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.
Tag Archives: blogging
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.
New Class From Jane: Online Writing and SEO
I’m teaching a 90-minute class on how to be a more effective in your online writing, and how to grow your audience and traffic over the long term.
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 I tackle (somewhat obliquely) this month in my column at Writer Unboxed. Here’s how it begins: I’ve been reading with interest (and sympathy) the comments on Porter Anderson’s Unboxed post last week, where we see […]
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 live with) is your choice of theme. A theme drives the aesthetics of your site—how it looks and feels—and thus its personality. But a theme also affects the functionality of your site. Some themes have more page or […]
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 to secure a traditional book deal). She knows she needs to market and promote the book and/or build a platform. She finds (or hears) advice that blogging is a good way to accomplish #1. She wonders: What […]
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 Author Portraits. Through my website ArtforAuthors.com and my company ArtCorgi, I help authors style websites and social media pages in a manner that best presents their personalities and writing style. All too often, I visit […]
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 Twitter followers I have, which is inevitably far more than anyone else in the room. Today, my follower number is a little over 175,000, and it grows by a few hundred every week. How did […]
10 Ways to Build Long-Lasting Traffic to Your Author Website or Blog
First things first: Your website, whether it gets a lot of traffic or not, is an essential part of a strong author platform. It serves as your hub—or command central—for all online activity, and should give your readers, as well as the media, a way to engage with you. It should be there if people […]
Why I Stopped Using Feedburner to Serve My Blog Subscribers
Update: March 21, 2013 For two months, I used Feedblitz to deliver my posts via e-mail to blog subscribers, but then moved to MailChimp in mid-October 2012. Feedblitz performed exactly as advertised and is a good service. However, I already use MailChimp for other e-mail newsletters, and I find its UI (user interface) to […]
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, and one turkey. I met Bob at a Florida writers conference, where he was speaking about the success of his pet podcast. He has published three books with Algonquin; the latest, Kitty Cornered: How Frannie and Five […]
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. Aside from describing in detail how to launch and maintain a blog to ultimately land a book deal, Amir’s book offers a range of valuable interviews with successful bloggers who succeeded in doing just that. […]
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 the most comprehensive guides on building an effective platform I’ve seen. Both beginning writers and established authors will find excellent and insightful instruction. Assuming you want to increase your blog traffic, there are certain mistakes […]
Why You Should Add E-mail Subscription Service to Your Blog
If you have a blog, you should offer visitors a way to subscribe to new posts via e-mail. This means they can receive new posts via e-mail without having to visit your blog. You should offer this whether your blog is frequently updated or rarely updated—but especially if it’s rarely updated. Why? It’s a good and […]