title – Almost An Author

Do you post pictures in your blog or only use text? Are you using embedded video? Can your reader retweet a Twitter quote? All these things and more should be considered when crafting your blog. What style do you want to present to your readers? This post will review three popular authors to discover their individual blog style.

6 Style Points to Consider

Title–The blog title can vary in word length. Use a Headline Analyzer to craft a title with a score of 70 or above. https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
Picture–Pictures break up the bulk of a text post and helps the reader with ease of reading. Using a heading for each topic in your blog also helps to break up the text and increases your readability score in WordPress.
Embedded Video–Embedding video in your blog helps to emphasize the message of your blog post. The reader does not have to click on a link which takes them to a separate website; instead, they can watch the video without being directed away from your blog. Here’s how to embed video in WordPress: https://youtu.be/Ir7J0eEuWgk
Outbound Links & Internal Links–Outbound link: Referencing another external website link helps your page rank with Google. Use reputable website links with a good Google ranking. Use links sparingly and naturally. Internal Links: Using internal links within your blog/website also helps increase your Google Ranking. Example: If you have a book in a series you are promoting, you can link to an earlier blog post about book #1 while promoting book #2. The longer your user is enjoying your content, the better it helps your ranking.
Link to Book–Adding a link to your book page gives your reader a natural opportunity to purchase your book. They don’t have to search within your website to find out where to purchase.
Twitter Quote–Adding a tweetable twitter quote provides an opportunity for your reader to share your amazing blog content. Add the Twitter plugin called Better Click To Tweet to your WordPress account to take advantage of this feature.

Style Point Examples

How many style points listed will our 3 popular authors use on their blogs? Let’s see….

Eric Metaxas

Eric Metaxas is the New York Times #1 bestselling author of Martin Luther, If You Can Keep It, Bonhoeffer, Miracles, Seven Women, Seven Men, and Amazing Grace. He has written over thirty children’s books, including the bestsellers Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving and It’s Time to Sleep, My Love, illustrated by Nancy Tillman.

http://ericmetaxas.com/blog/these-kids-made-my-day/

In reviewing Eric Metaxas’s blog, I found the following style points:

5 word title–These Kids Made My Day–Coschedule Headline Score: 68

Picture at Top–The picture helps grab the reader’s attention and is visually appealing. The second picture in this blog helps break up the text.

Embedded video– Eric shares an embedded video of children who memorized the poem, Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The children entered a contest Eric hosted.

Outbound link: Eric adds a link for readers to view the individual contest entries. The link redirects the reader to YouTube.

Link To Book/Internal Link– Eric directs readers to his book page with the following encouragement: For more on Paul Revere’s Ride, see chapter four of my book, IF YOU CAN KEEP IT!

Ann Voskamp

Ann Voskamp is the wife of one good farmer, the home-educating mama to a seven exuberant kids, and author of the four New York Times Bestsellers, The Broken Way, The Greatest Gift, Unwrapping The Greatest Gift, and One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, a New York Times 60 week bestseller which has sold over one million copies, the royalties of which the Voskamp family has given all away, the joy always in giving the gift back. Her blog, one of the Top 10 Christian blogs on the web, has become a daily well for the weary and soul-thirsty.

https://annvoskamp.com/2019/06/the-secret-to-doing-it-all-how-we-can-not-judge-each-other/

In reviewing Ann Voskamp’s blog, I found the following style points:

13 Word Title – The Secret To Doing It All How We Can Not Judge Each Another – Coschedule Headline Score: 59

Featured Photo behind the blog title–Great picture to grab the reader’s attention. Ann uses 12 beautiful visuals to illustrate her topic in this blog post. How Ann uses pictures to visually captivate her readers while honing in on her blog topic is impressive.

Bold Font–Use of bold words vs. standard typeface help to draw the reader’s eye. This also helps the reader to scan the bold words and still grasp the concept of the blog.

Outbound link: Ann posts an interview with the CEO of Pepsi featured on The Atlantic. The Atlantic reached new audience highs in May of 2017, drawing 42.3 million monthly unique visitors making this a credible source to share with your audience.

Twitter Quote– “If you aren’t encouraging women to live out their particular calling, you may just be idolizing a particular idealized form of yourself.” If the reader clicks on the gray bird, it will redirect them to share this quote as a tweet on their twitter account.

Link to Book–Ann provides an opportunity for her readers to easily locate her book by providing her Amazon link at the end of her blog post.

Liz Curtis Higgs

Liz Curtis Higgs is an award-winning speaker and best-selling author of 37 books, with 4.6 million copies in print. She’s spoken at conferences across the United States and in 15 foreign countries. You may be familiar with Liz’s Bad Girls of the Bible with over one million copies sold.

His Wonderful Plan

In reviewing Liz Curtis Higg’s blog, I found the following style points:

Three Word title–His Wonderful Plan – Coschedule Headline Score: 45

Picture at Top–Lovely Picture of Hydrangea helps to grab the reader’s attention.

Personal Story– Liz shares her personal story about her cancer journey. Heartfelt stories draws the reader into the author’s world and is very effective in holding the reader’s attention.

Bold Font–Use of bold words vs. standard typeface makes for an easy read.

Outbound Links–Scripture verses are red and underlined. Once selected, it directs the reader to Bible Gateway’s website to read the verse.

Pictures–5 pictures of flowers are shared to help break up the text. And one personal photo of Liz and her husband lends to the personal nature of this particular blog. The final picture is of a pair of earrings she is offering for a giveaway.

Book Link–In her P.S.S., Liz shares a link to her book, The Women of Easter, Special Edition for purchase at Christianbook.com and gives an outbound link to both her book and the website link for Christianbook.com.

How many style points do you use in your blog? Post your blog below to show off your own dynamic design style.

The tension hung in the air so thick it felt like you could cut it with a knife. I was one of several editors waiting in the hall for my turn to enter the conference room. Each editor had limited time to present only a few books. The key leaders in the publishing house sat around the table each with a notebook jammed with paper on the book projects under consideration for the day.

I’ve walked into that room with jaded expressions and spoken my author’s title with enthusiasm. The atmosphere shifted and someone piped up, “Well, that’s all we need to hear to accept that one.”

Maybe it was my delivery or the timing but I believe the author included a “gotta have” title with their book proposal. Many new authors don’t pour much energy into their title. Sometimes they send their manuscript or proposal without a title. In the place of a title, these authors write, “working title.” I understand why some authors are reluctant to title their book. They know the publisher can change it during the publishing process.

Here’s what these authors do not understand: While publishers have control of your title, repeatedly I’ve found if you present a great book title, it will survive the editorial process. As the author, you have the greatest passion for your topic and know your subject more intimately than anyone in the publishing house.

I’ve attended title sessions where a whiteboard is filled with possible titles and the group is selecting the book title. In those meetings, one critical person isn’t present: the author. You don’t want your precious book manuscript to be in this precarious situation. It’s one of the reasons numerous authors have told me they hate their title. If you dislike your title, it does not help you sell books.

I strongly encourage every author to work hard at the book title on their proposal.

Your book title should be:

Easy to remember and three to five words which fit on the book spine. You don’t want to go over five words because most books are spine out in a bookstore.
Combined with a short yet memorable subtitle which stresses a key benefit (or benefits) for the readers.

After you have created your title, try out your title with your target reader and see if they resonate with it. Titles cannot be copyrighted. But as a writer, you can use these words to hook a literary agent or an editor. A good title takes thoughtful effort and work but is something every author should put into their proposal and submission.

W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. Get his free Book Proposal Checklist at: http://terrylinks.com/bookcheck Terry is the author of Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success and he has written over 60 books and for more than 50 magazines. He has over 200,000 followers on twitter. http://twitter.com/terrywhalin