F is for Friends

F is also for Facebook and Followers on Twitter. At the BBT Cafe, which is the social site for graduates of the blog book tours classes, we are friends in the true sense of the word, and continue to support each other in book marketing endeavors long after the classes end. It wasn't by design - this just evolved over time. So here's what you can expect on the weekly collaborative promotion menu:

Monday: We support each other on Facebook by posting our link and reminder at the Cafe site. Then we go to each other's Facebook pages, click the Like button on a status update we really do like, leave a comment, and most importantly, click on the Share button so that the link publishes on our own Facebook pages, and increases the readership of that author's post. Needless to say, most of us create status updates that are informative and easy for our friends to share. Something relevant. Something other authors would find interesting. Something that won't embarrass the rest of us.

Wednesday: We visit each other blogs and leave comments so that Google will notice how Fantastic we are.

Friday: We leave #FF (Follow Friday) suggestions at the Cafe and link over to Twitter to post fellow tweeter @ links so others can follow them, too. We also let people know why they should do this. Here's an example:

Be sure to #FF @Blogbooktours for great posts about blogging and promoting books. #books

The # is called a "hashtag" and if you go to Twitter and search #FF, you'll get everyone who is playing the follow Friday game - and you'll likely find some good folks to add to your own Twitter list.

It all sounds confusing, but it only takes a few weeks to get the hang of all this social networking stuff. If you don't understand, you have friends who will help you.

Yep. You got to have friends. Sing it loud and strong!

E is for Elements of a Good Blog

Our class members spend a good deal of time adding elements to their blogs for reader convenience and to make the blog more "sticky" with search engines. Arrange your sidebar elements in an order that's most useful to the viewer. I promised yesterday I would bump this post up, so here's the information I use over and over.

Let's take a look at the sidebar on this blog.

1. We start with a short description of what this blog is about - it's a quick profile.

2. Because the blog is the public newsletter for our blog book tour classes, many of the posts are useful to others interested in our topic, and so we have a share/bookmark button right beneath the profile. This is so readers can click and easily send the information on this blog to their friends on Facebook or any of a number of other online communities they might participate in. Click on the button, and you'll see the drop-down menu. This is an AddThis button which happens to be the neatest and most effective. There's a reason it's rated #1.  A later addition is via Blogger at the bottom of each post.

3. Next we make sure it's easy for our readers to engage with us on Facebook and Twitter. Those are basic links to our sites there, but you can also find pretty third-party widgets which add sparkle to the blog. I just haven't decided which one I like best yet. Always have your assorted links and sites cross-referenced on all your sites. Everyone is trying to connect at many levels these days.

4. Then make sure you have a few "subscribe" links for readers who use aggregators to keep track of their favorite blog updates. See the ugly RSS feed buttons in the sidebar? I'm looking for a nicer one like this. This symbol is almost as recognizable as the golden arches.

5. Google Friend Connect essentially works in a similar albeit limited way (and also has a certain psychological pull when many people follow the blog). Networked Blogs is another way to get a notice when someone updates a blog - it feeds through to Facebook and Twitter automatically. 

Start with a few of these basics up high in the sidebar of your blog, and then add more as you see features you like on other blogs you visit.  Why up high? Sometimes your readers are in a hurry and will only read the first post, so make it easy for them to share or stay connected by putting the handiest tools at their disposal. Don't make them search all over your blog. They'll appreciate you for it, and come back for a visit.

Even if you're not really sure what all these widgets, gadgets, and buttons are about, place them on your blog anyway. Many of your readers know how to use them, and what we're talking about is service and convenience to them.

The rest of the way down the sidebar? Lots of blogrolls - clickable links to sites that you like and that support your blog focus.

You might have an archive link which you'll want to collapse into a neat and tidy button. Intersperse other information and links as you wish lower down the sidebar.

You can also add a gadget on Blogger that magically makes all your most popular blog posts appear. See it at right? I also have links to related information like the Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever.

The last item on your list should be a hit counter and I prefer being able to see the visitor count. There can be any number of other items, but these are the very essential ones in that order.

And don't forget a contact link - if you don't want your email address on the front page, then consider adding a contact page under your header that readers must open for additional  information about how to reach you. It can be most frustrating for a reader seeking more information about you and your books (or services or other products), to not find a way to reach you.

And remember that you have lots of options for additional information categorized under Pages underneath your header. I've even included the A-Z Challenger participants under their own tab!

This post was last published on July 17, 2010. I'm now going to change the date so it appears on April 6, 2011. Because I can, and so can you.

The Blog Book Tour Daily Routine

This morning the blog book tour for Your Fantastic Elastic Brain kicked off - beautifully, seamlessly - thanks to the first host at Walking Nature Home. So my job as tour chaperone is to first leave a comment on her lovely blog. Then I test the links on her post, which takes me over to the publisher's blog.

Little Pickle Press has a corresponding blog post that directs people back to the host blog. It also has it's own grand prize drawing and readers have to leave a comment to be eligible. I'll leave a comment, as will other members of the LPP team, as this makes the blog and post more sticky to search engines.

With both of these blogs, I'll go to bit.ly and create shortened URLs that I can use on other social networks.

Next I go to Facebook and post a blurb and link to send my friends to the host blog.

Then I go to Twitter and do the same.

I also share on the Yahoo!Groups I belong to if it's allowed.

I now have the basic social networking for this tour stop in place. I'll promote the above links throughout the day, especially on Facebook and Twitter.

Also important is to ask your friends to promote. The easiest way to do this is have them Like and Share your status on Facebook, and to retweet on Twitter. If you don't know what any of that means, you don't have to do it. :) If you do, try it out by going to my Facebook page and my Twitter account. See how easy and painless that was? If only ten people do this, you have incrementally increased your book and blog exposure by thousands of readers.

You can help all your friends promote their books with this simple and easy method! It takes only a couple of minutes once the routine becomes habit.

December mini-course for novices

I've gotten requests to do a short training for novices about how to comment on blogs, as well as work Facebook and Twitter for promotion purposes. So I have a three-day course at the classroom later this month. Specifics:

Dec. 28 - Commenting and promoting blogs (this is not about setting up a new blog)
Dec. 29 - Using Facebook
Dec. 30 - Using Twitter

This is very rudimentary, but feel free to share with your aunties who are probably your biggest fans and would help promote you if they knew how!

It's free and sign-up is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blogbooktours

Happy holidays!

Blogging Tip #25

Today I have a post up at Little Pickle Press about Green Halloween, a program of the EcoMom Alliance. I really wanted to promote this post because the issues therein are important to me. So I first placed a status on my Facebook wall. Then I went to the Green Halloween Facebook page and told them I'd written about them and left a link that they and their friends could read. (They've already commented.) Then I went to Twitter and left a short, pithy comment and a bit.ly permalink to the Little Pickle Press blog post. Later I'll post again to @GreenHalloween so they pick up the tweet direct. If I had a contact name for EcoMom Alliance I'd also email them.  More on that promotion technique tomorrow!

How much do you promote your blog posts? Do you think it makes a difference?

Promotion Strength

When you're promoting your new book online, you must gauge the strength of your promotions in a realistic way. Hoping that readers will notice you is not enough.

I may be repeating myself, but it bears repeating. You must have a good blog of your own on which you post relevant articles 2-3 times a week. You must then make noise about your new blog posts at social sites like Twitter and Facebook so you drive traffic to your blog. Your blog is then a good platform for launching a blog book tour or other online promotion. Check your statistics regularly - anything over 100 hits per day is okay. More is better.

I can hear you grumbling now. Stop that and just do the work.

Next, pick blog hosts for reviews or tour stops that mimic all that I've mentioned above. Even if a blog doesn't have a hit counter that you can see, there are clues to the popularity of the blog. Does the host post 2-3 times a week? How long has the blog been in existence? Is the host getting comments on a regular basis? Do they have Twitter and Facebook links, and when you go there, can you see they are promoting their own posts and driving traffic to the potential review of your book?

Finally, do all the blogs we're talking about have clear links and instructions to a sales point? It's astounding to me how many promotions don't have a buy button or a suggestion to the customer to purchase the title in review.

Next we'll talk about Twitter and Facebook and how to build your viewership at those sites. You need a serious fan club to sell your books, and you can't just sit around waiting for people to discover you. Following and (be)friending in a regular though non-aggressive way is the method you need to develop.

At the Blog Book Tours class, the next assignments for the month focus on the social marketing groups we all know... and maybe hate. These include Facebook, MySpace, Goodreads, and Twitter.

We're starting with Twitter because it's the fastest, easiest, and most powerful for marketing your other websites. It's also less of a time-suck than the more complex social forums. There are other added benefits about Twitter networking that I'll point out later.

In a nutshell, Twitter is a micro-blogging site that allows snappy posts of 140 characters. To participate, you follow other Twitter users and this allows you to see their updates.

You, in turn, are followed by others and those people can read what you have to say. Keep this scenario in mind, because it's the key to how Twitter works, or how it doesn't if you don't "get it". Believe me, many people don't, and consequently feel it's a waste of time.

Let me repeat:

You must follow people to see their updates.
Only your followers can see your updates.

It's crucial you understand this. If you are enthusiastically following thousands of people, but only a fraction are following you back, then only that small fraction sees what you write. Therefore, it's important you spend your efforts offering information that is of value to others, so they will want to follow and read you.

Now, to get started, and before the following and socializing begins, you need a few things upfront:

1. An email account that is acceptable on Twitter like yahoo or hotmail


2. A name that coordinates with your other website efforts if possible - I use blogbooktours everywhere I can
   
3. A small photo for your homepage and post icon


4. A well-written short bio


5. The website link you will send readers to for more information
   

Now you're ready to set up your Twitter account. Go to http://twitter.com/ and follow the directions, plugging in the information above.

Once you've gotten this far, you're ready to practice entering some updates. Introduce yourself in one, leave a blog link in another, tell us what you're doing today in a third. Do this several times more, perhaps throughout the day, to get Twitter into your conciousness and just to practice writing concise but meaningful messages. Be sure to bookmark your Twitter page to make it one of your regular stops several times during the day, much like checking your email.

Now you're ready to start following people and have them follow you back. We'll talk about how to do that in the next post.

And then you can follow me @twitter!

Tomorrow I'll also post helpful links picked up at Twitter to help you even more. One of my favorites is TwiTip for ongoing updates and tips.

Twitter Tools

One of the built-in tools in Twitter is the ability to text message to your Twitter account from your phone, and many Twitter users do this. There is a page in Settings that allows you to create this ability. I don't use it because I can barely see well enough to make a phone call on my cell, much less text message. That doesn't mean it's unpopular with other tweeple. Many updates are sent to Twitter in this way.

There are other third party applications to organize Twitter, which is in itself a fairly simple and straightforward arrangement. Some of those more sophisticated applications like Friendfeed are mentioned at this blog.

As your Twitter following grows, you might want to try some of these tools to see if they help keep your Twitter account more organized. Me? I tweet on my computer, monitor the account daily, and find that this works fine so why mess with success? You, however, might find some of these applications very useful, so by all means try something new and then tell us what works for you and why.

DM on Twitter

DM stands for Direct Message, and allows people on Twitter to "talk" to each other without their messages appearing in the timelines. Most of the time this privacy feature actually works, but not always, so be cautious of what you say in a DM.

The DM feature should be used much like you use a telegram - for very important messages. Don't DM everyone on your list to tell them you just blogged. That's what the regular timeline is for, after all. Many times, the DMs land in tweeples mailboxes and your message will be viewed as spam. It's just too invasive, and risks loss of followers.

Here's an example of an appropriate DM:

My doctor has given me ten days to live. Thank you for sharing time with me on Twitter. You've made my life much better. Goodbye!

Okay, that might be a little extreme. The point is that DMs are meant for important and private information. Keep that in mind before you use this feature on Twitter. If this guideline doesn't fit your post, just update in the usual way so everyone following you can read your post.

Twitter Confusion

We are in Day 4 of Twitter practice in our Blog Book Tours class. A few folks are getting themselves very confused. That's not uncommon, and the only suggestion I have is to keep plugging away, and eventually you will "get it" by rote. Post and read three times a day as described in previous lessons. Get a sense of the interaction for a few days and it will sink in. Twitter is deceptively simple, and this sometimes adds to the confusion. Don't make it more complicated than it really is.

One important point. When you go to Twitter, make sure you are signed in. You should get a sign-up window if you are not. Obviously, until you are signed into your account with your password, you cannot read your timeline, which means all the updates of the people you are following and your own posts.

And start reading http://www.twitip.com on a regular basis. Think of it as Twitter Berlitz. The more you immerse yourself in this foreign language, the more quickly you will understand what everyone is talking about.

Follow me, where I go

You've set up your Twitter account and are now ready to figure out how it works. So here's how you do it: Follow me. Or more accurately, go to my Twitter account @BlogBookTours , and look at who I'm following in that little icon section at right. Click on View All and you'll get my entire list from the most recent added all the way back to the first. Scroll through and click on any name that interests you. Try to follow a few hundred people very quickly. Ten pages is plenty for one sitting. You'll immediately start seeing updates for those people each time they post. Continue this for a few days until you are following about 500. Then follow people from other sources, too, including Twitter widgets that you'll start seeing on blogs and websites.

Over the next few days, people will start following you back, and can then see your postings on Twitter. So it's important to post several times a day as I described in the previous post, to keep your followers interested in you. Remember, it is only your Followers who will see what you write, so it is important that you have followers. I repeat, only your followers can read your messages. Many people follow thousands, but this just gives you more to read! Those people can't read you until they follow you back. You must understand this, as it's key to making Twitter work for you.

Twitter is difficult to search, so if you are looking for areas of interest, click on the categories at this site. Just Tweetit is by no means complete (@BlogBookTours isn't listed, after all), but, again, it's a good way to get started with connections that interest you.

Next we'll talk more about proactive and beneficial updates. Tell them more than just what you're doing, especially if it's ho-hum. Give them added content and links to visit. That's how you make Twitter work for you.

A Very Social February

February is all about love because of Valentines Day, but at the Blog Book Tours Yahoo!Group, the assignments for the month focus on the social marketing groups we all know... and maybe hate. These include Facebook, MySpace, Goodreads, and Twitter.

We're starting with Twitter because it's the fastest, easiest, and most powerful for marketing your other websites. It's also less of a time-suck than the more complex social forums. There are other added benefits about Twitter networking that I'll point out later.

In a nutshell, Twitter is a micro-blogging site that allows snappy posts of 140 characters. To participate, you follow other Twitter users and this allows you to see their updates. You in turn, are followed, and those people can read what you have to say. Keep this scenario in mind, because it's the key to how Twitter works, or how it doesn't if you don't "get it". Believe me, many people don't, and consequently feel it's a waste of time.

Now, to get started, and before the following and socializing begins, you need a few things upfront:

1. An email account that is acceptable on Twitter like yahoo or hotmail



2. A name that coordinates with your other website efforts if possible - I use blogbooktours everywhere I can



3. A small photo for your homepage and post icon



4. A well-written short bio



5. The website link you will send readers to for more information
   

Now you're ready to set up your Twitter account. Go to http://twitter.com/ and follow the directions, plugging in the information above.

Once you've gotten this far, you're ready to practice entering some updates. Introduce yourself in one, leave a blog link in another, tell us what you're doing today in a third. Do this several times more, perhaps throughout the day, to get Twitter into your conciousness and just to practice writing concise but meaningful messages. Be sure to bookmark your Twitter page to make it one of your regular stops several times during the day, much like checking your email.

Now you're ready to start following people and have them follow you back. We'll talk about how to do that in the next post.

And then you can follow me @twitter!

Connections

Our Blog Book Tours yahoogroup is now fully in session, and the current group of challengers is working hard at the post-a-day Blog Challenge. They are doing a marvelous job, and you can visit their sites via the blog links at right. Go help them out by leaving a comment!

The challengers are also tweaking their blogs with improvements like bookmarking, even more good links for you to explore, follow me options, and other add-ons to make your visit exceptional. How often have you visited a blog that didn't have an RSS feed, or a connection to the related website, or a way to follow on Twitter, or even an email link to contact the blogger?

So challengers, if you're on Facebook, or Twitter, or any of a number of other sites, make sure each location in inter-connected to the others. Make it easy for your fans. Sometimes this means you must simply type an email address like this:

Me at internethost dot com

This prevents robots from harvesting your address when typed in the usual manner.

So take a look at your blog and make sure that all your connections flow to locations that support and enhance your purpose.

How do you ensure your fans will come back to visit your blog?

Twitter

I'm always on the prowl for new marketing tools that support blogging, and Twitter, a micro-blogging site, has become one of my favorite dailies. It's fast, easy, and effective. What more could you ask for when it comes to promoting your books?

There are tricks to maneuvering in Twitter. It doesn't work if you don't interact, post regularly, and communicate meaningfully. Once you "get it", it's fun. But, beyond that, there are benefits to participating that I didn't anticipate. Every single day, I find a links to sites that give me more information, ideas, and connections. They're useful sites that help me in my own work; sites I wouldn't have found on my own.

Today, I picked up this link at Twitter - http://www.sellingbooks.com/. Who doesn't want to learn more about Selling Books? I haven't explored it in great depth, but I will. It's a well-organized site, attractive, and loaded with the kind of added content that makes for many return visits.

What about the rest of you? Do you Twitter? What have you learned over there? Have you discovered any great new sites you didn't know about? What was the hardest thing about learning to Twitter? What's the biggest surprise now that you know how?

Give us a link so we can follow you on Twitter. Here's mine. You can peek at a few of my Twitter comments in the right column, too.

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Yet another day of no service from Blogger.com .... we are not spam!

The Power of Story

Picked up at Twitter, an article about The Power of Story on blogs at the ProBlogger site. A good read for anyone who regularly blogs and needs inspiration.

Happy Sunday all!

A Smashing Idea

Picked up at Twitter, Smashing Magazine offers up fifteen tools purported to make your blogging life easier. Do any of them work? I haven't tried them since the actual act of blogging isn't that difficult for me. But, if you're a virtual gadget lover, this might offer you some tools you'll like, and the article is definitely worth a read. Clear overviews and a clean wrap-up make it worth your while. This eMagazine is definitely worth exploring further.

Thanks, aboutbooks, for the heads-up.