Tag: writer

5 Ways To Become Visible Online

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[found on cindyratzlaff.com; by Cindy Ratzlaff]

“Five Strategies for Boosting Visibility Through Search

1.  Match Your Content to Your Brand Promise.  This is your number one strategy. Google and other search engines factor into your credibility whether or not people re-enter their search terms after being directed to your content. In other words, if Google recommends your content to someone who searches for “life coaching,” but finds that most of the people who click on your site need to search again because you don’t share any thoughts about life coaching, why to engage a life coach, what life coaching can do for people or any other relevant material, then Google will downgrade your reliability on this topic. Make sure that the content you are posting is a good fit for the keywords you are using. “Bacon” is a great search term. Everybody likes bacon. But if you don’t sell bacon, teach bacon recipes, share bacon-related news or in any other way talk about bacon, Google will penalize you for using the term “bacon” as a keyword.

2. Create a Positive Digital Footprint.  Create a detailed profile on LinkedIn with a keyword optimized bio, photo and clear descriptions of your current business as well as links to previous work. Connect your blog and consider connecting your Slideshare account so you can easily demonstrate authority by sharing presentations through Slideshare. Upload a current professional head shot and make sure that potential customers or client can easily identify you, understand exactly what you offer and connect with you. Create social media profiles with keyword optimized bios and the same or a similar photo on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and depending on your brand, Pinterest. Demonstrate authority in your field by communicating in your true brand voice on each of these platforms with consistency, clarity and authenticity.

3.  Pay Attention to the Metadata. The individual keywords and phrases you use as descriptions on social media sites, blog posts and websites are metadata. Metadata is what helps search engines find you and recommend you when people search for what you have to offer. When people are searching for what you have to offer on search engines like Google, they are highly predisposed to take an action. They’ve professed a need, hopefully been pointed to your home base and now it’s up to you to convert.  Think about metadata like digital breadcrumbs. You are leaving a trail so people can find you.

4.  Create a Path to Purchase.  You’ve optimized your keywords, left digital breadcrumbs, put out your welcome mat through social media and now you have people on your website. What do you want them to do next; sign up for a newsletter, buy a product, book a discovery session with you?  Make their next action step crystal clear and easy to take. Add your opt in box to the landing page. Welcome them to your site with a video that gives them an opportunity to know, like and trust you. Give them an incentive to stay through a free offer.  But you need to know and you need to project the exact next step you want people to take. Don’t leave them guessing.

5.  Dare to be an Actual Person. There are many sophisticate ways to help verify your authorship to search engines and these are two quick and easy ones I recommend doing right away.  Create a G+ account for yourself.  Hyperlink your G+ account to your byline (see above where I’ve done this) in your blog posts to help Google verify that you are who you say you are.  Link your YouTube account to your G+ account as well for the same reason.  Authority trumps nearly everything in search.”

For more excellent tips from Cindy Ratzlaff, click here.

[found on http://cindyratzlaff.com/blog/personal-branding/5-strategies-to-boost-your-brand-visibility-and-rank-through-search]

Grand Opening—Or Nothing At All

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[found on hatrack.com; by Orson Scott Card]

“If you mess up the opening, nothing you do later in the story will fix it. And because mistakes in the opening will reverberate through the rest of the story, when you finally do fix the opening you usually have to throw out and redo everything that you wrote after it. With rare exceptions, you simply have to get the opening right before you can go on.

But what is the “opening”? The first sentence? Having a good first sentence is nice, but it’s not the opening. By definition, the first sentence is in the first paragraph, and the first paragraph is free. That is, the first paragraph of a story does not have to be in the same voice or mood or tone as the rest of the work. The first paragraph is important for setting the scene, for giving vital information that allows what follows to make sense. But the real opening is after that first paragraph — when the story starts in earnest.”

For more amazing tips on writing from Uncle Orson’s Writing Class, click here.

[found on http://hatrack.com/writingclass/lessons/1998-10-29.shtml]

Genre Niche Needed

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[found on westbowpress.com]

“Finding Your Niche in a Christian Genre

In both Christian and secular publishing there are different genres. Whether you are an experienced or novice Christian writer, your story will integrate within a particular genre. Therefore, every writer must ask, what is my writing niche and where does it fall in the realms of the various genres?

Your book will be classified under a specific type of category — or genre. A niche takes what you do — your uniqueness, insight, or experience — on a topic one step further, differentiating your writing from other authors within your genre. The journey towards discovering your niche may lead your writing through various avenues but the end result will prove rewarding for you and your writing. Begin by evaluating your own experiences and interests. Then, look inward to evaluate the following writing opportunities:

  • My Writing Life: What do I want to write? Is there a common theme among my writing topics? Do I hold special knowledge or insight into a particular topic? Do I have to/need to write?
  • Nonfiction vs. Fiction: Do I prefer the exploration of ideas or specific facts? Would I rather tell stories or research facts? Am I led by imagination or do I need structure and organization? Do I prefer to create my own truth through my story and characters or present the truth from interviews and studies?
  • Audience: What targeted age group am I most comfortable with? Am I motivated to inspire or to teach? Where do I envision my book in a bookstore? Who do I envision reading an excerpt from my book to?

Defining your niche begins with knowing you. Understand your own writing and style while exploring what it is that makes you different from other Christian writers within your same genre. Recognize the unique positioning in which you can hold an exclusive advantage to. Here is where you will discover your writing voice — your story and your niche.

Once your niche has been defined, study it. Read the works of other writers in your genre and examine the similarities. Your comparison will help you lay out the varying elements of Christian-based works and better understand your position as an author.

Focus your efforts towards enhancing the niche in your book and your writing. Develop your marketing and branding strategy around your niche and create a forte to your writing. Your author blog can supplement your work with active postings regarding your book’s content, helping you to further your own insight into the topics through research.

Writing within a niche allows you to meet the needs of or appeal to a certain segment of readers. As your targeted niche audience grows, your writing profession transforms from writer to niche writer to expert, and, here is where readers, Christians and the Christian publishing industry turns to you for an outlook and inspiration.”

For more tips on writing from Westbow Press, click HERE.

[found on http://www.westbowpress.com/AuthorHub/Articles/ChristianGenreNiche.aspx]