

Hone Your Craft With A Blogging Challenge

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.

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Blogging Basics

Three Things To Do BEFORE You Start Your Blog

Starting my blog, I had no one to hold my hand. No one to tell me what to do. No guidelines. Fueled by advice I’d received at a writer’s conference, I started my blog to promote my memoir.

On May 23, 2012, I posted my first blog called Samuel’s Diagnosis. It was a 1,111-word document with no pictures, headlines, or photo keywords. I didn’t even add spacing between paragraphs. This first post clearly showed I was a newbie to the blogging world.

Over the years, I have gained experience through continued posting and gaining an audience for my miraclemann.com blog. I even created a training class for first-time bloggers covering topics ranging from technical aspects to social media sharing strategies.

Several of my writer and networking colleagues reach out and wanting to know “How To Blog.” I typically find they focus on the technical side of blogging rather than the creative end. However, just like writing a book, a blog needs a direction. A table of contents, if you will.

Step One

Hash out the theme and direction of your blog. What message do you want to share? Who is your audience? Who is your ideal reader?

A fellow writer colleague, Odell Sauls, asked for assistance in starting her blog. She is crafting a historical fiction book set in 1950’s New Orleans. The tentative title is St. Philips Street. Before creating her blog online, I asked her to send me her first blog as a Word document.

Her response: “Not sure what to say.” As a writer interested in blogging, have you ever felt this way? I shared that a blog needs structure. It requires a theme — a reason for a reader to read your words. Since her book is historical fiction, the blog could be about historical New Orleans. She could pull stories from her book as well as stories from other historical sights and craft her blogs around those topics.

She can then create an Instagram page with pictures from various historical locations around New Orleans with a link back to her blog.

Step Two

Write a Table of Contents, of sorts. Jot down 6–12 titles for your future blogs. In a recent job interview, the prospective employer asked me to share blog titles that I would like to create. Here they are:

  1. How To Connect With Other Solitary Writers

               Headline Analyzer score of 71.

               Audience: Writers

  • How To Create A Tribe To Share Your Blog

                Headline Analyzer score of 73.

                Audience: Bloggers

  • 3 Ways To Reach Out To A Special Needs Mom

                Headline Analyzer score of 75.

                Audience: Moms & Social Media

  • How To Avoid Medical Advice From Dr. Google

                Headline Analyzer score of 76.

Audience: Moms

How To Market Your Book Without Being Pushy

Headline Analyzer score of 75.

                Audience: Authors

Note how I clarified the intended reader or audience for each blog. In creating your titles, the audience should be the same in keeping with the theme of your blog. Another added detail is the Headline Analyzer score. Strive to achieve a score of 70 or above. Click on Coschedule.com/headline-analyzer to craft your blog title and discover your score.

Creating sample titles, takes the sting out of the question, “What am I going to write about?” Having a plan is half the battle. If you write monthly, plan out your first 12 titles. You can always change or move titles around later.

When crafting your blog titles for the year, remember to add in themes for the holiday season. For example, Odell could write a blog about Christmas In New Orleans featuring several historical sights and post the blog in late November or early December.

Step Three

Write three sample blogs in a Word Document. This will help you not only envision the direction of your blog but, you will be able to answer these questions.

  1. Do I have enough content to write blogs for the long-term?
  2. Do I need to change the direction of my blog to produce more posts?

Focusing on content before technicality will help you craft your blog and set you up for success.

First Blog

As you write your first blog, create a document between 500 to 1000 words. If it takes 1200 words to share your topic, check to see if you could split the blog into a two-part series. Or, keep it “as is” if the blog holds your reader’s attention. Have a friend read it for flow. Then ask them the following:

  1. Did they want to stop reading at any point?
  2. Would they prefer reading your topic as two blogs?
  3. Would they want to share your content?

If they say, “Yes,” to number 3, you have a winner.

For more tips on crafting your blog, check out this previous post on blogging.

Do you want to create a blog? What is your motivation? Share what you know and then follow the steps above. If you have questions, share them below. I read each one.

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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

How To Keep Your Blog Alive

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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%.
  3. 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: )
  4. 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).
  5. 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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

Mid-Year Roundup of Blogging Advice

Welcome to the Mid-Year Roundup of 2019. Here you will find popular topics from The Blogger’s Guide to include reasons an author should start a blog, tips on content ideas and increasing your visibility for 2019. Enjoy the roundup and be sure to share your best blogging tips in the comments below.

For all of The Blogging Guide posts, click the Craft tab and select Blogging Basics.

6 Reasons An Author Should 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 can 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 book 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 newsworthy. 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. See the example below:
  • 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, the TLC representative said she 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 has been broadcasted in the U.S. and worldwide. All from someone finding my blog.

Content Ideas

Using Your Book As Inspiration

If you are an author, write down the themes in your book. For my memoir, Miracle In My Living Room, a few themes are hope, problem pregnancy, and surviving a dire diagnosis. Each of these themes can be shared as a blog post.

Write Ideas Down Write (Right) Away

My ideas for blogging come from everyday life. When a thought comes to mind, I jot 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 remember 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 face a blank page as a cricket chirps 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.

How To Find Topics

Use a calendar of Events and Holidays as great idea starters for your blog.

For example, April 12th is D.E.A.R–Drop Everything And Read Day. Share an excerpt of your book in a blog post.

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 choose which blog they wanted to read. The choices offered were:

  1. Using Sentence Variation
  2. Adding details with phrases
  3. 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. Once the voted on blog posts, you have an instant audience interested in reading it.

How To Poll Your Audience

You can find the option to poll in a group only. Facebook removed the option to poll in your own personal Facebook feed. Here’s how to post in a group.

Increase Your Blog Visibility

You pour out your heart and passion out on the page crafting your blog for the world to see. Satisfied with your words, you publish and wait. Days later, you view your blogs statistics to find few readers. How do you gain readers and raise visibility?

The following tips suggest ways to help you share your passion to a wider audience:

Do your Facebook family and friends know you have a blog? Tell them. It can be as simple as, “Hey, did you know I have a blog? Check it out here.” And then add your link. Don’t just share your blog post, tell the reader why they would want to read your blog. Many people won’t stop scrolling to read your blog unless you give them a reason to click on your link. Give the reader the hook of your post right up front.

Definition: Hook–this is a literary technique that grabs the reader’s attention within the first few sentences.

Carol Graham posted her blog in the Facebook group Blogging Lounge with this hook: Could you live off the grid for a year with little human contact–if offered $100,000? She then posted her blog titled: What Would You Sacrifice for a Huge Reward? Did Carol’s hook get your attention? Check out her blog here:

Posting in Facebook Groups

Are you posting your blog in appropriate groups? Is your blog themed toward mothers? Find a moms group in Facebook like Coffee & Motherhood with 51K+ members. Do you have a travel blog? Find a travel group like the Facebook group, Travel Bloggers with 4.5K members. Does your blog offer writing tips for authors? Try posting your tips in the Authors group with almost 40K members. Find your niche in Facebook groups is a key to finding your audience.

  • 200 million people are members of meaningful Facebook groups.**

When you post in a group, be sure to hook your reader. Posting the link with the title only may not be enough to encourage your audience to click to your blog. Also, interact with other bloggers to build your tribe.        

Sharing In Group Discussions

Do you share your blog topics in group discussions? Have you ever been in a group discussion and thought, “I wrote about this issue in my blog.” As long as the group allows it, post your blog in the discussion feed. Use your blog post to share your passion and build your audience. The sales opportunity will hopefully come after you build relationships.

Note: Be sensitive to group rules if your blog post is sales focused or offers affiliate links.            

Click here for more blogging tips.

What are your favorite blogging tips? Share in the 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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

Increase Your Blog Visibility

You pour out your heart and passion out on the page crafting your blog for the world to see. Satisfied with your words, you publish and wait. Days later, you view your blogs statistics to find few readers. How do you gain readers and raise visibility?

The following tips suggest ways to help you share your passion to a wider audience.

Do your Facebook family and friends know you have a blog? Tell them. It can be as simple as, “Hey, did you know I have a blog? Check it out here.” And then add your link. Note: You can share your blog on your Facebook feed if it is not sales oriented. If you want to sell your book or product within Facebook, use your separate author page or your business page.

You can also share a specific blog post on your Facebook feed and author/business pages. Don’t just share your blog post, tell the reader why they would want to read your blog. Many people won’t stop scrolling to read your blog unless you give them a reason to click on your link. Give the reader the hook of your post right up front.

Definition: Hook–this is a literary technique that grabs the reader’s attention within the first few sentences.

Carol Graham posted her blog in the Facebook group Blogging Lounge with this hook: Could you live off the grid for a year with little human contact–if offered $100,000? She then posted her blog titled: What Would You Sacrifice for a Huge Reward? Did Carol’s hook get your attention? Check out her blog here:

Are you posting your blog in appropriate groups? Is your blog themed toward mothers? Find a moms group in Facebook like Coffee & Motherhood with 51K+ members. Do you have a travel blog? Find a travel group like the Facebook group, Travel Bloggers with 4.5K members. Does your blog offer writing tips for authors? Try posting your tips in the Authors group with almost 40K members. Find your niche in Facebook groups to find your audience.

  • 200 million people are members of meaningful Facebook groups.**

Many Facebook groups only allow you to post your blog on certain days only. And other groups allow for free posting without having a set time to post within the group. Here are a few examples.

Specific Post Days:

BTR–Blogger’s + Instagram Community:

Christian Moms Who Write (Share Wednesday):

Free Post:

Blogging Lounge: 

Christian Bloggers café:

When you post in a group, be sure to hook your reader. Posting the link with the title only may not be enough to encourage your audience to click to your blog. Also, interact with other bloggers to build your tribe.        

Do you share your blog topics in group discussions? Have you ever been in a group discussion and thought, “I wrote about this issue in my blog.” As long as the group allows it, post your blog in the discussion feed. Use your blog post to share your passion and build your audience. The sales opportunity will hopefully come after you build relationships.

Note: Be sensitive to group rules if your blog post is sales focused or offers affiliate links.

Social Media Visibility

Being visible on your social media channels helps to fuel followers to your blog. Getting others to know you and your passion can naturally lead to an opportunity to share your writing. Here are some tips to encourage exposure.

  1. Be consistent–Post on a schedule that works for you.
  2. Engage with your followers as well as family & friends.
  3. Use Video & Live Video.

Be consistent in how often you post content. Look at your schedule and dedicate pockets of time where you are able to post. Perhaps, the best days for you are Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Whatever schedule you choose, keep at it. This should keep your followers engaged.

“If you make a habit of posting several times a day and then transition to only a few times a week, you will start to lose followers and generate less engagement per post. This means that the best posting frequency for Instagram is the posting frequency that you can consistently maintain for the rest of your natural life.” states Social media pro, Neil Patel. *

This post suggests the following posting frequency:

Instagram: Once a day.*

Facebook: Once a day or less.*

Twitter: 10 or more times. Lifetime of a tweet is 18 minutes.*

LinkedIn: 3 times a week.*

Engage with others by commenting on their posts to increase your visibility on Facebook. This engagement lets the Facebook algorithm know you are interacting. And when others respond, your posts will be boosted to your friends which increases your visibility.

Be sure to ask questions to draw others in to engage. Ask “What was the highlight of your day today?” And then add a picture of your pet for a visual. Or ask for a favorite family recipe and post a picture of your best dish. Ask “how to” questions like, “How do I get this stain out of my favorite shirt?” Your audience answering these questions equals engagement which helps to boost your visibility. 

Use Live Video to gain exposure. 71% of people have increased their online video viewing.** With this increased viewership, your authentic and original content is more likely to be seen.

Go live to read an excerpt from your blog. Be sure to ask questions at the end to encourage engagement and start a conversation. For those not able to watch you live, label your video with an attention grabbing title and then offer your hook. Use a title generator to title your blog video.

To learn engagement techniques for your video’s, sign up for a live video boot camp.

**https://blog.hootsuite.com/facebook-statistics/

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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

How To Polish Your Blog With A Little Help

When meeting first time bloggers, I am often asked about hosting, web pages, and behind the scenes technical issues. Focusing on the technical side of blogging often overwhelms first time bloggers stifling creativity where it is needed most; in writing the blog itself. To conquer this problem, I suggest a homework assignment. Write three to six blogs in Word.

Two reasons I suggest this assignment. One, it helps with concept and organization. If I write six blogs, what will I write? What concepts do I want to share? Do I have enough content to maintain a weekly or a monthly blog? Two, having six created blogs ready to go, helps you then focus on the technical and marketing side of blogging when you are ready to go live. I offer to read their first two blogs checking for content, flow, and overall readability.

Last year I discovered an amazing resource to help with the heart of your blog: the actual writing and editing of blogging. I edited my second book using ProWritingAid. The following are my favorite features of this writing software program.

The Summary Report

My blog writing process starts with free writing. Without self-editing, I let my words flow on the page, mistakes and all. Without words on the page, you have nothing to edit. Then I self-edit without opening an editing software program. Once I am satisfied with flow and content, then I open ProWritingAid in Word.

Without words on the page, you have nothing to edit.

My Blog Writing Process

  1. Free Write
  2. Self-Edit
  3. Edit Using ProWritingAid

The Summary Report

This report offers an overall score for grammar, spelling, and style. I open this report first to get a sense of how much I need to edit the document. The goal is to have each category report a 100% score. If any score is lower than 100%, I select the individual report for review.

Grammar

Grammar suggestions appear in the right-hand column of your Word Document. Select the down arrow to read offered suggestions.

Examples:

  1. Sentence: A score of 100 for overall score. The report suggests: A score of 100 for an overall score. Action: Add an to the sentence.
  2. Sentence: An illness or disease like cancer. The report notes: Possible missing determiner. Change to: An illness or a disease like cancer. Action: Add a to the sentence.
  3. En-dashes: _ to –  . The report advises: En-dashes should never have a space on either side. Action: By selecting the suggested change, it automatically makes the update in Word.

Example #1:

Note: I also use Grammarly to check grammar as it also offers suggestions.  See free version at the end of the blog.

Spelling

The spelling check is found in the Grammar report and is straight forward. In this blog, I used the words Free Write. The spelling feature of ProWritingAid suggested I change my words to Fred Waite instead. In this case, I would select the green eye icon to override and hide this suggestion.

Style

This report checks for use of passive and hidden verbs. The report highlights areas for review and correction. Here is an example of a passive verb and a hidden verb discovered in the initial writing of this blog.

Passive Verb Example: Many people are overwhelmed

The report suggests: it overwhelms many people.

My corrected sentence: The technical side of blogging often overwhelms first time bloggers.

Hidden Verb Example: in the writing of the blog

The report suggests: No suggestions

My corrected sentence: in writing the blog itself.

Repeated Sentence Starts:

Another great feature of the style report is catching repeated sentence starts.

Example: I jumped in the pool. I shivered because the water chilled me to the core. I had to get out fast.

Change to: After diving into the pool, I shivered as the water chilled me to the core. In less than a minute, I swam to the side and leaped out.

Note: You can still obtain a 100% score by keeping two of your personal style preferences in the document. In editing my devotional, the program made a recommendation to correct a bible verse. I left the bible quotation “as is” leaving the integrity of the words in place and still received a score of 100 in the Style Report.

Readability

The readability report uses the Flesch Reading Ease, The Coleman -Liau Formula and The Automated Readability Index to return an overall score for this report. If your document is easy to read this report congratulates you. Otherwise, it highlights sentences you may want to re-write for easy reading for your audience.

In my initial writing of this blog, I wrote these two sentences:

Sample Sentences: This report offers a unique feature giving Estimated Reading Time. Great resource to offer your readers with limited time to read your blog.

But, the report flagged these sentences for readability by highlighting them in yellow as seen above. To change the sentence for a wider audience of readers, I made this adjustment:

Corrected Sentences: The readability report has a feature called, Estimated Reading Time. Using this resource will let your readers know how long it will take to read your blog.

Sticky

Another report to check for wordiness is the Sticky Report. The software checks your document for “Glue Words.” ProWritingAid shares “Glue words are the empty space that readers need to get through before they can get to your ideas. Generally, your sentences should contain less than 45% glue words. If they contain more, they should probably be re-written to increase clarity.”

They offer the following example:

  • ORIGINAL: Dave walked over into the back yard of the school in order to see if there was a new bicycle that he could use in his class. Glue index: 60.7% – Sentence length 27 words
  • REDRAFT: Dave checked the school’s back yard for a new bicycle to use in Glue index: 42.8% – Sentence length 14 words

Examples of Glue Words include in, on, the, was, for, that, will, and just.

All Repeats

This is my all-time favorite report of ProWritingAid. I attend a local critique group once a month where fellow writers read up to 1500 words of a work in progress. This group has helped me to grow as a writer over the years. They have helped me to avoid glue words and to catch duplicate words in my writing among other things. I recommend joining Word Weavers, not only for the critiques offered but the comradery.

Word Weavers Link: https://word-weavers.com

I use ProWritingAid to catch duplicate words before presenting my work to the critique group. This helps polish my document so my fellow writers can focus on the content presented.

This rainbow-colored report takes some getting used to at first, but it helps to identify changes to make your work shine. The following paragraph is from my October 2018 blog:

I remember the first time I saw a little person. I was about 8 years old. My mom brought me to the grocery store, and as we were leaving, I saw an adult dwarf. He had the short stature of child, but the facial features clearly showed he was an adult. Little did I know then, I would one day become the mother of a little person.

Each color highlights repeat words to review. Notice “an adult” is shown in orange because it appears twice in this paragraph. See the suggested change below.

The report suggests “a man” as an alternative. I could change the third sentence to read “a male dwarf” or “a middle-aged man who had dwarfism.”

You can also check for synonyms in the Thesaurus also included in the software.

In my opinion, this report alone is well worth the cost of ProWritingAid. If you feel this software would benefit your writing, see below.

Writing Software Costs:

In this blog, I’ve suggested ProWritingAid as a writing software option. Below are a few other programs for comparison.

Grammarly

Free Program: Critical grammar and spelling checks.

Premium: $139.95 a year, $59.95 quarterly or $29.95 a month. (Includes checks for punctuation, grammar, context, and sentence structure, and more.)

Purchase here:

Hemingway Editor

Addresses lengthy/structurally complex sentences, meandering sentences, hard to read sentences, weak sentences, and passive voice.

Online version: Free

Hemingway Editor 3 – One-time payment: $19.99. (Publish directly to WordPress or Medium with one-click.)

Purchase here:

ProWritingAid

Offers a free trial.

Cost: 1 year for $60, 2 years $90, 3 years $120 and Lifetime $210.

Purchase here:(This is an affiliate link: As a ProWritingAid affiliate, at no additional cost to you, I earn compensation if you click through and make a purchase using this link.)

What editing software program do you use? Comment below and share your favorite feature.

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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

7 Ways To Make Your Blog Shine

The saying, “You only have one chance to make a good first impression” holds true in the blogging world. When someone visits your blog, you have between 0-30 seconds to grab your reader’s attention and keep them there.

What are some ways to make your blog shine and hold your audience’s interest?

These are the top seven elements I look for in a blog.

Title

A good title, like a good book, needs to give the reader a reason to read. Your hook or the why of your blog should be reflected in the title. List titles are especially good at getting your reader’s interest. Example, 3 Ways To ______, Top Ten _______, or How To _______, are catchy titles. Remember to use emotional words to encourage your audience to read on. Examples: Better, Fascinating, Free, Hurry, Special. You can view a list of 500+ emotional words here.

Try: coschedule.com headline analyzer to check your title before posting. A score of 70 or above is ideal.

Get To The Point

In the lightning fast pace of social media, your audience needs to be captivated by your blog within the first few lines. You may be tempted to diverge and slowly get into your topic, but I encourage you to resist the urge.

Tips:

  1. Yoest SEO (SEO: Search Engine Optimization) suggests your keyword be written in your first paragraph. This also helps your SEO. (Your keyword should also be found in your title.) Find other SEO tips here.
  2. The first paragraph should be the start of delivering what you promised in your title.
  3. Telling a story related to your topic in the first paragraph also helps captivate attention.

Readability

Have you ever published the first draft of your blog? Chances are you read, re-read and edited several times before posting. Could a sentence be read easier by changing a few words? Would a paragraph be better placed near the end of the blog instead of the middle? Are there too many topics discussed with in one blog? Asking these questions and making changes helps with the readability of your blog.

Tip: If there are too many topics in one blog, cut and paste the extra topics into a Word Document. I call this document my Cut Page. The next time I’m searching for content to post, I read my Cut Page to find content.

Likability

Does the cadence and tone of the author come across as likable and friendly? Would I want to enjoy a cup of tea with the author? Likability, to some extent, is needed for most blogs, especially personal blogs. Technical or medical blogs can be more straightforward.

I remember finishing a memoir, and I couldn’t wait to find out if the author had a blog. I wanted to know more of the story and get to know her better. A blog is a perfect way for an author to give their audience a glimpse of themselves through authentic, likable content. One author who offers this likability factor is Debora Coty. She uses humor in an engaging and likable way to share her content.

Read Debora Coty’s blog here:

Flow

Have you ever watched a video on YouTube and lost interest quickly? Chances are the video didn’t flow seamlessly enough to hold your attention. One topic didn’t fit with the next topic. Or, worse yet, they went off on a tangent while you were still waiting for the content of the video. While you want a friendly and likable blog, staying on track by avoiding extra topics or tangents will help your blog not only flow but be shareable.

Note: Flow is subjective and not always definable. After editing my blog, I let it marinate for a day. The next time I review it, I find it easier to catch flow issues.

Grammar/Spelling

Have you ever read a blog and found grammar and spelling errors? Even the most seasoned blogger will occasionally miss an error. Hopefully, a kind reader will send a personal message to fix it pronto. It’s like having lettuce in your teeth; you hope someone mentions it.

To avoid these annoying mistakes, you can hire an editor. Or ask a friend to read your blog before posting. Or choose from the many grammar apps available.

Grammar Apps:

Grammarly offers a free and paid version.  Monthly $29.95, Quarterly $19.98, Annual $139.95.

ProWritingAid – Prices start at $50/year.

Photos

How many photos should you add to your blog? Some bloggers only post a featured image. Others post a photo every 300 words. While this may be a question of preference, remember photos added in your blog using a keyword helps with your SEO.

It also helps with flow and readability. Since my blog is a parenting blog for special needs families, adding 2 – 3 pictures per blog is a natural fit.

Tip: I use my own photo’s for blogging. If you want to use stock photos, check out Pixabay offering royalty free stock photos.

Find other photo websites on this post.

What do you look for when you read a blog? What do you find holds your attention and makes you want to share with your family, friends and work colleagues? Share those elements 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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

Quick & Easy Blog Posting For The Holidays

Do you have a posting strategy for the holidays?

I read a post from a fellow author stating she will be off line for the rest of the year. She has already scheduled out all her content for the next six weeks. My first thought: I’m impressed. I am not a planner. I post manually and normally do not schedule. But after reading my friends post, I thought, how hard can it be?

Work Your Plan

Do you post your blog bi-weekly, weekly or monthy? Depending on your posting schedule, this will determine how many blogs you need to create to schedule for the rest of 2018.

  1. Schedule a time to brainstorm topics you want to post. For this column, I have a list of topics to cover into 2019.
  2. Set aside time to create your blogs with the topics you selected. This may be a block of several hours, or you may choose to write a blog a day for several days.
  3. If you are crunched for time or having writers block, considered updating an old post by adding new content. Or review an old blog and consider writing a Part 2 on the same subject.

You can find more content creation ideas here.

Posting Software

Once you have created your blogs, schedule your post manually or use scheduling software. Here are a few to choose from:

Buffer: Free Account – 3 social accounts, 10 scheduled posts per profile, Twitter, FB, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram

Paid Account: Pro – $15/mo – 8 social accounts, 100 scheduled post per profile, Twitter, FB, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram

HootSuite: Free Account – 3 social profiles, 30 scheduled messages

Paid Account: $29/mo – 10 social profiles, Unlimited scheduling

Later – Free Account – 1 social profile per account, 30 Instagram posts, 50 Twitter Posts, 30 Facebook posts, 30 Pinterest posts.

Paid Account: Plus – $9/mo – 1 social profile per account, 100 Instagram posts, Unlimited Twitter Posts, 100 Facebook posts, 100 Pinterest posts.

Postcron: Free Account: None

Paid Account: $14.99/mo – 8 social media accounts (including FB, Twitter, Google+,Pinterest & LinkedIn) 2 Instagram Accounts, 100 pending posts

Whether you decide to post manually or use one of the above schedulers, have a plan to share your content over the holidays. Being consistent year around and continuing to build your blog content helps increase your visibility and helps with being discovered by search engines.

Do you post manually? What scheduling software do you use and like? What is your favorite feature? Comment below and share the goodness.

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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

Make Your Blog Mighty: Attention To The Details

Do details matter? In the world of blogging, I would say, “Yes.” You labor over a beautifully crafted blog spending time, effort and energy to share your heart with your audience only to hear crickets. Has this happened to you? The following two tips could help make your blog hum with activity by paying attention to the details.

SEO Your Headings

I recently saw a lengthy news article online. After the title and under the featured image, the writer listed bullet points sharing the most important topics shared in the article. This helped me to decide if I wanted to read the article in its entirety.

Headings in a blog are similar to the points noted in the article. Using the Headings Feature in WordPress will help your blog to be easily read. This allows the reader to scan the blog and know, at a glance, if they would like to read it.

Another reason to craft Headings is for SEO. As stated in a Yoast article,

“Although not a major ranking factor, headings do affect SEO. That’s because headings are important to help users understand the subject of an article. And if readers use headings to figure out what an article is about, Google will too.”

Crafting headings helps visually set a block of text apart and aids with the readability score in WordPress.  Yoast SEO recommends you offer a heading for every 300 words. To add headings, you type the heading, highlight it, and then select the dropdown box that says Paragraph.

Heading 1 – 6 are available options to select from. I usually use Heading 2 throughout my blog. You can choose Heading 1 as your first heading and use Heading 2 in the remainder of your blog.  For this blog post, I used Heading 2 only.

The Mighty Meta-Description

The purpose of creating a meta description is to have a reader choose your blog to read. Similar to the description on a book jacket, the meta description helps draw them in. State why they should read your blog. Using 150 characters, craft enticing phrases like, Learn More, Get It Now and Try It For Free. This needs to mirror/match your content or Google may penalize your site.  The meta-description should have your selected keyword shared at least once for SEO purposes.

For my blog titled, Why Being A Mother Has Great Value, I wrote the following meta description:

Is there value in the mundane daily chores of being a mother? This article says, “Yes.” Read why being a mother has great value.

My selected focus keyword is: a mother has great value. These words are also contained in my title. Using the focus keywords in my meta description, and title helped to give my Yoast SEO score a green light.

Another example of a meta description used by Barnes & Noble for the memoir, I Can Only Imagine By Bart Millard is the following:

I Can Only Imagine is an amazing book. I was humbled just reading it, Mr. Millard’s story is fantastic to read. To know all that he is gone through in his life and how GOD fit exclusively into it.

In this meta description, Barnes & Noble chose to use a book review to entice the reader. However you choose to craft your meta description, remember to make it do the heavy lifting to gain attention. In other words, make it mighty.

Why do these details matter? Meta descriptions help to entice your reader. Headers help your readers decide if they want to continue to read. There are many aspects to writing, designing and marketing your blog. These two details are two of the ingredients to make your blog mighty. For more tips, read Sure Fire Ways To Gain An Audience .

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.

Categories
Uncategorized

3 Sure Fire Ways To Find Your Audience

When I started blogging, I researched examples online. I came across a blogger who posted one paragraph a day. I wondered if this was the norm. I thought there had to be more to blogging than writing a single paragraph. Is this how I find an audience for my blog?

Posting

After a few minutes, I discarded the idea of writing so few words. Instead, I chose to create blogs ranging from 400 – 700 words, depending on the topic. But what I failed to realize from the blogger I discovered was the concept of consistency. Posting daily created a body of work which helped him be found by search engines. 365 paragraphs to be exact. At 120 words on average, the total equals 43,800 words. His body of work all posted on the internet. A library of sorts, if you will. Each post with its own topic.

My sister-in-law had started a blog before me. She had consistently posted over the years creating her own body of work. When she shared my website with her followers, several of them started following me. Her consistency and sheer volume of work helped me to start finding my audience.

As a new blogger decide how often you want to post and stay consistent. At first, I posted weekly. Now, my schedule as a special needs mom, author, columnist, and social media instructor allows me to post on my own blog monthly.

How much should you post just starting out? How do you create your own body of work in a short amount of time?  One way is to join this year’s NANOWRIMO which is an acronym for National Novel Writing Month.

Sure Fire Tip: Find your audience by posting quality content, 2-3 times a week. Posting once a week or once a month can still gain you an audience but at a slower rate. You may also want to guest post to help your audience find you. Read more here.

You don’t have to be writing a novel to join this challenge in November. Another writer who joined last year used the opportunity to write a blog post each day of the challenge. This year, I plan to create a blog every day in November. Once completed, I will use the body of work created as a backlog of pre-prepared blogs. With consistent posting, this could also boost my SEO (Search Engine Optimization) helping me to grow my audience. You can sign up for NANOWRIMO here

Titles/Descriptions

As an author, I know how important it is to have an attention-grabbing, gotta read it, give it to me now title. From the title of your blog to your meta-description, creating interest for your audience is key.

Use a great title generator to help you craft the perfect title. I use coschedule.com’s headline analyzer. This title generator ranks your title on a scale up to 100. Don’t fret, I’ve never received a 100 on any of my titles, but I am happy to see my title go green (above 70.)

Sure Fire Tip: Use this headline analyzer to create your titles with a score of 70 or above.

The title I intended to use for this blog post was Blog Basics For Beginners. Kinda rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it? Though it seemed like a catchy title to me, it received a headline score of 40.

How did I get my score up? I downloaded a list of emotional words:

I added Sure Fire which is an emotional word found on the list and changed the title to 3 Sure Fire Ways To Find Your Audience.

The title of this blog received a score of 71. Your score color is green when scoring over 70.

Focus Keyword

When I want to search for topics about memoirs, I type the word memoir in my google search bar. Or, in my particular area of interest, I type, medical memoirs. The first return under this topic is Popular Medical Memoirs Books by Goodreads.

If I type in my son’s diagnosis using this string of words: Thanatophoric Dwarfism Survivors, the second result is an article I wrote for The Mighty.com. The 8th result is a blog I wrote on my website. (The Mighty.com has a much larger body of work than my blog; hence, higher on the list.)

The word or string of words searched for in the Google search bar are focus keywords your audience will use to find results for a topic. And hopefully, they will find you.

TIPS

Tip 1: When crafting your blog, think about how your audience would search for your topic/blog.

Tip 2: Before writing, search your topic in Google. What words did you use to search? Chances are, this will be your keyword or keywords. Did your search return any results? If so, peruse the results and decide if you want to narrow your topic. If no results appeared, your topic may be just what your audience wants to know.

Tip 3: Still need help finding a keyword(s)? You can find suggestions for a keyword by using Yoast suggest.

Write your article/blog with your keyword or keywords in mind. Naturally add these words in your title, article headings, picture tags, meta-description and in the body of your content. (Read Part 2 of Sure Fire Ways To Find Your Audience next month for further discussion of headings, tags, and meta-description.)

Sure Fire Tip: Use Yoast Suggest to find a fit for your keyword(s).

For this article, I searched for Grow Your Audience in Google. Potential focus keywords returned were:

  • grow your blog audience
  • how to grow your audience
  • how to find grow your audience

Based on this list and the content of my blog, I would select “grow your blog audience” as my keywords. This should help my ideal audience find this blog post when searching using these words.

Sure Fire Tip: Use Yoast suggest to find your keyword(s) for your blog.

Have you used any of the above websites when creating your blog post? Do you use other websites to craft your blog and help find your audience? Share in the comments below. Let’s help each other grow.

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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

24 Facebook Groups For Bloggers

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:

  1. 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.
  2. Free post – A group member can post anytime. No need to wait for the group admin to post an opportunity.

Learn The Craft of Blogging:

BE Blog Elevated Conference & Community, 1.7K members

BTR – Blogger’s + Instagram Community, 8K members (Blogging Tips & Thread Opportunities.)

Blogging For New Bloggers, 14.5K members (Blogging Tips & Thread Opportunities.)

Brilliant Content Creators, 2.7K members

IBA Open Group, 1.5K members (IBA =International Bloggers Association)

Inspired Bloggers Network, 12.1K members

 Post Content for Writers:

Are you an author and a blogger? Check out these groups:

Authors, Bloggers, Writers, Readers and Books, 16K

Books, Blogs, Readers & Writers, 63.6K members

Christian Bloggers/Writers Network, 2.8K members

Christian Blogger Café, 193 members

Christian Non-Fiction Writers, Bloggers, and Authors, 550 members

Christian Writers & Bloggers, 3.5K members

Other Groups

These are not book related groups, but you can free post your blogs and post by thread here:

Awesome Bloggers, 7.1K members

Blog + Biz Babes, 3.4K members

Blog Big, 946 members

Bloggers Supporting Bloggers, 31K members

Blogging Boost, 25K members

Blogging Lounge, 161 members

BlogHer, 1.7 K members

IBA Share Group, 1.5K members (IBA =International Bloggers Association)

Make Your Blog Beautiful, 3.6K members

Extra

Share Your Blog*, 8.8K members

Share Your Blog Post*, 13.5K members

*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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

Microblogging For Authors And Writers

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.

Categories
Blogging Basics

Content Creation Ideas For Your Blog

Ideas on How to Blog

How Often You Post

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:

  1.       Using Sentence Variation
  2.       Adding details with phrases
  3.       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.

Categories
Dear Young Scribes

Creating & Maintaining a Blog to Build a Readership: Part 2

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.

Because of this, I decided to write the post in a way that could fit into my “faith” category.  I was still able to share my experience and give info on the disease as well. (See Purpose of Trials: 5 Things Being Diagnosed With Diabetes Has Taught Me”.)

5. Write fresh content that will make it easy for others to read, share, and interact.

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when writing a post:

  • Try to keep it between 300 – 850 words
  • Write short paragraphs
  • Include 1 – 3 questions at the end of each post that invite readers into a conversation
  • Research how to write SEO-friendly posts
  • Make it easy for your readers to share the post on social media
  • Always use copyright-free images (you can find them on Pixabay.com, Pexels.com, Photopin.com, Unsplash.com, etc.)
  • 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 Connections by 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!

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Dear Young Scribes

How to Create & Maintain a Blog to Build a Readership: Part 1

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Savannah asked, “Do you have any tips for people who are new to blogging or would like to start?”

I began my blog, Christ is Write, over six years ago when I was 16-years-old. My intention going into it wasn’t to build a readership. I simply wanted to have an outlet where I could share my faith-related reflections and the insights I was learning on the writing craft.

Within the first few months, I reached 100 followers and regular blog visitors.

Creating my blog was one of the best decisions I’ve made so far in my writing journey. Not only has it advanced my career by helping me to establish a readership (which generated book sales), build a brand, and network with other writers, but it’s also granted me the satisfaction of instant publication for my writing.

I’ve grown as a writer through the weekly discipline of maintaining my blog and writing on specific topics. Simply put, there are far greater to blogging other than building a readership.

But as I mentioned in a previous post, agents and editors are becoming more and more strict about platforms. It’s reaching the point where they won’t even consider signing with a fiction author unless he/she has developed a healthy online following.

And one of the best ways to do this is through creating—and maintaining—a blog.

So if you’re an aspiring author hoping to create a blog for the purpose of building a readership, ask yourself . . .

1. What is my brand?

What is the specific impression you’d like to leave on your readers? An author’s brand is the image and/or type of book your future readers will think of when they hear your name. It combines the author’s genre, personality, and unique characteristics in a way that sets them apart from other authors.

What image (theme, mood, layout, colors, fonts, picture, etc.) would best portray this brand and represent your work/personality?

2. Who is my target audience?

Be specific about this one as well, because each post you write will be catered toward this group of people. What is the target age group? Gender? What interests/hobbies do they share? If you’d like to see a flock of readers who consistently return to your blog, as opposed to random spurts of readers, then it’s important to narrow your audience focus by creating a well-defined target audience. 

3. What kind of posts can I write that will reach this audience? 

For instance, if you want to start a lifestyle blog for teen girls, then you could write posts that are popular amongst that age group. (Specific topics that come to mind are prom, makeup tutorials, college advice, developing a healthy-self image, etc.) The key here is to figure out how you can reach this audience through only blogging about topics you’re passionate about.

4. What is the overall theme of my blog?

Choose 1 – 3 topics that are frequently covered on your blog. (For instance, I like to blog about faith and fiction.) This will create the umbrella that all of your sub-topics will be placed beneath. It helps to create a narrow focus for your blog—which, in return, will contribute in establishing your consistent readership.

Eventually, you may feel as though blogging is cutting into your writing time. But as long as you invest more time writing rather than blogging, you’ll be fine. In fact, blogging enhances your writing. Anything that requires the discipline to write will improve your writing. (Yes, even essays!) You’re also practicing writing on a deadline and brainstorming new ideas.

And the best benefit, of course, is attaining a readership for your future books.

In the next post, we’ll delve a little deeper into how to maintain a blog once it’s created.

If you have a blog, what has been the greatest benefit to come from it? If you don’t have a blog, do you think creating one would help to establish a following?

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