I make it a point to ping at least once a week. Try one of these multi-pinging services to notify servers about a recent update to your blog:
BlogFlux Pinger
BlogPingR.de
King Ping
Ping
Pingoat
Ping-o-matic
Poll-n-Ping!
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping_(blogging)" - a must read if you don't quite understand what pinging is all about.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label blogs. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label blogs. Tampilkan semua postingan
Minggu, 11 Januari 2009
Minggu, 31 Agustus 2008
August Blog Challenge Ends
I'm pleased to say that I managed to post once a day all through the month of August and so did most of the challengers. Congratulations! Don't our blogs look good now?
Starting on September 2nd, about half our challenge participants will put their blogs up for peer critique over at the Yahoo! Group. If you're an author looking for ways to improve your blogging, the process might give you some hints to help you get better at it. Our focus, of course, is blogging to promote your books. Because your own blog is the launching pad for a good blog book tour. You can learn more about that by reading The Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever.
And Blogger.com still requires word verification to publish. They haven't lifted spam designation yet. Soon I'll have to request they review my blog for the fifth time. Is anyone else having problems with Blogger.com?
Starting on September 2nd, about half our challenge participants will put their blogs up for peer critique over at the Yahoo! Group. If you're an author looking for ways to improve your blogging, the process might give you some hints to help you get better at it. Our focus, of course, is blogging to promote your books. Because your own blog is the launching pad for a good blog book tour. You can learn more about that by reading The Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever.
And Blogger.com still requires word verification to publish. They haven't lifted spam designation yet. Soon I'll have to request they review my blog for the fifth time. Is anyone else having problems with Blogger.com?
Rabu, 27 Agustus 2008
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet another day of no service from Blogger.com .... we are not spam!
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet another day of no service from Blogger.com .... we are not spam!
Minggu, 24 Agustus 2008
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!
Happy Sunday all!
Jumat, 22 Agustus 2008
Friday - Joke of the Day
What's your favorite writing joke?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How many publishers does it take to change a light bulb?
Three. One to change it and two to hold down the author.
How many editors does it take to change a light bulb?
Two, one to change the bulb and one to issue a rejection slip to the old bulb.
How many proofreaders does it take to change a light bulb?
Proofreaders aren't supposed to change light bulbs. They should just query them.
How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Two. One to screw it in almost all the way in and the other to give it a suprising twist at the end.
How many writers does it take to change a light bulb?
Two. One to change the bulb and one to tell a long story about it.
How many literary critics does it take to change a light bulb?
Literary critics don't know how, but rest assured they'll find something wrong with the way you do it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How many publishers does it take to change a light bulb?
Three. One to change it and two to hold down the author.
How many editors does it take to change a light bulb?
Two, one to change the bulb and one to issue a rejection slip to the old bulb.
How many proofreaders does it take to change a light bulb?
Proofreaders aren't supposed to change light bulbs. They should just query them.
How many mystery writers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Two. One to screw it in almost all the way in and the other to give it a suprising twist at the end.
How many writers does it take to change a light bulb?
Two. One to change the bulb and one to tell a long story about it.
How many literary critics does it take to change a light bulb?
Literary critics don't know how, but rest assured they'll find something wrong with the way you do it.
Minggu, 17 Agustus 2008
The Challenge of Blogging Daily
The August Blogging Challengers are halfway through their contest of blogging every single day. Most of us are getting a bit tired of dreaming up exciting new posts, and are wondering whether we can keep this up after the month is over. The question is, do we have to?
A blog post per day is a good way to get some additional traffic to your blog, which is a particularly good idea before a blog book tour. But, it might not be necessary to keep your blog fresh quite this often as a normal practice. It's important to post at least twice a week, and three or four times is even better. But, unless you have a group blog and share the job with other people, it could become too much of a ... dare I say it?... drag to keep up the pace.
The point of this exercise is to develop a good habit over a period of thirty days. But, you can continue a very good habit three times a week, and that might work just as well. That's the number of posts that would work for me, especially since I like to pre-schedule several posts for the week on Monday.
What about the rest of you? Have you given any consideration to what your blogging schedule will be come September and for the remainder of the year? Do you have events or any special reasons that might make you increase your regular blogging? What are they? Give it some thought and tell us why and how you plan to continue your blogging practice when our contest is over.
A blog post per day is a good way to get some additional traffic to your blog, which is a particularly good idea before a blog book tour. But, it might not be necessary to keep your blog fresh quite this often as a normal practice. It's important to post at least twice a week, and three or four times is even better. But, unless you have a group blog and share the job with other people, it could become too much of a ... dare I say it?... drag to keep up the pace.
The point of this exercise is to develop a good habit over a period of thirty days. But, you can continue a very good habit three times a week, and that might work just as well. That's the number of posts that would work for me, especially since I like to pre-schedule several posts for the week on Monday.
What about the rest of you? Have you given any consideration to what your blogging schedule will be come September and for the remainder of the year? Do you have events or any special reasons that might make you increase your regular blogging? What are they? Give it some thought and tell us why and how you plan to continue your blogging practice when our contest is over.
Rabu, 13 Agustus 2008
When?
When should you blog? Well, the answer to that is as personal as when should you write? What's your best writing time? When does your life allow for writing space?
Your blogging is just a part of that. It's "real" writing, and you need to consciously schedule time for it. One day a week? Perhaps you'll opt to write three related weekly posts on Monday. Or daily? Maybe you'll post something on your blog after dinner, each and every day.
The important thing is that you make time for it and do it with regularity. This is part of what will make your blog interesting to readers, and easier for you to accomplish. All the habit tricks you use for other writing apply to your blogging as well. Trust me, it's easier with a plan and discipline.
It's all part of your commitment to succeeding as a writer. Read Teagan Oliver's comments about commitment here.
Your blogging is just a part of that. It's "real" writing, and you need to consciously schedule time for it. One day a week? Perhaps you'll opt to write three related weekly posts on Monday. Or daily? Maybe you'll post something on your blog after dinner, each and every day.
The important thing is that you make time for it and do it with regularity. This is part of what will make your blog interesting to readers, and easier for you to accomplish. All the habit tricks you use for other writing apply to your blogging as well. Trust me, it's easier with a plan and discipline.
It's all part of your commitment to succeeding as a writer. Read Teagan Oliver's comments about commitment here.
Selasa, 12 Agustus 2008
What?
What are your reasons for blogging? I don't mean the reasons everyone else is giving you, because those will never be compelling enough reasons to make you blog. So what if it's the latest thing? What reasons can you create that make you want to blog?
Have you considered how easy it really is? It's a piece of cake compared to learning HTML and creating a real website. Many people are foregoing a website completely as blogging becomes more sophisticated and at the same time easier for the user.
And what is blogging really? Just another place to publish your writing. Aren't we always on the look-out for more writing opportuntiies and places for our words to magically appear? There's a little button at the bottom of your post that reads, "publish" and that's exactly what it means. Your words are live when you hit that key, and the world can read what you have to say.
There's power in that, even on a blog. Have you thought of it in this way, rather than as a chore you have to do because someone else says so? Writing is work. Blogging is work. But both are part and parcel of being a published author. It's your life's work. Love it, because it's fun and you live to write.
Right?
Have you considered how easy it really is? It's a piece of cake compared to learning HTML and creating a real website. Many people are foregoing a website completely as blogging becomes more sophisticated and at the same time easier for the user.
And what is blogging really? Just another place to publish your writing. Aren't we always on the look-out for more writing opportuntiies and places for our words to magically appear? There's a little button at the bottom of your post that reads, "publish" and that's exactly what it means. Your words are live when you hit that key, and the world can read what you have to say.
There's power in that, even on a blog. Have you thought of it in this way, rather than as a chore you have to do because someone else says so? Writing is work. Blogging is work. But both are part and parcel of being a published author. It's your life's work. Love it, because it's fun and you live to write.
Right?
Senin, 11 Agustus 2008
Housekeeping
It's amazing how clutter builds up everywhere, and that includes on your blogs. Have you looked at your blog sidebars lately? Does any of that make sense to your readers? Two of my blogrolls right here are a mess. They don't make a bit of sense. I need to clean that up this week.
What about your blogrolls? Why do they exist? If you're planning a blog book tour, we suggest you have one blogroll for just your possible hosts. These are sites you've reviewed for potential, visit regularly, and post comments on so they get to know you. They're your social blogs, the getting-to-know-you pals who might give your book a boost down the road.
Do you do housekeeping in your virtual world on a regular basis? How often? It might not be a bad idea to consciously and objectively review your sites on a regular basis. Weekly wouldn't be too often with some of my e-Cleaning needs.
What about your blogrolls? Why do they exist? If you're planning a blog book tour, we suggest you have one blogroll for just your possible hosts. These are sites you've reviewed for potential, visit regularly, and post comments on so they get to know you. They're your social blogs, the getting-to-know-you pals who might give your book a boost down the road.
Do you do housekeeping in your virtual world on a regular basis? How often? It might not be a bad idea to consciously and objectively review your sites on a regular basis. Weekly wouldn't be too often with some of my e-Cleaning needs.
Jumat, 08 Agustus 2008
The numbers game
Week One of the August Blogging Challenge has passed. It's now time for the participants to check their traffic statistics and compare them to a prior period when their posting was low -- just to confirm that the effort put into regular posting will really reap some results.
All bloggers should have a hit counter of some sort. I use Sitemeter which unfortunately had some issues during their move to a new server. So I don't know how accurate my statistics will be for the entire week. But, one of our challengers reports that he had 500 hits this week, a first in his blogging history.
This is exactly the kind of confirmation an author needs to validate the effort of regular blogging. You might not post daily all through the year, but raising your blog's profile and making it more "sticky" prior to a blog book tour is a good way to prepare for a successful online book promotion.
Make the numbers work for you. Most definitely learn to read the reports. Poke around at your counter's website and see what kind of reports you can generate, and then really look at them. They're really not all that confusing, and you might be in for some pleasant surprises.
Tomorrow, another report that every author needs to pay attention to, before, during, and after a blog book tour.
All bloggers should have a hit counter of some sort. I use Sitemeter which unfortunately had some issues during their move to a new server. So I don't know how accurate my statistics will be for the entire week. But, one of our challengers reports that he had 500 hits this week, a first in his blogging history.
This is exactly the kind of confirmation an author needs to validate the effort of regular blogging. You might not post daily all through the year, but raising your blog's profile and making it more "sticky" prior to a blog book tour is a good way to prepare for a successful online book promotion.
Make the numbers work for you. Most definitely learn to read the reports. Poke around at your counter's website and see what kind of reports you can generate, and then really look at them. They're really not all that confusing, and you might be in for some pleasant surprises.
Tomorrow, another report that every author needs to pay attention to, before, during, and after a blog book tour.
Rabu, 06 Agustus 2008
We are all linked
Linking is one of the most important ways to raise the profile of your blog. Social marketing maven, Tiffany Dow, explains it on her blog. She also talks about keywords, and I'll discuss that a bit more in a later post. For now, pay attention to her advice about growing your blog traffic in a slow and organic way through linking to other sites. And always, always link related sites of your own to each other. Linking is so important, within each post, in your signature, and in your sidebars. Create a neat and tidy linked package.
Senin, 04 Agustus 2008
So Sorry?
Picked up on Twitter and so true:
I must delete some of my rss feeds, so I just now decided, any blog that apologizes for not posting, they're out. One gone already!
Don't apologize for not posting. If you must, sneak back in and back-date some posts so it looks like you've been paying attention to your blog all along. Or commit to daily posts for a month so that your blog looks fresh. Then collapse your archives so previous months' don't tattletale about former bad habits.
There are ways and there are ways.
I must delete some of my rss feeds, so I just now decided, any blog that apologizes for not posting, they're out. One gone already!
Don't apologize for not posting. If you must, sneak back in and back-date some posts so it looks like you've been paying attention to your blog all along. Or commit to daily posts for a month so that your blog looks fresh. Then collapse your archives so previous months' don't tattletale about former bad habits.
There are ways and there are ways.
Minggu, 03 Agustus 2008
Are you pinging?
Pinging is a way to give your blog a little boost by notifying an online service that you've updated your blog. This technique is much more proactive than waiting for the web crawlers at Google to notice you. I use Pingoat and once you're there, it's easy peasy. Just fill in the blanks, and click on all the services you want notified. If you click on the header in each category, all the items within will be checked. Don't do this too often, but once or twice a week after you update your blog is a good idea. This takes less than 60 seconds. Do it!
Sabtu, 02 Agustus 2008
"Bee" a perfect blogger
Pro-blogger and blogging guru, Chris Garrett explains how to "bee" a perfect blogger. Here's good advice for authors preparing their own blogs for an impending blog book tour. Be sure to read the comments, too, because there are plenty of good insights and tips there.
Be sure to bookmark Chris' site and stop by often for the very best blogging help available. He's also on Twitter, and the above-mentioned article was picked up there. If you're not tweeting yet, I recommend it for a quick and easy way to give and get valuable information and links.
Be sure to bookmark Chris' site and stop by often for the very best blogging help available. He's also on Twitter, and the above-mentioned article was picked up there. If you're not tweeting yet, I recommend it for a quick and easy way to give and get valuable information and links.
Jumat, 01 Agustus 2008
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.
Thanks, aboutbooks, for the heads-up.
Kamis, 31 Juli 2008
The Perfect Plan
Few things make an entrepreneur's heart sink quite as deeply as the prospect of creating a business plan, and yet that one monumental step might be exactly the thing to ensure success in the long-term endeavor. It doesn't have to be as daunting as it sounds, and it can be downright fun.
The same holds true for blogging. Having a good blog is an important part of your long-term blog book tour success, but you must have a plan so your blog does all that it can and should accomplish.
You can start by answering a few simple questions:
The same holds true for blogging. Having a good blog is an important part of your long-term blog book tour success, but you must have a plan so your blog does all that it can and should accomplish.
You can start by answering a few simple questions:
- Who?
- What?
- Where?
- When?
- How?
- Why?
Arrange them in any order you like, and each day think about one question and it's relationship to your blog.
Today, let's use Who. Look at your blog with an objective eye, and decide if it truly reflects who you are. Who is the person behind the image? Is this an author's blog? Who is that writer? Is your readership seeing you the way you would like them to? Who are you? And what can you say in your next post that will give a clearer indication? How can you change your blog to more closely reflect the personality you'd like to project? Are you all over the map? Sound whine-y? Foul-mouthed? Or do you seem like someone you'd like to meet? With interesting commentary and good writing that makes people come back for more.
If you have time, take it a step further and look at who you're linking to. Do they reflect your focus on the blog? Or have those links just been there forever and they really need a little housekeeping?
Happy August and good blogging!
Sabtu, 26 Juli 2008
August Blogging Challenge
We're issuing a challenge to all you blogging authors to help get your blogs in good shape for a blog book tour. August is The One-Post-Per-Day Blog Challenge. Post each day, every day.
Anyone who participates can leave a comment and link here so we go over to leave messages on your blogs. The idea is to get your blog active and noticed by the search engines before your tour. So start thinking about how you're going to beef things up on your blog; you don't want to bore us to tears with useless drivel.
If you don't know what a blog book tour is, go read The Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever. You'll find more useful tips to get your blog in topnotch shape for a dynamite blog tour. It all starts with your blog - that's the launching pad for the best tours.
If you want to participate with a group, this challenge is homebased at the Blog Book Tours Yahoo!Group. You must give your full name and book title to join the group.
Anyone who participates can leave a comment and link here so we go over to leave messages on your blogs. The idea is to get your blog active and noticed by the search engines before your tour. So start thinking about how you're going to beef things up on your blog; you don't want to bore us to tears with useless drivel.
If you don't know what a blog book tour is, go read The Quickest Blog Book Tour Guide Ever. You'll find more useful tips to get your blog in topnotch shape for a dynamite blog tour. It all starts with your blog - that's the launching pad for the best tours.
If you want to participate with a group, this challenge is homebased at the Blog Book Tours Yahoo!Group. You must give your full name and book title to join the group.
Selasa, 27 November 2007
All about me(me) and blogging
Straight From Hel tagged me to participate in a meme about blogging and I simply couldn’t refuse because I’m so completely sold on the idea. Thanks for choosing me, Helen. Here are my answers to the five questions:1. How long have you been blogging?
Only about a year. The online youngsters don't call me Old Noob for nothing!
2. What inspired you to start a blog and who are your mentors?
I loved reading good blogs even before I had my own. I have a collection I read regularly, but it wasn't until I went to the Women Writing the West Conference that a writing pal and I offered to post conference doings on their new blog so all the members could vicariously enjoy the gathering. We did and it was so easy and fun! Next, I actually started a yahoo discussion group, and just for holiday kicks, set up a 360 degree blog in that community called Queen of Christmas. Before I knew it, I had started several blogger blogs for various reasons, and suddenly I found myself reading professional blogger newsletters to get all the hot tips on improving my own sites. There's still so much to learn. I don’t know if I’d call them mentors exactly, but Chris Garrett and Yaro Starak certainly provide some excellent information to their readers.
3. Are you trying to make money online, or just doing it for fun?
I don't close the door on blogging to make money, though I hate the look of most click-the-link advertising. Visual clutter is tough on an artist’s eyes. Without question, blogs are marketing tools, whether to promote a book, a stained glass commission, the latest yarn shipment a store has received, the loveliest fused glass bowls, whatever. Everyone likes being up on the latest, and this is a simple way to impart information. There's a reason that newspapers have blogs and were first to jump on the blog bandwagon. Added content. Easy peasy added content that doesn't require high-tech knowledge. Family albums, store bulletins, town hall news - anyone could benefit from the use of a blog. Did I mention blog book tours? This one is linked to a squidoo lens for added impact.
4. What 3 things do you struggle with online?
I don't feel like I know enough yet to really have the online presence I'd like. I want a website with a shopping cart for my own products, but don't feel like I'm quite competent enough to handle that on my own. Blogs have been a nice stepping-stone in that direction.
I don't understand a lot of aspects like cloaking urls, html code, and other nitty-gritty regarding search engine optimization, but I am developing the courage and even interest in pursuing it further thanks to blogging. It's a bit like living in a foreign country. When you immerse yourself, you eventually learn the language and the practices.
Like anyone who is fascinated with the potential of the medium, I spend too much time on the internet exploring its vast horizons. It takes a bit of discipline fitting it into a normal busy life. Paradoxically, it also takes a bit of discipline to continue regular posting once the novelty has worn off a bit.
5. What 3 things do you love about being online?
First, reading the news without having to sit down with a real newspaper. Nothing gets dumped or goes up in smoke.
Second, having vast repositories of research information available at the touch of a button, including library card catalogs.
Third, connecting to communities of like-minded people via the written word. I'm out in the sticks and for the most part, feel pretty much like an alien from another galaxy. The internet connects me to kindred spirits.
I'm interested in reading what others have to say, so I'm tagging these good bloggers for their input:
Kittlog
Be sure to go read what they have to say, and bookmark their blogs which are always packed with interesting interviews, essays, tips, insights, and even recipes. Did I mention humor and good photographs? What about gorgeous standard poodles? And a very special treat for kitties and their people.
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