A guide for writers with or without published work. A comprehensive resource that every writer should have in their library in order to learn how to publish, promote, and market themselves on the Internet.
Is your book project ready for the next E-Revolution?
Webmasters love targeted traffic and their main objective is to drive maximum targeted traffic to their website or blog. The very survival of your Internet business depends on the targeted traffic you are able to generate. There are several strategies that can be adopted. Some yield good results while others are merely a waste of time and effort.
Given below are top twenty ways of driving targeted traffic that can boost your online business.
1. Submit your website or blog to high page rank quality directories. It is important that you submit to the same theme or category of your website.
2. Submit your site to all the major Search Engines.There are several services that submit for free.
3. Write articles and submit them to all the leading article directories with a live link of your site in the resource box.
4. Sign up with Twitter and Tweet every new article or post.
5. Sign up with Facebook and create a Facebook page with your site URL in it.
6. Join Squidoo and create one or more Lens and link to your site.
7. Obtain Reciprocal links from high page rank websites that are relevant to your website or blog.
8. Submit your articles to all the top social bookmarking sites and social networking sites.
9. Join the leading forums in your niche and actively participate in the discussions, giving replies and solutions to questions and leave your blog URL along with your signature behind.
10. Leave helpful comments in quality blogs related to the theme of your website.
11. Every time you post a new entry, make it a point to ping your Blog. Two popular pinging services sites are Pingomatic and Blog Pinger.
12. SEO is extremely important. Optimize your content for targeted keywords to ensure that your site appears high in the search results.
13. Search Engines love fresh content. Hence updating your site with fresh content will ensure that your site is crawled by the spiders frequently.
14. Have a "Tell a Friend" script in your Blog so that visitors who appreciate your content will be able to e-mail their friends.
15. Visit quality blogs relevant to the theme of your blog and write useful, constructive and appreciative comments.
16. Write authoritative articles displaying your expertise and exchange articles with other relevant quality sites.
17. Participate in Yahoo Answers, especially in areas relevant to your site and leave a link to your site in your answers.
18. Ensure that you have your signature with your site URL in every e-mail that you send out.
19. Have Bumper Stickers made displaying your business and website URL prominently. This will be viewed by thousands of people everyday.
20. Print Business Cards with your website URL and distribute them to people at every opportunity you get in business meetings, workshops and seminars.
Implementing successfully these top twenty ways of driving targeted traffic to your site means only one thing. Your online business can never fail. Generating a never ending continuous stream of traffic 24/7 will without doubt bring in more customers and more sales. This is what this whole exercise is about.
Ben Straley is the CEO of Meteor Solutions, provider of the leading word-of-mouth analytics and optimization platform that enables marketers to measure, manage, and monetize earned media.
Your brand has 10,000 Twitter () followers and 2,000 fans on Facebook (). Does that mean your social media marketing efforts are paying off? Maybe not. As the old adage goes, it’s quality, not quantity, that counts.
Recent data that Meteor Solutions collected from across more than 20 brand marketer clients shows that the type of friends, fans and followers a brand amasses on social media sites matters more than the number. On average, approximately 1% of a site’s audience generates 20% of all its traffic through sharing of the brand’s content or site links with others. And these “influencers” drive an even higher share of conversion. These very important Internet () users can directly influence 30% or more of overall end actions on brand websites by recommending the brand’s site, products or promotions to friends.
As this data shows, successful social media marketing isn’t simply about amassing thousands of followers, but instead precisely identifying the most influential members of your audience and recognizing them for their value. By directly engaging one influencer with exclusive opportunities, special offers, and unique content, you are indirectly engaging thousands of other people who are part of this influencer’s social sphere.
Sounds pretty enticing, right? But the challenge in crafting a successful marketing program that activates influencers is two-fold. First, you have to use the right data and traffic analysis tools to find out who your most influential followers are. Second, you have to connect with these people in an authentic, “non-salesy” way, and truly build a relationship with them –- because if you overly “sell” to your influencers, you’ll burn a bridge and potentially turn your biggest fans into your worst detractors.
Here are a few concrete tips brands can use to get started marketing with influencers.
THE MICHIGAN LITERARY NETWORK RADIO SHOW IS WEDNESDAY @ 5PM. LISTEN ONLINE OR OFFLINE!!
Every Wednesday @ 5pm You can call in to listen or ask questions at: 646-915-9177. Or visit the show's website and listen online at: http://blogtalkradio.com/michiganliterarynetwork and download the podcast of present and past shows! That's 5pm Wednesday. If you miss it, you can always visit the website to listen to older shows. http://blogtalkradio.com/michiganliterarynetwork Would you like to sponsor or advertise? Click here
Monique Mensah is a native Detroiter with an innate love for the written word. She has been an avid reader of fiction since her early years in elementary school when she used to read The "Nancy Drew" and "The Babysitter's Club " series. She inherited her fondness for the arts and African-American fiction from her mother who regularly enjoyed black literature. Her mother encouraged her to read at least two novels per month with a promise of increased allowance during the summer months away from school. Monique's talent for writing was first discovered by her third grade teacher who regularly asked the young student to share her short stories with the class and sometimes the principal and other school administration during assemblies and PTO meetings. At that time she declared her dream to become a published author, as she believed it was what she was destined to be. She continued to receive praise for her writing throughout middle and high school.
While attending the University of Michigan, Monique put her dreams of becoming an author on hold as she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. After graduation, she landed a job in the mortgage industry. Although the job provided steady income and a comfortable lifestyle for both her and her young daughter, she still felt unfulfilled as she realized that she always wanted something more. After being prompted by her best friend to , "just write a book", she started her first novel. Finding time during lunch breaks at work and late night evenings, Monique completed her first manuscript, Who Is He To You. Shortly after, she launched Kisa Publishing and published her debut novel.
Monique now resides in Southfield, MI where she is raising her daughter and working full-time for a private university. She also the principal and founder of Make Your Mark Editing Services and a guest reviewer for RAWSISTAZ Literary Group. Stay tuned for more drama-filled pages of literary adrenaline as this break-through author gives readers fresh perspectives and edgy plots as never written before.
About the books
Who Is He And What Is He To You?
When love involves incest, self-mutilation, drug-addiction, and murder will you fight to hold on or will you gain the strength to escape before its too late?
Simone, a shockingly beautiful teen, is on the downward spiral of destruction as she battles incest and self-hatred. Rapidly losing faith in a seemingly unresponsive God, she has no hope or refuge. She finds cutting to be the only way to relieve her pain and heal her gaping wounds. As she loses herself in uncertainty and mixed emotions, she realizes that she must do something to regain control of her life and restore her family back to normalcy and happiness. But Simone may be too late as unexpected events threaten to throw her dream of contentment far out of reach.
Due to her husband, Ross, business acumen and affluence, Jessica lives the upscale lifestyle of a refined society matron. She strives to be the perfect wife, but without her husband, she would be nothing more than the abused stripper he rescued 16 years agoand Ross never lets her forget it. When their marriage is threatened and it forces her to face her detestable past, Jessica vows to do whatever it takes to protect what she has rightfully earned, even if it means murder.
Ryan, a fiery and fashionable thirty-something, is quickly slipping into depression and prescription drug addiction. The only thing that keeps her hanging on to hope is the faint sound of wedding bells as her boyfriend, Anthony, artfully dangles the empty promise of marriage. As she watches their relationship dissolve, she finds that she must dig deep within herself for love and self-esteem. But when she digs, she uncovers much more than she bargained for. She finds herself on a mission of self-restoration while trying to save the life of someone she doesnt even know.
As the shattered lives of three very different women collide, they find that they have one thing in common: they are all in a desperate fight to hang onto love. Will Simone, Jessica, and Ryan win the battle or will they find out who he is to you and be forced to retreat? Who Is He To You features quickly changing perspectives and takes place in posh suburban mansions, wild parties, trailer parks, exclusive private schools and strip clubs. It all comes together in a shocking finish where the main characters will experience injury, imprisonment and even death while crafting new lives from the ashes of their ruination.
Rain (Coming Soon)
I will the rain to be the source of life . . .
Rain grapples with memories of a horrific past that leaves her far from unscathed. After witnessing her mothers gruesome murder as a child, she is now left piecing together the fragments of her shattered psyche as an adult. Quickly, she is drowning in years of frustration and confusion with no promise of relief. Sinister visions and undying spirits haunt Rain relentlessly, driving her deeper into darkness and lunacy. Rains grandmother, GiGi, tries her best to help Rain face the truth, urging her to confront her past, but the past is too painfulits easier to hide.
As Rain struggles desperately to define herself, she's forced to brave her live-in siblings: a violent and narcissistic brother, Danny, who resents her weakness and Carmen, her promiscuous and hostile older sister, who wishes Rain would disappear.In her fragile mental state, Rain is ill-equipped to handle the chaos of their ruptured lives. When Rain, Carmen, and Danny are submerged into the horrors of prostitution, drug-addiction, domestic violence, and murder, Rain is left alone to face her internal demons and find her identity, with no one to answer to, but herself.
- 5:30 p.m. NEW Keith Jones, author of the motivational book, Cookin Up Your Dreams, www.chefkdj.com
Keith Jones Bio:
Keith Denard Jones or Chef KDJ as his pupils affectionately call him, feeds all the senses while sharing over twenty years of culinary artistry and chef's secrets through his "Eatertainment" presentations.
"Eatertainment" debuted November 9, 2009 on Colours TV. Chef Keith Jones brings his entertaining presentations to the world of delicious, healthy food preparation. A fifteen week series 2 p.m. EST every Monday.
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Jones studied under certified Master Chef, Edward Janos for eight years, learning classical French cuisine and techniques. "Edward is my mentor and I owe my culinary skills to him. He took a genuine interest in me at an early age and created the foundation that my career is based on today."
Jones was certified as an Executive Chef in December 1999. Since his certification, he has won several medals from the American Culinary Federation culinary salons in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Colorado, including the grand prize in the Clos Du Bois Wine and Food Pairing competition.
Formerly known as "The Champagne Chef," Jones recently served for 10 years as the Executive Chef for Roth Distributing Company, a high end appliance distributer. In representing Roth, he trained professional chefs and novices on how to use commercial and residential cooking equipment.
Jones has been featured on The YES Network, (Yankees Entertainment Sports - New York), V-103 FM (Atlanta),KUSATV, Rocky Mountain PBS, Mix100.3 Radio, Rocky Mountain News, Mangia, Colorado Expression, Architecture and Design of The West, Denver Business Journal, ColoradoProud and 5280, Denver's Mile-High Magazine.
His culinary variety show aired nationwide Summer 2006 on ColoursTV.
Other interesting events Chef Keith has been a part of:
Republican and Democratic Conventions
Houston Rodeo
Rolex Equestrian Time Trials
Nascar Events
Ferrari Challenge (race series)
American Le Mans (race series)
The International Golf Tournament
2002 Winter Olympics
2007 Women's Expo, Denver and Des Moines
2008 Restaurant and Culinary Expo
About the book Cooking Up Your Dreams:
Have you ever had a passion, but been afraid or timid to strike out on your own to make your dreams real? In this inspirational book, Chef Keith takes a close look at what it takes to have a passion and make it part of the magic that defines each of us.
Guest summary: Chiquita is the co-host of the Grown Folks Concert series, and is hosting an evening of entertainment, a poets and storytellers event called, P. S.: Poets and Storytellers Entangled for Peace on May 28.
About the organization:
The organization is a team of professional storytellers dedicated to preserving the oral tradition of African/African American storytelling. All are members of the National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS). All are members of Toastmasters International.
What we do:
We have FUN! We entertain and educate by sharing the storytelling experience with all audiences through storytelling performances and workshops.
What are these Grown Folks Concerts?
Our target audience is grown folks...adults. These concerts provide an elegant night out for grown folks to hear some good old fashioned storytelling. These concerts are hilarious and a lot of fun.
Grown Folks Storytellers' History:
Master Teller Ivory D. Williams created the Grown Folks concept in 2005 to give adults a venue for good, clean fun that they can not only listen/watch, but participate in. A different form of entertainment. Initially designed as a one shot deal, it has expanded to two major concerts each year since 2005
THE MICHIGAN LITERARY NETWORK RADIO SHOW IS WEDNESDAY @ 5PM. LISTEN ONLINE OR OFFLINE!!
Every Wednesday @ 5pm You can call in to listen or ask questions at: 646-915-9177. Or visit the show's website and listen online at: http://blogtalkradio.com/michiganliterarynetwork and download the podcast of present and past shows! That's 5pm Wednesday. If you miss it, you can always visit the website to listen to older shows. http://blogtalkradio.com/michiganliterarynetwork Would you like to sponsor or advertise? Click here
What do you do if you find an interesting PDF file previewed online using Google Docs Viewer? To save it in Google Docs, you had to download the file and upload it to Google Docs. Now you can just click on "Save in Google Docs" and the document is instantly added to your account.
This could be useful if you receive a PDF attachment in Gmail and you want to save it in Google Docs. You just need to click on "View" and then on "Save in Google Docs".
OK, you have a good website set up - but, what are you doing with those visitors who have found you? If list building hasn't not been a priority, then you are wasting an incredible opportunity and it will pay you to re-think your overall marketing strategy and plans.
ASK YOURSELF What happens to my visitors? Why aren't they buying my products and services that I have well displayed and explained? Is it that they don't know me? How do I communicate better with them?
THE ANSWER You need to 'capture' their names and email addresses so that you can, through an email campaign, communicate good and useful information that will build your credibility and allow them to gain trust or confidence in what you say.
AND, this before you even suggest they buy a product from you!
The establishment of reliability and trust will either save or sink your online relationship with them. This means that you pre-sell, not hard sell - no matter how much you are tempted to constantly place offers before them. If you have shown that you are genuinely interested in helping them, through what you give away freely, then they will be more open to genuine offers to purchase.
Put yourself in their shoes. I mean do you like constantly getting emails that only are offers of products? Do you find yourself more open to those marketers who mostly give you something useful and that is free?
If you have a targeted audience then you will be speaking to people who are wanting what you have to offer - whereas those who find you through random searches rarely produce results. That is, if your site is about gardening, you do not particularly want to target motor sports enthusiasts. Do your research and work within the niche that you have chosen - and focus on those who are searching within that niche for information to solve their problems.
Remember, online success or your Internet Marketing efforts greatly depends on your list building.
As they say, the money is in the list, and that's why most internet marketers treasure their opt-in list as real gold.
Would you like to learn more or keep updated for tips on List Building & Affiliate Marketing? If so, sign up for our FREE new AMC Newsletter - which will also give you a link to our FREE e-book Tips & Ideas For Internet Marketing Peter Ryan is an Internet marketer who believes in "paying it forward" and helping others succeed online & can be reached via Affiliate Marketing Central.net
Thank you for continuing to welcome me to your Internet doorstep for ongoing book writing, publishing, and marketing advice.
I'd love you to check out the article below. As always, I welcome candid feedback and questions that will help you and others make your book and business dreams a reality this year!
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Your eBook or Print Book is Your Ultimate Marketing Tool
In the early 1980's I didn't even know about the power of book chapters—until I got a mentor to help me. Then, I wrote my first book "The San Diego Annotated Networking Directory." My first printing sold out in six months, but more than that–it made me well known in the business networking community. I sold books, but they led me to so many other opportunities.
That's proof of the power of books! If you are in business, you want to do several things to attract new customers and clients.
Maybe you are wondering, "Should I write a book?"
You may not be sure if it's worth it. You may not want to spend much time on it. You may not feel you're a skilled writer.
I understand your concerns. In the early 1980's I didn't even know about the power of book chapters—until I got a mentor to help me. Then, I wrote my first book "The San Diego Annotated Networking Directory." My first printing sold out in six months, but more than that–it made me well known in the business networking community. I sold books, but they led me to so many other opportunities.
That's proof of the power of books! If you are in business, you want to do several things to attract new customers and clients.
Book and Internet Marketing Coach Judy Cullins helps businesses get all the clients and sell all the books they want. Author of 13 business books including How to Write your eBook or Other Short Book-Fast, and LinkedIn Marketing: 8 Best Tactics to Build Book and Business Sales.
Get fresh, free, weekly publications on book writing, self publishing, and online marketing at http://www.bookcoaching.com
Network with Judy on... http://www.linkedin.com/in/judycullins http://twitter.com/CoachJudy http://www.facebook.com/coachjudycullins
The Only Thing That Lasts is written as the autobiography of Robert O'Neill, the famous novelist first introduced in The Marquette Trilogy. As a young boy during World War I, Robert is forced to leave his South Carolina home to live in Marquette with his grandmother and aunt. He finds there a cold climate, but many warmhearted friends as he matures into adulthood and becomes a famous writer. The Only Thing That Lasts is a joyful, lighthearted, yet meaningful story of home and hearth.
Genre of book: Historical Fiction
How do you come up with story ideas and characters? Mostly, I get ideas from the local area of Marquette and its history. I like to write novels where minor characters in one book become major characters in another so all five of my novels have connections. I create a minor character and then later realize he or she has his own story to tell beyond may be just the one scene where he appeared in a previous novel. In my first published novels, The Marquette Trilogy, there were about 300 characters, so I had plenty to expand on in later books.
When and how do you write?
I mostly write in the evening. I do a lot of writing in my head when I'm walking, then come home and write it down—I literally do hand write a good percentage of my books, and then retype them. I write scenes as they come to me and try to keep them in some order, rather than writing from the start to the end of the book.
What other authors inspire you?
In writing The Only Thing That Lasts, I wanted to write an old-fashioned novel in the style of Louisa May Alcott or L. Frank Baum's Aunt Jane's Nieces, or even Marquette's own Carroll Watson Rankin, whose Dandelion Cottage (1904) first made Marquette the setting for a novel. Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind was also an influence for the Old South connections in the novel.
How did you find your publisher?
I spent a long time looking for a traditional publisher, but then realizing my primary audience was in Upper Michigan, I formed my own publishing company, Marquette Fiction. I didn't see why some publisher in New York should decide whether my audience in the U.P. should read my books, and my novels have sold very well locally.
How long does it take you to write a novel?
I've never written one in less than nine months and usually they take years as the characters are developed in my mind. The Only Thing That Lasts was the first book I ever wrote. I started it in 1987 and finished the rough draft a couple of years later. Then I rewrote it in 2005 and polished it again to be published in 2009.
How do you overcome writer's block?
I mostly find sometimes I'm trying too hard to get the story to come together. That's when I'll lay down and close my eyes—sometimes I end up napping, but other times, like with meditating, things come clear. I'll hear a character's voice (I like to write in first person) and then he or she will just start talking and everything will come together.
What's your next project?
I just finished writing my first non-fiction book to be titled My Marquette. It will be a history/tour book of Marquette, along with my personal memories and connections to the area and highlighting how the different local places have appeared in my novels. It will be my first book with photographs, so that's a new learning curve for me.
How long have you been writing and how did you get started? I started writing The Only Thing That Lasts in high school—it was the first novel I completed. I made a few false starts before that. I started writing short stories beginning in third grade. I got started because I loved to read and then a friend told me her aunt wrote mystery novels. It didn't occur to me until that day—I was about nine years old—that it was a job to write books and I knew that was the job I wanted.
How does your background influence your books? I'm a seventh generation resident of Marquette, Michigan. My grandpa used to tell me about his childhood in Marquette back in the 1910s and also about his parents and grandparents. The history of the area and its stunning beauty, heavy snowfalls, and the power of Lake Superior all inspired me to write about it. Marquette played a significant role in the history of this country as a major port for the iron ore to be shipped. That iron ore changed America because it was turned into steel that won wars and built our country. I wanted to tell a story of the American Dream played out in Upper Michigan.