Tag: facebook

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
Uncategorized

Be Aware of What You Know

Be Aware
Be Aware

I once heard on Dan Miller’s 48 Days podcast something along the lines of “You already know what you already know.”

Knowledge is Power
Knowledge is Power

Think about it—you’re already in the game. Don’t know a lot about social media? That’s okay. I don’t, either. But I know enough, and I’m always learning. The great thing is, there’s always new stuff to learn in addition to what we already know.

You may think you don’t understand, you don’t get it. What is this Facebook thing? What’s a tweet and how is it done? First, congratulate yourself in knowing those platforms exist. Second, you’re reading this post. Which means you know enough to get online and search. The rest will follow.

The best piece of advice I can give at this time is this: Be Aware.

  • Everything you post online will always stay online, some way, in some form. Even if you delete it, it will somehow haunt the echelons of the internet forever. So be sure, before you submit, that it’s not something you’ll regret in the morning.
Be Aware
Be Aware
  • Know where you’re submitting/what you’re sharing/who you’re messaging. It’s great to post comments and share links but if your primary group of friends on Facebook are foodies, will they really appreciate an article about Harley ridin’ Mamas? They might, if the article includes a review of a really great hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
  • You can’t be everything to everyone all the time. I know this one sounds obvious, but trust me. When the World Wide Web opens its arms and says “Join me!” it’s hard to resist. I want to share the world with my world, but that’s not always feasible (reference Bullet No. 2 above). The best cure for this is to find my niche audience, and write for them. If others come along for the ride, that’s a bonus. I can’t be online 24/7. My audience understands my need to eat, sleep, and dare I say it—pee.
  • Find your platforms. Facebook and Twitter will give you the broadest audience. Instagram is a great place to share your cell phone photos. Google+ and LinkedIn are nice networking resources as well.
  • Ask others for advice. Don’t navigate alone. Read a blog you admire? Check out how it’s powered. Talk to a writer/media specialist? Ask their input. Want to write a killer article but not sure how to submit? Google it.
  • Not everything you read on the internet is true. While researching your article/media/platform set-ups, remember to find what works for you, then make sure it does. Don’t go full force into the first application you hear about, unless you’ve heard about it from a variety of sources. Investigate everything.
  • Be yourself. It’s okay to pattern yourself after other media sites you admire, but people want to know you. So share your voice your And if you don’t what your voice is just yet, that’s okay. Play around. You’ll figure it out.

With a big gulp of Sweet Tea and Social Media,

~Molly Jo

[bctt tweet=”There’s always new stuff to learn in addition to what we already know. @RealMojo68″]

[bctt tweet=”Be Aware: Be sure, before you submit, that it’s not something you’ll regret in the morning. @RealMojo68″]

Categories
The Binge Writer

Facebook First Impressions

Have you looked in your computer mirror lately?

You ask what is a computer mirror? This is your life on social media and it reflects who you are. In a sense, a computer mirror. Social media can either help or hurt you as an author. In the coming weeks, I will be blogging about first impressions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pintrest.

In this first blog I will give you tips on Facebook to start your own Facebook page to promote your writing. Facebook is still the number one social media platform, and has a large reach. The demographics for Facebook and engagement has shifted from high school and college students to their parents and grandparents. User ages range from the late 20s on up with engagement. High school and college students still have their accounts and check pictures and posts, but they do not engage as much as they did five years ago.

First Impressions

Facebook Name

What is your Facebook name? Is it your name, your companies’ name, or your writing name?

You want to make sure that whatever name you have on Facebook you market and brand the same name on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. That way your fans can look you up in all the platforms.

Example: Cyle Young – Facebook: CyleYoung (if available); Twitter: @CyleYoung; Instagram: CyleYoung

You can also use a _ as I use @adam_ledyard on Twitter

Facebook Header

When shaping and branding your Facebook page you want to select pictures that represent who you are. You want to make sure the picture is a crisp and clear picture, and not blurry or chopped off.

Facebook suggests a 1200 x 630 pixel image for your header. So, if you like the cover of your book, open up a picture program to crop or resize your picture for Facebook.

Make sure you have a picture that lines up with your marketing and branding plan that will represent you. Again, first impressions are everything when you are trying to sell your book, sign with a company, or work with a book store on marketing your book.

Facebook Image Picture

This is the picture on the bottom left of the Facebook Header. It is another way to represent your brand and who you are. It is a tiny square that is 180×180. You may upload a larger pic, if the picture is sized in a multiple of 180, such as 360, 540, or 720. Facebook will resize your picture for you when you upload it. The larger size pixel picture is better as it is a better image compared to a smaller pixel image.

The square image can be a mug shot of you, or a picture representing your brand. For example, if you use a letter in the alphabet for representation, you may want to put this is the box. If you have a professional picture, you may want to use it in this image. It all boils down to your branding, marketing, and how you want to use that box.

Check your computer mirror today and see what you look like. It could make or break a deal for you.

Categories
Publicity

Creating Free Graphics or Memes for Authors

Graphics or memes have become an easy way to make any subject matter or content viral. What are they? Simply they are an image overlaid with text that engages people to learn more or to share them. As an author you want to have these in your arsenal. Facebook photos have an 87% interaction rate!

Think about this. When you are scrolling through your social media feeds don’t you take a moment to read the writing on the images even if you don’t mean to? Simply put, humans are visual creatures. The Facebook graphic is one tool that will be useful for a long time to come.

With Facebook’s news feed restrictions the graphic or meme is one way that you can get creative and get around the diminished page views. Photos are not part of the promotional restriction nor are blog content posts since the algorithm cannot read the writing on the images. What does this mean for the author market? This is an excellent way to expand your reader base and get your content seen.pics

That said, as an author who may not have the resources to hire a design team to build some great graphics how are
you to compete? There are several free websites that cater to photo design software intended for use for these type of products. Today I will be talking about two of these products that I use nearly every day.

First there is Picmonkey.com. Picmonkey is a simple and easy to use website that can allow you to make graphics with very few limits on what you can do. This is the first I recommend learning for authors that want to be able to be as creative as they would like. Here are some of the pros and cons of this specific website.

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Pros:

  • Free version
  • Allows editing of any kind of image
  • Automatically gives dimensions for project based on style of project.

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Cons:

  • You provide the images
  • Very limited designs for premade items
  • Learning curve

[/one_half_last]

Canva1

Second there is Canva.com. This site is visually stunning and has many more options than Picmonkey. This site gives you previews of how you can set up your images to look and then allows you to change nearly any element in it. They also have stock images with licensing for $1 each. (This is definitely better than some of the sites out there like Shutterstock.) Even the free elements are top quality and crisp.

 

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Pros:

  • Free image options
  • Previews of how it can look
  • High quality output and sizing for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google +

[/one_half][one_half_last]

Cons:

  • More of a learning curve
  • Cannot embed an image overtop of another image

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Here are some examples from each site for you to get the feel of what the sites are capable of. If you are not interested in creating your own graphics there are many people willing to do this for nominal fees. You are welcome to contact me and I will put you in contact with a match for your budget and content. Click on the images to see them full size.

[bctt tweet=”Create top quality author Facebook memes with these tips. #AuthorRT #MarketingYourBook”]