“Do I need a blog?” Nope. You don’t. You can live a purpose-filled life minus a blog. Don’t let anyone convince you that you have to blog, just for the sake of blogging. But you might want to blog. Whether you’re a small business owner, an author who’s looking to promote your upcoming book, or […]
[ Read more ]In Home to Holly Springs, the latest installment in the best-selling Mitford Series, Jan Karon creates characters so real, you feel as if you’ve known them your whole life. She’s one of the few authors who can—in the course of one page—elicit both laughter and tears from me. Her books harken back to the good […]
[ Read more ]Update: In early 2012, Google removed the Wonder Wheel feature. I’m sad, because it was WONDERful. So this post is no longer valid, unless we can somehow convince Google to bring back the Wonder Wheel. Have you heard of a cool Google tool called the Wonder Wheel? It’s a great way to help you […]
[ Read more ]During a brand development/blog consult with a client today, she asked: “Should I start a group blog in which several people contribute articles?” I’d read a post on that very topic (on Daily Blog Tips) earlier in the day. With thanks to Kyle Judkins for providing inspiration, here are my thoughts about multi-author blogging: PROs […]
[ Read more ]Enjoy these bloopers from book manuscripts I’ve edited: The buzzard sounded and the basketball game commenced. If the game gets out of hand, the buzzard can referee, too! Standing at her kitchen sink, Lisa’s idle hands rested in the warm sudsy water. Those hands just can’t decide whether to stand or sit. Scott noticed the […]
[ Read more ]Part 4 of 4 One of the best ways to run the blogging marathon (see Part 1 of this series), is to adhere to a training schedule. Call it what you want: editorial calendar, blogging calendar, posting schedule. Your editorial calendar lists topics you plan to blog about and plugs them into specific dates or […]
[ Read more ]Part 3 of 4 If you’re like me, you’re passionate about the topic(s) you blog about, and you’ll never lack for material. I have file folders and binders stuffed with ideas for blog posts. Sometimes, the sheer amount of ideas I have overwhelms me, and I panic at the enormity of sifting through it all […]
[ Read more ]Part 2 of 4 In Part 1 of this series, you learned that in order to be a successful blogger, you must develop a marathon mentality. Hopefully, you’ve completed your goal-setting homework assignment (if not, go back and read How to Train for the Blogging Marathon. Deciding how often you’ll publish new content is a […]
[ Read more ]Part 1 of 4 Blogging is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. Problem is, most people mentally approach blogging as if it’s a sprint. They view a blog as a temporary outlet to spout their opinions on a topic. After a few days, they run out of intriguing things to say. So they stop blogging, […]
[ Read more ]After reading literary agent, Rachelle Gardner’s post, “The Dreaded Author Platform,” I immediately tweeted her and asked permission to reprint it. Rachelle brings up some excellent points about the importance of using social media to build a readership – before you ever pitch your project to an agent or editor. Here’s her column, in its […]
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