The easiest way to drive traffic to your blog is to make it easier for us to find you. I’d also add here to make sure your follow button is visible. If I can’t even find the follow / subscription button obviously I can’t follow your blog.
Tag: wordpress
Ice Breaker Challenge – Introduce Yourself!
I saw this on Facebook and thought it would be a great way for bloggers to actually get to know each other! We know there are fakes out here so I’m calling everyone out. Put your pen where the truth is. Here’s your chance to verify your identity. Let’s break the ice.
Answer the following questions honestly on your own blog. Link back to this blog so we can see everyone’s post. Use the hashtag #Icebreaker. You can also leave a link to your blog in the comments if you want! This will be my last post until the weekend. Let’s take this time to get to know each other. You’re not doing anything at work anyway. Besides, it’s lunchtime. I’ll go first.
(Note. Yes, you can number your questions. I had to edit mine out due to technical difficulties in my WordPress dashboard).
Are you named after someone? Yes, middle name after my grandmother Marguerite.
When is the last time you cried? Two days ago.
Do you like your handwriting? No, only in notebooks.
What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey, thinly sliced.
How many kids do you have? Two with my husband, none biologically.
If you were another person, would you be friends with you? Sure lol.
Do you use sarcasm? Yea. Sorry.
Do you still have your tonsils? These questions are weird but yes.
Would you bungee jump? No. Not. Ever.
What is your favorite cereal? Captain Crunch.
Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No. My shoe strings are usually tucked in.
Do you think you are strong? I have to be.
What is your favorite ice cream? Every kind. It just has to be ice cream period.
What is the first thing you notice about people? Eyes.
Red or pink? Neither. Browns, Greens, Beiges. Earth tones.
What is the least favorite thing you like about yourself? Too trusting, take things too personal.
What color pants and shoes are you wearing right now? Blue jeans, black house shoes
What was the last thing you ate? Chicken Tacos
What are you listening to right now? My thoughts.
If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Brown or Burnt Orange
What are your favorite smells? Fresh Linen and Fruity scented candles, my husband’s cologne.
Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? Hubby 😍😍
Favorite sport to watch? Track & Field, Basketball
Real hair color? Brown
Eye color? Brown
Do you wear contacts? No.
Favorite food to eat? Pasta Bruschetta.
Scary movies or happy endings? Both. (What’s a scary movie?)
Last movie you watched? Look Who’s Talking Too 😂 lol.
What color shirt are you wearing? Green
Summer or winter? Summer
Hugs or kisses? Both.
What book are you reading? House of The Hanging Jade by Amy Reade
What is on your mousepad? I don’t know. Its in the other room.
What is the last TV program you watched? Queen Sugar.
What is the best sound? Birds in the morning, and crickets and grasshoppers in the country at night.
Rolling Stones or The Beatles? Neither. Temptations.
What is the farthest you have traveled? Jamaica.
Do you have a special talent? Yes.
Where were you born? Chicago
Copy, and paste these questions in your own blog and do it yourself! Don’t forget to use #Icebreaker and link back so we can see. ☺️
Basics Every Indie Author Needs Before Publishing a Book – Guest Post…
I need to get my time zones right! Lol. The Story Reading Ape has surprised me once again with the publishing of my Guest Post. *Comments disabled here. Meet me on the Ape’s blog!*
When I published my first book, I didn’t see my writing as a business. It was just me doing what I’ve always wanted to do. However, as I began to learn and as I continue to learn, I quickly discovered why Self-Publishing requires so much work: It’s a business.
That doesn’t take away from the fun of it, but the realization did help me to become more organized. I quickly learned why no one was buying: I wasn’t working! Writing is working, technically, and I was doing plenty of that. However, I was not working on the skill of writing, researching my industry, understanding tips to help me to write better books, promoting, marketing, and everything in-between. I was writing, sure. But the business of writing? I didn’t even know it existed. I was a writer and that was all. When I got into the business of writing however, that’s…
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Welcome!
It’s been a minute since I’ve welcomed all of the newbies in. Of late, I’ve been blessed to receive quite a few follows and I’d like to say, welcome to The PBS Blog! (*throws invisible confetti*) I also want to thank our regulars for liking, commenting and reblogging our posts. I recognize your support as a vital instrument to the growth of this blog.
In the meantime, please be sure to visit the About Page to learn more about me and this blog.
One thing I do often on this blog is re-post older post with or without mention that it is a repost I do this to rotate the blog post that may not have gotten much attention when it was originally published or (and most especially) to give those new to this blog an opportunity to see them. Learn more about how you can self-evaluate your blog by re-spinning posts Here.
For your convenience, I’ve noted a few links below to get you started in your exploration of this blog! They are some of the most popular posts. Check them out and be sure to let me know what you’d like to see more of. I have a number of features that will be returning real soon.
Blogger Support: Fact or Fiction?
The First 300: How I Reached 300 Blog Followers in 3 Months
True to Yourself
This is a repost. I thought this would be a good time to remind us of something very important when navigating the online world.
Stay true to yourself.
The major similarities I see that unites all social networking forums is that you’re bound to have people who are not being honest about their intentions, and what they plan to achieve by taking part in the online community. Of course, we have to expect that any time there’s an opportunity for people to wear a mask you’re going to have these kinds of situations. This is, after all the internet, and is filled with people who wear a façade. People whose fingers do not transcribe the truths concerning the inward man. In a world as endless as the internet, it is easy to get lost in the hype moving throughout the cyber world. It’s easy to pretend, and to become someone other than who you are. If you’re just naturally wicked, it is also just as easy to pretend to be a good person, though your heart is a web of lies and deception.
When you’re gliding along the social world, it is easy to get distracted from your primary goal and what you set out to accomplish. Further, it is just as easy to start to take on the same thoughts and opinions of those you’re around the most. This is perhaps the most important aspect of online writing that I believe is important for new and experienced bloggers. For the mimicking of purpose to fit in can creep up on you if you let it. By creep I mean that changes do not enter our lives all at once but piece by piece. Slowly and with great patience change chips at you until you have adapted into something or someone else.
Blogging, probably more than any social platform is exciting, educational, and inspiring. However, just like every other social platform the truth is that there are more snakes out here than there are angels and they are not your friends, buddies, pals, or playmates. They’re not here to take you to the movies and hang out with you because you liked their post or followed their blog. In fact, they may just be writing your death letter while sending a smiley face.
For instance, in the blogosphere, there are those who often complain that they are not interested in gaining more followers, or networking and such and such. While this isn’t the thought process of most, I am convinced that some of you are not being true to yourself in regard to what you really want from your blogs. Some of you actually care about gaining more traffic but for whatever reasons, you’re afraid to admit it.
Truth is, I think someone can still care about growing their blogs or company without compromising who they are. I believe a person can genuinely care about increasing subscriber rates, expanding networks, and building relationships while maintaining their integrity. I believe there are people who care about these things not because they want people to praise them, and not because they bask in the attention from others, but simply because they’re reaching people, even if only two out of two-hundred are actually paying attention.
In updating this post, I came across two very interesting articles. One from the blogosphere and the other from an article posted from LinkedIn:
Amazon’s New Reviewing Rules – Could it Affect Authors in the Future?
10 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Don’t Do (Themselves!)
You may be asking yourself, what do these articles have in common?
The first article speaks about Amazon’s changes in reviewing products and the other talks about the importance of investing in third party sources to help to build your business. One of my favorite excerpts is:
“Time is an entrepreneur’s most valuable commodity. Yet one of the biggest problems for small businesses and startups is that the founders are wasting their time trying to do it all. We euphemistically say we “wear lots of hats” but the truth is that entrepreneurs are often trying to save money by doing it all themselves. This can be a huge mistake. There are some things that are better done by professional and are better delegated or outsourced.” – Benard Marr
This made me stop to think about the Indie Author Community and how it relates to the first article concerning receiving free items in exchange for reviews. I started to think critically about this and happened upon the epiphany that Self-Publishing didn’t get its stigmas from poorly written books alone. No, there is something else to it and it is possible that Marr is on to something.
If Independent Publishing is just as important, if not more, than any other entrepreneurial business, and if it is to be taken just as seriously and handled with just as much professionalism, why is it that Self-Publishers invest as little money, time, and effort as possible in this very important field? Why is it that everything must be free for us to trust it? The first article is very interesting in that we may be coming upon a time where authors have to pay for reviews or invest some kind of payment. While I hope not, article two is a great conversation starter into why this may be the case for our future considering Self-Publishing is an act of entrepreneurship.
Amazon is changing things obviously because of the level of fraud out there, and we can be sure that giving away books for free in exchange for reviews is bound to change with every 5 star rating given to an obviously crappy book. While I’m hoping this won’t be the case, the truth is that amazon has a reputation to uphold and like every other wise business person or company, understands that free does not always guarantee quality. It’s the reason we pay more for name brands because we know that what we’re getting is top quality.
How does this relate to being true to yourself?
I like thinking differently and speaking on subjects that make people scratch their heads. It is what makes me who I am. I don’t have to be like you, think like you, or agree with you. This is an attitude we should all have. Otherwise, you can be easily influenced by others opinions and thoughts. In short, you have no vison and no goal, and the reason behind your actions is empty.
So, you wanna start a blog? Then do it with authority. Own your words and stand by your decisions and your goals. So what if you’re a nobody, so was Oprah at one point in her life. So was Stephen King, and so was your beloved JK Rowling. Pay no mind to what others say or think of you and never ever depend on man to validate you. Stay true to yourself and why you set out to embark on the journeys to which you find yourself. People fall in love with other people, not echoes. What is success? You choose. Dare to be different. Change the game.
Newsletter, Blog, or Both?
Authors, check out these articles. I totally agree with having both a blog and an email newsletter. Further, I think an email newsletter will outdate Facebook, Twitter, and also your blog! If these go down in any way, you always have an email list. Even though people can subscribe to the blog via email, there’s a deeper personal connection with someone via the email list. Most of the people who follow your blog probably barely read your posts. While this can be because they follow too many people to support every blog they are subscribed to, an email list really narrows it down. I also wouldn’t complain if your email list is small like mine. The benefit of this is that you’ll have a higher open rate because these are the people who really enjoy your work. They are, as the article elaborates on, your real supporters. The people who, when you release a book they will (wait for it) buy it!
If you do have an email list, pay attention to open and click rates. This narrows it down even further. Of the 100 subscribers to your email list, how many of them open the emails? This is your real number. Or even if you have 3,000 subscribers, how many open your emails and click on your links? These are your real numbers. Also, I would try not to be all “businessy” (Made up word) in your emails. Personally, I try to be as genuine as possible. Emails are personal and the people who are subscribed are people who have already read your posts, and probably some of your books too. This means they are subscribed because they are looking for something different. They want to get to know the real you. Again, they’ve already read your blog posts so there’s really no reason to recreate the wheel. Make your email list feel special. Oh and another thing, email lists and newsletters are excellent for people who are not into technology! They may not like your FB, follow you on Twitter, or follow your blog BUT they will open your emails!
Read The Article Here: Newsletter, Blog, or Both
Here’s another good one: 5 Reasons Every Blogger Needs an Email List
AND here’s another: The Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Newsletter and Email List
Get to know the real me: Click Here.
Eight Reasons Why Writers Should Use Twitter
Though I don’t have lots of followers, I happen to love Twitter. Probably too much lol. (@ahouseofpoetry) *Comments disabled here. Please respond to the original post*
If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that I have more than 5,000 followers and frequently post throughout the day.
How frequently? Every two hours. But I do take a break between 10 pm and 8 am Eastern Time.
A typical tweet has a two-hour shelf-life. That’s not much. If you want to get your content noticed—whether you’ve written it yourself or you’re retweeting someone else—you need to tweet throughout the day.
But why Twitter?
- If you’re active on Twitter, it will refer a ton of traffic to your blog and website. (Twitter is my #1 source of website traffic.)
- There’s a large community of Indie authors on Twitter who are willing to help you promote your book and form supportive alliances. Endeavor to meet other authors in your genre, share blog posts and promote each other on Twitter.
- Twitter will help you market your books.
- Twitter is where…
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