Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts

Monday, October 18, 2021

Share book tweets with fellow authors on Book Retweet Day Oct 21st #MFRWauthor #Books @MFRW_ORG

Book Retweet Day is the third Thursday of each month.

You must be a member of the MFRW IO Group to take part. (This retweet day is to promote each other and our group.) There is no cost to join or take part.

Book Retweet Day Directions

The purpose of Book Retweet Day is to gain help from other authors in sharing a tweet about your book.

How does it work?

You create a tweet and copy the tweet's URL, then share it in the comments here. Another author clicks on your tweet's URL and then retweets it on Twitter. You do the same for them on a tweet they shared. If you have 500 followers and the other author has 500, then by sharing tweets, you each had a reach of 1000.

What do I have to do?

  1. Before Book Retweet Day, log in to Twitter and create a tweet. You can share up to 280 characters per tweet.
  2. Use an image to attract attention (i.e., your cover or a banner).
  3. Use hashtags that fit your book's genre. Readers often search Twitter for their favorites.
  4. Once the tweet has been posted, click anywhere in the white background of the tweet. This will open it and allow you to highlight and copy the URL.
  5. Navigate back to here and paste the URL in the comment section of this post.
  6. Come back on Book Retweet Day and retweet everyone on the list whose work fits your stream. **

You do not have to respond to each comment. If you have completed several, you have the option of commenting: "caught up to here". This will also help you see where you left off if you come back later.

**If a tweet doesn't fit your stream, you are under no obligation to share it. You will NOT be able to edit the tweet because you are only retweeting what they have already shared. Please note that if you continue to not share, no one will share yours either. 

Here's to a great day of book retweets!

 

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers, a US Navy veteran, and has been married so long she's tenured. https://kayelleallen.com

Sunday, June 3, 2018

What should authors blog about? Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #amwriting


What should authors blog about? Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #amwriting
What do I blog about? What am I supposed to say? Shouldn't I be writing a book instead of blogging?
Let's start with that last question and work back to the first. You blog because it's a way to keep your website fresh. Having a blog on your website means your information is constantly updated. This means search engines (like Google) will find new activity, which will raise your site's importance in search results. A site that hasn't updated in a year will fall out of sight, whereas one that changes weekly brings new readers.
Why do you have a website? For readers to find out about you and your books. You can also use them to obtain readers for your newsletter and to blog. In fact, a blog should be an organic extension of your books. Your posts can provide reasons to read your books, information about your characters, sales and special events, blog hop posts, and much more. A great way to get that information out is to blog.

What do I blog about?

So what can you talk about? What keeps readers coming back? Here's a list you can use for ideas. (download the PDF of this at the end)
Talk about the benefits provided by your book
  • Learn
  • Laugh
  • Thrill
  • Pleasure
  • Experience
  • Good cry
Inspiration behind writing the book
Protagonist info so readers get to know them
Antagonist info so readers know what to expect
Prologue to the events of the book
Short story in the past or future
Events which relate to the book
The world of the book
Hero's home
Heroine's home
Profile the evil leaders
Related story including a secondary character
Create an entirely new character from the world
Lists related to things featured in the book
Maps of the world
Photos taken by you (conventions, etc.)
Trees on this world
Topography and land area
What is it that drives you to write
Graphics you create

Videos and Podcasts

By adding videos or podcasts, you can bring a whole new level to your website. Download Audacity (a free program) to create your own readings. You can use the microphone on your computer to record your voice.
Illustrations and drawing
Trailers
Do a video reading
A podcast reading
A podcast of names and how to say them
Podcast of the language
In short, anything and everything related to your book is fair game when creating a blog post. Start a list of items mentioned in your books and talk about them. Do you write historical novels? How were hairbrushes different back then? How did people dress? What was the main meal like each day? If you write science fiction, how is your world different from ours? What are the rules regarding social interaction? What is day-to-day transportation like? Most of the questions for historical or sci fi can be interchanged.
Look for ways you can share the world of your book and open the eyes of readers. Don't give away the plot, but do entice them with snippets and details. When you start making a list, you'll soon find you have more things to blog about than you ever imagined.

About Kayelle Allen


Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran who's been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group Download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Advice for Authors Doing Blog Tours by @KayelleAllen #MFRWauthor #Author

I host over 350 authors a year on Romance Lives Forever, and I have hosted many blog tours. I currently have about 2k viewers a day on RLF, and to get them, I use good content, good formatting, and consistent posting. I also amplify my blog's reach with Triberr (more about that in an upcoming post).

Purpose of Blog Tours

Blog tours are primarily used to get your book in front of readers. When you launch a new title, it's an efficient way to show off the cover and the blurb and tease readers into pre-ordering or buying.

Blog tours should allow readers to see how original you are as a writer. Having different subjects for each post can help. If you have 10-12 posts, each with an identical title, it's a bit boring. Change it up by using new titles on each site.

Use solid hashtags in the title. Yes, in the title. Why? Hashtags are search programs. When you click one on social media, it shows you other tweets or posts that used the same topic. When people share your post on social media, that title becomes a tweet or a Facebook title. If it has a hashtag, your chances of being seen shoot up exponentially. Even more if your Twitter name is in the title. Search Twitter for the hashtag #RLFblog to see this in action. To know if a hashtag is worth using, search it on Twitter or for faster results, try a site like RiteTag.

However, do not use your Twitter name as a hashtag (#yourname). If you're the one sending the tweet, your name is right there in the sent info. If you're a guest somewhere, give them your Twitter name to use as a mention (@yourname). Readers on social media can click the @name and easily follow you. The hashtag is going to take them to a search program. Use your name to get followers and pull them to your homepage, not to send people on a search.

A bonus of the @name versus a hashtag is that Twitter will pull those mentions into your notifications page. They will not show you who used the hashtag. You're on your own finding those.

I've seen something lately that I hope dies a quick death. People are writing "Book Promo" or "Book Blitz" somewhere in the title. This is a big red flag that screams "Advertisement" or "Commercial". Readers don't want to be bludgeoned with ads and commercials. Please don't do this, especially on blog tours where you will be producing multiple posts. Please put those old fashioned words away and let them die in peace. They will kill your sales. I do not permit this type of wording on RLF.
 

When you use blog tours properly by setting out new posts, good hashtags, and snappy titles that draw attention, you are well on your way to a successful book launch.

New from Kayelle Allen

Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire
When the immortal Pietas is marooned on a barren world with no food and few survival tools, he knows it could be worse. He could be alone. But that's the problem. He's not.
Half a million of his people sleep in cryostasis, trapped in their pods and it's up to Pietas to rescue them. Before he can save his people, he must take back command from a ruthless enemy he's fought for centuries. His brutal, merciless father. Immortals may heal, but a wound of the heart lasts forever... 
Amazon and in print. Free on Kindle Unlimited
http://amzn.to/2ABIcCI

Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers. She writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Good Keywords for Author SEO by Kayelle Allen @KayelleAllen #author #tips

Authors need good keywords for blog posts, books, marketing, even writing newsletters. SEO, which means Search Engine Optimization, is all about writing and content searchable by search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. After all, if no one can find you, what good will it do to write material anyway? To be found, authors need good keywords and good SEO.
Included in this post is a shot of the Yoast SEO Wordpress plugin used on my personal site. I use this plugin on each post. This is one I used for a post called How to Leave A Review (which I'll mention again below).
A focus keyword.
For ex, a phrase that includes the genre, book or character name, or a descriptive phrase. On one of my posts, titled "How to Leave a Review" I used "leave a review" and repeated it in the title, url, H2 heading, and the body. By the time I'd finished it was there 13 times total. Anyone searching for info on how to leave one, when to leave one, where to leave one, etc. would be likely to find it.
Slug
The slug is what the words at the end of the url are called. Mine was leave-a-review (after the kayelleallen.com/ ) Making it the same as the focus word strengthens the SEO.
Meta Title / Meta Description
I use Wordpress, and a plugin called Yoast SEO allows me to choose the meta title and description. When you Google something, you know the words in bold that come up and show you a title? That's the meta title. The words beneath it are the meta description. If you can't specify, then Google (and other search engines) pick up the post title and about 150 characters of the first paragraph.
Yoast SEO shows a green line (meaning good) when a title is more than 54 characters but no more than 94 characters. For the meta description, use a minimum 120 characters but no more than 156 characters. Remember, if you don't have a program that will provide this info for search engines, write posts with this type of information right up front.

More SEO for Authors

Title and hashtags
I try to match the focus keyword and then research the best hashtags on https://ritetag.com/
H2 Header
Match your focus keyword somewhere on the page in an H2 heading.
Video
Because it owns YouTube, Google loves videos from there. Use the focus word in the description and/or header of that.
Call to action
Generally, I plan my call to action first, and then write the post to showcase that. I want people to leave a review of my book, so I pulled it in as examples in the entire post about how to leave a review. Then I asked if they had left one no matter who's or where, to share the link. It got a ton of views, but no comments. Typically, I get far more views than comments, so it wasn't a surprise.
Image alt tags
On my personal site, I highlight the title of the post and paste that into the alt tag line of each image in the post.
Featured Image
In Blogger, you usually see the first image when you post a url on Facebook or Twitter. With Wordpress, you can pick the exact image you want, even if it isn't in your actual post. When the meta title and description go up on Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc., that is the image that goes with it.
Other minor things to watch:
Use one category only. This is like the folder in the filing cabinet. It can only go in one at a time. Exception: On RLFblog, I use two categories when the author does an interview. One for the type of interview, and one for the type of book. This lets readers search for both.
Use keywords that are genre specific, book specific, topic oriented. Keep keywords simple so readers can easily click the tag and find everything in the topic. For ex, don't use the word book plus the word books. One or the other.
That's pretty much what I do. It's working very well.

If you use Wordpress, get the Yoast SEO for Wordpress plugin. It will teach you these very things. If you do them, your article is going to be much more findable by search engines. Use the checklist, and write good content that contains information people want to find. It's that simple.

About Kayelle Allen

Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers. She writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Join the Romance Lives Forever Reader Group Download four free books and get news about books coming soon. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Sign Up NOW! #MFRWauthor 52-Week Blog Challenge

It's WEEK 13 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's writing prompt is "My Greatest Weakness"

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
If any MFRW author participating in the challenge is interested in taking on the role of coordinating the weekly post, please let me know in the comments. The blog is seeking experienced blogger users to assist in the management of our blogs.

Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Week12 WRITING PROMPT: #MFRWauthor Blog Challenge

It's WEEK 12 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's writing prompt is "My Greatest Strength"

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
If any MFRW author participating in the challenge is interested in taking on the role of coordinating the weekly post, please let me know in the comments. The blog is seeking experienced blogger users to assist in the management of our blogs.

Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

SIGN UP NOW! Week 11 of #MFRWauthor Blog Challenge

It's WEEK 11 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's writing prompt is "Plot Away... My Writing Process"

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

It's Week 10 of #MFRWauthor 52-Week Blog Challenge!

It's WEEK 10 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's writing prompt is "Seven Guilty Pleasures"

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

SIGN UP! It's #MFRWauthor Blog Challenge Week 9!

It's WEEK 9 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's writing prompt is "Words that make me go Ick!"

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

It's Week 8! SIGN UP for #MFRWauthor Blog Challenge

It's WEEK 8 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's writing prompt is "How I Choose a Book Title"

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Time to Sign Up! #MFRWauthor Blog Challenge Week 7 Prompt

It's WEEK 7 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's writing prompt is "Music To Write By"

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

#MFRWauthor 52-Week Blog Challenge... Week 6 Writing Prompt

It's WEEK 6 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's writing prompt is "My Hobbies"

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Ready to SIGN UP for #MFRWauthor Blog Challenge?

It's WEEK 5 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge!
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's prompt is "Meet My Best Friend".

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

SIGN UP for Week4 of the #MFRWauthor 52-week Blog Challenge!

It's WEEK 4 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge.
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose. Anyone can join at any point in the challenge...  FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

This week's prompt is "Sorry Editor! My Common Writing Mistakes".

Are You Ready?
  1. Create your post using the weekly writing prompt. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title.
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below.
  4. Include the linky list code in your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

#MFRWauthor 52-Week #Blog Challenge: Week 3 Writing Prompt... Have you signed up?

It's WEEK 3 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge.
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

This week's prompt is TV Shows I Binge.


FOLLOW THIS LINK TO LEARN MORE AND JOIN THE CHALLENGE.

Are You Ready?
  1. Use the weekly writing prompt to create your post. Include this challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title, and be original - don't use "week #1 of 52-week challenge" because that's not unique and won't drive readers to your post. Be creative!
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below. Be sure to use the post's direct link - not your blog home page.
  4. Include the linky list code to the top of your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration. Also take a moment to share them on social media through the links right on the author's post. It increases visibility!
Do You Have a Buddy Yet?
If you haven't already been assigned a buddy, comment below and we can match you up.
VERY IMPORTANT: check in with your buddy... encourage them to post, read their blog post (even if you don't get to any others), and share it on social media.

Sign Up Now.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Join Us! It's Week 2! #MFRWauthor 52-Week Blog Challenge

It's WEEK 2 of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge.
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

This week's prompt is HOW MY FAMILY SURVIVES MY WRITING.


It's not too late to join the challenge! FOLLOW THIS LINK to read the original
challenge post to get details.

Are You Ready?
  1. Use the weekly writing prompt to create your post. Include the challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title, and be original - don't use "week #1 of 52-week challenge" because that's not unique and won't drive readers to your post. Be creative!
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below. Be sure to use the post's direct link - not your blog home page.
  4. Include the linky list code to the top of your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration!

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

#MFRWauthor Blog Challenge Week1 Theme: A Few of my Favorite Things

It's WEEK ONE of the MFRW 52-week blog challenge.
Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being fiction writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. Our challenge is designed to help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose.

This week's prompt is A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS.


All authors with blogs can participate. It's very simple! FOLLOW THIS LINK to read the original challenge post to get details.

Are You Ready?
  1. Use the weekly writing prompt to create your post. Include the challenge badge in your post.
  2. Use #MFRWauthor in your title, and be original - don't use "week #1 of 52-week challenge" because that's not unique and won't drive readers to your post. Be creative!
  3. Add your post's direct link to the linky list below. Be sure to use the post's direct link - not your blog home page.
  4. Include the linky list code to the top of your post.
  5. On Friday, read a few of the other authors' blog posts. Reading other posts gives you great ideas and inspiration!

Monday, January 2, 2017

JOIN The 2017 #MFRWauthor 52-Week Blog Challenge!

Blogging is an opportunity for authors to connect with readers. Despite being writers, blogging is an entirely different style of writing and often stumps us. To help our authors blog consistently, thoughtfully and with purpose, Marketing for Romance Writers is announcing the 2017 Blog Challenge. Each week, authors use our writing prompt to create a meaningful blog post. We'll be posting every Friday... join us as often as possible.



All authors with blogs are welcome to participate. It's very simple!

  1. Sign up in the comments below to commit to the challenge. You will be "buddied" up with another author for support.
  2. Copy the badge onto your blog's sidebar. Share it on your social media networks. Be sure to link it back to this page.
  3. Write your weekly blog post based on the given prompt. Use #MFRWauthor in your title, and be original - don't use "week 2 of 52-week challenge" because that is not unique and won't drive readers to your post.
  4. Return to the MFRW Marketing Blog weekly to add your blog post to the linky list. This will be available each Tuesday for that week's posts. When adding your link, use the post's direct link - not your blog home page.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Blog Challenges: What NOT to Blog About @kayelleallen #AtoZchallenge #MFRWauthor

What should you blog about? Anything you want. Whatever you're passionate about. All the topics that interest you. Is there anything you should not talk about? No. Not really. Then what do I mean by a title that says "what NOT to blog about"? It's not so much the "what" as it is the "how."

Talk about anything you please, but stop and consider why you're blogging before you start. For example, have you accepted a blog challenge? This is a writing exercise in which you blog on certain days or with specific themes. We've all seen these challenges: Thursday Thirteen, Manic Monday, and of course, blog hops where everyone follows a theme or uses a specific hashtag. I want to talk to you today about the #AtoZchallenge.

When you write your blog posts, remember the reasons for accepting a challenge.
1. To get in the habit of blogging
2. To bring readers to your blog
3. To show readers your writing skills
4. To hone your writing skills

Therefore, if you decide to blog, accept the challenge, and do it right. Don't bore your readers. You want them to think you are a good writer, not one who takes the easy way out and writes cookie cutter posts. What do I mean? Look at these #AtoZChallenge posts:
A is for Anxiety
B is for Books
C is for Cookies
The real show stopper? This one: "Day 2 is on the blog"

No, I am not kidding you. Those are actually on Twitter right now in the #AtoZChallenge. Do you not agree that these titles sound like grade school lessons? They reflect writers who take the easy road. Would you dash over to Amazon and buy a book by someone who does that?

Please don't make yourself look like a lazy writer with posts and titles like this. Be creative. Wouldn't you prefer to read these?


Show the world you are creative and interesting. Take the time to make your post and title worth the effort you will spend doing the project. I challenge you.
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Kayelle Allen is a best selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr. Her latest book is Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas. She is currently involved in a personal blog challenge: #ChaosIsComing which is 30 Days of Chaos for the release of the book.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Do Hybrid Authors Need a Website? Yes. Here's Why @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor

Definition: Hybrid Author -- one who publishes in more than one way, using any combination of traditional, small press, epress, and/or self-publishing.

Header for kayelleallen.com 
There are more reasons authors need a website, but these are the most important, in my opinion. What do I know? As a hybrid author myself, I have marketed my books for over twelve years, and have been a mentor to many. I'm the owner of The Author's Secret, and work with authors every day. Plus, I'm the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers, which has nearly 3k members on Yahoo and over 6k members on Facebook.
  1. When you are self-published, your books are found online, not while a reader is casually walking past a shelf in a bookstore. A casual shopper might see your book on Amazon, or Barnes and Noble, and other sites. But a website gives readers a place to research your books and find out more about you. If a reader likes your book, or wants to know more, where can he or she go to learn about you?
  2. A website with your name as the domain (authorname.com) provides a place without ads that pop up like some of the "free" sites. Readers who see popups and ads spend less time on the site. If they click one of the ads, they are taken away from your site. With your own domain, you can control whether clicking a link opens in a new window, which allows readers to shop, and then come back.
  3. A website is an investment in your business and your future. If writing is a hobby for you, and you are only in it for the fun, save your money and do a free site. If writing is what wakes you up in the morning and puts you to bed (late) at night, then do yourself and your future readership a favor and become serious about promoting yourself with a website.
  4. A website gives you the opportunity to judge how well known you are. Google Analytics is one of the free tools out there to let you interpret website statistics. (it's not as scary as it sounds, trust me) For example, I know that today, 38% of visitors to my website get there by directly typing my name (and adding .com) into the address bar of their browser.
  5. With your own domain, you can have several professional email accounts with your author name. (yourname@yourdomain.com) It's okay to use another email account such as Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. as well. You can have your professional email accounts forward there. But you'll need a pro account for contacting publishers, review sites, sending press releases, and for business cards or your website. I use several different email addresses. When I do a live event I can use a new one, and others for anything promoted online or in print. When I get an email, I can tell immediately where the person got the address. This helps me judge effectiveness of an event's reach.
  6. Adding a blog (such as Wordpress) to your own domain means people who read your blog come directly to your site. No one will shut down your blog if it belongs to you and is hosted on your own domain.
  7. A website gives you a place to sell books and to gather contacts for your newsletter. This is vital. A newsletter is a list of people who have expressed an interest in your books. Would you not want to know who they are? Of course you would!
Are there other reasons? Yes. I'd love to hear yours.

What if you can't afford a dedicated domain name?
  1. If you have no money and you are just starting out, scrimp and save and buy that domain. Go without two new books. It will cost you about the same.
  2. Ask on Marketing for Romance Writers  for advice as well. You'll find lots of people ready to help.
  3. If you don't know how to create a site, create one with wordpress. You can get beautiful free themes and do customization on your own by following directions online.
  4. Ask around, and see who built their own sites. See if a friend will help. There is power in networking.
Bottom line, a website is your best bet for creating a place for readers to find out more about you and your books. Make the most of the opportunity. A blog will bring people to your site, so if you've been thinking about creating one, while you're creating your site is a good time to start.
Have something to add to this? Leave a comment below.
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Kayelle Allen is a best selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr.
Homeworld and Blog https://kayelleallen.com