The Write Spot

A Lesson in Web 2.0 for Book Authors

This year I've been working with book authors to help them understand the power of Web 2.0 as a marketing platform for their books. Whether it's blogging to show a publisher that you have a built in audience, or using social networking sites to promote your work, authors need to know their way around social media.

There are a few who get it such as Annette Fix, the senior editor of WOW! Women On Writing. She recently released The Break-Up Diet, a memoir that I reviewed at my food and diet blog, This Mama Cooks! On a Diet. Annette has The Break-Up Diet website, a Break-Up Story Forum, Annette's Break-Up Diet blog, and a Break-Up Diet MySpace page.

Another author who's tech savvy is Sherri Rifkin, a former TV marketing executive. She writes for a variety of entertainment and media clients including Bravo, USA Network and the Style Network. Her first novel, LoveHampton, has just been published by St. Martin’s Griffin.

Sherri wrote a fantastic article,  "A New Job Requirement for Authors" that gives some five free or inexpensive tips for promoting your book online

A New Job Requirement for Authors
by Sherri Rifkin, author of LoveHampton

Who knew that one needed to be so thoroughly tech-savvy to be an author?

I’m not just talking about knowing how to create chapter headers in Word (I don’t but I fake it well enough) or being able to change your printer cartridge. Nowadays, you have to know how to blog-vlog-flickr-twitter-facebook-wordpress-upload-youtube-blip.tv in order to be an author, that is, if you have some hopes of being a successful commercial author. It helps if you have nice friends who know how to do all this stuff (I have a Jeff, a Mary and an Anthony) but there are only so many times you can sweetly plead for their help and certainly a limit on the number the exclamation points you can put after “Thank you!!!!!!” in your emails. (Six seems reasonable; seven is just desperate.)

I’ve logged several hours, possibly equaling days at this point, uploading my book-related videos to the various viral distribution sites, creating the first of what is sure to be many photo albums on Flickr.com, adding a fan page on Facebook—and boy is my laptop tired! And I still have a “Book To Do” list two pages long.

Believe me, as a former cable TV marketer for Bravo and Oxygen, I am very grateful to be publishing my novel at a time when all of these free marketing tools are available–especially since I don’t have the same (read: any) budgets to spend on paid marketing placements like I did when I was employed by someone else. Short of walking around Manhattan with a LoveHampton sandwich board strapped over my shoulders, sitting in front of my laptop waiting patiently for my uploads to be complete seems like a far lesser evil.

But I’m fairly certain that once I’ve mastered the twitter-blip and the blog-vlog, there will be yet another technology for me to beg a tech-savvy friend to teach me how to do. (Note: In addition to multiple exclamation points, treating your advisors to a nice meal or an expensive bottle of champagne are good ways to show them your appreciation.)

Now that I’m pretty much all uploaded, I just hope the other kids on YouTube play nicely with LoveHampton21. I certainly don’t want to be forced to send my 206 Facebook friends—and counting if all my viral marketing plans work—after them.

Pictures that say a thousand words

At the DIY Content Syndication and Promotion session. Unfortunately, I'm talking when Me Ra Koh, the fabulous photographer we all fell in love with at the Sony Blogger Event, is. Oh well, at least I'm not missing someone I haven't seen before.

Also, My Readable Feast has just been redesigned by:

Heather at Girly Blog Designz has been very easy to work with, and didn't complain when I wanted to change the entire color scheme. The blog still needs a few baby tweaks, but I'm extremely happy with the design.

In fact, I'm recommending them to my clients as they're incredibly affordable even for newbie bloggers who want a cool, custom WordPress theme and hosting without investing a lot of money.

I hope to have some more good news to announce soon. Stay tuned.

Norton 360 Version 2.0 brought to you without interruptions

My PC has been on the fritz. At first anything using Flash locked up both Internet Explorer and Firefox, so I uninstalled it. Then I couldn't load more than one or two tabs in either Internet browser. After that my toolbars weren't loading in IE. (I need those StumbleUpon and Google toolbars, dammit.) And since I live my life online - from blogging to social bookmarking to Twittering - my work output started to slow down to a crawl.

Luckily I had my laptop as backup, but that meant taking the time to transfer files, and set up all the websites I need to do my my job as a community moderator at a popular women's social networking site. Of course, that ate up major amounts of time that I could have used for blogging.

The problem kept getting worse, and running my spyware and virus software didn't help. I finally decided it was time to take my PC into my local computer shop, which meant more time tracking my computer guy down (he's moving his shop right now) and unplugging my system.

Five days later I have my PC back, good as new. According to my computer guy, he had to run several types of security programs to get all the viruses off my computer, as well as reinstall IE, load some Windows updates, and do some general cleanup. (Tip: don't leave all those unused icons on your desktop - they eat up your computer's memory.)

I was dismayed to find out the highly recommended spyware and virus programs I use don't keep my PC completely protected. This is why I'm thrilled that the folks at Symantec sent me Norton 360 Version 2.0 to review.

Forget that Soccer Mom Crap - Just Call Me Sony Mom!

"Mommy, why did Sony give you those cameras and send you to San Diego?" asked my son Nathan.

"Because I'm an Influential Blogger,"  I replied.

"No you're not!" Nathan said. (My kid thinks I'm an idiot. Great.)

"Yes, I am an Influential Blogger. The folks at Sony even said so. Hey Nathan, do you know what influential even means?" I asked.

"Uh, no." he said.

I love Nathan but he's a typical eight-year-old boy - a smart ass who means well, but unfortunately can't find his own rear end with two hands. In this he bears a strange resemblance to the people who pitch their products to me. They're clueless when it comes to intelligently marketing products to women, and downright pathetic when it comes to pitching to mommy bloggers.

There are exceptions of course, like several of the book publicists, PR firms, and companies I work with regularly. They know I'm busy, spell my name right, and actually take the time to read my blogs before they pitch to me. I like working with them because they send me good stuff that I'm interested in reviewing or writing about.

Well, I'm going to have to add RocketXL and Sony to that list. Like my colleague Charlie Kondek at MS&L said in his post, BlogHer Business: It's Not About You, It's About Them:

...in approaching bloggers, it's not about you, the agency, the brand, the company, it's about them, the blogger, the customer. Talk to these bloggers...the way you'd talk to your customers.

Blog 101 by Kyra Reed - an ebook review

I'm always on the lookout for blogging books to recommend clients. A few I recommend are in the right lower side bar. The latest one I'm recommending for new bloggers is Blog 101: Why YOU Need a Blog and How to Make it Successful by Kyra Reed. It's a downloadable ebook available on Kyra's blog, blog101 for $19.95.

Blog 101 is an introduction to blogging for beginners. It covers the basic definitions, history and benefits of having and maintaining a blog. Blog 101 takes the reader through step-by-step instructions on setting up and populating a blog, integrating into the blogosphere and building the vital online community necessary for a blog to be a success!

Kyra was nice enough send me a free copy to review.

My Review

When it comes to blogging, there's a wealth of information out there, from the daddy of them all, Problogger to up-and-comers like Blog About Your Blog. While the information is available elsewhere, it's wonderful to have one document like blog101 to centralize the information.

In other words, Kyra's book is nothing new. And that's o.k. because its strength is that it's amazingly comprehensive. She give you tons of information you need to start blogging. Most importantly, she links to various websites and blogs you must check out. And the wonderful thing about reading an ebook on your computer is that you can double click the links and immediately see what Kyra's talking about. Try that with a traditional book.

One word of caution, while blog101 is a great book for beginners, it's really slanted towards bloggers who are promoting a business. So if you're a blogger who just wants to write about a passion, hobby or your life, some of the information may not apply or may be overwhelming.

My only kvetch with blog101 is that there are a few typos that a good editor would find. That's the problem with self-publishing. You don't see those little boo-boos because you've read the document thousands of time. I would recommend to Kyra to get a freelance writer with strong editing skills to go over the document and correct those typos. Yes, it may cost a little money, but it's something anyone who's self-publishing an ebook should do.

blog101 - A Write Spot Recommended ebook - check it out!

Download Blogging Fingers Free Monetization E-Book and You Could Win FruitFulTime TaskManager (a $30 value)

In my online travels, I come across numerous blogs that try to explain the art of blogging, social media, and making money online. Just recently, I came across two great ones - Social Media Mom (who wrote about my comment about CafeMom) and Blogging Fingers.

Blogging Fingers is written by Matt Jones of Cambridge, England who is only 19-years-old and a seasoned online marketer. This week, he's giving away a FREE download of his Blog Monetization Strategies e-book.

Just a few of his topics include:

• Essential Online Advertising Terms
• Diversification
• Types Of Advertising To Use When Monetizing A Flagship Blog
• Types Of Advertising To Use When Monetizing A Niche Blog
• AdSense PlugIns
• When To Monetize A Niche Blog
• When To Monetize A Flagship Blog
• When To Monetize A Flagship Blog You Plan To Sell
• Flagship blog monetization scenarios
• Niche blog monetization scenarios
• Pre-sell pages And Resource Pages

All you have to do is go to the post and fill out your email address and name to receive it.

But that's not all. Matt is giving away 10 copies of FruitfulTime TaskManager, a to do list software worth $30!

There are a few things you need to do (like giving Blogging Fingers a Stumble) but it's easy. (Go to the post Download The Blog Monetization Strategies E-book And Win $300! for details.)

I can't wait to read Matt's ebook to see what tips he has for monetization. I hope you take advantage of his contest to plug his book and possibly win a great prize, too.

How to manage multiple blogs and a busy schedule

Wondering how I do it all? See How to Squeeze Blogging Into a Very Hectic Schedule over at the Blogger Reps blog. My article will be appearing in the first Blogger Reps newsletter.

Go to Welcome to the Premiere Issue of the Blogger Reps Newsletter! for info on how to sign up to receive their newsletter.

Update: Click here to download the newsletter.

Finding new sites and services for beginning bloggers

I've been blogging for almost four years now, but I'm always learning how to blog better. This year my mission is to find services and websites that can help beginning bloggers avoid the time wasting mistakes I've made.

Here are some of my recent finds for newbie bloggers:

1. Daily Blog Tips. When it comes to offering tips about problogging, it's hard to compete with grand daddy of 'em all, Problogger. Still, Daniel at Daily Blog Tips impressed me with this post, 28 Ways to Make Money with Your Website, because it was incredibly comprehensive.

For newbie bloggers, monetizing can be extremely confusing. Daniel breaks down the different ways to monetize your blog and mentions most of the sites and services available to bloggers. Oddly, he left out Amazon, which could have come up under several categories - widgets, marketplaces, banner, text link, etc. Amazon is very user friendly for those just learning to make money with their blogs.

He also left out Blogads (which you have to be invited to join) and Adify. Since my income from them has been pretty low lately, I'm not surprised.

2. The E-Moms at Home 10 Days to a Better Blog: blog traffic e-course. It's FREE, it's a great beginner course for new bloggers, and it's from one of my favorite women on the web, Wendy Piersall.

Why do I recommend Wendy's e-course? Because she sits you down immediately and asks "What do you want to do with your blog?" Some people want a place to write. Others want to make money or promote their businesses. She had you create goals for your blog, which is what you MUST do even before you start setting up your site and writing content. It'll help you focus and avoid burn out.

Getting Organized with File Storage Boxes

It's not often that I blog about home decorating at The Write Spot, but a contest from Crazy Hip Blog Mamas and Better Today to win a $100 Container Store gift card gives me an excuse.

I saw this terrific idea for using inexpensive file storage boxes - the kind that are on sale this time of year - to organize your home office from Martha Stewart. I know you're thinking that storage boxes are so darn ugly, that's why we keep them in the closet! Well, Martha being into Good Things that are Not So Square, gives us this idea to make them attractive:

Add a splash of color to basic storage boxes!

1. Cut a plus-sign shape out of book cloth, measuring fabric so each side panel covers box with an extra 1/2 inch on both sides and 2 inches on end. (Click here to get the template on Martha's site.)
2. Spread paste on center cloth panel; set box on top.
3. Spread paste on side panels, and cover box, folding excess cloth over top edge, around corners, or under itself to hide seams.
4. Hold in place with clothespins; let dry overnight.
5. Cover lids if desired.

Since book cloth from Talas is about $9.50/yard plus shipping, a cheaper method is to use oil cloth. There are several online vendors that charge $5-7 per yard, but local stores like Wal-Mart, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Hancock Fabrics and JoAnn also carry oil cloth. Not only is it less expensive, but it's water resistant so you can wipe off spills and messes easily with a damp cloth.

If you're looking for a real bargain basement way to liven up your file storage boxes, try contact paper. It's not just for shelf and drawer lining anymore! (Does anyone really do that nowadays?) You should be able to find some attractive patterns at your local hardware or discount retailer.

I don't know if decorating your file boxes will make tax time any more pleasant. But they'll surely liven up your office and are an inexpensive way to get organized!

(Photo courtesy of MarthaStewart.com.)

My Thoughts on Sponsored Reviews

At BlogWorld Expo 2007, Matt Mullenweg, founding developer of WordPress, said that sponsored posts could kill the blogosphere and be a really corrupting influence. (You can hear Matt's full comments in the YouTube video by James Guske around the 5:44 to 7:45 mark.) Yes, he said sponsored posts without disclosure, but the message I got was that he didn't like paid posting at all. He felt that it lacks integrity and makes blogging less trustworthy.

Here's my view (and remember this just MY opinion, folks):

1. On all my blogs, sponsored posts are disclosed and labeled accordingly. To see them on this blog, just click on the sponsored post category.
2. I clearly state on my several of my blogs' sidebars that I do paid reviews. I don't do that currently here at The Write Spot. However, I plan to add a page with this post as "My Paid Review Policy" sometime this week. (Added 1/2/08 - click here to see My Sponsored Post and Review Policies.)
3. While I have a degree in journalism, my degree's emphasis was advertising and public relations with a minor in marketing. I help people with marketing communications with my freelance writing and social media expertise. Bottom line, I'm pro marketing and feel that being paid to post to create Internet buzz for a client, company or product is what I've been trained to do. That's why I'm comfortable doing paid posting on my blogs.
4. As far as journalistic integrity goes, newspapers and magazines run print and online advertising with the goal of making money. Why can't I? If you don't think their advertisers influence their editorial, you're naive. Maybe not at the Washington Post, but if you look many magazines, isn't funny how they'll run a recipe followed by an ad for one of the food products mentioned in the article? You bet publicists are giving them freebie samples in hopes that they'll feature those products in an article or photo spread, too.
5. If I get a freebie sample, I try thank the company that sent it right in the post. (See my review of High School Musical 2.) It's my way of letting my readers know about why I'm reviewing that product, book, or DVD. However, I haven't been very consistent doing this in the past. So I plan to have a product review policy up at all my blogs in 2008 to cover this.
6. I won't take sponsored posts from companies that I feel are dishonest or that are selling something I don't believe in. That's why you don't see any reviews of online casinos or breast enlargement surgeons on my blogs.
7. Just because I'm paid doesn't mean that the post will be positive. I believe in writing constructive criticism, and try to point out the good and bad about the product or website I'm asked to review. Don't believe me, then read my review of the Dodge Caravan I was given to test drive for a week. Or my review of iFitandHealthy.com that pointed out a lot of problems I had with the blog.
8. Paid posting, like blogging, is a great income source for stay at home caregivers and people who can't work traditional jobs due to disabilities or illness.

This is my blog, and I can do what I want as long as I disclose that it's a sponsored post or I got a freebie. If you don't like paid posting, would never do it at your blog or won't read blogs that have it, that's cool with me because it's your right to choose what blogs you give your readership to.

What's your opinion of paid posting? Leave a comment below!