blogging

10 Ways to Build Traffic to Your Author Website or Blog
This post was first published in 2012 and is regularly updated. First things first: an author's website, whether it gets

The WordPress Plugins I Can’t Live Without
Plugins are one of the most wonderful and useful things about Wordpress. Here are some of my favorites for writers.

5 On: Debra Eckerling
Debra Eckerling (@WriteOnOnline), founder of the writers' support group Write On!, discusses common writer challenges, the value of blogs, what it means to take writing to the next level, tragic networking mistakes, and more in this 5 On interview.

Book Marketing Resources for Authors: The Best of 2016
Every year, I share hundreds (even thousands) of articles and reports on book marketing. Here, I look back on the best of what I found in 2016.

Building a Platform to Land a Book Deal: Why It Often Fails
If you're preparing to pitch your nonfiction work to agents or publishers, you may have heard about the necessity of platform. What if you don't have one?

A Self-Published Poet’s Path to Her First Book Deal
How a self-publishing poet achieved visibility for her book—and landed a book deal with traditional publisher Andrews McMeel.

How to Get 10,000 Visits to Your Blog in One Day with No Platform
Getting traction for your online presence—especially a new blog—can feel like an impossible task when you're an unknown writer. But it can be done.

How to Make Money from Your Website or Blog
I'm proud to have a feature in Writer's Digest magazine on how to monetize your website and blog. I detail eight methods.

When Should You Write for Exposure? 5 Questions to Ask
When deciding whether to write for free—or for exposure—here are 5 questions writers should ask.

What Writers Too Often Overlook: Having a Call to Action
Just about every writer would love to have more readers—more readers of their books, their blog, their articles, or whatever creative work they’re producing. But few writers have given much thought to having a call to action that's associated with their work.

5 Common Mistakes That Even Longtime Bloggers Make
Wondering why you don't have more blog traffic—or if it's worthwhile to continue your blogging effort? Here are the mistakes that commonly afflict authors.

Join Me to Discuss the Rise of the Writer-Entrepreneur
Next week, I'm participating in the Book to Course Virtual Summit, a free event hosted by Teachable. I'll be discussing the rise of the writer-entrepreneur.

How to Save Money and Do Online Book Publicity Yourself
Author and publicist Fauzia Burke offers tips and resources for doing your own internet book publicity.

Creating Easy Branded Images for Your Blog and Social Media
Kirsten Oliphant details how to find, create, and edit branded graphics for blogs and social media.

Can You Promote a Book without Making Yourself Miserable?
Author Ed Cyzewski offers insight into building authentic, sustainable practices in book marketing and promotion.

5 On: Nadine Darling
Debut author Nadine Darling discusses her revision and query process, blogging, writing with children in the house, and more.

Truth-Telling and Platform-Building
How do you build an online platform when you don't have advice or ready-to-go insights (and don't like offering either)?

Self-Publishing Beyond the Book: Serializing, Podcasting, and Merchandising
How an indie author turned a story concept into a full-fledged multimedia universe, including a live blog, illustrated journal, merchandise, and podcast.

How to Repurpose Your Book or Blog Content for Profit and Promotion
Blogger and author Nina Amir explains how to turn your blog content into books and other information products.

Book Marketing Must Center (Mostly) on the Author: Q&A with Scott Berkun
Full-time author and speaker Scott Berkun discusses his book marketing experiences as both a traditionally published author and self-published author.

10 Resolutions for a Saner Internet—and Life
For me, the hardest thing about being online is remembering what I think and the "why" that I'm working for. The multiplicity of voices can make you forget your center.

Platform Building for Authors [30-Minute Video Interview]
In a 30-minute video interview, I discuss the basics of author platform.

Building Your Business As An Author [Interview]
I was delighted to be a guest on Stephen Campbell's podcast, The Author Biz.

Does Building an Online Presence Stress You Out?
You're not alone. Being told to build an online presence creates internal conflict for a lot of writers. This is the topic

5 Free WordPress Themes for Writers
If you have a Wordpress-based site, then you know that one of the first choices you have to make (and then

What Should Authors Blog About?
The chain of events goes something like this: An author's book nears its publication date (or perhaps the author is attempting

How to Customize a Template-Based Author Website
Note from Jane: Today’s guest post is by Simone Collins (@SimoneHCollins) at ArtCorgi. See her earlier post on The Advantages of

Audience Development for Writers: Your Life-Long Career Investment
In this talk from the 2013 Midwest Writers Workshop, I explain the process of growing my readership since 2008, then share a few key principles I follow to make it an enjoyable and sustainable process.

WRITING ON THE ETHER: Writers in the Inferno
How many authors do you know who seem more renowned among their peers than readers—not because these "thriving ink-slingers" (Michael Deacon) are writing books only other authors could love, but because their output seems to focus on these redundant how-to's designed to crib a few more bucks from fellow would-be renowned authors?

How I Got a Six-Figure Twitter Following (and Why It Doesn’t Matter)
It's almost a running joke. Whenever my manager introduces me at an event, he always starts by saying how many

Why I Stopped Using Feedburner to Serve My Blog Subscribers
Update (April 17, 2021): Google's Feedburner will stop offering email delivery of RSS feeds in July 2021. When I launched

How One Introverted Author Successfully Markets His Work
The following Q&A is with author Bob Tarte. Bob lives in Michigan with parrots, ducks, geese, parakeets, rabbits, doves, cats, hens,

How Long Does It Take to Get Blog Readers?
The following advice is excerpted from How to Blog a Book by Nina Amir, recently released from Writer's Digest Books.

Top 10 Blog Traffic Killers
The following advice is from Michael Hyatt's newest release, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. The book is one of